Opinion piece submitted by Anonymous follower
According to the September 2025 enrollment data in Appendix E from the recently released CIP, only four schools in the Crown/ Damascus boundary study are moderately overcrowded: Clarksburg, Quince Orchard, Churchill, and Richard Montgomery. According to 2031-32 projections, only one is projected to be moderately over capacity, Clarksburg
Of the four schools currently moderately overcrowded, geographically Clarksburg should be in a boundary for a new Damascus school , and Churchill should be in the Woodward boundary study. This leaves only two schools in need of relief: Quince Orchard and Richard Montgomery, and both are projected to decline in enrollment in the next six years.
Crown High School was never needed based upon actual enrollments, it was justified based upon projections that Gaithersburg, Quince Orchard, Richard Montgomery and Northwest would be 2,000 students over capacity. Projections which were wildly inaccurate. It was a fiasco to build a new high school based upon projections rather than actual enrollment needs.
The Crown Damascus boundary study was intended to populate the new Crown High School and an expansion at Damascus, with both being completed in August 2027. The Damascus expansion was indefinitely postponed in 2024, and now MCPS wants to use Crown as a holding school.
The BOE is proceeding with a boundary study for one capital project that is not being built and another that will be used as a holding school. It is a fiasco that the BOE is proceeding with a boundary study for two capital projects that will not be populated with students when new boundaries go into effect in 2027.
It is also a fiasco that the BOE is telling the public that they are doing a boundary study for the Damascus High School expansion, whn this project is not being built, and the BOE longer has any intention of building this project.
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The BOE is justifying keeping Damascus and Clarksburg in the boundary study based upon the superintendent’s recommendation that a new high school be constructed in Damascus by 2031, but this has not been approved or funded by the County Council or State.
Doing a boundary study for a new high school which has not been approved or funded, and might get built in six years is a fiasco. It is also a fiasco to include Damascus in the boundary study now because no one knows what the actual enrollment will be at the school in six years if the project is built as recommended.
Based upon the current boundary proposals, Damascus, which is not over capacity, will be made 400—500 students over capacity. It is a fiasco to conduct a boundary study for a new high school which rather than providing relief for schools, intentionally overcrowds a schools.