One of the goals of Montessorians is to spread Montessori education and make quality Montessori education available for children. However, one of the obstacles is the lack of information in the world (and an abundance of misinformation) about the Montessori philosophy. In 2009, these two issues came to a head in what evolved into a battle of parents and educators. Most Montessorians would be shocked to hear their philosophy likened to cancer, but that is precisely what happened at Cobb Elementary in San Francisco. The Cobb Montessori program started as an effort in 2005 by the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to place a free, public Montessori program in an under-enrolled school in a low-income community. The idea was to start with an initial group of students and expand the school each year until it reached fifth grade. As the demand for entrance increased to a reported "133 applications for eight open seats in the pre-K program," plans were made to phase out the general education portion of the school and convert the whole school to Montessori. The community immediately was up in arms. The community rallied to support the general education program instead of the Montessori program. This article discusses a community crisis illuminating the challenges and opportunities of public Montessori.