Waste – FCPS School Facilities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You prefer the Arlington model where they reduce capacity during renovation. However, when enrollment increases, the new school building is immediately overcrowded. But at least there was a short period of non-wastefulness.

The planning in both district sucks, just for different reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You prefer the Arlington model where they reduce capacity during renovation. However, when enrollment increases, the new school building is immediately overcrowded. But at least there was a short period of non-wastefulness.

They are expanding and growth is not following - particularly in the southeast part of the county. I would prefer they restrain the expansions when there is available space nearby. Some of this is egregious. Simply done to avoid changing boundaries - I don't think that can be denied.

The school buildings are old and will be renovated. It makes sense to add extra space during renovation that isn't needed than to "restrain" expansion when space may be needed in the next 10-20 years (or later). School buildings are on a 50 year cycle - enrollment could increase or decrease a lot in the coming decades.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You prefer the Arlington model where they reduce capacity during renovation. However, when enrollment increases, the new school building is immediately overcrowded. But at least there was a short period of non-wastefulness.

They are expanding and growth is not following - particularly in the southeast part of the county. I would prefer they restrain the expansions when there is available space nearby. Some of this is egregious. Simply done to avoid changing boundaries - I don't think that can be denied.

The school buildings are old and will be renovated. It makes sense to add extra space during renovation that isn't needed than to "restrain" expansion when space may be needed in the next 10-20 years (or later). School buildings are on a 50 year cycle - enrollment could increase or decrease a lot in the coming decades.

+1

-1. It makes no sense to build additions when there is no reason to anticipate growth within a school’s current boundaries. It’s just stuffing taxpayer money into the pockets of contractors. And why spend $40 million on a giant West Potomac expansion when Mount Vernon has had space for years?

[Anonymous]

Population here continues to grow. They will need that space eventually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Population here continues to grow. They will need that space eventually.

And as people continue to avoid Lewis we just expand West Springfield to 3000 like West Potomac?

Existing capacity should be used first. Growth may never materialize so we should not be expanding until it is clear the students will be there. We have available space in many areas.

Why has Bucknell been operating at 37-40 percent capacity for multiple years?

This is malfeasance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Population here continues to grow. They will need that space eventually.

And as people continue to avoid Lewis we just expand West Springfield to 3000 like West Potomac?

Existing capacity should be used first. Growth may never materialize so we should not be expanding until it is clear the students will be there. We have available space in many areas.

Why has Bucknell been operating at 37-40 percent capacity for multiple years?

This is malfeasance.

It's cheaper to assume growth when you are doing a renovation. Comb through the budgets, projections etc. and this is fairly consistent. FCPS has external auditors assess its plans. Calling it malfeasance is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Population here continues to grow. They will need that space eventually.

And as people continue to avoid Lewis we just expand West Springfield to 3000 like West Potomac?

Existing capacity should be used first. Growth may never materialize so we should not be expanding until it is clear the students will be there. We have available space in many areas.

Why has Bucknell been operating at 37-40 percent capacity for multiple years?

This is malfeasance.

It's cheaper to assume growth when you are doing a renovation. Comb through the budgets, projections etc. and this is fairly consistent. FCPS has external auditors assess its plans. Calling it malfeasance is ridiculous.

I simply disagree. Karen Corbett Sanders wanted nothing to do with moving students to Mount Vernon. Despite all the room available for years into the future. Bucknell is also in the West Potomac pyramid. What is going on over there? Why don't the other School Board members call her out? Because they also don't want to move students.

Board wide failure.

[Anonymous]

The same parents complaining here would have a fit if their kids were reassigned to a lower rated school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Population here continues to grow. They will need that space eventually.

And as people continue to avoid Lewis we just expand West Springfield to 3000 like West Potomac?

Existing capacity should be used first. Growth may never materialize so we should not be expanding until it is clear the students will be there. We have available space in many areas.

Why has Bucknell been operating at 37-40 percent capacity for multiple years?

This is malfeasance.

It's cheaper to assume growth when you are doing a renovation. Comb through the budgets, projections etc. and this is fairly consistent. FCPS has external auditors assess its plans. Calling it malfeasance is ridiculous.

I simply disagree. Karen Corbett Sanders wanted nothing to do with moving students to Mount Vernon. Despite all the room available for years into the future. Bucknell is also in the West Potomac pyramid. What is going on over there? Why don't the other School Board members call her out? Because they also don't want to move students.

Board wide failure.

Several years ago, there was talk about creating a second AAP center at Bucknell. Stratford Elementary is the AAP center for the West Potomac pyramid and is physically located in the UMC/mainly caucasian area of the pyramid - where as Bucknell is in a more working class/hispanic area - the homes directly adjacent to the school are duplexes. I haven't heard of any movement in that direction but I would imagine there was a huge outcry from all the parents who are in bound for Stratford, Waynewood and Fort Hunt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The same parents complaining here would have a fit if their kids were reassigned to a lower rated school.

It doesn’t make FCPS any less hypocritical. They gutted Annandale through boundary changes because they expected little opposition to moving kids to Woodson and Lake Braddock, but West Springfield got and West Potomac is getting huge additions they didn’t need because the poseurs on the School Board couldn’t handle the push-back from parents if their kids were moved to Lewis or Mount Vernon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Population here continues to grow. They will need that space eventually.

And as people continue to avoid Lewis we just expand West Springfield to 3000 like West Potomac?

Existing capacity should be used first. Growth may never materialize so we should not be expanding until it is clear the students will be there. We have available space in many areas.

Why has Bucknell been operating at 37-40 percent capacity for multiple years?

This is malfeasance.

Before rezoning or expanding/adding trailers, they need to confirm residency of the students currently attending and move those zoned for other high schools back to those schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same parents complaining here would have a fit if their kids were reassigned to a lower rated school.

It doesn’t make FCPS any less hypocritical. They gutted Annandale through boundary changes because they expected little opposition to moving kids to Woodson and Lake Braddock, but West Springfield got and West Potomac is getting huge additions they didn’t need because the poseurs on the School Board couldn’t handle the push-back from parents if their kids were moved to Lewis or Mount Vernon.

West Springfield did not get a huge addition.

It was a pit with structural issues and safety problems. It got a full gut to make the building safe. Totally different situation from West Po.

[Anonymous]

Bush Hill is not an AAP Center, it is just a Local Level IV. Quite a few students deferred AAP (in the Center) during COVID. Plus Springfield Estates supports a good deal of students who immigrate into the US and those numbers have also been down in the past 2 years. They’ll probably be close to 650-700 in the coming years. 1000 students 5 years ago was over capacity, they also had trailers back then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You prefer the Arlington model where they reduce capacity during renovation. However, when enrollment increases, the new school building is immediately overcrowded. But at least there was a short period of non-wastefulness.

They are expanding and growth is not following - particularly in the southeast part of the county. I would prefer they restrain the expansions when there is available space nearby. Some of this is egregious. Simply done to avoid changing boundaries - I don't think that can be denied.

The school buildings are old and will be renovated. It makes sense to add extra space during renovation that isn't needed than to "restrain" expansion when space may be needed in the next 10-20 years (or later). School buildings are on a 50 year cycle - enrollment could increase or decrease a lot in the coming decades.

+1, I work at a school that is 60+ years old and is scheduled to be renovated in the next few years. It is a DUMP. Everything is old and broken. These schools, including teachers and students, deserve to come to a place that isn’t an eye sore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bush Hill is not an AAP Center, it is just a Local Level IV. Quite a few students deferred AAP (in the Center) during COVID. Plus Springfield Estates supports a good deal of students who immigrate into the US and those numbers have also been down in the past 2 years. They’ll probably be close to 650-700 in the coming years. 1000 students 5 years ago was over capacity, they also had trailers back then.

From the Bush Hill profile:

"Bush Hill opened a Level IV Advanced Academic Center in the fall of 2018. This program currently serves students from the Edison Pyramid who are Level IV eligible in grade 3. Each year, one grade level will be added to the program until the Level IV program is fully implemented in grades 3-6."

So it serves students from the entire Edison pyramid. Sounds like a center to me.

The numbers for the Springfield Estates enrollment comes from the most recent CIP. So the county sees the enrollment as under 600 going forward. After going to the trouble to expand it.