FCPS Boundary Review Updates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After speaking to several school board members. It seems like Sandy came in wanting boundary changes to be her lasting legacy and there has never been any discussion on why.

almost no one wants to be moved, yet instead of listening to reasons from the people it actually effects, she has blinders on and continues to push forward. The job is too big for the firm they hired and are in over their heads. (Confirmed by people on the committee) The pushback from nearly all communities asking to step back and not rush into these changes has fallen on deaf ears. SA has flat out said she doesn’t care if she doesn’t get re elected. She’s bulldozing the entire boundary review even while other board members have said to slow down and re evaluate trends, especially with the RIFs and people moving from this area. The random shuffling of neighborhoods does nothing for the bigger issue and as the home owners age fluctuates, it just leads everything to need to be changed again in 10 years.

It’s extremely frustrating and my personal conversations with her have left me feeling that she absolutely does not care what anyone thinks. She’s flippant and honestly, obnoxious in her responses. Telling me about people who live on the “wrong side of the parkway” and I should be happy I’m not getting switched to XYZ. As the top ranked member of the school board, she absolutely should not make comments about how any school is less than another. She should be an advocate and a supporter of making all FCPS schools strong and singing their praises, not just telling us we are lucky we don’t have to go there.

I want to get to the bottom of why she is so adamant about this being her legacy, which one of her financial supporters is it benefiting

It has to be some person who is in the current RV/Lewis pocket, right? She is the only one who keeps talking about those neighborhoods staying at Irving/WSHS where none of the maps so far have showed that move. That or she is a hardcore equity warrior. But honestly, I can imagine what hardcore equity moves might look like and they don’t look like the weird, piecemeal shifting around of neighborhoods that we’ve seen so far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After speaking to several school board members. It seems like Sandy came in wanting boundary changes to be her lasting legacy and there has never been any discussion on why.

almost no one wants to be moved, yet instead of listening to reasons from the people it actually effects, she has blinders on and continues to push forward. The job is too big for the firm they hired and are in over their heads. (Confirmed by people on the committee) The pushback from nearly all communities asking to step back and not rush into these changes has fallen on deaf ears. SA has flat out said she doesn’t care if she doesn’t get re elected. She’s bulldozing the entire boundary review even while other board members have said to slow down and re evaluate trends, especially with the RIFs and people moving from this area. The random shuffling of neighborhoods does nothing for the bigger issue and as the home owners age fluctuates, it just leads everything to need to be changed again in 10 years.

It’s extremely frustrating and my personal conversations with her have left me feeling that she absolutely does not care what anyone thinks. She’s flippant and honestly, obnoxious in her responses. Telling me about people who live on the “wrong side of the parkway” and I should be happy I’m not getting switched to XYZ. As the top ranked member of the school board, she absolutely should not make comments about how any school is less than another. She should be an advocate and a supporter of making all FCPS schools strong and singing their praises, not just telling us we are lucky we don’t have to go there.

I want to get to the bottom of why she is so adamant about this being her legacy, which one of her financial supporters is it benefiting

She's obviously not very bright, but agree she's also doing the bidding of someone for personal or financial reasons that aren't yet totally clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In previous rounds of boundary changes, if something didn't make logical sense, for sure there was something happening behind the scenes with the SB members.

I really don’t think that’s the case here. I think it’s just the incompetence of an outside firm with no familiarity of this region playing with puzzle pieces and going with the first piece that fits.

To me, the only seemingly directed adjustment is Timber Lane to Falls Church, because it went against Thru’s established criteria, was thrown in at the zero hour, and relies on capacity numbers from the yet to be completed expansion. But I can see that recommendation coming from the superintendent’s office.

I kind of agree--especially since I think we've heard that the next maps will be very different. It looks to me like THRU has done this with no understanding of neighborhoods. Kind of like trying puzzle pieces and sometimes picking the wrong one and attempting to force fit it.

Cont. And, don't underestimate the power of your School Board members--especially your district rep. They generally control the decisions. They form coalitions.

During the 2008 South Lakes study, Janie Strauss pretty much kept Dranesville out of any consideration even though she had areas very close to South Lakes. Kathy Smith joined with Stu Gibson and ponied up Sully students to go to Oakton from Chantilly. This enabled Gibson to take Fox Mill for South Lakes from Oakton. Otherwise, the Providence member (the guy with the double name) would have objected.

You’re talking about Phil Niedzielski-Eichner (he’s on the Planning Commission now), and the deal he cut with the others was to get part of Navy moved to Oakton from Chantilly in exchange for losing Fox Mill. He was afraid Oakton sports would suffer unless Oakton also picked up some kids. In retrospect, however, if some Chantilly kids hadn’t moved to Oakton back in 2008, Chantilly’s enrollment would have surpassed 3000 at some point.

I'm guessing Navy doesn't produce that many athletes, more like mathletes, LOL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After speaking to several school board members. It seems like Sandy came in wanting boundary changes to be her lasting legacy and there has never been any discussion on why.

almost no one wants to be moved, yet instead of listening to reasons from the people it actually effects, she has blinders on and continues to push forward. The job is too big for the firm they hired and are in over their heads. (Confirmed by people on the committee) The pushback from nearly all communities asking to step back and not rush into these changes has fallen on deaf ears. SA has flat out said she doesn’t care if she doesn’t get re elected. She’s bulldozing the entire boundary review even while other board members have said to slow down and re evaluate trends, especially with the RIFs and people moving from this area. The random shuffling of neighborhoods does nothing for the bigger issue and as the home owners age fluctuates, it just leads everything to need to be changed again in 10 years.

It’s extremely frustrating and my personal conversations with her have left me feeling that she absolutely does not care what anyone thinks. She’s flippant and honestly, obnoxious in her responses. Telling me about people who live on the “wrong side of the parkway” and I should be happy I’m not getting switched to XYZ. As the top ranked member of the school board, she absolutely should not make comments about how any school is less than another. She should be an advocate and a supporter of making all FCPS schools strong and singing their praises, not just telling us we are lucky we don’t have to go there.

I want to get to the bottom of why she is so adamant about this being her legacy, which one of her financial supporters is it benefiting

Lady, not sure what your grudge is against Sandy Anderson, but it's clear that it's one person going on and on about her and it's getting old.

[Anonymous]

At least your school board member is talking to you. Seema Dixit does nothing. She's nowhere to be found. Definitely has never replied to my messages where I check the box requesting a response.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least your school board member is talking to you. Seema Dixit does nothing. She's nowhere to be found. Definitely has never replied to my messages where I check the box requesting a response.

Same experience here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After speaking to several school board members. It seems like Sandy came in wanting boundary changes to be her lasting legacy and there has never been any discussion on why.

almost no one wants to be moved, yet instead of listening to reasons from the people it actually effects, she has blinders on and continues to push forward. The job is too big for the firm they hired and are in over their heads. (Confirmed by people on the committee) The pushback from nearly all communities asking to step back and not rush into these changes has fallen on deaf ears. SA has flat out said she doesn’t care if she doesn’t get re elected. She’s bulldozing the entire boundary review even while other board members have said to slow down and re evaluate trends, especially with the RIFs and people moving from this area. The random shuffling of neighborhoods does nothing for the bigger issue and as the home owners age fluctuates, it just leads everything to need to be changed again in 10 years.

It’s extremely frustrating and my personal conversations with her have left me feeling that she absolutely does not care what anyone thinks. She’s flippant and honestly, obnoxious in her responses. Telling me about people who live on the “wrong side of the parkway” and I should be happy I’m not getting switched to XYZ. As the top ranked member of the school board, she absolutely should not make comments about how any school is less than another. She should be an advocate and a supporter of making all FCPS schools strong and singing their praises, not just telling us we are lucky we don’t have to go there.

I want to get to the bottom of why she is so adamant about this being her legacy, which one of her financial supporters is it benefiting

It has to be some person who is in the current RV/Lewis pocket, right? She is the only one who keeps talking about those neighborhoods staying at Irving/WSHS where none of the maps so far have showed that move. That or she is a hardcore equity warrior. But honestly, I can imagine what hardcore equity moves might look like and they don’t look like the weird, piecemeal shifting around of neighborhoods that we’ve seen so far.[b]

Hardcore equity wouldn’t be moving students to what she deems a better school. It would be to look at schools and identify how we can give the students who attend them an equitable education. If she really cared, she wouldn’t show bias about high schools. I’ve sat in a meeting where she pretty much said, “but what about these RVES kids who need to move from Lewis to WSHS” and dismissed our concerns about our options.

[Anonymous]

Lady, not sure what your grudge is against Sandy Anderson, but it's clear that it's one person going on and on about her and it's getting old.>>>>>

I have only posted that discussion starter today, there isn’t a grudge. But as a FCPS graduate, teacher and parent, I expect my school board to have the best interest of all students at heart. the more info I hear, the less it seems that is true for SA. Perhaps if she engaged in conversations with us, instead of brushing us off, we would feel heard. but it feels like things are being rushed for reasons we don’t understand. It’s not too much to ask for the person spearheading a huge change for such a large district to at least pretend listen to the constituents, even if its just for show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lady, not sure what your grudge is against Sandy Anderson, but it's clear that it's one person going on and on about her and it's getting old.>>>>>

I have only posted that discussion starter today, there isn’t a grudge. But as a FCPS graduate, teacher and parent, I expect my school board to have the best interest of all students at heart. the more info I hear, the less it seems that is true for SA. Perhaps if she engaged in conversations with us, instead of brushing us off, we would feel heard. but it feels like things are being rushed for reasons we don’t understand. It’s not too much to ask for the person spearheading a huge change for such a large district to at least pretend listen to the constituents, even if its just for show.

The School Board is the lowest rung of elected office but low-brow people like Sandy Anderson go into "Queen Bee" mode and get drunk on the limited power they possess.

I don't hold out much hope that they won't screw a lot of people over, but hopefully it's going to come back and bite local Democrats in future elections, whether it's for School Board or Board of Supervisors. The supervisors try to distance themselves from SB decisions, but they control the purse strings, and if they reward the SB for poor behavior they need to suffer the electoral consequences as well.

A good start would be to make sure that neither Ilryong Moon nor Rachna Sizemore-Heizer get elected to the Board of Supervisors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After speaking to several school board members. It seems like Sandy came in wanting boundary changes to be her lasting legacy and there has never been any discussion on why.

almost no one wants to be moved, yet instead of listening to reasons from the people it actually effects, she has blinders on and continues to push forward. The job is too big for the firm they hired and are in over their heads. (Confirmed by people on the committee) The pushback from nearly all communities asking to step back and not rush into these changes has fallen on deaf ears. SA has flat out said she doesn’t care if she doesn’t get re elected. She’s bulldozing the entire boundary review even while other board members have said to slow down and re evaluate trends, especially with the RIFs and people moving from this area. The random shuffling of neighborhoods does nothing for the bigger issue and as the home owners age fluctuates, it just leads everything to need to be changed again in 10 years.

It’s extremely frustrating and my personal conversations with her have left me feeling that she absolutely does not care what anyone thinks. She’s flippant and honestly, obnoxious in her responses. Telling me about people who live on the “wrong side of the parkway” and I should be happy I’m not getting switched to XYZ. As the top ranked member of the school board, she absolutely should not make comments about how any school is less than another. She should be an advocate and a supporter of making all FCPS schools strong and singing their praises, not just telling us we are lucky we don’t have to go there.

I want to get to the bottom of why she is so adamant about this being her legacy, which one of her financial supporters is it benefiting

Lady, not sure what your grudge is against Sandy Anderson, but it's clear that it's one person going on and on about her and it's getting old.

I’m the one who normally calls her Sniveling Sandy, based on how she snivels at her constituents and generally doesn’t care about them.

But this is my first post today, so I think the feelings about her (you?) are more widespread than you realize.

[Anonymous]

<<<I don't hold out much hope that they won't screw a lot of people over, but hopefully it's going to come back and bite local Democrats in future elections, whether it's for School Board or Board of Supervisors. The supervisors try to distance themselves from SB decisions, but they control the purse strings, and if they reward the SB for poor behavior they need to suffer the electoral consequences as well.>>>


Honestly, this is my biggest worry. I am sure some people don’t realize the political stance of the SB members, and when it comes time for elections they will simply
Vote against SA and others, not realizing the political implications. Especially if Youngkin supporters run next time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After speaking to several school board members. It seems like Sandy came in wanting boundary changes to be her lasting legacy and there has never been any discussion on why.

almost no one wants to be moved, yet instead of listening to reasons from the people it actually effects, she has blinders on and continues to push forward. The job is too big for the firm they hired and are in over their heads. (Confirmed by people on the committee) The pushback from nearly all communities asking to step back and not rush into these changes has fallen on deaf ears. SA has flat out said she doesn’t care if she doesn’t get re elected. She’s bulldozing the entire boundary review even while other board members have said to slow down and re evaluate trends, especially with the RIFs and people moving from this area. The random shuffling of neighborhoods does nothing for the bigger issue and as the home owners age fluctuates, it just leads everything to need to be changed again in 10 years.

It’s extremely frustrating and my personal conversations with her have left me feeling that she absolutely does not care what anyone thinks. She’s flippant and honestly, obnoxious in her responses. Telling me about people who live on the “wrong side of the parkway” and I should be happy I’m not getting switched to XYZ. As the top ranked member of the school board, she absolutely should not make comments about how any school is less than another. She should be an advocate and a supporter of making all FCPS schools strong and singing their praises, not just telling us we are lucky we don’t have to go there.

I want to get to the bottom of why she is so adamant about this being her legacy, which one of her financial supporters is it benefiting

It has to be some person who is in the current RV/Lewis pocket, right? She is the only one who keeps talking about those neighborhoods staying at Irving/WSHS where none of the maps so far have showed that move. That or she is a hardcore equity warrior. But honestly, I can imagine what hardcore equity moves might look like and they don’t look like the weird, piecemeal shifting around of neighborhoods that we’ve seen so far.

I wonder what the SES is like in that RVES pocket? I honestly don't know, but I wonder if it is on the lower end SES wise, if that is why she wants it moved into WSHS? I know there ae some apartments along Rolling closer to the Parkway and if those are in that pocket? I also suspect that she is ultimately going to push for either all or part of HVES to be pushed into Lewis, thus altering the SES balance between WSHS and Lewis.

I just hope the rest of the School Board pushes back on her. But they may not care if it doesn't affect their constituents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:<<<I don't hold out much hope that they won't screw a lot of people over, but hopefully it's going to come back and bite local Democrats in future elections, whether it's for School Board or Board of Supervisors. The supervisors try to distance themselves from SB decisions, but they control the purse strings, and if they reward the SB for poor behavior they need to suffer the electoral consequences as well.>>>


Honestly, this is my biggest worry. I am sure some people don’t realize the political stance of the SB members, and when it comes time for elections they will simply
Vote against SA and others, not realizing the political implications. Especially if Youngkin supporters run next time.

This is my worry as well, and why I was concerned when I was told that she doesn’t care if she doesn’t get reelected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After speaking to several school board members. It seems like Sandy came in wanting boundary changes to be her lasting legacy and there has never been any discussion on why.

almost no one wants to be moved, yet instead of listening to reasons from the people it actually effects, she has blinders on and continues to push forward. The job is too big for the firm they hired and are in over their heads. (Confirmed by people on the committee) The pushback from nearly all communities asking to step back and not rush into these changes has fallen on deaf ears. SA has flat out said she doesn’t care if she doesn’t get re elected. She’s bulldozing the entire boundary review even while other board members have said to slow down and re evaluate trends, especially with the RIFs and people moving from this area. The random shuffling of neighborhoods does nothing for the bigger issue and as the home owners age fluctuates, it just leads everything to need to be changed again in 10 years.

It’s extremely frustrating and my personal conversations with her have left me feeling that she absolutely does not care what anyone thinks. She’s flippant and honestly, obnoxious in her responses. Telling me about people who live on the “wrong side of the parkway” and I should be happy I’m not getting switched to XYZ. As the top ranked member of the school board, she absolutely should not make comments about how any school is less than another. She should be an advocate and a supporter of making all FCPS schools strong and singing their praises, not just telling us we are lucky we don’t have to go there.

I want to get to the bottom of why she is so adamant about this being her legacy, which one of her financial supporters is it benefiting

It has to be some person who is in the current RV/Lewis pocket, right? She is the only one who keeps talking about those neighborhoods staying at Irving/WSHS where none of the maps so far have showed that move. That or she is a hardcore equity warrior. But honestly, I can imagine what hardcore equity moves might look like and they don’t look like the weird, piecemeal shifting around of neighborhoods that we’ve seen so far.

I wonder what the SES is like in that RVES pocket? I honestly don't know, but I wonder if it is on the lower end SES wise, if that is why she wants it moved into WSHS? I know there ae some apartments along Rolling closer to the Parkway and if those are in that pocket? I also suspect that she is ultimately going to push for either all or part of HVES to be pushed into Lewis, thus altering the SES balance between WSHS and Lewis.

I just hope the rest of the School Board pushes back on her. But they may not care if it doesn't affect their constituents.

I wouldn't say it's lower end at all. There are townhouses at the intersection of Rolling and Hunter Village, but they are lovely. And the single family homes across the parkway are also nice. But, they are cheaper because zoned for RVES/Key/Lewis, and there are a diverse group of families that live in them. All of Rolling Valley is that way, though. The lowest income group in Springfield goes to RVES, the apartments behind the plaza where Panera and the new Aldi are going. I have no idea why Sandy Anderson would be trying to get that group switched to stay at Irving and West Springfield after RVES. I know there was a group that tried about a decade ago and couldn't make it happen. I don't think there's anyone over there particularly influential or organized. We've been an active family (PTA and such) at Rolling Valley for the last decade and I've never heard of anyone trying to get a change recently. Most of the families over there who don't want to go to Lewis figure out a way to go somewhere else.

I think it actually makes sense to switch that group to Saratoga/Key/Lewis as Thru suggested. Would open up space at RV for some of the overcrowded adjacent elementaries like Orange Hunt and Cardinal Forest.

I highly regret voting for Sandy Anderson but also remember that the opponent was a real nut job who wanted to ban books and was vocally anti-trans. Can't vote for that either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After speaking to several school board members. It seems like Sandy came in wanting boundary changes to be her lasting legacy and there has never been any discussion on why.

almost no one wants to be moved, yet instead of listening to reasons from the people it actually effects, she has blinders on and continues to push forward. The job is too big for the firm they hired and are in over their heads. (Confirmed by people on the committee) The pushback from nearly all communities asking to step back and not rush into these changes has fallen on deaf ears. SA has flat out said she doesn’t care if she doesn’t get re elected. She’s bulldozing the entire boundary review even while other board members have said to slow down and re evaluate trends, especially with the RIFs and people moving from this area. The random shuffling of neighborhoods does nothing for the bigger issue and as the home owners age fluctuates, it just leads everything to need to be changed again in 10 years.

It’s extremely frustrating and my personal conversations with her have left me feeling that she absolutely does not care what anyone thinks. She’s flippant and honestly, obnoxious in her responses. Telling me about people who live on the “wrong side of the parkway” and I should be happy I’m not getting switched to XYZ. As the top ranked member of the school board, she absolutely should not make comments about how any school is less than another. She should be an advocate and a supporter of making all FCPS schools strong and singing their praises, not just telling us we are lucky we don’t have to go there.

I want to get to the bottom of why she is so adamant about this being her legacy, which one of her financial supporters is it benefiting

It has to be some person who is in the current RV/Lewis pocket, right? She is the only one who keeps talking about those neighborhoods staying at Irving/WSHS where none of the maps so far have showed that move. That or she is a hardcore equity warrior. But honestly, I can imagine what hardcore equity moves might look like and they don’t look like the weird, piecemeal shifting around of neighborhoods that we’ve seen so far.

I wonder what the SES is like in that RVES pocket? I honestly don't know, but I wonder if it is on the lower end SES wise, if that is why she wants it moved into WSHS? I know there ae some apartments along Rolling closer to the Parkway and if those are in that pocket? I also suspect that she is ultimately going to push for either all or part of HVES to be pushed into Lewis, thus altering the SES balance between WSHS and Lewis.

I just hope the rest of the School Board pushes back on her. But they may not care if it doesn't affect their constituents.

NP. This is also my concern, although she has told HVES advocates at meetings I've been at that she wouldn't support that. I just don't believe her at this point.

I don't agree with the person who keeps calling her Sniveling Sandy, but I have been incredibly disappointed in her as our SB rep. It really feels like she's not listening to us or just doesn't care. Every time we hear from her, it just reinforces the notion that she's totally in favor of moving some HVES kids out of that pyramid. Maybe in favor of the Rolling Valley kids. I just don't understand why.