Reply to Western High School Boundary Map options (A/B/C/D)

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Reply to "Western High School Boundary Map options (A/B/C/D)"

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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]Shocked she’s willing to move Fox Mill to Hughes, figure that’s going to cause uproar.  Makes sense from a pyramid perspective, but a bit of a last minute rug pull.[/quote]

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/VAEDUFCPS/bulletins/4002236   Meren is telling Fox Mill in boundary not to opt in.  32% of the 522 base school students on SPAs live west of the FX Cty Parkway- was on Coates boundary study. This mess should become the shining moments for the at large members.  Was Meren the stumbling block to getting form boundaries on a timely basis?  Meren as Hunter Mill rep does not address the scenario 4 Marshall Westbriar Island or her Langley/Madison feeds.

Floris and Fox Mill used to have JIP and now it's at Fox Mill, a successful program whereas Great Falls likely requires extra resources for staffing.  Adding Fox Mill to Hughes for base + any AAP doesn't work. 1011+ 152 Fox Mill=1163/1022 capacity=[b]1.14% utilization. 
[/b]
Hughes got 101 AAP from Herndon for SY2024-25. Eventually removing them and adding Fox Mill base school put Hughes at 104%.  Still too high.  Meren was the NO vote on all MS have in boundary AAP.  
  [/quote]

Meren issued a correction email.

[i]I see now that I confused advocacy regarding the Fox Mill Woods community to be the overarching advocacy regarding Fox Mill Elementary School.

I’d further like to share the input I’ve received and considered for this geographical area, from different neighborhoods in our community:

I have indeed heard residents request to keep Fox Mill Elementary School in the South Lakes pyramid, as I stated below. My goal in my communication below was to reinforce that I support Fox Mill ES remaining in the South Lakes pyramid as it currently is. If new boundaries are proposed that suggest that Fox Mill ES students go to the Western HS, I will carefully consider the recommendation and community input at that time, in the first part of 2026.

I’ve heard from the Fox Mill Woods community, which is in the Crossfield Elementary boundary. Parents here ask to keep as-is their Crossfield students already assigned to Langston Hughes MS and South Lakes HS, as per the current scenario. I believe this is where I erred in my newsletter communication, suggesting the Fox Mill Elementary School assignment into Langston. Again, I do apologize for that mistake.  [/i][/quote]

She pulled some crap like this with the Western HS, using wording that suggested the opening would be delayed and then “clarified” her position after the fact. I am not convinced she isn’t doing this on purpose. And if she is not doing it on purpose, she is really not very smart and in way over her head with this job. It’s not hard to check your own writing to make sure you are communicating clearly. [/quote]

I don’t think it’s a mistake.

The original email stated:

[i]Fox Mill Elementary School: the school should be retained in the South Lakes pyramid, [b]and split feeder remedied so students attend Langston. [/b][/i]

The current split feeder issue at Carson will be fixed/relieved if Fox Mill ES kids moved from Carson to Langston.  Fox Mill Woods kids already attend Langston so keeping them at Langston won’t fix any split feeder issue.

Fox Mill ES parents better watch out.

[/quote]

Fox Mill parents should fight to move to Western.

Apparently Meren cancelled her meeting with the FMES PTA while meeting with others. Then she sends an email that she wants FMES moved to Hughes, which doesn’t seem to be a mistake.

I know some Fox Mill parents want to stay and I myself was torn between SLHS and Western, but realize that there is a significant risk of moving to Hughes if we stay with SLHS and Meren stays in office.

We will be better with Western High. [/quote]

Honest question - why are Fox Mill parents so against Hughes when those are the kids your kids will go to high school with?[/quote] Because we should have never been rezoned to SLHS in the first place. [/quote]

Why are we still dwelling on something that happened 15+ years ago? South Lakes was MUCH different than it is now. Meren sucks [b]but there was obviously enough people who wanted to stay at South Lakes from Fox Mill that she’s recommending they stay.[/b] [/quote]

That or she is choosing to ignore the people who have contacted her asking to be moved to Western and pretending the majority wants SLHS. That’s is what annoys me about this whole thing. If they wanted to collect actual data from families at the different elementary schools, they could easily do so through a secure survey. But they don’t. They want to tell people to form groups and advocate, and speak up at meetings, and email/call, and use a stupid online tool where one person can comment 100 times, so they only have some nebulous idea of how many people within a community want a certain outcome. That allows them to do whatever they feel like doing and say “well I heard from a lot of people who wanted this”. Actual data would force them to be accountable and they don’t want that.[/quote]
There's your problem. You think your small group of less than one ES of parents' opinions matter in the boundary issue that affects all the taxpayers in the county.  It doesn't matter what you want.  What matters is what makes the most sense, optimizing FCPS dollars and effort for everyone - not just you.[/quote]

DP.  Isn’t it kind of a crap shoot whether it’s more efficient to assign Fox Mill or Crossfield to Western?  It would be better if they just made a decision sooner and stuck with it, rather than pretend there’s going to be some perfect decision that has unanimous support.

We do know what would be inefficient, which is plowing a ton of additional money into Western and then assigning both of these schools, and possibly less of the schools closest to Western, there. [/quote]
I wasn't taking a side or position either way.  Just annoyed that all these posters think what they [i]want[/i] matters.  What matters is what makes logical sense for the county now and in the future. Use facts, not arguing over how many people at each school want this or that. If what people wanted mattered then Fox Mill wouldn't have been moved to SLHS back in 2008 either.[/quote]

Yes but Michelle Reid just listens to the loudest person in the room - she has separate meetings with parents who are loud in meetings and tries to strike deals with them. I know this first hand. How do you think Western High Scenario E came about? It wasn't her team's idea, it was the RIO group's idea.[/quote]

Why would the RIO group need scenario E if they have B? [/quote]

Because Scenario E addresses the Floris issue that a lot of people were complaining about.[/quote]

The RIO group petitioned FCPS to create a new scenario to address a Floris issue? [/quote]

No. Scenario E is more like FCPS’s pathetic attempt to satisfy both RIO and Meren, two loudest voices. [/quote]

It looks like Option E is not getting any traction. The opt in application process has already started, but FCPS hasn't published any new map.

So the choice will most likely boil down to one between Crossfield and Fox Mill and Meren is going to face two headwinds: the RIO group and angry Fox Mill parents who want to move to Western.

Conversely, I think the pro Western Fox Mill parents should join the RIO group, as their interests are aligned.

[b]If the majority of the Crossfield community wants to stay and the majority of Fox Mill wants to move to the Western high, that would be a very convincing argument for Option B.[/b]

Obviously, at this point we don't know whether the RIO group represents the majority or how many Fox Mill parents want to move.  Meren has claimed that Fox Mill parents want to stay in SLHS.

But the opt-in numbers will reveal their actual preferences.

[/quote]
Again, just because the majority (your claim, no proof) [i]want[/i] something, doesn't mean it makes the most sense for FCPS and the county taxpayers.  Moving Fox Mill out of SLHS just to move Crossfield in 5 years later makes no sense.  They should put Crossfield and the Navy island at Western for the most stability in the future, and stability is what I keep hearing people claim is the most important thing to them in this whole process (when it suites their particular goals at least).[/quote]

Disagree.

Why should Crossfield parents have to move in five years if they adopt Option B?  That doesn’t make any sense.

It’s not like SLHS enrollment is going to drop below 80% if Option B is selected. We have a new school, and as a result, some schools will be below 100%. Westfield will definitely be below 90%.  Is SLHS special that it shouldn’t lose students?

Community feedback is important and should be considered to the extent that it doesn’t cost too much. Otherwise, why do we even need to provide input?

I never claimed that the majority of Crossfield parents are RIO, and most Fox Mill parents want to move.

But the opt-in numbers will show the “actual” preferences, and that information should absolutely be considered for policy decision making.

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