It's Skyview High.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Skyview cost the School System $150 million and the renovations (inside and outside) will easily cost $60 million at the very least! The interior will need work (upgrades/modifications to the Elementary side of the building, band/orchestra add on or build out, add a wrestling room and the build out of the 2 side buildings with 8-10 classrooms in each building) and outside additions (Football/Soccer/Lacrosse/Field Hockey Stadium, Baseball field (most likely turf), Softball field (most likely turf) and tennis courts).

AND BY THE WAY THE NEW HS IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY that was ready to be constructed and is now not going to be built was going to cost Prince William County $358 million which DOES NOT include the cost of the land, which was purchased a few years ago for $16 million (obviously it is worth more now!).

So regardless of your views Skyview is still a BARGAIN for FCPS and Fairfax County!

It’s not a bargain unless there was a clear need, which was asserted but never demonstrated. How much another school that WASN’T built might have cost in another county is largely irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

The Cost of a similar size HS being built in a County located right beside Fairfax County in 2026 is ACTUALLY HIGHLY RELAVANT! It compares "apples to apples" as closely as possible as to what it would cost to build a new HS in Northern VA in 2026!

[Anonymous]

"Relevant", sorry for the typo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Skyview cost the School System $150 million and the renovations (inside and outside) will easily cost $60 million at the very least! The interior will need work (upgrades/modifications to the Elementary side of the building, band/orchestra add on or build out, add a wrestling room and the build out of the 2 side buildings with 8-10 classrooms in each building) and outside additions (Football/Soccer/Lacrosse/Field Hockey Stadium, Baseball field (most likely turf), Softball field (most likely turf) and tennis courts).

AND BY THE WAY THE NEW HS IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY that was ready to be constructed and is now not going to be built was going to cost Prince William County $358 million which DOES NOT include the cost of the land, which was purchased a few years ago for $16 million (obviously it is worth more now!).

So regardless of your views Skyview is still a BARGAIN for FCPS and Fairfax County!

It’s not a bargain unless there was a clear need, which was asserted but never demonstrated. How much another school that WASN’T built might have cost in another county is largely irrelevant.

There is and has been a clear need for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Skyview cost the School System $150 million and the renovations (inside and outside) will easily cost $60 million at the very least! The interior will need work (upgrades/modifications to the Elementary side of the building, band/orchestra add on or build out, add a wrestling room and the build out of the 2 side buildings with 8-10 classrooms in each building) and outside additions (Football/Soccer/Lacrosse/Field Hockey Stadium, Baseball field (most likely turf), Softball field (most likely turf) and tennis courts).

AND BY THE WAY THE NEW HS IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY that was ready to be constructed and is now not going to be built was going to cost Prince William County $358 million which DOES NOT include the cost of the land, which was purchased a few years ago for $16 million (obviously it is worth more now!).

So regardless of your views Skyview is still a BARGAIN for FCPS and Fairfax County!

It’s not a bargain unless there was a clear need, which was asserted but never demonstrated. How much another school that WASN’T built might have cost in another county is largely irrelevant.

Don't tell me about there not being a need until your child spends half their school day in a trailer like mine does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Skyview cost the School System $150 million and the renovations (inside and outside) will easily cost $60 million at the very least! The interior will need work (upgrades/modifications to the Elementary side of the building, band/orchestra add on or build out, add a wrestling room and the build out of the 2 side buildings with 8-10 classrooms in each building) and outside additions (Football/Soccer/Lacrosse/Field Hockey Stadium, Baseball field (most likely turf), Softball field (most likely turf) and tennis courts).

AND BY THE WAY THE NEW HS IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY that was ready to be constructed and is now not going to be built was going to cost Prince William County $358 million which DOES NOT include the cost of the land, which was purchased a few years ago for $16 million (obviously it is worth more now!).

So regardless of your views Skyview is still a BARGAIN for FCPS and Fairfax County!

It’s not a bargain unless there was a clear need, which was asserted but never demonstrated. How much another school that WASN’T built might have cost in another county is largely irrelevant.

Don't tell me about there not being a need until your child spends half their school day in a trailer like mine does.

They could have changed the boundaries like they did elsewhere. Herndon has 600 vacant seats.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot more than 600 kids siting in trailers, the centreville renovation and expansion has stalled (thanks to Pat herrity), chantilly is severely overcrowded, and Skyview will serve western fairfax for the next 50-100 years for a bargain price.

People asserting the purchase wasn’t smart are very short sighted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot more than 600 kids siting in trailers, the centreville renovation and expansion has stalled (thanks to Pat herrity), chantilly is severely overcrowded, and Skyview will serve western fairfax for the next 50-100 years for a bargain price.

People asserting the purchase wasn’t smart are very short sighted.

No, they are annoyed that the money wasn't spent on their school that needs renovation AND they don't want to be moved to Herndon so they want other people to fill those seats. Never mind that the people they think should be shifted to Herndon are farther away then the Great Falls families that are within a few miles of Herndon.

[Anonymous]

Hard to believe the overcrowding in that area is serious if they are willing to open a new high school with just 650 kids.

And it's just like the Democrats to blame the sole Republican politician left in Fairfax County for a renovation delay at CVHS. The Democrats control everything in this county and will have own responsibility for the schools whose renovations will be delayed because of Skyview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hard to believe the overcrowding in that area is serious if they are willing to open a new high school with just 650 kids.

And it's just like the Democrats to blame the sole Republican politician left in Fairfax County for a renovation delay at CVHS. The Democrats control everything in this county and will have own responsibility for the schools whose renovations will be delayed because of Skyview.

The overcrowding is serious. Your argument about opening with a small cohort is valid. But, that falls on the leadership of FCPS. Had they set boundaries (as the community wished) there would have been enough to open. People don't want to risk not being assigned there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hard to believe the overcrowding in that area is serious if they are willing to open a new high school with just 650 kids.

And it's just like the Democrats to blame the sole Republican politician left in Fairfax County for a renovation delay at CVHS. The Democrats control everything in this county and will have own responsibility for the schools whose renovations will be delayed because of Skyview.

They pushed off planned capacity relief for the most overcrowded school in the whole county (Coates) for a year for the boundary review, so "only" improving the capacity issues in the western high schools by 650 seats of the planned ~2,000 seems like an improvement by comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Skyview cost the School System $150 million and the renovations (inside and outside) will easily cost $60 million at the very least! The interior will need work (upgrades/modifications to the Elementary side of the building, band/orchestra add on or build out, add a wrestling room and the build out of the 2 side buildings with 8-10 classrooms in each building) and outside additions (Football/Soccer/Lacrosse/Field Hockey Stadium, Baseball field (most likely turf), Softball field (most likely turf) and tennis courts).

AND BY THE WAY THE NEW HS IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY that was ready to be constructed and is now not going to be built was going to cost Prince William County $358 million which DOES NOT include the cost of the land, which was purchased a few years ago for $16 million (obviously it is worth more now!).

So regardless of your views Skyview is still a BARGAIN for FCPS and Fairfax County!

It’s not a bargain unless there was a clear need, which was asserted but never demonstrated. How much another school that WASN’T built might have cost in another county is largely irrelevant.

Don't tell me about there not being a need until your child spends half their school day in a trailer like mine does.

They could have changed the boundaries like they did elsewhere. Herndon has 600 vacant seats.

Herndon is too far away to relieve Chantilly HS. I know you don't mind sending your kids halfway across the county, but that's idiotic and I hope it gets addressed in the next review, rather than wasting money expanding where they go now. It will be fun to watch your tune change about filling empty seats first then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m fiscally conservative and don’t like the crazy spending by FCPS.

But I agree with buying KA, and in my opinion, this is pretty much the only thing the board got right.

They have been saying the enrollment would go down but high schools in Western Fairfax kept growing to unhealthy level.

Overall, I think it’s better to have six schools with 2,000 kids each than five schools with 2,400 kids each.

They built or expanded multiple schools in Western Fairfax to accommodate more than 2,400 kids each. The schools with smaller capacities are further east. And several of the schools in Western Fairfax (most notably, Centreville and Herndon) have seen declining enrollments in recent years.

So your post just shows how people are ready to toss their principles aside and praise wasteful spending as long as they stand to benefit personally.

What principles did we throw away?

The board had been expanding existing schools because it couldn’t find suitable land. But then a private high school came on the market in 2025. The board decided it was still better to buy that school despite all the previous expansions.

And many people including me agree with that decision because it’s preferable to have a larger number of high schools with fewer students each than fewer high schools with more students each.

I think this has always been the guiding principle. Most school districts build a new high school whenever an existing one becomes too crowded.

FCPS just didn’t have land available and chose expansion as the workaround instead.

FCPS spent money in expasions not knowing KAA would be on sale. That’s not a waste.

FCPS bought KAA because Western Fairfax had been in need of a new HS (regardless of expanded capacity). That’s not a waste.

Anyway this is over. Now matter how bitter you are, Skyview High will open this fall.

PP said they were fiscally conservative. It’s pretty clear they toss that out the window when it comes to creating excess capacity in one part of the county, so long as they benefit. A fiscal conservative would spend more time looking at existing capacity and enrollment projections.

This isn’t over by any stretch, because the School Board hasn’t set boundaries for the new school yet and is up for re-election next year.

The decision about buying the school is OVER. No matter how much you complain on this board, FCPS is not reversing that decision.

Thanks, Captain Obvious.

And yet it will remain fair game to hold School Board members accountable next year for their decision to spend over $200 million, on short notice,multiple on a school that adds capacity in an area where schools had already been expanded, and where there continues to be a plan to expand yet another (CVHS), at a time when FCPS already knew or should have known enrollments would be declining and some aging schools are in very poor condition.

Maybe this will help Dixit get re-elected. Not sure it will help some others.

Huh?

Here is the correct version:
on a school that adds capacity in an area that desperately needs it.

You can complain and spin all you like, but that is a fact.

That all depends on how narrowly you define the “area.” FCPS has added, and is still planning to add at other schools, substantial capacity in western Fairfax - all predicated on the assumption, which was correct for the better part of 20 years, that another HS in western Fairfax could and would not be built.

Now they will be adding thousands of seats at a time when some schools have excess capacity and enrollments are expected to decline. Maybe it will be proven many decades from now to be the right decision. In the short term, it flies squarely in the face of the repeated claims that FCPS is cash-strapped, and it will soak up capital resources and delay other much-needed school renovations. And they’ll always blame that on Richmond, or taxpayers, rather than accept their own responsibility.

Shut up, jealous momma. Some of us desperately wanted a school that our children don't have to be on the bus for 60 minutes to get to. Yes, SIXTY minutes for my Floris kid to get to Westfield. Ours is the first bus stop. My child has opted in, thankyouverymuch.

Sorrynotsorry you don't get the shiny new high school.

Your jealousy is sooooo obvious. Deal with it, mami.

You're the one who sounds unhinged.

One of the county supervisors has said this school was a misuse of FCPS funds: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Centreville-High-School-and-Other-Renovations-Punted-for-Unnecessary-New-High-School.html?soid=1102318968708&aid=Db6H9pKaY2I&fbclid=IwY2xjawQPKAtleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF5cmF4Zzl2ajA3VVRpZ3pNc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhgqZfqvMXRwYloB5zLg8POuUGMtZqnXHaA7kcDtTU-X6DIZ9_Rtb5KsbRWb_aem_RdhEH4Lq94HJ25XEPPW0Kg

Is he jealous? Or just concerned when taxpayers get gouged?

Floris to Westfield is 10 minutes. That must be some bus route.

We're another Floris/Westfield family. That commute is not 10 minutes. Not on the bus. Certainly not when I have to drive down to Westfield at 5 pm. Our Skyview commute next year will be easy, just like our Carson commute was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Skyview cost the School System $150 million and the renovations (inside and outside) will easily cost $60 million at the very least! The interior will need work (upgrades/modifications to the Elementary side of the building, band/orchestra add on or build out, add a wrestling room and the build out of the 2 side buildings with 8-10 classrooms in each building) and outside additions (Football/Soccer/Lacrosse/Field Hockey Stadium, Baseball field (most likely turf), Softball field (most likely turf) and tennis courts).

AND BY THE WAY THE NEW HS IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY that was ready to be constructed and is now not going to be built was going to cost Prince William County $358 million which DOES NOT include the cost of the land, which was purchased a few years ago for $16 million (obviously it is worth more now!).

So regardless of your views Skyview is still a BARGAIN for FCPS and Fairfax County!

It’s not a bargain unless there was a clear need, which was asserted but never demonstrated. How much another school that WASN’T built might have cost in another county is largely irrelevant.

Don't tell me about there not being a need until your child spends half their school day in a trailer like mine does.

They could have changed the boundaries like they did elsewhere. Herndon has 600 vacant seats.

Herndon is too far away to relieve Chantilly HS. I know you don't mind sending your kids halfway across the county, but that's idiotic and I hope it gets addressed in the next review, rather than wasting money expanding where they go now. It will be fun to watch your tune change about filling empty seats first then.

Chantilly kids could have moved to Westfield (some still might) and part of Westfield could have moved to Herndon. It would have saved a lot of money.

But you’re right - if they instead plow all this money into Skyview you can be quite sure people elsewhere aren’t going to put up with their kids getting moved to fill empty spaces in Herndon. They will quite properly insist on spending whatever it takes to avoid that, so get ready to get out your checkbooks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Skyview cost the School System $150 million and the renovations (inside and outside) will easily cost $60 million at the very least! The interior will need work (upgrades/modifications to the Elementary side of the building, band/orchestra add on or build out, add a wrestling room and the build out of the 2 side buildings with 8-10 classrooms in each building) and outside additions (Football/Soccer/Lacrosse/Field Hockey Stadium, Baseball field (most likely turf), Softball field (most likely turf) and tennis courts).

AND BY THE WAY THE NEW HS IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY that was ready to be constructed and is now not going to be built was going to cost Prince William County $358 million which DOES NOT include the cost of the land, which was purchased a few years ago for $16 million (obviously it is worth more now!).

So regardless of your views Skyview is still a BARGAIN for FCPS and Fairfax County!

It’s not a bargain unless there was a clear need, which was asserted but never demonstrated. How much another school that WASN’T built might have cost in another county is largely irrelevant.

Don't tell me about there not being a need until your child spends half their school day in a trailer like mine does.

They could have changed the boundaries like they did elsewhere. Herndon has 600 vacant seats.

Herndon is too far away to relieve Chantilly HS. I know you don't mind sending your kids halfway across the county, but that's idiotic and I hope it gets addressed in the next review, rather than wasting money expanding where they go now. It will be fun to watch your tune change about filling empty seats first then.

Chantilly kids could have moved to Westfield (some still might) and part of Westfield could have moved to Herndon. It would have saved a lot of money.

But you’re right - if they instead plow all this money into Skyview you can be quite sure people elsewhere aren’t going to put up with their kids getting moved to fill empty spaces in Herndon. They will quite properly insist on spending whatever it takes to avoid that, so get ready to get out your checkbooks.

There will be zero support from the school board to spend money so kids can continue to be bussed halfway across the county when empty seats are right there. Zero.