Reply to APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think it is ironic, if true, that they are thinking of using the Carlin Springs parcel for affordable housing.  The whole point of affordable housing is to provide an opportunity for middle class families who otherwise couldn't afford to live here.  So ostensibly it's to remedy socioeconomic stratification on some level.  But if the public schools are no longer considered a viable option by most people, we'll have an urban style school system with the uber rich, who can afford private school, and people at the other end of the spectrum who may not have many options.  Without viable, quality public schools, a whole lot of people in the middle will view Arlington as unaffordable anyway, regardless of how much affordable housing we have.  [/quote]

I support affordable housing, in principle, but not how it is implemented in Arlington. It is overwhelming NOT occupied by teachers, police, firefighters, etc. who struggle to live in the county where they work. Instead, it is mostly populated by families who make less than 25% of median income (think servers, wait staff, manual laborers, etc., which is still a-ok in my  book) that DON'T EVEN WORK IN THE COUNTY. Why are we putting so many resources to help families who a) don't currently live here, and b) don't even work here? It's crazy.[/quote]

Who is the "we" that is putting in resources here? If you have kids in schools, you are already using more in county resources than you are paying in taxes. And if you are higher income, your arrival in Arlington in the last 20 years likely contributed to the loss of market rate affordable housing (to rent or buy).[/quote]

I don't have kids in the schools, but hope to one day. I have lived in Arlington for over a decade, and hope to stay until I retire (to a lower cost of living area), so I imagine I will end up putting in more in taxes than I take out. And that is ok. That's how society, and a community, works. I also volunteer. But to answer your question, the "we" I was referring to is the county, so that would be all of us living here. Why does the county prioritize those who don't live, or work, in the county over those who do?

And no, I am not high income (maybe one day). I live in south Arlington, in an area with the most affordable housing in the entire county. As I said, I support affordable housing. I grew up poor. I know many of the families are hard-working and the children are eager to learn and do well for themselves. I like where I live, and I want my neighbors to continue to live here. But I think the means by which the county is going about adding affordable housing is detrimental, especially to the schools. Adding more high-density multi-family units means way more students, in already over-crowded schools. Over-crowding is tough enough in the high-income schools of north Arlington, but concentrating the poverty in a few schools with already high ESOL and FARM rates really compounds the difficulties. And really, as one of the richest counties in the country, Arlington can, and should, do better. Putting in more affordable housing at one of the few (only?) sites for a new high school is particularly myopic  [/quote]

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