FCPS comprehensive boundary review

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are facilities and transportation issues and fcps has staff in those departments. No need to hire consultants! Just ask your professional staff to develop a sensible, no -political plan and follow that/

Thru Consulting is going to use modeling software that it didn’t develop but is licensing from another vendor. It’s unclear why FCPS can’t just license that software directly and cut out the middleman. Maybe it’s just to create the impression that it’s getting independent advice, but then it’s also clear that Thru Consulting and FCPS staff are joined at the hip as the recommendations are developed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loudoun builds new schools frequently and seems to rezone without fanfare and hoopla. FCPS should just do whatever they are doing.

Rezoning without new schools is a different dynamic than rezoning with new schools. It’s mostly stick and no carrot.

[Anonymous]

Decades ago when FCPS used to make county-wide adjustments, the adjustments were developed and presented by FCPS staff. In essence, each regional superintendent would present recommendations to the School Board, and coordinate with other regional superintendents to the extent changes involved schools in different regions. And then the School Board would accept, adjust, or reject the recommendations.

FCPS has a much bigger budget and more staff than it had in the past, yet it contracts with a third party to do work staff did in the past. It’s seemingly either an acknowledgment that current staff is less competent, an attempt to avoid accountability, or both.

[Anonymous]

Loudoun has land to build new schools. Not comparable at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Decades ago when FCPS used to make county-wide adjustments, the adjustments were developed and presented by FCPS staff. In essence, each regional superintendent would present recommendations to the School Board, and coordinate with other regional superintendents to the extent changes involved schools in different regions. And then the School Board would accept, adjust, or reject the recommendations.

FCPS has a much bigger budget and more staff than it had in the past, yet it contracts with a third party to do work staff did in the past. It’s seemingly either an acknowledgment that current staff is less competent, an attempt to avoid accountability, or both.

You know what happened in fcps forty years ago?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Decades ago when FCPS used to make county-wide adjustments, the adjustments were developed and presented by FCPS staff. In essence, each regional superintendent would present recommendations to the School Board, and coordinate with other regional superintendents to the extent changes involved schools in different regions. And then the School Board would accept, adjust, or reject the recommendations.

FCPS has a much bigger budget and more staff than it had in the past, yet it contracts with a third party to do work staff did in the past. It’s seemingly either an acknowledgment that current staff is less competent, an attempt to avoid accountability, or both.

You know what happened in fcps forty years ago?!

I was curious to understand how some of the existing boundaries were created and read some older Board minutes, which are online and searchable.

Part of my interests was piqued when the School Board members kept claiming the boundary “policy” hadn’t been updated for 40 years. That was false - they have tinkered with the policy numerous times over the past 40 years. However, the last time there were actual boundary changes affecting schools all over the county (as opposed to narrower boundary studies) was in the mid-80s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loudoun builds new schools frequently and seems to rezone without fanfare and hoopla. FCPS should just do whatever they are doing.

Rezoning without new schools is a different dynamic than rezoning with new schools. It’s mostly stick and no carrot.

What about the new Western high school they have been promising for 10 years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loudoun builds new schools frequently and seems to rezone without fanfare and hoopla. FCPS should just do whatever they are doing.

Rezoning without new schools is a different dynamic than rezoning with new schools. It’s mostly stick and no carrot.

What about the new Western high school they have been promising for 10 years?

2021 bond had $13.5 mm for sure acquisition. Does the board even think about that school anymore? Have they just used that money for other things?

[Anonymous]

How do you know if the school you are currently zoned for would change? The next high school over from us is absolutely horrible. We bought our house because of the schools. If we we rezoned we would have to move. This is terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you know if the school you are currently zoned for would change? The next high school over from us is absolutely horrible. We bought our house because of the schools. If we we rezoned we would have to move. This is terrible.

When it's all said and done, the currently bad schools will likely be far improved with the new influx and wouldn't necessitate moving. Just something to consider long-term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you know if the school you are currently zoned for would change? The next high school over from us is absolutely horrible. We bought our house because of the schools. If we we rezoned we would have to move. This is terrible.

When it's all said and done, the currently bad schools will likely be far improved with the new influx and wouldn't necessitate moving. Just something to consider long-term.

What an unserious post. No one buys that, even the school board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you know if the school you are currently zoned for would change? The next high school over from us is absolutely horrible. We bought our house because of the schools. If we we rezoned we would have to move. This is terrible.

When it's all said and done, the currently bad schools will likely be far improved with the new influx and wouldn't necessitate moving. Just something to consider long-term.

What an unserious post. No one buys that, even the school board.

How so? Imagine one low-income complex gets moved from school A to school B, and a large SFH neighborhood gets moved from school C to school A.

School A test scores would get quite the jump and GreatSchools score would go up accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Loudoun builds new schools frequently and seems to rezone without fanfare and hoopla. FCPS should just do whatever they are doing.

I’m guessing loudoun schools don’t have the same disparities that FCPS schools do. Also, this is not a boundary review based on a new school.

Your logic is not logicing.

This - Loudoun is overall made up of wealthier households that support high achieving schools across the board with the exception of the Sterling pocket. Completely different when you’re moving from high quality school to high quality school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Decades ago when FCPS used to make county-wide adjustments, the adjustments were developed and presented by FCPS staff. In essence, each regional superintendent would present recommendations to the School Board, and coordinate with other regional superintendents to the extent changes involved schools in different regions. And then the School Board would accept, adjust, or reject the recommendations.

FCPS has a much bigger budget and more staff than it had in the past, yet it contracts with a third party to do work staff did in the past. It’s seemingly either an acknowledgment that current staff is less competent, an attempt to avoid accountability, or both.

It’s surely both, but neither negate the justification for the review.

[Anonymous]

We bought this exact house for the programs/electives that our high school offers. The next school over does not have those programs and is not nearly as high performing as the school we are slated for.