When are Herndon Middle and Herndon High going to get a break?!??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:McLean is also concerned.

No one is happy with the evidence that the school board has kept kids in an overcrowded school because the nearby school with space is too rich and McLean is too rich and the obvious thing to fix overcrowding doesn't solve that "problem".

This is the best summation I have seen. And, there is evidence. That is key.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If these gang rumors can't be put to rest then families new to the area will avoid HHS like the plague.

Rumours?

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/maryland/facts-about-ms-13-in-maryland-virginia/65-436466709

You keep citing an article that was written in 2017. Gangs are something that we all need to worry about but if MS-13 was so prevalent at HHS I think we would have more news reporting on it then an article from 2017. Do you have anything more recent that shows that this is a problem or even a developing problem?

I have friends who kids go to HHS. 4 kids have graduated from HHS and 2 are currently attending. They are happy with the education that their kids have received and have never discussed their kids being unsafe.

Either provide something more recent and relevant or stop the fear mongering.

Call the local police department. Or you can continue with your vapid posts of denial

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:McLean is also concerned.

No one is happy with the evidence that the school board has kept kids in an overcrowded school because the nearby school with space is too rich and McLean is too rich and the obvious thing to fix overcrowding doesn't solve that "problem".

It is more complicated than that.

Hindsight is 20/20, but there was uncertainty as to whether the projections for growth at McLean would pan out.

Strauss dragged her heels for a while, and seems to have thought she could leave this to her successor to address - not because of One Fairfax, but because she knew boundary changes are always controversial.

Then, when McLean’s enrollment spiked last year, both Strauss and the Facilities staff thought the Board would quickly authorize a boundary study. But her colleagues balked. Not simply because of One Fairfax, although that was clearly a key consideration at the time for some members like Keys Gamarra, but also because some of the members were worried McLean would leapfrog other needed boundary studies and because Strauss hadn’t consulted enough with her colleagues before floating the idea of moving kids who reside in other magisterial districts.

I think the whole process around boundary adjustments is ripe for improvement, but One Fairfax is not the primary cause of the challenges FCPS has been facing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean is also concerned.

No one is happy with the evidence that the school board has kept kids in an overcrowded school because the nearby school with space is too rich and McLean is too rich and the obvious thing to fix overcrowding doesn't solve that "problem".

It is more complicated than that.

Hindsight is 20/20, but there was uncertainty as to whether the projections for growth at McLean would pan out.

Strauss dragged her heels for a while, and seems to have thought she could leave this to her successor to address - not because of One Fairfax, but because she knew boundary changes are always controversial.

Then, when McLean’s enrollment spiked last year, both Strauss and the Facilities staff thought the Board would quickly authorize a boundary study. But her colleagues balked. Not simply because of One Fairfax, although that was clearly a key consideration at the time for some members like Keys Gamarra, but also because some of the members were worried McLean would leapfrog other needed boundary studies and because Strauss hadn’t consulted enough with her colleagues before floating the idea of moving kids who reside in other magisterial districts.

I think the whole process around boundary adjustments is ripe for improvement, but One Fairfax is not the primary cause of the challenges FCPS has been facing.

It may not be the primary cause, but it is the current cause. And, Moon stating that they need to have the policy in place by December indicates that he fears the new Board.

And, Strauss likely took action only because she is not running for reelection. You can make excuses all day long, but she should have done this long, long ago.

[Anonymous]

All I know is, the local Democratic party had better advise the board to fix McLean and Langley if they want any hope of winning Dranesville.

I don't know how much other pyramids are concerned about the stopping of boundary studies in their districts but we are not happy.

I only know parents in two other Fairfax county high schools. One has no crowding but the other does.

I

[Anonymous]

All I know is, the local Democratic party had better advise the board to fix McLean and Langley if they want any hope of winning Dranesville.

I don't know how much other pyramids are concerned about the stopping of boundary studies in their districts but we are not happy.

I only know parents in two other Fairfax county high schools. One has no crowding but the other does.

I

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean is also concerned.

No one is happy with the evidence that the school board has kept kids in an overcrowded school because the nearby school with space is too rich and McLean is too rich and the obvious thing to fix overcrowding doesn't solve that "problem".

It is more complicated than that.

Hindsight is 20/20, but there was uncertainty as to whether the projections for growth at McLean would pan out.

Strauss dragged her heels for a while, and seems to have thought she could leave this to her successor to address - not because of One Fairfax, but because she knew boundary changes are always controversial.

Then, when McLean’s enrollment spiked last year, both Strauss and the Facilities staff thought the Board would quickly authorize a boundary study. But her colleagues balked. Not simply because of One Fairfax, although that was clearly a key consideration at the time for some members like Keys Gamarra, but also because some of the members were worried McLean would leapfrog other needed boundary studies and because Strauss hadn’t consulted enough with her colleagues before floating the idea of moving kids who reside in other magisterial districts.

I think the whole process around boundary adjustments is ripe for improvement, but One Fairfax is not the primary cause of the challenges FCPS has been facing.

It may not be the primary cause, but it is the current cause. And, Moon stating that they need to have the policy in place by December indicates that he fears the new Board.

And, Strauss likely took action only because she is not running for reelection. You can make excuses all day long, but she should have done this long, long ago.

It may not be the cause but it sure as hell looks like the reason problems with clear, logical and easy solutions aren't being solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All I know is, the local Democratic party had better advise the board to fix McLean and Langley if they want any hope of winning Dranesville.

I don't know how much other pyramids are concerned about the stopping of boundary studies in their districts but we are not happy.

I only know parents in two other Fairfax county high schools. One has no crowding but the other does.

I

Most people are clueless as to what our School Board does. Just look at the issues they will spend time on.

Sadly, if your name is on the "D" list for the election, our SB will continue this direction.

They spend far too much time on issues that have no impact on education but promote their political activism.

I have no problem with promoting environmental care, but Pat Hynes is more interested in that than in educating the kids.

Ryan McElveen is so involved in activism that he wants kids to be able to take a day off to go protest guns.

Others are obsessed with transgender kids. We do need to have compassion and understanding---but do you really think that using the desired bathroom is going to generate that?
Is this a policy that needed to be debated? They could have let it be decided discreetly at the local level. The principals know their own schools best.

And, school names. They could have just dropped the Jeb and let it move on in a generic manner. But, no, they had to create division in the community with constantly changing policies on how it would be determined. First, they wanted to do what the community wanted. The community did not want the change. So, we came up with a different policy and then another and another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean is also concerned.

No one is happy with the evidence that the school board has kept kids in an overcrowded school because the nearby school with space is too rich and McLean is too rich and the obvious thing to fix overcrowding doesn't solve that "problem".

This is the best summation I have seen. And, there is evidence. That is key.

Evidence. Despite whoever (fcps employee and maybe even a sb member) keeps trying to convince us otherwise.

Anyone who has watched those videos on YouTube knows better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean is also concerned.

No one is happy with the evidence that the school board has kept kids in an overcrowded school because the nearby school with space is too rich and McLean is too rich and the obvious thing to fix overcrowding doesn't solve that "problem".

It is more complicated than that.

Hindsight is 20/20, but there was uncertainty as to whether the projections for growth at McLean would pan out.

Strauss dragged her heels for a while, and seems to have thought she could leave this to her successor to address - not because of One Fairfax, but because she knew boundary changes are always controversial.

Then, when McLean’s enrollment spiked last year, both Strauss and the Facilities staff thought the Board would quickly authorize a boundary study. But her colleagues balked. Not simply because of One Fairfax, although that was clearly a key consideration at the time for some members like Keys Gamarra, but also because some of the members were worried McLean would leapfrog other needed boundary studies and because Strauss hadn’t consulted enough with her colleagues before floating the idea of moving kids who reside in other magisterial districts.

I think the whole process around boundary adjustments is ripe for improvement, but One Fairfax is not the primary cause of the challenges FCPS has been facing.

It may not be the primary cause, but it is the current cause. And, Moon stating that they need to have the policy in place by December indicates that he fears the new Board.

And, Strauss likely took action only because she is not running for reelection. You can make excuses all day long, but she should have done this long, long ago.

Moon was just saying they’d been working on the policy revisions a long time and ought to wrap it up so the new Board would be able to start with the new framework in place. Not sure it has anything to do with “fear.”

It is really only in the past few years that the McLean situation became acute, and it wouldn’t have made a lot of sense to move 200 kids to Langley when it was in the middle of a renovation. With better planning, a boundary change could have been implemented by this fall but, again, the delay isn’t primarily due to the adoption of the One Fairfax policy.

[Anonymous]

It is really only in the past few years that the McLean situation became acute, and it wouldn’t have made a lot of sense to move 200 kids to Langley when it was in the middle of a renovation. With better planning, a boundary change could have been implemented by this fall but, again, the delay isn’t primarily due to the adoption of the One Fairfax policy.

Really? Did you hear what Braband said? You are either uninformed or are trying to spin this beyond belief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All I know is, the local Democratic party had better advise the board to fix McLean and Langley if they want any hope of winning Dranesville.

I don't know how much other pyramids are concerned about the stopping of boundary studies in their districts but we are not happy.

I only know parents in two other Fairfax county high schools. One has no crowding but the other does.

Idle threat, really. There are three candidates running for School Board from Dranesville. All three live in the Langley district. All three support keeping all of the neighborhoods currently zoned for Langley there and doing something about the McLean overcrowding. Two regularly attack One Fairfax, the Democrat does not.

Dranesville generally votes Democratic and the two anti-One Fairfax candidates (one from Great Falls and the other from McLean) will likely split the votes of more conservative voters and ensure Tholen’s election. If Mobasheri pulls out and there is a higher turnout from the Langley/McLean areas than from the Herndon/Marshall areas, Karloutsos might have a shot.

The at-large contests are more interesting. A lot of Dranesville voters may cross party lines for those seats, but Dranesville is just one of the nine magisterial districts in the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It is really only in the past few years that the McLean situation became acute, and it wouldn’t have made a lot of sense to move 200 kids to Langley when it was in the middle of a renovation. With better planning, a boundary change could have been implemented by this fall but, again, the delay isn’t primarily due to the adoption of the One Fairfax policy.

Really? Did you hear what Braband said? You are either uninformed or are trying to spin this beyond belief.

Brabrand’s comments related only to small administrative boundary changes, and he’s only been the Superintendent for two years, so clearly he isn’t responsible for not having shifted the boundaries “long, long ago.”

I’m sure it rankles when someone challenges your simplistic narrative, but some of us have a deeper understanding of what’s been going on within FCPS than others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean is also concerned.

No one is happy with the evidence that the school board has kept kids in an overcrowded school because the nearby school with space is too rich and McLean is too rich and the obvious thing to fix overcrowding doesn't solve that "problem".

It is more complicated than that.

Hindsight is 20/20, but there was uncertainty as to whether the projections for growth at McLean would pan out.

Strauss dragged her heels for a while, and seems to have thought she could leave this to her successor to address - not because of One Fairfax, but because she knew boundary changes are always controversial.

Then, when McLean’s enrollment spiked last year, both Strauss and the Facilities staff thought the Board would quickly authorize a boundary study. But her colleagues balked. Not simply because of One Fairfax, although that was clearly a key consideration at the time for some members like Keys Gamarra, but also because some of the members were worried McLean would leapfrog other needed boundary studies and because Strauss hadn’t consulted enough with her colleagues before floating the idea of moving kids who reside in other magisterial districts.

I think the whole process around boundary adjustments is ripe for improvement, but One Fairfax is not the primary cause of the challenges FCPS has been facing.

It may not be the primary cause, but it is the current cause. And, Moon stating that they need to have the policy in place by December indicates that he fears the new Board.

And, Strauss likely took action only because she is not running for reelection. You can make excuses all day long, but she should have done this long, long ago.

It may not be the cause but it sure as hell looks like the reason problems with clear, logical and easy solutions aren't being solved.

A CIP amendment to authorize a Langley/McLean boundary study is on the agenda for both the 9/12 and 9/26 Board meetings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I know is, the local Democratic party had better advise the board to fix McLean and Langley if they want any hope of winning Dranesville.

I don't know how much other pyramids are concerned about the stopping of boundary studies in their districts but we are not happy.

I only know parents in two other Fairfax county high schools. One has no crowding but the other does.

Idle threat, really. There are three candidates running for School Board from Dranesville. All three live in the Langley district. All three support keeping all of the neighborhoods currently zoned for Langley there and doing something about the McLean overcrowding. Two regularly attack One Fairfax, the Democrat does not.

Dranesville generally votes Democratic and the two anti-One Fairfax candidates (one from Great Falls and the other from McLean) will likely split the votes of more conservative voters and ensure Tholen’s election. If Mobasheri pulls out and there is a higher turnout from the Langley/McLean areas than from the Herndon/Marshall areas, Karloutsos might have a shot.

The at-large contests are more interesting. A lot of Dranesville voters may cross party lines for those seats, but Dranesville is just one of the nine magisterial districts in the county.

As some pointed out earlier, Tholen would be going against what most of her neighbors want if she was on the side of moving GF out of Langley.

So who wins Dranesville probably won't matter for that.

If the vote goes against doing the McLean Langley study she should of course publicly disagree. If she does not, 2/3 of the high schools in the district will not be happy.

School board hasn't been this interesting in a little while.