Show me the law that says school boards cannot change boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people are not unreasonable. I think in FCPS that lack of transparency has caused a lot of problems. Most people want to stay where they are. Yes, it does affect property values, but I think that school and community loyalty is the bigger issue.

People pay closer attention to what the SB is doing now, but in the past, some boundary redistrictings seemed to come out of nowhere. My community went through a middle and two high school redistrictings over the last twenty years. Two of them involved new schools and did not take anyone by surprise. The third was totally a surprise to our community. We ended up being unaffected, but we had to fight for it. Our property values would not likely have been affected as one option was actually a "better rated" school than the one we are assigned and the other was quite similar. Distance and community were the driving factors to us.

Agree. People in Fairfax also get hot about it because, as far as I know, there's never been a redistricting that has negatively affected a SB member's property values.

I sense a Kathy Smith story ready to be shared.

Oops, well I was right, just didn’t refresh the thread in time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any proof this actually slaughters home values? I highly doubt that’s true and have seen no evidence. Sounds like hyperbolic hysteria.

The South Lakes redistricting seemed to have a pretty big impact on home values in the area that had been zoned to Madison, though some of this was going on around the time of the recession, so it’s not easy to draw an easy line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Aldrin and Armstrong should be feeding into South Lakes. That frees up more than enough room at HHS for western GF. It will be a quicker commute for them anyway.

Seriously? Both are closer to Herndon High and the commute is much shorter. Especially, in the morning. How could you possibly figure a quicker commute. They would have to cross the DTR which has heavy, heavy traffic in the morning. It will be worse when the Reston Town Center Metro opens.

I meant a quicker commute for western GF families to Herndon HS.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think people have a right to a particular school assignment but, let’s be honest, it would suck to buy within the boundaries for a high-performing AP school and then get moved involuntarily to an IB school when you had no interest in that program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Aldrin and Armstrong should be feeding into South Lakes. That frees up more than enough room at HHS for western GF. It will be a quicker commute for them anyway.

Seriously? Both are closer to Herndon High and the commute is much shorter. Especially, in the morning. How could you possibly figure a quicker commute. They would have to cross the DTR which has heavy, heavy traffic in the morning. It will be worse when the Reston Town Center Metro opens.

I meant a quicker commute for western GF families to Herndon HS.

So, why should Aldrin and Armstrong feed into South Lakes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think people have a right to a particular school assignment but, let’s be honest, it would suck to buy within the boundaries for a high-performing AP school and then get moved involuntarily to an IB school when you had no interest in that program.

This. I don’t think we live in an area that is going to be redistricted but you never know. We paid too much for our house because we wanted an AP school and choose Madison for commute reasons. I’d be upset if we were redistricted to Marshall or South Lakes because I’m not interested in IB. It’s not about house values. I’ve seen people post responses telling people they should have bought in district when they are complaining schools are closed to pupil placing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you actually don't know the answer, I don't think you should be calling anyone stupid.

School assignments are closely connected to property values. If you paid a lot for a house in one zone, of course you would object to being rezoned in a way that devalues your house, which is likely your largest asset. It has nothing to do with what people would agree is best in the abstract, or with what is legally allowed. But you knew that.

Let’s say your house value declines because the housing market tanks. Are you entitled to sell your house at a greater price than you bought it for? Are you going to yell and stomp your foot at the unfortunate luck?

That’s what a boundary change is. The luck of the draw. You need to accept that.

First, I'm entitled to stomp my foot at anything. Doing so doesn't hurt anybody. Your main complaint in this thread is about "throwing a fit" or otherwise protesting boundary changes, which people have a right to do. It is okay to advocate for what you want. You may lose, and yes you have to accept that once it actually happens.

Second, it's not luck of the draw. It's policy choices made by elected officials. To the extent policy choices seem poised to cause the housing market to tank, I am absolutely entitled to be upset, and to fight for change before that happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think people have a right to a particular school assignment but, let’s be honest, it would suck to buy within the boundaries for a high-performing AP school and then get moved involuntarily to an IB school when you had no interest in that program.

This. I don’t think we live in an area that is going to be redistricted but you never know. We paid too much for our house because we wanted an AP school and choose Madison for commute reasons. I’d be upset if we were redistricted to Marshall or South Lakes because I’m not interested in IB. It’s not about house values. I’ve seen people post responses telling people they should have bought in district when they are complaining schools are closed to pupil placing.

Yep - it becomes even more of an issue when schools start closing to transfers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Aldrin and Armstrong should be feeding into South Lakes. That frees up more than enough room at HHS for western GF. It will be a quicker commute for them anyway.

Seriously? Both are closer to Herndon High and the commute is much shorter. Especially, in the morning. How could you possibly figure a quicker commute. They would have to cross the DTR which has heavy, heavy traffic in the morning. It will be worse when the Reston Town Center Metro opens.

I meant a quicker commute for western GF families to Herndon HS.

So, why should Aldrin and Armstrong feed into South Lakes?

Because it makes more sense for the Reston community to be together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you actually don't know the answer, I don't think you should be calling anyone stupid.

School assignments are closely connected to property values. If you paid a lot for a house in one zone, of course you would object to being rezoned in a way that devalues your house, which is likely your largest asset. It has nothing to do with what people would agree is best in the abstract, or with what is legally allowed. But you knew that.

Let’s say your house value declines because the housing market tanks. Are you entitled to sell your house at a greater price than you bought it for? Are you going to yell and stomp your foot at the unfortunate luck?

That’s what a boundary change is. The luck of the draw. You need to accept that.

First, I'm entitled to stomp my foot at anything. Doing so doesn't hurt anybody. Your main complaint in this thread is about "throwing a fit" or otherwise protesting boundary changes, which people have a right to do. It is okay to advocate for what you want. You may lose, and yes you have to accept that once it actually happens.

Second, it's not luck of the draw. It's policy choices made by elected officials. To the extent policy choices seem poised to cause the housing market to tank, I am absolutely entitled to be upset, and to fight for change before that happens.

Your property value should not be part of the school board decision making process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you actually don't know the answer, I don't think you should be calling anyone stupid.

School assignments are closely connected to property values. If you paid a lot for a house in one zone, of course you would object to being rezoned in a way that devalues your house, which is likely your largest asset. It has nothing to do with what people would agree is best in the abstract, or with what is legally allowed. But you knew that.

Let’s say your house value declines because the housing market tanks. Are you entitled to sell your house at a greater price than you bought it for? Are you going to yell and stomp your foot at the unfortunate luck?

That’s what a boundary change is. The luck of the draw. You need to accept that.

First, I'm entitled to stomp my foot at anything. Doing so doesn't hurt anybody. Your main complaint in this thread is about "throwing a fit" or otherwise protesting boundary changes, which people have a right to do. It is okay to advocate for what you want. You may lose, and yes you have to accept that once it actually happens.

Second, it's not luck of the draw. It's policy choices made by elected officials. To the extent policy choices seem poised to cause the housing market to tank, I am absolutely entitled to be upset, and to fight for change before that happens.

Your property value should not be part of the school board decision making process.

I keep hearing people like Pat Hynes say this, yet she did nothing over her entire tenure on the SB that didn’t serve to protect the property values of people in Reston and Vienna at the expense of others. If they really want to change the expectations maybe the people who talk a good game have to lead by example.

[Anonymous]

Which houses/neighborhoods in Vienna are being redistricted? I can’t find it online. I am the poster that said we bought for AP and now these posters have me wondering if we are in a neighborhood that needs to be concerned. My kids attend Wolftrap and I see that was mentioned in a previous post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which houses/neighborhoods in Vienna are being redistricted? I can’t find it online. I am the poster that said we bought for AP and now these posters have me wondering if we are in a neighborhood that needs to be concerned. My kids attend Wolftrap and I see that was mentioned in a previous post.

I mentioned it. I really don't know much about the future. I just know that during the South Lakes redistricting that there was a VERY small cohort of Wolf Trap kids that were redistricted from Madison to South Lakes. I remember reading and watching them speak at the meetings. It was a neighborhood that had always been at Madison and Stu insisted on sending them to South Lakes. I think it was a very small group and I could not understand why they had to move them away from the kids they had been with since K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which houses/neighborhoods in Vienna are being redistricted? I can’t find it online. I am the poster that said we bought for AP and now these posters have me wondering if we are in a neighborhood that needs to be concerned. My kids attend Wolftrap and I see that was mentioned in a previous post.

I mentioned it. I really don't know much about the future. I just know that during the South Lakes redistricting that there was a VERY small cohort of Wolf Trap kids that were redistricted from Madison to South Lakes. I remember reading and watching them speak at the meetings. It was a neighborhood that had always been at Madison and Stu insisted on sending them to South Lakes. I think it was a very small group and I could not understand why they had to move them away from the kids they had been with since K.

They were going to be moving away from the "kids they had been with since K" either way. It was the only part of Wolftrap ES that fed into Thoreau, rather than Kilmer, and FCPS rezoned them to Hughes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which houses/neighborhoods in Vienna are being redistricted? I can’t find it online. I am the poster that said we bought for AP and now these posters have me wondering if we are in a neighborhood that needs to be concerned. My kids attend Wolftrap and I see that was mentioned in a previous post.

I mentioned it. I really don't know much about the future. I just know that during the South Lakes redistricting that there was a VERY small cohort of Wolf Trap kids that were redistricted from Madison to South Lakes. I remember reading and watching them speak at the meetings. It was a neighborhood that had always been at Madison and Stu insisted on sending them to South Lakes. I think it was a very small group and I could not understand why they had to move them away from the kids they had been with since K.

They were going to be moving away from the "kids they had been with since K" either way. It was the only part of Wolftrap ES that fed into Thoreau, rather than Kilmer, and FCPS rezoned them to Hughes.

^ And then the younger kids in that neighborhood all ended up at Sunrise Valley/Hughes/South Lakes - where they could stay with the same cohort of kids from K-12.