FCPS HS Boundary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have the McDaniels email to share?

Boundaries
Over the last few weeks, the Governance Committee, of which I am a member, has grappled with updating the School Board’s boundary policy (Policy 8130). These conversations are still ongoing, but I wanted to update everyone directly.

The current boundary policy has been largely left untouched for nearly 40 years. This has directly contributed to significant problems across Fairfax County Public Schools to include: split feeders, overcrowded schools, imbalanced academic programming, one-hour long bus commutes one way, extensive pupil placement exceptions, chaotic renovation queues, lopsided athletic facilities, etc. As I said in my last newsletter, its long past time to update this policy and begin the much-needed process of correcting these problems.

What does that mean, practically? It means that the School Board will update policy 8130 and charge the Superintendent with implementing it, as we do with every other policy. Here are some common questions I get about this process:

Will every school boundary be redrawn? No. This policy update is intended to address the exceptional problems that the current policy has allowed to exist, and even perpetuate. This update will not mean a complete redraw of all boundaries. My view on this is very simple: let’s keep what works, and fix what’s broken.
Will this result in more “bussing”? No, and quite the opposite in fact. The current policy has led to kids being on one-hour long bus rides to get to their base school. The new policy language requires the Superintendent to prioritize efficient transportation as a consideration when developing boundaries. Long and short, this new policy is designed to reduce how much time kids spend on busses. I think we can all agree that less time in traffic is a good thing for everyone.
Will my rising senior be able to graduate from their current school if the boundary changes and moves them to another school? Yes. I can confidently say that grandfather provisions (aka phasing) are being included in the new policy to address this exact scenario. The Governance Committee has specifically addressed this concern with the Superintendent, and I am committed to making this happen.
When will the new boundaries be implemented? I can’t say for sure, but I’d suspect Fall 2025 at the earliest. Perhaps, more reasonably, I’d say Fall 2026. My position has been that the School Board implements the new boundary lines once they are drawn and approved following an extensive public outreach process.
As this policy update continues to advance, I will keep you up to date.

[Anonymous]

Curious to see how boundary changes will fix "lopsided athletic facilities." Are the high SES kids' parents going to donate new athletic fields?

[Anonymous]

They could get real feisty and move all of Hunt Valley to Lewis…

PP is correct about Orange Hunt.
That school needs to shift kids somewhere. Easiest would be Cherry Run and parents won’t fight the transition from WSHS to Lake Braddock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the email that Kyle McDaniel just sent out, he says that the boundary changes are coming and will likely be implemented fall 2025 or fall 2026.

I just read that too.

We’re a Hunt Valley family. My kids are currently 8th and 10th graders and I have questions.

We live close to the school, not not in the Gambrills neighborhood, so maybe this won’t impact us, but if they make Gambrills kids go to Lewis, wouldn’t that make for a longer bus ride than what they currently have to WSHS and wouldn’t that be making HVES a split feeder school? Which both go against what McDaniels is saying they’re trying to reduce or eliminate…

Don’t just complain here. Now is the time to let your rep And at large members know your true feelings on this. Time is ticking and they’re not hiding their plans.

They are just putting it back to the way it was. It is not a longer bus ride. They used to pick up and shoot straight down the parkway. They are going to shift that boundary and those Gambrill kids might end up going to Saratoga/Key/Lewis. It's one neighborhood on that side of the parkway. It makes no sense. Look at the old maps. And think about the townhomes next to Linden Tree - Lewis.

It's not one neighborhood. It's like four or five neighborhoods on that side of the parkway (one of which is mine). If the goal is to have kids stay at local schools with shorter bus rides, it makes no sense to send those kids to Lewis. South County would be a lot closer and take less time as you wouldn't get stuck in traffic around the mall.

Nah, it's like one neighborhood. Or you can go to Newington Forest and South County, sure. That's where everyone else who lives over there goes.....or Saratoga. Should have done your research before buying.

The boundary change happened for those Gambrill neighborhoods happened 19 YEARS AGO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The “you should have done your research when you purchased” people are funny. We both took gambles - you that you would be able to stay in your boundary forever and me that our boundary would eventually improve. The pendulum is finally swinging after many years inefficiencies and inequities and here y’all go, sh*tting the bed.

So you really think moving a neighborhood or two from WSHS to Lewis is going to improve Lewis and whatever elementary you’re zoned for now? Huh.

I don’t know what it will do. And neither you do. But I DO know that something has to be done and if it you are upset by the outcome, you could always move, right? That’s what yall WS parents are always threatening to do. So do it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They could get real feisty and move all of Hunt Valley to Lewis…

PP is correct about Orange Hunt.
That school needs to shift kids somewhere. Easiest would be Cherry Run and parents won’t fight the transition from WSHS to Lake Braddock.

It makes zero sense to move any of Hunt Valley to Lewis.

They are the farthest zone from Lewis of any of the West Springfield feeders.

I suspect that the neighborhood that will get rezoned to Lewis is the golf course neighborhood.

Last year, the board of supervisors gerrymandered 22152 into 3 different voting districts in an attempt to get Pat Herrity, the only moderate left in all of northern Virginia, to be gerrymandered out of office.

Keene Mill/Irving was redistricted to Braddock district.

West Springfield Elementary neighborhoods were redistricted to the Lee (Franconia) district, which is where Lewis sits.

Hunt Halley, Orange Hunt, Rolling Valley and most of Cardinal Forest neighborhoods remained in the Springfield district.

Keene Mill and West Springfield elementaries no longer have board representation in the Springfield district.

Their school board representatives primary responsibility is now centered on Lewis for the West Springfield neighborhoods and Lake Braddock for the Keene Mill neighborhoods.

The Franconia school board rep has no reason to advocated for West Springfield Elementary to remain at WSHS, and every reason to push for that elementary school to be rezoned to Lewis.

The Keene Mill school board rep has no dog in the fight, so they are likely to remain neutral if Keene Mill neighborhoods are under consideration for redistricting to Lewis.

Keene Mill and West Springfield elementary neighborhoods are the closest to Lewis, with the most direct commute, and in the case of Daventry, are the most recent neighborhoods zoned for Lewis.

Looking at the politics of the last minute, back door, one hour before the midnight deadline bait and switch resdistricting by Jeff McKay, West Springfield elementary might very well be screwed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The “you should have done your research when you purchased” people are funny. We both took gambles - you that you would be able to stay in your boundary forever and me that our boundary would eventually improve. The pendulum is finally swinging after many years inefficiencies and inequities and here y’all go, sh*tting the bed.

So you really think moving a neighborhood or two from WSHS to Lewis is going to improve Lewis and whatever elementary you’re zoned for now? Huh.

I don’t know what it will do. And neither you do. But I DO know that something has to be done and if it you are upset by the outcome, you could always move, right? That’s what yall WS parents are always threatening to do. So do it!

It is striking how you think bringing more people to something you hate will help you.

The vengeance is strong with this one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What schools are being considered to rezone?

Lewis
West Springfield
Herndon
Langley

I’m about 99% positive they’re going to do some stuff with West Potomac and Mount Vernon, which is probably the most egregious example of a huge school down the road from an under enrolled one, where the huge school is getting all kinds of expansions and sucking up more and more neighborhoods. Wasn’t Karen Corbett Sanders the main driver of all of that? And she’s not on the Board anymore.

The WS-Lewis and Herndon-Langley stuff is more complicated. If they are concerned about crowding at WSHS, there are other easier and less controversial moves that could be made. The Western GF neighborhoods could be moved back to Herndon for a somewhat shorter bus ride (to a point - that area is way out there and there’s only so much you can do in the sparsely populated areas of GF and Clifton etc.) but that would leave Langley even more under enrolled.

What are the easier and less controversial ideas for overcrowding at WS and underutilization/imbalance at Lewis? Please do share!

So many. I live in the area so I’m familiar with it. Orange Hunt elementary is gigantic and way over capacity. They could do a few things with it. lower the number of kids who get in for German immersion is one. Another is cut off nearby (ie right down the road) Hunt Valley’s southern border and stop it at the Parkway. All the kids at HV south of the Parkway could go to Newington Forest and South County, and then the OH/HV borders could be tweaked to send more of the OH kids to HV. That is a very small geographic area and shouldn’t increase bus times at all. There’s also the Sangster split feeder, all of those kids could go to LB instead. Sangster does pick up a big geographic area from parts of Fairfax Station/Clifton but those kids are going to have a long bus ride anywhere regardless. If they’re just coldly looking at capacity I think there’s work to be done around the edges possibly sending some of the most far flung kids to Silverbrook or Halley and SC instead of Sangster/WSHS or LB, but honestly I’m not sure how many kids would even be affected by that anyway as it’s a big geographic area but with low population density.

In terms of Lewis, they have to start with tightening up the transfers. Which was part of his message anyway. Lewis is under-enrolled, yes, but there’s no clear cut way, in that area, to prop up the enrollment, as I don’t think any of the nearby schools are over capacity either. I’m talking about Edison, Hayfield, Annandale, etc. In all honesty I don’t know if it’s worth propping up Lewis in the long term - perhaps it should just close if the enrollment keeps falling and its current feeders should just be distributed elsewhere. Like I doubt Edison and Lewis put together have the same enrollment as one of the gigantic HS’s, so perhaps there’s no need for both of them. Especially as you can walk between the two on the same road! Give one or the other a big expansion (would probably have to be Lewis as it sits on a bigger plot of land) and close the other one. And the county can buy the plot of land and sell it to a developer who will put up some cardboard TH’s that will sell for $1 million+.

Thank you. But these sure sound a lot more complicated then moving kids from one overcrowded school to an under enrolled one close-by.

Not really if you’re familiar with the area. And honestly the neighborhoods that seem to be on the chopping block to move from WS boundaries to Lewis aren’t all that close to Lewis, it would give places like, I’m assuming, Daventry, a fairly substantial ride down the parkway.

Daventry is the closest neighborhood to Lewis.

They were also recently rezoned to WSHS from Lewis.

They make the most sense to rezone back to Lewis.

[Anonymous]

I would never vote for a progressive to be on the SB, and I imagine many who will be upset with the changes probably did vote for the current SB, so this is going to be fun to watch.

But McDaniels points are mostly accurate. The other piece here is reality, and that is that the county is getting poorer. It just happened pretty fast that some who moved out of the city centers to FCPS "for the schools" are seeing the potential of the same thing happening: they don't want to send their kids to a high poverty school.

I don't think there is going to be a reversal of this trend, and the boundaries just can't hold anymore. In the last 3 years, the total number of FCPS students grew by 2000. In that same time, the total number of FARMs students grew by 12000. From 31% to 39% in 3 years. 15 years ago, that number was closer to 20%.

May be time to move out of the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would never vote for a progressive to be on the SB, and I imagine many who will be upset with the changes probably did vote for the current SB, so this is going to be fun to watch.

But McDaniels points are mostly accurate. The other piece here is reality, and that is that the county is getting poorer. It just happened pretty fast that some who moved out of the city centers to FCPS "for the schools" are seeing the potential of the same thing happening: they don't want to send their kids to a high poverty school.

I don't think there is going to be a reversal of this trend, and the boundaries just can't hold anymore. In the last 3 years, the total number of FCPS students grew by 2000. In that same time, the total number of FARMs students grew by 12000. From 31% to 39% in 3 years. 15 years ago, that number was closer to 20%.

May be time to move out of the city.

Honest question: which boundaries “can’t hold” anymore? There are real issues with the accuracy and reliability of their five year projections.

Also, if he’s so right, and we want to minimize travel time, the obvious answer is to disallow pupil placement.

[Anonymous]

It isn't about proximity to the high school - its about the demographics.

Hunt Valley brings what Lewis needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never vote for a progressive to be on the SB, and I imagine many who will be upset with the changes probably did vote for the current SB, so this is going to be fun to watch.

But McDaniels points are mostly accurate. The other piece here is reality, and that is that the county is getting poorer. It just happened pretty fast that some who moved out of the city centers to FCPS "for the schools" are seeing the potential of the same thing happening: they don't want to send their kids to a high poverty school.

I don't think there is going to be a reversal of this trend, and the boundaries just can't hold anymore. In the last 3 years, the total number of FCPS students grew by 2000. In that same time, the total number of FARMs students grew by 12000. From 31% to 39% in 3 years. 15 years ago, that number was closer to 20%.

May be time to move out of the city.

Honest question: which boundaries “can’t hold” anymore? There are real issues with the accuracy and reliability of their five year projections.

Also, if he’s so right, and we want to minimize travel time, the obvious answer is to disallow pupil placement.

They can’t get enough bus drivers and the transportation stuff is a huge mess. Even now at the end of the school year there’s a lot of bus delays due to prior runs and coverage. If they don’t have enough drivers, it affects kids not being able to go on field trips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It isn't about proximity to the high school - its about the demographics.

Hunt Valley brings what Lewis needs.

So are you saying decisions should be based proximity to the high school? Western Langley pyramid fervently disagrees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never vote for a progressive to be on the SB, and I imagine many who will be upset with the changes probably did vote for the current SB, so this is going to be fun to watch.

But McDaniels points are mostly accurate. The other piece here is reality, and that is that the county is getting poorer. It just happened pretty fast that some who moved out of the city centers to FCPS "for the schools" are seeing the potential of the same thing happening: they don't want to send their kids to a high poverty school.

I don't think there is going to be a reversal of this trend, and the boundaries just can't hold anymore. In the last 3 years, the total number of FCPS students grew by 2000. In that same time, the total number of FARMs students grew by 12000. From 31% to 39% in 3 years. 15 years ago, that number was closer to 20%.

May be time to move out of the city.

Honest question: which boundaries “can’t hold” anymore? There are real issues with the accuracy and reliability of their five year projections.

Also, if he’s so right, and we want to minimize travel time, the obvious answer is to disallow pupil placement.

They can’t get enough bus drivers and the transportation stuff is a huge mess. Even now at the end of the school year there’s a lot of bus delays due to prior runs and coverage. If they don’t have enough drivers, it affects kids not being able to go on field trips.

We’re in an area likely to be redistricted, and my kid has not once had a significant bus issue.

Perhaps the solution rather than messing with boundaries is to pay $30/hour instead of $25? Seems like a de minibus fix.

Oh, and also disallowing pupil placements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't about proximity to the high school - its about the demographics.

Hunt Valley brings what Lewis needs.

So are you saying decisions should be based proximity to the high school? Western Langley pyramid fervently disagrees.

If it’s based on proximity then really none of the current WSHS ES and neighborhoods are close to Lewis. WS’s boundaries are pretty compact without a lot of “gerrymandering.”