Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't gone to Meren's page today, but here were a handful of complaints from non Fox Mill parents whose school is South Lakes. Some of them love IB. One suggested that they always have the option to PP at Herndon for AP.

Some people think that everyone is able to provide daily transportation for their kids.

Ironically, there was a woman on Nextdoor last fall trying to find transport for her Herndon High assigned kid to go to South Lakes. It was a lengthy post with lots of responses.
Pupil placing is not easy for everyone.

I've been surprised that Meren did not step in sooner. That is why I always thought this would be a problem.
Good luck, Fox Mill!

Meren is asleep at the switch and she will just vote against the final proposal and play the victim while blaming everyone else. It’s pathetic actually.

She has already tossed her hat in the ring for School Board election 2027. She may want to keep her Fox Mill constiuents happy--she also has McNair, some Coates, and some Floris who will be happy.

Her strong supporters for IB South Lakes will vote for her anyway.

It's a little too late for Melanie, she's not going to be able to stop Fox Mill from moving.

Anonymous wrote:I haven't gone to Meren's page today, but here were a handful of complaints from non Fox Mill parents whose school is South Lakes. Some of them love IB. One suggested that they always have the option to PP at Herndon for AP.

Some people think that everyone is able to provide daily transportation for their kids.

Ironically, there was a woman on Nextdoor last fall trying to find transport for her Herndon High assigned kid to go to South Lakes. It was a lengthy post with lots of responses.
Pupil placing is not easy for everyone.

I've been surprised that Meren did not step in sooner. That is why I always thought this would be a problem.
Good luck, Fox Mill!

Meren is asleep at the switch and she will just vote against the final proposal and play the victim while blaming everyone else. It’s pathetic actually.

Seema Dixit doesn't seem to consider the Westfield community as her constituents.

I haven't gone to Meren's page today, but here were a handful of complaints from non Fox Mill parents whose school is South Lakes. Some of them love IB. One suggested that they always have the option to PP at Herndon for AP.

Some people think that everyone is able to provide daily transportation for their kids.

Ironically, there was a woman on Nextdoor last fall trying to find transport for her Herndon High assigned kid to go to South Lakes. It was a lengthy post with lots of responses.
Pupil placing is not easy for everyone.

I've been surprised that Meren did not step in sooner. That is why I always thought this would be a problem.
Good luck, Fox Mill!

Anonymous wrote:There was historically some deference to what a local School Board members wanted with respect to kids and schools in their district when it came to boundaries, but that deference wasn't always paid (for example, the School Board redistricted Annandale in 2011 over the objections of the then-Mason District member and eliminated a Woodson attendance island a couple of years later over the objections of the then-Braddock District member) and Meren doesn't have much influence on the current Board.

She can gather anecdotes and then complain about what Reid recommends or the majority on the Board approve, but the ruling bloc (Sandy Anderson, Dannan, Dixit, Frisch, Lady, McDaniel, St. John-Cunning) can and will ignore her if they choose.

Having been through a redistricting where our district SB member preferred moving my community over another one, I recommend this:
contact all school board members and state very clearly why it is best for you to go there. Give objective and specific reasons.

Ultimately, the SB went with our argument over the one our district SB member supported. But, our argument was the more valid one. We gave specific reasons that were not based on emotion.

But, generally the district SB member calls the shots.

Meren may argue for something out of the ordinary. No clue what that would be. She should have jumped on board earlier and argued for Crossfield. Maybe, Seema doesn't want to offend Crossfield/Oakton constituents.

What she needs to remember is that Centreville, Chantilly, Westfield, and Skyview are all her schools that her constuents attend. It is her job to take care of all of them appropriately while keeping constituents happy.

Anonymous wrote:Where are these Meren posts? I don’t see any on her FB page

One on her facebook page, it is under a few other posts now. One on the Reston Herndon Community Page.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The few posts I have seen on Meren’s page point to the Crossfield families going to SLHS as approving of that choice, I think that they might already go there.

The rest of the Crossfield break is 100% because the school is very divided on where they want to go.

Right. If they had just made Scenario 1 where all of Crossfield goes to Carson-Skyview, the reaction would be very different. It's almost like someone has a contact in Gatehouse and suggested this as a way to get a united pro-Oakton front!! Hm....

Maybe.

Honestly I think there are more pro–Oakton Crossfield families than pro–Carson/Skyview families, but it doesn't matter. The RIO won.

They were very transparent about moving to Franklin. They created the website and started the petition at the very early stage. Pro–Oakton parents were well represented at every meeting I attended, outnumbering pro–Skyview parents by at least 4 to 1.

All the pro–Skyview parents did was complain on this board.

Well that's probably not entirely true. I guess they contacted the school board and left comments too.

But from day one they lost the PR battle and never recovered.

100% this. You can't beat a PR machine with a lobbyist on staff and a contact in Gatehouse.

Where are these Meren posts? I don’t see any on her FB page

Anonymous wrote:Meren facebook page update:

Both scenarios move Fox Mill Estates, out of the South Lakes pyramid and into Carson MS and Skyview. This is a new proposal and I'm eager to hear thoughts from the community.

Watch out, Fox Mill parents.

Meren may have something up her sleeve.

She started a second post after the first post was too pro-moving Fox Mill.

There was historically some deference to what a local School Board members wanted with respect to kids and schools in their district when it came to boundaries, but that deference wasn't always paid (for example, the School Board redistricted Annandale in 2011 over the objections of the then-Mason District member and eliminated a Woodson attendance island a couple of years later over the objections of the then-Braddock District member) and Meren doesn't have much influence on the current Board.

She can gather anecdotes and then complain about what Reid recommends or the majority on the Board approve, but the ruling bloc (Sandy Anderson, Dannan, Dixit, Frisch, Lady, McDaniel, St. John-Cunning) can and will ignore her if they choose.

Meren facebook page update:

Both scenarios move Fox Mill Estates, out of the South Lakes pyramid and into Carson MS and Skyview. This is a new proposal and I'm eager to hear thoughts from the community.

Watch out, Fox Mill parents.

Meren may have something up her sleeve.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The few posts I have seen on Meren’s page point to the Crossfield families going to SLHS as approving of that choice, I think that they might already go there.

The rest of the Crossfield break is 100% because the school is very divided on where they want to go.

Right. If they had just made Scenario 1 where all of Crossfield goes to Carson-Skyview, the reaction would be very different. It's almost like someone has a contact in Gatehouse and suggested this as a way to get a united pro-Oakton front!! Hm....

Maybe.

Honestly I think there are more pro–Oakton Crossfield families than pro–Carson/Skyview families, but it doesn't matter. The RIO won.

They were very transparent about moving to Franklin. They created the website and started the petition at the very early stage. Pro–Oakton parents were well represented at every meeting I attended, outnumbering pro–Skyview parents by at least 4 to 1.

All the pro–Skyview parents did was complain on this board.

Well that's probably not entirely true. I guess they contacted the school board and left comments too.

But from day one they lost the PR battle and never recovered.

Looking at the numbers, Skyview would have more kids if Crossfield rather than Fox Mill fed into it, but Skyview will be fine with Coates, McNair, Floris, Oak Hill, Fox Mill and pupil placements for AP and/or Pathways.

I think the mindset of the RIO/Oakton families, like the Langley families who serve as their inspiration, is to fight each battle one at a time. In other words, achieve your immediate objective and worry about what may come next later.

Even so, at least some Crossfield families will be left wondering whether they've avoided AP Skyview just to end up reassigned to IB South Lakes in 2030. And at least some would have liked to have resolved things now rather than deal with the uncertainty.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't bother trying to reason with an Oakton/RIO mom. Some of their clique is nice, but for the most part, they're a nightmare.

One of the most vocal posters here is a Langley poster trying to defend the proposition that long commutes to schools are fine and should not be disturbed for any reason. If the School Board says eliminating the long commute of Crossfield kids to Oakton should be a priority, they view that as a personal threat since kids travel even longer distances to Langley.

It would be nice if they’d just let FCPS do the work for Skyview that needs to occur, but they think they are holding down the fort.

Grumble grumble.

Like clockwork…. Communting time to Langley is mentioned, and “Grumble Grumble Lady” has to make an appearance. A bit defensive, worried, concerned? Why worry, if the far out Langley families have all the right reasons stay put?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The few posts I have seen on Meren’s page point to the Crossfield families going to SLHS as approving of that choice, I think that they might already go there.

The rest of the Crossfield break is 100% because the school is very divided on where they want to go.

Right. If they had just made Scenario 1 where all of Crossfield goes to Carson-Skyview, the reaction would be very different. It's almost like someone has a contact in Gatehouse and suggested this as a way to get a united pro-Oakton front!! Hm....

Maybe.

Honestly I think there are more pro–Oakton Crossfield families than pro–Carson/Skyview families, but it doesn't matter. The RIO won.

They were very transparent about moving to Franklin. They created the website and started the petition at the very early stage. Pro–Oakton parents were well represented at every meeting I attended, outnumbering pro–Skyview parents by at least 4 to 1.

All the pro–Skyview parents did was complain on this board.

Well that's probably not entirely true. I guess they contacted the school board and left comments too.

But from day one they lost the PR battle and never recovered.