Contingency Plans in FCCPS for Mt. Daniel?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I don't understand is why FCC wants to add a grade and so greatly expand Mt. Daniel in Fairfax. Fairfax just gave over 90 acres to FCC as part of the water deal (as an aside, our water rates are going to be lowered now that we are served by the county rather than the city!). This land is right next to the middle school and high school. Why not build schools there instead of greatly expanding in a residential area? I suspect that they want to use all of that for commercial development but it seems disingenuous to state that they have no other choices as to where to expand.

FCC is a small jurisdiction with overhead costs and high taxes. Expanding Mt. Daniel is less expensive than other options in FCC, and some FCC taxpayers complained about the lower costs associated with even a renovation.

To speak to a PP's comment, the planning staff in Fairfax support the FCCPS application. It's just people who live in the neighborhood who are opposed to the increased congestion, but why should their views matter if FCCPS has hired expensive "experts" to grease the wheels?

People in every neighborhood in America are always vehemently opposed to change. NIMBY is almost always ignored because all they care about is their own self interest.

That's not true at all where school expansions are involved. They often are widely supported. The difference here is that it's a school for another jurisdiction that doesn't want to incur the expense or inconvenience of building within its own borders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The expansion should be denied. It's already a congested area with narrow streets and, quite frankly, FCCPS takes over the area around the school for special events with very little consideration of area residents. FCC needs to build vertically within the city limits, not further disrupt a residential county neighborhood. The city wanted more residents to expand the tax base, and now wants the county to shoulder the consequences of its poor planning.

You do realize the school was there WAY before any of our houses. They've been a pretty good neighbor especially considering what might end up there if the school left. And they've been meeting with us on Oak Street since last year. As for special events, they don't let parents park there right now. They have a police officer at the bottom of the hill to allow only those of us who live here in. As for Wayne and I, we have no problem with the traffic. The buses come after we go to work and before we get home.

Nice try, scrambling FCC official.

There's only one way in and out of the school on Oak Street, so it's already very congested. A survey of the local civic association found that over 75% of the neighborhood residents either oppose the expansion or have serious reservations. FCC has known for years that there would be significant community opposition to Mt. Daniel's expansion, but they went ahead and budgeted for it. They've claimed that they are open other ideas like retrofitting an older building in FCC, but really just assumed they could cut a back-door deal with Fairfax County zoning officials. Fortunately, the residents have demanded a public hearing and a transparent decision-making process.

There's no benefit to local county residents from allowing FCC to add another 66,000 square feet at that site and move another grade to Mt. Daniel. Having additional houses and taxpaying residents on the site would be much better than busing in hundreds of children daily from another jurisdiction. FCCPS officials have been arrogant and sneaky. Time to shut this down and for FCC to wake up and find a new facility for these kids within FCC, not Fairfax County.

You are going to lose. And I enjoy that, because you sound like a bitch.

-Not a FCC resident

I wouldn't be so sure about that. There's a public hearing later this month, and the Board of Supervisors has already acted to extend the review period for the FCCPS application to October 2015.

The irony is that there's been discussion within FCC about what to do with Mt. Daniel for years, but little outreach to residents in the community where it's located. People are only now starting to mobilize.

Oh, and thanks for the personal insult. Right back at you, dipshit.

LOL. "There's a public hearing!" That's cute. Best of luck hahaha

I know personally of people who will vote against Foust this fall if he doesn't stop it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The expansion should be denied. It's already a congested area with narrow streets and, quite frankly, FCCPS takes over the area around the school for special events with very little consideration of area residents. FCC needs to build vertically within the city limits, not further disrupt a residential county neighborhood. The city wanted more residents to expand the tax base, and now wants the county to shoulder the consequences of its poor planning.

You do realize the school was there WAY before any of our houses. They've been a pretty good neighbor especially considering what might end up there if the school left. And they've been meeting with us on Oak Street since last year. As for special events, they don't let parents park there right now. They have a police officer at the bottom of the hill to allow only those of us who live here in. As for Wayne and I, we have no problem with the traffic. The buses come after we go to work and before we get home.

Nice try, scrambling FCC official.

There's only one way in and out of the school on Oak Street, so it's already very congested. A survey of the local civic association found that over 75% of the neighborhood residents either oppose the expansion or have serious reservations. FCC has known for years that there would be significant community opposition to Mt. Daniel's expansion, but they went ahead and budgeted for it. They've claimed that they are open other ideas like retrofitting an older building in FCC, but really just assumed they could cut a back-door deal with Fairfax County zoning officials. Fortunately, the residents have demanded a public hearing and a transparent decision-making process.

There's no benefit to local county residents from allowing FCC to add another 66,000 square feet at that site and move another grade to Mt. Daniel. Having additional houses and taxpaying residents on the site would be much better than busing in hundreds of children daily from another jurisdiction. FCCPS officials have been arrogant and sneaky. Time to shut this down and for FCC to wake up and find a new facility for these kids within FCC, not Fairfax County.

You are going to lose. And I enjoy that, because you sound like a bitch.

-Not a FCC resident

I wouldn't be so sure about that. There's a public hearing later this month, and the Board of Supervisors has already acted to extend the review period for the FCCPS application to October 2015.

The irony is that there's been discussion within FCC about what to do with Mt. Daniel for years, but little outreach to residents in the community where it's located. People are only now starting to mobilize.

Oh, and thanks for the personal insult. Right back at you, dipshit.

LOL. "There's a public hearing!" That's cute. Best of luck hahaha

I'm new to this discussion but there is an actual fairfax county public hearing sign on Woodland street where the school property backs up to. I noticed it on the way to the pool. I believe it states June 24th. I guess it would take further looking into if it was in relation to the school but since there is nothing else around it that seems to warrant a public hearing the above poster just may be correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The expansion should be denied. It's already a congested area with narrow streets and, quite frankly, FCCPS takes over the area around the school for special events with very little consideration of area residents. FCC needs to build vertically within the city limits, not further disrupt a residential county neighborhood. The city wanted more residents to expand the tax base, and now wants the county to shoulder the consequences of its poor planning.

You do realize the school was there WAY before any of our houses. They've been a pretty good neighbor especially considering what might end up there if the school left. And they've been meeting with us on Oak Street since last year. As for special events, they don't let parents park there right now. They have a police officer at the bottom of the hill to allow only those of us who live here in. As for Wayne and I, we have no problem with the traffic. The buses come after we go to work and before we get home.

Nice try, scrambling FCC official.

There's only one way in and out of the school on Oak Street, so it's already very congested. A survey of the local civic association found that over 75% of the neighborhood residents either oppose the expansion or have serious reservations. FCC has known for years that there would be significant community opposition to Mt. Daniel's expansion, but they went ahead and budgeted for it. They've claimed that they are open other ideas like retrofitting an older building in FCC, but really just assumed they could cut a back-door deal with Fairfax County zoning officials. Fortunately, the residents have demanded a public hearing and a transparent decision-making process.

There's no benefit to local county residents from allowing FCC to add another 66,000 square feet at that site and move another grade to Mt. Daniel. Having additional houses and taxpaying residents on the site would be much better than busing in hundreds of children daily from another jurisdiction. FCCPS officials have been arrogant and sneaky. Time to shut this down and for FCC to wake up and find a new facility for these kids within FCC, not Fairfax County.

You are going to lose. And I enjoy that, because you sound like a bitch.

-Not a FCC resident

I wouldn't be so sure about that. There's a public hearing later this month, and the Board of Supervisors has already acted to extend the review period for the FCCPS application to October 2015.

The irony is that there's been discussion within FCC about what to do with Mt. Daniel for years, but little outreach to residents in the community where it's located. People are only now starting to mobilize.

Oh, and thanks for the personal insult. Right back at you, dipshit.

LOL. "There's a public hearing!" That's cute. Best of luck hahaha

I'm new to this discussion but there is an actual fairfax county public hearing sign on Woodland street where the school property backs up to. I noticed it on the way to the pool. I believe it states June 24th. I guess it would take further looking into if it was in relation to the school but since there is nothing else around it that seems to warrant a public hearing the above poster just may be correct.

There's definitely a public hearing on the FCCPS application on the 24th. I believe the "LOL" was meant to suggest that public hearings are charades.

And he/she may be right, but there is substantial community opposition to this proposal, and every Board of Supervisor seat is up for re-election this November.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The expansion should be denied. It's already a congested area with narrow streets and, quite frankly, FCCPS takes over the area around the school for special events with very little consideration of area residents. FCC needs to build vertically within the city limits, not further disrupt a residential county neighborhood. The city wanted more residents to expand the tax base, and now wants the county to shoulder the consequences of its poor planning.

You do realize the school was there WAY before any of our houses. They've been a pretty good neighbor especially considering what might end up there if the school left. And they've been meeting with us on Oak Street since last year. As for special events, they don't let parents park there right now. They have a police officer at the bottom of the hill to allow only those of us who live here in. As for Wayne and I, we have no problem with the traffic. The buses come after we go to work and before we get home.

Who the heck is Wayne?

[Anonymous]

Mt. Daniel is a tax-exempt property assessed at $4.6 million. Wouldn't Fairfax County be better off with tax-paying residents on that land than a tax-exempt school that FC students don't attend? And why can't FCC sell it to a developer (it's already zoned R-4) for a nice profit and build their own school in Falls Church City?

The whole thing seems shady to me. FCCPS hires an outside firm to lobby the planning commission to approve a request to expand Mt. Daniel and then what happens? Do the county employees who work for the commission end up joining those same consulting firms in a few years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mt. Daniel is a tax-exempt property assessed at $4.6 million. Wouldn't Fairfax County be better off with tax-paying residents on that land than a tax-exempt school that FC students don't attend? And why can't FCC sell it to a developer (it's already zoned R-4) for a nice profit and build their own school in Falls Church City?

The whole thing seems shady to me. FCCPS hires an outside firm to lobby the planning commission to approve a request to expand Mt. Daniel and then what happens? Do the county employees who work for the commission end up joining those same consulting firms in a few years?

+1

[Anonymous]

The MD school plans have been in the works for over 2 years. The current school is 100+ students over capacity, no longer has a library or music room b/c they are now classrooms, and is in complete violation of the ADA laws and other safety laws, including lacking sprinklers for fires. The school is very committed to reducing street traffic and now staggers classroom events, instructs people not to park on Oak (which is still a public street btw), and bus families in for any community event while closing off the street to anyone that doesn't live there. I don't understand why neighbors waited until the 11th hour to object to the renovation. The school was there when they bought on Oak Street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The MD school plans have been in the works for over 2 years. The current school is 100+ students over capacity, no longer has a library or music room b/c they are now classrooms, and is in complete violation of the ADA laws and other safety laws, including lacking sprinklers for fires. The school is very committed to reducing street traffic and now staggers classroom events, instructs people not to park on Oak (which is still a public street btw), and bus families in for any community event while closing off the street to anyone that doesn't live there. I don't understand why neighbors waited until the 11th hour to object to the renovation. The school was there when they bought on Oak Street.

The area already feels like it's under occupation during Mt. D. school events (they aren't really "community events" as they aren't held for members of the local community or their children), FCC made little effort to engage with the local residents (they consulted primarily with FCC residents and then hired consultants to lobby Fairfax County zoning officials), and people are only now realizing how things would change for the worse if the school's footprint is significantly expanded. You didn't mention that the only way in and out of the school is on a single county street, as FCC previously blocked off access to the school from a FCC street to limit traffic in the FCC neighborhood.

There will be no zoning committee decision until this fall, after the 2015-16 school year has started, so FC residents should make their opposition known now and FCCPS should continue to explore other options within FCC limits. Fairfax already agreed to give FCC more land as part of the water deal, so why can't a new school be built on that site? FCC wants to tout the advantages of a small city, but impose the externalities of a big suburban-style school entirely on county residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The MD school plans have been in the works for over 2 years. The current school is 100+ students over capacity, no longer has a library or music room b/c they are now classrooms, and is in complete violation of the ADA laws and other safety laws, including lacking sprinklers for fires. The school is very committed to reducing street traffic and now staggers classroom events, instructs people not to park on Oak (which is still a public street btw), and bus families in for any community event while closing off the street to anyone that doesn't live there. I don't understand why neighbors waited until the 11th hour to object to the renovation. The school was there when they bought on Oak Street.

I don't understand how FCC could try to exclude neighbors from the process and then complain that it's the 11th hour when they are finally given an opportunity to make their views heard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax already agreed to give FCC more land as part of the water deal, so why can't a new school be built on that site? FCC wants to tout the advantages of a small city, but impose the externalities of a big suburban-style school entirely on county residents.

Would you want your 5-year-old going to school on Leesburg Pike?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax already agreed to give FCC more land as part of the water deal, so why can't a new school be built on that site? FCC wants to tout the advantages of a small city, but impose the externalities of a big suburban-style school entirely on county residents.

Would you want your 5-year-old going to school on Leesburg Pike?

Why not?

https://www.saintjamesschool.org

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I don't understand is why FCC wants to add a grade and so greatly expand Mt. Daniel in Fairfax. Fairfax just gave over 90 acres to FCC as part of the water deal (as an aside, our water rates are going to be lowered now that we are served by the county rather than the city!). This land is right next to the middle school and high school. Why not build schools there instead of greatly expanding in a residential area? I suspect that they want to use all of that for commercial development but it seems disingenuous to state that they have no other choices as to where to expand.

FCC is a small jurisdiction with overhead costs and high taxes. Expanding Mt. Daniel is less expensive than other options in FCC, and some FCC taxpayers complained about the lower costs associated with even a renovation.

To speak to a PP's comment, the planning staff in Fairfax support the FCCPS application. It's just people who live in the neighborhood who are opposed to the increased congestion, but why should their views matter if FCCPS has hired expensive "experts" to grease the wheels?

I don't think Fairfax County residents should pay the price to save FCC residents money. The residents in the neighborhood who oppose this should get really vocal about this, especially if there is a viable alternative in FCC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The MD school plans have been in the works for over 2 years. The current school is 100+ students over capacity, no longer has a library or music room b/c they are now classrooms, and is in complete violation of the ADA laws and other safety laws, including lacking sprinklers for fires. The school is very committed to reducing street traffic and now staggers classroom events, instructs people not to park on Oak (which is still a public street btw), and bus families in for any community event while closing off the street to anyone that doesn't live there. I don't understand why neighbors waited until the 11th hour to object to the renovation. The school was there when they bought on Oak Street.

The school may have been there, but it has become more and more crowded. As far as the school being 100+ over capacity, there are many schools in Fairfax County that are multiple time that over capacity. Fairfax County needs to spend its resources taking care of those schools. My kids were zoned for a school in Fairfax County with no library, tech lab....and kids eating lunch in their classrooms, where were the FCC residents with help to solve that problem? With all the budget concerns and huge influx of high needs demographics into Fairfax County, the needs of FCC residents should take a backseat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I don't understand is why FCC wants to add a grade and so greatly expand Mt. Daniel in Fairfax. Fairfax just gave over 90 acres to FCC as part of the water deal (as an aside, our water rates are going to be lowered now that we are served by the county rather than the city!). This land is right next to the middle school and high school. Why not build schools there instead of greatly expanding in a residential area? I suspect that they want to use all of that for commercial development but it seems disingenuous to state that they have no other choices as to where to expand.

FCC is a small jurisdiction with overhead costs and high taxes. Expanding Mt. Daniel is less expensive than other options in FCC, and some FCC taxpayers complained about the lower costs associated with even a renovation.

To speak to a PP's comment, the planning staff in Fairfax support the FCCPS application. It's just people who live in the neighborhood who are opposed to the increased congestion, but why should their views matter if FCCPS has hired expensive "experts" to grease the wheels?

I don't think Fairfax County residents should pay the price to save FCC residents money. The residents in the neighborhood who oppose this should get really vocal about this, especially if there is a viable alternative in FCC.

+1000. There is always an alternative. The FCC residents just don't want to pay for it when they can shift the costs to the county. They want a tax-exempt school in the county so they can add tax-generating housing or businesses in the city. But the county is financially strapped and there is no reason to keep subsidizing FCC.