Karl Frisch and the Stupidity of Dunn Loring ES

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are any of those schools even overcrowded? I don't think so.

They aren’t but let’s see if they manipulate the capacity numbers for these schools in the next CIP to generate “overcrowding.”

What a giant waste of money. If they wanted public support for a meals tax to generate more money for the schools they wouldn’t be doing crap like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are any of those schools even overcrowded? I don't think so.

Not really, but in the absence of Tysons ES to relieve Spring Hill capacity, I can see them shifting Freedom Hill’s boundaries north of 7 so that Westbriar and Westgate can absorb more of the northern edge of Tysons, but it’s odd not to include Spring Hill on the list.

[Anonymous]

This is so stupid. None of these schools are overcrowded. There was supposed to be a boundary study in the Fall of 2020 to figure out how to alleviate overcrowding at Shrevewood (and it probably would have just sent one neighborhood of kids to Stenwood instead), but it was cancelled due to the Covid shutdown and Karl F'ing Frisch took advantage of that to propose the Dunn Loring School (which nobody asked for or wanted). Post-Covid, Shrevewood was no longer under capacity. Then, post AAP changes at the school, it became even LESS crowded. This new school is totally unnecessary. What a huge waste of money. I'm sure that Western Fairfax County would prefer that you build them a new high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is so stupid. None of these schools are overcrowded. There was supposed to be a boundary study in the Fall of 2020 to figure out how to alleviate overcrowding at Shrevewood (and it probably would have just sent one neighborhood of kids to Stenwood instead), but it was cancelled due to the Covid shutdown and Karl F'ing Frisch took advantage of that to propose the Dunn Loring School (which nobody asked for or wanted). Post-Covid, Shrevewood was no longer under capacity. Then, post AAP changes at the school, it became even LESS crowded. This new school is totally unnecessary. What a huge waste of money. I'm sure that Western Fairfax County would prefer that you build them a new high school.

I'm not sure that Dunn Loring is necessary at this point, but let's be clear that the funding for Dunn Loring would be way less than is needed for a high school. I encourage you to check out the latest CIP estimates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are any of those schools even overcrowded? I don't think so.

Not really, but in the absence of Tysons ES to relieve Spring Hill capacity, I can see them shifting Freedom Hill’s boundaries north of 7 so that Westbriar and Westgate can absorb more of the northern edge of Tysons, but it’s odd not to include Spring Hill on the list.

This is a good point. They list a bunch of schools that are under capacity and ignore one of the few that's getting more kids every year, including from new construction. FCPS planning couldn't be worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so stupid. None of these schools are overcrowded. There was supposed to be a boundary study in the Fall of 2020 to figure out how to alleviate overcrowding at Shrevewood (and it probably would have just sent one neighborhood of kids to Stenwood instead), but it was cancelled due to the Covid shutdown and Karl F'ing Frisch took advantage of that to propose the Dunn Loring School (which nobody asked for or wanted). Post-Covid, Shrevewood was no longer under capacity. Then, post AAP changes at the school, it became even LESS crowded. This new school is totally unnecessary. What a huge waste of money. I'm sure that Western Fairfax County would prefer that you build them a new high school.

I'm not sure that Dunn Loring is necessary at this point, but let's be clear that the funding for Dunn Loring would be way less than is needed for a high school. I encourage you to check out the latest CIP estimates.

DP. Yes, a new HS would cost much more, but the money budgeted for Dunn Loring would be better spent expanding high schools. There is zero need for another ES in Vienna, and the potential need for HS boundary changes would mostly go away. The "FAIRFacts" group that's on track to litigate with FCPS would basically be out of business.

[Anonymous]

Why don't they just expand Spring Hill? There is an empty field beside it that could be used for another building (and still not impact the actual playing fields that are beside the empty field.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't they just expand Spring Hill? There is an empty field beside it that could be used for another building (and still not impact the actual playing fields that are beside the empty field.)

Spring Hill is a very large school. At times it has had over 1000 students.

It serves a good chunk of Tysons, and it would have made far more sense to build a new ES in Tysons to serve areas now at Westbriar, Spring Hill, and Westgate than to build Dunn Loring over in Vienna. That would make Spring Hill a straight feeder to Langley.

The county claims it wants to make Tysons a place to live, work, and play, but adding thousands of additional housing units without building even an ES there will keep it relatively unattractive for families.

[Anonymous]

Frisch snookered people into thinking they were going to renovate the old Dunn Loring building. Instead, they plan to tear it down. So much for his alleged commitment to environmentalism and retrofitting existing buildings. He's an ass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is so stupid. None of these schools are overcrowded. There was supposed to be a boundary study in the Fall of 2020 to figure out how to alleviate overcrowding at Shrevewood (and it probably would have just sent one neighborhood of kids to Stenwood instead), but it was cancelled due to the Covid shutdown and Karl F'ing Frisch took advantage of that to propose the Dunn Loring School (which nobody asked for or wanted). Post-Covid, Shrevewood was no longer under capacity. Then, post AAP changes at the school, it became even LESS crowded. This new school is totally unnecessary. What a huge waste of money. I'm sure that Western Fairfax County would prefer that you build them a new high school.

Honest question: what are the capacity issues that necessitate a western high? Once centreville gets built out none of those schools are overcapacity in the slightest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so stupid. None of these schools are overcrowded. There was supposed to be a boundary study in the Fall of 2020 to figure out how to alleviate overcrowding at Shrevewood (and it probably would have just sent one neighborhood of kids to Stenwood instead), but it was cancelled due to the Covid shutdown and Karl F'ing Frisch took advantage of that to propose the Dunn Loring School (which nobody asked for or wanted). Post-Covid, Shrevewood was no longer under capacity. Then, post AAP changes at the school, it became even LESS crowded. This new school is totally unnecessary. What a huge waste of money. I'm sure that Western Fairfax County would prefer that you build them a new high school.

Honest question: what are the capacity issues that necessitate a western high? Once centreville gets built out none of those schools are overcapacity in the slightest.

DP. I think that historically the main drivers were (1) the belief that high schools shouldn't be bigger than about 2100-2200 kids; and (2) recognition that the Oak Hill/Floris area "deserved" its own high school because that area has been bounced around from so many different schools (Oakton to Westfield and then in some cases Oakton to Westfield to South Lakes).

The first argument kind of went out the window once FCPS routinely started expanding schools to well over 2300 kids. However, it's worth noting that Loudoun still zealously tries to avoid schools that have anywhere near the number of kids as a typical high school in FCPS.

The second argument went out the window once the county transferred the most obvious site for a school focused on the Oak Hill/Floris area to the Saudis, and the biggest overcrowding ended up further south in Chantilly.

So few really expect FCPS to move forward with a new western high school. They are too dishonest to kill it off properly, so they just keep kicking the can down the road and including references to a future new school in each year's CIP.

However, none of that justifies building a new elementary school in Vienna at the Dunn Loring site. Frisch just wanted to make sure that money would not be available to spend at the prior Blake Lane site. Given the disruption that school will create, and how it's going to gut other nearby schools like Stenwood, he'd have been just as well off holding a bonfire and just burning all the money (although the projected cost of Dunn Loring now is more than double the amount originally budgeted for Blake Lane).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so stupid. None of these schools are overcrowded. There was supposed to be a boundary study in the Fall of 2020 to figure out how to alleviate overcrowding at Shrevewood (and it probably would have just sent one neighborhood of kids to Stenwood instead), but it was cancelled due to the Covid shutdown and Karl F'ing Frisch took advantage of that to propose the Dunn Loring School (which nobody asked for or wanted). Post-Covid, Shrevewood was no longer under capacity. Then, post AAP changes at the school, it became even LESS crowded. This new school is totally unnecessary. What a huge waste of money. I'm sure that Western Fairfax County would prefer that you build them a new high school.

Honest question: what are the capacity issues that necessitate a western high? Once centreville gets built out none of those schools are overcapacity in the slightest.

DP. I think that historically the main drivers were (1) the belief that high schools shouldn't be bigger than about 2100-2200 kids; and (2) recognition that the Oak Hill/Floris area "deserved" its own high school because that area has been bounced around from so many different schools (Oakton to Westfield and then in some cases Oakton to Westfield to South Lakes).

The first argument kind of went out the window once FCPS routinely started expanding schools to well over 2300 kids. However, it's worth noting that Loudoun still zealously tries to avoid schools that have anywhere near the number of kids as a typical high school in FCPS.

The second argument went out the window once the county transferred the most obvious site for a school focused on the Oak Hill/Floris area to the Saudis, and the biggest overcrowding ended up further south in Chantilly.

So few really expect FCPS to move forward with a new western high school. They are too dishonest to kill it off properly, so they just keep kicking the can down the road and including references to a future new school in each year's CIP.

However, none of that justifies building a new elementary school in Vienna at the Dunn Loring site. Frisch just wanted to make sure that money would not be available to spend at the prior Blake Lane site. Given the disruption that school will create, and how it's going to gut other nearby schools like Stenwood, he'd have been just as well off holding a bonfire and just burning all the money (although the projected cost of Dunn Loring now is more than double the amount originally budgeted for Blake Lane).

Thanks. They have $23.5 million budgeted for site acquisition. They use tight budget to justify the boundary review but then do nothing to free that money up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so stupid. None of these schools are overcrowded. There was supposed to be a boundary study in the Fall of 2020 to figure out how to alleviate overcrowding at Shrevewood (and it probably would have just sent one neighborhood of kids to Stenwood instead), but it was cancelled due to the Covid shutdown and Karl F'ing Frisch took advantage of that to propose the Dunn Loring School (which nobody asked for or wanted). Post-Covid, Shrevewood was no longer under capacity. Then, post AAP changes at the school, it became even LESS crowded. This new school is totally unnecessary. What a huge waste of money. I'm sure that Western Fairfax County would prefer that you build them a new high school.

Honest question: what are the capacity issues that necessitate a western high? Once centreville gets built out none of those schools are overcapacity in the slightest.

DP. I think that historically the main drivers were (1) the belief that high schools shouldn't be bigger than about 2100-2200 kids; and (2) recognition that the Oak Hill/Floris area "deserved" its own high school because that area has been bounced around from so many different schools (Oakton to Westfield and then in some cases Oakton to Westfield to South Lakes).

The first argument kind of went out the window once FCPS routinely started expanding schools to well over 2300 kids. However, it's worth noting that Loudoun still zealously tries to avoid schools that have anywhere near the number of kids as a typical high school in FCPS.

The second argument went out the window once the county transferred the most obvious site for a school focused on the Oak Hill/Floris area to the Saudis, and the biggest overcrowding ended up further south in Chantilly.

So few really expect FCPS to move forward with a new western high school. They are too dishonest to kill it off properly, so they just keep kicking the can down the road and including references to a future new school in each year's CIP.

However, none of that justifies building a new elementary school in Vienna at the Dunn Loring site. Frisch just wanted to make sure that money would not be available to spend at the prior Blake Lane site. Given the disruption that school will create, and how it's going to gut other nearby schools like Stenwood, he'd have been just as well off holding a bonfire and just burning all the money (although the projected cost of Dunn Loring now is more than double the amount originally budgeted for Blake Lane).

Thanks. They have $23.5 million budgeted for site acquisition. They use tight budget to justify the boundary review but then do nothing to free that money up.

They are incompetent and hypocritical.

But they also Democrats so they can count on low information voters continuing to re-elect them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so stupid. None of these schools are overcrowded. There was supposed to be a boundary study in the Fall of 2020 to figure out how to alleviate overcrowding at Shrevewood (and it probably would have just sent one neighborhood of kids to Stenwood instead), but it was cancelled due to the Covid shutdown and Karl F'ing Frisch took advantage of that to propose the Dunn Loring School (which nobody asked for or wanted). Post-Covid, Shrevewood was no longer under capacity. Then, post AAP changes at the school, it became even LESS crowded. This new school is totally unnecessary. What a huge waste of money. I'm sure that Western Fairfax County would prefer that you build them a new high school.

Honest question: what are the capacity issues that necessitate a western high? Once centreville gets built out none of those schools are overcapacity in the slightest.

DP. I think that historically the main drivers were (1) the belief that high schools shouldn't be bigger than about 2100-2200 kids; and (2) recognition that the Oak Hill/Floris area "deserved" its own high school because that area has been bounced around from so many different schools (Oakton to Westfield and then in some cases Oakton to Westfield to South Lakes).

The first argument kind of went out the window once FCPS routinely started expanding schools to well over 2300 kids. However, it's worth noting that Loudoun still zealously tries to avoid schools that have anywhere near the number of kids as a typical high school in FCPS.

The second argument went out the window once the county transferred the most obvious site for a school focused on the Oak Hill/Floris area to the Saudis, and the biggest overcrowding ended up further south in Chantilly.

So few really expect FCPS to move forward with a new western high school. They are too dishonest to kill it off properly, so they just keep kicking the can down the road and including references to a future new school in each year's CIP.

However, none of that justifies building a new elementary school in Vienna at the Dunn Loring site. Frisch just wanted to make sure that money would not be available to spend at the prior Blake Lane site. Given the disruption that school will create, and how it's going to gut other nearby schools like Stenwood, he'd have been just as well off holding a bonfire and just burning all the money (although the projected cost of Dunn Loring now is more than double the amount originally budgeted for Blake Lane).

Which is good, because Blake Lane was a terrible idea too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is so stupid. None of these schools are overcrowded. There was supposed to be a boundary study in the Fall of 2020 to figure out how to alleviate overcrowding at Shrevewood (and it probably would have just sent one neighborhood of kids to Stenwood instead), but it was cancelled due to the Covid shutdown and Karl F'ing Frisch took advantage of that to propose the Dunn Loring School (which nobody asked for or wanted). Post-Covid, Shrevewood was no longer under capacity. Then, post AAP changes at the school, it became even LESS crowded. This new school is totally unnecessary. What a huge waste of money. I'm sure that Western Fairfax County would prefer that you build them a new high school.

Honest question: what are the capacity issues that necessitate a western high? Once centreville gets built out none of those schools are overcapacity in the slightest.

DP. I think that historically the main drivers were (1) the belief that high schools shouldn't be bigger than about 2100-2200 kids; and (2) recognition that the Oak Hill/Floris area "deserved" its own high school because that area has been bounced around from so many different schools (Oakton to Westfield and then in some cases Oakton to Westfield to South Lakes).

The first argument kind of went out the window once FCPS routinely started expanding schools to well over 2300 kids. However, it's worth noting that Loudoun still zealously tries to avoid schools that have anywhere near the number of kids as a typical high school in FCPS.

The second argument went out the window once the county transferred the most obvious site for a school focused on the Oak Hill/Floris area to the Saudis, and the biggest overcrowding ended up further south in Chantilly.

So few really expect FCPS to move forward with a new western high school. They are too dishonest to kill it off properly, so they just keep kicking the can down the road and including references to a future new school in each year's CIP.

However, none of that justifies building a new elementary school in Vienna at the Dunn Loring site. Frisch just wanted to make sure that money would not be available to spend at the prior Blake Lane site. Given the disruption that school will create, and how it's going to gut other nearby schools like Stenwood, he'd have been just as well off holding a bonfire and just burning all the money (although the projected cost of Dunn Loring now is more than double the amount originally budgeted for Blake Lane).

Which is good, because Blake Lane was a terrible idea too.

It was no worse an idea than building a completely unnecessary school at Dunn Loring.