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Students, teachers and parents urge council to keep Cold Spring Elementary replacement on schedule
Summary
Students, teachers and PTA leaders told the Montgomery County Council that Cold Spring Elementary’s open‑floor plan hampers learning and emergency procedures and urged the council to retain the school replacement on the FY‑28 capital improvements timeline and fully fund the project.
Cold Spring Elementary students, their teacher and the school’s PTA president urged the Montgomery County Council to keep the school’s planned replacement on the capital improvements program schedule and to fully fund the project.
“Moving to Cold Spring…there were no walls, doors,” said Daniel Chen, a 9‑year‑old student who told the council the open‑floor layout makes lockdown drills harder to execute and daily learning more difficult. “If our building is not replaced, future students will have to face the same issues that I have to deal with today.”
Brooke Rickett, PTA president and a parent of four Cold Spring students, said the current MCPS prioritization framework does not account for structural safety differences. She noted Cold Spring is one of three projects tied for third in CIP rankings and argued delays are not justified given the school’s capacity and safety concerns.
Kira Mickelson Gessner, a 4th‑grade teacher at the school, described how the open layout amplifies noise, limits confidential conversations and slows emergency sheltering. “It takes about 1 minute and 15 seconds to reach a secure space in many areas,” she said, and for that period staff and students “are visible and exposed to the open classrooms and hallways.”
Supporters asked the council to follow the superintendent’s original timeline to begin replacement work in FY28 (the superintendent’s recommendation was referenced in testimony), emphasizing that enclosed classrooms and modern safety features already exist in other county schools.
Council members heard testimony from students who said crowded shared spaces reduce focus and complicate lockdown procedures. One student recounted being in a lockdown after a nearby school shooting and said cramped, improvised sheltering areas made the event frightening for hundreds of children.
The speakers asked the Council to prioritize Cold Spring in the CIP and to provide full funding so the school does not drop further down the list due to utilization calculations.
The hearing record does not show any formal action or vote on the project tonight; speakers requested the council keep the replacement fully funded and on schedule as budget discussions continue.
