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[quote=Anonymous]I think it's kind of disingenuous to complain because you bought a better house for less money in South Arlington but aren't happy with the schools.  A lot of us made the opposite choice and bought an older, smaller, less-renovated home in order to be in boundary for the schools in North Arlington.  Of course we want our kids to be in the school near our house.  Science Focus basically had to become a mostly-neighborhood (vs. choice) school because of capacity issues.  ATS and HBW are still options, and you can try to get into Claremont or Key for immersion.  Also, if you're in bounds for Carlin Springs, you can apply for Campbell, and there are a couple other exceptions.  But if you wanted North Arlington schools, you should have bought into North Arlington.

Buying a house is a long-term decision.  If you were not comfortable with the schools in your boundary, you should have looked elsewhere.  Don't blame others for your inability to research the schools in your area.  When I bought my first house in 1999, I was ok with the schools in the boundary, and didn't know if I'd be having kids in that house anyway.  Fast forward to 2008, when I had a baby and realized that the junior high and high school had gone downhill (reputation-wise) since I bought.  So I researched all the school pyramids in Fairfax, Falls Church and Arlington (plus a few in DC) and moved to North Arlington.  Yes, I paid a lot for an older, smaller, less-renovated house.  But I did so to get really good schools.  You made a different choice, now live with it and stop complaining that others are "protecting" their good schools.  If you liked your neighborhood school, you'd want your kids to be able to attend there.

Face it, the schools in South Arlington are generally considered "lesser" because they have more non-Asian minorities, more FARMS kids and more ESL kids.  This is partly because the housing in South Arlington was cheaper in the first place, but then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because the lesser reputation means the housing remains cheaper than similar housing in North Arlington.  You see this dynamic in Alexandria (both the City of and the Fairfax parts) and the parts of Falls Church that feed into Stuart and FCHS (vs. the parts that feed into George Mason) and Annandale (feeding into Annandale HS vs. Woodson.)   And you see it all across the country, not just here.

Not trying to start any wars, just saying that you need to take long-term factors like public schools into account when you buy.[/quote]

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