Hearing Testimony on FCPS Proposed CIP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in complete agreement that pockets of high-income families should not be "gerrymandered" in to the schools they want, but that is not the case for these few Rolling Valley subdivisions that go to Key/Lee. If, for instance, those subdivisions were high rise apartments with low income families I would absolutely feel the same way - that those few kids who spent 7 years at Rolling Valley building friendships, community, and support networks not to mention belonging to the same pools, sports teams, and churches as the RVES kids that go to West Springfield HS should absolutely be able to continue on with their community.

It's such a tiny group of people. If it were more equal then a split is fine, but it's only a very small group of kids.

Again, identify the other West Springfield families you are prepared to move to Lee if these Lee families move to West Springfield. Of all the split feeders FCPS could choose to eliminate, this one ought to be pretty far down the list.

No one needs to be rezoned out of WS for 10 to 12 kids per grade from RV Elementary.

WSHS does not have capacity issues. They are undergoing construction that should be complete around 2020. By the time those RV kids get to High school capacity will be underenrolled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS (at least in the eastern part of the county) has blatantly set up a system of high SES/low SES schools. It has concentrated poverty at certain schools in a misguided effort to provide “enhanced services” for lower income populations at those schools. It’s not working.

+1. I've heard it was done intentionally as well. They will have to do an entire redistricting at the elementary, middle, and high school level to fix it.

At this point it Is not fixable in the sevens corner area.

Anyone you redone into a school like Bailey's Crossroads will either sell and move or pull their kids to send to private school.

Actually they have done a lot to shore up the Stuart pyramid - building new schools, moving top administrators to Stuart and Glasgow, and rebranding Stuart as Justice HS. The Lee pyramid has not received the same attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in complete agreement that pockets of high-income families should not be "gerrymandered" in to the schools they want, but that is not the case for these few Rolling Valley subdivisions that go to Key/Lee. If, for instance, those subdivisions were high rise apartments with low income families I would absolutely feel the same way - that those few kids who spent 7 years at Rolling Valley building friendships, community, and support networks not to mention belonging to the same pools, sports teams, and churches as the RVES kids that go to West Springfield HS should absolutely be able to continue on with their community.

It's such a tiny group of people. If it were more equal then a split is fine, but it's only a very small group of kids.

Again, identify the other West Springfield families you are prepared to move to Lee if these Lee families move to West Springfield. Of all the split feeders FCPS could choose to eliminate, this one ought to be pretty far down the list.

The easy ones should be the first to be eliminated, the ones like Daventry and this Rolling Valley neighborhood where it just affects a handful of kids (fewer than a dozen per grade) on just a few streets.

Those are the most logical and easiest to correct. They impact very few people and do not affect capacity from the losing school or the gaining schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS (at least in the eastern part of the county) has blatantly set up a system of high SES/low SES schools. It has concentrated poverty at certain schools in a misguided effort to provide “enhanced services” for lower income populations at those schools. It’s not working.

+1. I've heard it was done intentionally as well. They will have to do an entire redistricting at the elementary, middle, and high school level to fix it.

At this point it Is not fixable in the sevens corner area.

Anyone you redone into a school like Bailey's Crossroads will either sell and move or pull their kids to send to private school.

Actually they have done a lot to shore up the Stuart pyramid - building new schools, moving top administrators to Stuart and Glasgow, and rebranding Stuart as Justice HS. The Lee pyramid has not received the same attention.

Most people do not see the renaming of Stuart as a plus that would make them happy to be rezoned for that school.

They either see it as a neutral/non issue or a circus/waste of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in complete agreement that pockets of high-income families should not be "gerrymandered" in to the schools they want, but that is not the case for these few Rolling Valley subdivisions that go to Key/Lee. If, for instance, those subdivisions were high rise apartments with low income families I would absolutely feel the same way - that those few kids who spent 7 years at Rolling Valley building friendships, community, and support networks not to mention belonging to the same pools, sports teams, and churches as the RVES kids that go to West Springfield HS should absolutely be able to continue on with their community.

It's such a tiny group of people. If it were more equal then a split is fine, but it's only a very small group of kids.

Again, identify the other West Springfield families you are prepared to move to Lee if these Lee families move to West Springfield. Of all the split feeders FCPS could choose to eliminate, this one ought to be pretty far down the list.

No one needs to be rezoned out of WS for 10 to 12 kids per grade from RV Elementary.

WSHS does not have capacity issues. They are undergoing construction that should be complete around 2020. By the time those RV kids get to High school capacity will be underenrolled.

RV should not be moved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am in complete agreement that pockets of high-income families should not be "gerrymandered" in to the schools they want, but that is not the case for these few Rolling Valley subdivisions that go to Key/Lee. If, for instance, those subdivisions were high rise apartments with low income families I would absolutely feel the same way - that those few kids who spent 7 years at Rolling Valley building friendships, community, and support networks not to mention belonging to the same pools, sports teams, and churches as the RVES kids that go to West Springfield HS should absolutely be able to continue on with their community.

It's such a tiny group of people. If it were more equal then a split is fine, but it's only a very small group of kids.

Again, identify the other West Springfield families you are prepared to move to Lee if these Lee families move to West Springfield. Of all the split feeders FCPS could choose to eliminate, this one ought to be pretty far down the list.

No one needs to be rezoned out of WS for 10 to 12 kids per grade from RV Elementary.

WSHS does not have capacity issues. They are undergoing construction that should be complete around 2020. By the time those RV kids get to High school capacity will be underenrolled.

RV should not be moved.

Whether or not RV should or should not be moved, WS does not have a capacity issue. Their issue is completely temporary due to construction. Any construction caused capacity issues will be over in 2020 when these RV kids get to high school, so arguing about capacity on this one is an invalid argument.

I do not have kids at RV and have no stake in this debate of where the RV kids go, but using the current levels of construction caused capacity issues as the basis for the argument against rezoning 6th graders and younger to WS is illogical.

[Anonymous]

The higher SES schools in the eastern part of the county are overcrowded, while lower SES schools (Lee, Mount Vernon) are nearly empty. Perhaps closing a HS and moving boundaries makes sense? New road improvements along Route 1 and extension of Mount Vernon Memorial Highway to Telegraph make East-West travel easier. There are too many high schools clustered too close together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The higher SES schools in the eastern part of the county are overcrowded, while lower SES schools (Lee, Mount Vernon) are nearly empty. Perhaps closing a HS and moving boundaries makes sense? New road improvements along Route 1 and extension of Mount Vernon Memorial Highway to Telegraph make East-West travel easier. There are too many high schools clustered too close together.

If boundaries are shuffled, the student body of a Lee or Mount Vernon could be absorbed by some going to Hayfield, Edison, South County, West Springfield, etc. Close a HS in the east and build a needed one in the west.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The higher SES schools in the eastern part of the county are overcrowded, while lower SES schools (Lee, Mount Vernon) are nearly empty. Perhaps closing a HS and moving boundaries makes sense? New road improvements along Route 1 and extension of Mount Vernon Memorial Highway to Telegraph make East-West travel easier. There are too many high schools clustered too close together.

It's hyperbole to suggest Lee and Mount Vernon are nearly empty, but they are under-enrolled compared to other schools in their general vicinity (West Springfield and West Potomac).

There isn't enough space to absorb all the students at those two schools without building sizable additions at multiple schools. It's more consistent with the One Fairfax initiative to move part of West Springfield to Lee and part of Mount Vernon to West Potomac than to keep those schools open but neglect them year after year, turn a blind eye when students pupil place to avoid those schools, and cater to higher-income families asking to be redistricted to higher ranked schools.

[Anonymous]

Here's a plan to close Lee:

Move Bren Mar Park back to Annandale from Edison

Move Springfield Estates and Lynbrook from Lee to Edison

Move Forestdale from Lee to Hayfield

Move Saratoga from Lee to South County

Move Crestwood and the portion of Rolling Valley at Lee to West Springfield

Move Orange Hunt and the portion of Sangster at West Springfield to Lake Braddock

They should keep Mount Vernon open, but move Fort Hunt there from West Potomac

[Anonymous]

I think that redistricting kids away from WSHS (not sure about West Potomac) would result in a bunch of kids who would suddenly develop a strong desire to take Latin or Japanese through high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's a plan to close Lee:

Move Bren Mar Park back to Annandale from Edison

Move Springfield Estates and Lynbrook from Lee to Edison

Move Forestdale from Lee to Hayfield

Move Saratoga from Lee to South County

Move Crestwood and the portion of Rolling Valley at Lee to West Springfield

Move Orange Hunt and the portion of Sangster at West Springfield to Lake Braddock

They should keep Mount Vernon open, but move Fort Hunt there from West Potomac

Sorry but this is the silliest, most ridiculous and disruptive idea ever posted on this board about redistricting, and that is saying a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's a plan to close Lee:

Move Bren Mar Park back to Annandale from Edison

Move Springfield Estates and Lynbrook from Lee to Edison

Move Forestdale from Lee to Hayfield

Move Saratoga from Lee to South County

Move Crestwood and the portion of Rolling Valley at Lee to West Springfield

Move Orange Hunt and the portion of Sangster at West Springfield to Lake Braddock

They should keep Mount Vernon open, but move Fort Hunt there from West Potomac

And the Garfield kids don't go to high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's a plan to close Lee:

Move Bren Mar Park back to Annandale from Edison

Move Springfield Estates and Lynbrook from Lee to Edison

Move Forestdale from Lee to Hayfield

Move Saratoga from Lee to South County

Move Crestwood and the portion of Rolling Valley at Lee to West Springfield

Move Orange Hunt and the portion of Sangster at West Springfield to Lake Braddock

They should keep Mount Vernon open, but move Fort Hunt there from West Potomac

And the Garfield kids don't go to high school?

Apparently not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's a plan to close Lee:

Move Bren Mar Park back to Annandale from Edison [Annandale is projected to have space]

Move Springfield Estates and Lynbrook from Lee to Edison [Swap at Edison - might need to add modular]

Move Forestdale from Lee to Hayfield [Hayfield is projected to have space]

Move Saratoga from Lee to South County [SoCo is projected to have space]

Move Crestwood and the portion of Rolling Valley at Lee to West Springfield [Swap at West Springfield]

Move Orange Hunt and the portion of Sangster at West Springfield to Lake Braddock [Swap at West Springfield; Lake Braddocik is projected to have space]

They should keep Mount Vernon open, but move Fort Hunt there from West Potomac

[Mount Vernon is projected to have space]

Sorry but this is the silliest, most ridiculous and disruptive idea ever posted on this board about redistricting, and that is saying a lot.

Why? Scared of kids from Lee coming to your school?