Thank you. Lee was very much a middle class school and had a good reputation. I don't recall how many, but a number of neighborhoods did move to South County from Lee. Not nearly as many as from Hayfield it seems. Building the new freeway interchanges in front of Lee didn't help with its image as the area deteriorated. |
I don't even know what means. You have some people claiming they should get rezoned to South County and others implying some of the Lee feeders should be swapped with West Springfield feeders. Don't those who'd be affected by such decisions also have rights? And are you implying that middle-class kids at Lee today can't get a decent education? |
+100 And as to the other response about the 90's being SO LONG AGO... People actually grew up around here. Not everyone landed here in adulthood. I don't live in that area, but I personally know people who bought in the last 10 years that would have had that decision influenced by their knowledge of the history of the area. People in Saratoga trusted their elected officials and the general consensus that all Fcps schools are great. They have been let down. Why do those of you currently zoned wshs think you should be above such disappointment? It happens all the time- schools get rezoned and property values shift. You aren't so special. It can just as easily happen to you. |
Actually those young families who bought homes in the mid to late 90s would have kids in high school right now. So they bought when Lee HS had a much different reputation. |
After this years's sophomores graduate there are no kids in grades K-12th who were alive during the 1990s. |
| To restate in a way that makes us all feel like old people, there are only a tiny handful of 9th graders who were alive in the last century. |
You do realize that you could buy a home before actually having a child and base that decision on the schools for the children you are planning to have? Or, you might have school age children with a plan to have more. Seriously, think before you post. |
I would bet that almost no one who has kids attending Saratoga elementary bought during the 1990s, pre children, specifically to attend Lee High School. Did you think before you posted? |
You can make bets all you want - if you want to draw conclusions, I suggest you base it on facts or actual knowledge. That's what I would call thinking, but that appears to be a foreign concept to you. |
In the mid-90s, Lee was already in the bottom third in FCPS, and now it's in the bottom fourth. So I think the basic premise that people buying in that district any time over the past 20 years got a bait-and-switch from FCPS is flawed. They bought in a school district that had a lot of older housing that, over time, became less attractive to middle-class families, who moved to newer communities in western Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun. Quite honestly, if anyone has the case to make that FCPS treated them unfairly, it's people who bought in the Annandale district, not Lee. You could have bought in the Annandale district in the early-to-mid 90s and then watch FCPS systematically move single-family neighborhoods out of Annandale to Falls Church, Lake Braddock, Edison and Woodson. |
As much as you want it to be true that fcps pulled the rug out from under Saratoga families, it isn't. Repeating something over and over does not make it true. |
We were househunting in Springfield during the early half of the 2000s. Coming in from out of state, everyone pointed us away from Lee high school and towards Lake Braddock and West Springfield. So at least a decade ago (pre Great schools) Lee was not a desireable school district to purchase a house in. |
I don't know what you're talking about. I'm no the PP who made any claims about what FCPS did. Personally, I have no idea. I wasn't here. But, I'm interested in facts, not your betting hunches. |
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Concerning boundaries in the eastern part of the county, FCPS needs to shake up the puzzle pieces and look at the situation with a fresh perspective. They need to look at the changes that have occurred - both physical and social.
For example, the current widening of Route 1 from Lorton to Ft. Belvoir will make areas like Gunston more accessible to the Mount Vernon area. Maybe it would be sensible to put those students at Mt. Vernon HS? The Saratoga folks are closer to West Springfield, South County, AND Hayfield than to Lee. Maybe something can be done to help them get to a more convenient school. Lorton Station Elementary kids should definitely go to South Co. They need to ignore the entitled attitude of certain "good" schools and look at what's best for all. |
Annandale totally got screwed. No doubt. But I think people aren't understanding that it isn't people who bought in the 90's who got screwed in Saratoga. It's people who bought in the mid 2000's. Before the crash. I also dispute the premise that Lee was bad in the 90's. If you lived in this area in the 80's and 90's you would know that no school was looked at as being particularly bad. Except maybe TC Williams and that isn't ffx. It was basically understood that if you went to school anywhere in ffx county - it was a good school. Some schools might have been considered better for certain things, but great schools didn't exist. People weren't such obnoxious assholes about zipcodes and school pyramids. Also, there wasn't as much multi family housing anywhere. There weren't the high number immigrants. The immigrants who were here were often middle class. Yes, someone will not be happy when rezoning happens. Having spent 100k more than someone else doesn't buy you any assurances. Argue proximity to schools and neighborhood spirit all you want. Fine. Arguing that you spent x amount more? Nope. Just don't go there. |