Mclean boundary changes - can someone please update?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Facilities had more to do than Karen Corbett Sanders with reneging on the plans to expand McLean and expand Langley more than originally planned. I sat in a room where Janie Strauss said McLean would get an addition before any students were moved to Langley and the principal said that Kevin Sneed (who used to report to Platenberg) had already gone over the building plans with her.

For three years the CIPs, which Facilities is primarily responsible for assembling, said Langley's expansion would increase the capacity to 2100. Only in 2018 as the renovation was wrapping up did they disclose that they had actually increased the capacity to 2350. As far as I can tell, it was Platenberg who decided it would just be easier and cheaper to do that.

Corbett Sanders was Chair in 2018 when Janie Strauss tried to get a boundary change approved that would have moved part of McLean to Langley, including some Tysons apartments. Corbett Sanders was among those on the Board who killed that because she said they needed to slow down, do a much bigger review, and make sure any boundary changes were consistent with their "One Fairfax" focus.

So things dragged out for 2-3 more years. At the end of the day, they made a change that could have been made three years ago and would have been the obvious change if all you wanted was a "cleaner" boundary map. Elaine Tholen and Rachna Sizemore-Heizer were among those who said at one point it was critical to add diversity to Langley by moving some multi-family housing there, only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier. And now they are the ones spouting the position of the Colvin Run parents that the staff's recommendation wouldn't have moved the needle much in terms of diversity because some rentals in Tysons (i.e., the most expensive ones) cost as much as a mortgage on a single-family house in Vienna (that may be true, but it's also largely irrelevant, since the area that the staff proposed to move also would have included condos that cost less than 50% of the least expensive housing anywhere in the Langley district and absolutely would have contributed to greater diversity there).

I get that this is a done deal, and that we need to move on. But it's also a case study in how inept and two-faced FCPS and the School Board has been and how the decisions they routinely make are 180 degrees the opposite of the values they pretend to hold. We should get new School Board members, and they should just toss "One Fairfax" in the trash can, because all it really does is slow things down.

Thanks for the recap on the history. I agree it was a huge waste of time and effort on their part to end up here, and a colossal waste of time for parents potentially affected to follow their 3 year plus saga. Plus I agree certain SB members were two faced, and that they were totally incompetent. I just wanted to add to your comment re: "only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier."

I'm one of the parents living in that boundary island where we got flipped from McLean to Langley. I am not a parent in those boundary islands who wanted to switch to Langley because it's "wealthier."

While there are many reasons we prefer McLean High, one of them is that the FARMS rate is too low in Langley at 3.6% as opposed to 10.6% for Mckean(2019-2020 stats), and we do NOT like the minimal socioeconomic diversity at Langley. I would say most houses in that boundary island that got flipped are only in the $850k- $1.1 mil range, which is on the lower end of house prices zoned for Langley. We are not super wealthy people trying to stay with only super wealthy people despite a longer hike to school, for goodness sake.

And yes, in my case, McLean High is 5.5 miles away from us as opposed to 6.6 miles away for Langley. But during commuting times, I would guess they both take similar amount of time, +/- 5 minutes. That is not a meaningful difference for me.

Whatever the reason was that caused Tholen to change her mind to push a different option, my family is stuck with the effects of the vote. We are upset about it, to the point we've already started talking about when would be a realistic time to put our house for sale and move to McLean proper to stay zoned to McLean High.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Facilities had more to do than Karen Corbett Sanders with reneging on the plans to expand McLean and expand Langley more than originally planned. I sat in a room where Janie Strauss said McLean would get an addition before any students were moved to Langley and the principal said that Kevin Sneed (who used to report to Platenberg) had already gone over the building plans with her.

For three years the CIPs, which Facilities is primarily responsible for assembling, said Langley's expansion would increase the capacity to 2100. Only in 2018 as the renovation was wrapping up did they disclose that they had actually increased the capacity to 2350. As far as I can tell, it was Platenberg who decided it would just be easier and cheaper to do that.

Corbett Sanders was Chair in 2018 when Janie Strauss tried to get a boundary change approved that would have moved part of McLean to Langley, including some Tysons apartments. Corbett Sanders was among those on the Board who killed that because she said they needed to slow down, do a much bigger review, and make sure any boundary changes were consistent with their "One Fairfax" focus.

So things dragged out for 2-3 more years. At the end of the day, they made a change that could have been made three years ago and would have been the obvious change if all you wanted was a "cleaner" boundary map. Elaine Tholen and Rachna Sizemore-Heizer were among those who said at one point it was critical to add diversity to Langley by moving some multi-family housing there, only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier. And now they are the ones spouting the position of the Colvin Run parents that the staff's recommendation wouldn't have moved the needle much in terms of diversity because some rentals in Tysons (i.e., the most expensive ones) cost as much as a mortgage on a single-family house in Vienna (that may be true, but it's also largely irrelevant, since the area that the staff proposed to move also would have included condos that cost less than 50% of the least expensive housing anywhere in the Langley district and absolutely would have contributed to greater diversity there).

I get that this is a done deal, and that we need to move on. But it's also a case study in how inept and two-faced FCPS and the School Board has been and how the decisions they routinely make are 180 degrees the opposite of the values they pretend to hold. We should get new School Board members, and they should just toss "One Fairfax" in the trash can, because all it really does is slow things down.

Thanks for the recap on the history. I agree it was a huge waste of time and effort on their part to end up here, and a colossal waste of time for parents potentially affected to follow their 3 year plus saga. Plus I agree certain SB members were two faced, and that they were totally incompetent. I just wanted to add to your comment re: "only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier."

I'm one of the parents living in that boundary island where we got flipped from McLean to Langley. I am not a parent in those boundary islands who wanted to switch to Langley because it's "wealthier."

While there are many reasons we prefer McLean High, one of them is that the FARMS rate is too low in Langley at 3.6% as opposed to 10.6% for Mckean(2019-2020 stats), and we do NOT like the minimal socioeconomic diversity at Langley. I would say most houses in that boundary island that got flipped are only in the $850k- $1.1 mil range, which is on the lower end of house prices zoned for Langley. We are not super wealthy people trying to stay with only super wealthy people despite a longer hike to school, for goodness sake.

And yes, in my case, McLean High is 5.5 miles away from us as opposed to 6.6 miles away for Langley. But during commuting times, I would guess they both take similar amount of time, +/- 5 minutes. That is not a meaningful difference for me.

Whatever the reason was that caused Tholen to change her mind to push a different option, my family is stuck with the effects of the vote. We are upset about it, to the point we've already started talking about when would be a realistic time to put our house for sale and move to McLean proper to stay zoned to McLean High.

I apologize. I did not mean to imply everyone in that area had the same perspective Nor do I discount the advantages some of those families see in having a feeder pattern where their kids stay with their classmates from ES to HS (although having attended an ES that was a split feeder, it was a non-issue given how many new kids you meet in middle school).

However, it was people from that area who fought the hardest to get the staff's recommendation overturned in favor of Option B. And time has shown that when parents at a split feeder have an opening to move to a wealthier school, the majority will advocate to do so, whereas it is rare for parents to ask FCPS to eliminate a split feeder so they can attend a less affluent school. When that happens, and the School Board bases its decision on those who make the most noise, they end up increasing the disparities among schools. They've also now created a situation at Spring Hill ES where every single child who lives in a detached house will attend Cooper/Langley, and every single child who lives in a condo or apartment will attend Longfellow/McLean. That seems problematic to me.

But if they're OK with that approach, I wish they'd just gone ahead and done it years ago rather than drag it out so long.

Good luck to you and everyone else who may be facing a decision soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Facilities had more to do than Karen Corbett Sanders with reneging on the plans to expand McLean and expand Langley more than originally planned. I sat in a room where Janie Strauss said McLean would get an addition before any students were moved to Langley and the principal said that Kevin Sneed (who used to report to Platenberg) had already gone over the building plans with her.

For three years the CIPs, which Facilities is primarily responsible for assembling, said Langley's expansion would increase the capacity to 2100. Only in 2018 as the renovation was wrapping up did they disclose that they had actually increased the capacity to 2350. As far as I can tell, it was Platenberg who decided it would just be easier and cheaper to do that.

Corbett Sanders was Chair in 2018 when Janie Strauss tried to get a boundary change approved that would have moved part of McLean to Langley, including some Tysons apartments. Corbett Sanders was among those on the Board who killed that because she said they needed to slow down, do a much bigger review, and make sure any boundary changes were consistent with their "One Fairfax" focus.

So things dragged out for 2-3 more years. At the end of the day, they made a change that could have been made three years ago and would have been the obvious change if all you wanted was a "cleaner" boundary map. Elaine Tholen and Rachna Sizemore-Heizer were among those who said at one point it was critical to add diversity to Langley by moving some multi-family housing there, only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier. And now they are the ones spouting the position of the Colvin Run parents that the staff's recommendation wouldn't have moved the needle much in terms of diversity because some rentals in Tysons (i.e., the most expensive ones) cost as much as a mortgage on a single-family house in Vienna (that may be true, but it's also largely irrelevant, since the area that the staff proposed to move also would have included condos that cost less than 50% of the least expensive housing anywhere in the Langley district and absolutely would have contributed to greater diversity there).

I get that this is a done deal, and that we need to move on. But it's also a case study in how inept and two-faced FCPS and the School Board has been and how the decisions they routinely make are 180 degrees the opposite of the values they pretend to hold. We should get new School Board members, and they should just toss "One Fairfax" in the trash can, because all it really does is slow things down.

Totally agree with your last sentence. “One Fairfax” is simply a virtue signaling exercise.

As for the rest of your post, you have repeated this saga ad nauseum. We are all aware of the timeline. It has already been established that the Colvin Run neighborhoods being moved to Langley are NO FURTHER away than they are from McLean. In fact, that entire area (Shouse, etc.) was originally zoned to Langley in the 80s, and the surrounding neighborhoods all currently go to Langley - busing is no issue. They’re simply moving them back because now McLean is overcrowded. It’s really very simple and this nonsense you keep spouting about those families choosing the “wealthier” school is just absurd. What they want is to end the split-feeder at Colvin Run so that all students move on to the same middle and high school together. And since this move alleviates crowding at McLean, it’s a win-win. Of course they should have done this years ago, as you pointed out. But now that they finally are, it’s a good move. So stop complaining about what amounts to nothing, and use that energy to make FCPS give McLean an addition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Facilities had more to do than Karen Corbett Sanders with reneging on the plans to expand McLean and expand Langley more than originally planned. I sat in a room where Janie Strauss said McLean would get an addition before any students were moved to Langley and the principal said that Kevin Sneed (who used to report to Platenberg) had already gone over the building plans with her.

For three years the CIPs, which Facilities is primarily responsible for assembling, said Langley's expansion would increase the capacity to 2100. Only in 2018 as the renovation was wrapping up did they disclose that they had actually increased the capacity to 2350. As far as I can tell, it was Platenberg who decided it would just be easier and cheaper to do that.

Corbett Sanders was Chair in 2018 when Janie Strauss tried to get a boundary change approved that would have moved part of McLean to Langley, including some Tysons apartments. Corbett Sanders was among those on the Board who killed that because she said they needed to slow down, do a much bigger review, and make sure any boundary changes were consistent with their "One Fairfax" focus.

So things dragged out for 2-3 more years. At the end of the day, they made a change that could have been made three years ago and would have been the obvious change if all you wanted was a "cleaner" boundary map. Elaine Tholen and Rachna Sizemore-Heizer were among those who said at one point it was critical to add diversity to Langley by moving some multi-family housing there, only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier. And now they are the ones spouting the position of the Colvin Run parents that the staff's recommendation wouldn't have moved the needle much in terms of diversity because some rentals in Tysons (i.e., the most expensive ones) cost as much as a mortgage on a single-family house in Vienna (that may be true, but it's also largely irrelevant, since the area that the staff proposed to move also would have included condos that cost less than 50% of the least expensive housing anywhere in the Langley district and absolutely would have contributed to greater diversity there).

I get that this is a done deal, and that we need to move on. But it's also a case study in how inept and two-faced FCPS and the School Board has been and how the decisions they routinely make are 180 degrees the opposite of the values they pretend to hold. We should get new School Board members, and they should just toss "One Fairfax" in the trash can, because all it really does is slow things down.

Totally agree with your last sentence. “One Fairfax” is simply a virtue signaling exercise.

As for the rest of your post, you have repeated this saga ad nauseum. We are all aware of the timeline. It has already been established that the Colvin Run neighborhoods being moved to Langley are NO FURTHER away than they are from McLean. In fact, that entire area (Shouse, etc.) was originally zoned to Langley in the 80s, and the surrounding neighborhoods all currently go to Langley - busing is no issue. They’re simply moving them back because now McLean is overcrowded. It’s really very simple and this nonsense you keep spouting about those families choosing the “wealthier” school is just absurd. What they want is to end the split-feeder at Colvin Run so that all students move on to the same middle and high school together. And since this move alleviates crowding at McLean, it’s a win-win. Of course they should have done this years ago, as you pointed out. But now that they finally are, it’s a good move. So stop complaining about what amounts to nothing, and use that energy to make FCPS give McLean an addition.

I guess you didn't read PP who pointed out those neighborhoods are, in fact, further away from Langley than McLean. And the "surrounding neighborhoods" to which you refer are the pther side of a major road - Route 7 - and in Great Falls, not Vienna. Many of those neighborhoods in Great Falls complained bitterly when they were required to cross Route 7 to get to Colvin Run when it was built.

In any event, no one forces you to read every post; not everyone is aware of the history here; and your obsessive need to control every thread that touches on Langley, even when it's more about the impact on another school than Langley, is tiresome. Stuff it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Facilities had more to do than Karen Corbett Sanders with reneging on the plans to expand McLean and expand Langley more than originally planned. I sat in a room where Janie Strauss said McLean would get an addition before any students were moved to Langley and the principal said that Kevin Sneed (who used to report to Platenberg) had already gone over the building plans with her.

For three years the CIPs, which Facilities is primarily responsible for assembling, said Langley's expansion would increase the capacity to 2100. Only in 2018 as the renovation was wrapping up did they disclose that they had actually increased the capacity to 2350. As far as I can tell, it was Platenberg who decided it would just be easier and cheaper to do that.

Corbett Sanders was Chair in 2018 when Janie Strauss tried to get a boundary change approved that would have moved part of McLean to Langley, including some Tysons apartments. Corbett Sanders was among those on the Board who killed that because she said they needed to slow down, do a much bigger review, and make sure any boundary changes were consistent with their "One Fairfax" focus.

So things dragged out for 2-3 more years. At the end of the day, they made a change that could have been made three years ago and would have been the obvious change if all you wanted was a "cleaner" boundary map. Elaine Tholen and Rachna Sizemore-Heizer were among those who said at one point it was critical to add diversity to Langley by moving some multi-family housing there, only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier. And now they are the ones spouting the position of the Colvin Run parents that the staff's recommendation wouldn't have moved the needle much in terms of diversity because some rentals in Tysons (i.e., the most expensive ones) cost as much as a mortgage on a single-family house in Vienna (that may be true, but it's also largely irrelevant, since the area that the staff proposed to move also would have included condos that cost less than 50% of the least expensive housing anywhere in the Langley district and absolutely would have contributed to greater diversity there).

I get that this is a done deal, and that we need to move on. But it's also a case study in how inept and two-faced FCPS and the School Board has been and how the decisions they routinely make are 180 degrees the opposite of the values they pretend to hold. We should get new School Board members, and they should just toss "One Fairfax" in the trash can, because all it really does is slow things down.

Thanks for the recap on the history. I agree it was a huge waste of time and effort on their part to end up here, and a colossal waste of time for parents potentially affected to follow their 3 year plus saga. Plus I agree certain SB members were two faced, and that they were totally incompetent. I just wanted to add to your comment re: "only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier."

I'm one of the parents living in that boundary island where we got flipped from McLean to Langley. I am not a parent in those boundary islands who wanted to switch to Langley because it's "wealthier."

While there are many reasons we prefer McLean High, one of them is that the FARMS rate is too low in Langley at 3.6% as opposed to 10.6% for Mckean(2019-2020 stats), and we do NOT like the minimal socioeconomic diversity at Langley. I would say most houses in that boundary island that got flipped are only in the $850k- $1.1 mil range, which is on the lower end of house prices zoned for Langley. We are not super wealthy people trying to stay with only super wealthy people despite a longer hike to school, for goodness sake.

And yes, in my case, McLean High is 5.5 miles away from us as opposed to 6.6 miles away for Langley. But during commuting times, I would guess they both take similar amount of time, +/- 5 minutes. That is not a meaningful difference for me.

Whatever the reason was that caused Tholen to change her mind to push a different option, my family is stuck with the effects of the vote. We are upset about it, to the point we've already started talking about when would be a realistic time to put our house for sale and move to McLean proper to stay zoned to McLean High.

Langley parent here. I’d like to point out that there are *plenty* of homes zoned to Langley which fall in the $850-1.1 million range. I live in one of them, as do many of my kids’ friends. Honestly, this obsession some have with the “socioeconomic diversity” of the two schools is bizarre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Facilities had more to do than Karen Corbett Sanders with reneging on the plans to expand McLean and expand Langley more than originally planned. I sat in a room where Janie Strauss said McLean would get an addition before any students were moved to Langley and the principal said that Kevin Sneed (who used to report to Platenberg) had already gone over the building plans with her.

For three years the CIPs, which Facilities is primarily responsible for assembling, said Langley's expansion would increase the capacity to 2100. Only in 2018 as the renovation was wrapping up did they disclose that they had actually increased the capacity to 2350. As far as I can tell, it was Platenberg who decided it would just be easier and cheaper to do that.

Corbett Sanders was Chair in 2018 when Janie Strauss tried to get a boundary change approved that would have moved part of McLean to Langley, including some Tysons apartments. Corbett Sanders was among those on the Board who killed that because she said they needed to slow down, do a much bigger review, and make sure any boundary changes were consistent with their "One Fairfax" focus.

So things dragged out for 2-3 more years. At the end of the day, they made a change that could have been made three years ago and would have been the obvious change if all you wanted was a "cleaner" boundary map. Elaine Tholen and Rachna Sizemore-Heizer were among those who said at one point it was critical to add diversity to Langley by moving some multi-family housing there, only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier. And now they are the ones spouting the position of the Colvin Run parents that the staff's recommendation wouldn't have moved the needle much in terms of diversity because some rentals in Tysons (i.e., the most expensive ones) cost as much as a mortgage on a single-family house in Vienna (that may be true, but it's also largely irrelevant, since the area that the staff proposed to move also would have included condos that cost less than 50% of the least expensive housing anywhere in the Langley district and absolutely would have contributed to greater diversity there).

I get that this is a done deal, and that we need to move on. But it's also a case study in how inept and two-faced FCPS and the School Board has been and how the decisions they routinely make are 180 degrees the opposite of the values they pretend to hold. We should get new School Board members, and they should just toss "One Fairfax" in the trash can, because all it really does is slow things down.

Thanks for the recap on the history. I agree it was a huge waste of time and effort on their part to end up here, and a colossal waste of time for parents potentially affected to follow their 3 year plus saga. Plus I agree certain SB members were two faced, and that they were totally incompetent. I just wanted to add to your comment re: "only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier."

I'm one of the parents living in that boundary island where we got flipped from McLean to Langley. I am not a parent in those boundary islands who wanted to switch to Langley because it's "wealthier."

While there are many reasons we prefer McLean High, one of them is that the FARMS rate is too low in Langley at 3.6% as opposed to 10.6% for Mckean(2019-2020 stats), and we do NOT like the minimal socioeconomic diversity at Langley. I would say most houses in that boundary island that got flipped are only in the $850k- $1.1 mil range, which is on the lower end of house prices zoned for Langley. We are not super wealthy people trying to stay with only super wealthy people despite a longer hike to school, for goodness sake.

And yes, in my case, McLean High is 5.5 miles away from us as opposed to 6.6 miles away for Langley. But during commuting times, I would guess they both take similar amount of time, +/- 5 minutes. That is not a meaningful difference for me.

Whatever the reason was that caused Tholen to change her mind to push a different option, my family is stuck with the effects of the vote. We are upset about it, to the point we've already started talking about when would be a realistic time to put our house for sale and move to McLean proper to stay zoned to McLean High.

Langley parent here. I’d like to point out that there are *plenty* of homes zoned to Langley which fall in the $850-1.1 million range. I live in one of them, as do many of my kids’ friends. Honestly, this obsession some have with the “socioeconomic diversity” of the two schools is bizarre.

Langley having to take in families living in homes only worth $1 million, at this rate they'll be a title I school in no time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Facilities had more to do than Karen Corbett Sanders with reneging on the plans to expand McLean and expand Langley more than originally planned. I sat in a room where Janie Strauss said McLean would get an addition before any students were moved to Langley and the principal said that Kevin Sneed (who used to report to Platenberg) had already gone over the building plans with her.

For three years the CIPs, which Facilities is primarily responsible for assembling, said Langley's expansion would increase the capacity to 2100. Only in 2018 as the renovation was wrapping up did they disclose that they had actually increased the capacity to 2350. As far as I can tell, it was Platenberg who decided it would just be easier and cheaper to do that.

Corbett Sanders was Chair in 2018 when Janie Strauss tried to get a boundary change approved that would have moved part of McLean to Langley, including some Tysons apartments. Corbett Sanders was among those on the Board who killed that because she said they needed to slow down, do a much bigger review, and make sure any boundary changes were consistent with their "One Fairfax" focus.

So things dragged out for 2-3 more years. At the end of the day, they made a change that could have been made three years ago and would have been the obvious change if all you wanted was a "cleaner" boundary map. Elaine Tholen and Rachna Sizemore-Heizer were among those who said at one point it was critical to add diversity to Langley by moving some multi-family housing there, only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier. And now they are the ones spouting the position of the Colvin Run parents that the staff's recommendation wouldn't have moved the needle much in terms of diversity because some rentals in Tysons (i.e., the most expensive ones) cost as much as a mortgage on a single-family house in Vienna (that may be true, but it's also largely irrelevant, since the area that the staff proposed to move also would have included condos that cost less than 50% of the least expensive housing anywhere in the Langley district and absolutely would have contributed to greater diversity there).

I get that this is a done deal, and that we need to move on. But it's also a case study in how inept and two-faced FCPS and the School Board has been and how the decisions they routinely make are 180 degrees the opposite of the values they pretend to hold. We should get new School Board members, and they should just toss "One Fairfax" in the trash can, because all it really does is slow things down.

Totally agree with your last sentence. “One Fairfax” is simply a virtue signaling exercise.

As for the rest of your post, you have repeated this saga ad nauseum. We are all aware of the timeline. It has already been established that the Colvin Run neighborhoods being moved to Langley are NO FURTHER away than they are from McLean. In fact, that entire area (Shouse, etc.) was originally zoned to Langley in the 80s, and the surrounding neighborhoods all currently go to Langley - busing is no issue. They’re simply moving them back because now McLean is overcrowded. It’s really very simple and this nonsense you keep spouting about those families choosing the “wealthier” school is just absurd. What they want is to end the split-feeder at Colvin Run so that all students move on to the same middle and high school together. And since this move alleviates crowding at McLean, it’s a win-win. Of course they should have done this years ago, as you pointed out. But now that they finally are, it’s a good move. So stop complaining about what amounts to nothing, and use that energy to make FCPS give McLean an addition.

Nope. The areas to the south go to Marshall, the areas to the east go to McLean, and only the area to the north (other side of Leesburg Pike) goes to Langley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Facilities had more to do than Karen Corbett Sanders with reneging on the plans to expand McLean and expand Langley more than originally planned. I sat in a room where Janie Strauss said McLean would get an addition before any students were moved to Langley and the principal said that Kevin Sneed (who used to report to Platenberg) had already gone over the building plans with her.

For three years the CIPs, which Facilities is primarily responsible for assembling, said Langley's expansion would increase the capacity to 2100. Only in 2018 as the renovation was wrapping up did they disclose that they had actually increased the capacity to 2350. As far as I can tell, it was Platenberg who decided it would just be easier and cheaper to do that.

Corbett Sanders was Chair in 2018 when Janie Strauss tried to get a boundary change approved that would have moved part of McLean to Langley, including some Tysons apartments. Corbett Sanders was among those on the Board who killed that because she said they needed to slow down, do a much bigger review, and make sure any boundary changes were consistent with their "One Fairfax" focus.

So things dragged out for 2-3 more years. At the end of the day, they made a change that could have been made three years ago and would have been the obvious change if all you wanted was a "cleaner" boundary map. Elaine Tholen and Rachna Sizemore-Heizer were among those who said at one point it was critical to add diversity to Langley by moving some multi-family housing there, only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier. And now they are the ones spouting the position of the Colvin Run parents that the staff's recommendation wouldn't have moved the needle much in terms of diversity because some rentals in Tysons (i.e., the most expensive ones) cost as much as a mortgage on a single-family house in Vienna (that may be true, but it's also largely irrelevant, since the area that the staff proposed to move also would have included condos that cost less than 50% of the least expensive housing anywhere in the Langley district and absolutely would have contributed to greater diversity there).

I get that this is a done deal, and that we need to move on. But it's also a case study in how inept and two-faced FCPS and the School Board has been and how the decisions they routinely make are 180 degrees the opposite of the values they pretend to hold. We should get new School Board members, and they should just toss "One Fairfax" in the trash can, because all it really does is slow things down.

Totally agree with your last sentence. “One Fairfax” is simply a virtue signaling exercise.

As for the rest of your post, you have repeated this saga ad nauseum. We are all aware of the timeline. It has already been established that the Colvin Run neighborhoods being moved to Langley are NO FURTHER away than they are from McLean. In fact, that entire area (Shouse, etc.) was originally zoned to Langley in the 80s, and the surrounding neighborhoods all currently go to Langley - busing is no issue. They’re simply moving them back because now McLean is overcrowded. It’s really very simple and this nonsense you keep spouting about those families choosing the “wealthier” school is just absurd. What they want is to end the split-feeder at Colvin Run so that all students move on to the same middle and high school together. And since this move alleviates crowding at McLean, it’s a win-win. Of course they should have done this years ago, as you pointed out. But now that they finally are, it’s a good move. So stop complaining about what amounts to nothing, and use that energy to make FCPS give McLean an addition.

I guess you didn't read PP who pointed out those neighborhoods are, in fact, further away from Langley than McLean. And the "surrounding neighborhoods" to which you refer are the pther side of a major road - Route 7 - and in Great Falls, not Vienna. Many of those neighborhoods in Great Falls complained bitterly when they were required to cross Route 7 to get to Colvin Run when it was built.

In any event, no one forces you to read every post; not everyone is aware of the history here; and your obsessive need to control every thread that touches on Langley, even when it's more about the impact on another school than Langley, is tiresome. Stuff it.

“Stuff it” is really so much more civil than “go to hell,” which I see got your last post deleted.

As for “further away” - you are talking ONE MILE. And that other PP acknowledged that with traffic, etc. it made no difference. With every post you’re looking more and more ridiculous. Also, you’re obviously unaware that the area in question is indeed, an island. All the other neighborhoods on the SAME SIDE of Rt. 7, with Vienna addresses, go to Langley already. Did you know that? That’s why Shouse is considered an island. They are simply going to include it with its surrounding neighborhoods, which absolutely makes sense.

It’s really pointless trying to have a rational discussion with someone who is bound and determined to see only negatives, regardless of facts.

[Anonymous]

Langley poster doesn't see income like White people "don't see race." LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Facilities had more to do than Karen Corbett Sanders with reneging on the plans to expand McLean and expand Langley more than originally planned. I sat in a room where Janie Strauss said McLean would get an addition before any students were moved to Langley and the principal said that Kevin Sneed (who used to report to Platenberg) had already gone over the building plans with her.

For three years the CIPs, which Facilities is primarily responsible for assembling, said Langley's expansion would increase the capacity to 2100. Only in 2018 as the renovation was wrapping up did they disclose that they had actually increased the capacity to 2350. As far as I can tell, it was Platenberg who decided it would just be easier and cheaper to do that.

Corbett Sanders was Chair in 2018 when Janie Strauss tried to get a boundary change approved that would have moved part of McLean to Langley, including some Tysons apartments. Corbett Sanders was among those on the Board who killed that because she said they needed to slow down, do a much bigger review, and make sure any boundary changes were consistent with their "One Fairfax" focus.

So things dragged out for 2-3 more years. At the end of the day, they made a change that could have been made three years ago and would have been the obvious change if all you wanted was a "cleaner" boundary map. Elaine Tholen and Rachna Sizemore-Heizer were among those who said at one point it was critical to add diversity to Langley by moving some multi-family housing there, only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier. And now they are the ones spouting the position of the Colvin Run parents that the staff's recommendation wouldn't have moved the needle much in terms of diversity because some rentals in Tysons (i.e., the most expensive ones) cost as much as a mortgage on a single-family house in Vienna (that may be true, but it's also largely irrelevant, since the area that the staff proposed to move also would have included condos that cost less than 50% of the least expensive housing anywhere in the Langley district and absolutely would have contributed to greater diversity there).

I get that this is a done deal, and that we need to move on. But it's also a case study in how inept and two-faced FCPS and the School Board has been and how the decisions they routinely make are 180 degrees the opposite of the values they pretend to hold. We should get new School Board members, and they should just toss "One Fairfax" in the trash can, because all it really does is slow things down.

Totally agree with your last sentence. “One Fairfax” is simply a virtue signaling exercise.

As for the rest of your post, you have repeated this saga ad nauseum. We are all aware of the timeline. It has already been established that the Colvin Run neighborhoods being moved to Langley are NO FURTHER away than they are from McLean. In fact, that entire area (Shouse, etc.) was originally zoned to Langley in the 80s, and the surrounding neighborhoods all currently go to Langley - busing is no issue. They’re simply moving them back because now McLean is overcrowded. It’s really very simple and this nonsense you keep spouting about those families choosing the “wealthier” school is just absurd. What they want is to end the split-feeder at Colvin Run so that all students move on to the same middle and high school together. And since this move alleviates crowding at McLean, it’s a win-win. Of course they should have done this years ago, as you pointed out. But now that they finally are, it’s a good move. So stop complaining about what amounts to nothing, and use that energy to make FCPS give McLean an addition.

Nope. The areas to the south go to Marshall, the areas to the east go to McLean, and only the area to the north (other side of Leesburg Pike) goes to Langley.

Nope. The entire stretch of Rt. 7 - both sides - west of Shouse, all the way down to Herndon, go to Langley. Why don’t you know this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Langley poster doesn't see income like White people "don't see race." LOL.

And people like you would prefer to bus kids for miles out of their way, just to make Langley more “economically diverse.” Admit it - there are no low-income apartments anywhere near Langley that could be included in its boundary without having to bus those kids FAR FROM THEIR OWN HOMES. Have you asked those families how they’d feel about their kids sitting on buses much longer than necessary, all so they could be the token “poor people” at a new school? It’s disgusting that you’re so obsessed with income (and race, ethnicity, etc.) that you would happily force certain kids to be bused in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Facilities had more to do than Karen Corbett Sanders with reneging on the plans to expand McLean and expand Langley more than originally planned. I sat in a room where Janie Strauss said McLean would get an addition before any students were moved to Langley and the principal said that Kevin Sneed (who used to report to Platenberg) had already gone over the building plans with her.

For three years the CIPs, which Facilities is primarily responsible for assembling, said Langley's expansion would increase the capacity to 2100. Only in 2018 as the renovation was wrapping up did they disclose that they had actually increased the capacity to 2350. As far as I can tell, it was Platenberg who decided it would just be easier and cheaper to do that.

Corbett Sanders was Chair in 2018 when Janie Strauss tried to get a boundary change approved that would have moved part of McLean to Langley, including some Tysons apartments. Corbett Sanders was among those on the Board who killed that because she said they needed to slow down, do a much bigger review, and make sure any boundary changes were consistent with their "One Fairfax" focus.

So things dragged out for 2-3 more years. At the end of the day, they made a change that could have been made three years ago and would have been the obvious change if all you wanted was a "cleaner" boundary map. Elaine Tholen and Rachna Sizemore-Heizer were among those who said at one point it was critical to add diversity to Langley by moving some multi-family housing there, only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier. And now they are the ones spouting the position of the Colvin Run parents that the staff's recommendation wouldn't have moved the needle much in terms of diversity because some rentals in Tysons (i.e., the most expensive ones) cost as much as a mortgage on a single-family house in Vienna (that may be true, but it's also largely irrelevant, since the area that the staff proposed to move also would have included condos that cost less than 50% of the least expensive housing anywhere in the Langley district and absolutely would have contributed to greater diversity there).

I get that this is a done deal, and that we need to move on. But it's also a case study in how inept and two-faced FCPS and the School Board has been and how the decisions they routinely make are 180 degrees the opposite of the values they pretend to hold. We should get new School Board members, and they should just toss "One Fairfax" in the trash can, because all it really does is slow things down.

Totally agree with your last sentence. “One Fairfax” is simply a virtue signaling exercise.

As for the rest of your post, you have repeated this saga ad nauseum. We are all aware of the timeline. It has already been established that the Colvin Run neighborhoods being moved to Langley are NO FURTHER away than they are from McLean. In fact, that entire area (Shouse, etc.) was originally zoned to Langley in the 80s, and the surrounding neighborhoods all currently go to Langley - busing is no issue. They’re simply moving them back because now McLean is overcrowded. It’s really very simple and this nonsense you keep spouting about those families choosing the “wealthier” school is just absurd. What they want is to end the split-feeder at Colvin Run so that all students move on to the same middle and high school together. And since this move alleviates crowding at McLean, it’s a win-win. Of course they should have done this years ago, as you pointed out. But now that they finally are, it’s a good move. So stop complaining about what amounts to nothing, and use that energy to make FCPS give McLean an addition.

I guess you didn't read PP who pointed out those neighborhoods are, in fact, further away from Langley than McLean. And the "surrounding neighborhoods" to which you refer are the pther side of a major road - Route 7 - and in Great Falls, not Vienna. Many of those neighborhoods in Great Falls complained bitterly when they were required to cross Route 7 to get to Colvin Run when it was built.

In any event, no one forces you to read every post; not everyone is aware of the history here; and your obsessive need to control every thread that touches on Langley, even when it's more about the impact on another school than Langley, is tiresome. Stuff it.

“Stuff it” is really so much more civil than “go to hell,” which I see got your last post deleted.

As for “further away” - you are talking ONE MILE. And that other PP acknowledged that with traffic, etc. it made no difference. With every post you’re looking more and more ridiculous. Also, you’re obviously unaware that the area in question is indeed, an island. All the other neighborhoods on the SAME SIDE of Rt. 7, with Vienna addresses, go to Langley already. Did you know that? That’s why Shouse is considered an island. They are simply going to include it with its surrounding neighborhoods, which absolutely makes sense.

It’s really pointless trying to have a rational discussion with someone who is bound and determined to see only negatives, regardless of facts.

It is pointless having a conversation with people who don't know what they are talking about, the category into which you fall.

There are other neighborhoods on the same side of Route 7 with Vienna addresses zoned to South Lakes and Marshall, as well as to Langley and McLean. And there will still be other neighborhoods on that side of Route 7 zoned to South Lakes and Marshall, even after the School Board reassigns every single-family home in Vienna now at McLean (where they'd been much longer than they'd ever been at Langley) to Langley, contrary to the staff's recommendation to move part of Tysons that is actually closer to Langley to that school.

FCPS specifically told parents in prior years that they envisioned Langley would take on some of the growth in central Tysons. The staff's recommendation was consistent with those prior assertions. Where they ended up is not. The dynamic that played out where the elimination of the "split feeder" was the pretext to move to the wealthier, renovated school played out at Colvin Run just like it played out earlier at Wakefield Forest, when kids at Annandale got moved to Woodson.

If PP decides not to relocate, they can find out first-hand whether the additional distance to Langley only takes five extra minutes on Georgetown Pike. They may find out it takes longer than that, depending on the time of day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Facilities had more to do than Karen Corbett Sanders with reneging on the plans to expand McLean and expand Langley more than originally planned. I sat in a room where Janie Strauss said McLean would get an addition before any students were moved to Langley and the principal said that Kevin Sneed (who used to report to Platenberg) had already gone over the building plans with her.

For three years the CIPs, which Facilities is primarily responsible for assembling, said Langley's expansion would increase the capacity to 2100. Only in 2018 as the renovation was wrapping up did they disclose that they had actually increased the capacity to 2350. As far as I can tell, it was Platenberg who decided it would just be easier and cheaper to do that.

Corbett Sanders was Chair in 2018 when Janie Strauss tried to get a boundary change approved that would have moved part of McLean to Langley, including some Tysons apartments. Corbett Sanders was among those on the Board who killed that because she said they needed to slow down, do a much bigger review, and make sure any boundary changes were consistent with their "One Fairfax" focus.

So things dragged out for 2-3 more years. At the end of the day, they made a change that could have been made three years ago and would have been the obvious change if all you wanted was a "cleaner" boundary map. Elaine Tholen and Rachna Sizemore-Heizer were among those who said at one point it was critical to add diversity to Langley by moving some multi-family housing there, only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier. And now they are the ones spouting the position of the Colvin Run parents that the staff's recommendation wouldn't have moved the needle much in terms of diversity because some rentals in Tysons (i.e., the most expensive ones) cost as much as a mortgage on a single-family house in Vienna (that may be true, but it's also largely irrelevant, since the area that the staff proposed to move also would have included condos that cost less than 50% of the least expensive housing anywhere in the Langley district and absolutely would have contributed to greater diversity there).

I get that this is a done deal, and that we need to move on. But it's also a case study in how inept and two-faced FCPS and the School Board has been and how the decisions they routinely make are 180 degrees the opposite of the values they pretend to hold. We should get new School Board members, and they should just toss "One Fairfax" in the trash can, because all it really does is slow things down.

Totally agree with your last sentence. “One Fairfax” is simply a virtue signaling exercise.

As for the rest of your post, you have repeated this saga ad nauseum. We are all aware of the timeline. It has already been established that the Colvin Run neighborhoods being moved to Langley are NO FURTHER away than they are from McLean. In fact, that entire area (Shouse, etc.) was originally zoned to Langley in the 80s, and the surrounding neighborhoods all currently go to Langley - busing is no issue. They’re simply moving them back because now McLean is overcrowded. It’s really very simple and this nonsense you keep spouting about those families choosing the “wealthier” school is just absurd. What they want is to end the split-feeder at Colvin Run so that all students move on to the same middle and high school together. And since this move alleviates crowding at McLean, it’s a win-win. Of course they should have done this years ago, as you pointed out. But now that they finally are, it’s a good move. So stop complaining about what amounts to nothing, and use that energy to make FCPS give McLean an addition.

Nope. The areas to the south go to Marshall, the areas to the east go to McLean, and only the area to the north (other side of Leesburg Pike) goes to Langley.

Nope. The entire stretch of Rt. 7 - both sides - west of Shouse, all the way down to Herndon, go to Langley. Why don’t you know this?

You are simply incorrect. Check the Marshall and South Lakes boundaries. You can then either go away or apologize - it doesn't really matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Langley poster doesn't see income like White people "don't see race." LOL.

And people like you would prefer to bus kids for miles out of their way, just to make Langley more “economically diverse.” Admit it - there are no low-income apartments anywhere near Langley that could be included in its boundary without having to bus those kids FAR FROM THEIR OWN HOMES. Have you asked those families how they’d feel about their kids sitting on buses much longer than necessary, all so they could be the token “poor people” at a new school? It’s disgusting that you’re so obsessed with income (and race, ethnicity, etc.) that you would happily force certain kids to be bused in.

This, too, is also incorrect. There are kids in lower-income apartments zoned to South Lakes, Marshall, and McLean who all live closer to Langley than some current Langley students. Perhaps because you have so little familiarity with lower-income areas at Langley, you aren't familiar with other neighborhoods assigned to other schools.

And whenever there is even the slightest hint that this might change, and FCPS might add greater housing diversity to Langley, someone eventually steps up (in the latest instance, Elaine Tholen) to make sure that doesn't happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Facilities had more to do than Karen Corbett Sanders with reneging on the plans to expand McLean and expand Langley more than originally planned. I sat in a room where Janie Strauss said McLean would get an addition before any students were moved to Langley and the principal said that Kevin Sneed (who used to report to Platenberg) had already gone over the building plans with her.

For three years the CIPs, which Facilities is primarily responsible for assembling, said Langley's expansion would increase the capacity to 2100. Only in 2018 as the renovation was wrapping up did they disclose that they had actually increased the capacity to 2350. As far as I can tell, it was Platenberg who decided it would just be easier and cheaper to do that.

Corbett Sanders was Chair in 2018 when Janie Strauss tried to get a boundary change approved that would have moved part of McLean to Langley, including some Tysons apartments. Corbett Sanders was among those on the Board who killed that because she said they needed to slow down, do a much bigger review, and make sure any boundary changes were consistent with their "One Fairfax" focus.

So things dragged out for 2-3 more years. At the end of the day, they made a change that could have been made three years ago and would have been the obvious change if all you wanted was a "cleaner" boundary map. Elaine Tholen and Rachna Sizemore-Heizer were among those who said at one point it was critical to add diversity to Langley by moving some multi-family housing there, only to flip in the face of pressure from the Colvin Run parents in single-family homes who wanted to move to a school that, in most cases, is further from their homes but wealthier. And now they are the ones spouting the position of the Colvin Run parents that the staff's recommendation wouldn't have moved the needle much in terms of diversity because some rentals in Tysons (i.e., the most expensive ones) cost as much as a mortgage on a single-family house in Vienna (that may be true, but it's also largely irrelevant, since the area that the staff proposed to move also would have included condos that cost less than 50% of the least expensive housing anywhere in the Langley district and absolutely would have contributed to greater diversity there).

I get that this is a done deal, and that we need to move on. But it's also a case study in how inept and two-faced FCPS and the School Board has been and how the decisions they routinely make are 180 degrees the opposite of the values they pretend to hold. We should get new School Board members, and they should just toss "One Fairfax" in the trash can, because all it really does is slow things down.

Totally agree with your last sentence. “One Fairfax” is simply a virtue signaling exercise.

As for the rest of your post, you have repeated this saga ad nauseum. We are all aware of the timeline. It has already been established that the Colvin Run neighborhoods being moved to Langley are NO FURTHER away than they are from McLean. In fact, that entire area (Shouse, etc.) was originally zoned to Langley in the 80s, and the surrounding neighborhoods all currently go to Langley - busing is no issue. They’re simply moving them back because now McLean is overcrowded. It’s really very simple and this nonsense you keep spouting about those families choosing the “wealthier” school is just absurd. What they want is to end the split-feeder at Colvin Run so that all students move on to the same middle and high school together. And since this move alleviates crowding at McLean, it’s a win-win. Of course they should have done this years ago, as you pointed out. But now that they finally are, it’s a good move. So stop complaining about what amounts to nothing, and use that energy to make FCPS give McLean an addition.

I guess you didn't read PP who pointed out those neighborhoods are, in fact, further away from Langley than McLean. And the "surrounding neighborhoods" to which you refer are the pther side of a major road - Route 7 - and in Great Falls, not Vienna. Many of those neighborhoods in Great Falls complained bitterly when they were required to cross Route 7 to get to Colvin Run when it was built.

In any event, no one forces you to read every post; not everyone is aware of the history here; and your obsessive need to control every thread that touches on Langley, even when it's more about the impact on another school than Langley, is tiresome. Stuff it.

“Stuff it” is really so much more civil than “go to hell,” which I see got your last post deleted.

As for “further away” - you are talking ONE MILE. And that other PP acknowledged that with traffic, etc. it made no difference. With every post you’re looking more and more ridiculous. Also, you’re obviously unaware that the area in question is indeed, an island. All the other neighborhoods on the SAME SIDE of Rt. 7, with Vienna addresses, go to Langley already. Did you know that? That’s why Shouse is considered an island. They are simply going to include it with its surrounding neighborhoods, which absolutely makes sense.

It’s really pointless trying to have a rational discussion with someone who is bound and determined to see only negatives, regardless of facts.

It is pointless having a conversation with people who don't know what they are talking about, the category into which you fall.

There are other neighborhoods on the same side of Route 7 with Vienna addresses zoned to South Lakes and Marshall, as well as to Langley and McLean. And there will still be other neighborhoods on that side of Route 7 zoned to South Lakes and Marshall, even after the School Board reassigns every single-family home in Vienna now at McLean (where they'd been much longer than they'd ever been at Langley) to Langley, contrary to the staff's recommendation to move part of Tysons that is actually closer to Langley to that school.

FCPS specifically told parents in prior years that they envisioned Langley would take on some of the growth in central Tysons. The staff's recommendation was consistent with those prior assertions. Where they ended up is not. The dynamic that played out where the elimination of the "split feeder" was the pretext to move to the wealthier, renovated school played out at Colvin Run just like it played out earlier at Wakefield Forest, when kids at Annandale got moved to Woodson.

If PP decides not to relocate, they can find out first-hand whether the additional distance to Langley only takes five extra minutes on Georgetown Pike. They may find out it takes longer than that, depending on the time of day.

You know what? I grew up here. I’d wager I know far more about this than you. First of all, Shouse was zoned to Langley for decades. It was only in the late 80s/early 90s that it was moved to McLean.

Secondly, you really don’t seem to know the area well at all. There are several ways to get to Langley from Shouse/Rt. 7 - Lewinsville/123/Toll Road. Georgetown Pike is on the other side of GF.

And lastly, there are no neighborhoods on Rt. 7, west of Shouse, that are zoned to South Lakes or Marshall. Once you get off Rt. 7, say onto Hunter Mill or Baron Cameron, sure. But not directly off of Rt. 7. They are all zoned to Langley. And now Shouse will be included, instead of sticking out like the weird island it has been.

I’m sorry you are so very obsessed with single-family homes. Your fixation suggests a major chip on on your shoulder, especially because it’s abundantly clear you don’t even live in the affected area.