Reply to Barcroft elementary/ south Arlington crisis

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It is NIMBYism for the most part. We all value our property values. We all want to give our kids the best shot at success. But we also know that for the most part "we" are very privileged and fortunate, so much more so than many who live around here. So we support affordable housing so long as we don't see it, our property values are not impacted and our kids are not disadvantaged. It isn't a partisan issue.

And yes, arlington county has not learned from the experiences of so many other cities. Why? Because the county is run by north Arlington people. Because it is easier to cram poorer people in one area so that most of the county is the pride of economic development. Because human beings never learn from history. Because people want to say they are helping the poor as long as they don't see them. Because it is more expensive to do things right and the decisions are hard and wealthy areas push back.

The problem is that north Arlington is too expensive even for people who are making a lot of money. So those people moved to south arlington and they are not impressed with the schools. They want to invest in their homes and build their families here, but the schools are no longer diverse, they are overwhelmingly minority. And the color of other kids' skin isn't even important, it is SES. Only a few years ago scores were moing up, but now on the downturn and parents are freaking out and want change. They see the only change is lots of new buildings dedicated to affordable housing and expansion of other low rent units

It is a breaking point and the county better realize it. Or there will be "white flight" out of south arlington and that is not good for anyone.[/quote]

We are the type of family you describe (HHI of 225, priced out of n arlington, purchased a sfh, two preschoolers with k a year out). We were very enthusiastic about our elementary school when we purchased, but that has really fallen over the past few years. Not because of the diversity/minority presence, but because of the overcrowding. We are seriously considering leaving (and we would move out of state) because of the over crowding and class sizes and complete failure of the county to actively manage the issue. [/quote]

Well gosh, even though you pay your fair share of property taxes and have worked hard to afford to live in Arligton, your child doesn't have the right to a particularly great education. Not when there are so many people who can't afford to live here that we must accommodate.  Too bad for you. Oh, and shut up about it already. You are a horrible person if you want to point out that this trend isn't working out so very well for anyone.
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Beyond my better judgement, I'm going to respond to someone who's position includes the phrase "shut up."

First, I'm not sure why you say "already". While I have posted on this thread, I think my longest response has been a one sentence response. So, I'm not sure about the "already" part of your attack, but I don't think it applies to me.

Next, I never said my children have the right to a great education. I said we have the choice to stay and deal with horrible management and over crowded schools or leave. I stated that we are leaning towards leaving. The ONLY thing keeping us in the area was the educational opportunities in arlington. However, the education is only as good as the teachers. And, while I do not doubt that we have amazing teachers, they are only human. Having too many children in the classroom greatly affects the teachers ability to teach to the needs of the individual child. Plus, they get burned out. The schools we are looking at out of state have on average 16 kids per k.

I'm not sure why I'm a horrible person for pointing out that over crowding doesn't work for anyone. It doesn't. My family is in the very fortunate to have the choice to stay or leave (hence the agreement that we would fall into the white flight category. We have no family in the area and we work remotely. The scales are tipping away from the school being such a draw to stay.

Enjoy your day, pp. And try not to tell anyone to 'shut up'. It's not a great way to make friends. [/quote]

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