Reply to Let’s Talk APS High Schools: 4th one or no?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have read this whole thread, and even commented at one point. Perhaps I missed it, but I have a couple of questions:

1) Does anyone have an information on what the boundaries would look like if there was a 4th high school at CC? Arlington has strong preference for walkability. Given the density involved in parts of the county, what does this mean for the other 3 schools? While I think we need a 4th school, this seems like a recipe for segregation, worse than what we have. When I look at the map, I see some lines being drawn that would either leave out the people very close to the proposed site to balance Wakefield or taking in people N of 50 and turning Wakefield into a high FARM school, which is not a good idea.

2) Lots of people want the school to be the same. I mentioned this upthread - we're looking at a 10 story school. You can probably get the pool, but this campus will never host a football team. It's just not going to happen. I get the idea for an "urban" campus and I support that. Why are we allowing 4,000 kids onto 10 acres when every other school has 30? I know this was mentioned in terms of size, but you could build 6 more high schools of the plan proposed for the CC on the other 3 schools. What is the reasoning behind building this huge school here - are there plans do add seats on this scale at the other 3 schools? Are they giving up fields?

Please set me straight - I want to write letters and support a 4th school, but I want to support a common sense equitable solution. Right now, I mostly hear that S Arl "needs" it and it should be what everyone else has. It's high school - I sort of think there other solutions that haven't been discussed? Why not make all the schools lottery, like other areas and provide ART routes and transit subsidies.[/quote]

Hi PP, This is PP who lives in that neighborhood.  The proposed boundaries and lots of other information can be found on the APS engage site under "career center--follow the journey."  There is lots of information there including all the discussions about various options that have been discussed and a walking zone.  I'm perfectly fine with a 8 story urban high school.  There is a 8 story building right next to the CC building as is, so that would not be something new.  I agree with you re: not making Wakefield a high FARMS school.  I support drawing boundaries that would balance FARMS rates between Wakefield and the CC site.  Maybe that would be splitting south Arlington north-south rather than east-west.  The highest income parts of south Arlington are Arlington Ridge/Aurora Highlands area.  The CC working group has discussed football quite extensively at the meetings, which I've been following closely.  There's room for a practice football field, but not for a stadium.  The working group suggests that all Arlington HSs share stadiums.  That's fine with me, but don't know how other Arlington families would feel about that.  I also don't agree with a 4000+ school.  2500 (similar to WL) would be fine with me, though, so long as those kids have fields, open space, theater, gym, pool, etc.  
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This is one of the most reasonable posts I've seen about the HS situation.  Wakefield will likely end up higher FARMS under any scenario, but it will also have by far the nicest facility of any of the high schools, including the "urban" one.  APS needs to stop talking and start actually doing things.  [/quote]

Thank you. I'm late to the party and my kiddos are young, but I am wondering why these school decisions always seem so piecemeal. HS is probably the one area where you could really have meaningful change in terms of diversity and access. I remember that the civic associations around the CC volunteered the site for a 4th comprehensive, but does that mean its the best suited? What happens if its not? [/quote]

This is neighborhood PP again.  I think the thinking at that time was "let's make lemonade out of lemons."  I'm not saying it's the best site.  But, as others have noted, unless APS/AC starts taking land by eminent domain, it's the only lot its size left in Arlington (other than Kenmore).  And I understand that building on Kenmore would require taking some property by eminent domain to get egress and to widen the roads for more traffic.  I've heard that AC won't give APS a use permit to build there.  You'd have to lobby the AC board to build at Kenmore, since APS's hands are tied on that issue. [/quote]

And p.s.  If APS just throws more option seats at the CC, I don't expect them to fill up especially with no amenities (even HB has a field, strong arts program with theater etc., which CC would not have).  The 3 comprehensive HSs will just have more trailers, and 5-10 years from now, we'll start this process all over again and spend even more money :)

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