School Board Forum on "Boundary and Capacity"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

We all know you really want this to happen, but you are just flat out lying when you say the toll on kids could be negligible. Even in the best case scenario, the toll on kids, especially the poor, is immense. But don't take my word for it, go back and listen to the board discuss it last week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

We all know you really want this to happen, but you are just flat out lying when you say the toll on kids could be negligible. Even in the best case scenario, the toll on kids, especially the poor, is immense. But don't take my word for it, go back and listen to the board discuss it last week.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

If they change enough boundaries at the same time grandfathering goes out the window because they won’t have enough buses to run routes to multiple schools from the same time.

And you seem to be inferring that they will prioritize ending split feeders when they’ve created more split feeders relatively recently on purpose (for example, turning Thoreau into a 3-way split feeder).

The vast majority of people do not want boundaries changed, but instead for FCPS to prioritize adding capacity at the schools that need it. These new SB members did not tout during their campaigns that their goal would be to reshuffle kids around the entire county in the name of equity, efficiency, or whatever other buzzword they might come up with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

If done wrong, we irreparably f up FCPS forever. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

If they change enough boundaries at the same time grandfathering goes out the window because they won’t have enough buses to run routes to multiple schools from the same time.

And you seem to be inferring that they will prioritize ending split feeders when they’ve created more split feeders relatively recently on purpose (for example, turning Thoreau into a 3-way split feeder).

The vast majority of people do not want boundaries changed, but instead for FCPS to prioritize adding capacity at the schools that need it. These new SB members did not tout during their campaigns that their goal would be to reshuffle kids around the entire county in the name of equity, efficiency, or whatever other buzzword they might come up with.

I would prefer that the school redistrict and use the space that they have. If there are parts of the county where over crowding cannot be mitigated with a boundary shift then add capacity at those schools. But I don't think there are too many places where that is actually the case. As for grandfathering, I think that FCPS can allow kids to remain at schools but parents become responsible for providing transportation.

I would love for the AAP Centers to go away. I would love for FCPS to do something about the split feeders. I think doing a county wide redistricting would cause a decent amount of upheaval all at once, which I doubt the board is willing to tolerate, but that it would probably be the least painful way of addressing the multitude of issues with over crowding and under capacity schools because everyone is being hit at once instead of the selective targeting of specific communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

If they change enough boundaries at the same time grandfathering goes out the window because they won’t have enough buses to run routes to multiple schools from the same time.

And you seem to be inferring that they will prioritize ending split feeders when they’ve created more split feeders relatively recently on purpose (for example, turning Thoreau into a 3-way split feeder).

The vast majority of people do not want boundaries changed, but instead for FCPS to prioritize adding capacity at the schools that need it. These new SB members did not tout during their campaigns that their goal would be to reshuffle kids around the entire county in the name of equity, efficiency, or whatever other buzzword they might come up with.

I would prefer that the school redistrict and use the space that they have. If there are parts of the county where over crowding cannot be mitigated with a boundary shift then add capacity at those schools. But I don't think there are too many places where that is actually the case. As for grandfathering, I think that FCPS can allow kids to remain at schools but parents become responsible for providing transportation.

I would love for the AAP Centers to go away. I would love for FCPS to do something about the split feeders. I think doing a county wide redistricting would cause a decent amount of upheaval all at once, which I doubt the board is willing to tolerate, but that it would probably be the least painful way of addressing the multitude of issues with over crowding and under capacity schools because everyone is being hit at once instead of the selective targeting of specific communities.

These may be your personal preferences but it’s not what community residents made clear they want when the consultants retained by FCPS engaged in outreach. But, of course, if the School Board wants to reshuffle kids all over the county, whether in the name of equity or otherwise, they’ll pretend this outreach never occurred.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

If they change enough boundaries at the same time grandfathering goes out the window because they won’t have enough buses to run routes to multiple schools from the same time.

And you seem to be inferring that they will prioritize ending split feeders when they’ve created more split feeders relatively recently on purpose (for example, turning Thoreau into a 3-way split feeder).

The vast majority of people do not want boundaries changed, but instead for FCPS to prioritize adding capacity at the schools that need it. These new SB members did not tout during their campaigns that their goal would be to reshuffle kids around the entire county in the name of equity, efficiency, or whatever other buzzword they might come up with.

I would prefer that the school redistrict and use the space that they have. If there are parts of the county where over crowding cannot be mitigated with a boundary shift then add capacity at those schools. But I don't think there are too many places where that is actually the case. As for grandfathering, I think that FCPS can allow kids to remain at schools but parents become responsible for providing transportation.

I would love for the AAP Centers to go away. I would love for FCPS to do something about the split feeders. I think doing a county wide redistricting would cause a decent amount of upheaval all at once, which I doubt the board is willing to tolerate, but that it would probably be the least painful way of addressing the multitude of issues with over crowding and under capacity schools because everyone is being hit at once instead of the selective targeting of specific communities.

These may be your personal preferences but it’s not what community residents made clear they want when the consultants retained by FCPS engaged in outreach. But, of course, if the School Board wants to reshuffle kids all over the county, whether in the name of equity or otherwise, they’ll pretend this outreach never occurred.

Absolutely. +1. And it is laughable that the prior poster thinks a county wide redistricting would be the “least painful way”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

There’s scant evidence these changes would be “done right.”

We currently have an ES in Herndon with 600 kids and no projected growth getting built out to 1000 seats. We have Frisch ramming through a 1000-seat brand new elementary school in Dunn Loring surrounded by multiple under-enrolled schools. Overcrowding high schools, on the other hand, get overlooked and told there’s not enough money.

No one on the School Board challenges any of this and FCPS staff plow ahead because they think it’s what the School Board wants.

And these are the people you think can pull off county-wide changes? At this point, we need to engage in damage control, not give them a mandate to make an even bigger hash of things.

[Anonymous]

Just redo wester fairfax area for now - Westfield, Chantilly, Centreville. Centreville will finish its renovation in 4 years and then make the huge shift then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

If they change enough boundaries at the same time grandfathering goes out the window because they won’t have enough buses to run routes to multiple schools from the same time.

And you seem to be inferring that they will prioritize ending split feeders when they’ve created more split feeders relatively recently on purpose (for example, turning Thoreau into a 3-way split feeder).

The vast majority of people do not want boundaries changed, but instead for FCPS to prioritize adding capacity at the schools that need it. These new SB members did not tout during their campaigns that their goal would be to reshuffle kids around the entire county in the name of equity, efficiency, or whatever other buzzword they might come up with.

I would prefer that the school redistrict and use the space that they have. If there are parts of the county where over crowding cannot be mitigated with a boundary shift then add capacity at those schools. But I don't think there are too many places where that is actually the case. As for grandfathering, I think that FCPS can allow kids to remain at schools but parents become responsible for providing transportation.

I would love for the AAP Centers to go away. I would love for FCPS to do something about the split feeders. I think doing a county wide redistricting would cause a decent amount of upheaval all at once, which I doubt the board is willing to tolerate, but that it would probably be the least painful way of addressing the multitude of issues with over crowding and under capacity schools because everyone is being hit at once instead of the selective targeting of specific communities.

These may be your personal preferences but it’s not what community residents made clear they want when the consultants retained by FCPS engaged in outreach. But, of course, if the School Board wants to reshuffle kids all over the county, whether in the name of equity or otherwise, they’ll pretend this outreach never occurred.

Absolutely. +1. And it is laughable that the prior poster thinks a county wide redistricting would be the “least painful way”.

It would be least painful in that it would die on the drawing board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

If they change enough boundaries at the same time grandfathering goes out the window because they won’t have enough buses to run routes to multiple schools from the same time.

And you seem to be inferring that they will prioritize ending split feeders when they’ve created more split feeders relatively recently on purpose (for example, turning Thoreau into a 3-way split feeder).

The vast majority of people do not want boundaries changed, but instead for FCPS to prioritize adding capacity at the schools that need it. These new SB members did not tout during their campaigns that their goal would be to reshuffle kids around the entire county in the name of equity, efficiency, or whatever other buzzword they might come up with.

I would prefer that the school redistrict and use the space that they have. If there are parts of the county where over crowding cannot be mitigated with a boundary shift then add capacity at those schools. But I don't think there are too many places where that is actually the case. As for grandfathering, I think that FCPS can allow kids to remain at schools but parents become responsible for providing transportation.

I would love for the AAP Centers to go away. I would love for FCPS to do something about the split feeders. I think doing a county wide redistricting would cause a decent amount of upheaval all at once, which I doubt the board is willing to tolerate, but that it would probably be the least painful way of addressing the multitude of issues with over crowding and under capacity schools because everyone is being hit at once instead of the selective targeting of specific communities.

These may be your personal preferences but it’s not what community residents made clear they want when the consultants retained by FCPS engaged in outreach. But, of course, if the School Board wants to reshuffle kids all over the county, whether in the name of equity or otherwise, they’ll pretend this outreach never occurred.

Care to share a link to this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

If they change enough boundaries at the same time grandfathering goes out the window because they won’t have enough buses to run routes to multiple schools from the same time.

And you seem to be inferring that they will prioritize ending split feeders when they’ve created more split feeders relatively recently on purpose (for example, turning Thoreau into a 3-way split feeder).

The vast majority of people do not want boundaries changed, but instead for FCPS to prioritize adding capacity at the schools that need it. These new SB members did not tout during their campaigns that their goal would be to reshuffle kids around the entire county in the name of equity, efficiency, or whatever other buzzword they might come up with.

I would prefer that the school redistrict and use the space that they have. If there are parts of the county where over crowding cannot be mitigated with a boundary shift then add capacity at those schools. But I don't think there are too many places where that is actually the case. As for grandfathering, I think that FCPS can allow kids to remain at schools but parents become responsible for providing transportation.

I would love for the AAP Centers to go away. I would love for FCPS to do something about the split feeders. I think doing a county wide redistricting would cause a decent amount of upheaval all at once, which I doubt the board is willing to tolerate, but that it would probably be the least painful way of addressing the multitude of issues with over crowding and under capacity schools because everyone is being hit at once instead of the selective targeting of specific communities.

These may be your personal preferences but it’s not what community residents made clear they want when the consultants retained by FCPS engaged in outreach. But, of course, if the School Board wants to reshuffle kids all over the county, whether in the name of equity or otherwise, they’ll pretend this outreach never occurred.

Care to share a link to this?

Do a Google search for FCPS and 2021 Boundary Study Report.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just redo wester fairfax area for now - Westfield, Chantilly, Centreville. Centreville will finish its renovation in 4 years and then make the huge shift then.

Don't understand. Seems like they should wait and then make the shift among Westfield, Chantilly, and Centreville once the Centreville renovation is finished, rather than change the boundaries among those schools twice. And no one else is really sitting around hoping they'll change boundaries all over the county just because they are expanding Centreville.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need real change. The western school pyramid is comprised mostly of first and second generation immigrants, and have been ignored forever. Even the school signal traffic light is missing on Centreville road for years since they widened road and not one single politician has cared to restore the flashing lights for an elementary school (Floris) for basic traffic safety. It’s an underrepresented community that is significantly neglected. No school board member ever fights to represent this community.

I think most people on this board would be fine with restoring a traffic light. A lot less people would be down for redistricting and the immense toll that would entail for students. Yours seems to be a burn-it-all-down argument.

If done right, the toll on kids should be negligible. First of all grandfathering periods are long enough that HS kids are entirely unaffected, and transitions occur when they normally would like ES to MS and MS to HS. Siblings have priority for transfers if that's a concern. Fixing the mess of split feeders means kids are more likely to stay with friends they've had since ES. More efficient bus routes means more sleep.

If done wrong, we irreparably f up FCPS forever. No thanks.

FCPS is a shadow of its former self. Some pyramids have been cast aside as lost causes by the School Board. They made things worse in many cases and concentrated poverty. But hey, you get yours.