FCPS is turning the new high school purchased to fix crowding into an Aviation magnet school instead of a high school??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my rising 10th grader gets forced to this new school without varsity sports I will fight to keep my child at his current school. How is that fair?

What sport? I'm sure if your child is capable of varsity in tenth grade and is that good, that a coach will help you pupil place.
But, few tenth graders are on varsity teams.

My current 9th grader is a varsity athlete this fall and according to what everyone is suggesting will happen my student will be zoned for a new school that does not have varsity sports next year and would be forced to play JV. There has to be grandfathering until this new HS has the same things as other HSs.

There is no expectation of grandfathering of lower grades when a new school opens.

You would be better off arguing that FCPS simply defer the opening of the school until it can open with three grades and varsity athletics. They have been explicit that, if the school is to open in the fall of 2026, it will only have the capacity to serve two grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

) The first two or three years will be rough. There will be a contingent of people happy that they have their "own school," and others unhappy that their kids aren't having a typical high school experience for the first few years. Right now, the building only has room for about 1200-1300 kids, which is why they want to start with two grades and around 1000 kids. They will spend another $50-75 million on top of the $150 purchase price to get the school in an eventual position to accommodate 2000 kids. It's going to be one of the smaller HS in the county. Maybe for the first two years they only have JV teams and don't compete at the varsity level. They also probably won't be able to offer the same breadth of courses in the first two years that a school with three or four grades can offer, which will be an issue for some advanced kids.

Why do you keep exaggerating the price? No one said anything close to $75 million.

FCPS did start other schools with three grades. This is true. However, in many areas they begin with just two years.

People will be glad to have a permanent solution for a high school in the community.

FCPS won't provide a clear estimate on how much more they expect to have to spend. From what Erik Gordon said, it sounded like it could be $30-50 million on the main building, up to $12 million on the two small building, and an unspecified amount on fields, stadiums, etc. It seems feasible with the typical overruns that it could be close to $75 million, but no one really knows at this point.

It will be what it will be. The main relevance is that they made specific claims about how much they'd save by acquiring the KAA facility, and a lot of the purported savings are going to prove illusory as they incur additional costs over the coming years. Also, the more they end up spending on KAA, the less is available for schools elsewhere in the county, about which you clearly couldn't give a shit.

You're inflating the numbers, a lot. Erik Gordon said $30-50 million all in for the two small buildings AND the main building. He also specifically stated that he was being extra conservative with those numbers when he initially gave the $4.2 million each for the two small buildings but then rounded it up to $12 million for both. He said it was in case the board chose an academy / magnet and expensive equipment was needed for labs. When he gave the $30-$50 million number that was "all-in", and the $50 million was the very conservative all-in number for an expensive academy option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

) The first two or three years will be rough. There will be a contingent of people happy that they have their "own school," and others unhappy that their kids aren't having a typical high school experience for the first few years. Right now, the building only has room for about 1200-1300 kids, which is why they want to start with two grades and around 1000 kids. They will spend another $50-75 million on top of the $150 purchase price to get the school in an eventual position to accommodate 2000 kids. It's going to be one of the smaller HS in the county. Maybe for the first two years they only have JV teams and don't compete at the varsity level. They also probably won't be able to offer the same breadth of courses in the first two years that a school with three or four grades can offer, which will be an issue for some advanced kids.

Why do you keep exaggerating the price? No one said anything close to $75 million.

FCPS did start other schools with three grades. This is true. However, in many areas they begin with just two years.

People will be glad to have a permanent solution for a high school in the community.

FCPS won't provide a clear estimate on how much more they expect to have to spend. From what Erik Gordon said, it sounded like it could be $30-50 million on the main building, up to $12 million on the two small building, and an unspecified amount on fields, stadiums, etc. It seems feasible with the typical overruns that it could be close to $75 million, but no one really knows at this point.

It will be what it will be. The main relevance is that they made specific claims about how much they'd save by acquiring the KAA facility, and a lot of the purported savings are going to prove illusory as they incur additional costs over the coming years. Also, the more they end up spending on KAA, the less is available for schools elsewhere in the county, about which you clearly couldn't give a shit.

You're inflating the numbers, a lot. Erik Gordon said $30-50 million all in for the two small buildings AND the main building. He also specifically stated that he was being extra conservative with those numbers when he initially gave the $4.2 million each for the two small buildings but then rounded it up to $12 million for both. He said it was in case the board chose an academy / magnet and expensive equipment was needed for labs. When he gave the $30-$50 million number that was "all-in", and the $50 million was the very conservative all-in number for an expensive academy option.

Source for above direct from the video: https://youtu.be/Cb4yaH-pkN8?t=17111

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

) The first two or three years will be rough. There will be a contingent of people happy that they have their "own school," and others unhappy that their kids aren't having a typical high school experience for the first few years. Right now, the building only has room for about 1200-1300 kids, which is why they want to start with two grades and around 1000 kids. They will spend another $50-75 million on top of the $150 purchase price to get the school in an eventual position to accommodate 2000 kids. It's going to be one of the smaller HS in the county. Maybe for the first two years they only have JV teams and don't compete at the varsity level. They also probably won't be able to offer the same breadth of courses in the first two years that a school with three or four grades can offer, which will be an issue for some advanced kids.

Why do you keep exaggerating the price? No one said anything close to $75 million.

FCPS did start other schools with three grades. This is true. However, in many areas they begin with just two years.

People will be glad to have a permanent solution for a high school in the community.

FCPS won't provide a clear estimate on how much more they expect to have to spend. From what Erik Gordon said, it sounded like it could be $30-50 million on the main building, up to $12 million on the two small building, and an unspecified amount on fields, stadiums, etc. It seems feasible with the typical overruns that it could be close to $75 million, but no one really knows at this point.

It will be what it will be. The main relevance is that they made specific claims about how much they'd save by acquiring the KAA facility, and a lot of the purported savings are going to prove illusory as they incur additional costs over the coming years. Also, the more they end up spending on KAA, the less is available for schools elsewhere in the county, about which you clearly couldn't give a shit.

You're inflating the numbers, a lot. Erik Gordon said $30-50 million all in for the two small buildings AND the main building. He also specifically stated that he was being extra conservative with those numbers when he initially gave the $4.2 million each for the two small buildings but then rounded it up to $12 million for both. He said it was in case the board chose an academy / magnet and expensive equipment was needed for labs. When he gave the $30-$50 million number that was "all-in", and the $50 million was the very conservative all-in number for an expensive academy option.

DP, your numbers match my understanding too, though I do think you need to add a few million more for the athletic fields. And that estimate was just a super ballpark number on the spot, so the expenses very well could run over or under that estimate.

Regardless, I find it very frustrating that Mateo Dunne, who crowed about the bargain when he voted to buy the school a couple months ago, complained at the work session about being surprised about the additional cost. Maybe he could have done even the most basic of due diligence before voting to buy the school? I’m not even saying that he would’ve come out differently on his vote, but even the most basic house purchase would’ve involved more due diligence than what they did.

Worth pointing out that the much-maligned Nextdoor posters who questioned the expense and the impact to the CIP were onto something and have been vindicated in questioning the cost and the plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

) The first two or three years will be rough. There will be a contingent of people happy that they have their "own school," and others unhappy that their kids aren't having a typical high school experience for the first few years. Right now, the building only has room for about 1200-1300 kids, which is why they want to start with two grades and around 1000 kids. They will spend another $50-75 million on top of the $150 purchase price to get the school in an eventual position to accommodate 2000 kids. It's going to be one of the smaller HS in the county. Maybe for the first two years they only have JV teams and don't compete at the varsity level. They also probably won't be able to offer the same breadth of courses in the first two years that a school with three or four grades can offer, which will be an issue for some advanced kids.

Why do you keep exaggerating the price? No one said anything close to $75 million.

FCPS did start other schools with three grades. This is true. However, in many areas they begin with just two years.

People will be glad to have a permanent solution for a high school in the community.

FCPS won't provide a clear estimate on how much more they expect to have to spend. From what Erik Gordon said, it sounded like it could be $30-50 million on the main building, up to $12 million on the two small building, and an unspecified amount on fields, stadiums, etc. It seems feasible with the typical overruns that it could be close to $75 million, but no one really knows at this point.

It will be what it will be. The main relevance is that they made specific claims about how much they'd save by acquiring the KAA facility, and a lot of the purported savings are going to prove illusory as they incur additional costs over the coming years. Also, the more they end up spending on KAA, the less is available for schools elsewhere in the county, about which you clearly couldn't give a shit.

You're inflating the numbers, a lot. Erik Gordon said $30-50 million all in for the two small buildings AND the main building. He also specifically stated that he was being extra conservative with those numbers when he initially gave the $4.2 million each for the two small buildings but then rounded it up to $12 million for both. He said it was in case the board chose an academy / magnet and expensive equipment was needed for labs. When he gave the $30-$50 million number that was "all-in", and the $50 million was the very conservative all-in number for an expensive academy option.

It’s been a long time since FCPS did anything quicker and at lower cost than projected so we’ll have to wait and see.

It is clear the final cost is going to be significantly greater than the initial $150 million. They pitched KAA to the public as if it would be a turnkey acquisition. Now they are tossing out ballpark estimates of tens of millions in additional expenses and saying it will be 3-5 years before the buildings can serve 2000 kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my rising 10th grader gets forced to this new school without varsity sports I will fight to keep my child at his current school. How is that fair?

What sport? I'm sure if your child is capable of varsity in tenth grade and is that good, that a coach will help you pupil place.
But, few tenth graders are on varsity teams.

My current 9th grader is a varsity athlete this fall and according to what everyone is suggesting will happen my student will be zoned for a new school that does not have varsity sports next year and would be forced to play JV. There has to be grandfathering until this new HS has the same things as other HSs.

I only see one freshman on the Westfield football team. I think that is likely to be the only varsity sport that would be restricted from playing. Maybe basketball and baseball. But, your child could not yet be on one of those teams.
There are no freshman listed on Chantilly's team.

I'm guessing the other sports will be able to compete at varsity level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

) The first two or three years will be rough. There will be a contingent of people happy that they have their "own school," and others unhappy that their kids aren't having a typical high school experience for the first few years. Right now, the building only has room for about 1200-1300 kids, which is why they want to start with two grades and around 1000 kids. They will spend another $50-75 million on top of the $150 purchase price to get the school in an eventual position to accommodate 2000 kids. It's going to be one of the smaller HS in the county. Maybe for the first two years they only have JV teams and don't compete at the varsity level. They also probably won't be able to offer the same breadth of courses in the first two years that a school with three or four grades can offer, which will be an issue for some advanced kids.

Why do you keep exaggerating the price? No one said anything close to $75 million.

FCPS did start other schools with three grades. This is true. However, in many areas they begin with just two years.

People will be glad to have a permanent solution for a high school in the community.

FCPS won't provide a clear estimate on how much more they expect to have to spend. From what Erik Gordon said, it sounded like it could be $30-50 million on the main building, up to $12 million on the two small building, and an unspecified amount on fields, stadiums, etc. It seems feasible with the typical overruns that it could be close to $75 million, but no one really knows at this point.

It will be what it will be. The main relevance is that they made specific claims about how much they'd save by acquiring the KAA facility, and a lot of the purported savings are going to prove illusory as they incur additional costs over the coming years. Also, the more they end up spending on KAA, the less is available for schools elsewhere in the county, about which you clearly couldn't give a shit.

You're inflating the numbers, a lot. Erik Gordon said $30-50 million all in for the two small buildings AND the main building. He also specifically stated that he was being extra conservative with those numbers when he initially gave the $4.2 million each for the two small buildings but then rounded it up to $12 million for both. He said it was in case the board chose an academy / magnet and expensive equipment was needed for labs. When he gave the $30-$50 million number that was "all-in", and the $50 million was the very conservative all-in number for an expensive academy option.

DP, your numbers match my understanding too, though I do think you need to add a few million more for the athletic fields. And that estimate was just a super ballpark number on the spot, so the expenses very well could run over or under that estimate.

Regardless, I find it very frustrating that Mateo Dunne, who crowed about the bargain when he voted to buy the school a couple months ago, complained at the work session about being surprised about the additional cost. Maybe he could have done even the most basic of due diligence before voting to buy the school? I’m not even saying that he would’ve come out differently on his vote, but even the most basic house purchase would’ve involved more due diligence than what they did.

Worth pointing out that the much-maligned Nextdoor posters who questioned the expense and the impact to the CIP were onto something and have been vindicated in questioning the cost and the plan.

I think the numbers are gross overestimates for what is going to end up being the traditional school decision, which according to Gordon should be $4.2M for each small building and $20M for the main building. That's $28.4M. Add a couple more in for athletic fields and you are way, way under $200M total and still less than half the cost projected for a "from scratch" western HS build.
The biggest win was getting the land back. Suitable lots for a high school are few and far between - and almost never exactly where you planned that you would need one in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

) The first two or three years will be rough. There will be a contingent of people happy that they have their "own school," and others unhappy that their kids aren't having a typical high school experience for the first few years. Right now, the building only has room for about 1200-1300 kids, which is why they want to start with two grades and around 1000 kids. They will spend another $50-75 million on top of the $150 purchase price to get the school in an eventual position to accommodate 2000 kids. It's going to be one of the smaller HS in the county. Maybe for the first two years they only have JV teams and don't compete at the varsity level. They also probably won't be able to offer the same breadth of courses in the first two years that a school with three or four grades can offer, which will be an issue for some advanced kids.

Why do you keep exaggerating the price? No one said anything close to $75 million.

FCPS did start other schools with three grades. This is true. However, in many areas they begin with just two years.

People will be glad to have a permanent solution for a high school in the community.

FCPS won't provide a clear estimate on how much more they expect to have to spend. From what Erik Gordon said, it sounded like it could be $30-50 million on the main building, up to $12 million on the two small building, and an unspecified amount on fields, stadiums, etc. It seems feasible with the typical overruns that it could be close to $75 million, but no one really knows at this point.

It will be what it will be. The main relevance is that they made specific claims about how much they'd save by acquiring the KAA facility, and a lot of the purported savings are going to prove illusory as they incur additional costs over the coming years. Also, the more they end up spending on KAA, the less is available for schools elsewhere in the county, about which you clearly couldn't give a shit.

You're inflating the numbers, a lot. Erik Gordon said $30-50 million all in for the two small buildings AND the main building. He also specifically stated that he was being extra conservative with those numbers when he initially gave the $4.2 million each for the two small buildings but then rounded it up to $12 million for both. He said it was in case the board chose an academy / magnet and expensive equipment was needed for labs. When he gave the $30-$50 million number that was "all-in", and the $50 million was the very conservative all-in number for an expensive academy option.

It’s been a long time since FCPS did anything quicker and at lower cost than projected so we’ll have to wait and see.

It is clear the final cost is going to be significantly greater than the initial $150 million. They pitched KAA to the public as if it would be a turnkey acquisition. Now they are tossing out ballpark estimates of tens of millions in additional expenses and saying it will be 3-5 years before the buildings can serve 2000 kids.

The final cost is likely to be far less then the $450 million that was projected to buy the land and build a new high school from the ground up and it won't take an additional 10 years to be able to use the HS. We moved into our home in the South Lakes boundary 17 years ago and people were talking about the need for a new HS. Seventeen years ago there was a need and nothing happened until this year.

Yes, it was a surprise and yes, it is expensive, but it is:
1) needed
2) less expensive than building a new school
3) had to be done quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

) The first two or three years will be rough. There will be a contingent of people happy that they have their "own school," and others unhappy that their kids aren't having a typical high school experience for the first few years. Right now, the building only has room for about 1200-1300 kids, which is why they want to start with two grades and around 1000 kids. They will spend another $50-75 million on top of the $150 purchase price to get the school in an eventual position to accommodate 2000 kids. It's going to be one of the smaller HS in the county. Maybe for the first two years they only have JV teams and don't compete at the varsity level. They also probably won't be able to offer the same breadth of courses in the first two years that a school with three or four grades can offer, which will be an issue for some advanced kids.

Why do you keep exaggerating the price? No one said anything close to $75 million.

FCPS did start other schools with three grades. This is true. However, in many areas they begin with just two years.

People will be glad to have a permanent solution for a high school in the community.

FCPS won't provide a clear estimate on how much more they expect to have to spend. From what Erik Gordon said, it sounded like it could be $30-50 million on the main building, up to $12 million on the two small building, and an unspecified amount on fields, stadiums, etc. It seems feasible with the typical overruns that it could be close to $75 million, but no one really knows at this point.

It will be what it will be. The main relevance is that they made specific claims about how much they'd save by acquiring the KAA facility, and a lot of the purported savings are going to prove illusory as they incur additional costs over the coming years. Also, the more they end up spending on KAA, the less is available for schools elsewhere in the county, about which you clearly couldn't give a shit.

You're inflating the numbers, a lot. Erik Gordon said $30-50 million all in for the two small buildings AND the main building. He also specifically stated that he was being extra conservative with those numbers when he initially gave the $4.2 million each for the two small buildings but then rounded it up to $12 million for both. He said it was in case the board chose an academy / magnet and expensive equipment was needed for labs. When he gave the $30-$50 million number that was "all-in", and the $50 million was the very conservative all-in number for an expensive academy option.

It’s been a long time since FCPS did anything quicker and at lower cost than projected so we’ll have to wait and see.

It is clear the final cost is going to be significantly greater than the initial $150 million. They pitched KAA to the public as if it would be a turnkey acquisition. Now they are tossing out ballpark estimates of tens of millions in additional expenses and saying it will be 3-5 years before the buildings can serve 2000 kids.

This is called letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. It’s a very smart move for FCPS. But, if you’re looking for things to complain about, you’re bound to find something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

) The first two or three years will be rough. There will be a contingent of people happy that they have their "own school," and others unhappy that their kids aren't having a typical high school experience for the first few years. Right now, the building only has room for about 1200-1300 kids, which is why they want to start with two grades and around 1000 kids. They will spend another $50-75 million on top of the $150 purchase price to get the school in an eventual position to accommodate 2000 kids. It's going to be one of the smaller HS in the county. Maybe for the first two years they only have JV teams and don't compete at the varsity level. They also probably won't be able to offer the same breadth of courses in the first two years that a school with three or four grades can offer, which will be an issue for some advanced kids.

Why do you keep exaggerating the price? No one said anything close to $75 million.

FCPS did start other schools with three grades. This is true. However, in many areas they begin with just two years.

People will be glad to have a permanent solution for a high school in the community.

FCPS won't provide a clear estimate on how much more they expect to have to spend. From what Erik Gordon said, it sounded like it could be $30-50 million on the main building, up to $12 million on the two small building, and an unspecified amount on fields, stadiums, etc. It seems feasible with the typical overruns that it could be close to $75 million, but no one really knows at this point.

It will be what it will be. The main relevance is that they made specific claims about how much they'd save by acquiring the KAA facility, and a lot of the purported savings are going to prove illusory as they incur additional costs over the coming years. Also, the more they end up spending on KAA, the less is available for schools elsewhere in the county, about which you clearly couldn't give a shit.

You're inflating the numbers, a lot. Erik Gordon said $30-50 million all in for the two small buildings AND the main building. He also specifically stated that he was being extra conservative with those numbers when he initially gave the $4.2 million each for the two small buildings but then rounded it up to $12 million for both. He said it was in case the board chose an academy / magnet and expensive equipment was needed for labs. When he gave the $30-$50 million number that was "all-in", and the $50 million was the very conservative all-in number for an expensive academy option.

It’s been a long time since FCPS did anything quicker and at lower cost than projected so we’ll have to wait and see.

It is clear the final cost is going to be significantly greater than the initial $150 million. They pitched KAA to the public as if it would be a turnkey acquisition. Now they are tossing out ballpark estimates of tens of millions in additional expenses and saying it will be 3-5 years before the buildings can serve 2000 kids.

This is called letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. It’s a very smart move for FCPS. But, if you’re looking for things to complain about, you’re bound to find something.

I’m not saying it’s the wrong decision - neither are most others questioning the actual costs. But it takes a lot of gall for you to pretend that anyone questioning a $180 million purchase that will have knock on effects for years on the CIP is looking for something to complain about.

I mean, how about you have a little grace and at least acknowledge that the money has to come from somewhere and that this is depriving other projects of that money.

And before you pretend that I’m saying they shouldn’t have bought the school, I will reiterate, for the thousandth time, that questioning the costs doesn’t mean people are necessarily against the purchase, we’re just for good governance.

Good governance did not happen here. Just ask Mateo Dunne.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

) The first two or three years will be rough. There will be a contingent of people happy that they have their "own school," and others unhappy that their kids aren't having a typical high school experience for the first few years. Right now, the building only has room for about 1200-1300 kids, which is why they want to start with two grades and around 1000 kids. They will spend another $50-75 million on top of the $150 purchase price to get the school in an eventual position to accommodate 2000 kids. It's going to be one of the smaller HS in the county. Maybe for the first two years they only have JV teams and don't compete at the varsity level. They also probably won't be able to offer the same breadth of courses in the first two years that a school with three or four grades can offer, which will be an issue for some advanced kids.

Why do you keep exaggerating the price? No one said anything close to $75 million.

FCPS did start other schools with three grades. This is true. However, in many areas they begin with just two years.

People will be glad to have a permanent solution for a high school in the community.

FCPS won't provide a clear estimate on how much more they expect to have to spend. From what Erik Gordon said, it sounded like it could be $30-50 million on the main building, up to $12 million on the two small building, and an unspecified amount on fields, stadiums, etc. It seems feasible with the typical overruns that it could be close to $75 million, but no one really knows at this point.

It will be what it will be. The main relevance is that they made specific claims about how much they'd save by acquiring the KAA facility, and a lot of the purported savings are going to prove illusory as they incur additional costs over the coming years. Also, the more they end up spending on KAA, the less is available for schools elsewhere in the county, about which you clearly couldn't give a shit.

You're inflating the numbers, a lot. Erik Gordon said $30-50 million all in for the two small buildings AND the main building. He also specifically stated that he was being extra conservative with those numbers when he initially gave the $4.2 million each for the two small buildings but then rounded it up to $12 million for both. He said it was in case the board chose an academy / magnet and expensive equipment was needed for labs. When he gave the $30-$50 million number that was "all-in", and the $50 million was the very conservative all-in number for an expensive academy option.

It’s been a long time since FCPS did anything quicker and at lower cost than projected so we’ll have to wait and see.

It is clear the final cost is going to be significantly greater than the initial $150 million. They pitched KAA to the public as if it would be a turnkey acquisition. Now they are tossing out ballpark estimates of tens of millions in additional expenses and saying it will be 3-5 years before the buildings can serve 2000 kids.

This is called letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. It’s a very smart move for FCPS. But, if you’re looking for things to complain about, you’re bound to find something.

There are some Great Falls Facebook posters who are retired and haven't had kids in the system for decades, and all they do is find things to complain about. One in particular has been literally rejected by the board for volunteer positions due to their propensity to make a stink about every decision the board makes. They're on here too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

) The first two or three years will be rough. There will be a contingent of people happy that they have their "own school," and others unhappy that their kids aren't having a typical high school experience for the first few years. Right now, the building only has room for about 1200-1300 kids, which is why they want to start with two grades and around 1000 kids. They will spend another $50-75 million on top of the $150 purchase price to get the school in an eventual position to accommodate 2000 kids. It's going to be one of the smaller HS in the county. Maybe for the first two years they only have JV teams and don't compete at the varsity level. They also probably won't be able to offer the same breadth of courses in the first two years that a school with three or four grades can offer, which will be an issue for some advanced kids.

Why do you keep exaggerating the price? No one said anything close to $75 million.

FCPS did start other schools with three grades. This is true. However, in many areas they begin with just two years.

People will be glad to have a permanent solution for a high school in the community.

FCPS won't provide a clear estimate on how much more they expect to have to spend. From what Erik Gordon said, it sounded like it could be $30-50 million on the main building, up to $12 million on the two small building, and an unspecified amount on fields, stadiums, etc. It seems feasible with the typical overruns that it could be close to $75 million, but no one really knows at this point.

It will be what it will be. The main relevance is that they made specific claims about how much they'd save by acquiring the KAA facility, and a lot of the purported savings are going to prove illusory as they incur additional costs over the coming years. Also, the more they end up spending on KAA, the less is available for schools elsewhere in the county, about which you clearly couldn't give a shit.

You're inflating the numbers, a lot. Erik Gordon said $30-50 million all in for the two small buildings AND the main building. He also specifically stated that he was being extra conservative with those numbers when he initially gave the $4.2 million each for the two small buildings but then rounded it up to $12 million for both. He said it was in case the board chose an academy / magnet and expensive equipment was needed for labs. When he gave the $30-$50 million number that was "all-in", and the $50 million was the very conservative all-in number for an expensive academy option.

It’s been a long time since FCPS did anything quicker and at lower cost than projected so we’ll have to wait and see.

It is clear the final cost is going to be significantly greater than the initial $150 million. They pitched KAA to the public as if it would be a turnkey acquisition. Now they are tossing out ballpark estimates of tens of millions in additional expenses and saying it will be 3-5 years before the buildings can serve 2000 kids.

This is called letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. It’s a very smart move for FCPS. But, if you’re looking for things to complain about, you’re bound to find something.

You seem to have a big problem with transparency, at least when it relates to something where you stand to benefit personally. Do better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my rising 10th grader gets forced to this new school without varsity sports I will fight to keep my child at his current school. How is that fair?

What sport? I'm sure if your child is capable of varsity in tenth grade and is that good, that a coach will help you pupil place.
But, few tenth graders are on varsity teams.

My current 9th grader is a varsity athlete this fall and according to what everyone is suggesting will happen my student will be zoned for a new school that does not have varsity sports next year and would be forced to play JV. There has to be grandfathering until this new HS has the same things as other HSs.

I only see one freshman on the Westfield football team. I think that is likely to be the only varsity sport that would be restricted from playing. Maybe basketball and baseball. But, your child could not yet be on one of those teams.
There are no freshman listed on Chantilly's team.

I'm guessing the other sports will be able to compete at varsity level.

That’s quite a guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

) The first two or three years will be rough. There will be a contingent of people happy that they have their "own school," and others unhappy that their kids aren't having a typical high school experience for the first few years. Right now, the building only has room for about 1200-1300 kids, which is why they want to start with two grades and around 1000 kids. They will spend another $50-75 million on top of the $150 purchase price to get the school in an eventual position to accommodate 2000 kids. It's going to be one of the smaller HS in the county. Maybe for the first two years they only have JV teams and don't compete at the varsity level. They also probably won't be able to offer the same breadth of courses in the first two years that a school with three or four grades can offer, which will be an issue for some advanced kids.

Why do you keep exaggerating the price? No one said anything close to $75 million.

FCPS did start other schools with three grades. This is true. However, in many areas they begin with just two years.

People will be glad to have a permanent solution for a high school in the community.

FCPS won't provide a clear estimate on how much more they expect to have to spend. From what Erik Gordon said, it sounded like it could be $30-50 million on the main building, up to $12 million on the two small building, and an unspecified amount on fields, stadiums, etc. It seems feasible with the typical overruns that it could be close to $75 million, but no one really knows at this point.

It will be what it will be. The main relevance is that they made specific claims about how much they'd save by acquiring the KAA facility, and a lot of the purported savings are going to prove illusory as they incur additional costs over the coming years. Also, the more they end up spending on KAA, the less is available for schools elsewhere in the county, about which you clearly couldn't give a shit.

You're inflating the numbers, a lot. Erik Gordon said $30-50 million all in for the two small buildings AND the main building. He also specifically stated that he was being extra conservative with those numbers when he initially gave the $4.2 million each for the two small buildings but then rounded it up to $12 million for both. He said it was in case the board chose an academy / magnet and expensive equipment was needed for labs. When he gave the $30-$50 million number that was "all-in", and the $50 million was the very conservative all-in number for an expensive academy option.

It’s been a long time since FCPS did anything quicker and at lower cost than projected so we’ll have to wait and see.

It is clear the final cost is going to be significantly greater than the initial $150 million. They pitched KAA to the public as if it would be a turnkey acquisition. Now they are tossing out ballpark estimates of tens of millions in additional expenses and saying it will be 3-5 years before the buildings can serve 2000 kids.

This is called letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. It’s a very smart move for FCPS. But, if you’re looking for things to complain about, you’re bound to find something.

You seem to have a big problem with transparency, at least when it relates to something where you stand to benefit personally. Do better.

Right? It’s amazing how much cognitive dissonance exists for the people who stand to benefit from the school because they think they’re entitled to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If my rising 10th grader gets forced to this new school without varsity sports I will fight to keep my child at his current school. How is that fair?

What sport? I'm sure if your child is capable of varsity in tenth grade and is that good, that a coach will help you pupil place.
But, few tenth graders are on varsity teams.

My current 9th grader is a varsity athlete this fall and according to what everyone is suggesting will happen my student will be zoned for a new school that does not have varsity sports next year and would be forced to play JV. There has to be grandfathering until this new HS has the same things as other HSs.

I only see one freshman on the Westfield football team. I think that is likely to be the only varsity sport that would be restricted from playing. Maybe basketball and baseball. But, your child could not yet be on one of those teams.
There are no freshman listed on Chantilly's team.

I'm guessing the other sports will be able to compete at varsity level.

So your your expert opinion you feel FCPS will decide to make the new HS all varsity sports except for Football?? The county that does everything with a lens of equity... They will be all or none in athletics. It will be very difficult to get all those sports off the ground by August 1st. Also, not sure the original poster even mentioned football. There are many other fall sports.

Boundary decisions and staffing the building will be a major undertaking and the results of those decisions will have a major impact on surrounding schools which will then require more time and planning. It is hard for me to imagine that all these things get done in time for next school year. 2027-2028 with grades 9, 10, and optional 11 makes much more sense and seems more realistic.


That’s quite a guess.