That's a national trend. There's no birthrate decline here--just the opposite. |
Really, tell me how it would work for APS to "just rent an office building." APS can't afford to pay market rent as set by the developers for those buildings so they'd need to find a developer willing to forego the tax breaks they get for the unleased space and give APS a sub-market lease. But even without considering the tax breaks, developers will be very reluctant to do this because such a lease would have to be for at least 20 years (because the renovations required to turn office space into a code-compliant school will probably require bond funding, and bond funding can only be used for projects expected to have at least a 20-year life), and because most developers own more than just that one commercial space, and will be worried about what such a big sub-market lease would do to the market for their other commercial spaces. |
SB should threaten to send students to high school in half-day shifts to focus attention on the issue. |
Just been here for 5 (I used to live in N. Arlington before) and I’m finally starting to see this. |
Yes, the school board threatening shift schedules in high school is totally going to change the minds of developers who for the most part don't live in Arlington and whose school-aged children, if any, will be unaffected. |
Also- My science loving kid wants music and sports. Seriously
We. Have. Money. We just can’t have fancy metro entrances and more park space. We can’t afford a fancy acquatic center Or a gondola Or even fixing Lubber Run. Or loaning money for affordable housing We need to pay fire fighters, police, and teachers We need workable infrastructure/ roads We need seats for students with traditional offerings This county needs a reality check |
| This! If we stopped giving all our annual budget surplus to AHIF, we'd probably have the money to pay for this school. AND, we'd have fewer kids. But don't say that out loud. VOICE advocates and S. Arlington old timers will call you a racist because you don't want your tax dollars squandered on things that cause capacity crises and worsen educational outcomes for everyone. |
Didn't a private middle/high school open up in a Ballston office building a few years ago? Stop wasting APS money on a 4th comprehensive high school. https://thesycamoreschoolva.org The Sycamore School is located at The Arlington Center Suite 300 4600 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22203 5th - 12th grade. The Sycamore School embraces an urban campus model, where students learn to utilize community resources to augment and enhance their learning experience. Located in the heart of Ballston, we are accessible to metro/public transportation and walking distance to five parks. APS schools were a ghost town in the 70/80s. History will repeat itself. |
I thought it was at least 1B total. |
The Sycamore School charges tuition of $23,000 per year, plus another $1k in other fees (and probably expects fundraising contributions as well). If APS got $24k+ per student per year from the county, they would have a lot more options too. |
Are you perhaps the old lady also posting on AEM? The one who thinks seats for students is 1950’s redux? |
You are correct 1.2 B - around there. |
Arlington County's approved 2019 budget is $1.276 billion. APS's approved 2019 budget is $637 million. |
And don't forget they can choose their own students, and say on their website their program isn't a good fit for students with "significant behavioral, cognitive or language struggles." So if you're a child with more significant special needs or an ESOL student, you're out of luck there. Must easier to manage a budget when you can exclude the more expensive students. |
When APS is taking the lion’s share, you can see why the boomers, singles, and dinks don’t GAF about our problems. If we want any of them to meet us halfway, we need to: Get rid of the iPads Increase class sizes Pay to play sports |