Reply to Contingency Plans in FCCPS for Mt. Daniel?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The MD school plans have been in the works for over 2 years.  The current school is 100+ students over capacity, no longer has a library or music room b/c they are now classrooms, and is in complete violation of the ADA laws and other safety laws, including lacking sprinklers for fires.  The school is very committed to reducing street traffic and now staggers classroom events, instructs people not to park on Oak (which is still a public street btw), and bus families in for any community event while closing off the street to anyone that doesn't live there.  I don't understand why neighbors waited until the 11th hour to object to the renovation.  The school was there when they bought on Oak Street.  [/quote]

The area already feels like it's under occupation during Mt. D. school events (they aren't really "community events" as they aren't held for members of the local community or their children), FCC made little effort to engage with the local residents (they consulted primarily with FCC residents and then hired consultants to lobby Fairfax County zoning officials), and people are only now realizing how things would change for the worse if the school's footprint is significantly expanded.  You didn't mention that the only way in and out of the school is on a single county street, as FCC previously blocked off access to the school from a FCC street to limit traffic in the FCC neighborhood.

There will be no zoning committee decision until this fall, after the 2015-16 school year has started, so FC residents should make their opposition known now and FCCPS should continue to explore other options within FCC limits.  Fairfax already agreed to give FCC more land as part of the water deal, so why can't a new school be built on that site?  FCC wants to tout the advantages of a small city, but impose the externalities of a big suburban-style school entirely on county residents. [/quote]

The vast majority of community-building events for elementary aged kids in Falls Church have to take place at TJ because the Mt. Daniel neighbors are so unpleasant. Once Mt. Daniel is renovated and expanded, the neighbors are welcome to come to the school for events ... International Night, Book Fair, etc. For the time being, there aren't any.[/quote]

If FCCPS parents feel unwelcome now, how do you think it's going to be if you expand the school's footprint even more and start adding more grades to the school?   If you stuck TJ in a FCC location similar to Mt. Daniel's, as opposed to TJ's less congested and more accessble location between two major roads, people in FCC wouldn't be thrilled.  But apparently FCC thinks it's appropriate to impose such inconvenience only on county residents. [/quote]

The footprint is getting smaller and set further back from the Oak Street neighbors. Total square footage is going up, but the footprint will be smaller.

I empathized with the neighbors for a while when I saw how some Mt. Daniel parents flew up and down Oak. But when a nasty neighbor sprayed my nervous kindergartener with a garden hose on her way into her first day of school, I lost all willingness to be civil. These neighbors aren't nice people.[/quote]

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