FCPS Boundary Review Updates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much time and effort being put in on an effort that will never come to fruition. People you are being scammed.

It is a distraction to keep people from rioting in the streets about equity grading, raises, bonuses, moving more staff out of the classroom and into administration.

A very successful distraction I might add.

Oh, so we're spending $150Million on a school for no reason? You need to stop with the crazy conspiracy theories. Get help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I expect they fully understand that the unavailability of land has been an impediment to building a new western HS. I expect they also understand that, in the intervening years, FCPS also went ahead and spent many millions expanding schools in western Fairfax. So it’s fair to ask whether we didn’t already add enough capacity to serve that part of the county. That doesn’t mean Thru’s recent suggestions were sound or should be implemented, only that there ought to be more rigor around the process.

Maybe FCPS can plausibly say time was of the essence here and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a finished building. But even then it ought to meet a clearly articulated need before we drop $150M on it and commit to all the necessary modifications.

It has been MANY years since Westfield was expanded and Western Fairfax is still overcrowded.
What "expanded" schools are you talking about?

They are talking about Oakton. We're happy our kids are zoned to a good school, but that commute is a beast and we'd welcome a closer high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I expect they fully understand that the unavailability of land has been an impediment to building a new western HS. I expect they also understand that, in the intervening years, FCPS also went ahead and spent many millions expanding schools in western Fairfax. So it’s fair to ask whether we didn’t already add enough capacity to serve that part of the county. That doesn’t mean Thru’s recent suggestions were sound or should be implemented, only that there ought to be more rigor around the process.

Maybe FCPS can plausibly say time was of the essence here and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a finished building. But even then it ought to meet a clearly articulated need before we drop $150M on it and commit to all the necessary modifications.

It has been MANY years since Westfield was expanded and Western Fairfax is still overcrowded.
What "expanded" schools are you talking about?

They are talking about Oakton. We're happy our kids are zoned to a good school, but that commute is a beast and we'd welcome a closer high school.

While Oakton has Western Fairfax students because of overcrowding in Western Fairfax, I'm not sure i'd call it a Western Fairfax school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To me, 6 high schools at 90% capacity is preferable to 5 high schools at 100-105% capacity. Especially if it provides stability to those in the area. I also wouldn't want my kid to go to a HS 30 min away, nor would I want random streets in my neighborhood moved around to fine tune capacity issues at every boundary study. I think it's worth it even if it increases operating costs.

They want the schools to be around 85-95% capacity ideally. Having a few empty classrooms helps when you have a particularly large class - you can use your empty rooms for a few years vs. having to get some trailers. The hallways and cafeteria aren’t as crowded, and neither are the parking lots at the HS where you also have to factor in student parking.

We have a middle-high school imbalance in that area. Carson currently sends its neighborhood students to, I think, 3 HS? Plus the AAP center kids as well. If you could assign each MS in the region to a HS I think families would be a lot happier and feel more stable. or at least get the middle schools down to a roughly even two way split if “one middle, one HS” wasn’t feasible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much time and effort being put in on an effort that will never come to fruition. People you are being scammed.

It is a distraction to keep people from rioting in the streets about equity grading, raises, bonuses, moving more staff out of the classroom and into administration.

A very successful distraction I might add.

FCPS buying the KAA is a great thing. That post from a new group does not represent all opinions from people who live in Great Falls which covers a lot of territory ...Farthest west is Holly Knoll, only access road is Route 7 west of the Georgetown Pike intersection, and stretches to Great Falls addresses that used to attend Westbriar and Spring Hill pre Colvin Run opening.

The main area of difficulty for boundaries including the KAA as an FCPS HS is MS attendance areas. But that problem existed pre KAA acquisition. Herndon MS does not have AAP level iv and a split feed [Hutchison which is not in the Town of Herndon] on the base school attendance area to the oversized Carson MS as "Mclearen Rd HS" would work. That frees up space at Hughes pre Thru mess for Oakton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much time and effort being put in on an effort that will never come to fruition. People you are being scammed.

It is a distraction to keep people from rioting in the streets about equity grading, raises, bonuses, moving more staff out of the classroom and into administration.

A very successful distraction I might add.

Oh, so we're spending $150Million on a school for no reason? You need to stop with the crazy conspiracy theories. Get help.

No, a wise move to purchase but will need renovation to be useful given FCPS class sizes. Not to mention parking and athletic field needs. So, at least 3 years away from use which is fine. Will arrive sooner and less expensive than building from scratch. Doesn’t change the fact that the boundary study will never be acted upon.

[Anonymous]

The main area of difficulty for boundaries including the KAA as an FCPS HS is MS attendance areas. But that problem existed pre KAA acquisition. Herndon MS does not have AAP level iv and a split feed [Hutchison which is not in the Town of Herndon] on the base school attendance area to the oversized Carson MS as "Mclearen Rd HS" would work. That frees up space at Hughes pre Thru mess for Oakton.

I don't understand this? Please explain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I expect they fully understand that the unavailability of land has been an impediment to building a new western HS. I expect they also understand that, in the intervening years, FCPS also went ahead and spent many millions expanding schools in western Fairfax. So it’s fair to ask whether we didn’t already add enough capacity to serve that part of the county. That doesn’t mean Thru’s recent suggestions were sound or should be implemented, only that there ought to be more rigor around the process.

Maybe FCPS can plausibly say time was of the essence here and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a finished building. But even then it ought to meet a clearly articulated need before we drop $150M on it and commit to all the necessary modifications.

It has been MANY years since Westfield was expanded and Western Fairfax is still overcrowded.
What "expanded" schools are you talking about?

They are talking about Oakton. We're happy our kids are zoned to a good school, but that commute is a beast and we'd welcome a closer high school.

Herndon got a huge expansion and is in western Fairfax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I expect they fully understand that the unavailability of land has been an impediment to building a new western HS. I expect they also understand that, in the intervening years, FCPS also went ahead and spent many millions expanding schools in western Fairfax. So it’s fair to ask whether we didn’t already add enough capacity to serve that part of the county. That doesn’t mean Thru’s recent suggestions were sound or should be implemented, only that there ought to be more rigor around the process.

Maybe FCPS can plausibly say time was of the essence here and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a finished building. But even then it ought to meet a clearly articulated need before we drop $150M on it and commit to all the necessary modifications.

It has been MANY years since Westfield was expanded and Western Fairfax is still overcrowded.
What "expanded" schools are you talking about?

They are talking about Oakton. We're happy our kids are zoned to a good school, but that commute is a beast and we'd welcome a closer high school.

Herndon got a huge expansion and is in western Fairfax.

It is not in the area that needs relief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The main area of difficulty for boundaries including the KAA as an FCPS HS is MS attendance areas. But that problem existed pre KAA acquisition. Herndon MS does not have AAP level iv and a split feed [Hutchison which is not in the Town of Herndon] on the base school attendance area to the oversized Carson MS as "Mclearen Rd HS" would work. That frees up space at Hughes pre Thru mess for Oakton.

I don't understand this? Please explain.

Go to faciltiies transfer dashboard - 1st map. https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/fcps.fts/viz/SY2024-25StudentTransfersDashboard/ReadMe

Hughes receives 101 from Herndon MS as official AAP transfers/assigned site that get FCPS transportation. No clear MS site for Oakton unless Franklin becomes a tip of tail ...

Herndon MS:
program capacity 1,062/ membership 905/ cap utilization 85%/ trailers 6 [surplus or used for nstruction?]
Add the 101 to membership and Herndon is at 95% but feeds to a newly supersized HS. Unless FCPS plans to shuffle Chantilly academies into Herndon there will be areas added to the site. Herndon HS new capacity is about 2700. Langley feeders except Spring Hill: some significantly lower membership than 20 years ago + lower AAP feed. What does that mean? Empty nesters.

So Langley could go over cap and same for Cooper even without the Thru Spring Hill Island 100% move. Spring Hill Island is one big fat SPA comprised of the usual -Rotunda, Lincoln area plus stuff that no one has looked at ever.

Carson: on utilization maps has AAP feeders as Franklin and Herndon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The main area of difficulty for boundaries including the KAA as an FCPS HS is MS attendance areas. But that problem existed pre KAA acquisition. Herndon MS does not have AAP level iv and a split feed [Hutchison which is not in the Town of Herndon] on the base school attendance area to the oversized Carson MS as "Mclearen Rd HS" would work. That frees up space at Hughes pre Thru mess for Oakton.

I don't understand this? Please explain.

Go to faciltiies transfer dashboard - 1st map. https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/fcps.fts/viz/SY2024-25StudentTransfersDashboard/ReadMe

Hughes receives 101 from Herndon MS as official AAP transfers/assigned site that get FCPS transportation. No clear MS site for Oakton unless Franklin becomes a tip of tail ...

Herndon MS:
program capacity 1,062/ membership 905/ cap utilization 85%/ trailers 6 [surplus or used for nstruction?]
Add the 101 to membership and Herndon is at 95% but feeds to a newly supersized HS. Unless FCPS plans to shuffle Chantilly academies into Herndon there will be areas added to the site. Herndon HS new capacity is about 2700. Langley feeders except Spring Hill: some significantly lower membership than 20 years ago + lower AAP feed. What does that mean? Empty nesters.

So Langley could go over cap and same for Cooper even without the Thru Spring Hill Island 100% move. Spring Hill Island is one big fat SPA comprised of the usual -Rotunda, Lincoln area plus stuff that no one has looked at ever.

Carson: on utilization maps has AAP feeders as Franklin and Herndon.

I see, but do not understand your point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I expect they fully understand that the unavailability of land has been an impediment to building a new western HS. I expect they also understand that, in the intervening years, FCPS also went ahead and spent many millions expanding schools in western Fairfax. So it’s fair to ask whether we didn’t already add enough capacity to serve that part of the county. That doesn’t mean Thru’s recent suggestions were sound or should be implemented, only that there ought to be more rigor around the process.

Maybe FCPS can plausibly say time was of the essence here and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a finished building. But even then it ought to meet a clearly articulated need before we drop $150M on it and commit to all the necessary modifications.

It has been MANY years since Westfield was expanded and Western Fairfax is still overcrowded.
What "expanded" schools are you talking about?

They are talking about Oakton. We're happy our kids are zoned to a good school, but that commute is a beast and we'd welcome a closer high school.

While Oakton has Western Fairfax students because of overcrowding in Western Fairfax, I'm not sure i'd call it a Western Fairfax school.

A Western high school is any school that largely serves kids living in Western Fairfax. Oakton does, and will continue to, serve many kids in Western Fairfax. The proximity of Madison, Oakton, Woodson, and Fairfax does not allow for any other result.

And, just recently, Oakton was expanded to have a program capacity of 2642 seats. It's below capacity now and projected to be even more under capacity by 2029.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To me, 6 high schools at 90% capacity is preferable to 5 high schools at 100-105% capacity. Especially if it provides stability to those in the area. I also wouldn't want my kid to go to a HS 30 min away, nor would I want random streets in my neighborhood moved around to fine tune capacity issues at every boundary study. I think it's worth it even if it increases operating costs.

They want the schools to be around 85-95% capacity ideally. Having a few empty classrooms helps when you have a particularly large class - you can use your empty rooms for a few years vs. having to get some trailers. The hallways and cafeteria aren’t as crowded, and neither are the parking lots at the HS where you also have to factor in student parking.

We have a middle-high school imbalance in that area. Carson currently sends its neighborhood students to, I think, 3 HS? Plus the AAP center kids as well. If you could assign each MS in the region to a HS I think families would be a lot happier and feel more stable. or at least get the middle schools down to a roughly even two way split if “one middle, one HS” wasn’t feasible.

They should be looking at western Fairfax high schols - Chantilly, Westfield, South Lakes, Oakton, Centreville, and Herndon - collectively.

Currently these schools have a program capacity of 15,148. That excludes the modular at Chantilly and the planned expansion of Centreville. Current enrollment is 15,186. FCPS projects that enrollment will decline to 14,213 students by 2029-30.

Add a new school with a program capacity of 2200 seats and you end up with 17,348 seats and overall capacity utilization under 82%. If you include the Chantilly modular or any expansion of Centreville that number goes down further.

County residents deserve a clear explanation as to why, given these facts, FCPS is going ahead with the purchase of a building for an additional high school in the area. And if this is their plan for western Fairfax, what does it mean for others? Will they use the purported savings to accelerate additions at other schools? Will they just shift kids to schools to schools further west?

You can argue that FCPS's enrollment forecasts are flawed because they don't adequately take into account potential development until a developer has broken ground. But if that's the case, they should be refining their forecasting methodology, not shooting blind and selectively expanding capacity in an area that currently is projected to have a capacity surplus in anticipation of future development they've made no real effort to analyze.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The main area of difficulty for boundaries including the KAA as an FCPS HS is MS attendance areas. But that problem existed pre KAA acquisition. Herndon MS does not have AAP level iv and a split feed [Hutchison which is not in the Town of Herndon] on the base school attendance area to the oversized Carson MS as "Mclearen Rd HS" would work. That frees up space at Hughes pre Thru mess for Oakton.

I don't understand this? Please explain.

Go to faciltiies transfer dashboard - 1st map. https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/fcps.fts/viz/SY2024-25StudentTransfersDashboard/ReadMe

Hughes receives 101 from Herndon MS as official AAP transfers/assigned site that get FCPS transportation. No clear MS site for Oakton unless Franklin becomes a tip of tail ...

Herndon MS:
program capacity 1,062/ membership 905/ cap utilization 85%/ trailers 6 [surplus or used for nstruction?]
Add the 101 to membership and Herndon is at 95% but feeds to a newly supersized HS. Unless FCPS plans to shuffle Chantilly academies into Herndon there will be areas added to the site. Herndon HS new capacity is about 2700. Langley feeders except Spring Hill: some significantly lower membership than 20 years ago + lower AAP feed. What does that mean? Empty nesters.

So Langley could go over cap and same for Cooper even without the Thru Spring Hill Island 100% move. Spring Hill Island is one big fat SPA comprised of the usual -Rotunda, Lincoln area plus stuff that no one has looked at ever.

Carson: on utilization maps has AAP feeders as Franklin and Herndon.

I see, but do not understand your point.

It's a bunch of random facts masquerading as analysis.

[Anonymous]

A Western high school is any school that largely serves kids living in Western Fairfax. Oakton does, and will continue to, serve many kids in Western Fairfax. The proximity of Madison, Oakton, Woodson, and Fairfax does not allow for any other result.

And, just recently, Oakton was expanded to have a program capacity of 2642 seats. It's below capacity now and projected to be even more under capacity by 2029.

Well , I guess we can ship Fair Lakes kids to Lewis and call that a Western High School.

Look at a map. Oakton is not a Western High school. Just because Great Falls wants their kids to ride a bus for thirty minutes does not mean that everyone wants to do that. And, if you kept up with the local news, you would have read that BOS just approved a huge new residential development just up the street from Oakton.