FCPS comprehensive boundary review

[Anonymous]

It isn’t just to align 6th graders with middle school standards, curriculum, etc. It’s also to introduce universal pre-K into the elementary schools. They’re essentially adding on an entire new grade level’s worth of students. I assume they would have pre-K-4 for 4 year olds at first and then maybe expand to pre-K 3 within a few years. I don’t think it would be as large of a cohort as an elementary grade 1-12 because some parents would elect to stay at day cares for a better schedule with fewer holidays and breaks.

I’ll just take my kids’ school as an example, they have averaged around 75 Kindergarten students a year and this is generally a little smaller than 1-6, I’d assume due to kids going to private K or perhaps being homeschooled for a year. If half chose FCPS Pre-K as 4 year olds, that’s around 38 kids they have to find space for. You wouldn’t put 38 kids in one classroom, so you’d need 2 classrooms of 18-20. And a teacher for each class, and probably an assistant. When my younger kid was in the special needs preschool they ate lunch in their classrooms, so cafeteria space wasn’t affected. But they still got outdoor recess (at a special, self contained playground! Not every school has that unless they already have a preschool!), music, and library time. Multiply 38 kids times 141 elementary schools and you’re adding AT LEAST 5300 students to FCPS overnight. And that’s a conservative estimate just based on 4 year olds and based on half of parents continuing at day care/private pre K. The number would only increase as time went on and they fleshed out the programs some more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t just to align 6th graders with middle school standards, curriculum, etc. It’s also to introduce universal pre-K into the elementary schools. They’re essentially adding on an entire new grade level’s worth of students. I assume they would have pre-K-4 for 4 year olds at first and then maybe expand to pre-K 3 within a few years. I don’t think it would be as large of a cohort as an elementary grade 1-12 because some parents would elect to stay at day cares for a better schedule with fewer holidays and breaks.

I’ll just take my kids’ school as an example, they have averaged around 75 Kindergarten students a year and this is generally a little smaller than 1-6, I’d assume due to kids going to private K or perhaps being homeschooled for a year. If half chose FCPS Pre-K as 4 year olds, that’s around 38 kids they have to find space for. You wouldn’t put 38 kids in one classroom, so you’d need 2 classrooms of 18-20. And a teacher for each class, and probably an assistant. When my younger kid was in the special needs preschool they ate lunch in their classrooms, so cafeteria space wasn’t affected. But they still got outdoor recess (at a special, self contained playground! Not every school has that unless they already have a preschool!), music, and library time. Multiply 38 kids times 141 elementary schools and you’re adding AT LEAST 5300 students to FCPS overnight. And that’s a conservative estimate just based on 4 year olds and based on half of parents continuing at day care/private pre K. The number would only increase as time went on and they fleshed out the programs some more.

To take this thought process a step further, how are they going to pay for that? They've already adopted a budget this year for teacher raises that they don't actually have the money for. They need the Board of Supervisors to increase the FCPS budget and it's not clear they're going to be able to do that. Especially now that we're seeing economic turmoil thanks to government worker and contractor layoffs.

I don't think you're wrong. They are 100 percent working to do all of this so they can add universal pre-K and be applauded by parents of young children everywhere. But Fairfax County doesn't have the money to do this and given what's happening with the local economy, they won't have the money to do this unless services are cut somewhere else. Do we cut fire and police department budgets? Cut the parks and libraries' budget?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they're really doing to do this, then they rip it all up. Change every boundary for every neighborhood and every school. Start completely over. Convert some of the ES to MS because the current MS's aren't large enough to accomodate 6-8.

They said they want a holistic review of every boundary. If this is the direction they're heading, it's not just going to be the Langley and West Springfield communities complaining once those draft maps come out in June.

This is what's been stated the "AI Tool", Frontline GIS, will do being used by Thru Consulting. They will use a clean slate, plug in "the data" they've collected and completely redraw everything. Some of the most recent minutes have identified "natural boarders" like the beltway, 66, 50. If all this ES to MS efforts are true, this will be plugged now vs later. It's been mentioned that many of the SB members don't have kids in school anymore so what do they have to lose? Thru Consulting is not local to DC which removes neighborhood bias as well. If they are going to anger and have to deal with a few subsets, why not Big Bang it all at once? If they are willing to risk not getting re-elected over pockets of change, why not rip it all up?

On the October 8 work session, this is exactly what Thru said they would do.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i04W3vvtV4w

The rezoning discussion starts at 2:47.

Thru discusses the software around 3:34.

There is discussion around 3:31 that part of the process will be marketing the change to parents by convincing them that school rankings by Niche and Great Schools are flawed and that the new 3 rated schools they are rezoned to are actually "equal or better" quality than the 8 or 10 school they purchased a home in.

4:01 they discuss that the Equity Officer will be involved in the process to guarantee compliance with One Fairfax

4:05 they state EVERY high school pyramid will be rezoned

4:17 discuses diversity in the advisory committee

4:19 discusses how the special interest groups were already involved with advising rezoning before the brac was formed

4:25 They discuss how the rezoning software can isolate addresses by demographic for the purpose of rezoning.

4:31 Reid states the software they are using can chart any program (AAP, demographics, etc) down to the individual household address.

4:32 Discusses that the school board already accepted "The Plunker Report" regarding AAP centers, and now they just need to work the recommendations into the rezoning process.

3:36 Dixon asks why did Reid not include any role for the Chief ACADEMIC Officer in the rezoning process, since this will greatly affect academics. Reid responds that the Chief Academic Officer will be brought in eventually, during the BRAC meetings.

If you care about the rezoning process, watch the October 8, 2024 planning meeting to get informed.

Thanks for the time stamps - very helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t just to align 6th graders with middle school standards, curriculum, etc. It’s also to introduce universal pre-K into the elementary schools. They’re essentially adding on an entire new grade level’s worth of students. I assume they would have pre-K-4 for 4 year olds at first and then maybe expand to pre-K 3 within a few years. I don’t think it would be as large of a cohort as an elementary grade 1-12 because some parents would elect to stay at day cares for a better schedule with fewer holidays and breaks.

I’ll just take my kids’ school as an example, they have averaged around 75 Kindergarten students a year and this is generally a little smaller than 1-6, I’d assume due to kids going to private K or perhaps being homeschooled for a year. If half chose FCPS Pre-K as 4 year olds, that’s around 38 kids they have to find space for. You wouldn’t put 38 kids in one classroom, so you’d need 2 classrooms of 18-20. And a teacher for each class, and probably an assistant. When my younger kid was in the special needs preschool they ate lunch in their classrooms, so cafeteria space wasn’t affected. But they still got outdoor recess (at a special, self contained playground! Not every school has that unless they already have a preschool!), music, and library time. Multiply 38 kids times 141 elementary schools and you’re adding AT LEAST 5300 students to FCPS overnight. And that’s a conservative estimate just based on 4 year olds and based on half of parents continuing at day care/private pre K. The number would only increase as time went on and they fleshed out the programs some more.

To take this thought process a step further, how are they going to pay for that? They've already adopted a budget this year for teacher raises that they don't actually have the money for. They need the Board of Supervisors to increase the FCPS budget and it's not clear they're going to be able to do that. Especially now that we're seeing economic turmoil thanks to government worker and contractor layoffs.

I don't think you're wrong. They are 100 percent working to do all of this so they can add universal pre-K and be applauded by parents of young children everywhere. But Fairfax County doesn't have the money to do this and given what's happening with the local economy, they won't have the money to do this unless services are cut somewhere else. Do we cut fire and police department budgets? Cut the parks and libraries' budget?

The board of supervisors is increasing almost ever home assessment in Fairfax County (92% of homes) by almost 7%

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2025/02/fairfax-co-homeowners-see-nearly-6-7-jump-in-assessments/

[Anonymous]

I am sure many of you threatening to vote R up down the ballot, know that there are residents in Ffx Co who are either happy with possible boundary changes, or don’t really care. This thread seems to be an echo chamber of worried, concerned and/or freaked out parents. I am not sure how much of an impact your votes will make. I do think a lot of non-voters will be more motivated to vote next time around after what is going on in the White House.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they're really doing to do this, then they rip it all up. Change every boundary for every neighborhood and every school. Start completely over. Convert some of the ES to MS because the current MS's aren't large enough to accomodate 6-8.

They said they want a holistic review of every boundary. If this is the direction they're heading, it's not just going to be the Langley and West Springfield communities complaining once those draft maps come out in June.

This is what's been stated the "AI Tool", Frontline GIS, will do being used by Thru Consulting. They will use a clean slate, plug in "the data" they've collected and completely redraw everything. Some of the most recent minutes have identified "natural boarders" like the beltway, 66, 50. If all this ES to MS efforts are true, this will be plugged now vs later. It's been mentioned that many of the SB members don't have kids in school anymore so what do they have to lose? Thru Consulting is not local to DC which removes neighborhood bias as well. If they are going to anger and have to deal with a few subsets, why not Big Bang it all at once? If they are willing to risk not getting re-elected over pockets of change, why not rip it all up?

On the October 8 work session, this is exactly what Thru said they would do.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i04W3vvtV4w

The rezoning discussion starts at 2:47.

Thru discusses the software around 3:34.

There is discussion around 3:31 that part of the process will be marketing the change to parents by convincing them that school rankings by Niche and Great Schools are flawed and that the new 3 rated schools they are rezoned to are actually "equal or better" quality than the 8 or 10 school they purchased a home in.

4:01 they discuss that the Equity Officer will be involved in the process to guarantee compliance with One Fairfax

4:05 they state EVERY high school pyramid will be rezoned

4:17 discuses diversity in the advisory committee

4:19 discusses how the special interest groups were already involved with advising rezoning before the brac was formed

4:25 They discuss how the rezoning software can isolate addresses by demographic for the purpose of rezoning.

4:31 Reid states the software they are using can chart any program (AAP, demographics, etc) down to the individual household address.

4:32 Discusses that the school board already accepted "The Plunker Report" regarding AAP centers, and now they just need to work the recommendations into the rezoning process.

3:36 Dixon asks why did Reid not include any role for the Chief ACADEMIC Officer in the rezoning process, since this will greatly affect academics. Reid responds that the Chief Academic Officer will be brought in eventually, during the BRAC meetings.

If you care about the rezoning process, watch the October 8, 2024 planning meeting to get informed.

Watch starting around 4:05. The suit essentially states that while they “listen to the parents” the advisory committee and the SB are guidance are all that really matter.

This is all a done deal. It’s just a matter of logistics to them at this point.

Watch the video, at least at the time stamps noted by PP. It is jaw dropping stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am sure many of you threatening to vote R up down the ballot, know that there are residents in Ffx Co who are either happy with possible boundary changes, or don’t really care. This thread seems to be an echo chamber of worried, concerned and/or freaked out parents. I am not sure how much of an impact your votes will make. I do think a lot of non-voters will be more motivated to vote next time around after what is going on in the White House.

Ok, Joe Biden. School boundaries have no effect on people. They never vote based on concerns with their local schools. Just ask our current governor, Terry McAuliffe. He cleaned that Trumper Youngkin’s clock, right?

Fairfax does not need to go from blue to red for the dems to lose in November. This is going to be a BIG issue. FCPS is going to cost the dems Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they're really doing to do this, then they rip it all up. Change every boundary for every neighborhood and every school. Start completely over. Convert some of the ES to MS because the current MS's aren't large enough to accomodate 6-8.

They said they want a holistic review of every boundary. If this is the direction they're heading, it's not just going to be the Langley and West Springfield communities complaining once those draft maps come out in June.

This is what's been stated the "AI Tool", Frontline GIS, will do being used by Thru Consulting. They will use a clean slate, plug in "the data" they've collected and completely redraw everything. Some of the most recent minutes have identified "natural boarders" like the beltway, 66, 50. If all this ES to MS efforts are true, this will be plugged now vs later. It's been mentioned that many of the SB members don't have kids in school anymore so what do they have to lose? Thru Consulting is not local to DC which removes neighborhood bias as well. If they are going to anger and have to deal with a few subsets, why not Big Bang it all at once? If they are willing to risk not getting re-elected over pockets of change, why not rip it all up?

On the October 8 work session, this is exactly what Thru said they would do.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i04W3vvtV4w

The rezoning discussion starts at 2:47.

Thru discusses the software around 3:34.

There is discussion around 3:31 that part of the process will be marketing the change to parents by convincing them that school rankings by Niche and Great Schools are flawed and that the new 3 rated schools they are rezoned to are actually "equal or better" quality than the 8 or 10 school they purchased a home in.

4:01 they discuss that the Equity Officer will be involved in the process to guarantee compliance with One Fairfax

4:05 they state EVERY high school pyramid will be rezoned

4:17 discuses diversity in the advisory committee

4:19 discusses how the special interest groups were already involved with advising rezoning before the brac was formed

4:25 They discuss how the rezoning software can isolate addresses by demographic for the purpose of rezoning.

4:31 Reid states the software they are using can chart any program (AAP, demographics, etc) down to the individual household address.

4:32 Discusses that the school board already accepted "The Plunker Report" regarding AAP centers, and now they just need to work the recommendations into the rezoning process.

3:36 Dixon asks why did Reid not include any role for the Chief ACADEMIC Officer in the rezoning process, since this will greatly affect academics. Reid responds that the Chief Academic Officer will be brought in eventually, during the BRAC meetings.

If you care about the rezoning process, watch the October 8, 2024 planning meeting to get informed.

Watch starting around 4:05. The suit essentially states that while they “listen to the parents” the advisory committee and the SB are guidance are all that really matter.

This is all a done deal. It’s just a matter of logistics to them at this point.

Watch the video, at least at the time stamps noted by PP. It is jaw dropping stuff.

Yes, you can tell by the way Dunne is repeatedly citing the number of community meetings and stressing that they are available to the public to create evidence to check the public notice box when they inevitably get lawsuits about the boundary process down the road. They aren't listenting to feedback because the feedback is largely "don't do comprehensive boundary changes", they are just ensuring it will survive a legal challenge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn’t just to align 6th graders with middle school standards, curriculum, etc. It’s also to introduce universal pre-K into the elementary schools. They’re essentially adding on an entire new grade level’s worth of students. I assume they would have pre-K-4 for 4 year olds at first and then maybe expand to pre-K 3 within a few years. I don’t think it would be as large of a cohort as an elementary grade 1-12 because some parents would elect to stay at day cares for a better schedule with fewer holidays and breaks.

I’ll just take my kids’ school as an example, they have averaged around 75 Kindergarten students a year and this is generally a little smaller than 1-6, I’d assume due to kids going to private K or perhaps being homeschooled for a year. If half chose FCPS Pre-K as 4 year olds, that’s around 38 kids they have to find space for. You wouldn’t put 38 kids in one classroom, so you’d need 2 classrooms of 18-20. And a teacher for each class, and probably an assistant. When my younger kid was in the special needs preschool they ate lunch in their classrooms, so cafeteria space wasn’t affected. But they still got outdoor recess (at a special, self contained playground! Not every school has that unless they already have a preschool!), music, and library time. Multiply 38 kids times 141 elementary schools and you’re adding AT LEAST 5300 students to FCPS overnight. And that’s a conservative estimate just based on 4 year olds and based on half of parents continuing at day care/private pre K. The number would only increase as time went on and they fleshed out the programs some more.

To take this thought process a step further, how are they going to pay for that? They've already adopted a budget this year for teacher raises that they don't actually have the money for. They need the Board of Supervisors to increase the FCPS budget and it's not clear they're going to be able to do that. Especially now that we're seeing economic turmoil thanks to government worker and contractor layoffs.

I don't think you're wrong. They are 100 percent working to do all of this so they can add universal pre-K and be applauded by parents of young children everywhere. But Fairfax County doesn't have the money to do this and given what's happening with the local economy, they won't have the money to do this unless services are cut somewhere else. Do we cut fire and police department budgets? Cut the parks and libraries' budget?

The board of supervisors is increasing almost ever home assessment in Fairfax County (92% of homes) by almost 7%

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2025/02/fairfax-co-homeowners-see-nearly-6-7-jump-in-assessments/

Thanks for posting. I missed this today. But this would just help close the current budget shortfall. It wouldn't take into account the cost of universal pre-K.

Also, I appreciate that most people aren't paying attention to the boundary issues. But a large number of Fairfax County homeowners WILL pay attention to their property taxes going up again. Will it go up another 7 to 10 percent next year to pay for universal pre-K?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sure many of you threatening to vote R up down the ballot, know that there are residents in Ffx Co who are either happy with possible boundary changes, or don’t really care. This thread seems to be an echo chamber of worried, concerned and/or freaked out parents. I am not sure how much of an impact your votes will make. I do think a lot of non-voters will be more motivated to vote next time around after what is going on in the White House.

Ok, Joe Biden. School boundaries have no effect on people. They never vote based on concerns with their local schools. Just ask our current governor, Terry McAuliffe. He cleaned that Trumper Youngkin’s clock, right?

Fairfax does not need to go from blue to red for the dems to lose in November. This is going to be a BIG issue. FCPS is going to cost the dems Virginia.

Always goes to political talking points. They haven't even put the boundary changes for review and feedback it's on the calendar. Can you wait to see what they plan? If you don't like it then there is a feedback process and I'm sure more than one choice with a cost to each. Worse case we keep things as they are and build more trailers to handle the overcrowding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sure many of you threatening to vote R up down the ballot, know that there are residents in Ffx Co who are either happy with possible boundary changes, or don’t really care. This thread seems to be an echo chamber of worried, concerned and/or freaked out parents. I am not sure how much of an impact your votes will make. I do think a lot of non-voters will be more motivated to vote next time around after what is going on in the White House.

Ok, Joe Biden. School boundaries have no effect on people. They never vote based on concerns with their local schools. Just ask our current governor, Terry McAuliffe. He cleaned that Trumper Youngkin’s clock, right?

Fairfax does not need to go from blue to red for the dems to lose in November. This is going to be a BIG issue. FCPS is going to cost the dems Virginia.

I think this is correct. The Fairfax Democrats have a few months to get their shit together, or there’s a whole cohort of Democratic politicians who can kiss their budding political careers goodbye. They claim they are doing something that hasn’t been done in 40 years, but they are also asking for backlash like the Fairfax Democrats haven’t seen for decades as well. At a minimum, the margins will continue to shift enough to deliver the state to the Republicans again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sure many of you threatening to vote R up down the ballot, know that there are residents in Ffx Co who are either happy with possible boundary changes, or don’t really care. This thread seems to be an echo chamber of worried, concerned and/or freaked out parents. I am not sure how much of an impact your votes will make. I do think a lot of non-voters will be more motivated to vote next time around after what is going on in the White House.

Ok, Joe Biden. School boundaries have no effect on people. They never vote based on concerns with their local schools. Just ask our current governor, Terry McAuliffe. He cleaned that Trumper Youngkin’s clock, right?

Fairfax does not need to go from blue to red for the dems to lose in November. This is going to be a BIG issue. FCPS is going to cost the dems Virginia.

I think this is correct. The Fairfax Democrats have a few months to get their shit together, or there’s a whole cohort of Democratic politicians who can kiss their budding political careers goodbye. They claim they are doing something that hasn’t been done in 40 years, but they are also asking for backlash like the Fairfax Democrats haven’t seen for decades as well. At a minimum, the margins will continue to shift enough to deliver the state to the Republicans again.

+2. And they’ll deserve the losses. That’s what happens when you don’t listen to the voters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sure many of you threatening to vote R up down the ballot, know that there are residents in Ffx Co who are either happy with possible boundary changes, or don’t really care. This thread seems to be an echo chamber of worried, concerned and/or freaked out parents. I am not sure how much of an impact your votes will make. I do think a lot of non-voters will be more motivated to vote next time around after what is going on in the White House.

Ok, Joe Biden. School boundaries have no effect on people. They never vote based on concerns with their local schools. Just ask our current governor, Terry McAuliffe. He cleaned that Trumper Youngkin’s clock, right?

Fairfax does not need to go from blue to red for the dems to lose in November. This is going to be a BIG issue. FCPS is going to cost the dems Virginia.

Always goes to political talking points. They haven't even put the boundary changes for review and feedback it's on the calendar. Can you wait to see what they plan? If you don't like it then there is a feedback process and I'm sure more than one choice with a cost to each. Worse case we keep things as they are and build more trailers to handle the overcrowding.

Or maybe the asshats wake up and start spending where it is needed and not spending where it isn’t needed. A few folks like Dunne and McElveen have tried to steer them in that direction but the majority are party hacks who suck at Karl Frisch’s political teat and are more than happy to drive FCPS off a cliff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sure many of you threatening to vote R up down the ballot, know that there are residents in Ffx Co who are either happy with possible boundary changes, or don’t really care. This thread seems to be an echo chamber of worried, concerned and/or freaked out parents. I am not sure how much of an impact your votes will make. I do think a lot of non-voters will be more motivated to vote next time around after what is going on in the White House.

Ok, Joe Biden. School boundaries have no effect on people. They never vote based on concerns with their local schools. Just ask our current governor, Terry McAuliffe. He cleaned that Trumper Youngkin’s clock, right?

Fairfax does not need to go from blue to red for the dems to lose in November. This is going to be a BIG issue. FCPS is going to cost the dems Virginia.

School boundaries would have a bigger impact on the 2025 election if the federal government weren’t currently in total chaos. This isn’t like 2021 when everyone had COVID fatigue and were over the restrictions. The boundary adjustment is deeply unpopular, but it’s got a lot of competition with King Trump and President Musk trying to cut jobs and funding that many Fairfax county residents rely on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sure many of you threatening to vote R up down the ballot, know that there are residents in Ffx Co who are either happy with possible boundary changes, or don’t really care. This thread seems to be an echo chamber of worried, concerned and/or freaked out parents. I am not sure how much of an impact your votes will make. I do think a lot of non-voters will be more motivated to vote next time around after what is going on in the White House.

Ok, Joe Biden. School boundaries have no effect on people. They never vote based on concerns with their local schools. Just ask our current governor, Terry McAuliffe. He cleaned that Trumper Youngkin’s clock, right?

Fairfax does not need to go from blue to red for the dems to lose in November. This is going to be a BIG issue. FCPS is going to cost the dems Virginia.

Always goes to political talking points. They haven't even put the boundary changes for review and feedback it's on the calendar. Can you wait to see what they plan? If you don't like it then there is a feedback process and I'm sure more than one choice with a cost to each. Worse case we keep things as they are and build more trailers to handle the overcrowding.

Now is the time to let them people are watching and know they stacked their review committee with a bunch of friendly faces inclined to rubber stamp their plans or try and drown out others with opposing views. They should be ashamed at the process they have followed to date and the lack of transparency. It also sucks that they didn’t bother wrestling with any of the hard questions like 6-8 middle schools or the future of IB schools before launching this review.