Anonymous wrote:And in a few years we’re going to hit the natural demographic cliff of fewer children being born during the recession, so yeah let’s move a few hundred out of WSHS and leave the nice newer building under-utilized in 10 years. Sounds like a plan. BTW the proposed changes so far create an over 100% capacity situation at South County MS and a close to 100% situation at SCHS, but hey, that’s a problem for those kids, not for me!
My 7th grader’s class at Irving is also around 700. That’s a lot of years of overcrowding for WS
Anonymous wrote:And in a few years we’re going to hit the natural demographic cliff of fewer children being born during the recession, so yeah let’s move a few hundred out of WSHS and leave the nice newer building under-utilized in 10 years. Sounds like a plan. BTW the proposed changes so far create an over 100% capacity situation at South County MS and a close to 100% situation at SCHS, but hey, that’s a problem for those kids, not for me!
Then they need to move some SCMS and SCHS kids out of there and down to Potomac or Mount Vernon where there is space. That leaves space for the WSHS kids to move to SCHS.
Anonymous wrote:And in a few years we’re going to hit the natural demographic cliff of fewer children being born during the recession, so yeah let’s move a few hundred out of WSHS and leave the nice newer building under-utilized in 10 years. Sounds like a plan. BTW the proposed changes so far create an over 100% capacity situation at South County MS and a close to 100% situation at SCHS, but hey, that’s a problem for those kids, not for me!
Then they need to move some SCMS and SCHS kids out of there and down to Potomac or Mount Vernon where there is space. That leaves space for the WSHS kids to move to SCHS.
Anonymous wrote:And in a few years we’re going to hit the natural demographic cliff of fewer children being born during the recession, so yeah let’s move a few hundred out of WSHS and leave the nice newer building under-utilized in 10 years. Sounds like a plan. BTW the proposed changes so far create an over 100% capacity situation at South County MS and a close to 100% situation at SCHS, but hey, that’s a problem for those kids, not for me!
Then they need to move some SCMS and SCHS kids out of there and down to Potomac or Mount Vernon where there is space. That leaves space for the WSHS kids to move to SCHS.
That WAS what they were going to do originally by moving some of Halley to Lorton Station and Hayfield. That would leave some room at the middle and high school (not a lot but it would not have been an over capacity situation, more of an at capacity situation but that’s not bad). Instead the new proposals move one small neighborhood of large SFH out of Silverbrook/SC to Sangster/LB, move the attendance island out of Halley to Gunston which keeps it at SC, AND ALSO moves up to 35% of Hunt Valley to SC. I’d also like to note this is clearly an equity motivated change from the initial proposals, because the island being moved out of Halley is predominantly low income and it was clear they wanted to keep it at the middle class to relatively more affluent SC vs. the middle class with more lower income areas Hayfield.
And really, all of this is just tinkering around the edges and for what? There are no new large neighborhoods of family-friendly 3 bedroom TH new builds springing up all over West Springfield and Lorton. It’s pretty well built up there now, Lorton has more room, but is getting mostly big SFH so the population isn’t growing too much. I really feel like they need to just leave well enough alone and concentrate on the KAA boundaries and the schools that need relief now.
Anonymous wrote:Did the KAA sale go through? Wasn’t it supposed to close on 8/12?
The deal was supposed to have closed by 8/14, not 8/12. I would have thought there'd be a follow-up announcement if they were so sure this was actually a good deal.
Going to keep writhing until the bitter end I see. The deal closed, it's over. Might as well accept it.
No fanfare suggests there might be some buyer’s remorse. Will be interesting to see what comes next.
Or they're waiting until Monday because the Title IX email came out on Friday and they tend not to send out two emails about two different things on the same day. :roll:
The FCPS media department posted three different items on Friday, so that's probably not the issue. But if you're one of Reid's flunkies, maybe you can pull together an email this week (or not).
I don't work for FCPS but I do live in the area that is going to be served by this high school. I think mommies like you that seem to hate our school system so much really should move. You have plenty of options. I hear great thinks about Prince Wiliiam and Loudon. Maybe their values are more similar to yours, too. You would be happier there.
Or maybe you're just the type of person who has nothing better to do than complain, complain, complain about everything. Do you have any friends? I'm guessing no.
Ooh, snap.
No, it’s just clear this is a muted roll-out from folks who apparently thought they were getting a bargain but then realized they were even sure what they were buying.
DP. What is it like to live in your own little world where you just make up your own reality? I see people (or maybe it’s just you) do this a lot when discussing FCPS decisions and actions. Trust me I am no fan of how the school board and Reid are going about things these days but it’s just bizarre to see people like you just fully make up intents and motives of people you have never met. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one. In this case they just don’t really have any new info to share so no point in sending an email.
When they voted to buy KAA, one of the conditions was to close by August 14th.
August 14th came and went, and they did not tell the public whether the purchase closed. Some people came on here and said they closed on August 15th, a day later, but still no confirmation by FCPS.
One way or the other, they ought to tell people whether they closed the deal. If they actually had clear plans for this building, they ought to share them, too, but that's probably asking for too much. It's not making up ANYTHING to point out key questions about this transaction still remain unanswered, whether it's because they are unwilling to share the information or because they don't know themselves.
Some would think our elected School Board ought to have a decent plan in mind before they drop over $150 million in taxpayer money on a buidling, but others are fine with their doing so as long as they think they might benefit personally.
Here’s what you need to know: the school board does not care about you or what you think or want. They will do whatever they think is best regardless of your opinion. They do not feel they owe you anything and any input they ask for is generally just for show. You will be happier i
My post got cut off. You will be happier if you accept this fact and focus on other things in your life. If you hate it so much you really are better off moving because life is short and you seem to be spending a lot of energy being mad about something over which you have no control.
Thanks, but some of us will continue to call out FCPS and its School Board for its incompetence and lack of transparency. If that bothers you, move on to other threads.
Agree that our School Board usually makes terrible decisions. However, this decision was a good on and rights a wrong from a few years ago when they let that property go. (Honestly, I'm sure they had great pressure from the BOS who likely had pressure from the federal government to save an embarrassing and sensitive situation.)
There is actually a need for this school.
It was more than a few years ago that they transferred that property to the Saudis. Since then they've expanded a number of other schools. Going by their own forecasts, adding another high school just creates more excess capacity by SY 2029-30. And there's no cost/benefit analysis to say KAA was the best use of supposedly limited FCPS funds.
Tell that to the kids in the area being split in different directions out of their area. Please remember, THRU plans to split additional neighborhoods and send kids on a 40 minute plus bus ride. This eliminates that plan.
And, which "expanded" schools are supposed to absorb these kids instead of putting them on long bus rides?
We'd already heard the sloppy Thru proposals are going to be substantially revised. You don't get to leverage that to justify a new school when the CIP shows substantial excess capacity in the aggregate by 2029 in the schools serving western Fairfax.
At a minimum, they should be committing now to scaling back the Centreville expansion substantially and canceling the Dunn Loring project entirely if they are spending over $150 M on this property. Otherwise other renovations just get delayed and other areas in need just continue to get screwed.
The area around KAA has been in need for a very long time. Centreville expansion may be scaled back. Changes and adjustments have been made many times through the years.
Get over it.
It's telling that they haven't identified the schools whose boundaries stand to be adjusted if this school becomes a typical HS rather than a specialized program, or it could delay the ongoing boundary review, yet they say it could open in the fall of 2026. Aim, ready, fire!
That new site better not become a magnet program.
It needs to be a real high school, attended by students within a maximum 15-20 minutes drive from the school. It also needs to contribute towards making as many middle schools as possible in that area into single feeder middle schools.
I get you have a vested interest, but dude, unless you inherited the house, you knew full and well the boundaries when you purchased it. Stop acting entitled.
Ironic, since neighborhoods near KAA have been shifted several times since many purchased their houses. So, your premise is incorrect. The area would like some stability.
DP, but the high school boundaries near KAA were last changed over 15 years ago. You don't want stability, you want a different school.
This area is split into four different high schools. Hopefully, that will end. And, don't forget, both Chantilly and Westfield need relief. You seem to forget that. In fact, Chantilly kids are being proposed for a 40 minute plus bus ride. In addition, there is lots of new construction.
One can always come up with an "area" split into multiple high schools. Vienna splits to Madison, Marshall, Oakton, South Lakes, McLean, and Falls Church. Annandale splits to Annandale, Falls Church, Justice, and Woodson. Should we insist on a single high school for each of Vienna and Annandale?
Chantilly and Westfield are both projected by FCPS to have surplus capacity in the coming years. It's in the latest CIP.
And there is new construction in other parts of the county. Did they do any analysis before deciding this area in particular deserves more seats now? If so, they haven't shared it, and the last CIP didn't call for any significant investment in a new western HS for at least six more years. New construction doesn't necessarily translate into enrollment growth because the additional students from a new development can vary and be negated by declines in enrollment from a school's existing neighborhoods.
What you want - and are thrilled the SB is apparently willing to use our money to fund - is a new school that you think will be better than your current school. The schools you want to avoid may decline further if they send kids to KAA, and the families asked to backfill those schools won't be thrilled, either. They will drag this out, and likely refuse to provide details for as long as possible, but when the honeymoon is over it's going to get ugly.
Hm, sounds like jealousy to me.
I'm a DP from who you are responding to, and what I want (and likely PP, too) is for our kids not to be on a bus for 40 minutes to and from high school. That's literally it.
Not buying it. If you were happy with your current school you and your kids would happily tolerate that trip.
We're zoned for Oakton, bought our house because it was zoned to Oakton, but knowing what we know now and how much worse traffic is now than it was 15 years ago when we bought our house, having a school that is only 5-8 minutes away is certainly desirable to us now!! Would we move if we remain zoned to Oakton? Nope, it's a good school. But would we prefer to be at a closer school? Absolutely. I'm not sure why this is so hard for you to understand.
Anonymous wrote:Did the KAA sale go through? Wasn’t it supposed to close on 8/12?
The deal was supposed to have closed by 8/14, not 8/12. I would have thought there'd be a follow-up announcement if they were so sure this was actually a good deal.
Going to keep writhing until the bitter end I see. The deal closed, it's over. Might as well accept it.
No fanfare suggests there might be some buyer’s remorse. Will be interesting to see what comes next.
Or they're waiting until Monday because the Title IX email came out on Friday and they tend not to send out two emails about two different things on the same day.
The FCPS media department posted three different items on Friday, so that's probably not the issue. But if you're one of Reid's flunkies, maybe you can pull together an email this week (or not).
I don't work for FCPS but I do live in the area that is going to be served by this high school. I think mommies like you that seem to hate our school system so much really should move. You have plenty of options. I hear great thinks about Prince Wiliiam and Loudon. Maybe their values are more similar to yours, too. You would be happier there.
Or maybe you're just the type of person who has nothing better to do than complain, complain, complain about everything. Do you have any friends? I'm guessing no.
Ooh, snap.
No, it’s just clear this is a muted roll-out from folks who apparently thought they were getting a bargain but then realized they were even sure what they were buying.
DP. What is it like to live in your own little world where you just make up your own reality? I see people (or maybe it’s just you) do this a lot when discussing FCPS decisions and actions. Trust me I am no fan of how the school board and Reid are going about things these days but it’s just bizarre to see people like you just fully make up intents and motives of people you have never met. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one. In this case they just don’t really have any new info to share so no point in sending an email.
When they voted to buy KAA, one of the conditions was to close by August 14th.
August 14th came and went, and they did not tell the public whether the purchase closed. Some people came on here and said they closed on August 15th, a day later, but still no confirmation by FCPS.
One way or the other, they ought to tell people whether they closed the deal. If they actually had clear plans for this building, they ought to share them, too, but that's probably asking for too much. It's not making up ANYTHING to point out key questions about this transaction still remain unanswered, whether it's because they are unwilling to share the information or because they don't know themselves.
Some would think our elected School Board ought to have a decent plan in mind before they drop over $150 million in taxpayer money on a buidling, but others are fine with their doing so as long as they think they might benefit personally.
Here’s what you need to know: the school board does not care about you or what you think or want. They will do whatever they think is best regardless of your opinion. They do not feel they owe you anything and any input they ask for is generally just for show. You will be happier i
My post got cut off. You will be happier if you accept this fact and focus on other things in your life. If you hate it so much you really are better off moving because life is short and you seem to be spending a lot of energy being mad about something over which you have no control.
Thanks, but some of us will continue to call out FCPS and its School Board for its incompetence and lack of transparency. If that bothers you, move on to other threads.
Agree that our School Board usually makes terrible decisions. However, this decision was a good on and rights a wrong from a few years ago when they let that property go. (Honestly, I'm sure they had great pressure from the BOS who likely had pressure from the federal government to save an embarrassing and sensitive situation.)
There is actually a need for this school.
It was more than a few years ago that they transferred that property to the Saudis. Since then they've expanded a number of other schools. Going by their own forecasts, adding another high school just creates more excess capacity by SY 2029-30. And there's no cost/benefit analysis to say KAA was the best use of supposedly limited FCPS funds.
Tell that to the kids in the area being split in different directions out of their area. Please remember, THRU plans to split additional neighborhoods and send kids on a 40 minute plus bus ride. This eliminates that plan.
And, which "expanded" schools are supposed to absorb these kids instead of putting them on long bus rides?
We'd already heard the sloppy Thru proposals are going to be substantially revised. You don't get to leverage that to justify a new school when the CIP shows substantial excess capacity in the aggregate by 2029 in the schools serving western Fairfax.
At a minimum, they should be committing now to scaling back the Centreville expansion substantially and canceling the Dunn Loring project entirely if they are spending over $150 M on this property. Otherwise other renovations just get delayed and other areas in need just continue to get screwed.
The area around KAA has been in need for a very long time. Centreville expansion may be scaled back. Changes and adjustments have been made many times through the years.
Get over it.
It's telling that they haven't identified the schools whose boundaries stand to be adjusted if this school becomes a typical HS rather than a specialized program, or it could delay the ongoing boundary review, yet they say it could open in the fall of 2026. Aim, ready, fire!
That new site better not become a magnet program.
It needs to be a real high school, attended by students within a maximum 15-20 minutes drive from the school. It also needs to contribute towards making as many middle schools as possible in that area into single feeder middle schools.
I get you have a vested interest, but dude, unless you inherited the house, you knew full and well the boundaries when you purchased it. Stop acting entitled.
Ironic, since neighborhoods near KAA have been shifted several times since many purchased their houses. So, your premise is incorrect. The area would like some stability.
DP, but the high school boundaries near KAA were last changed over 15 years ago. You don't want stability, you want a different school.
This area is split into four different high schools. Hopefully, that will end. And, don't forget, both Chantilly and Westfield need relief. You seem to forget that. In fact, Chantilly kids are being proposed for a 40 minute plus bus ride. In addition, there is lots of new construction.
One can always come up with an "area" split into multiple high schools. Vienna splits to Madison, Marshall, Oakton, South Lakes, McLean, and Falls Church. Annandale splits to Annandale, Falls Church, Justice, and Woodson. Should we insist on a single high school for each of Vienna and Annandale?
Chantilly and Westfield are both projected by FCPS to have surplus capacity in the coming years. It's in the latest CIP.
And there is new construction in other parts of the county. Did they do any analysis before deciding this area in particular deserves more seats now? If so, they haven't shared it, and the last CIP didn't call for any significant investment in a new western HS for at least six more years. New construction doesn't necessarily translate into enrollment growth because the additional students from a new development can vary and be negated by declines in enrollment from a school's existing neighborhoods.
What you want - and are thrilled the SB is apparently willing to use our money to fund - is a new school that you think will be better than your current school. The schools you want to avoid may decline further if they send kids to KAA, and the families asked to backfill those schools won't be thrilled, either. They will drag this out, and likely refuse to provide details for as long as possible, but when the honeymoon is over it's going to get ugly.
DP. I think your premise that PP wants to get into a better school is flawed. We are currently zoned for Oakton but live in an area that could get rezoned to KAA if it were to become a regular high school. I am not seeing how KAA would be “better” than Oakton other than being smaller and a nicer building. The schools that would feed into KAA would likely be much more socioeconomically diverse than those that currently feed into Oakton. I think some people will be upset if they get moved from Oakton to KAA. I wouldn’t say KAA is likely to be better than Chantilly either. Maybe better than South Lakes or Westfield but probably not in any measurable way. I really think PP is someone who would just prefer their kids attend a HS closer to home and maybe sees a benefit to a smaller HS. That’s not the same as being moved out of a “bad” school.
SAME. We are zoned for Oakton. We bought our house because it was zoned to Oakton, which is one of the most highly rated, "desirable" high schools in FCPS. KAA is likely to have a much more diverse population (read: low income families) than Oakton. As a new high school, it won't get immediately get the best teachers, best coaches, best administrators, etc., and will probably be lacking in equipment for a few years, too. It won't be as good as Oakton but it will be 5 minutes from our home instead of 20+ and this makes it desirable to us. Anyone who thinks this is going to be somehow better than Oakton or Chantilly is thinking purely about building itself (oh and by the way, this school is unlikely to start with a football field or baseball diamond either) and not everything that actually makes a good school good.
There’s a very good chance no one from Oakton will end up at KAA but some might get moved to South Lakes since Floris will surely move unless KAA is a magnet.
I would be surprised if Floris is not moved to KAA, it ends the ES split feeder. A good number of people think that Oak Hill will be placed at KAA, ending the long commute to Oakton. McNair and Coates are projected to move to KAA. The question most people have is will Crossfield, also sent to Oakton, or Fox Mill added to KAA.
It’s premature, but if KAA becomes a typical community high school (which I believe it will), not every student in Carson may attend KAA due to its smaller size.
Only Floris ES is a lock in my opinion. McNair is also likely going to KAA.
Oak Hill Elementary School is close, but we should also consider the middle school boundary, as Carson Middle School is at capacity and Oak Hill is super close to Franklin. I am just not sure if FCPS would allow Oak Hill students to remain with Franklin Middle School and then transition to KAA.
On the other hand, since Franklin has available capacity, it’s possible FCPS could reassign Crossfield Elementary students to Franklin Middle School and then to Oakton High School, their current high school. Regardless of middle school, I think Crossfield is the least likely group going to KAA becauss some Crossfield parents would prefer Oakton to a new HS.
Fox Mill Elementary is not particularly close to KAA, but with Hughes MS at capacity, I think Fox Mill students will stay with Carson MS. The question is whether they will continue with South Lakes HS or switch to KAA.
Coates Elementary is an interesting case. It looks like Herndon Middle School and Herndon High School have available capacity. Could FCPS move Coates students to HMS and HHS? This would certainly alleviate concerns from Great Falls parents, but the optics could be problematic.
Parent of a Fox Mill kid here, KAA is next to Carson, which is not that far from the neighborhood. I think the difference in commute time between SLHS and KAA for the Fox Mill kids is a minute or two. A good number of people in the neighborhood would be happy to move to KAA. There are some who want to stay at SLHS because they like the idea of an established community. A small number want to stay for IB but that is a smaller group. IB vs AP is not important for as many families right now, although I think that would change if they realized that they would have more class options with AP then IB.
PP here.
I think Fox Mill has a fighting chance if Melanie Meren fights for it. But will she?
Anonymous wrote:Did the KAA sale go through? Wasn’t it supposed to close on 8/12?
The deal was supposed to have closed by 8/14, not 8/12. I would have thought there'd be a follow-up announcement if they were so sure this was actually a good deal.
Going to keep writhing until the bitter end I see. The deal closed, it's over. Might as well accept it.
No fanfare suggests there might be some buyer’s remorse. Will be interesting to see what comes next.
Or they're waiting until Monday because the Title IX email came out on Friday and they tend not to send out two emails about two different things on the same day.
The FCPS media department posted three different items on Friday, so that's probably not the issue. But if you're one of Reid's flunkies, maybe you can pull together an email this week (or not).
I don't work for FCPS but I do live in the area that is going to be served by this high school. I think mommies like you that seem to hate our school system so much really should move. You have plenty of options. I hear great thinks about Prince Wiliiam and Loudon. Maybe their values are more similar to yours, too. You would be happier there.
Or maybe you're just the type of person who has nothing better to do than complain, complain, complain about everything. Do you have any friends? I'm guessing no.
Ooh, snap.
No, it’s just clear this is a muted roll-out from folks who apparently thought they were getting a bargain but then realized they were even sure what they were buying.
DP. What is it like to live in your own little world where you just make up your own reality? I see people (or maybe it’s just you) do this a lot when discussing FCPS decisions and actions. Trust me I am no fan of how the school board and Reid are going about things these days but it’s just bizarre to see people like you just fully make up intents and motives of people you have never met. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one. In this case they just don’t really have any new info to share so no point in sending an email.
When they voted to buy KAA, one of the conditions was to close by August 14th.
August 14th came and went, and they did not tell the public whether the purchase closed. Some people came on here and said they closed on August 15th, a day later, but still no confirmation by FCPS.
One way or the other, they ought to tell people whether they closed the deal. If they actually had clear plans for this building, they ought to share them, too, but that's probably asking for too much. It's not making up ANYTHING to point out key questions about this transaction still remain unanswered, whether it's because they are unwilling to share the information or because they don't know themselves.
Some would think our elected School Board ought to have a decent plan in mind before they drop over $150 million in taxpayer money on a buidling, but others are fine with their doing so as long as they think they might benefit personally.
Here’s what you need to know: the school board does not care about you or what you think or want. They will do whatever they think is best regardless of your opinion. They do not feel they owe you anything and any input they ask for is generally just for show. You will be happier i
My post got cut off. You will be happier if you accept this fact and focus on other things in your life. If you hate it so much you really are better off moving because life is short and you seem to be spending a lot of energy being mad about something over which you have no control.
Thanks, but some of us will continue to call out FCPS and its School Board for its incompetence and lack of transparency. If that bothers you, move on to other threads.
Agree that our School Board usually makes terrible decisions. However, this decision was a good on and rights a wrong from a few years ago when they let that property go. (Honestly, I'm sure they had great pressure from the BOS who likely had pressure from the federal government to save an embarrassing and sensitive situation.)
There is actually a need for this school.
It was more than a few years ago that they transferred that property to the Saudis. Since then they've expanded a number of other schools. Going by their own forecasts, adding another high school just creates more excess capacity by SY 2029-30. And there's no cost/benefit analysis to say KAA was the best use of supposedly limited FCPS funds.
Tell that to the kids in the area being split in different directions out of their area. Please remember, THRU plans to split additional neighborhoods and send kids on a 40 minute plus bus ride. This eliminates that plan.
And, which "expanded" schools are supposed to absorb these kids instead of putting them on long bus rides?
We'd already heard the sloppy Thru proposals are going to be substantially revised. You don't get to leverage that to justify a new school when the CIP shows substantial excess capacity in the aggregate by 2029 in the schools serving western Fairfax.
At a minimum, they should be committing now to scaling back the Centreville expansion substantially and canceling the Dunn Loring project entirely if they are spending over $150 M on this property. Otherwise other renovations just get delayed and other areas in need just continue to get screwed.
The area around KAA has been in need for a very long time. Centreville expansion may be scaled back. Changes and adjustments have been made many times through the years.
Get over it.
It's telling that they haven't identified the schools whose boundaries stand to be adjusted if this school becomes a typical HS rather than a specialized program, or it could delay the ongoing boundary review, yet they say it could open in the fall of 2026. Aim, ready, fire!
That new site better not become a magnet program.
It needs to be a real high school, attended by students within a maximum 15-20 minutes drive from the school. It also needs to contribute towards making as many middle schools as possible in that area into single feeder middle schools.
I get you have a vested interest, but dude, unless you inherited the house, you knew full and well the boundaries when you purchased it. Stop acting entitled.
Ironic, since neighborhoods near KAA have been shifted several times since many purchased their houses. So, your premise is incorrect. The area would like some stability.
DP, but the high school boundaries near KAA were last changed over 15 years ago. You don't want stability, you want a different school.
This area is split into four different high schools. Hopefully, that will end. And, don't forget, both Chantilly and Westfield need relief. You seem to forget that. In fact, Chantilly kids are being proposed for a 40 minute plus bus ride. In addition, there is lots of new construction.
One can always come up with an "area" split into multiple high schools. Vienna splits to Madison, Marshall, Oakton, South Lakes, McLean, and Falls Church. Annandale splits to Annandale, Falls Church, Justice, and Woodson. Should we insist on a single high school for each of Vienna and Annandale?
Chantilly and Westfield are both projected by FCPS to have surplus capacity in the coming years. It's in the latest CIP.
And there is new construction in other parts of the county. Did they do any analysis before deciding this area in particular deserves more seats now? If so, they haven't shared it, and the last CIP didn't call for any significant investment in a new western HS for at least six more years. New construction doesn't necessarily translate into enrollment growth because the additional students from a new development can vary and be negated by declines in enrollment from a school's existing neighborhoods.
What you want - and are thrilled the SB is apparently willing to use our money to fund - is a new school that you think will be better than your current school. The schools you want to avoid may decline further if they send kids to KAA, and the families asked to backfill those schools won't be thrilled, either. They will drag this out, and likely refuse to provide details for as long as possible, but when the honeymoon is over it's going to get ugly.
DP. I think your premise that PP wants to get into a better school is flawed. We are currently zoned for Oakton but live in an area that could get rezoned to KAA if it were to become a regular high school. I am not seeing how KAA would be “better” than Oakton other than being smaller and a nicer building. The schools that would feed into KAA would likely be much more socioeconomically diverse than those that currently feed into Oakton. I think some people will be upset if they get moved from Oakton to KAA. I wouldn’t say KAA is likely to be better than Chantilly either. Maybe better than South Lakes or Westfield but probably not in any measurable way. I really think PP is someone who would just prefer their kids attend a HS closer to home and maybe sees a benefit to a smaller HS. That’s not the same as being moved out of a “bad” school.
SAME. We are zoned for Oakton. We bought our house because it was zoned to Oakton, which is one of the most highly rated, "desirable" high schools in FCPS. KAA is likely to have a much more diverse population (read: low income families) than Oakton. As a new high school, it won't get immediately get the best teachers, best coaches, best administrators, etc., and will probably be lacking in equipment for a few years, too. It won't be as good as Oakton but it will be 5 minutes from our home instead of 20+ and this makes it desirable to us. Anyone who thinks this is going to be somehow better than Oakton or Chantilly is thinking purely about building itself (oh and by the way, this school is unlikely to start with a football field or baseball diamond either) and not everything that actually makes a good school good.
There’s a very good chance no one from Oakton will end up at KAA but some might get moved to South Lakes since Floris will surely move unless KAA is a magnet.
I would be surprised if Floris is not moved to KAA, it ends the ES split feeder. A good number of people think that Oak Hill will be placed at KAA, ending the long commute to Oakton. McNair and Coates are projected to move to KAA. The question most people have is will Crossfield, also sent to Oakton, or Fox Mill added to KAA.
It’s premature, but if KAA becomes a typical community high school (which I believe it will), not every student in Carson may attend KAA due to its smaller size.
Only Floris ES is a lock in my opinion. McNair is also likely going to KAA.
Oak Hill Elementary School is close, but we should also consider the middle school boundary, as Carson Middle School is at capacity and Oak Hill is super close to Franklin. I am just not sure if FCPS would allow Oak Hill students to remain with Franklin Middle School and then transition to KAA.
On the other hand, since Franklin has available capacity, it’s possible FCPS could reassign Crossfield Elementary students to Franklin Middle School and then to Oakton High School, their current high school. Regardless of middle school, I think Crossfield is the least likely group going to KAA becauss some Crossfield parents would prefer Oakton to a new HS.
Fox Mill Elementary is not particularly close to KAA, but with Hughes MS at capacity, I think Fox Mill students will stay with Carson MS. The question is whether they will continue with South Lakes HS or switch to KAA.
Coates Elementary is an interesting case. It looks like Herndon Middle School and Herndon High School have available capacity. Could FCPS move Coates students to HMS and HHS? This would certainly alleviate concerns from Great Falls parents, but the optics could be problematic.
There's a reasonably good chance KAA is just going to serve Coates, McNair, Floris, and Oak Hill. They account for a good number of kids and recall that KAA was opened to accommodate no more than 1250 kids. Even assuming you can stuff more kids per square foot into a public school than a private academy, the capacity may be limited.
Coates is an overcrowded ES regardless of what high school it feeds into, so they need to move the part that already feeds to HMS/HHS to Herndon ES.
Without moving what's left at Coates to KAA, the optics are indeed horrible. Moving the Westfield area at Coates to Herndon further drives up poverty at Herndon, and makes KAA (which would then pick up a school like Fox Mill or Crossfield instead of Coates) a rich-kid school in the fanciest HS building in FCPS.
Either way, Coates, McNair, and Floris exit Westfield, and others will have to move - likely against their will - to Westfield. And then the question will come up as to whether, if moving even the small part of Floris that goes to South Lakes to KAA frees up a little space at South Lakes, more of Crossfield will move to South Lakes, since such a big deal is being made out of the long commutes some have to Oakton.
It is no surprise they want to ride the wave of congratulations for buying KAA as long as possible without getting into any details about what comes next. Because the "what comes next" part will be at least as negatively perceived by some as it will be positively perceived by others.
I suspect all the changes will be included in the next scenario, to be released this fall.
I’m skeptical that the complaining about overcrowding at WSHS is reflective of real overcrowding. The enrollment is no larger than it was last year. The first week or two always feels chaotic plus the metal detector stuff is causing issues. The cynical part of me sees people advocating for moving kids out of WS as people kissing up to the SB for power and influence a la the “3rd Woodson Rep.”
Anonymous wrote:Do we have to wait until the end of September to know how many kids are enrolled in each school?
They likely won’t release school-specific information before the second week of October. Even though school starts in August, they report school enrollments every month beginning with September, and that doesn’t come out until October.
Before then FCPS usually just reports on total FCPS enrollment in a report to the School Board in September.
Anonymous wrote:Did the KAA sale go through? Wasn’t it supposed to close on 8/12?
The deal was supposed to have closed by 8/14, not 8/12. I would have thought there'd be a follow-up announcement if they were so sure this was actually a good deal.
Going to keep writhing until the bitter end I see. The deal closed, it's over. Might as well accept it.
No fanfare suggests there might be some buyer’s remorse. Will be interesting to see what comes next.
Or they're waiting until Monday because the Title IX email came out on Friday and they tend not to send out two emails about two different things on the same day. :roll:
The FCPS media department posted three different items on Friday, so that's probably not the issue. But if you're one of Reid's flunkies, maybe you can pull together an email this week (or not).
I don't work for FCPS but I do live in the area that is going to be served by this high school. I think mommies like you that seem to hate our school system so much really should move. You have plenty of options. I hear great thinks about Prince Wiliiam and Loudon. Maybe their values are more similar to yours, too. You would be happier there.
Or maybe you're just the type of person who has nothing better to do than complain, complain, complain about everything. Do you have any friends? I'm guessing no.
Ooh, snap.
No, it’s just clear this is a muted roll-out from folks who apparently thought they were getting a bargain but then realized they were even sure what they were buying.
DP. What is it like to live in your own little world where you just make up your own reality? I see people (or maybe it’s just you) do this a lot when discussing FCPS decisions and actions. Trust me I am no fan of how the school board and Reid are going about things these days but it’s just bizarre to see people like you just fully make up intents and motives of people you have never met. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one. In this case they just don’t really have any new info to share so no point in sending an email.
When they voted to buy KAA, one of the conditions was to close by August 14th.
August 14th came and went, and they did not tell the public whether the purchase closed. Some people came on here and said they closed on August 15th, a day later, but still no confirmation by FCPS.
One way or the other, they ought to tell people whether they closed the deal. If they actually had clear plans for this building, they ought to share them, too, but that's probably asking for too much. It's not making up ANYTHING to point out key questions about this transaction still remain unanswered, whether it's because they are unwilling to share the information or because they don't know themselves.
Some would think our elected School Board ought to have a decent plan in mind before they drop over $150 million in taxpayer money on a buidling, but others are fine with their doing so as long as they think they might benefit personally.
Here’s what you need to know: the school board does not care about you or what you think or want. They will do whatever they think is best regardless of your opinion. They do not feel they owe you anything and any input they ask for is generally just for show. You will be happier i
My post got cut off. You will be happier if you accept this fact and focus on other things in your life. If you hate it so much you really are better off moving because life is short and you seem to be spending a lot of energy being mad about something over which you have no control.
Thanks, but some of us will continue to call out FCPS and its School Board for its incompetence and lack of transparency. If that bothers you, move on to other threads.
Agree that our School Board usually makes terrible decisions. However, this decision was a good on and rights a wrong from a few years ago when they let that property go. (Honestly, I'm sure they had great pressure from the BOS who likely had pressure from the federal government to save an embarrassing and sensitive situation.)
There is actually a need for this school.
It was more than a few years ago that they transferred that property to the Saudis. Since then they've expanded a number of other schools. Going by their own forecasts, adding another high school just creates more excess capacity by SY 2029-30. And there's no cost/benefit analysis to say KAA was the best use of supposedly limited FCPS funds.
Tell that to the kids in the area being split in different directions out of their area. Please remember, THRU plans to split additional neighborhoods and send kids on a 40 minute plus bus ride. This eliminates that plan.
And, which "expanded" schools are supposed to absorb these kids instead of putting them on long bus rides?
We'd already heard the sloppy Thru proposals are going to be substantially revised. You don't get to leverage that to justify a new school when the CIP shows substantial excess capacity in the aggregate by 2029 in the schools serving western Fairfax.
At a minimum, they should be committing now to scaling back the Centreville expansion substantially and canceling the Dunn Loring project entirely if they are spending over $150 M on this property. Otherwise other renovations just get delayed and other areas in need just continue to get screwed.
The area around KAA has been in need for a very long time. Centreville expansion may be scaled back. Changes and adjustments have been made many times through the years.
Get over it.
It's telling that they haven't identified the schools whose boundaries stand to be adjusted if this school becomes a typical HS rather than a specialized program, or it could delay the ongoing boundary review, yet they say it could open in the fall of 2026. Aim, ready, fire!
That new site better not become a magnet program.
It needs to be a real high school, attended by students within a maximum 15-20 minutes drive from the school. It also needs to contribute towards making as many middle schools as possible in that area into single feeder middle schools.
I get you have a vested interest, but dude, unless you inherited the house, you knew full and well the boundaries when you purchased it. Stop acting entitled.
Ironic, since neighborhoods near KAA have been shifted several times since many purchased their houses. So, your premise is incorrect. The area would like some stability.
DP, but the high school boundaries near KAA were last changed over 15 years ago. You don't want stability, you want a different school.
This area is split into four different high schools. Hopefully, that will end. And, don't forget, both Chantilly and Westfield need relief. You seem to forget that. In fact, Chantilly kids are being proposed for a 40 minute plus bus ride. In addition, there is lots of new construction.
One can always come up with an "area" split into multiple high schools. Vienna splits to Madison, Marshall, Oakton, South Lakes, McLean, and Falls Church. Annandale splits to Annandale, Falls Church, Justice, and Woodson. Should we insist on a single high school for each of Vienna and Annandale?
Chantilly and Westfield are both projected by FCPS to have surplus capacity in the coming years. It's in the latest CIP.
And there is new construction in other parts of the county. Did they do any analysis before deciding this area in particular deserves more seats now? If so, they haven't shared it, and the last CIP didn't call for any significant investment in a new western HS for at least six more years. New construction doesn't necessarily translate into enrollment growth because the additional students from a new development can vary and be negated by declines in enrollment from a school's existing neighborhoods.
What you want - and are thrilled the SB is apparently willing to use our money to fund - is a new school that you think will be better than your current school. The schools you want to avoid may decline further if they send kids to KAA, and the families asked to backfill those schools won't be thrilled, either. They will drag this out, and likely refuse to provide details for as long as possible, but when the honeymoon is over it's going to get ugly.
Hm, sounds like jealousy to me.
I'm a DP from who you are responding to, and what I want (and likely PP, too) is for our kids not to be on a bus for 40 minutes to and from high school. That's literally it.
Not buying it. If you were happy with your current school you and your kids would happily tolerate that trip.
We're zoned for Oakton, bought our house because it was zoned to Oakton, but knowing what we know now and how much worse traffic is now than it was 15 years ago when we bought our house, having a school that is only 5-8 minutes away is certainly desirable to us now!! Would we move if we remain zoned to Oakton? Nope, it's a good school. But would we prefer to be at a closer school? Absolutely. I'm not sure why this is so hard for you to understand.
Keep that thought in mind if what actually happens is others get moved to the new school and you get moved to South Lakes.
Anonymous wrote:According to the WS moms group on Facebook, the school is so overcrowded that teachers are quitting, some teachers are having to teach 4 classes at the same time and the halls are impassable. They can't wait for a boundary review. They need relief NOW. Can they just kick kids out of school to provide some relief? Send them away to LBSS or South County or Lewis?
That is just a small handful of people posting hyperbole.
Anonymous wrote:Did the KAA sale go through? Wasn’t it supposed to close on 8/12?
The deal was supposed to have closed by 8/14, not 8/12. I would have thought there'd be a follow-up announcement if they were so sure this was actually a good deal.
Going to keep writhing until the bitter end I see. The deal closed, it's over. Might as well accept it.
No fanfare suggests there might be some buyer’s remorse. Will be interesting to see what comes next.
Or they're waiting until Monday because the Title IX email came out on Friday and they tend not to send out two emails about two different things on the same day. :roll:
The FCPS media department posted three different items on Friday, so that's probably not the issue. But if you're one of Reid's flunkies, maybe you can pull together an email this week (or not).
I don't work for FCPS but I do live in the area that is going to be served by this high school. I think mommies like you that seem to hate our school system so much really should move. You have plenty of options. I hear great thinks about Prince Wiliiam and Loudon. Maybe their values are more similar to yours, too. You would be happier there.
Or maybe you're just the type of person who has nothing better to do than complain, complain, complain about everything. Do you have any friends? I'm guessing no.
Ooh, snap.
No, it’s just clear this is a muted roll-out from folks who apparently thought they were getting a bargain but then realized they were even sure what they were buying.
DP. What is it like to live in your own little world where you just make up your own reality? I see people (or maybe it’s just you) do this a lot when discussing FCPS decisions and actions. Trust me I am no fan of how the school board and Reid are going about things these days but it’s just bizarre to see people like you just fully make up intents and motives of people you have never met. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one. In this case they just don’t really have any new info to share so no point in sending an email.
When they voted to buy KAA, one of the conditions was to close by August 14th.
August 14th came and went, and they did not tell the public whether the purchase closed. Some people came on here and said they closed on August 15th, a day later, but still no confirmation by FCPS.
One way or the other, they ought to tell people whether they closed the deal. If they actually had clear plans for this building, they ought to share them, too, but that's probably asking for too much. It's not making up ANYTHING to point out key questions about this transaction still remain unanswered, whether it's because they are unwilling to share the information or because they don't know themselves.
Some would think our elected School Board ought to have a decent plan in mind before they drop over $150 million in taxpayer money on a buidling, but others are fine with their doing so as long as they think they might benefit personally.
Here’s what you need to know: the school board does not care about you or what you think or want. They will do whatever they think is best regardless of your opinion. They do not feel they owe you anything and any input they ask for is generally just for show. You will be happier i
My post got cut off. You will be happier if you accept this fact and focus on other things in your life. If you hate it so much you really are better off moving because life is short and you seem to be spending a lot of energy being mad about something over which you have no control.
Thanks, but some of us will continue to call out FCPS and its School Board for its incompetence and lack of transparency. If that bothers you, move on to other threads.
Agree that our School Board usually makes terrible decisions. However, this decision was a good on and rights a wrong from a few years ago when they let that property go. (Honestly, I'm sure they had great pressure from the BOS who likely had pressure from the federal government to save an embarrassing and sensitive situation.)
There is actually a need for this school.
It was more than a few years ago that they transferred that property to the Saudis. Since then they've expanded a number of other schools. Going by their own forecasts, adding another high school just creates more excess capacity by SY 2029-30. And there's no cost/benefit analysis to say KAA was the best use of supposedly limited FCPS funds.
Tell that to the kids in the area being split in different directions out of their area. Please remember, THRU plans to split additional neighborhoods and send kids on a 40 minute plus bus ride. This eliminates that plan.
And, which "expanded" schools are supposed to absorb these kids instead of putting them on long bus rides?
We'd already heard the sloppy Thru proposals are going to be substantially revised. You don't get to leverage that to justify a new school when the CIP shows substantial excess capacity in the aggregate by 2029 in the schools serving western Fairfax.
At a minimum, they should be committing now to scaling back the Centreville expansion substantially and canceling the Dunn Loring project entirely if they are spending over $150 M on this property. Otherwise other renovations just get delayed and other areas in need just continue to get screwed.
The area around KAA has been in need for a very long time. Centreville expansion may be scaled back. Changes and adjustments have been made many times through the years.
Get over it.
It's telling that they haven't identified the schools whose boundaries stand to be adjusted if this school becomes a typical HS rather than a specialized program, or it could delay the ongoing boundary review, yet they say it could open in the fall of 2026. Aim, ready, fire!
That new site better not become a magnet program.
It needs to be a real high school, attended by students within a maximum 15-20 minutes drive from the school. It also needs to contribute towards making as many middle schools as possible in that area into single feeder middle schools.
I get you have a vested interest, but dude, unless you inherited the house, you knew full and well the boundaries when you purchased it. Stop acting entitled.
Ironic, since neighborhoods near KAA have been shifted several times since many purchased their houses. So, your premise is incorrect. The area would like some stability.
DP, but the high school boundaries near KAA were last changed over 15 years ago. You don't want stability, you want a different school.
This area is split into four different high schools. Hopefully, that will end. And, don't forget, both Chantilly and Westfield need relief. You seem to forget that. In fact, Chantilly kids are being proposed for a 40 minute plus bus ride. In addition, there is lots of new construction.
One can always come up with an "area" split into multiple high schools. Vienna splits to Madison, Marshall, Oakton, South Lakes, McLean, and Falls Church. Annandale splits to Annandale, Falls Church, Justice, and Woodson. Should we insist on a single high school for each of Vienna and Annandale?
Chantilly and Westfield are both projected by FCPS to have surplus capacity in the coming years. It's in the latest CIP.
And there is new construction in other parts of the county. Did they do any analysis before deciding this area in particular deserves more seats now? If so, they haven't shared it, and the last CIP didn't call for any significant investment in a new western HS for at least six more years. New construction doesn't necessarily translate into enrollment growth because the additional students from a new development can vary and be negated by declines in enrollment from a school's existing neighborhoods.
What you want - and are thrilled the SB is apparently willing to use our money to fund - is a new school that you think will be better than your current school. The schools you want to avoid may decline further if they send kids to KAA, and the families asked to backfill those schools won't be thrilled, either. They will drag this out, and likely refuse to provide details for as long as possible, but when the honeymoon is over it's going to get ugly.
Hm, sounds like jealousy to me.
I'm a DP from who you are responding to, and what I want (and likely PP, too) is for our kids not to be on a bus for 40 minutes to and from high school. That's literally it.
Not buying it. If you were happy with your current school you and your kids would happily tolerate that trip.
We're zoned for Oakton, bought our house because it was zoned to Oakton, but knowing what we know now and how much worse traffic is now than it was 15 years ago when we bought our house, having a school that is only 5-8 minutes away is certainly desirable to us now!! Would we move if we remain zoned to Oakton? Nope, it's a good school. But would we prefer to be at a closer school? Absolutely. I'm not sure why this is so hard for you to understand.
Keep that thought in mind if what actually happens is others get moved to the new school and you get moved to South Lakes.
I don't see that happening. Melanie Meren represents South Lakes and Fox Mill. Dixit represents Franklin Farm and SullY. The new school is in Sully and Crossfield has mostly Franklin Farm kids.
Anonymous wrote:And really, all of this is just tinkering around the edges and for what? There are no new large neighborhoods of family-friendly 3 bedroom TH new builds springing up all over West Springfield and Lorton. It’s pretty well built up there now, Lorton has more room, but is getting mostly big SFH so the population isn’t growing too much. I really feel like they need to just leave well enough alone and concentrate on the KAA boundaries and the schools that need relief now.
There is a huge new apartment building opening soon at the Springfield Mall, walkable to Lewis though.
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