Reply to FCPS is turning the new high school purchased to fix crowding into an Aviation magnet school instead of a high school??

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Reply to "FCPS is turning the new high school purchased to fix crowding into an Aviation magnet school instead of a high school??"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]All this ridiculous sniping back and forth and what I want to know is:  why was an aviation academy even suggested?  Seems like a completely frivolous idea that NO ONE wants or needs and is the very antithesis of a neighborhood school providing relief for that area.  I feel like someone suggested it (one of the idiot SB members) and everyone's fighting over it.  It should never have been suggested.

And btw - I live nowhere near this area, so a new western high school won't affect my kids at all.  Just chiming in as a FC resident that the idea of a "specialty school" where none is needed is totally absurd.  Right up there with the Lewis "leadership academy".[/quote]

[b]It seems to have gotten some traction because of concerns that the KAA building is not large enough or currently configured to support a traditional high school with a normal enrollment, at least not without a big additional investment. [/b]

They were in a big hurry to acquire this property so perhaps their due diligence was less than should have been undertaken.

The Lewis program is a different animal because they were trying to attract more students to a school that, while on the smaller end, has an adequate facility to support a traditional HS. [/quote]
No one at the school board has said this.  Only some NextDoor posters and their alter egos on here are trying to push this narrative.[/quote]
DP, you should go watch last week’s work session before you make a claim about why some school board members think the school should be a magnet/academy. Because they do think the configuration is a big issue. I think many actually think an academy or magnet is genuinely a good idea too.
[/quote]

What does staff do?  No plan at all for how to  make the space work?
Lady's comment was that she did not want to destroy those "beautiful small spaces" or something like that.  This after she praised the purchase the night they voted because Chantilly needs relief.

What happened in the meantime?  She has talked in the past about how Chantilly took every space--closets included and used it in some way.  Why not the same at KAA?

The school was built for 1300--certainly it could be adjusted for more--and there are additional buildings available that could easily be utilized for additional space or an academy later.
But, our School Board likes the "extras"  not the "basics."[/quote]

It sounds like staff was just told initially to find a way to buy the building.  Then the School Board was told it was beautiful and heard about all the special amenities. They got stars in their eyes.

Only later did they come to earth and focus on the fact that it wasn’t constructed as a public 9-12 school.  It was built to hold a maximum 1230 K-12 kids, not 1300 or more high school kids.

So they have to figure out whether to use it for a smaller magnet or tell the public they actually need to spend many millions more to modify and expand the school and outside facilities so it can be a traditional HS.

These aren’t people who’ve shown any ability to approach a challenge of any sort and come up with sensible solutions.  So they are floundering.  They are already wasting $85 million on Dunn Loring, and now it looks like they may have dug themselves into a hole with KAA. They’ll piss people off if they make it a magnet and they’ll piss off others if they end up having to plow many millions more into the school before it can open as a traditional school.  They’ve told others for years there was no money for their schools yet KAA could suck up a large percentage of the capital budget for years.

And we haven’t even started to consider the reaction if it opens as a traditional high school and, due to its small size, can’t offer the same breadth of courses and electives as Oakton or Chantilly.

With a stronger superintendent and better School Board we’d have people who can plan appropriately, develop a sound business case for a major expenditure, commit to a clear vision for a new school, and communicate with transparency to the public.  Sadly, all this is lacking. [/quote]

Well said!  All of this.[/quote]

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