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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Meren sent the following in her newsletter.

"Regarding boundary phasing: I advocate that phasing avoid disrupting families with siblings in secondary grades, especially regarding the transition from a middle school building to a high school building. I support phasing that allows families with a student(s) in high school and a student(s) in middle school to continue having their middle school student(s) follow into their sibling’s high school. I support such phasing for this initial implementation of the boundary review work, to ease us all into new boundaries that optimize resources and reduce split feeders among pyramids. Boundary review goals do not all have to be achieved in this first year of implementation! Furthermore, the changes that the Board adopts on January 22, 2026, cannot be a one-size-fits-all determination for this geographically huge county. There are different opinions among School Board Members about this, though, so your continued advocacy to the full Board remains important. "[/quote]

You didn’t include the more important part regarding Western HS.

[i] [b]The Superintendent has recognized that the timeline to assign students to Western’s first class for fall 2026 is too ambitious. [/b]There will be too many unanswered questions for families to comfortably prepare students for such a transition.

Second, it comes down to County permitting. It was during the October 30, first meeting of the Joint Facility Review Committee, of which I’m on, that it became clear that permitting to transition the building for a fall opening by FCPS would not be completed in the needed timeline. A key factor is completing the “2232 Process”, in a best-case scenario of five months. This is not enough time to then COMPLETE necessary structural adjustments to the facility by the fall.

Additionally, it’s become clear that the school division needs to maintain its original commitment to the comprehensive boundary review process that has been underway for over a year. The thoughtful work of the comprehensive review deserves focused attention until the planned completion when the School Board votes on January 22, on the Superintendent’s proposed changes. Also, I have seen how hard FCPS staff are working on all of these efforts, and it’s not sustainable nor optimal.

I am relieved to see a reasonable approach to opening this new public facility asset in FCPS. I understand that the Board will still vote publicly as scheduled on November 13, on the school’s “programming”, which means establishing the school as a comprehensive “traditional” high school, rather than a magnet, with a to-be-determined boundary drawn from the local geographic area. This remains aligned with FCPS’ Capital Improvement Program (CIP) long-term plan to alleviate overcrowding at Westfield, Chantilly, and Centreville High Schools. The Board’s specific meeting agendas are posted on Board Docs days prior to a meeting.

Western HS remains an exciting opportunity and new public facility asset, and a tremendous financial savings to Fairfax taxpayers. More information about the purchase of Western HS is here. [/i][/quote]

So is Meren saying that this school will not open at all until fall 2027? If so why wasn't this shared at the meeting Reid attended on Saturday? Or is she saying the permitting/construction timeline makes it impossible to anything other than an opt in type of approach? [/quote]

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