Writing this, my actual preference all along has been no rezoning of WSHS. However, after yesterday's work session where 2 school board members including the Springfield reps, along with Dr. Reid, floated the idea of mid cycle rezoning as early as January 2027 for WSHS, my preference between mid cycle rezoning and some rezoning now to stave off mid cycle rezoning, is firmly with Map 4 without SPA 8922 rezoning from Lewis to WSHS. If the option is Dr. Reid's map with no rezoning until 2031 or Map 4, my preference is Dr. Reid's map/ no mid cycle rezoning. Map 4 (minus moving Lewis students to WSHS) is a far superior option to mid cycle rezoning. Dr. Reid's map without mid cycle rezoning is the best option of all. |
| So they basically want to do it in two steps to avoid outrage. First move the attendance island out of WSHS and then add that RV area in when no one is paying attention? What is this obsession with that area anyways? |
Doesn't it make more sense to address the attendance island by moving them appropriately, rather than making drastic changes to several other neighborhoods just to prevent the island for one neighborhood? Whether or not you agree with the changes is one thing, but putting the cat back in the bag is going to be extremely unpopular now. I feel like everyone advocating on behalf of that attendance island doesn't actually live in that attendance island, but are instead using it as a justification to complain about the ToV and Wolftrap getting what they advocated for. That attendance island should get their families on the same page and get their voices heard to be on the future changes consideration list. |
Not Sandy Anderson. Not even close. I am actually against rezoning at all, and eould vote out the Springfield rep tomorrow if given the opportunity. But if the choice is between what they were talking about in that meeting yesterday, mid cycle rezoning which has very few student protections and can be done in an abbreviated, expedited manner according to page 4 of Policy 8130 if it is done under the guise of overcrowding, or adopting Map 4 without the Lewis students moving into the vacated Sangster and Shannon Station spots, my preference is strongly with Map 4 (without SPA 8922) because it is thoughtful, achieves all of the rezoning guidelines set forth by FCPS, sends the neighborhoods to Lake Braddock which has strong connections to the WSHS community particularly Sangster, and actually fixes WSHS enrollment for years in the future. |
Yes. Then WSHS will be more overcrowded, because the Lewis SPA 8922 will quickly balloon with high school students, just like Daventry, which was also "fewer than 20 students" when it was zoned for Lewis. Shannon Station is slightly smaller than Rolling Valley SPA 8922, with almost 4x times the number of high school students. They are similarly sized and aged homes. SPA 8922 has a better commute access than Shannon Station. The only difference is one is zoned for Lewis and the other WSHS. It is fairly safe to say the SPA 8922 will have as least as many high school students as Shannon Station in a couple of years if they are rezoned to WSHS |
There is a second issue at hand. It isn’t just about that community being isolated, as there has been little objection from them. The larger picture issue is transportation. I can’t recall all the numbers, but I think the island is around 130 elementary students, which translates into about 37 middle school students and 75 high school students. At the elementary school level, there is a large enough volume of kids to fill 2 buses, but at middle school and high school you wouldn’t quite fill 1 and 2 buses respectively. When it wasn’t an island, the Kilmer and Marshall buses could pick up Wolftrap kids along the way, but now they will travel more than 2 miles between bus stops to get to the attendance island while a second route services the same area for Thoreau and Madison. Maybe there aren’t any financial impacts to that, but it’s another downside to attendance islands that isn’t talked about. |
+1 on this. It’s Daventry all over again. Oh it’s “20 kids” or whatever … at Lewis. The second the area gets moved to WSHS, that number will balloon. People will stop moving out once their kids hit middle school or they will stop lying about their address to stay at WSHS. They’ve been through this once and should know by now. |
I loved the trailers. FCPS 90’s alum. Fresh air was awesome. |
Yes. |
I don’t understand how this “comprehensive” and “historic” review may result in a later mid-season revision for an allegedly tiny area |
| Sandy is throwing different neighborhoods under the bus to try and save face. She flat out told me the whole reason we are in this mess is because of Daventry being moved and then ballooning and they should be rezoned to Lewis. But Daventry thinks they are safe because they haven't been discussed this time. She has told a friend of mine from another school that my neighborhood is the reason. Typical politician behvaiour, but it really should solidify the fact that NO one should feel safe with mid-cycle reviews. |
Objectively, the end result is a new attendance island that’s worse than any other HS island. The Lake Braddock and McLean islands left untouched are quite close to the main areas. The Fairfax island is not very close to Fairfax but it’s a big area. They’ve now created an attendance island for Marshall that is both far away from the rest of the GCM attendance area and fairly small. Worst of both worlds. The people there have complained about being bussed past Colvin Run on their way to Westbriar for years. They took a stab at getting moved to Colvin Run with the BRAC and got shot down. They didn’t have some muckety-muck politician like the mayor of Vienna to come in to plead their case with Reid, so Meren and Frisch ignored them. At some point they’ll regroup. |
Different poster. She told me the exact same thing about Daventry, that WSHS is over enrolled because the Daventry move from Lewis to WSHS brought in many times more high school students than projected, based on the small number attending Lewis (Lee) |
Map 4 was never 'BRAC's map'. They took the Thru map 4 and mage adjusting bases on the numbers and community feedback. Moving kids from Rolling Valley was never recommended by BRAC. I'm on the BRAC, but not for region 4. The whole process was a complete mess. |
That explains a lot. FCPS really treated the BRAC members terribly Every single meeting I attended, they threw them under the bus repeatedly, any time anyone expressed displeasure with the school board, Dr. Reid, Thru. FCPS or the process. Our reps honestly tried to do the best job they could, follow the guidance, and rezone as few people as possible. I spoke with several of the cpecial interest reps, and they tried to do a good job too. FCPS treated the volunteers so poorly |