King Abdullah Academy Closing: FCPS Buy for HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m concerned they will make this a magnet school or something that won’t really help with capacity issues in the area. One of the board members floated that idea in an article (from WTOP?). That article also mentioned getting community input. Who knows what that will mean. Everyone is going to have their pet agenda, ugh.

Gee. Thanks for that. I googled it. It was Mateo Dunne.
https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2025/06/fairfax-co-plans-to-buy-closing-private-school-with-eye-on-opening-first-new-high-school-in-decades/

That would be a terrible idea. We need relief from long commutes.

The issue is how much capacity the school will have with interior modifications. They can't slap an addition onto this school because they've said it's a $150M turnkey purchase.

So the final use may turn out to be for special education services or perhaps an IB magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m concerned they will make this a magnet school or something that won’t really help with capacity issues in the area. One of the board members floated that idea in an article (from WTOP?). That article also mentioned getting community input. Who knows what that will mean. Everyone is going to have their pet agenda, ugh.

Gee. Thanks for that. I googled it. It was Mateo Dunne.
https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2025/06/fairfax-co-plans-to-buy-closing-private-school-with-eye-on-opening-first-new-high-school-in-decades/

That would be a terrible idea. We need relief from long commutes.

The issue is how much capacity the school will have with interior modifications. They can't slap an addition onto this school because they've said it's a $150M turnkey purchase.

So the final use may turn out to be for special education services or perhaps an IB magnet.

That does not give relief to the area that needs it.
Thru's plans split neighborhoods, create new islands, and sends MORE students on long commutes--when there are already long commutes for far too many in this area.

This school would also help the overcrowding at Chantilly, Centreville, and Westfield.
The school has the space. They can adapt it and there are two extra buildings, if needed.

[Anonymous]

There’s plenty of capacity for a general purpose HS, even if it’s a little smaller. I bet the admin buildings could also be used for classes. I sure hope the board isn’t foolish enough to waste this amazing opportunity for a long needed high school on a specialty or magnet school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m concerned they will make this a magnet school or something that won’t really help with capacity issues in the area. One of the board members floated that idea in an article (from WTOP?). That article also mentioned getting community input. Who knows what that will mean. Everyone is going to have their pet agenda, ugh.

Gee. Thanks for that. I googled it. It was Mateo Dunne.
https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2025/06/fairfax-co-plans-to-buy-closing-private-school-with-eye-on-opening-first-new-high-school-in-decades/

That would be a terrible idea. We need relief from long commutes.

The issue is how much capacity the school will have with interior modifications. They can't slap an addition onto this school because they've said it's a $150M turnkey purchase.

So the final use may turn out to be for special education services or perhaps an IB magnet.

The school is not small. Just because the private school with the 8:1 student/teacher ratio only had 1000 kids doesn't mean it can only hold 1000. As far as square footage it is exactly the same size as Centreville HS. They may need to partition a few giant kindergarten rooms into separate classrooms, but that is trivial.

[Anonymous]

How long is long commute?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m concerned they will make this a magnet school or something that won’t really help with capacity issues in the area. One of the board members floated that idea in an article (from WTOP?). That article also mentioned getting community input. Who knows what that will mean. Everyone is going to have their pet agenda, ugh.

Gee. Thanks for that. I googled it. It was Mateo Dunne.
https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2025/06/fairfax-co-plans-to-buy-closing-private-school-with-eye-on-opening-first-new-high-school-in-decades/

That would be a terrible idea. We need relief from long commutes.

The issue is how much capacity the school will have with interior modifications. They can't slap an addition onto this school because they've said it's a $150M turnkey purchase.

So the final use may turn out to be for special education services or perhaps an IB magnet.

That does not give relief to the area that needs it.
Thru's plans split neighborhoods, create new islands, and sends MORE students on long commutes--when there are already long commutes for far too many in this area.

This school would also help the overcrowding at Chantilly, Centreville, and Westfield.
The school has the space. They can adapt it and there are two extra buildings, if needed.

Talk to the School Board members. They'll tell you that it was an opportunity they didn't think they could pass up but they also don't really know yet what they're getting.

They are going to have to get a handle on the capacity before any decisions are made. They'll find uses for the two other buildings but a three-building campus for HS students doesn't square with their security priorities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long is long commute?

This is from the other thread on boundary:

First PP:
No. No one in this area wants to ride a school bus for 30 minutes each way. Just checked. Over 20 minutes right now and it is not on a school bus and it is not rush hour.

replying poster:

You need to account for the bus route and all the stops. We are one of the last stops. My kid's bus ride to/from school is ~50 minutes. It really sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m concerned they will make this a magnet school or something that won’t really help with capacity issues in the area. One of the board members floated that idea in an article (from WTOP?). That article also mentioned getting community input. Who knows what that will mean. Everyone is going to have their pet agenda, ugh.

Gee. Thanks for that. I googled it. It was Mateo Dunne.
https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2025/06/fairfax-co-plans-to-buy-closing-private-school-with-eye-on-opening-first-new-high-school-in-decades/

That would be a terrible idea. We need relief from long commutes.

The issue is how much capacity the school will have with interior modifications. They can't slap an addition onto this school because they've said it's a $150M turnkey purchase.

So the final use may turn out to be for special education services or perhaps an IB magnet.

That does not give relief to the area that needs it.
Thru's plans split neighborhoods, create new islands, and sends MORE students on long commutes--when there are already long commutes for far too many in this area.

This school would also help the overcrowding at Chantilly, Centreville, and Westfield.
The school has the space. They can adapt it and there are two extra buildings, if needed.

Talk to the School Board members. They'll tell you that it was an opportunity they didn't think they could pass up but they also don't really know yet what they're getting.

They are going to have to get a handle on the capacity before any decisions are made. They'll find uses for the two other buildings but a three-building campus for HS students doesn't square with their security priorities.

That can easily be worked out. We have academies at some schools with open bays.

[Anonymous]

How did Fcps come up with such a bad plan initially to have students ride out for so long? What if this school didn’t sell or let’s say the deal falls through then what? How bad are they to make such poor planning?

[Anonymous]

It’s a bit rich that they waited until Oakton got an expensive expansion before they started lodging all these complaints about the long commutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How did Fcps come up with such a bad plan initially to have students ride out for so long? What if this school didn’t sell or let’s say the deal falls through then what? How bad are they to make such poor planning?

They should have never let this property go when they did ten years ago.

Initially, all the neighborhoods that have been here for a long time went to Chantilly. Then, they started sending kids just down the street from Chantilly to Oakton. It was always too far, but the traffic is much worse now and the trip is longer. 66 is terrible and the other routes are over winding back roads.

Some kids in the area go to Westfield, but they are cut off from the rest of Westfield boundary by industrial and commercial property in between. Essentially, it is a large island. No sense of community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a bit rich that they waited until Oakton got an expensive expansion before they started lodging all these complaints about the long commutes.

They have always complained about that. You just were not aware.

[Anonymous]

A magnet out here makes all the sense in the world.TJ is too remote for most folks

[Anonymous]

But aside from this property didn’t they have any other land 10 years ago which could have been used?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A magnet out here makes all the sense in the world.TJ is too remote for most folks

NO ABSOLUTELY NOT. We don't want our kids on the bus for 45 minutes.