The voucher effect

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many right wing loonies on the FCPS and AAP boards right now. Back to school and election silly season has them acting out again and threatening vouchers and private school. Whatever. Complain away. Yell into the void. FCPS is a public school with over 160,000 kids. Reid isn't going to be able consult every individual parent on every decision she bas to make. That's impossible. Her job is to make the best decisions she can to advance education and opportunities for the most students. If you don't like the way she is doing her job that she was hired to do, then put your application in. Go for it! See how you deal with having to make these decisions and having lunatic parents yelling in your face, calling you names, threatening your life, and generally muddying every conversation.

Two things:

1) When you dismiss legitimate complaints about FCPS as “MAGA” or “right wing”, you go a long way toward hollowing out the Democratic Party. It’s akin to making an argument that you don’t want me in your coalition. That might not impact whether a Democrat gets elected in deep blue Fairfax, but are you sure you want to turn away people from the Democratic Party? Is that going to get Dems back into power? I’m incredibly frustrated with what’s going on at the national level. I’m also mad as hell at what this school board is doing. The school board is doing one hell of a job recruiting me for the Republican Party.

2) can you point me to the posting for the superintendent job? Otherwise, your point about people being able to apply for it just comes off as unserious.

No one is dismissing your complaints. I have been arguing with you here and I AGREE with your COMPLAINTS. We are disagreeing with your idea that vouchers will help solve the issues you are raising. The idea that blowing up the system to get what you want is harmful to me and my kids. It isn’t going to touch the schoool board.

In simple language:
We agree with your complaints.

We disagree that your solution will help.

Other than accusing your opponents of being MAGA, what’s your solution?

In any post I have put up, I have very carefully said that you aren’t MAGA. Your solution however uses a similar thought process.

Early Release: Look if my kid came home saying they had been on a lap top for 3 hours, I would contact the school. I would request that my child read a book and be allowed outside during that block so they switch groups. I would look for camps like code ninja or martial arts programs that pick up from school for those days. I would also escalate as necessary. Principal, executive principal, etc if that continued. Keep in mind if your kid is in elementary, that may be the last thing they did or the most salient in their minds.

Redistricting: Personally, I’m biding my time until the next maps come out. Then it is full frontal assault. Keep pinging them on WHY they want this. Join the facebook group fairfacts. Email your area BRAC members, school board. Keep the pressure on. Talk about how beleaguered we are as a county and how they can’t possibly have accurate enrollment information with the unemployment and deportments. Pressure has worked to have them lessen the scope and allow grandfathering. Keep it up.

Alienating parents: I think not have homework is a huge issue because we as parents don’t know what our kids are doing and what they need help with. Make it mandatory. Sure some will hate this, but weekly homework issued on Monday and due on Friday keeps parents informed. It would go a long way to establish connection between home and school.

I agree with you on homework (within reason and appropriate).

On early dismissal you seem to miss the part where Reid lied to parents in 2025, took no parental feedback before the 2026 decision, and now you think it’s on parents to scramble to fix it at their own expense. This is the alienation point: if I’m taking PTO or paying for additional services to cover what is already supposed to be educational time, the school is already failed. Yes parents can mitigate the failure, but everything you suggested to mitigate the failure is a private option. If you’re saying I need to pay private organizations to educate my child…why wouldn’t I just take a voucher to offset the cost of paying a private organization to educate my child?

No I didn’t say that privates were the only option. I said to make a complaint and escalate first. I would absolutely do this repeatedly if was contemplating taking time off work over sending my kid to the aftercare.

Another idea, ask one of your kids friends/parents if they can come over and the reciprocate another day.

If you are unable to see that paying a private program for 40 hours a year for supplemental activities is different than paying a years worth of academic tuition I’m not sure we are agreeing on how math works.

To you “Reid lied to us” point all school systems in the area “lied” because they were all scrambling last year. This year we were told well before summer. Early release PD days are common in most school districts.

I don’t know that I consider May “well before summer” or that five minutes at the end of a board meeting constitutes communication but sure. You can feel satisfied by that if you want. The lie was that last year was the only year we were doing it, and that we “had” to. Now here we are. You feel satisfied, I feel disrespected and alienated. We both get the same number of votes in an election and so the school needs to figure out how to get people while feel like I do to pull the lever for them.


And this isn’t a math problem, so much as a roles issue. Yes, I can take PTO, or organize playdates, but the point is that my child is wasting eight days they’re supposed to be learning. If I want them to be learning on those eight days, your point is I should pay a private organization to make sure they’re learning. My point is if I am responsible for finding a private organization to educate my child eight of the days FCPS is already responsible for doing so, why don’t I just find one organization for the other 172 as well?

I've got bad news for you. When we sent my son to private there were far fewer school days than FCPS. I think he went 15 less days those years. Plus they decided to extend winter break by a week one year when the flu was rampant and they didn't want kids bringing it back to the classrooms (it was a tiny school, they could do this). They pivoted to virtual school for a week (this wasn't covid). If you're going private just for more academic hours, you'll have to be very picky. And that pickiness is going to cost you $20-$40k, vs $50/day for after care 8 times a year. Seems like a lot of money to prove a point, but maybe you have more disposable income than we do.

Every private school we applied to during those years had a wait list. There aren't enough spaces for more than a trivial percent of students to leave public for private.

The communication was far better from private to public, and class sizes were much smaller (which is what my child desperately needed at the time due to extra issues), but that's about all that could justify the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many right wing loonies on the FCPS and AAP boards right now. Back to school and election silly season has them acting out again and threatening vouchers and private school. Whatever. Complain away. Yell into the void. FCPS is a public school with over 160,000 kids. Reid isn't going to be able consult every individual parent on every decision she bas to make. That's impossible. Her job is to make the best decisions she can to advance education and opportunities for the most students. If you don't like the way she is doing her job that she was hired to do, then put your application in. Go for it! See how you deal with having to make these decisions and having lunatic parents yelling in your face, calling you names, threatening your life, and generally muddying every conversation.

Two things:

1) When you dismiss legitimate complaints about FCPS as “MAGA” or “right wing”, you go a long way toward hollowing out the Democratic Party. It’s akin to making an argument that you don’t want me in your coalition. That might not impact whether a Democrat gets elected in deep blue Fairfax, but are you sure you want to turn away people from the Democratic Party? Is that going to get Dems back into power? I’m incredibly frustrated with what’s going on at the national level. I’m also mad as hell at what this school board is doing. The school board is doing one hell of a job recruiting me for the Republican Party.

2) can you point me to the posting for the superintendent job? Otherwise, your point about people being able to apply for it just comes off as unserious.

No one is dismissing your complaints. I have been arguing with you here and I AGREE with your COMPLAINTS. We are disagreeing with your idea that vouchers will help solve the issues you are raising. The idea that blowing up the system to get what you want is harmful to me and my kids. It isn’t going to touch the schoool board.

In simple language:
We agree with your complaints.

We disagree that your solution will help.

Other than accusing your opponents of being MAGA, what’s your solution?

In any post I have put up, I have very carefully said that you aren’t MAGA. Your solution however uses a similar thought process.

Early Release: Look if my kid came home saying they had been on a lap top for 3 hours, I would contact the school. I would request that my child read a book and be allowed outside during that block so they switch groups. I would look for camps like code ninja or martial arts programs that pick up from school for those days. I would also escalate as necessary. Principal, executive principal, etc if that continued. Keep in mind if your kid is in elementary, that may be the last thing they did or the most salient in their minds.

Redistricting: Personally, I’m biding my time until the next maps come out. Then it is full frontal assault. Keep pinging them on WHY they want this. Join the facebook group fairfacts. Email your area BRAC members, school board. Keep the pressure on. Talk about how beleaguered we are as a county and how they can’t possibly have accurate enrollment information with the unemployment and deportments. Pressure has worked to have them lessen the scope and allow grandfathering. Keep it up.

Alienating parents: I think not have homework is a huge issue because we as parents don’t know what our kids are doing and what they need help with. Make it mandatory. Sure some will hate this, but weekly homework issued on Monday and due on Friday keeps parents informed. It would go a long way to establish connection between home and school.

I agree with you on homework (within reason and appropriate).

On early dismissal you seem to miss the part where Reid lied to parents in 2025, took no parental feedback before the 2026 decision, and now you think it’s on parents to scramble to fix it at their own expense. This is the alienation point: if I’m taking PTO or paying for additional services to cover what is already supposed to be educational time, the school is already failed. Yes parents can mitigate the failure, but everything you suggested to mitigate the failure is a private option. If you’re saying I need to pay private organizations to educate my child…why wouldn’t I just take a voucher to offset the cost of paying a private organization to educate my child?

No I didn’t say that privates were the only option. I said to make a complaint and escalate first. I would absolutely do this repeatedly if was contemplating taking time off work over sending my kid to the aftercare.

Another idea, ask one of your kids friends/parents if they can come over and the reciprocate another day.

If you are unable to see that paying a private program for 40 hours a year for supplemental activities is different than paying a years worth of academic tuition I’m not sure we are agreeing on how math works.

To you “Reid lied to us” point all school systems in the area “lied” because they were all scrambling last year. This year we were told well before summer. Early release PD days are common in most school districts.

I don’t know that I consider May “well before summer” or that five minutes at the end of a board meeting constitutes communication but sure. You can feel satisfied by that if you want. The lie was that last year was the only year we were doing it, and that we “had” to. Now here we are. You feel satisfied, I feel disrespected and alienated. We both get the same number of votes in an election and so the school needs to figure out how to get people while feel like I do to pull the lever for them.


And this isn’t a math problem, so much as a roles issue. Yes, I can take PTO, or organize playdates, but the point is that my child is wasting eight days they’re supposed to be learning. If I want them to be learning on those eight days, your point is I should pay a private organization to make sure they’re learning. My point is if I am responsible for finding a private organization to educate my child eight of the days FCPS is already responsible for doing so, why don’t I just find one organization for the other 172 as well?

You are changing the argument from: I want to pay a private entity to educate my child for 180 days because of 40 hours. Ok that sounds like overkill to me, but sure do that.

To : Because I want this, I am going to vote to destroy public schooling in Fairfax.

That escalation right there is why you are acting out of emotion and not reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many right wing loonies on the FCPS and AAP boards right now. Back to school and election silly season has them acting out again and threatening vouchers and private school. Whatever. Complain away. Yell into the void. FCPS is a public school with over 160,000 kids. Reid isn't going to be able consult every individual parent on every decision she bas to make. That's impossible. Her job is to make the best decisions she can to advance education and opportunities for the most students. If you don't like the way she is doing her job that she was hired to do, then put your application in. Go for it! See how you deal with having to make these decisions and having lunatic parents yelling in your face, calling you names, threatening your life, and generally muddying every conversation.

Two things:

1) When you dismiss legitimate complaints about FCPS as “MAGA” or “right wing”, you go a long way toward hollowing out the Democratic Party. It’s akin to making an argument that you don’t want me in your coalition. That might not impact whether a Democrat gets elected in deep blue Fairfax, but are you sure you want to turn away people from the Democratic Party? Is that going to get Dems back into power? I’m incredibly frustrated with what’s going on at the national level. I’m also mad as hell at what this school board is doing. The school board is doing one hell of a job recruiting me for the Republican Party.

2) can you point me to the posting for the superintendent job? Otherwise, your point about people being able to apply for it just comes off as unserious.

No one is dismissing your complaints. I have been arguing with you here and I AGREE with your COMPLAINTS. We are disagreeing with your idea that vouchers will help solve the issues you are raising. The idea that blowing up the system to get what you want is harmful to me and my kids. It isn’t going to touch the schoool board.

In simple language:
We agree with your complaints.

We disagree that your solution will help.

Other than accusing your opponents of being MAGA, what’s your solution?

In any post I have put up, I have very carefully said that you aren’t MAGA. Your solution however uses a similar thought process.

Early Release: Look if my kid came home saying they had been on a lap top for 3 hours, I would contact the school. I would request that my child read a book and be allowed outside during that block so they switch groups. I would look for camps like code ninja or martial arts programs that pick up from school for those days. I would also escalate as necessary. Principal, executive principal, etc if that continued. Keep in mind if your kid is in elementary, that may be the last thing they did or the most salient in their minds.

Redistricting: Personally, I’m biding my time until the next maps come out. Then it is full frontal assault. Keep pinging them on WHY they want this. Join the facebook group fairfacts. Email your area BRAC members, school board. Keep the pressure on. Talk about how beleaguered we are as a county and how they can’t possibly have accurate enrollment information with the unemployment and deportments. Pressure has worked to have them lessen the scope and allow grandfathering. Keep it up.

Alienating parents: I think not have homework is a huge issue because we as parents don’t know what our kids are doing and what they need help with. Make it mandatory. Sure some will hate this, but weekly homework issued on Monday and due on Friday keeps parents informed. It would go a long way to establish connection between home and school.

I agree with you on homework (within reason and appropriate).

On early dismissal you seem to miss the part where Reid lied to parents in 2025, took no parental feedback before the 2026 decision, and now you think it’s on parents to scramble to fix it at their own expense. This is the alienation point: if I’m taking PTO or paying for additional services to cover what is already supposed to be educational time, the school is already failed. Yes parents can mitigate the failure, but everything you suggested to mitigate the failure is a private option. If you’re saying I need to pay private organizations to educate my child…why wouldn’t I just take a voucher to offset the cost of paying a private organization to educate my child?

No I didn’t say that privates were the only option. I said to make a complaint and escalate first. I would absolutely do this repeatedly if was contemplating taking time off work over sending my kid to the aftercare.

Another idea, ask one of your kids friends/parents if they can come over and the reciprocate another day.

If you are unable to see that paying a private program for 40 hours a year for supplemental activities is different than paying a years worth of academic tuition I’m not sure we are agreeing on how math works.

To you “Reid lied to us” point all school systems in the area “lied” because they were all scrambling last year. This year we were told well before summer. Early release PD days are common in most school districts.

I don’t know that I consider May “well before summer” or that five minutes at the end of a board meeting constitutes communication but sure. You can feel satisfied by that if you want. The lie was that last year was the only year we were doing it, and that we “had” to. Now here we are. You feel satisfied, I feel disrespected and alienated. We both get the same number of votes in an election and so the school needs to figure out how to get people while feel like I do to pull the lever for them.


And this isn’t a math problem, so much as a roles issue. Yes, I can take PTO, or organize playdates, but the point is that my child is wasting eight days they’re supposed to be learning. If I want them to be learning on those eight days, your point is I should pay a private organization to make sure they’re learning. My point is if I am responsible for finding a private organization to educate my child eight of the days FCPS is already responsible for doing so, why don’t I just find one organization for the other 172 as well?

You are changing the argument from: I want to pay a private entity to educate my child for 180 days because of 40 hours. Ok that sounds like overkill to me, but sure do that.

To : Because I want this, I am going to vote to destroy public schooling in Fairfax.

That escalation right there is why you are acting out of emotion and not reason.

I think you’re projecting about emotional actions here. Vouchers won’t “destroy” public schooling in Fairfax unless a preponderance of families opt to leave. FCPS can make itself a place families don’t want to leave and save itself from this “destruction”.

If vouchers become available (and I think VA will opt in) and I have to pay for a private institution to educate my kids anyway, why don’t I just pay a private institution to educate my kids and take available money to do it. If the public school wants to educate my kids they can start acting like it.

[Anonymous]

I don't think FCPS considers that most kids have working parents. And, lots of these working parents do not make six figures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many right wing loonies on the FCPS and AAP boards right now. Back to school and election silly season has them acting out again and threatening vouchers and private school. Whatever. Complain away. Yell into the void. FCPS is a public school with over 160,000 kids. Reid isn't going to be able consult every individual parent on every decision she bas to make. That's impossible. Her job is to make the best decisions she can to advance education and opportunities for the most students. If you don't like the way she is doing her job that she was hired to do, then put your application in. Go for it! See how you deal with having to make these decisions and having lunatic parents yelling in your face, calling you names, threatening your life, and generally muddying every conversation.

Two things:

1) When you dismiss legitimate complaints about FCPS as “MAGA” or “right wing”, you go a long way toward hollowing out the Democratic Party. It’s akin to making an argument that you don’t want me in your coalition. That might not impact whether a Democrat gets elected in deep blue Fairfax, but are you sure you want to turn away people from the Democratic Party? Is that going to get Dems back into power? I’m incredibly frustrated with what’s going on at the national level. I’m also mad as hell at what this school board is doing. The school board is doing one hell of a job recruiting me for the Republican Party.

2) can you point me to the posting for the superintendent job? Otherwise, your point about people being able to apply for it just comes off as unserious.

No one is dismissing your complaints. I have been arguing with you here and I AGREE with your COMPLAINTS. We are disagreeing with your idea that vouchers will help solve the issues you are raising. The idea that blowing up the system to get what you want is harmful to me and my kids. It isn’t going to touch the schoool board.

In simple language:
We agree with your complaints.

We disagree that your solution will help.

Other than accusing your opponents of being MAGA, what’s your solution?

In any post I have put up, I have very carefully said that you aren’t MAGA. Your solution however uses a similar thought process.

Early Release: Look if my kid came home saying they had been on a lap top for 3 hours, I would contact the school. I would request that my child read a book and be allowed outside during that block so they switch groups. I would look for camps like code ninja or martial arts programs that pick up from school for those days. I would also escalate as necessary. Principal, executive principal, etc if that continued. Keep in mind if your kid is in elementary, that may be the last thing they did or the most salient in their minds.

Redistricting: Personally, I’m biding my time until the next maps come out. Then it is full frontal assault. Keep pinging them on WHY they want this. Join the facebook group fairfacts. Email your area BRAC members, school board. Keep the pressure on. Talk about how beleaguered we are as a county and how they can’t possibly have accurate enrollment information with the unemployment and deportments. Pressure has worked to have them lessen the scope and allow grandfathering. Keep it up.

Alienating parents: I think not have homework is a huge issue because we as parents don’t know what our kids are doing and what they need help with. Make it mandatory. Sure some will hate this, but weekly homework issued on Monday and due on Friday keeps parents informed. It would go a long way to establish connection between home and school.

I agree with you on homework (within reason and appropriate).

On early dismissal you seem to miss the part where Reid lied to parents in 2025, took no parental feedback before the 2026 decision, and now you think it’s on parents to scramble to fix it at their own expense. This is the alienation point: if I’m taking PTO or paying for additional services to cover what is already supposed to be educational time, the school is already failed. Yes parents can mitigate the failure, but everything you suggested to mitigate the failure is a private option. If you’re saying I need to pay private organizations to educate my child…why wouldn’t I just take a voucher to offset the cost of paying a private organization to educate my child?

No I didn’t say that privates were the only option. I said to make a complaint and escalate first. I would absolutely do this repeatedly if was contemplating taking time off work over sending my kid to the aftercare.

Another idea, ask one of your kids friends/parents if they can come over and the reciprocate another day.

If you are unable to see that paying a private program for 40 hours a year for supplemental activities is different than paying a years worth of academic tuition I’m not sure we are agreeing on how math works.

To you “Reid lied to us” point all school systems in the area “lied” because they were all scrambling last year. This year we were told well before summer. Early release PD days are common in most school districts.

I don’t know that I consider May “well before summer” or that five minutes at the end of a board meeting constitutes communication but sure. You can feel satisfied by that if you want. The lie was that last year was the only year we were doing it, and that we “had” to. Now here we are. You feel satisfied, I feel disrespected and alienated. We both get the same number of votes in an election and so the school needs to figure out how to get people while feel like I do to pull the lever for them.


And this isn’t a math problem, so much as a roles issue. Yes, I can take PTO, or organize playdates, but the point is that my child is wasting eight days they’re supposed to be learning. If I want them to be learning on those eight days, your point is I should pay a private organization to make sure they’re learning. My point is if I am responsible for finding a private organization to educate my child eight of the days FCPS is already responsible for doing so, why don’t I just find one organization for the other 172 as well?

I've got bad news for you. When we sent my son to private there were far fewer school days than FCPS. I think he went 15 less days those years. Plus they decided to extend winter break by a week one year when the flu was rampant and they didn't want kids bringing it back to the classrooms (it was a tiny school, they could do this). They pivoted to virtual school for a week (this wasn't covid). If you're going private just for more academic hours, you'll have to be very picky. And that pickiness is going to cost you $20-$40k, vs $50/day for after care 8 times a year. Seems like a lot of money to prove a point, but maybe you have more disposable income than we do.

Every private school we applied to during those years had a wait list. There aren't enough spaces for more than a trivial percent of students to leave public for private.

The communication was far better from private to public, and class sizes were much smaller (which is what my child desperately needed at the time due to extra issues), but that's about all that could justify the cost.

Of the schools we’ve looked at in our area, while they have similar numbers of instructional days, their school calendar has many more five day weeks than FCPS but longer vacations. Fine, if I have to take 8 extra days off we may as well take an extra trip.

And sure, $20,000-$40,000 is expensive. And that’s what makes it a little silly that the Fairfax government would rather risk picking up the bill for 1/2 to 1/4 of that rather than just provide all-day school. But people keep saying they can’t take parents into consideration so I guess that’s their choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But vouchers historically don't actually help anyone go to private school. If vouchers are for $5000, the price of tuition at the private schools goes up nearly $5000. It's just padding the profits for private, often religious based schools.

Private schools are also allowed to deny admission as they see fit. Your child with behavioral issues or learning disabilities that isn't thriving in public school isnt going to get into private and now they're going to be stuck in underfunded public schools with all of the other kids whose parents couldn't afford to send them to private or couldn't get in because of their own behavioral or learning issues.

Private schools have "better results" because they are selective over who they admit. If you can't test well and are going to bring their numbers down, you're dropped from the program. Sure, having a cohort of other intelligent kids can motivate many kids to do better but there is no private school magic that makes the learning better other than exclusion of everyone who would hold their scores back.

My kid is high performing without any known learning disability/issues. And we can relatively easily afford private school, even the ones that rival college tuition.

I never thought in a million years that I’d consider private school. I was a public school kid and believe in the value of that system. I believe that teachers should be paid a lot more than they are.

But when the school board actively goes after my families and my neighbors because we are in a certain neighborhood and they use our kids as their resources to deploy to try to help other kids, that’s the point I say “no thanks.”

And it’s because of that betrayal that I would reluctantly become an opponent of the public school system that I have always supported. I guess in a way this will become my villain backstory.

So glad you have the option to send your kid to that private school. I am sure the fcps teachers at your assigned school won’t notice you changes schools. Isn’t it great we live in a free country?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But vouchers historically don't actually help anyone go to private school. If vouchers are for $5000, the price of tuition at the private schools goes up nearly $5000. It's just padding the profits for private, often religious based schools.

Private schools are also allowed to deny admission as they see fit. Your child with behavioral issues or learning disabilities that isn't thriving in public school isnt going to get into private and now they're going to be stuck in underfunded public schools with all of the other kids whose parents couldn't afford to send them to private or couldn't get in because of their own behavioral or learning issues.

Private schools have "better results" because they are selective over who they admit. If you can't test well and are going to bring their numbers down, you're dropped from the program. Sure, having a cohort of other intelligent kids can motivate many kids to do better but there is no private school magic that makes the learning better other than exclusion of everyone who would hold their scores back.

My kid is high performing without any known learning disability/issues. And we can relatively easily afford private school, even the ones that rival college tuition.

I never thought in a million years that I’d consider private school. I was a public school kid and believe in the value of that system. I believe that teachers should be paid a lot more than they are.

But when the school board actively goes after my families and my neighbors because we are in a certain neighborhood and they use our kids as their resources to deploy to try to help other kids, that’s the point I say “no thanks.”

And it’s because of that betrayal that I would reluctantly become an opponent of the public school system that I have always supported. I guess in a way this will become my villain backstory.

So glad you have the option to send your kid to that private school. I am sure the fcps teachers at your assigned school won’t notice you changes schools. Isn’t it great we live in a free country?

Let’s ask the Arizona school system how that worked out for them.

You should be careful if you are looking to push UMC out of the school system. Might backfire. But maybe you didn’t get a chance to read that article?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many right wing loonies on the FCPS and AAP boards right now. Back to school and election silly season has them acting out again and threatening vouchers and private school. Whatever. Complain away. Yell into the void. FCPS is a public school with over 160,000 kids. Reid isn't going to be able consult every individual parent on every decision she bas to make. That's impossible. Her job is to make the best decisions she can to advance education and opportunities for the most students. If you don't like the way she is doing her job that she was hired to do, then put your application in. Go for it! See how you deal with having to make these decisions and having lunatic parents yelling in your face, calling you names, threatening your life, and generally muddying every conversation.

Two things:

1) When you dismiss legitimate complaints about FCPS as “MAGA” or “right wing”, you go a long way toward hollowing out the Democratic Party. It’s akin to making an argument that you don’t want me in your coalition. That might not impact whether a Democrat gets elected in deep blue Fairfax, but are you sure you want to turn away people from the Democratic Party? Is that going to get Dems back into power? I’m incredibly frustrated with what’s going on at the national level. I’m also mad as hell at what this school board is doing. The school board is doing one hell of a job recruiting me for the Republican Party.

2) can you point me to the posting for the superintendent job? Otherwise, your point about people being able to apply for it just comes off as unserious.

No one is dismissing your complaints. I have been arguing with you here and I AGREE with your COMPLAINTS. We are disagreeing with your idea that vouchers will help solve the issues you are raising. The idea that blowing up the system to get what you want is harmful to me and my kids. It isn’t going to touch the schoool board.

In simple language:
We agree with your complaints.

We disagree that your solution will help.

Other than accusing your opponents of being MAGA, what’s your solution?

In any post I have put up, I have very carefully said that you aren’t MAGA. Your solution however uses a similar thought process.

Early Release: Look if my kid came home saying they had been on a lap top for 3 hours, I would contact the school. I would request that my child read a book and be allowed outside during that block so they switch groups. I would look for camps like code ninja or martial arts programs that pick up from school for those days. I would also escalate as necessary. Principal, executive principal, etc if that continued. Keep in mind if your kid is in elementary, that may be the last thing they did or the most salient in their minds.

Redistricting: Personally, I’m biding my time until the next maps come out. Then it is full frontal assault. Keep pinging them on WHY they want this. Join the facebook group fairfacts. Email your area BRAC members, school board. Keep the pressure on. Talk about how beleaguered we are as a county and how they can’t possibly have accurate enrollment information with the unemployment and deportments. Pressure has worked to have them lessen the scope and allow grandfathering. Keep it up.

Alienating parents: I think not have homework is a huge issue because we as parents don’t know what our kids are doing and what they need help with. Make it mandatory. Sure some will hate this, but weekly homework issued on Monday and due on Friday keeps parents informed. It would go a long way to establish connection between home and school.

I agree with you on homework (within reason and appropriate).

On early dismissal you seem to miss the part where Reid lied to parents in 2025, took no parental feedback before the 2026 decision, and now you think it’s on parents to scramble to fix it at their own expense. This is the alienation point: if I’m taking PTO or paying for additional services to cover what is already supposed to be educational time, the school is already failed. Yes parents can mitigate the failure, but everything you suggested to mitigate the failure is a private option. If you’re saying I need to pay private organizations to educate my child…why wouldn’t I just take a voucher to offset the cost of paying a private organization to educate my child?

No I didn’t say that privates were the only option. I said to make a complaint and escalate first. I would absolutely do this repeatedly if was contemplating taking time off work over sending my kid to the aftercare.

Another idea, ask one of your kids friends/parents if they can come over and the reciprocate another day.

If you are unable to see that paying a private program for 40 hours a year for supplemental activities is different than paying a years worth of academic tuition I’m not sure we are agreeing on how math works.

To you “Reid lied to us” point all school systems in the area “lied” because they were all scrambling last year. This year we were told well before summer. Early release PD days are common in most school districts.

I don’t know that I consider May “well before summer” or that five minutes at the end of a board meeting constitutes communication but sure. You can feel satisfied by that if you want. The lie was that last year was the only year we were doing it, and that we “had” to. Now here we are. You feel satisfied, I feel disrespected and alienated. We both get the same number of votes in an election and so the school needs to figure out how to get people while feel like I do to pull the lever for them.


And this isn’t a math problem, so much as a roles issue. Yes, I can take PTO, or organize playdates, but the point is that my child is wasting eight days they’re supposed to be learning. If I want them to be learning on those eight days, your point is I should pay a private organization to make sure they’re learning. My point is if I am responsible for finding a private organization to educate my child eight of the days FCPS is already responsible for doing so, why don’t I just find one organization for the other 172 as well?

You are changing the argument from: I want to pay a private entity to educate my child for 180 days because of 40 hours. Ok that sounds like overkill to me, but sure do that.

To : Because I want this, I am going to vote to destroy public schooling in Fairfax.

That escalation right there is why you are acting out of emotion and not reason.

I think you’re projecting about emotional actions here. Vouchers won’t “destroy” public schooling in Fairfax unless a preponderance of families opt to leave. FCPS can make itself a place families don’t want to leave and save itself from this “destruction”.

If vouchers become available (and I think VA will opt in) and I have to pay for a private institution to educate my kids anyway, why don’t I just pay a private institution to educate my kids and take available money to do it. If the public school wants to educate my kids they can start acting like it.

Have you talked to DCPS parents about the voucher system? Did you listen to their stories about charters randomly closing? Or about the lottery system and getting vouchers? Or how hard it is to transport times across town?

Did you read any of the articles about the affects of vouchers on parents kids and school systems? I can tell you didn’t or you wouldn’t make statements like your above post.

I started asking you this pages ago and you have skirted the answer like than Bill
Clinton asking about the meaning of the word is.

Again, you aren’t being rational and looking at the real effects.

You want the dream of vouchers thinking YOU will be able to manipulate them to serve your purpose.

You are wrong, but apparently words and thoughts won’t help you understand this, you need a “lived experience” moment.

And so it goes…..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many right wing loonies on the FCPS and AAP boards right now. Back to school and election silly season has them acting out again and threatening vouchers and private school. Whatever. Complain away. Yell into the void. FCPS is a public school with over 160,000 kids. Reid isn't going to be able consult every individual parent on every decision she bas to make. That's impossible. Her job is to make the best decisions she can to advance education and opportunities for the most students. If you don't like the way she is doing her job that she was hired to do, then put your application in. Go for it! See how you deal with having to make these decisions and having lunatic parents yelling in your face, calling you names, threatening your life, and generally muddying every conversation.

Two things:

1) When you dismiss legitimate complaints about FCPS as “MAGA” or “right wing”, you go a long way toward hollowing out the Democratic Party. It’s akin to making an argument that you don’t want me in your coalition. That might not impact whether a Democrat gets elected in deep blue Fairfax, but are you sure you want to turn away people from the Democratic Party? Is that going to get Dems back into power? I’m incredibly frustrated with what’s going on at the national level. I’m also mad as hell at what this school board is doing. The school board is doing one hell of a job recruiting me for the Republican Party.

2) can you point me to the posting for the superintendent job? Otherwise, your point about people being able to apply for it just comes off as unserious.

No one is dismissing your complaints. I have been arguing with you here and I AGREE with your COMPLAINTS. We are disagreeing with your idea that vouchers will help solve the issues you are raising. The idea that blowing up the system to get what you want is harmful to me and my kids. It isn’t going to touch the schoool board.

In simple language:
We agree with your complaints.

We disagree that your solution will help.

Other than accusing your opponents of being MAGA, what’s your solution?

In any post I have put up, I have very carefully said that you aren’t MAGA. Your solution however uses a similar thought process.

Early Release: Look if my kid came home saying they had been on a lap top for 3 hours, I would contact the school. I would request that my child read a book and be allowed outside during that block so they switch groups. I would look for camps like code ninja or martial arts programs that pick up from school for those days. I would also escalate as necessary. Principal, executive principal, etc if that continued. Keep in mind if your kid is in elementary, that may be the last thing they did or the most salient in their minds.

Redistricting: Personally, I’m biding my time until the next maps come out. Then it is full frontal assault. Keep pinging them on WHY they want this. Join the facebook group fairfacts. Email your area BRAC members, school board. Keep the pressure on. Talk about how beleaguered we are as a county and how they can’t possibly have accurate enrollment information with the unemployment and deportments. Pressure has worked to have them lessen the scope and allow grandfathering. Keep it up.

Alienating parents: I think not have homework is a huge issue because we as parents don’t know what our kids are doing and what they need help with. Make it mandatory. Sure some will hate this, but weekly homework issued on Monday and due on Friday keeps parents informed. It would go a long way to establish connection between home and school.

I agree with you on homework (within reason and appropriate).

On early dismissal you seem to miss the part where Reid lied to parents in 2025, took no parental feedback before the 2026 decision, and now you think it’s on parents to scramble to fix it at their own expense. This is the alienation point: if I’m taking PTO or paying for additional services to cover what is already supposed to be educational time, the school is already failed. Yes parents can mitigate the failure, but everything you suggested to mitigate the failure is a private option. If you’re saying I need to pay private organizations to educate my child…why wouldn’t I just take a voucher to offset the cost of paying a private organization to educate my child?

No I didn’t say that privates were the only option. I said to make a complaint and escalate first. I would absolutely do this repeatedly if was contemplating taking time off work over sending my kid to the aftercare.

Another idea, ask one of your kids friends/parents if they can come over and the reciprocate another day.

If you are unable to see that paying a private program for 40 hours a year for supplemental activities is different than paying a years worth of academic tuition I’m not sure we are agreeing on how math works.

To you “Reid lied to us” point all school systems in the area “lied” because they were all scrambling last year. This year we were told well before summer. Early release PD days are common in most school districts.

I don’t know that I consider May “well before summer” or that five minutes at the end of a board meeting constitutes communication but sure. You can feel satisfied by that if you want. The lie was that last year was the only year we were doing it, and that we “had” to. Now here we are. You feel satisfied, I feel disrespected and alienated. We both get the same number of votes in an election and so the school needs to figure out how to get people while feel like I do to pull the lever for them.


And this isn’t a math problem, so much as a roles issue. Yes, I can take PTO, or organize playdates, but the point is that my child is wasting eight days they’re supposed to be learning. If I want them to be learning on those eight days, your point is I should pay a private organization to make sure they’re learning. My point is if I am responsible for finding a private organization to educate my child eight of the days FCPS is already responsible for doing so, why don’t I just find one organization for the other 172 as well?

You are changing the argument from: I want to pay a private entity to educate my child for 180 days because of 40 hours. Ok that sounds like overkill to me, but sure do that.

To : Because I want this, I am going to vote to destroy public schooling in Fairfax.

That escalation right there is why you are acting out of emotion and not reason.

I think you’re projecting about emotional actions here. Vouchers won’t “destroy” public schooling in Fairfax unless a preponderance of families opt to leave. FCPS can make itself a place families don’t want to leave and save itself from this “destruction”.

If vouchers become available (and I think VA will opt in) and I have to pay for a private institution to educate my kids anyway, why don’t I just pay a private institution to educate my kids and take available money to do it. If the public school wants to educate my kids they can start acting like it.

Because the private schools typically respond by increasing their prices roughly the same amount as the vouchers are for. Most people who take advantage of the vouchers already were sending their kids to private schools and could afford the cost without the vouchers. Few additional kids end up going to private schools, the private schools end up making significantly more money and the funds that would have stayed in the public schools are taken away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many right wing loonies on the FCPS and AAP boards right now. Back to school and election silly season has them acting out again and threatening vouchers and private school. Whatever. Complain away. Yell into the void. FCPS is a public school with over 160,000 kids. Reid isn't going to be able consult every individual parent on every decision she bas to make. That's impossible. Her job is to make the best decisions she can to advance education and opportunities for the most students. If you don't like the way she is doing her job that she was hired to do, then put your application in. Go for it! See how you deal with having to make these decisions and having lunatic parents yelling in your face, calling you names, threatening your life, and generally muddying every conversation.

Two things:

1) When you dismiss legitimate complaints about FCPS as “MAGA” or “right wing”, you go a long way toward hollowing out the Democratic Party. It’s akin to making an argument that you don’t want me in your coalition. That might not impact whether a Democrat gets elected in deep blue Fairfax, but are you sure you want to turn away people from the Democratic Party? Is that going to get Dems back into power? I’m incredibly frustrated with what’s going on at the national level. I’m also mad as hell at what this school board is doing. The school board is doing one hell of a job recruiting me for the Republican Party.

2) can you point me to the posting for the superintendent job? Otherwise, your point about people being able to apply for it just comes off as unserious.

No one is dismissing your complaints. I have been arguing with you here and I AGREE with your COMPLAINTS. We are disagreeing with your idea that vouchers will help solve the issues you are raising. The idea that blowing up the system to get what you want is harmful to me and my kids. It isn’t going to touch the schoool board.

In simple language:
We agree with your complaints.

We disagree that your solution will help.

Other than accusing your opponents of being MAGA, what’s your solution?

In any post I have put up, I have very carefully said that you aren’t MAGA. Your solution however uses a similar thought process.

Early Release: Look if my kid came home saying they had been on a lap top for 3 hours, I would contact the school. I would request that my child read a book and be allowed outside during that block so they switch groups. I would look for camps like code ninja or martial arts programs that pick up from school for those days. I would also escalate as necessary. Principal, executive principal, etc if that continued. Keep in mind if your kid is in elementary, that may be the last thing they did or the most salient in their minds.

Redistricting: Personally, I’m biding my time until the next maps come out. Then it is full frontal assault. Keep pinging them on WHY they want this. Join the facebook group fairfacts. Email your area BRAC members, school board. Keep the pressure on. Talk about how beleaguered we are as a county and how they can’t possibly have accurate enrollment information with the unemployment and deportments. Pressure has worked to have them lessen the scope and allow grandfathering. Keep it up.

Alienating parents: I think not have homework is a huge issue because we as parents don’t know what our kids are doing and what they need help with. Make it mandatory. Sure some will hate this, but weekly homework issued on Monday and due on Friday keeps parents informed. It would go a long way to establish connection between home and school.

I agree with you on homework (within reason and appropriate).

On early dismissal you seem to miss the part where Reid lied to parents in 2025, took no parental feedback before the 2026 decision, and now you think it’s on parents to scramble to fix it at their own expense. This is the alienation point: if I’m taking PTO or paying for additional services to cover what is already supposed to be educational time, the school is already failed. Yes parents can mitigate the failure, but everything you suggested to mitigate the failure is a private option. If you’re saying I need to pay private organizations to educate my child…why wouldn’t I just take a voucher to offset the cost of paying a private organization to educate my child?

No I didn’t say that privates were the only option. I said to make a complaint and escalate first. I would absolutely do this repeatedly if was contemplating taking time off work over sending my kid to the aftercare.

Another idea, ask one of your kids friends/parents if they can come over and the reciprocate another day.

If you are unable to see that paying a private program for 40 hours a year for supplemental activities is different than paying a years worth of academic tuition I’m not sure we are agreeing on how math works.

To you “Reid lied to us” point all school systems in the area “lied” because they were all scrambling last year. This year we were told well before summer. Early release PD days are common in most school districts.

I don’t know that I consider May “well before summer” or that five minutes at the end of a board meeting constitutes communication but sure. You can feel satisfied by that if you want. The lie was that last year was the only year we were doing it, and that we “had” to. Now here we are. You feel satisfied, I feel disrespected and alienated. We both get the same number of votes in an election and so the school needs to figure out how to get people while feel like I do to pull the lever for them.


And this isn’t a math problem, so much as a roles issue. Yes, I can take PTO, or organize playdates, but the point is that my child is wasting eight days they’re supposed to be learning. If I want them to be learning on those eight days, your point is I should pay a private organization to make sure they’re learning. My point is if I am responsible for finding a private organization to educate my child eight of the days FCPS is already responsible for doing so, why don’t I just find one organization for the other 172 as well?

You are changing the argument from: I want to pay a private entity to educate my child for 180 days because of 40 hours. Ok that sounds like overkill to me, but sure do that.

To : Because I want this, I am going to vote to destroy public schooling in Fairfax.

That escalation right there is why you are acting out of emotion and not reason.

I think you’re projecting about emotional actions here. Vouchers won’t “destroy” public schooling in Fairfax unless a preponderance of families opt to leave. FCPS can make itself a place families don’t want to leave and save itself from this “destruction”.

If vouchers become available (and I think VA will opt in) and I have to pay for a private institution to educate my kids anyway, why don’t I just pay a private institution to educate my kids and take available money to do it. If the public school wants to educate my kids they can start acting like it.

Have you talked to DCPS parents about the voucher system? Did you listen to their stories about charters randomly closing? Or about the lottery system and getting vouchers? Or how hard it is to transport times across town?

Did you read any of the articles about the affects of vouchers on parents kids and school systems? I can tell you didn’t or you wouldn’t make statements like your above post.

I started asking you this pages ago and you have skirted the answer like than Bill
Clinton asking about the meaning of the word is.

Again, you aren’t being rational and looking at the real effects.

You want the dream of vouchers thinking YOU will be able to manipulate them to serve your purpose.

You are wrong, but apparently words and thoughts won’t help you understand this, you need a “lived experience” moment.

And so it goes…..

I think you’ve missed the many times I’ve said vouchers aren’t my first choice. My first choice is a public school system that treats parents with respect and treats their children as valuable. Vouchers aren’t great, you’re right, but what we have right now isn’t great for me either.

There’s “real effects” to what FCPS is doing now, too. I’m glad you’re having such a great experience of the public school system that you don’t want more or better for your family, but that’s not where I am, and it’s not where other families are. You want us to vote for more of the same?

[Anonymous]

Vouchers are for idiots

Sure let’s have no oversight religious schools paid for with tax dollars not against the constitution and the American way at all.

The only one who will benefit is the private companies that you pay tuition to for shit Education

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But vouchers historically don't actually help anyone go to private school. If vouchers are for $5000, the price of tuition at the private schools goes up nearly $5000. It's just padding the profits for private, often religious based schools.

Private schools are also allowed to deny admission as they see fit. Your child with behavioral issues or learning disabilities that isn't thriving in public school isnt going to get into private and now they're going to be stuck in underfunded public schools with all of the other kids whose parents couldn't afford to send them to private or couldn't get in because of their own behavioral or learning issues.

Private schools have "better results" because they are selective over who they admit. If you can't test well and are going to bring their numbers down, you're dropped from the program. Sure, having a cohort of other intelligent kids can motivate many kids to do better but there is no private school magic that makes the learning better other than exclusion of everyone who would hold their scores back.

My kid is high performing without any known learning disability/issues. And we can relatively easily afford private school, even the ones that rival college tuition.

I never thought in a million years that I’d consider private school. I was a public school kid and believe in the value of that system. I believe that teachers should be paid a lot more than they are.

But when the school board actively goes after my families and my neighbors because we are in a certain neighborhood and they use our kids as their resources to deploy to try to help other kids, that’s the point I say “no thanks.”

And it’s because of that betrayal that I would reluctantly become an opponent of the public school system that I have always supported. I guess in a way this will become my villain backstory.

So glad you have the option to send your kid to that private school. I am sure the fcps teachers at your assigned school won’t notice you changes schools. Isn’t it great we live in a free country?

Let’s ask the Arizona school system how that worked out for them.

You should be careful if you are looking to push UMC out of the school system. Might backfire. But maybe you didn’t get a chance to read that article?

I am the PP. So m, we sent our kids to a private religious school for a few years. I worked there, so it made sense schedule-wise and for the religious education. Was the education high quality? Well, my kids are high achievers, so they did well. They were rule followers as well, so they didn’t get into trouble. However, the kids who couldn’t keep up academically, or in conduct, were shown the door. The “special needs” department was closed at some point, leaving a lot of kids without support.

They were always asking for more money, and working parents complained about no-school days because they didn’t match up with fcps days, so finding a “camp” for the teacher work days, or spring break was near impossible. Parents had to complete a certain amount of volunteer hours. There were charged more money if they failed at that.

Many teachers had no credentials; the pay was low as well. Parents of boys were always getting complaints from teachers because they “couldn’t sit still”. The rooms were tight, around 28-30 students per class. Also, because of the small number of students, they barely offered electives. There were no honor level classes or gifted and talented options. Crazy smart kids were lumped into “gen-pop” groups, and then expected to “behave” when they were bored out of their minds!

We moved our kids to fcps for high school, not a top rated one, and they have done well. The only issue we have is with the bathrooms being closed during the day. We 100% voted to support public schools while our kids were at private. Public education benefits all of society, in my view. Is it perfect? Of course not, is it better than most private schools, I would argue that it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many right wing loonies on the FCPS and AAP boards right now. Back to school and election silly season has them acting out again and threatening vouchers and private school. Whatever. Complain away. Yell into the void. FCPS is a public school with over 160,000 kids. Reid isn't going to be able consult every individual parent on every decision she bas to make. That's impossible. Her job is to make the best decisions she can to advance education and opportunities for the most students. If you don't like the way she is doing her job that she was hired to do, then put your application in. Go for it! See how you deal with having to make these decisions and having lunatic parents yelling in your face, calling you names, threatening your life, and generally muddying every conversation.

Two things:

1) When you dismiss legitimate complaints about FCPS as “MAGA” or “right wing”, you go a long way toward hollowing out the Democratic Party. It’s akin to making an argument that you don’t want me in your coalition. That might not impact whether a Democrat gets elected in deep blue Fairfax, but are you sure you want to turn away people from the Democratic Party? Is that going to get Dems back into power? I’m incredibly frustrated with what’s going on at the national level. I’m also mad as hell at what this school board is doing. The school board is doing one hell of a job recruiting me for the Republican Party.

2) can you point me to the posting for the superintendent job? Otherwise, your point about people being able to apply for it just comes off as unserious.

No one is dismissing your complaints. I have been arguing with you here and I AGREE with your COMPLAINTS. We are disagreeing with your idea that vouchers will help solve the issues you are raising. The idea that blowing up the system to get what you want is harmful to me and my kids. It isn’t going to touch the schoool board.

In simple language:
We agree with your complaints.

We disagree that your solution will help.

Other than accusing your opponents of being MAGA, what’s your solution?

In any post I have put up, I have very carefully said that you aren’t MAGA. Your solution however uses a similar thought process.

Early Release: Look if my kid came home saying they had been on a lap top for 3 hours, I would contact the school. I would request that my child read a book and be allowed outside during that block so they switch groups. I would look for camps like code ninja or martial arts programs that pick up from school for those days. I would also escalate as necessary. Principal, executive principal, etc if that continued. Keep in mind if your kid is in elementary, that may be the last thing they did or the most salient in their minds.

Redistricting: Personally, I’m biding my time until the next maps come out. Then it is full frontal assault. Keep pinging them on WHY they want this. Join the facebook group fairfacts. Email your area BRAC members, school board. Keep the pressure on. Talk about how beleaguered we are as a county and how they can’t possibly have accurate enrollment information with the unemployment and deportments. Pressure has worked to have them lessen the scope and allow grandfathering. Keep it up.

Alienating parents: I think not have homework is a huge issue because we as parents don’t know what our kids are doing and what they need help with. Make it mandatory. Sure some will hate this, but weekly homework issued on Monday and due on Friday keeps parents informed. It would go a long way to establish connection between home and school.

I agree with you on homework (within reason and appropriate).

On early dismissal you seem to miss the part where Reid lied to parents in 2025, took no parental feedback before the 2026 decision, and now you think it’s on parents to scramble to fix it at their own expense. This is the alienation point: if I’m taking PTO or paying for additional services to cover what is already supposed to be educational time, the school is already failed. Yes parents can mitigate the failure, but everything you suggested to mitigate the failure is a private option. If you’re saying I need to pay private organizations to educate my child…why wouldn’t I just take a voucher to offset the cost of paying a private organization to educate my child?

No I didn’t say that privates were the only option. I said to make a complaint and escalate first. I would absolutely do this repeatedly if was contemplating taking time off work over sending my kid to the aftercare.

Another idea, ask one of your kids friends/parents if they can come over and the reciprocate another day.

If you are unable to see that paying a private program for 40 hours a year for supplemental activities is different than paying a years worth of academic tuition I’m not sure we are agreeing on how math works.

To you “Reid lied to us” point all school systems in the area “lied” because they were all scrambling last year. This year we were told well before summer. Early release PD days are common in most school districts.

I don’t know that I consider May “well before summer” or that five minutes at the end of a board meeting constitutes communication but sure. You can feel satisfied by that if you want. The lie was that last year was the only year we were doing it, and that we “had” to. Now here we are. You feel satisfied, I feel disrespected and alienated. We both get the same number of votes in an election and so the school needs to figure out how to get people while feel like I do to pull the lever for them.


And this isn’t a math problem, so much as a roles issue. Yes, I can take PTO, or organize playdates, but the point is that my child is wasting eight days they’re supposed to be learning. If I want them to be learning on those eight days, your point is I should pay a private organization to make sure they’re learning. My point is if I am responsible for finding a private organization to educate my child eight of the days FCPS is already responsible for doing so, why don’t I just find one organization for the other 172 as well?

You are changing the argument from: I want to pay a private entity to educate my child for 180 days because of 40 hours. Ok that sounds like overkill to me, but sure do that.

To : Because I want this, I am going to vote to destroy public schooling in Fairfax.

That escalation right there is why you are acting out of emotion and not reason.

I think you’re projecting about emotional actions here. Vouchers won’t “destroy” public schooling in Fairfax unless a preponderance of families opt to leave. FCPS can make itself a place families don’t want to leave and save itself from this “destruction”.

If vouchers become available (and I think VA will opt in) and I have to pay for a private institution to educate my kids anyway, why don’t I just pay a private institution to educate my kids and take available money to do it. If the public school wants to educate my kids they can start acting like it.

Have you talked to DCPS parents about the voucher system? Did you listen to their stories about charters randomly closing? Or about the lottery system and getting vouchers? Or how hard it is to transport times across town?

Did you read any of the articles about the affects of vouchers on parents kids and school systems? I can tell you didn’t or you wouldn’t make statements like your above post.

I started asking you this pages ago and you have skirted the answer like than Bill
Clinton asking about the meaning of the word is.

Again, you aren’t being rational and looking at the real effects.

You want the dream of vouchers thinking YOU will be able to manipulate them to serve your purpose.

You are wrong, but apparently words and thoughts won’t help you understand this, you need a “lived experience” moment.

And so it goes…..

You’re responding to more than one poster, but yes I’ve read about DCs voucher program. As I’ve said it’s not my first choice. But no one is interested in reforming FCPS— just offloading more of their responsibilities onto parents, and telling parents to pay for private options anyway if they don’t like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many right wing loonies on the FCPS and AAP boards right now. Back to school and election silly season has them acting out again and threatening vouchers and private school. Whatever. Complain away. Yell into the void. FCPS is a public school with over 160,000 kids. Reid isn't going to be able consult every individual parent on every decision she bas to make. That's impossible. Her job is to make the best decisions she can to advance education and opportunities for the most students. If you don't like the way she is doing her job that she was hired to do, then put your application in. Go for it! See how you deal with having to make these decisions and having lunatic parents yelling in your face, calling you names, threatening your life, and generally muddying every conversation.

Two things:

1) When you dismiss legitimate complaints about FCPS as “MAGA” or “right wing”, you go a long way toward hollowing out the Democratic Party. It’s akin to making an argument that you don’t want me in your coalition. That might not impact whether a Democrat gets elected in deep blue Fairfax, but are you sure you want to turn away people from the Democratic Party? Is that going to get Dems back into power? I’m incredibly frustrated with what’s going on at the national level. I’m also mad as hell at what this school board is doing. The school board is doing one hell of a job recruiting me for the Republican Party.

2) can you point me to the posting for the superintendent job? Otherwise, your point about people being able to apply for it just comes off as unserious.

No one is dismissing your complaints. I have been arguing with you here and I AGREE with your COMPLAINTS. We are disagreeing with your idea that vouchers will help solve the issues you are raising. The idea that blowing up the system to get what you want is harmful to me and my kids. It isn’t going to touch the schoool board.

In simple language:
We agree with your complaints.

We disagree that your solution will help.

Other than accusing your opponents of being MAGA, what’s your solution?

In any post I have put up, I have very carefully said that you aren’t MAGA. Your solution however uses a similar thought process.

Early Release: Look if my kid came home saying they had been on a lap top for 3 hours, I would contact the school. I would request that my child read a book and be allowed outside during that block so they switch groups. I would look for camps like code ninja or martial arts programs that pick up from school for those days. I would also escalate as necessary. Principal, executive principal, etc if that continued. Keep in mind if your kid is in elementary, that may be the last thing they did or the most salient in their minds.

Redistricting: Personally, I’m biding my time until the next maps come out. Then it is full frontal assault. Keep pinging them on WHY they want this. Join the facebook group fairfacts. Email your area BRAC members, school board. Keep the pressure on. Talk about how beleaguered we are as a county and how they can’t possibly have accurate enrollment information with the unemployment and deportments. Pressure has worked to have them lessen the scope and allow grandfathering. Keep it up.

Alienating parents: I think not have homework is a huge issue because we as parents don’t know what our kids are doing and what they need help with. Make it mandatory. Sure some will hate this, but weekly homework issued on Monday and due on Friday keeps parents informed. It would go a long way to establish connection between home and school.

I agree with you on homework (within reason and appropriate).

On early dismissal you seem to miss the part where Reid lied to parents in 2025, took no parental feedback before the 2026 decision, and now you think it’s on parents to scramble to fix it at their own expense. This is the alienation point: if I’m taking PTO or paying for additional services to cover what is already supposed to be educational time, the school is already failed. Yes parents can mitigate the failure, but everything you suggested to mitigate the failure is a private option. If you’re saying I need to pay private organizations to educate my child…why wouldn’t I just take a voucher to offset the cost of paying a private organization to educate my child?

No I didn’t say that privates were the only option. I said to make a complaint and escalate first. I would absolutely do this repeatedly if was contemplating taking time off work over sending my kid to the aftercare.

Another idea, ask one of your kids friends/parents if they can come over and the reciprocate another day.

If you are unable to see that paying a private program for 40 hours a year for supplemental activities is different than paying a years worth of academic tuition I’m not sure we are agreeing on how math works.

To you “Reid lied to us” point all school systems in the area “lied” because they were all scrambling last year. This year we were told well before summer. Early release PD days are common in most school districts.

I don’t know that I consider May “well before summer” or that five minutes at the end of a board meeting constitutes communication but sure. You can feel satisfied by that if you want. The lie was that last year was the only year we were doing it, and that we “had” to. Now here we are. You feel satisfied, I feel disrespected and alienated. We both get the same number of votes in an election and so the school needs to figure out how to get people while feel like I do to pull the lever for them.


And this isn’t a math problem, so much as a roles issue. Yes, I can take PTO, or organize playdates, but the point is that my child is wasting eight days they’re supposed to be learning. If I want them to be learning on those eight days, your point is I should pay a private organization to make sure they’re learning. My point is if I am responsible for finding a private organization to educate my child eight of the days FCPS is already responsible for doing so, why don’t I just find one organization for the other 172 as well?

You are changing the argument from: I want to pay a private entity to educate my child for 180 days because of 40 hours. Ok that sounds like overkill to me, but sure do that.

To : Because I want this, I am going to vote to destroy public schooling in Fairfax.

That escalation right there is why you are acting out of emotion and not reason.

I think you’re projecting about emotional actions here. Vouchers won’t “destroy” public schooling in Fairfax unless a preponderance of families opt to leave. FCPS can make itself a place families don’t want to leave and save itself from this “destruction”.

If vouchers become available (and I think VA will opt in) and I have to pay for a private institution to educate my kids anyway, why don’t I just pay a private institution to educate my kids and take available money to do it. If the public school wants to educate my kids they can start acting like it.

Because the private schools typically respond by increasing their prices roughly the same amount as the vouchers are for. Most people who take advantage of the vouchers already were sending their kids to private schools and could afford the cost without the vouchers. Few additional kids end up going to private schools, the private schools end up making significantly more money and the funds that would have stayed in the public schools are taken away.

DP. If FCPS is going to treat my family as their adversary, why should I be concerned about whether vouchers hurt funding?

If private schools make more money, as you say is the only impact from vouchers, then it’ll incentivize more entry into the private market. Maybe one can reverse uno buy one of the FCPS schools that they’ll need to shut down because of the drop in enrollment!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But vouchers historically don't actually help anyone go to private school. If vouchers are for $5000, the price of tuition at the private schools goes up nearly $5000. It's just padding the profits for private, often religious based schools.

Private schools are also allowed to deny admission as they see fit. Your child with behavioral issues or learning disabilities that isn't thriving in public school isnt going to get into private and now they're going to be stuck in underfunded public schools with all of the other kids whose parents couldn't afford to send them to private or couldn't get in because of their own behavioral or learning issues.

Private schools have "better results" because they are selective over who they admit. If you can't test well and are going to bring their numbers down, you're dropped from the program. Sure, having a cohort of other intelligent kids can motivate many kids to do better but there is no private school magic that makes the learning better other than exclusion of everyone who would hold their scores back.

My kid is high performing without any known learning disability/issues. And we can relatively easily afford private school, even the ones that rival college tuition.

I never thought in a million years that I’d consider private school. I was a public school kid and believe in the value of that system. I believe that teachers should be paid a lot more than they are.

But when the school board actively goes after my families and my neighbors because we are in a certain neighborhood and they use our kids as their resources to deploy to try to help other kids, that’s the point I say “no thanks.”

And it’s because of that betrayal that I would reluctantly become an opponent of the public school system that I have always supported. I guess in a way this will become my villain backstory.

So glad you have the option to send your kid to that private school. I am sure the fcps teachers at your assigned school won’t notice you changes schools. Isn’t it great we live in a free country?

Let’s ask the Arizona school system how that worked out for them.

You should be careful if you are looking to push UMC out of the school system. Might backfire. But maybe you didn’t get a chance to read that article?

I am the PP. So m, we sent our kids to a private religious school for a few years. I worked there, so it made sense schedule-wise and for the religious education. Was the education high quality? Well, my kids are high achievers, so they did well. They were rule followers as well, so they didn’t get into trouble. However, the kids who couldn’t keep up academically, or in conduct, were shown the door. The “special needs” department was closed at some point, leaving a lot of kids without support.

They were always asking for more money, and working parents complained about no-school days because they didn’t match up with fcps days, so finding a “camp” for the teacher work days, or spring break was near impossible. Parents had to complete a certain amount of volunteer hours. There were charged more money if they failed at that.

Many teachers had no credentials; the pay was low as well. Parents of boys were always getting complaints from teachers because they “couldn’t sit still”. The rooms were tight, around 28-30 students per class. Also, because of the small number of students, they barely offered electives. There were no honor level classes or gifted and talented options. Crazy smart kids were lumped into “gen-pop” groups, and then expected to “behave” when they were bored out of their minds!

We moved our kids to fcps for high school, not a top rated one, and they have done well. The only issue we have is with the bathrooms being closed during the day. We 100% voted to support public schools while our kids were at private. Public education benefits all of society, in my view. Is it perfect? Of course not, is it better than most private schools, I would argue that it is.

Forgot to add, many of my kids’ friends, when they were at the private school did not live close by. Not a deal breaker for many, but something to keep in mind.