McLean HS getting maintenance

[Anonymous]

Renovate and enlarge the school, fine. But for parking: even HS kids can take the bus. Talk up environmental protection, if nothing else...we do not need to spend taxpayer $$ on parking garages for public schools!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Renovate and enlarge the school, fine. But for parking: even HS kids can take the bus. Talk up environmental protection, if nothing else...we do not need to spend taxpayer $$ on parking garages for public schools!

That has been FCPS’s general attitude as it’s expanded schools with less space than McLean for parking like Justice and Madison. Fortunately for McLean, a good number of the assigned neighborhoods are within walking distance and, as Tysons grows, there will be more bus options in addition to the school buses (such as Fairfax Connector routes).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought McLean high school shouldn’t really get an addition because there really isn’t enough parking as is. They can’t expand the area around the school.

They should keep the school the same size and move some more of the kids out to other schools.

In neighboring districts, some new schools have an underground parking component, or an at grade parking lot but below the school building, which would be supported by columns. McLean HS can also expand into the adjacent forest. The lost trees could be replanted elsewhere in the county to offset the loss of green space and carbon emissions.

FCPS could easily grow McLean to a capacity of 2750 or so. Tysons area growth will explode over the next 20 years with dense affordable and market rate housing. I don’t think McLean HS can wait until 2050 for its next major renovation/expansion.

Justice HS, which is less overcrowded than McLean and on less land, is getting expanded to 2500 seats outside the queue. They have lobbied FCPS to build a parking garage to compensate for some of the parking they’ll lose, but that’s expensive and I don’t think FCPS will do it. Maybe more kids will need to take the bus.

In McLean’s case, it could expand to 2500 permanent seats without using adjacent land. Replacing the trailers and modular with vertical, permanent seats might even give some land back. I also believe the adjacent land is protected by the park authority.

Kids can park in neighborhoods. Schools can tell them not to and residents can complain, but the streets are public and the schools have no power

they already do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS as a whole has capacity available to enroll over 2000 new students as it stands currently. We do not need to spend hundreds of millions on additions to placate whiny parents.

A full boundary study is long overdue to address gross discrepancies in size for neighboring schools like the situation between McLean and Langley.

An elected School Board in FCPS has never undertaken a county-wide boundary study and is unlikely to do so any time soon.

It would not cost hundreds of millions to build additions to the county’s most overcrowded high schools, of which there are just a handful.

They have already adjusted the Langley/McLean boundaries two years ago. We do not need to go through that again.

What is fiscally irresponsible is not building an overdue addition to McLean, but instead watching a county that signals that developing Tysons is its #1 economic priority but then can’t get its act together to ensure that the schools that serve Tysons have adequate permanent capacity. That is a self-inflicted wound by a Board of Supervisors and School Board that don’t coordinate their plans effectively.

Some of you folks never said a word when FCPS was spending $40M to expand West Potomac to 3000 seats or budgeting $160M to renovate and expand Falls Church to 2500 seats, but you’re sure hell-bent to draw the line when it comes to spending $20 million to expand McLean and get kids out of trailers and a cheap modular. That tells me your agenda has nothing very little to do with fiscal prudence of any kind.

I was there sending emails on behalf of MVHS to oppose the West Potomac expansion. But my opinion along with a few of my neighbors from under-enrolled MVHS stood no chance against voices from WP who have about 800 more families than we do (and on top of that, triple the number of White families which let's be honest are most likely to be active and involved PTA members.)

So no, our agenda isn't to attack McLean for any reason other than to stop FCPS from creating outrageous discrepancies in quality and size of their programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS as a whole has capacity available to enroll over 2000 new students as it stands currently. We do not need to spend hundreds of millions on additions to placate whiny parents.

A full boundary study is long overdue to address gross discrepancies in size for neighboring schools like the situation between McLean and Langley.

An elected School Board in FCPS has never undertaken a county-wide boundary study and is unlikely to do so any time soon.

It would not cost hundreds of millions to build additions to the county’s most overcrowded high schools, of which there are just a handful.

They have already adjusted the Langley/McLean boundaries two years ago. We do not need to go through that again.

What is fiscally irresponsible is not building an overdue addition to McLean, but instead watching a county that signals that developing Tysons is its #1 economic priority but then can’t get its act together to ensure that the schools that serve Tysons have adequate permanent capacity. That is a self-inflicted wound by a Board of Supervisors and School Board that don’t coordinate their plans effectively.

Some of you folks never said a word when FCPS was spending $40M to expand West Potomac to 3000 seats or budgeting $160M to renovate and expand Falls Church to 2500 seats, but you’re sure hell-bent to draw the line when it comes to spending $20 million to expand McLean and get kids out of trailers and a cheap modular. That tells me your agenda has nothing very little to do with fiscal prudence of any kind.

I was there sending emails on behalf of MVHS to oppose the West Potomac expansion. But my opinion along with a few of my neighbors from under-enrolled MVHS stood no chance against voices from WP who have about 800 more families than we do (and on top of that, triple the number of White families which let's be honest are most likely to be active and involved PTA members.)

So no, our agenda isn't to attack McLean for any reason other than to stop FCPS from creating outrageous discrepancies in quality and size of their programs.

Then you are still fighting yesterday’s wars. McLean isn’t seeking an expansion to 3000 seats like West Potomac. But it needs to be expanded to 2500 permanent seats when it already has almost 2500 kids and is slated to see continued growth in Tysons, West Falls Church, and downtown McLean. That would hardly create an “outrageous discrepancy.” It would simply be common sense, and an overdue acknowledgment of the development plans that the Board of Supervisors has already approved or is in the process of approving. They get developers to pay proffers, but then don’t spend the proffer money where it’s needed.

[Anonymous]

I was encouraged that the equity plan adopted by FCPS last night prioritizes making sure that schools have comparable, adequate facilities. They really don’t have any excuse now to keep discriminating against McLean while funding additions outside the queue to other schools in the Mason, Hunter Mill, and Mount Vernon Districts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was encouraged that the equity plan adopted by FCPS last night prioritizes making sure that schools have comparable, adequate facilities. They really don’t have any excuse now to keep discriminating against McLean while funding additions outside the queue to other schools in the Mason, Hunter Mill, and Mount Vernon Districts.

Then Oakton and Langley should be the gold standard for all future high school renovation projects. The completed Cooper should be the model for all middle school projects. And all new or renovated elementary schools should be at least as nice as Mosaic which will be completed in 2025.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the latest Dranesville District email, the SB will be addressing McLean HS capacity and facilities upgrades:
- Summer renovation of all McLean HS bathrooms
- Roof work
- Installation of stadium bathrooms

Maybe McLean HS will finally zip it. Email also indicates all schools in that district will be trailers.

Yup, it’s an election year and time to pacify McLean.

Why would critical maintenance work “pacify” McLean when the decade-long need for a permanent addition remains unaddressed?

You might want to ask yourself why you get triggered when an aging but high-performing school gets some basic maintenance performed over summer break.

Not my problem, our aging high school building with a high-performing student body is still sparkly from its recent renovation.

I’m just glad that an email letting everyone know that McLean will be getting basic maintenance is enough to placate that community.

I know I would be very pleased with the school board if they took the trouble to email and emphasize that they will be making sure that our high school gets vacuumed and mopped over the summer.

What on earth are you going on about?

I can’t be happy that McLean is happy?

You are a big grump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the latest Dranesville District email, the SB will be addressing McLean HS capacity and facilities upgrades:
- Summer renovation of all McLean HS bathrooms
- Roof work
- Installation of stadium bathrooms

Maybe McLean HS will finally zip it. Email also indicates all schools in that district will be trailers.

Yup, it’s an election year and time to pacify McLean.

Why would critical maintenance work “pacify” McLean when the decade-long need for a permanent addition remains unaddressed?

You might want to ask yourself why you get triggered when an aging but high-performing school gets some basic maintenance performed over summer break.

Not my problem, our aging high school building with a high-performing student body is still sparkly from its recent renovation.

I’m just glad that an email letting everyone know that McLean will be getting basic maintenance is enough to placate that community.

I know I would be very pleased with the school board if they took the trouble to email and emphasize that they will be making sure that our high school gets vacuumed and mopped over the summer.

What on earth are you going on about?

I can’t be happy that McLean is happy?

You are a big grump.

What leads you to troll like this?

Routine maintenance work at an overcrowded school that doesn’t increase capacity is welcome, but it isn’t a big cause for celebration, especially when less crowded schools get additions.

Do you just get off when we point this out?

[Anonymous]

McLean is overcrowded and the facilities are dumpy- when compared to most of the FCPS schools I have seen.

[Anonymous]

McLean was last renovated in 2005. Here’s a great summary of what’s being done.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/VAEDUFCPS/bulletins/340f397

[Anonymous]

Elaine often tries with compensate for her lack of advocacy (or successful advocacy) with a torrent of words.

But she didn’t acknowledge in her long missive that less crowded South Lakes, Justice, and Madison (plus West Potomac) all got additions outside the renovation queue, or that the impact of the boundary change with Langley is substantially offset by the TJ admissions changes (w/more Longfellow kids going to McLean) and the continued development in MHS-zoned areas in Tysons, West Falls Church, and downtown McLean, or that McLean will soon have the fewest permanent seats of any HS in the county despite the large and growing enrollment.

The school still needs funding for a permanent addition, and her refusal or failure to get the school slated for one would have made it difficult for her to get re-elected had she chosen to seek another term on the SB. But she was always willing to send long emails trying to explain away why she got so little accomplished.