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Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)
What Does FCPS Do with Excess Capacity at Herndon HS
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Anonymous
Without having listened to the meeting, I can tell you with 98% certainty they did not discuss it. Money for the W County Hs has already been in a bond that passed. The school has been promisedto the community for at least 15 year— since my 22 year old was in 2nd or 3rd grade. We live very near Carson and I assumed when my kids were in ES that the HS would go to the Carson site and my kids (or at least my then pre-K kid) would attend the new HS (a decade or more in the future). That kid graduates from not the new HS this year. Also, the Hutchinson site sucks and no one wants the HS there, and the BOS sold the site that would work. No one on the SB has the spine to stand up after all that and say “nevermind, no new school,”— especially when some schools (certainly Chantilly, but not only Chantilly) are so overcrowded and they have released no plan for W County capacity relief. Plus, announcing they are killing the new HS put a lot more pressure on them. I’ve spent more than a decade hearing “we know there is overcrowding and boundary adjustments are needed, but it makes the most sense to wait for the new HS and do all the boundary changes at one. We know you don’t want your kids Hs changed now, then changed again in a few years when the new HS is build”. Complete BS, but it’s how the SB (and BIS) has avoided dealing with what will be a nasty boundary adjustment— especially if Langley and HHS are involved. They will kill the W Co HS only if they ever do boundary adjustments (and I have my doubts that they ever will— promising relief with a new HS that in reality will never happen has worked for them for years). And if they raise the W Co HS, they need to explain why they sold the site, put it in a bind anyway and have promised for well over a decade while making no progress on making the Hs happen (except the bond. But bonding is easy and they will just divert that money elsewhere. |
Anonymous
Of course. It should have come out when they sold the Carson site and it became apparent to everyone who had waited for a decade for the new HS to materialize that it was never going to happen. Instead, they doubled down and put it in a bond a couple years ago and said they had chosen the Hutchinson site (under the prior, COVID era SB, most of whose members no one could accuse of being smart, competent, or honest with the community about challenging realities). But no one who understands Western County zoning (which I grant you isn’t a lot of people— the boundaries are a disaster) or who has watched the expansions at all the western county HSs actually believes it will happen. But, pulling it out of the CIP without a solution for some HSs sitting at 110% capacity— or more (Chantilly)— while expanding HSs that are not over capacity (or not nearly as over capacity) is not a good look. And once they admit it’s not going to be built, they will be locked into readjusting boundaries— now— rather than following the time honored FCPS tradition of pushing messes like a western county Hs with no viable site and western county rezoning down the road for the SB to deal with. Langley and Chantilly parents and the parents of any kids moved to HHs or possibly SLHS (we don’t want IB!) are going to end up furious about any rezoning. Easier to overpromise and never deliver. Eventually, there will be a new SB and it’s no longer the current SB’s problem. Plus, the new SB can ask for “grace” (my least favorite word when spoken by anyone associated with FCPS) and time because they inherited a mess. Then they drag their feet a couple years and the cycle repeats. I’ve even watching this happen for well over a decade. They need to hire an outside consultant and make a commitment to following their recommendations unless there is a very good, non-SES, non-DEI, non-parently pressure to avoid ELL and FARMS reason not to. Because yes, they need to aim to spread out FARMS and ELL more fairly among the schools— as long as they can do so without creating ridiculous commutes and moving kids who are a mile or two from one HS to another Hs 10 miles away in the make of equity. |
Anonymous
And what land would they be acquiring? The BOS gave the only site that makes any sense and doesn’t create more problems than it solves to the Saudis. There is no appropriate site to be acquired, in a location where it makes things better rather than worse, and with practical things like decent ingress and egress. That’s a big part of the reason a W Co HS won’t happen— it requires a significant parcel of land that doesn’t back up traffic for miles every morning and afternoon and send kids who now live 3 miles for their high school a 45 minute bus ride away. |
Anonymous
+1 Equating decent management of resources like HS seats so you don’t have a school at 120% capacity three miles from a school at 80% capacity with the Holocaust is just gross. Especially given current world events. No, moving your kid to HHS is not the same as your kid being help hostage in underground tunnels for months. Get over yourself. I don’t really care if most of the kids they more out of Chantilly are UMC rather than FARMs and Chantilly’s ELL FARMS percentages rises some. My kids don’t melt is Poor sits at their lunchroom table. I do care that my kid, who is athlete at practice at 5pm has to have lunch at 10:30 am. And I do care that half their classes are in trailers. Especially in the age of school shootings. |
Anonymous
DP. What about that is not true? Would you send your kids to Herndon? Nope. So don’t expect others to do so just because you “feel” they should. Also - what school do your kids attend? |
Anonymous
+1 Just so bizarre. |
Anonymous
DP. You really are a piece of work. There are several posters here who have asked - and are still waiting - for those who are obsessed about Langley/Herndon to please identify which schools their kids go to. It absolutely matters. I would never opine on where the kids at any school other than my own should go. It’s the height of arrogance to insist that YOU know best for OTHER people’s kids. So yes - your opinions about other people’s kids and schools are irrelevant. |
Anonymous
+1000 |
Anonymous
That already happened. Here are their recommendations: 1. Prioritize factors determining boundary policy. 2. Define school and program capacity to ensure consistency across the division. 3. Establish boundary adjustments based on balancing the number of schools and students for efficient use of buildings. 4. Centralize, regionalize, or duplicate programs with great demand in schools across the district to ensure equitable access for all families. 5. Limit time students are on busses and create efficient transportation networks. 6. Create an established and well-articulated exemption process. 7. Formally evaluate school boundary policies every five years. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/C9L3KG073D39/%24file/MGT%2520Boundary%2520Policy%2520Best%2520Practices%2520Review%2520Report.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj8lP2o5p6EAxXLGlkFHUIvBsAQFnoECBMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw31CVtV1-GCn7fLz7PDaGJC |
Anonymous
DP. What are you even talking about? Doesn’t Herndon offer all the same advanced classes of any other FCPS school? What “scheduling conflicts” are Herndon students experiencing? |
Anonymous
Hilarious. A decent discussion is taking place with some Chantilly and other parents, and now the hideous Langley poster is back. Does her insecurity know no bounds? |
Anonymous
Scheduling conflicts are more likely to occur when one school offers one session of an advanced class and another offers multiple sessions at different times of the day. Are you really that dense? |
Anonymous
You, sir or madam, are not part of the “adults” making any decisions for this school system. And with every post, you’re looking more and more absurd. |
Anonymous
What? I’m responding to the above unhinged PP - probably you - who invokes “Langley parents” in every.single.post. But sure, pretend this is just a nice friendly conversation about Chantilly. Hilarious, indeed. You need help. |
Anonymous
Speaking of dense - you didn’t even answer the question. What are the SPECIFIC “scheduling conflicts” at HHS? Do tell! |