FCPS comprehensive boundary review

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They list the schools the property is currebtly zoned to. What else would make sense?

Right. There are posters saying people should be more informed during their house search, but realtors can’t talk about it and Zillow doesn’t disclose anything but the current pyramid.

The sb shills like to say it’s our own fault for not knowing, but there is absolutely no mechanism for knowing to even be concerned in the first place.

Shame on the county and the school board for this bait and switch.

Follow the website, look at the agendas, listen to a work session once in awhile while you walk the dog or during your commute.

You could also not dismiss your neighbors as crazy when they tell you the school board is up to something. Look into it first.

Great ideas! I love the idea of listening in on the working sessions during a commute! Those things are long, but you can knock them out in a few days of miserable traffic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am hearing a lot of “this is a democratic school board doing what they were elected to do in a democratic county.”

Did I miss something when the SB was up for election?

Did ANY of the current SB members say run on rewriting the boundary policy 8130?

Did ANY of the current SB members run on the biggest boundary redraw in 40 years, affecting every HS pyramid?

Did ANY of the current SB members run on a boundary review based on capacity, no wait: equity, no wait: middles school 6-8 to make room for universal pre-k?

Did ANY of the current SB members even mention any of this during their campaigns?

Stop saying that the SB is doing what it was elected to do because Fairfax is blue. None of these SB members would be in office if they ran on what they are currently doing.

But, maybe I missed something.

They didn’t run on this. Nor did they discuss the movement of 6th grade to middle school in any of the open community feedback sessions and now sneaking that in. This factor will impact every pyramid redraw.

This was their plan before Covid. I tended a virtual boundary meeting during Covid where parents were given a survey full of confusing questions.

I don’t know why people refuse to remember this. It was not a secret. They didn’t have to say it on the campaigns because they all knew that was on their open to do list.

This is simply not true. If people knew this was what would happen they would not have voted for them.

Just because it was on your to do list, Gatehouse, does not mean the people who voted (and pay your salary) knew that you planned to push this through.

You are not educated.

Educate yourself.

Rezoning absolutely was the school boards focus during covid.

They hid it during election year, knowing all the people who don't pay attention would vote blue, not knowing the plans that were already in progress.

The omission was intentional, to get elected.

Um, the Republicans were running on “grooming” and 2020 school closures and attacking trans kids, not on opposing rezoning. If it were intentional, the Republicans would have been making noise about it.

The "loony" Republicans were right about the school board's plans for "equity" and "nuclear" rezoning, although they were actively smeared as racists and called crazy by democrat activists and Dem party candidates. People who dug down and read the documents found that they "loonies" were telling the truth.

The "loony" Republicans protested certain books being put in school libraries, saying they were targeted at young children, exposing them to sexual themes which are inappropriate. Democrat activists and Dem party candidates accuse them of being "anti gay" and lying.

Maybe parents want to actually take a look at the books that the school board insists must be available in the schools. Find out if the "loony" Republicans turn out to be right about that too.

Interesting, but off topic.

DP, but it isn’t. If voters had dug deeper they would have realized who had a far-left agenda that included widespread boundary changes and who wanted FCPS to return to a focus on the basics. Maybe you would have given more thought to crossing a party line in 2023.

If it felt good voting for a Frisch, Lady, or Sandy Anderson, then you need a wake-up call.

I get it, you’re a Republican, maybe one of the candidates who lost, and you’re looking to make Fairfax residents feel bad that they voted for the Dem candidates, who campaigned on better schools and raises for teachers. Republicans fielded Moms of Liberty candidates who talked about bathrooms and banning books. FC voters didn’t like that — SHOCKER — and your candidates lost. Now, instead of trying to be part of the solution to this real problem, you want to scream “I told you so” and throw digital tantrums. It’s not a good look and it’s ultimately not going to help you at all.

Your take is spectacularly wrong on all counts, but please feel free to take whatever comfort you want from it before it all comes back to bite the local Democrats (and perhaps other state candidates) squarely in the ass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of well informed people on this board. What are you doing with this insight? How are you educating your neighbors? Do you have a plan for an organized response?

You have me convinced. The proposals will be a nuclear option redraw. They have planned this for years. Many of us will be affected negatively.

So what do we do with this information, right now? Please, I want to get engaged in a positive way.

Yes, and yes.

I am doing my part, but really, it is up to each individual parent to do their own research and form their own opinions.

The information from FCPS is voluminous, likely by design.

It is easy to overwhelmed parents with the 20 emails each week from FCPS,to the point that they just read the title and miss all the details. The middle school start time is one clear example. How many high school and elementary parents read the titles and short blurbs emailed months ago, got the impression that it only affected middle schools, and ignored the rest of the emails on middle school start times, until last week when informed people started posting here?

How many people still think rezoning is only about busses, split feeders, fixing overcrowding and "equitable access to programs" and have no clue that it is actually about One Fairfax/infusing equity, moving 6th grade to middle school and universal PreK? Perhaps a lot of people, since most have not done a deep look at various meetings from the past year. Reid keeps bringing up those 3 things at meetings (One Fairfax, 6th to middle and universal PreK) so if you start paying attention to her words and look at the history of rezoning back to 2018, you start to see the back story and real motivation. It is so much information to stay on top of. And most are still not willing to sift through those boring meetings and documents to get informed.

Everyone has a responsibility to research what your local government is actually doing vs what they say in public or on the campaign trail, as it affects you in your daily life.

Peopl can share links, but it is up to you to read them and watch the boring videos.

Almost all of those #openfcps moms that I know were democrats, many quite liberal, until they started to deep dive into school board issues. Many of them are still dems nationally, but have swung quite to the right on local school issues. It wasn't my thing, but I do appreciate their hard work making me a more informed citizen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of well informed people on this board. What are you doing with this insight? How are you educating your neighbors? Do you have a plan for an organized response?

You have me convinced. The proposals will be a nuclear option redraw. They have planned this for years. Many of us will be affected negatively.

So what do we do with this information, right now? Please, I want to get engaged in a positive way.

Yes, and yes.

I am doing my part, but really, it is up to each individual parent to do their own research and form their own opinions.

The information from FCPS is voluminous, likely by design.

It is easy to overwhelmed parents with the 20 emails each week from FCPS,to the point that they just read the title and miss all the details. The middle school start time is one clear example. How many high school and elementary parents read the titles and short blurbs emailed months ago, got the impression that it only affected middle schools, and ignored the rest of the emails on middle school start times, until last week when informed people started posting here?

How many people still think rezoning is only about busses, split feeders, fixing overcrowding and "equitable access to programs" and have no clue that it is actually about One Fairfax/infusing equity, moving 6th grade to middle school and universal PreK? Perhaps a lot of people, since most have not done a deep look at various meetings from the past year. Reid keeps bringing up those 3 things at meetings (One Fairfax, 6th to middle and universal PreK) so if you start paying attention to her words and look at the history of rezoning back to 2018, you start to see the back story and real motivation. It is so much information to stay on top of. And most are still not willing to sift through those boring meetings and documents to get informed.

Everyone has a responsibility to research what your local government is actually doing vs what they say in public or on the campaign trail, as it affects you in your daily life.

Peopl can share links, but it is up to you to read them and watch the boring videos.

Almost all of those #openfcps moms that I know were democrats, many quite liberal, until they started to deep dive into school board issues. Many of them are still dems nationally, but have swung quite to the right on local school issues. It wasn't my thing, but I do appreciate their hard work making me a more informed citizen.

Awesome! Thank you! I am inspired and energized to learn more and educate others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They list the schools the property is currebtly zoned to. What else would make sense?

Right. There are posters saying people should be more informed during their house search, but realtors can’t talk about it and Zillow doesn’t disclose anything but the current pyramid.

The sb shills like to say it’s our own fault for not knowing, but there is absolutely no mechanism for knowing to even be concerned in the first place.

Shame on the county and the school board for this bait and switch.

Follow the website, look at the agendas, listen to a work session once in awhile while you walk the dog or during your commute.

You could also not dismiss your neighbors as crazy when they tell you the school board is up to something. Look into it first.

look, you’re preaching to the choir to everyone on this board who is following along.

But if you move into the area, there really isn’t a good way to learn about how the school board is going to F your kids.

It’s only once you learn about the possibility that you realize how at risk you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not waiting for any politician or political party to help me. They are all in it for themselves.

I am getting people organized. I am sharing information. We have a plan.

This is not [\b] a done deal.

The time to act is now. Before any proposals drop.

They have a nuclear option. We do too. Mutually assured destruction.

[b]Just press the pause button. De-escalate. Wait until after the 2026 cycle. There is no reason, other than the selfish agenda of a few local politicians, for FCPS to cram through now.

The democrats did that in 2019. That's fine for everyone who is now done with the system. What did that do for the kids in school now? They're at risk of being sent away from their school for no good reason.

I guess you just want to put it off until YOUR kids graduate. Damn everyone else.

I did not say that. Plans have multiple phases. Do not be shortsighted on this. Let me be more clear.

If the SB unleashes their nuclear option this spring, so do we.

If the SB pauses, we work with them for the next two years to come to a reasonable outcome that benefits all involved.

Any school district as large as FCPS needs boundary changes to function. Those changes should be made in accordance with a transparent process that is created with the consent of the governed. Neither are happening in the current process. We can work for better.

We need time to work for better. Everyone’s needs can be met. Give us an opportunity to work together. Or don’t. Go nuclear. So will we.

I am invested long term in my community. I hate zero-sum thinking. It is very unproductive. A two year pause is not to buy time to get something for me. I do not think that way. It is to come to a mutually beneficial process that is sustainable and workable for years to come.

If they go nuclear. We go nuclear. But there is no need for that. There is plenty of space to back down and reach out:

“In these difficult times, the last thing our community needs is more uncertainty. We have listened to our community and we hear that a better process is needed. Current budgetary constraints make it difficult to achieve all of our goals at this time. Instead, we are resetting our focus on creating more transparency and certainty for our students, families, and communities. These priorities include: middle school 6-8, universal pre-k and (insert priority here). As a first step, we want to make clear that the ONLY boundary changes currently under consideration relate to emergency needs due to excess overcrowding.”

There. Is that so hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not waiting for any politician or political party to help me. They are all in it for themselves.

I am getting people organized. I am sharing information. We have a plan.

This is not [\b] a done deal.

The time to act is now. Before any proposals drop.

They have a nuclear option. We do too. Mutually assured destruction.

[b]Just press the pause button. De-escalate. Wait until after the 2026 cycle. There is no reason, other than the selfish agenda of a few local politicians, for FCPS to cram through now.

The democrats did that in 2019. That's fine for everyone who is now done with the system. What did that do for the kids in school now? They're at risk of being sent away from their school for no good reason.

I guess you just want to put it off until YOUR kids graduate. Damn everyone else.

I did not say that. Plans have multiple phases. Do not be shortsighted on this. Let me be more clear.

If the SB unleashes their nuclear option this spring, so do we.

If the SB pauses, we work with them for the next two years to come to a reasonable outcome that benefits all involved.

Any school district as large as FCPS needs boundary changes to function. Those changes should be made in accordance with a transparent process that is created with the consent of the governed. Neither are happening in the current process. We can work for better.

We need time to work for better. Everyone’s needs can be met. Give us an opportunity to work together. Or don’t. Go nuclear. So will we.

I am invested long term in my community. I hate zero-sum thinking. It is very unproductive. A two year pause is not to buy time to get something for me. I do not think that way. It is to come to a mutually beneficial process that is sustainable and workable for years to come.

If they go nuclear. We go nuclear. But there is no need for that. There is plenty of space to back down and reach out:

“In these difficult times, the last thing our community needs is more uncertainty. We have listened to our community and we hear that a better process is needed. Current budgetary constraints make it difficult to achieve all of our goals at this time. Instead, we are resetting our focus on creating more transparency and certainty for our students, families, and communities. These priorities include: middle school 6-8, universal pre-k and (insert priority here). As a first step, we want to make clear that the ONLY boundary changes currently under consideration relate to emergency needs due to excess overcrowding.”

There. Is that so hard.

You don't have a nuclear option. A lawsuit is like a scud missile randomly launched against a country with advanced anti-missile technology.

Just look at FairFACTS Matters. They posted that they were about to reveal evidence that would show FCPS misled the public about the selection of BRAC members, and then they posted....nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not waiting for any politician or political party to help me. They are all in it for themselves.

I am getting people organized. I am sharing information. We have a plan.

This is not [\b] a done deal.

The time to act is now. Before any proposals drop.

They have a nuclear option. We do too. Mutually assured destruction.

[b]Just press the pause button. De-escalate. Wait until after the 2026 cycle. There is no reason, other than the selfish agenda of a few local politicians, for FCPS to cram through now.

The democrats did that in 2019. That's fine for everyone who is now done with the system. What did that do for the kids in school now? They're at risk of being sent away from their school for no good reason.

I guess you just want to put it off until YOUR kids graduate. Damn everyone else.

I did not say that. Plans have multiple phases. Do not be shortsighted on this. Let me be more clear.

If the SB unleashes their nuclear option this spring, so do we.

If the SB pauses, we work with them for the next two years to come to a reasonable outcome that benefits all involved.

Any school district as large as FCPS needs boundary changes to function. Those changes should be made in accordance with a transparent process that is created with the consent of the governed. Neither are happening in the current process. We can work for better.

We need time to work for better. Everyone’s needs can be met. Give us an opportunity to work together. Or don’t. Go nuclear. So will we.

I am invested long term in my community. I hate zero-sum thinking. It is very unproductive. A two year pause is not to buy time to get something for me. I do not think that way. It is to come to a mutually beneficial process that is sustainable and workable for years to come.

If they go nuclear. We go nuclear. But there is no need for that. There is plenty of space to back down and reach out:

“In these difficult times, the last thing our community needs is more uncertainty. We have listened to our community and we hear that a better process is needed. Current budgetary constraints make it difficult to achieve all of our goals at this time. Instead, we are resetting our focus on creating more transparency and certainty for our students, families, and communities. These priorities include: middle school 6-8, universal pre-k and (insert priority here). As a first step, we want to make clear that the ONLY boundary changes currently under consideration relate to emergency needs due to excess overcrowding.”

There. Is that so hard.

You don't have a nuclear option. A lawsuit is like a scud missile randomly launched against a country with advanced anti-missile technology.

Just look at FairFACTS Matters. They posted that they were about to reveal evidence that would show FCPS misled the public about the selection of BRAC members, and then they posted....nothing.

My nuclear option is not a lawsuit.

[Anonymous]

BTW, your arrogance is appalling. “A lawsuit is like a scud missile randomly launched against a country with advanced anti-missile technology.”

Who pays for the lawyers that you refer to as “advanced anti-missile technology”? The people who dare to oppose your agenda? Using our tax dollars to pay for lawyers to keep us in line?

I am not intimidated by your boasting. You may feel very powerful, but you are not all powerful.

There is no need to punch down on the people. Work with us. We are getting battered by Musk and Trump. Do not push us. We will push back. Hard.

[Anonymous]

What are the pyramids that are mostly going to be affected?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am hearing a lot of “this is a democratic school board doing what they were elected to do in a democratic county.”

Did I miss something when the SB was up for election?

Did ANY of the current SB members say run on rewriting the boundary policy 8130?

Did ANY of the current SB members run on the biggest boundary redraw in 40 years, affecting every HS pyramid?

Did ANY of the current SB members run on a boundary review based on capacity, no wait: equity, no wait: middles school 6-8 to make room for universal pre-k?

Did ANY of the current SB members even mention any of this during their campaigns?

Stop saying that the SB is doing what it was elected to do because Fairfax is blue. None of these SB members would be in office if they ran on what they are currently doing.

But, maybe I missed something.

They didn’t run on this. Nor did they discuss the movement of 6th grade to middle school in any of the open community feedback sessions and now sneaking that in. This factor will impact every pyramid redraw.

This was their plan before Covid. I tended a virtual boundary meeting during Covid where parents were given a survey full of confusing questions.

I don’t know why people refuse to remember this. It was not a secret. They didn’t have to say it on the campaigns because they all knew that was on their open to do list.

This is simply not true. If people knew this was what would happen they would not have voted for them.

Just because it was on your to do list, Gatehouse, does not mean the people who voted (and pay your salary) knew that you planned to push this through.

You are not educated.

Educate yourself.

Rezoning absolutely was the school boards focus during covid.

They hid it during election year, knowing all the people who don't pay attention would vote blue, not knowing the plans that were already in progress.

The omission was intentional, to get elected.

Um, the Republicans were running on “grooming” and 2020 school closures and attacking trans kids, not on opposing rezoning. If it were intentional, the Republicans would have been making noise about it.

DP. Just so you are aware, lots of democrats and former democrats, while generally supportive of trans kids, don’t elevate that issue over their kids being used as pawns by the school board.

Because if one party starts coming for other people’s kids surely they will never come for yours?

Either way, nothing that PP said was incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They list the schools the property is currebtly zoned to. What else would make sense?

Right. There are posters saying people should be more informed during their house search, but realtors can’t talk about it and Zillow doesn’t disclose anything but the current pyramid.

The sb shills like to say it’s our own fault for not knowing, but there is absolutely no mechanism for knowing to even be concerned in the first place.

Shame on the county and the school board for this bait and switch.

Looking at current boundary maps is something people home shopping can do. Don’t make it out like geography is a secret

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am hearing a lot of “this is a democratic school board doing what they were elected to do in a democratic county.”

Did I miss something when the SB was up for election?

Did ANY of the current SB members say run on rewriting the boundary policy 8130?

Did ANY of the current SB members run on the biggest boundary redraw in 40 years, affecting every HS pyramid?

Did ANY of the current SB members run on a boundary review based on capacity, no wait: equity, no wait: middles school 6-8 to make room for universal pre-k?

Did ANY of the current SB members even mention any of this during their campaigns?

Stop saying that the SB is doing what it was elected to do because Fairfax is blue. None of these SB members would be in office if they ran on what they are currently doing.

But, maybe I missed something.

They didn’t run on this. Nor did they discuss the movement of 6th grade to middle school in any of the open community feedback sessions and now sneaking that in. This factor will impact every pyramid redraw.

This was their plan before Covid. I tended a virtual boundary meeting during Covid where parents were given a survey full of confusing questions.

Interesting. In the meetings I’ve attended for this iteration, it has not been evident at all. Nor can you find it in any of their publicly posted documents.

It is all online.

They started in 2018 and pushed through a survey and virtual meetings during covid.

The response was overwhelmingly against rezoning.

The school board openly blamed right wing trumpers of manipulating the survey responses, then tabled the very unpopular rezoning in 2021 so it would not be an issue in the 2023 election, with the hopes that people were not paying attention the first time.

Here is the FCPS version of events.

https://www.fcps.edu/facilities-planning-future/school-boundary-adjustments/boundary-policy

Click on all the embedded links to get a fuller picture of how this started.

The school board still openly holds the belief that opposition to county wide rezoning was just conservatives and #openfcps types infiltrating the survey to fake widespread opposition to county wide rezoning.

As recently as the October 8, 2024 work session on rezoning linked earlier, the school board discusses and asks Thru how they can prevent people (ie conservatives and those against rezoning) from skewing the results of feedback.

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

I am paraphrasing, of course, but it is all there online in Board Docs and videos for anyone who cares enough about their kids and local governance to pay attention and educate themselves.

For those of you who keep saying rezoning is not about "equity" it is right there on the FCPS historicl timeline of rezoning linked above:

"...The One Fairfax policy, adopted in 2017, commits the county and schools to intentionally consider equity when delivering policies, programs, and services. ..."


We shouldn't have to pay this much attention to our schools which should be focused solely on literacy, writing and math skills, sciences, trades education, citizenship, and literacy recovery for the poor 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th graders who did their formative early education during covid "school" and who now are dreadfully behind and in the case of many, functionally illiterate.

We shouldn't have to become political activists spending hours each week connecting the dots of this school board, just to make sure our kids aren't being used as political pawns for someone else's social justice experiment or another adult from across town's property values.

We deserve school leadership that has laser focus on academics, literacy remediation, and trades/college preparation, managing our 4 billion dollar budget correctly, and a non political school system that keeps to the middle avoids unpopular and radical curriculum and pet projects like equity rezoning and county wide rezoning so they can move 6th to middle school.

But here we are and this is the path our blue no matter who friends neighbors have picked for all of us.

Go down the rabbit hole of FCPS and educate yourself for your kids.

Watch the school boatd meetings and work sessions.

Pressure through emails and phone calls Dunne, McElvan, and Moon. They are all very liberal but the closest to the center that we have. Dunne and McElevan are both very smart and savvy with future political aspirations. Moon is old school Fairfax left of center moderate like we had a decade ago before all the crazy activists took over Fairfax politics. Those 3 are the most likely to break from the blind herd and start standing up for parents... if only because they are the only school board members smart enough to see the risks to their future political aspirations.

The rest are a dangerous combination of ideologues who only talk to other ideologues. They will tell you whatever they need to shut you up, then go forward with their plans with no variance.

If you care about rezoning, educate yourself, starting with those two links above.

Research the crazy stuff posted here and find the first person sources.

You will quickly realize the further you go down the FCPS rabbit hole, through videos and documents, that the crazy sounding posters are actually very well informed, and very accurate.

That is what happened to me. I started researching publicly available FCPS and Ffx County documents and video the crazy stuff posted on this website, thinking that surely the stuff is just craziness by trolls with personal axes to grind. I quickly and shockingly discovered that much of it was not made up trolling, but true.

Now I follow FCPS like a hawk, reading and researching everything.

The school board as a whole does not have our kids best interest in mind. Reid is sweet, soft spoken and smiley, but is not as nice as her public persona indicates.

Please educate yourself fully, make your own conclusions, researching everything crazy posted here, and everything reassuring stated (often falsely) by our school board members.

If you resesrch thoroughly enough, you will become very disappointed with many of our local elected officials, including most of the school board.

Unless, of course, you are an activist yourself. Then you will be thrilled with their priorities.

You're going to be sorely disappointed.

Dunne combines some fairly conservative views on spending with the traditional desire on the part of south county polticians to screw northern and western Fairfax to benefit southeastern Fairfax. He'll happily shift boundaries if it means more kids coming into the schools in that part of the county that people try to avoid.

Moon used to be fairly thoughtful, and for that he was rewarded with the FCDC denying him an endorsement in 2019 and instead endorsing left-wingers like Sizemore-Heizer and Omeish. He learned his lesson, which is to do whatever folks like Karl Frisch want. Occasionally he'll challenge something or someone for a moment, and then find himself unable to complete a sentence. He's weary and over the hill.

McElveen still has political ambitions, and he's smart enough to know that the local Democrats are putting their political careers at risk, but then he can't piss off the other Democrats too much. So he'll probably vote against their redistricting plan, but he'll do so knowing that it has enough votes to pass and without calling them out. He's just trying to carve a middle path that might still get him elected to another office later.

This School Board is going to tear FCPS apart, and it's going to be virtually impossible to put it back together. Its future is bleak.

McElveen ran specifically because he didn’t want McDaniel to win an at large seat. It worked out super well for him.

Sizemore-Heizer is far left? What’s so far left about her? Her special education advocacy? She’s been elected by the entire country once and by one of the most conservative magisterial districts another time. That’s a bold statement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are the pyramids that are mostly going to be affected?

At the October 8, 2024 work session, the school board affirmatively stated the every high school pyramid will be affected by rezoning. Thru Consulting agreed.

You can watch the video linked above to research it yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am hearing a lot of “this is a democratic school board doing what they were elected to do in a democratic county.”

Did I miss something when the SB was up for election?

Did ANY of the current SB members say run on rewriting the boundary policy 8130?

Did ANY of the current SB members run on the biggest boundary redraw in 40 years, affecting every HS pyramid?

Did ANY of the current SB members run on a boundary review based on capacity, no wait: equity, no wait: middles school 6-8 to make room for universal pre-k?

Did ANY of the current SB members even mention any of this during their campaigns?

Stop saying that the SB is doing what it was elected to do because Fairfax is blue. None of these SB members would be in office if they ran on what they are currently doing.

But, maybe I missed something.

They didn’t run on this. Nor did they discuss the movement of 6th grade to middle school in any of the open community feedback sessions and now sneaking that in. This factor will impact every pyramid redraw.

This was their plan before Covid. I tended a virtual boundary meeting during Covid where parents were given a survey full of confusing questions.

Interesting. In the meetings I’ve attended for this iteration, it has not been evident at all. Nor can you find it in any of their publicly posted documents.

It is all online.

They started in 2018 and pushed through a survey and virtual meetings during covid.

The response was overwhelmingly against rezoning.

The school board openly blamed right wing trumpers of manipulating the survey responses, then tabled the very unpopular rezoning in 2021 so it would not be an issue in the 2023 election, with the hopes that people were not paying attention the first time.

Here is the FCPS version of events.

https://www.fcps.edu/facilities-planning-future/school-boundary-adjustments/boundary-policy

Click on all the embedded links to get a fuller picture of how this started.

The school board still openly holds the belief that opposition to county wide rezoning was just conservatives and #openfcps types infiltrating the survey to fake widespread opposition to county wide rezoning.

As recently as the October 8, 2024 work session on rezoning linked earlier, the school board discusses and asks Thru how they can prevent people (ie conservatives and those against rezoning) from skewing the results of feedback.

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

I am paraphrasing, of course, but it is all there online in Board Docs and videos for anyone who cares enough about their kids and local governance to pay attention and educate themselves.

For those of you who keep saying rezoning is not about "equity" it is right there on the FCPS historicl timeline of rezoning linked above:

"...The One Fairfax policy, adopted in 2017, commits the county and schools to intentionally consider equity when delivering policies, programs, and services. ..."


We shouldn't have to pay this much attention to our schools which should be focused solely on literacy, writing and math skills, sciences, trades education, citizenship, and literacy recovery for the poor 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th graders who did their formative early education during covid "school" and who now are dreadfully behind and in the case of many, functionally illiterate.

We shouldn't have to become political activists spending hours each week connecting the dots of this school board, just to make sure our kids aren't being used as political pawns for someone else's social justice experiment or another adult from across town's property values.

We deserve school leadership that has laser focus on academics, literacy remediation, and trades/college preparation, managing our 4 billion dollar budget correctly, and a non political school system that keeps to the middle avoids unpopular and radical curriculum and pet projects like equity rezoning and county wide rezoning so they can move 6th to middle school.

But here we are and this is the path our blue no matter who friends neighbors have picked for all of us.

Go down the rabbit hole of FCPS and educate yourself for your kids.

Watch the school boatd meetings and work sessions.

Pressure through emails and phone calls Dunne, McElvan, and Moon. They are all very liberal but the closest to the center that we have. Dunne and McElevan are both very smart and savvy with future political aspirations. Moon is old school Fairfax left of center moderate like we had a decade ago before all the crazy activists took over Fairfax politics. Those 3 are the most likely to break from the blind herd and start standing up for parents... if only because they are the only school board members smart enough to see the risks to their future political aspirations.

The rest are a dangerous combination of ideologues who only talk to other ideologues. They will tell you whatever they need to shut you up, then go forward with their plans with no variance.

If you care about rezoning, educate yourself, starting with those two links above.

Research the crazy stuff posted here and find the first person sources.

You will quickly realize the further you go down the FCPS rabbit hole, through videos and documents, that the crazy sounding posters are actually very well informed, and very accurate.

That is what happened to me. I started researching publicly available FCPS and Ffx County documents and video the crazy stuff posted on this website, thinking that surely the stuff is just craziness by trolls with personal axes to grind. I quickly and shockingly discovered that much of it was not made up trolling, but true.

Now I follow FCPS like a hawk, reading and researching everything.

The school board as a whole does not have our kids best interest in mind. Reid is sweet, soft spoken and smiley, but is not as nice as her public persona indicates.

Please educate yourself fully, make your own conclusions, researching everything crazy posted here, and everything reassuring stated (often falsely) by our school board members.

If you resesrch thoroughly enough, you will become very disappointed with many of our local elected officials, including most of the school board.

Unless, of course, you are an activist yourself. Then you will be thrilled with their priorities.

You're going to be sorely disappointed.

Dunne combines some fairly conservative views on spending with the traditional desire on the part of south county polticians to screw northern and western Fairfax to benefit southeastern Fairfax. He'll happily shift boundaries if it means more kids coming into the schools in that part of the county that people try to avoid.

Moon used to be fairly thoughtful, and for that he was rewarded with the FCDC denying him an endorsement in 2019 and instead endorsing left-wingers like Sizemore-Heizer and Omeish. He learned his lesson, which is to do whatever folks like Karl Frisch want. Occasionally he'll challenge something or someone for a moment, and then find himself unable to complete a sentence. He's weary and over the hill.

McElveen still has political ambitions, and he's smart enough to know that the local Democrats are putting their political careers at risk, but then he can't piss off the other Democrats too much. So he'll probably vote against their redistricting plan, but he'll do so knowing that it has enough votes to pass and without calling them out. He's just trying to carve a middle path that might still get him elected to another office later.

This School Board is going to tear FCPS apart, and it's going to be virtually impossible to put it back together. Its future is bleak.

McElveen ran specifically because he didn’t want McDaniel to win an at large seat. It worked out super well for him.

Sizemore-Heizer is far left? What’s so far left about her? Her special education advocacy? She’s been elected by the entire country once and by one of the most conservative magisterial districts another time. That’s a bold statement.

Most people posting on this site aren’t the most politically savvy. They think they are, but they’re not.

The current school board has shifted closer to the center overall from the 2019-2023 board.

Regarding boundaries, until maps are announced, everything is speculation and rumor.