Reply to King Abdullah Academy Closing: FCPS Buy for HS?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The same nextdoor posters complaining (over and over again, and again and again!) about the boundary changes a few months ago, seem to be same ones up in arms about “transparency issues” with the purchase of KAA. They also appear to live in a “North Herndon” neighborhood, currently zoned for Langley. I’m sure it is just a coincidence.

I hope the purchase of KAA goes smoothly, and FCPS can successfully revamp it in time to serve the families in that area. Westfield is so far from Mcnair and Coates. How can Westfield build a thriving community when their students live so far away?  [/quote]

I don't live anywhere near "North Herndon," yet I also have questions about the transparency and funding of this school - even while I think it's a great purchase and will relieve the crowding issues many have spoken of.  As FCPS residents, are we allowed to have questions about the process, or are we just supposed to shut up and keep our mouths closed?

One thing is for certain - if this school had been purchased in any other area (such as an area where it wouldn't benefit you), you'd be questioning the process too.[/quote]

i agree. i work in a school and my kids atttend a different school. several jobs in both schools were cut due to funding. others were notified their pay is going down to make budget. how are we buying and funding a new school when there isn’t money for the current schools?[/quote]

There is a difference between capital budgets and operating budgets. They are completely separate funds.[/quote]

Haha. Like clockwork, the entitled pretend that money isn’t fungible.

Just admit that you feel you deserve the neighborhood school even if it means teacher job cuts and lower raises.

It’s better for you to just be honest about how you feel.[/quote]

The area needs the school. That has been true for 20 years, and given the distance between all the current schools, current overcrowding, and new housing development, it will likely be true for decades in the future. And this was an opportunity that wasn’t likely to come around again anytime soon. The budget is tight now, no question, but I don’t foresee that being the case for long. Buying the school in my mind therefore admittedly creates short-term problems that will be painful (and as someone who works at a school, I really feel for the teachers and everyone else affected), but it also solves a long-term problem that has been painful and would continue to be painful for a long time and can only really be solved in this one way. I think it’s worth the trade off.

I also think the points above are why it’s unlikely this is going to be a magnet school. I think given the budget shortfall, people would be rightly furious if FCPS throws money at a magnet school that isn’t necessary and no one was asking for. Whereas putting money into a neighborhood school is painful when we don’t have a lot of it right now, but it’s understandable and solves a lot of the problems that FCPS has flagged as needing to be addressed. [/quote]

I noticed you say nothing about the hundreds of seats sitting empty at Herndon. People have a high tolerance for waste when they stand to benefit, but once you get your new school will you be demanding they pinch pennies elsewhere?  [/quote]

Could you game out for me how Herndon is a long-term solution for all of the mess that is Western Fairfax? I could see it being a short-term, partial fix, but how would it fix things like split feeders or ensure that boundaries aren’t continually shifted every few years? [/quote]

DP.  The PP is just the same poster who is *dying* for a certain community to move into Herndon because she hates that particular community.  It actually has nothing at all to do with the KAA school and the communities that will be going there.[/quote]

So we spend tens of millions to expand HHS and then leave hundreds of seats empty there indefinitely?  [/quote]

Maybe those extra seats could be used for an academy or magnet program of some sort?[/quote]

What kind?  Isn’t this the sort of thing we ought to expect FCPS to figure out before it commits to big expansions or purchases?  [/quote]

You mean like their boundary study?  The purchase is good.  The rollout could certainly have been better.  Nevertheless, you want process on the one hand, they plan to use process on figuring this out.  They have said that in the articles.[/quote]

DP. If we had extra funds burning a hole in our pocket, maybe we could act with reckless abandon. But this whole thing feels like it was orchestrated while the sb was drunk at a New Orleans strip club.

Come to think of it, maybe they are buying it with McDaniel’s company credit card?[/quote]

I'd hardly call it "reckless abandon."  It was a bargain and an opportunity that could not have been predicted.  And, there is construction going on in that area that would indicate that there was competition for the site.  It would be a travesty to pass this up.  The excuse for not doing this earlier  is that they could not find a site.

In fact you could say, this is just taking its rightful place in the queue.[/quote]

DP.  You could say that, but it would be a stretch, unless you're prepared to say that any project that jumps the queue is just taking its rightful place.  [/quote]

It's a matter of need.  It's been planned longer than many things in the queue.  They just couldn't find a site.  Now, they found one at a bargain price.  Would you really think they should have ignored it?

If you needed a bigger house and one came up that was a real, honest bargain, but would not be available for long, would you not take the money you budgeted for something that could wait?  Considering that you really need that house now?[/quote]

DP. To extend your analogy, would I buy a multimillion dollar house when I was barely scraping by and half a million dollars in debt by using someone else’s money and not telling them what the house will be used for or even giving them a choice in the matter?

No I probably would not. Even if it was a good deal, but at the very least, they owe us an explanation of why it’s needed. They should be able to convince us, but the silence makes me think it is not well thought out. And I’m not convinced that we really need this house now as you assert.[/quote]

And, you would leave your kids scattered among other family members instead?  Got it.[/quote]

To extend the analogy again, I’d ask my husband whether we really need a bigger house given our situation because a 2,000 square foot house for 6 people, while tight, is by no means an emergency.

It would result in several conversations with key stakeholders where we could weigh the pros and cons of wherever the benefits outweigh the costs.

That’s what is missing here. Conversation, disclosure, and good stewardship.[/quote]

No.  Your house is 1600 and you are pregnant.[/quote]

Okay, but still not a dire enough emergency that we just need to buy it no questions asked with taxpayer funds.

I think that’s the disconnect here. There are people stating that the schools out west are teeming clown-car style, but then you look at the CIP and that doesn’t jive with the numbers. That btw, is why an explanation from FCPS would be incredibly worthwhile at this point. Explain to us why this is needed and how it betters our school system given that it is a large amount of money and there are trade-offs involved.

As those Nextdoor posts (not me) state, we are owed an explanation.[/quote]

For twenty years we have been told there is no property--but you want them to skip this bargain?  The SB does not do many things right, but this one is. Go listen to the SB meeting when they voted.  There were lots of reasons given.  You just don't want this.  [/quote]

I listened live. They spent half an hour discussing baseball field lights before this vote and two minutes patting themselves on the back for the bargain purchase, nothing more, and you really hurt your credibility by claiming otherwise.

Again, because you gloss over it every time you post: because this involves trade-offs, they owe us an explanation as to why this is needed. We get you’re happy about it, but why is it needed and what is deferred or cancelled because of the purchase?

We are owed disclosure for a 150 million dollar purchase no matter how much of a slam dunk it if, even if those in your area are excited about it.[/quote]

Nailed it.  [b]These people would be the first in line to be shitting bricks if they suddenly adjusted the CIP to spend even a fraction of this $150M in another part of the county. [/b][/quote]

DP.  Re: the bolded - can you imagine the outcry if this school had been purchased in the Tysons area to relieve Marshall/McLean?  This school may be needed, and a good thing, and a great price - but still, there should have been more transparency.  All of these things can be true.  [/quote]

What is the transparency you would like?
An announcement that they were negotiating for the school?  Gee.  What could go wrong with that?[/quote]

It’s been over two weeks since they voted and the only disclosure we’ve heard is that there are a few board members considering the space for a magnet. Gee, I’d imagine you of all people would want more disclosure about their plans for the school.[/quote]

If you had listened to the School Board meeting and the comments, I'm pretty sure you would have a better idea.  It would appear they plan to give relief to the western area.   I would think that means a "regular' high school.  
They haven't yet closed the sale, so I imagine we will hear more later.  I think that I read or heard that Reid is supposed to present a plan.

[/quote]

what about how they plan to fund operating expenses? or what is taking a back seat to an expansion/renovation since the only thing allocated for a western high school was 25 million for land. nothing for a building was in CIP for at least 5 years so there has to be a trade off. no one is saying that western fairfax doesn’t need relief and shouldn’t get the high school. but with $150 million purchase there should be more transparency about how it’s funded, what won’t happen now because they used funds for this when it wasn’t allocated in CIP. why is the school not being included in boundary review (reid said it wasn’t which makes no sense). [/quote]

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