FCPS is turning the new high school purchased to fix crowding into an Aviation magnet school instead of a high school??

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

You must be the same idiot saying it’ll be a school for baggage handlers.

Annoyingly condescending? Must be great falls.

“Grumble grumble, great falls, great falls, Langley! Great falls, grumble grumble.” - homeless mumbler

DP

“homeless mumbler”?

Definitely a great falls hack.

“Grumble grumble” 😘

[Anonymous]

When are we going to hear what type of magnet school it will be?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The classrooms are arranged in a dozen or so pods with an open space or lobby area connecting several rooms together in each pod. Typically one in each pod is a science lab and the others are more standard classrooms. The school also has two detached buildings on the property, a short walk across the main parking lot and road. The road has no through traffic, it's just the school ingress/egress road; a large driveway basically. Those buildings are your standard office park shells. They could convert them to standard classrooms but also seem like easy candidates for building any non-standard-classroom-type spaces (like an aviation CTE type program, for example). The school site also has some unique features that I don't believe most (any?) other FCPS schools have, such as pool and a large dance room with wood floor, mirrors, ballet bars, etc. The auditorium, like most of the facility, is also very up-to-date with modern theater tech, such that a performing arts program might be viable as well. However, I don't know much about the music spaces, just that the dedicated theater and dance facilities are top notch.

Carson is set up this way - in pods with a science room in each pod. It will be an easy transition for Carson kids to the new Western high school.

Science classes in HS are, obviously, different. You don't have them in pods because chemistry, biology, physics, and other classes need different set ups then you have for MS science. It should not be hard to convert one of the larger spaces into a science wing and outfit those classes for the needs for the HS classes, take the science class in each pod and make it a regular classroom.

The science classrooms have a lot of built-in infrastructure... gas lines, vents, emergency wash, etc. that aren't really portable. I'd imagine at reasonable cost you could deprecate / cover up that equipment to use it as a standard classroom, which would "work" but be a waste of high-end resources. Then you'd have to add tremendous cost to retrofit your science wing to convert those classrooms to lab-grade. Possible you could re-use some of the existing equipment if you wanted to extract it, but now you're adding even more cost. All round this "conversion to create a science wing" is a horrible idea and a waste of money, you'd end up with something inferior to the status quo at significantly higher cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The classrooms are arranged in a dozen or so pods with an open space or lobby area connecting several rooms together in each pod. Typically one in each pod is a science lab and the others are more standard classrooms. The school also has two detached buildings on the property, a short walk across the main parking lot and road. The road has no through traffic, it's just the school ingress/egress road; a large driveway basically. Those buildings are your standard office park shells. They could convert them to standard classrooms but also seem like easy candidates for building any non-standard-classroom-type spaces (like an aviation CTE type program, for example). The school site also has some unique features that I don't believe most (any?) other FCPS schools have, such as pool and a large dance room with wood floor, mirrors, ballet bars, etc. The auditorium, like most of the facility, is also very up-to-date with modern theater tech, such that a performing arts program might be viable as well. However, I don't know much about the music spaces, just that the dedicated theater and dance facilities are top notch.

Carson is set up this way - in pods with a science room in each pod. It will be an easy transition for Carson kids to the new Western high school.

Science classes in HS are, obviously, different. You don't have them in pods because chemistry, biology, physics, and other classes need different set ups then you have for MS science. It should not be hard to convert one of the larger spaces into a science wing and outfit those classes for the needs for the HS classes, take the science class in each pod and make it a regular classroom.

I've no idea of how it can be done--I haven't seen it inside. I do know that the designers said that the spaces were flexible.
I also know that someone with some expertise and ingenuity could figure out how to make the main building educate more than 1200 students. There are three gyms, for heaven sake. Of course, it would require someone who wants to do it.
Sadly, I don't think the staff that was represented at the Work Session is equipped to do this. And, it doesn't sound like they were given any direction to do so. So, maybe, they could given the opportunity.
I think staff was directed by the Superintendent to come up with "creative" ideas for possible magnet, etc.

I don't know who came up with the idea of a traditional high school with a magnet restricted to western high schools--but I suspect it was our illustrious superintendent. I'm not even sure how that can be interpreted.

Does it mean that all extra-curriculars would be restricted to whatever the magnet is? No sports?

Someone said that Lady criticized the fields. I don't get that. I drove over the other day--there are lots of fields--mostly soccer. There is also a track. But, there is a baseball field at Carson, which is certainly accessible.

A PP described the area perfectly. Those two additional buildings can certainly be used--to expand the traditional high school or, if not needed for that, to create an academy.

I still don't understand Robyn Lady's 180 on the purpose of the school. She should know more than anyone how much it is needed. However, the only constituents affected are Coates.

This possibility; as well as magnet-only, nieghborhood-only; has been discussed in the context a hypothetical Western HS for years, pre-dating Reid.

There's no doubt it will provide relief to the western county regardless of what form the on-site programming takes. If it's fully a <whatever> magnet program, or collection of programs, the vast majority of students who will apply and attend will be from the western county area, either via program rules (just like Immersion Programs where a high % of the students must come from in-boundary) or just natural self-selection. A family in southern portion of county would think long and hard about whether they want to endure the 2-3 hours of commuting back-and-forth daily for four years and what impact that would have on their experience. I'm sure some non-zero number would pursue that if available, but it would be way lower than the number of kids who'd be coming from the nearby areas. Layer on the hybrid school concept they've pitched and it'd be like 85-95% of the kids being from the western county schools and providing that capacity relief, even if they don't assert a hard boundary for any magnet programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The classrooms are arranged in a dozen or so pods with an open space or lobby area connecting several rooms together in each pod. Typically one in each pod is a science lab and the others are more standard classrooms. The school also has two detached buildings on the property, a short walk across the main parking lot and road. The road has no through traffic, it's just the school ingress/egress road; a large driveway basically. Those buildings are your standard office park shells. They could convert them to standard classrooms but also seem like easy candidates for building any non-standard-classroom-type spaces (like an aviation CTE type program, for example). The school site also has some unique features that I don't believe most (any?) other FCPS schools have, such as pool and a large dance room with wood floor, mirrors, ballet bars, etc. The auditorium, like most of the facility, is also very up-to-date with modern theater tech, such that a performing arts program might be viable as well. However, I don't know much about the music spaces, just that the dedicated theater and dance facilities are top notch.

Carson is set up this way - in pods with a science room in each pod. It will be an easy transition for Carson kids to the new Western high school.

Science classes in HS are, obviously, different. You don't have them in pods because chemistry, biology, physics, and other classes need different set ups then you have for MS science. It should not be hard to convert one of the larger spaces into a science wing and outfit those classes for the needs for the HS classes, take the science class in each pod and make it a regular classroom.

I've no idea of how it can be done--I haven't seen it inside. I do know that the designers said that the spaces were flexible.
I also know that someone with some expertise and ingenuity could figure out how to make the main building educate more than 1200 students. There are three gyms, for heaven sake. Of course, it would require someone who wants to do it.
Sadly, I don't think the staff that was represented at the Work Session is equipped to do this. And, it doesn't sound like they were given any direction to do so. So, maybe, they could given the opportunity.
I think staff was directed by the Superintendent to come up with "creative" ideas for possible magnet, etc.

I don't know who came up with the idea of a traditional high school with a magnet restricted to western high schools--but I suspect it was our illustrious superintendent. I'm not even sure how that can be interpreted.

Does it mean that all extra-curriculars would be restricted to whatever the magnet is? No sports?

Someone said that Lady criticized the fields. I don't get that. I drove over the other day--there are lots of fields--mostly soccer. There is also a track. But, there is a baseball field at Carson, which is certainly accessible.

A PP described the area perfectly. Those two additional buildings can certainly be used--to expand the traditional high school or, if not needed for that, to create an academy.

I still don't understand Robyn Lady's 180 on the purpose of the school. She should know more than anyone how much it is needed. However, the only constituents affected are Coates.

This possibility; as well as magnet-only, nieghborhood-only; has been discussed in the context a hypothetical Western HS for years, pre-dating Reid.

There's no doubt it will provide relief to the western county regardless of what form the on-site programming takes. If it's fully a <whatever> magnet program, or collection of programs, the vast majority of students who will apply and attend will be from the western county area, either via program rules (just like Immersion Programs where a high % of the students must come from in-boundary) or just natural self-selection. A family in southern portion of county would think long and hard about whether they want to endure the 2-3 hours of commuting back-and-forth daily for four years and what impact that would have on their experience. I'm sure some non-zero number would pursue that if available, but it would be way lower than the number of kids who'd be coming from the nearby areas. Layer on the hybrid school concept they've pitched and it'd be like 85-95% of the kids being from the western county schools and providing that capacity relief, even if they don't assert a hard boundary for any magnet programs.

Creating new programs at the high school level where access is restricted to students zoned to just a few high schools, or students from those schools have preferential access, is likely a non-starter. Recall how the School Board members got so agitated about TJ admissions when so many of the kids were coming from Carson, Longfellow, Rocky Run, and Cooper. There were no restrictions on kids from other schools applying, but they still started claiming that access was effectively limited to kids from certain feeders. Lots of "equitable access to programming" issues.

[Anonymous]

This possibility; as well as magnet-only, nieghborhood-only; has been discussed in the context a hypothetical Western HS for years, pre-dating Reid.

There's no doubt it will provide relief to the western county regardless of what form the on-site programming takes. If it's fully a <whatever> magnet program, or collection of programs, the vast majority of students who will apply and attend will be from the western county area, either via program rules (just like Immersion Programs where a high % of the students must come from in-boundary) or just natural self-selection. A family in southern portion of county would think long and hard about whether they want to endure the 2-3 hours of commuting back-and-forth daily for four years and what impact that would have on their experience. I'm sure some non-zero number would pursue that if available, but it would be way lower than the number of kids who'd be coming from the nearby areas. Layer on the hybrid school concept they've pitched and it'd be like 85-95% of the kids being from the western county schools and providing that capacity relief, even if they don't assert a hard boundary for any magnet programs.

By whom?
I live in western Fairfax. I've only seen a magnet or a western TJ mentioned in two places: [b]here on DCUM and occasionally from the Fairfax Federation of Citizens Association [/b](and one of the "education" leaders lives in Herndon. The other lives in McLean, I think.)

I have NEVER heard it discussed in my neighborhood at a PTA meeting or on the athletic fields.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This possibility; as well as magnet-only, nieghborhood-only; has been discussed in the context a hypothetical Western HS for years, pre-dating Reid.

There's no doubt it will provide relief to the western county regardless of what form the on-site programming takes. If it's fully a <whatever> magnet program, or collection of programs, the vast majority of students who will apply and attend will be from the western county area, either via program rules (just like Immersion Programs where a high % of the students must come from in-boundary) or just natural self-selection. A family in southern portion of county would think long and hard about whether they want to endure the 2-3 hours of commuting back-and-forth daily for four years and what impact that would have on their experience. I'm sure some non-zero number would pursue that if available, but it would be way lower than the number of kids who'd be coming from the nearby areas. Layer on the hybrid school concept they've pitched and it'd be like 85-95% of the kids being from the western county schools and providing that capacity relief, even if they don't assert a hard boundary for any magnet programs.

By whom?
I live in western Fairfax. I've only seen a magnet or a western TJ mentioned in two places: [b]here on DCUM and occasionally from the Fairfax Federation of Citizens Association [/b](and one of the "education" leaders lives in Herndon. The other lives in McLean, I think.)

I have NEVER heard it discussed in my neighborhood at a PTA meeting or on the athletic fields.

DP. You gotta go listen to last week’s work session. Oh boy, you are in for a surprise.

[Anonymous]

I second listening to last week's work session. It is very enlightening, especially in terms of how little has been determined about anything at all - boundaries, start times, the new school, or the timeline for any of this! Kudos to Melanie Meren for expressing concerns about how in the world they are going to manage all of this in the time allotted!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

You must be the same idiot saying it’ll be a school for baggage handlers.

Annoyingly condescending? Must be great falls.

“Grumble grumble, great falls, great falls, Langley! Great falls, grumble grumble.” - homeless mumbler

DP

“homeless mumbler”?

Definitely a great falls hack.

“Grumble grumble” 😘

🥱

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This possibility; as well as magnet-only, nieghborhood-only; has been discussed in the context a hypothetical Western HS for years, pre-dating Reid.

There's no doubt it will provide relief to the western county regardless of what form the on-site programming takes. If it's fully a <whatever> magnet program, or collection of programs, the vast majority of students who will apply and attend will be from the western county area, either via program rules (just like Immersion Programs where a high % of the students must come from in-boundary) or just natural self-selection. A family in southern portion of county would think long and hard about whether they want to endure the 2-3 hours of commuting back-and-forth daily for four years and what impact that would have on their experience. I'm sure some non-zero number would pursue that if available, but it would be way lower than the number of kids who'd be coming from the nearby areas. Layer on the hybrid school concept they've pitched and it'd be like 85-95% of the kids being from the western county schools and providing that capacity relief, even if they don't assert a hard boundary for any magnet programs.

By whom?
I live in western Fairfax. I've only seen a magnet or a western TJ mentioned in two places: [b]here on DCUM and occasionally from the Fairfax Federation of Citizens Association [/b](and one of the "education" leaders lives in Herndon. The other lives in McLean, I think.)

I have NEVER heard it discussed in my neighborhood at a PTA meeting or on the athletic fields.

DP. You gotta go listen to last week’s work session. Oh boy, you are in for a surprise.

I did listen to it. Who said the community wants a magnet? When has the School Board discussed it before?

Sure, some would be thrilled with a TJ West. But, that is not going to happen. And, it would not solve the overcrowding. And, a magnet school would not solve the overcrowding, either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I second listening to last week's work session. It is very enlightening, especially in terms of how little has been determined about anything at all - boundaries, start times, the new school, or the timeline for any of this! Kudos to Melanie Meren for expressing concerns about how in the world they are going to manage all of this in the time allotted!

It was all quite eye-opening, and not in a good way.

Meren and Ricardy Anderson keep their eyes on the ball. I would put Ricardy in charge of FCPS if I were in charge of things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I second listening to last week's work session. It is very enlightening, especially in terms of how little has been determined about anything at all - boundaries, start times, the new school, or the timeline for any of this! Kudos to Melanie Meren for expressing concerns about how in the world they are going to manage all of this in the time allotted!

True. And what is clear, to the dismay of certain frequent DCUM posters, is that KAA will likely be at least part-magnet, if not a full magnet. The board members are too excited about this prospect to see it die on the vine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This possibility; as well as magnet-only, nieghborhood-only; has been discussed in the context a hypothetical Western HS for years, pre-dating Reid.

There's no doubt it will provide relief to the western county regardless of what form the on-site programming takes. If it's fully a <whatever> magnet program, or collection of programs, the vast majority of students who will apply and attend will be from the western county area, either via program rules (just like Immersion Programs where a high % of the students must come from in-boundary) or just natural self-selection. A family in southern portion of county would think long and hard about whether they want to endure the 2-3 hours of commuting back-and-forth daily for four years and what impact that would have on their experience. I'm sure some non-zero number would pursue that if available, but it would be way lower than the number of kids who'd be coming from the nearby areas. Layer on the hybrid school concept they've pitched and it'd be like 85-95% of the kids being from the western county schools and providing that capacity relief, even if they don't assert a hard boundary for any magnet programs.

By whom?
I live in western Fairfax. I've only seen a magnet or a western TJ mentioned in two places: [b]here on DCUM and occasionally from the Fairfax Federation of Citizens Association [/b](and one of the "education" leaders lives in Herndon. The other lives in McLean, I think.)

I have NEVER heard it discussed in my neighborhood at a PTA meeting or on the athletic fields.

DP. You gotta go listen to last week’s work session. Oh boy, you are in for a surprise.

I did listen to it. Who said the community wants a magnet? When has the School Board discussed it before?

Sure, some would be thrilled with a TJ West. But, that is not going to happen. And, it would not solve the overcrowding. And, a magnet school would not solve the overcrowding, either.

We know what you want. What we don't know is how many kids could attend KAA as a traditional high school or how much more needs to be invested in the facilities to make that happen.

Get your SB reps to request that information from Reid ASAP and make it public. Until then people will keep coming back to the possibility that KAA could be used as a magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I second listening to last week's work session. It is very enlightening, especially in terms of how little has been determined about anything at all - boundaries, start times, the new school, or the timeline for any of this! Kudos to Melanie Meren for expressing concerns about how in the world they are going to manage all of this in the time allotted!

It was all quite eye-opening, and not in a good way.

Meren and Ricardy Anderson keep their eyes on the ball. I would put Ricardy in charge of FCPS if I were in charge of things.

Well, for sure, they were the only ones prepared.
I am a little curious about the IB/AP thing from Meren. It sounds like she thinks that needs to be discussed/ or that she thinks bus transportation should be provided.

Bus transportation was not brought up about KAA. I'd love to see a break out of the savings of not sending the kids to Westfield or Oakton. It has to be substantial. A ballpark way to evaluate would be to compare cost to send kids to Carson vs Westfield from that area. The boundary would be similar to the current Carson boundary.

Someone posted that all the buses at Westfield wait until opening to let the kids off the bus. I've never heard of that in high school.

I am still stunned at the lack of preparation from the School Board, the Superintendent, and the staff for that meeting.

Most of the SB members are only concerned about their own constituents. McElveen was ridiculous. Was Moon there, i can't remember his take. McDaniel, at least for now, wants a traditional school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I second listening to last week's work session. It is very enlightening, especially in terms of how little has been determined about anything at all - boundaries, start times, the new school, or the timeline for any of this! Kudos to Melanie Meren for expressing concerns about how in the world they are going to manage all of this in the time allotted!

True. And what is clear, to the dismay of certain frequent DCUM posters, is that KAA will likely be at least part-magnet, if not a full magnet. The board members are too excited about this prospect to see it die on the vine.

Reid was very excited about having 6-8 grades in every middle school. That died on the vine.

Reid was very excited about the prospect of coming up with "transformational" boundary changes. That appears to have died on the vine.

Her idea of a magnet, access to which would be limited to kids zoned for a handful of western high schools, also seems likely to go nowhere.