Reply to APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!

Forum Index » Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)

Reply to "APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Arlington Families,

We need your help.  Please consider emailing the County and School Boards (contact info below) by Tuesday, May 24th.  Thank you.

Here is a letter sent to Arlington neighbors.

Neighbors, as a member of the DHCA Board of Directors, I have been following the development of the  County CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) process and the startling APS capacity issues facing our children when they reach high school. We all know that our kids are in overcrowded elementary schools now, but did you also know that by 2025/26, Arlington County is projected to be 2,775 seats over capacity at the high school level?  That's right, we will be an entire high school short by the time our current 1st graders enter high school.  Some of you on this list have toddlers, or even are just now pregnant or contemplating children, so this might not be on your radar but it's an issue that is going to affect your children too.

The School Board and the County Board are meeting on Tuesday night (5/24) to discuss the Capital Improvement Plan budget for the 2017-2026 period. The CIP is only revisited every two years, so if the County does not allocate money to deal with the high school crisis in this CIP, we'll have to to wait two more years to get that shot again. We all know we can't wait that long, especially at the rate the McKinley addition is taking.

There is no money for a 4th high school in the current CIP, nor is there any indication that the County is willing to provide any of the parcels of land that would hold a high school.  The County is talking about doing additions to Yorktown and W-L, which only gets them half the seats they need. They would make up the difference through expanded on-line classes and shift-scheduling (which means that your kid could end up attending high school from lunchtime through the early evening if they are on the second shift).

PLEASE take a minute to send an email to BOTH the County and School Board before Tuesday to state your support for fully funding the necessary high school seats and providing the land necessary to build a comprehensive high school. School Board members have indicated that their hands will be tied unless the County Board allocates more money (and more bond funding) to deal with the high school issue.  I had the opportunity to speak at the School Board's Public Forum last Thursday, which I attended together with Madison Manor Civic Association President Carly Kelly, and believe we must do more.
 
The County hears a lot from people focused on affordable housing and park space, but just isn't hearing enough noise to think this is important so other issues are getting higher priority.  Please take a minute or two tonight to help make some noise.    school.board@apsva.us  and  countyboard@arlingtonva.us
 
Please pass this along to everyone you know in Arlington as well.  Time is running out to weigh in before decisions are made!

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics