King Abdullah Academy Closing: FCPS Buy for HS?

[Anonymous]

We are a Crossfield Family and all the parents in our neighborhood (off of West Ox Rd near Fairfax County Parkway) have discussed this - we very much want to go to the new high school which is MUCH closer than Oakton or even South Lakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people are still bitterly arguing over this. There are pros and cons to both options, but going back and forth like this on a mommy board is not going to change the outcome.

There's a middle ground, which is to acknowledge that perhaps this is a bargain purchase that FCPS couldn't pass up, but that they shouldn't have voted to approve the acquisition without a clear plan as to how a new school fits into their larger plans, and transparent communications as to how the school will be funded, what other projects will end up getting deferred, and how they plan to make use of the purported savings.

We ought to want to change a dynamic where the School Board repeatedly gets enamored of "big spends" like Dunn Loring and KAA and lets everything else drift with no clear plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people are still bitterly arguing over this. There are pros and cons to both options, but going back and forth like this on a mommy board is not going to change the outcome.

There's a middle ground, which is to acknowledge that perhaps this is a bargain purchase that FCPS couldn't pass up, but that they shouldn't have voted to approve the acquisition without a clear plan as to how a new school fits into their larger plans, and transparent communications as to how the school will be funded, what other projects will end up getting deferred, and how they plan to make use of the purported savings.

We ought to want to change a dynamic where the School Board repeatedly gets enamored of "big spends" like Dunn Loring and KAA and lets everything else drift with no clear plan.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people are still bitterly arguing over this. There are pros and cons to both options, but going back and forth like this on a mommy board is not going to change the outcome.

There's a middle ground, which is to acknowledge that perhaps this is a bargain purchase that FCPS couldn't pass up, but that they shouldn't have voted to approve the acquisition without a clear plan as to how a new school fits into their larger plans, and transparent communications as to how the school will be funded, what other projects will end up getting deferred, and how they plan to make use of the purported savings.

We ought to want to change a dynamic where the School Board repeatedly gets enamored of "big spends" like Dunn Loring and KAA and lets everything else drift with no clear plan.

+100

+101

[Anonymous]

Oakton zoned family near Fair Oaks Hospital
Chantilly 2.3 mi
KAA 5.9 mi
Fairfax HS 6.3 mi
Oakton 6.6 mi
Centreville 6.6 mi
SL 6.8 mi

Zero sympathy for families that think a certain boundary adjustment doesn't make sense. Poor you.

[Anonymous]

We ought to want to change a dynamic where the School Board repeatedly gets enamored of "big spends" like Dunn Loring and KAA and lets everything else drift with no clear plan.

Problem: if they pass this up, they will never get another bargain like this. There is a clear plan--you just don't like it;

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

We ought to want to change a dynamic where the School Board repeatedly gets enamored of "big spends" like Dunn Loring and KAA and lets everything else drift with no clear plan.

Problem: if they pass this up, they will never get another bargain like this. There is a clear plan--you just don't like it;

Really? That’s why Dr. Reid said purchasing this school won’t have any impact on the ongoing boundary review? Even though they are saying the new school can open in the fall of 2026, which is the same timetable they already had set for the county-wide adjustments?

I think you’re confusing the clear benefit you see for yourself with a clear plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

We ought to want to change a dynamic where the School Board repeatedly gets enamored of "big spends" like Dunn Loring and KAA and lets everything else drift with no clear plan.

Problem: if they pass this up, they will never get another bargain like this. There is a clear plan--you just don't like it;

There’s no clear plan. We don’t even know the intended use of the school for sure yet. Could be a local HS, could be another magnet, could be another specialized school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

We ought to want to change a dynamic where the School Board repeatedly gets enamored of "big spends" like Dunn Loring and KAA and lets everything else drift with no clear plan.

Problem: if they pass this up, they will never get another bargain like this. There is a clear plan--you just don't like it;

Act now! Supplies are limited.

We demand more from our leaders than to blindly follow along when they say give us taxpayer money for this purchase, trust us, we’ll eventually come up with a plan for the building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We ought to want to change a dynamic where the School Board repeatedly gets enamored of "big spends" like Dunn Loring and KAA and lets everything else drift with no clear plan.

Problem: if they pass this up, they will never get another bargain like this. There is a clear plan--you just don't like it;

Really? That’s why Dr. Reid said purchasing this school won’t have any impact on the ongoing boundary review? Even though they are saying the new school can open in the fall of 2026, which is the same timetable they already had set for the county-wide adjustments?

I think you’re confusing the clear benefit you see for yourself with a clear plan.

+1. If there were a clear plan, she wouldn’t have to repeatedly try to shout down talk of a magnet school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We ought to want to change a dynamic where the School Board repeatedly gets enamored of "big spends" like Dunn Loring and KAA and lets everything else drift with no clear plan.

Problem: if they pass this up, they will never get another bargain like this. There is a clear plan--you just don't like it;

Act now! Supplies are limited.

We demand more from our leaders than to blindly follow along when they say give us taxpayer money for this purchase, trust us, we’ll eventually come up with a plan for the building.

If they were nimble enough to come up with a winning $150 million bid for this property they should have been nimble enough to put together a basic Fact Sheet or set of FAQs to explain why it's a good deal, how it's being funded, what's getting bumped as a result, and how it impacts the current boundary review.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same nextdoor posters complaining (over and over again, and again and again!) about the boundary changes a few months ago, seem to be same ones up in arms about “transparency issues” with the purchase of KAA. They also appear to live in a “North Herndon” neighborhood, currently zoned for Langley. I’m sure it is just a coincidence.

I hope the purchase of KAA goes smoothly, and FCPS can successfully revamp it in time to serve the families in that area. Westfield is so far from Mcnair and Coates. How can Westfield build a thriving community when their students live so far away?

I don't live anywhere near "North Herndon," yet I also have questions about the transparency and funding of this school - even while I think it's a great purchase and will relieve the crowding issues many have spoken of. As FCPS residents, are we allowed to have questions about the process, or are we just supposed to shut up and keep our mouths closed?

One thing is for certain - if this school had been purchased in any other area (such as an area where it wouldn't benefit you), you'd be questioning the process too.

i agree. i work in a school and my kids atttend a different school. several jobs in both schools were cut due to funding. others were notified their pay is going down to make budget. how are we buying and funding a new school when there isn’t money for the current schools?

There is a difference between capital budgets and operating budgets. They are completely separate funds.

Haha. Like clockwork, the entitled pretend that money isn’t fungible.

Just admit that you feel you deserve the neighborhood school even if it means teacher job cuts and lower raises.

It’s better for you to just be honest about how you feel.

The area needs the school. That has been true for 20 years, and given the distance between all the current schools, current overcrowding, and new housing development, it will likely be true for decades in the future. And this was an opportunity that wasn’t likely to come around again anytime soon. The budget is tight now, no question, but I don’t foresee that being the case for long. Buying the school in my mind therefore admittedly creates short-term problems that will be painful (and as someone who works at a school, I really feel for the teachers and everyone else affected), but it also solves a long-term problem that has been painful and would continue to be painful for a long time and can only really be solved in this one way. I think it’s worth the trade off.

I also think the points above are why it’s unlikely this is going to be a magnet school. I think given the budget shortfall, people would be rightly furious if FCPS throws money at a magnet school that isn’t necessary and no one was asking for. Whereas putting money into a neighborhood school is painful when we don’t have a lot of it right now, but it’s understandable and solves a lot of the problems that FCPS has flagged as needing to be addressed.

I noticed you say nothing about the hundreds of seats sitting empty at Herndon. People have a high tolerance for waste when they stand to benefit, but once you get your new school will you be demanding they pinch pennies elsewhere?

Could you game out for me how Herndon is a long-term solution for all of the mess that is Western Fairfax? I could see it being a short-term, partial fix, but how would it fix things like split feeders or ensure that boundaries aren’t continually shifted every few years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people are still bitterly arguing over this. There are pros and cons to both options, but going back and forth like this on a mommy board is not going to change the outcome.

There's a middle ground, which is to acknowledge that perhaps this is a bargain purchase that FCPS couldn't pass up, but that they shouldn't have voted to approve the acquisition without a clear plan as to how a new school fits into their larger plans, and transparent communications as to how the school will be funded, what other projects will end up getting deferred, and how they plan to make use of the purported savings.

We ought to want to change a dynamic where the School Board repeatedly gets enamored of "big spends" like Dunn Loring and KAA and lets everything else drift with no clear plan.

Do you really think the property would have still been for sale after the extended process you described was finished? Nope, it would have been sold for a data center. Real estate transactions go quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people are still bitterly arguing over this. There are pros and cons to both options, but going back and forth like this on a mommy board is not going to change the outcome.

There's a middle ground, which is to acknowledge that perhaps this is a bargain purchase that FCPS couldn't pass up, but that they shouldn't have voted to approve the acquisition without a clear plan as to how a new school fits into their larger plans, and transparent communications as to how the school will be funded, what other projects will end up getting deferred, and how they plan to make use of the purported savings.

We ought to want to change a dynamic where the School Board repeatedly gets enamored of "big spends" like Dunn Loring and KAA and lets everything else drift with no clear plan.

Do you really think the property would have still been for sale after the extended process you described was finished? Nope, it would have been sold for a data center. Real estate transactions go quickly.

Oh, bullshit. They didn’t buy this overnight, and they could have put together the equivalent of a business case for the purchase to share with the public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people are still bitterly arguing over this. There are pros and cons to both options, but going back and forth like this on a mommy board is not going to change the outcome.

There's a middle ground, which is to acknowledge that perhaps this is a bargain purchase that FCPS couldn't pass up, but that they shouldn't have voted to approve the acquisition without a clear plan as to how a new school fits into their larger plans, and transparent communications as to how the school will be funded, what other projects will end up getting deferred, and how they plan to make use of the purported savings.

We ought to want to change a dynamic where the School Board repeatedly gets enamored of "big spends" like Dunn Loring and KAA and lets everything else drift with no clear plan.

Do you really think the property would have still been for sale after the extended process you described was finished? Nope, it would have been sold for a data center. Real estate transactions go quickly.

ok but what about now. it’s been what 2 weeks? there has been no mention of it in their long emails. it’s barely been discussed at school board/brac meetings. reid won’t confirm what school is for. has said it won’t be included in boundary review. so what’s the plan?