FCPS HS Boundary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: And sheeeeeee's back!! Please quote these school board members, with citations.

Well let's start with the fact that the school board still considers policy 8130 as under review: https://www.fcps.edu/facilities-planning-future/school-boundary-adjustments/boundary-policy

On Feb 9, 2024 at-large member Kyle McDaniel sent out an email to everyone stating "...these two cases highlight the dire need for a long term solution to our flawed boundary policies. On February 13th, the School Board will hold a work session to discuss a path forward that addresses significant gaps in existing policies, and creates a roadmap for a division wide boundary adjustment. In my comments last night, I stated that I will not support anymore one-off boundary changes until we overhaul these flawed policies, and implement a County-wide boundary study to fix the overcrowding that has plagued our schools for decades."

On Feb 10, 2024 the school board held a day-long retreat. The public was not permitted to attend, no agenda was presented, no slides were saved, and the meeting was not recorded. You can be certain that boundaries were discussed.

On Feb 13, 2024 the school board held a work session where boundaries and capacity was discussed. The meeting was not recorded and slides were not saved.

The public could attend the retreat if they wanted - the meeting is posted. That likely had nothing to do with boundaries, though, and was just one of the regular retreats they do.

The board didn’t hold a work session on boundaries. It was a forum and those are never streamed.

They’re working on the policy in their governance committee. Meetings are posted and you can attend in person and listen. Committee meetings are never streamed.

I disagree with much the (old) board did but it’s not fair to say it’s not transparent.

FWIW, the Comprehensive Planning Development Committee of the School Board has held a few meetings this year.

At one point a draft agenda for an CPDC meeting last month listed "boundaries" as an agenda item, but an updated agenda deleted any reference to boundaries (while retaining an agenda item on the "Renovation Queue"). An agenda for an upcoming meeting on 3/14 also identifies the "Renovation Queue" as an agenda item, but has no reference to boundaries.

Of course, they could discuss boundaries as part of a discussion on the renovation queue, but the fact that they aren't highlighting boundaries as topic suggests they are learning what a sensitive area that is and will proceed cautiously before suggesting they plan to make big changes that would prove both controversial and difficult to implement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of the situations are necessary. If you don’t like your kids bumping elbows with other kids, move. There are less crowded options with plenty of seats inside and outside the county.

Good luck moving for better schools when you're suddenly underwater on your mortgage because FCPS shifted your home to a school with a 30% ESL rate and your property value tanked by 25%.

Oh well. This is what we’ve voted for in our state and county. Suck it up buttercup. You’re probably wealthier than 95% of the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of the situations are necessary. If you don’t like your kids bumping elbows with other kids, move. There are less crowded options with plenty of seats inside and outside the county.

Good luck moving for better schools when you're suddenly underwater on your mortgage because FCPS shifted your home to a school with a 30% ESL rate and your property value tanked by 25%.

Oh well. This is what we’ve voted for in our state and county. Suck it up buttercup. You’re probably wealthier than 95% of the country.

DP, but as pointed out before no one campaigned for county or state office saying they were committed to large-scale school boundary revisions in FCPS.

It's not an issue where you can predict someone's views based on party affiliation. The far left would redistrict to balance demographics in the name of equity. The far right would redistrict to minimize future taxes and spending on facilities. And most people who aren't either far left or far right would probably say only change school boundaries when it's absolutely necessary and continue to renovate and expand schools in the ordinary course to meet current needs and anticipate future ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of the situations are necessary. If you don’t like your kids bumping elbows with other kids, move. There are less crowded options with plenty of seats inside and outside the county.

Good luck moving for better schools when you're suddenly underwater on your mortgage because FCPS shifted your home to a school with a 30% ESL rate and your property value tanked by 25%.

Oh well. This is what we’ve voted for in our state and county. Suck it up buttercup. You’re probably wealthier than 95% of the country.

DP, but as pointed out before no one campaigned for county or state office saying they were committed to large-scale school boundary revisions in FCPS.

It's not an issue where you can predict someone's views based on party affiliation. The far left would redistrict to balance demographics in the name of equity. The far right would redistrict to minimize future taxes and spending on facilities. And most people who aren't either far left or far right would probably say only change school boundaries when it's absolutely necessary and continue to renovate and expand schools in the ordinary course to meet current needs and anticipate future ones.

No one should be expanding HS around here. They are already too large. Kids don’t even know half their classmates let alone their classmates’ names.

In any case, the SB is too politically driven to give a wit about education. They are all about their next political position and won’t actually do anything on this topic. I wish they’d stop wasting everyone’s time and emotional capital on boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The public could attend the retreat if they wanted - the meeting is posted. That likely had nothing to do with boundaries, though, and was just one of the regular retreats they do.

Then why did no one attend?

Anonymous wrote:The board didn’t hold a work session on boundaries. It was a forum and those are never streamed.

It was a work session on Feb 13. The only agenda item was boundary and capacity - see BoardDocs.

Up until this year they have posted recordings, agendas, minutes, and presentations for all meetings, forums, and work sessions: https://www.fcps.edu/school-board/school-board-meetings/2022-23-school-board-meetings

However, I can find no such archive for 2023-2024. What are they hiding?

[Anonymous]

Boundary shifts should not affect most people. The people who live on the, well, boundaries, of over enrolled and under enrolled schools are most likely to be effected. They should not lead to bussing in order to address economic or language disparities.

There might be ripple effects as schools that are over enrolled are sent to near by HS/MS/ES, which will impact the enrollment at those schools but those should be relatively small.

And yes, some properties will see a decline in their over all value because of school shifts but that should be a small percentage of the population. Some might see an increase in the value of their house because the school is expected to have better test scores with new students moving in.

This all means that the school board does an extensive boundary study and makes large scale changes. I don't think that they will but it has been long enough and the population has shifted enough that a boundary study is in order.

And my kid is at a school that could be moved, SLHS. I could see them shifting kids to Herndon, Oakton, or Chantilly High School depending on how things play out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of the situations are necessary. If you don’t like your kids bumping elbows with other kids, move. There are less crowded options with plenty of seats inside and outside the county.

Good luck moving for better schools when you're suddenly underwater on your mortgage because FCPS shifted your home to a school with a 30% ESL rate and your property value tanked by 25%.

Oh well. This is what we’ve voted for in our state and county. Suck it up buttercup. You’re probably wealthier than 95% of the country.

DP, but as pointed out before no one campaigned for county or state office saying they were committed to large-scale school boundary revisions in FCPS.

It's not an issue where you can predict someone's views based on party affiliation. The far left would redistrict to balance demographics in the name of equity. The far right would redistrict to minimize future taxes and spending on facilities. And most people who aren't either far left or far right would probably say only change school boundaries when it's absolutely necessary and continue to renovate and expand schools in the ordinary course to meet current needs and anticipate future ones.

No one should be expanding HS around here. They are already too large. Kids don’t even know half their classmates let alone their classmates’ names.

In any case, the SB is too politically driven to give a wit about education. They are all about their next political position and won’t actually do anything on this topic. I wish they’d stop wasting everyone’s time and emotional capital on boundaries.

Some recent expansions to a design capacity of at least 2500 seats include: Herndon (2779), Madison (2503), Oakton (2646), South Lakes (2717), West Potomac (3049), and West Springfield (2505)

Some ongoing and planned expansions include: Falls Church (2500), Justice (2500), and Centreville (3000)

Schools that were built large include: Lake Braddock (3124), Robinson (2752), South County (2500), and Westfield (2823)

So that cat is out of the bag, and they obviously struggle mightily to find acceptable sites for any new high school. Given all that, it's more than a bit late to start claiming no other schools should be expanded, regardless of their circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The public could attend the retreat if they wanted - the meeting is posted. That likely had nothing to do with boundaries, though, and was just one of the regular retreats they do.

Then why did no one attend?

Anonymous wrote:The board didn’t hold a work session on boundaries. It was a forum and those are never streamed.

It was a work session on Feb 13. The only agenda item was boundary and capacity - see BoardDocs.

Up until this year they have posted recordings, agendas, minutes, and presentations for all meetings, forums, and work sessions: https://www.fcps.edu/school-board/school-board-meetings/2022-23-school-board-meetings

However, I can find no such archive for 2023-2024. What are they hiding?

They ultimately structured the 2/13 meeting so that there was a forum discussion on boundaries, followed by a work session on the budget. As PP noted, discussions about forum topics - things that may be the subject of a later work session - are not recorded, whereas the work session on the budget was recorded and posted on You Tube.

You can find the recorded work sessions on You Tube. I agree they are not as transparent as they used to be on the disposition of forum topics or the "next steps" assigned to staff following work sessions. Even so, that doesn't mean they hatched some big plan on boundaries behind your back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boundary shifts should not affect most people. The people who live on the, well, boundaries, of over enrolled and under enrolled schools are most likely to be effected. They should not lead to bussing in order to address economic or language disparities.

There might be ripple effects as schools that are over enrolled are sent to near by HS/MS/ES, which will impact the enrollment at those schools but those should be relatively small.

And yes, some properties will see a decline in their over all value because of school shifts but that should be a small percentage of the population. Some might see an increase in the value of their house because the school is expected to have better test scores with new students moving in.

This all means that the school board does an extensive boundary study and makes large scale changes. I don't think that they will but it has been long enough and the population has shifted enough that a boundary study is in order.

And my kid is at a school that could be moved, SLHS. I could see them shifting kids to Herndon, Oakton, or Chantilly High School depending on how things play out.

You've posted the same thing before, but none of what you posted actually means that the board will conduct an "extensive boundary study" or "make large scale changes." All it means is that you'd be OK with it.

They are still rookies, or at least most of them are, and still getting their feet wet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of the situations are necessary. If you don’t like your kids bumping elbows with other kids, move. There are less crowded options with plenty of seats inside and outside the county.

Good luck moving for better schools when you're suddenly underwater on your mortgage because FCPS shifted your home to a school with a 30% ESL rate and your property value tanked by 25%.

Oh well. This is what we’ve voted for in our state and county. Suck it up buttercup. You’re probably wealthier than 95% of the country.

DP, but as pointed out before no one campaigned for county or state office saying they were committed to large-scale school boundary revisions in FCPS.

It's not an issue where you can predict someone's views based on party affiliation. The far left would redistrict to balance demographics in the name of equity. The far right would redistrict to minimize future taxes and spending on facilities. And most people who aren't either far left or far right would probably say only change school boundaries when it's absolutely necessary and continue to renovate and expand schools in the ordinary course to meet current needs and anticipate future ones.

No one should be expanding HS around here. They are already too large. Kids don’t even know half their classmates let alone their classmates’ names.

In any case, the SB is too politically driven to give a wit about education. They are all about their next political position and won’t actually do anything on this topic. I wish they’d stop wasting everyone’s time and emotional capital on boundaries.

Some recent expansions to a design capacity of at least 2500 seats include: Herndon (2779), Madison (2503), Oakton (2646), South Lakes (2717), West Potomac (3049), and West Springfield (2505)

Some ongoing and planned expansions include: Falls Church (2500), Justice (2500), and Centreville (3000)

Schools that were built large include: Lake Braddock (3124), Robinson (2752), South County (2500), and Westfield (2823)

So that cat is out of the bag, and they obviously struggle mightily to find acceptable sites for any new high school. Given all that, it's more than a bit late to start claiming no other schools should be expanded, regardless of their circumstances.

BS. There is no need for size equity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of the situations are necessary. If you don’t like your kids bumping elbows with other kids, move. There are less crowded options with plenty of seats inside and outside the county.

Good luck moving for better schools when you're suddenly underwater on your mortgage because FCPS shifted your home to a school with a 30% ESL rate and your property value tanked by 25%.

Oh well. This is what we’ve voted for in our state and county. Suck it up buttercup. You’re probably wealthier than 95% of the country.

DP, but as pointed out before no one campaigned for county or state office saying they were committed to large-scale school boundary revisions in FCPS.

It's not an issue where you can predict someone's views based on party affiliation. The far left would redistrict to balance demographics in the name of equity. The far right would redistrict to minimize future taxes and spending on facilities. And most people who aren't either far left or far right would probably say only change school boundaries when it's absolutely necessary and continue to renovate and expand schools in the ordinary course to meet current needs and anticipate future ones.

No one should be expanding HS around here. They are already too large. Kids don’t even know half their classmates let alone their classmates’ names.

In any case, the SB is too politically driven to give a wit about education. They are all about their next political position and won’t actually do anything on this topic. I wish they’d stop wasting everyone’s time and emotional capital on boundaries.

Some recent expansions to a design capacity of at least 2500 seats include: Herndon (2779), Madison (2503), Oakton (2646), South Lakes (2717), West Potomac (3049), and West Springfield (2505)

Some ongoing and planned expansions include: Falls Church (2500), Justice (2500), and Centreville (3000)

Schools that were built large include: Lake Braddock (3124), Robinson (2752), South County (2500), and Westfield (2823)

So that cat is out of the bag, and they obviously struggle mightily to find acceptable sites for any new high school. Given all that, it's more than a bit late to start claiming no other schools should be expanded, regardless of their circumstances.

BS. There is no need for size equity.

It's not especially important at the ES or MS level, but it's certainly a consideration at the HS level.

Spending to expand some high schools while blowing off others with an even greater need for additional seats would be the epitome of unfair treatment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boundary shifts should not affect most people. The people who live on the, well, boundaries, of over enrolled and under enrolled schools are most likely to be effected. They should not lead to bussing in order to address economic or language disparities.

There might be ripple effects as schools that are over enrolled are sent to near by HS/MS/ES, which will impact the enrollment at those schools but those should be relatively small.

And yes, some properties will see a decline in their over all value because of school shifts but that should be a small percentage of the population. Some might see an increase in the value of their house because the school is expected to have better test scores with new students moving in.

This all means that the school board does an extensive boundary study and makes large scale changes. I don't think that they will but it has been long enough and the population has shifted enough that a boundary study is in order.

And my kid is at a school that could be moved, SLHS. I could see them shifting kids to Herndon, Oakton, or Chantilly High School depending on how things play out.

You've posted the same thing before, but none of what you posted actually means that the board will conduct an "extensive boundary study" or "make large scale changes." All it means is that you'd be OK with it.

They are still rookies, or at least most of them are, and still getting their feet wet.

No one in Fairfax County cares about education. The school board is just a front to protect the property values of their largest donors who created the mess we have now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of the situations are necessary. If you don’t like your kids bumping elbows with other kids, move. There are less crowded options with plenty of seats inside and outside the county.

Good luck moving for better schools when you're suddenly underwater on your mortgage because FCPS shifted your home to a school with a 30% ESL rate and your property value tanked by 25%.

Oh well. This is what we’ve voted for in our state and county. Suck it up buttercup. You’re probably wealthier than 95% of the country.

DP, but as pointed out before no one campaigned for county or state office saying they were committed to large-scale school boundary revisions in FCPS.

It's not an issue where you can predict someone's views based on party affiliation. The far left would redistrict to balance demographics in the name of equity. The far right would redistrict to minimize future taxes and spending on facilities. And most people who aren't either far left or far right would probably say only change school boundaries when it's absolutely necessary and continue to renovate and expand schools in the ordinary course to meet current needs and anticipate future ones.

No one should be expanding HS around here. They are already too large. Kids don’t even know half their classmates let alone their classmates’ names.

In any case, the SB is too politically driven to give a wit about education. They are all about their next political position and won’t actually do anything on this topic. I wish they’d stop wasting everyone’s time and emotional capital on boundaries.

Some recent expansions to a design capacity of at least 2500 seats include: Herndon (2779), Madison (2503), Oakton (2646), South Lakes (2717), West Potomac (3049), and West Springfield (2505)

Some ongoing and planned expansions include: Falls Church (2500), Justice (2500), and Centreville (3000)

Schools that were built large include: Lake Braddock (3124), Robinson (2752), South County (2500), and Westfield (2823)

So that cat is out of the bag, and they obviously struggle mightily to find acceptable sites for any new high school. Given all that, it's more than a bit late to start claiming no other schools should be expanded, regardless of their circumstances.

BS. There is no need for size equity.

It's not especially important at the ES or MS level, but it's certainly a consideration at the HS level.

Spending to expand some high schools while blowing off others with an even greater need for additional seats would be the epitome of unfair treatment.

You fill until you hit the limit. Then you decide is it better to cozy up or send your kid elsewhere. Move if you have to. Stop with your calls for equity. Stop wasting tax followers on buildings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of the situations are necessary. If you don’t like your kids bumping elbows with other kids, move. There are less crowded options with plenty of seats inside and outside the county.

Good luck moving for better schools when you're suddenly underwater on your mortgage because FCPS shifted your home to a school with a 30% ESL rate and your property value tanked by 25%.

Oh well. This is what we’ve voted for in our state and county. Suck it up buttercup. You’re probably wealthier than 95% of the country.

DP, but as pointed out before no one campaigned for county or state office saying they were committed to large-scale school boundary revisions in FCPS.

It's not an issue where you can predict someone's views based on party affiliation. The far left would redistrict to balance demographics in the name of equity. The far right would redistrict to minimize future taxes and spending on facilities. And most people who aren't either far left or far right would probably say only change school boundaries when it's absolutely necessary and continue to renovate and expand schools in the ordinary course to meet current needs and anticipate future ones.

No one should be expanding HS around here. They are already too large. Kids don’t even know half their classmates let alone their classmates’ names.

In any case, the SB is too politically driven to give a wit about education. They are all about their next political position and won’t actually do anything on this topic. I wish they’d stop wasting everyone’s time and emotional capital on boundaries.

Some recent expansions to a design capacity of at least 2500 seats include: Herndon (2779), Madison (2503), Oakton (2646), South Lakes (2717), West Potomac (3049), and West Springfield (2505)

Some ongoing and planned expansions include: Falls Church (2500), Justice (2500), and Centreville (3000)

Schools that were built large include: Lake Braddock (3124), Robinson (2752), South County (2500), and Westfield (2823)

So that cat is out of the bag, and they obviously struggle mightily to find acceptable sites for any new high school. Given all that, it's more than a bit late to start claiming no other schools should be expanded, regardless of their circumstances.

BS. There is no need for size equity.

It's not especially important at the ES or MS level, but it's certainly a consideration at the HS level.

Spending to expand some high schools while blowing off others with an even greater need for additional seats would be the epitome of unfair treatment.

You fill until you hit the limit. Then you decide is it better to cozy up or send your kid elsewhere. Move if you have to. Stop with your calls for equity. Stop wasting tax followers on buildings.

^tax dollars

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of the situations are necessary. If you don’t like your kids bumping elbows with other kids, move. There are less crowded options with plenty of seats inside and outside the county.

Good luck moving for better schools when you're suddenly underwater on your mortgage because FCPS shifted your home to a school with a 30% ESL rate and your property value tanked by 25%.

Oh well. This is what we’ve voted for in our state and county. Suck it up buttercup. You’re probably wealthier than 95% of the country.

DP, but as pointed out before no one campaigned for county or state office saying they were committed to large-scale school boundary revisions in FCPS.

It's not an issue where you can predict someone's views based on party affiliation. The far left would redistrict to balance demographics in the name of equity. The far right would redistrict to minimize future taxes and spending on facilities. And most people who aren't either far left or far right would probably say only change school boundaries when it's absolutely necessary and continue to renovate and expand schools in the ordinary course to meet current needs and anticipate future ones.

No one should be expanding HS around here. They are already too large. Kids don’t even know half their classmates let alone their classmates’ names.

In any case, the SB is too politically driven to give a wit about education. They are all about their next political position and won’t actually do anything on this topic. I wish they’d stop wasting everyone’s time and emotional capital on boundaries.

Some recent expansions to a design capacity of at least 2500 seats include: Herndon (2779), Madison (2503), Oakton (2646), South Lakes (2717), West Potomac (3049), and West Springfield (2505)

Some ongoing and planned expansions include: Falls Church (2500), Justice (2500), and Centreville (3000)

Schools that were built large include: Lake Braddock (3124), Robinson (2752), South County (2500), and Westfield (2823)

So that cat is out of the bag, and they obviously struggle mightily to find acceptable sites for any new high school. Given all that, it's more than a bit late to start claiming no other schools should be expanded, regardless of their circumstances.

BS. There is no need for size equity.

It's not especially important at the ES or MS level, but it's certainly a consideration at the HS level.

Spending to expand some high schools while blowing off others with an even greater need for additional seats would be the epitome of unfair treatment.

You fill until you hit the limit. Then you decide is it better to cozy up or send your kid elsewhere. Move if you have to. Stop with your calls for equity. Stop wasting tax followers on buildings.

^tax dollars

Spending to ensure HS facilities are generally comparable is an investment in kids and communities. There are huge disparities in facilities within FCPS, just as there are among when it comes to student achievement. A School Board that wants a first-class system pays attention to both.