South West County HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand who thinks a high school in that location is a good idea? Who benefits from that?

If they build a new school, as planned, some students will live closer to that school or other schools to which they are reassigned.

More kids will have leadership and other athletic and extra-curricular opportunities at smaller schools.

At least one school affected might also end up with a lower concentration of poverty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand who thinks a high school in that location is a good idea? Who benefits from that?

If they build a new school, as planned, some students will live closer to that school or other schools to which they are reassigned.

More kids will have leadership and other athletic and extra-curricular opportunities at smaller schools.

At least one school affected might also end up with a lower concentration of poverty.

Now I see why you want the Hutchison site. This is not about relieving overcrowding at Chantilly or Centreville to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand who thinks a high school in that location is a good idea? Who benefits from that?

If they build a new school, as planned, some students will live closer to that school or other schools to which they are reassigned.

More kids will have leadership and other athletic and extra-curricular opportunities at smaller schools.

At least one school affected might also end up with a lower concentration of poverty.

Now I see why you want the Hutchison site. This is not about relieving overcrowding at Chantilly or Centreville to you.

Can you not read? PP asked who might benefit if the school were built at that site.

Identify a different site and we could discuss the benefits of that site, recognizing that one disadvantage might be its unavailability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand who thinks a high school in that location is a good idea? Who benefits from that?

If they build a new school, as planned, some students will live closer to that school or other schools to which they are reassigned.

More kids will have leadership and other athletic and extra-curricular opportunities at smaller schools.

At least one school affected might also end up with a lower concentration of poverty.

Now I see why you want the Hutchison site. This is not about relieving overcrowding at Chantilly or Centreville to you.

Can you not read? PP asked who might benefit if the school were built at that site.

Identify a different site and we could discuss the benefits of that site, recognizing that one disadvantage might be its unavailability.

You want to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Have you read about the traffic nightmare caused by the testing at Gatehouse? This would be every single morning at the Hutchison site. And, every evening.

[Anonymous]

Maybe they’d construct some new roads so it’s not as bad as some existing schools where all the access and egress points are to a single two-lane road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they’d construct some new roads so it’s not as bad as some existing schools where all the access and egress points are to a single two-lane road.

You must not be familiar with that site. There's no place to put new roads. Almost all the traffic would be coming from Centreville Road under the DTR. The site is on Parcher which runs parallel to DTR--with the new Metro close by. The site backs up to the DTR. So, you would have all the commuters lined up to get on the DTR--which was already a nightmare before COVID. You will be adding the commuters to the Metro. Not to mention that the kids in those neighborhoods go to Westfield and South Lakes--neither of which are overcrowded. Herndon is not overcrowded either.

[Anonymous]

Maybe they find a way to connect Parcher to Herndon Parkway, or come up with something else like Lions Run near Fairfax or Jaguar Trail near Falls Church.

But as PP pointed out, sometimes you work with what’s available. I’ve heard the traffic near Langley on Georgetown Pike can be a PITA but they cope.

In any event, the objections to the site and even the need for a new school aren’t new. I guess you don’t have much pull with Pekarsky or Tholen if you haven’t gotten them to convince FCPS staff to revise the 2021 bond and now the CIP to remove the references to the new western high school. I’m sure people could find other uses for the $23.5M previously allocated for acquisition costs if the money were available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they find a way to connect Parcher to Herndon Parkway, or come up with something else like Lions Run near Fairfax or Jaguar Trail near Falls Church.

But as PP pointed out, sometimes you work with what’s available. I’ve heard the traffic near Langley on Georgetown Pike can be a PITA but they cope.

In any event, the objections to the site and even the need for a new school aren’t new. I guess you don’t have much pull with Pekarsky or Tholen if you haven’t gotten them to convince FCPS staff to revise the 2021 bond and now the CIP to remove the references to the new western high school. I’m sure people could find other uses for the $23.5M previously allocated for acquisition costs if the money were available.

Does the CIP mention the Hutchison site? Pekarsky is my SB rep. Since both schools needing relief are attended by Sully kids, I doubt seriously that she would think the Hutchison site would work. As for Tholen, why would she want the school at all?
If they did put the school at Hutchison, there would be a lot of Hunter Mill kids pulled for it--and I seriously doubt that Mehren would people be happy with that. You do realize that Dranesville and Hunter Mill are the closest districts to Hutchison?

And, since Pekarsky lives in Centreville area, I'm pretty sure that would not be her solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they find a way to connect Parcher to Herndon Parkway, or come up with something else like Lions Run near Fairfax or Jaguar Trail near Falls Church.

But as PP pointed out, sometimes you work with what’s available. I’ve heard the traffic near Langley on Georgetown Pike can be a PITA but they cope.

In any event, the objections to the site and even the need for a new school aren’t new. I guess you don’t have much pull with Pekarsky or Tholen if you haven’t gotten them to convince FCPS staff to revise the 2021 bond and now the CIP to remove the references to the new western high school. I’m sure people could find other uses for the $23.5M previously allocated for acquisition costs if the money were available.

Does the CIP mention the Hutchison site? Pekarsky is my SB rep. Since both schools needing relief are attended by Sully kids, I doubt seriously that she would think the Hutchison site would work. As for Tholen, why would she want the school at all?
If they did put the school at Hutchison, there would be a lot of Hunter Mill kids pulled for it--and I seriously doubt that Mehren would people be happy with that. You do realize that Dranesville and Hunter Mill are the closest districts to Hutchison?

And, since Pekarsky lives in Centreville area, I'm pretty sure that would not be her solution.

That’s the point. If you think these School Board members and their constituents would oppose a new school, why aren’t you inveighing upon them to get FCPS to exclude reference to the “Western HS” from the CIP and descriptions of the intended use of bond proceeds.

The draft 2023-27 CIP refers to the future western high school at pp. 40, 41, 54 and 206, indicating as noted earlier in the thread that the final site is TBD.

[Anonymous]

They have spent years not getting one high school built. Doubt they plan to build two. They don't need two. Look at the projections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they find a way to connect Parcher to Herndon Parkway, or come up with something else like Lions Run near Fairfax or Jaguar Trail near Falls Church.

But as PP pointed out, sometimes you work with what’s available. I’ve heard the traffic near Langley on Georgetown Pike can be a PITA but they cope.

In any event, the objections to the site and even the need for a new school aren’t new. I guess you don’t have much pull with Pekarsky or Tholen if you haven’t gotten them to convince FCPS staff to revise the 2021 bond and now the CIP to remove the references to the new western high school. I’m sure people could find other uses for the $23.5M previously allocated for acquisition costs if the money were available.

Does the CIP mention the Hutchison site? Pekarsky is my SB rep. Since both schools needing relief are attended by Sully kids, I doubt seriously that she would think the Hutchison site would work. As for Tholen, why would she want the school at all?
If they did put the school at Hutchison, there would be a lot of Hunter Mill kids pulled for it--and I seriously doubt that Mehren would people be happy with that. You do realize that Dranesville and Hunter Mill are the closest districts to Hutchison?

And, since Pekarsky lives in Centreville area, I'm pretty sure that would not be her solution.

That’s the point. If you think these School Board members and their constituents would oppose a new school, why aren’t you inveighing upon them to get FCPS to exclude reference to the “Western HS” from the CIP and descriptions of the intended use of bond proceeds.

The draft 2023-27 CIP refers to the future western high school at pp. 40, 41, 54 and 206, indicating as noted earlier in the thread that the final site is TBD.

OP here.

Actually if compare 2023-2027 draft CIP with 2022-2026 final CIP, the new CIP mentions less about the new Western high school (such as it would provide a relief to nearby high schools) and brings up this South West HS. You won’t be able to find South West HS in the older CIP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they find a way to connect Parcher to Herndon Parkway, or come up with something else like Lions Run near Fairfax or Jaguar Trail near Falls Church.

But as PP pointed out, sometimes you work with what’s available. I’ve heard the traffic near Langley on Georgetown Pike can be a PITA but they cope.

In any event, the objections to the site and even the need for a new school aren’t new. I guess you don’t have much pull with Pekarsky or Tholen if you haven’t gotten them to convince FCPS staff to revise the 2021 bond and now the CIP to remove the references to the new western high school. I’m sure people could find other uses for the $23.5M previously allocated for acquisition costs if the money were available.

Does the CIP mention the Hutchison site? Pekarsky is my SB rep. Since both schools needing relief are attended by Sully kids, I doubt seriously that she would think the Hutchison site would work. As for Tholen, why would she want the school at all?
If they did put the school at Hutchison, there would be a lot of Hunter Mill kids pulled for it--and I seriously doubt that Mehren would people be happy with that. You do realize that Dranesville and Hunter Mill are the closest districts to Hutchison?

And, since Pekarsky lives in Centreville area, I'm pretty sure that would not be her solution.

That’s the point. If you think these School Board members and their constituents would oppose a new school, why aren’t you inveighing upon them to get FCPS to exclude reference to the “Western HS” from the CIP and descriptions of the intended use of bond proceeds.

The draft 2023-27 CIP refers to the future western high school at pp. 40, 41, 54 and 206, indicating as noted earlier in the thread that the final site is TBD.

OP here.

Actually if compare 2023-2027 draft CIP with 2022-2026 final CIP, the new CIP mentions less about the new Western high school (such as it would provide a relief to nearby high schools) and brings up this South West HS. You won’t be able to find South West HS in the older CIP.

It indicates that the school was identified as the South West HS in the 2013 bond and the Western HS in the 2021 bond. There are surely references to the South West HS in older CIPs closer to the 2013 bond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they find a way to connect Parcher to Herndon Parkway, or come up with something else like Lions Run near Fairfax or Jaguar Trail near Falls Church.

But as PP pointed out, sometimes you work with what’s available. I’ve heard the traffic near Langley on Georgetown Pike can be a PITA but they cope.

In any event, the objections to the site and even the need for a new school aren’t new. I guess you don’t have much pull with Pekarsky or Tholen if you haven’t gotten them to convince FCPS staff to revise the 2021 bond and now the CIP to remove the references to the new western high school. I’m sure people could find other uses for the $23.5M previously allocated for acquisition costs if the money were available.

Does the CIP mention the Hutchison site? Pekarsky is my SB rep. Since both schools needing relief are attended by Sully kids, I doubt seriously that she would think the Hutchison site would work. As for Tholen, why would she want the school at all?
If they did put the school at Hutchison, there would be a lot of Hunter Mill kids pulled for it--and I seriously doubt that Mehren would people be happy with that. You do realize that Dranesville and Hunter Mill are the closest districts to Hutchison?

And, since Pekarsky lives in Centreville area, I'm pretty sure that would not be her solution.

That’s the point. If you think these School Board members and their constituents would oppose a new school, why aren’t you inveighing upon them to get FCPS to exclude reference to the “Western HS” from the CIP and descriptions of the intended use of bond proceeds.

The draft 2023-27 CIP refers to the future western high school at pp. 40, 41, 54 and 206, indicating as noted earlier in the thread that the final site is TBD.

OP here.

Actually if compare 2023-2027 draft CIP with 2022-2026 final CIP, the new CIP mentions less about the new Western high school (such as it would provide a relief to nearby high schools) and brings up this South West HS. You won’t be able to find South West HS in the older CIP.

It indicates that the school was identified as the South West HS in the 2013 bond and the Western HS in the 2021 bond. There are surely references to the South West HS in older CIPs closer to the 2013 bond.

I am not disputing that. But why did they bring up the South West HS from the dead? Why does the new CIP stop saying that the new Western HS progide the relief to nearby schools?

I am speculating here but knowing the FCPS board, I expect that they are going to say they will evaluate BOTH areas while they already know exactly where it is going to be built.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hutchison is NOWHERE near Centreville or Chantilly HS. Maybe they could take some of EC Lawrence park land and build a high school.

Hutchison has no redeeming qualities for a new high school. The neighborhoods who are closest are: Herndon; South Lakes; and Westfield. They'd have to take those neighborhoods from South Lakes that they fought so hard to get.

There are neighborhoods along Lee Highway near Centreville that border Centreville High School, and get sent to Fairfax--read the comment section in the boundary survey--many comments that their kids should be at Centreville or Chantilly, and not Fairfax.

The Hutchison site makes no sense. It appears that some want it there because it would take some low income kids out of Herndon High. The irony, of course, is that the new Metro will increase higher income people in that corridor. I suspect that the current Hutchison neighborhoods will get rebuilt and renovated.

When Herndon/Langley boundaries were set, Herndon had nowhere near the low income kids it does now. Neighborhoods change.

Stop with the myth that Herndon parents want to boot low SES kids out. Also, the Hutchison site has been named in FCPS documentation after it sold property by Rachel Carson for the Saudi school.

[Anonymous]

Where is Hutchison named? I keep hearing but have seen nothing in writing.