Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that they will start it as a regular high school, but add an Aviation or Aerospace-focused Academy as part of the school. They will spend 2-3 years renovating one of the extra buildings to bring in specialized equipment/labs for the academy. That will also give them time to hire the right people.

Here's the academic sequence for students at Raisbeck Aviation HS near Seattle. The school has slightly over 400 students, so it is feasible to have such a program in a building that's built for fewer students than a typical FCPS high school.

https://rahs.highlineschools.org/academics/course-offerings

No.

Not possible.

They didn't follow the proper processes to do this.

The money they spent was money allocated for a new general high school to ease overcrowding through the normal bond process.

It was NOT allocated for a magnet school available to only a few students.

FCPS is cutting money right and left from other students. Most teachers are teaching classes of 30-35 students per year. Many high school teachers have a student load well in excess of 150-180 students per teacher.

If they want a magnet school, then go through the normal bond process.

Do not steal money from the rest of the county meant to relieve overcrowding to fund a vanity project with possible kickbacks or benefits to school board members working in that industry.

I don’t feel strongly about this school, but you mislead when you say they bought it with money allocated to overcrowding. They haven’t disclosed anything about where the money came from.

You can argue why you think the school should be a traditional one, but you hurt your credibility with the argument above.

The money came from a bond that was passed by the voters to build a new high school to relieve overcrowding.

Never in the bond process did FCPS present to voters of Fairfax County that the bond money would be repurposed from a necessary high school to relieve overcrowding to a frivolous vanity project magnet that is only available to a handful of students and does not do anything to relieve overcrowding.

Can you link to the bond material because a quick search of the 2023 referendum material doesn’t support your claim. What am I missing?

Not either PP here, but it really does not matter. If you make it a magnet it does not resolve the overcrowding problem in the area. They honestly do need the school to relieve the overcrowding. If it has to be a smaller school, so be it. There is room for expansion if budgets change. And, certainly, those two additional buildings could support classrooms easily and cheaply. I did a google search, they should be able to get a minimum of twenty classrooms in each of those buildings. Likely more. Anyone who says this would not work has not driven over there. It is basically a private drive.

I’m sorry, but you’re trying to move the goalposts. The point made regarding bonds by the original poster, and made multiple times before that, is that the bond disallows the school to be used as a magnet. That doesn’t comport with my reading of the bond referendum materials, but I’m offering that poster a chance to point out the materials and explain why I’m wrong.

Otherwise, your side loses a lot of credibility here, trying to argue the law/rules don’t allow for the magnet school. It’s never a good look to lie.

Also, never a good look to call others liars just because their interpretation is different from yours. Again, you can disagree about bonds, but this area needs a traditional high school. The schools are overcrowded and/or too crowded. Magnet will not help our students.

Don’t be ridiculous. Prior poster’s verbatim statement from up thread:

“They didn't follow the proper processes to do this.

The money they spent was money allocated for a new general high school to ease overcrowding through the normal bond process.

It was NOT allocated for a magnet school available to only a few students.”

You’re caught trying to mislead us yet again. It hurts your credibility, and we still haven’t seen that link to the bond materials.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Your concern for other’s kids being on the bus for too long has always been just a really absurd argument. Families would get to decide whether they want that bus ride or not. The kids on buses argument when families have decided on house and school has never been compelling.

Tell us where you live without telling us where you live.

How are families getting to decide? THRU is proposing sending more kids in the KAA area on long bus rides. They purchased their houses knowing they were very close to their school and now FCPS is suggesting very long bus rides.

The THRU proposal is like 2 streets, I assume you live on one of them. Everyone else who has been zoned to Westfield and Oakton for years has no ground to complain about the bus ride, since they knew that going into the rent/purchase.

Yes and parents zoned ANYWHERE have known since they bought their homes that TJ was their only STEM magnet option. So what's your point?

I'm not interested in TJ due to the bus ride. You know what else I'm not interested in? Oakton due to the bus ride. I didn't like it to the point that I purchased elsewhere. You chose to continue with the purchase anyway so that's on you. It gets old to keep hearing you complain about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that they will start it as a regular high school, but add an Aviation or Aerospace-focused Academy as part of the school. They will spend 2-3 years renovating one of the extra buildings to bring in specialized equipment/labs for the academy. That will also give them time to hire the right people.

Here's the academic sequence for students at Raisbeck Aviation HS near Seattle. The school has slightly over 400 students, so it is feasible to have such a program in a building that's built for fewer students than a typical FCPS high school.

https://rahs.highlineschools.org/academics/course-offerings

No.

Not possible.

They didn't follow the proper processes to do this.

The money they spent was money allocated for a new general high school to ease overcrowding through the normal bond process.

It was NOT allocated for a magnet school available to only a few students.

FCPS is cutting money right and left from other students. Most teachers are teaching classes of 30-35 students per year. Many high school teachers have a student load well in excess of 150-180 students per teacher.

If they want a magnet school, then go through the normal bond process.

Do not steal money from the rest of the county meant to relieve overcrowding to fund a vanity project with possible kickbacks or benefits to school board members working in that industry.

I don’t feel strongly about this school, but you mislead when you say they bought it with money allocated to overcrowding. They haven’t disclosed anything about where the money came from.

You can argue why you think the school should be a traditional one, but you hurt your credibility with the argument above.

The money came from a bond that was passed by the voters to build a new high school to relieve overcrowding.

Never in the bond process did FCPS present to voters of Fairfax County that the bond money would be repurposed from a necessary high school to relieve overcrowding to a frivolous vanity project magnet that is only available to a handful of students and does not do anything to relieve overcrowding.

Can you link to the bond material because a quick search of the 2023 referendum material doesn’t support your claim. What am I missing?

Not either PP here, but it really does not matter. If you make it a magnet it does not resolve the overcrowding problem in the area. They honestly do need the school to relieve the overcrowding. If it has to be a smaller school, so be it. There is room for expansion if budgets change. And, certainly, those two additional buildings could support classrooms easily and cheaply. I did a google search, they should be able to get a minimum of twenty classrooms in each of those buildings. Likely more. Anyone who says this would not work has not driven over there. It is basically a private drive.

I’m sorry, but you’re trying to move the goalposts. The point made regarding bonds by the original poster, and made multiple times before that, is that the bond disallows the school to be used as a magnet. That doesn’t comport with my reading of the bond referendum materials, but I’m offering that poster a chance to point out the materials and explain why I’m wrong.

Otherwise, your side loses a lot of credibility here, trying to argue the law/rules don’t allow for the magnet school. It’s never a good look to lie.

The argument isn't that the law/rules don't allow a magnet. The argument is that nowhere in any bond or plan was a magnet ever mentioned. No one ever voted on adding a magnet school. It is as much a misappropriation of funds as the diversion of funds to Dunn Loring that should have been used to build the Blake Lane school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that they will start it as a regular high school, but add an Aviation or Aerospace-focused Academy as part of the school. They will spend 2-3 years renovating one of the extra buildings to bring in specialized equipment/labs for the academy. That will also give them time to hire the right people.

Here's the academic sequence for students at Raisbeck Aviation HS near Seattle. The school has slightly over 400 students, so it is feasible to have such a program in a building that's built for fewer students than a typical FCPS high school.

https://rahs.highlineschools.org/academics/course-offerings

No.

Not possible.

They didn't follow the proper processes to do this.

The money they spent was money allocated for a new general high school to ease overcrowding through the normal bond process.

It was NOT allocated for a magnet school available to only a few students.

FCPS is cutting money right and left from other students. Most teachers are teaching classes of 30-35 students per year. Many high school teachers have a student load well in excess of 150-180 students per teacher.

If they want a magnet school, then go through the normal bond process.

Do not steal money from the rest of the county meant to relieve overcrowding to fund a vanity project with possible kickbacks or benefits to school board members working in that industry.

I don’t feel strongly about this school, but you mislead when you say they bought it with money allocated to overcrowding. They haven’t disclosed anything about where the money came from.

You can argue why you think the school should be a traditional one, but you hurt your credibility with the argument above.

The money came from a bond that was passed by the voters to build a new high school to relieve overcrowding.

Never in the bond process did FCPS present to voters of Fairfax County that the bond money would be repurposed from a necessary high school to relieve overcrowding to a frivolous vanity project magnet that is only available to a handful of students and does not do anything to relieve overcrowding.

Can you link to the bond material because a quick search of the 2023 referendum material doesn’t support your claim. What am I missing?

Not either PP here, but it really does not matter. If you make it a magnet it does not resolve the overcrowding problem in the area. They honestly do need the school to relieve the overcrowding. If it has to be a smaller school, so be it. There is room for expansion if budgets change. And, certainly, those two additional buildings could support classrooms easily and cheaply. I did a google search, they should be able to get a minimum of twenty classrooms in each of those buildings. Likely more. Anyone who says this would not work has not driven over there. It is basically a private drive.

I’m sorry, but you’re trying to move the goalposts. The point made regarding bonds by the original poster, and made multiple times before that, is that the bond disallows the school to be used as a magnet. That doesn’t comport with my reading of the bond referendum materials, but I’m offering that poster a chance to point out the materials and explain why I’m wrong.

Otherwise, your side loses a lot of credibility here, trying to argue the law/rules don’t allow for the magnet school. It’s never a good look to lie.

Also, never a good look to call others liars just because their interpretation is different from yours. Again, you can disagree about bonds, but this area needs a traditional high school. The schools are overcrowded and/or too crowded. Magnet will not help our students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that they will start it as a regular high school, but add an Aviation or Aerospace-focused Academy as part of the school. They will spend 2-3 years renovating one of the extra buildings to bring in specialized equipment/labs for the academy. That will also give them time to hire the right people.

Here's the academic sequence for students at Raisbeck Aviation HS near Seattle. The school has slightly over 400 students, so it is feasible to have such a program in a building that's built for fewer students than a typical FCPS high school.

https://rahs.highlineschools.org/academics/course-offerings

No.

Not possible.

They didn't follow the proper processes to do this.

The money they spent was money allocated for a new general high school to ease overcrowding through the normal bond process.

It was NOT allocated for a magnet school available to only a few students.

FCPS is cutting money right and left from other students. Most teachers are teaching classes of 30-35 students per year. Many high school teachers have a student load well in excess of 150-180 students per teacher.

If they want a magnet school, then go through the normal bond process.

Do not steal money from the rest of the county meant to relieve overcrowding to fund a vanity project with possible kickbacks or benefits to school board members working in that industry.

I don’t feel strongly about this school, but you mislead when you say they bought it with money allocated to overcrowding. They haven’t disclosed anything about where the money came from.

You can argue why you think the school should be a traditional one, but you hurt your credibility with the argument above.

The money came from a bond that was passed by the voters to build a new high school to relieve overcrowding.

Never in the bond process did FCPS present to voters of Fairfax County that the bond money would be repurposed from a necessary high school to relieve overcrowding to a frivolous vanity project magnet that is only available to a handful of students and does not do anything to relieve overcrowding.

Can you link to the bond material because a quick search of the 2023 referendum material doesn’t support your claim. What am I missing?

Not either PP here, but it really does not matter. If you make it a magnet it does not resolve the overcrowding problem in the area. They honestly do need the school to relieve the overcrowding. If it has to be a smaller school, so be it. There is room for expansion if budgets change. And, certainly, those two additional buildings could support classrooms easily and cheaply. I did a google search, they should be able to get a minimum of twenty classrooms in each of those buildings. Likely more. Anyone who says this would not work has not driven over there. It is basically a private drive.

I’m sorry, but you’re trying to move the goalposts. The point made regarding bonds by the original poster, and made multiple times before that, is that the bond disallows the school to be used as a magnet. That doesn’t comport with my reading of the bond referendum materials, but I’m offering that poster a chance to point out the materials and explain why I’m wrong.

Otherwise, your side loses a lot of credibility here, trying to argue the law/rules don’t allow for the magnet school. It’s never a good look to lie.

Anonymous wrote:

As for overcrowding, FCPS projected that by 2029, Herndon will be at 69%, Chantilly at 98%, Westfield at 94%, Oakton at 94%, and Centreville at 69% (although the Centreville percentage is based on an expansion that's been held up). South Lakes would be at 100%, but that's full capacity, not overcrowded. The only school that FCPS projected would be acutely overcrowded by 2029 was West Springfield, which is nowhere near KAA, at 120%.

And, FCPS had done a dismal job at projections. I hope they are correct, but anything above 90% is a risky guess that we will be having another study in a couple of years.

Are they counting all the new construction? You can mock it, but itis going on. I doubt it is included.

New construction can add students, and FCPS includes it in their forecasts once a developer has broken ground, but a school can still lose kids if other neighborhoods are yielding fewer kids. We know that Coates saw a lot of enrollment growth, but FCPS was projecting enrollment losses at many other schools in the area over the coming years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that they will start it as a regular high school, but add an Aviation or Aerospace-focused Academy as part of the school. They will spend 2-3 years renovating one of the extra buildings to bring in specialized equipment/labs for the academy. That will also give them time to hire the right people.

Here's the academic sequence for students at Raisbeck Aviation HS near Seattle. The school has slightly over 400 students, so it is feasible to have such a program in a building that's built for fewer students than a typical FCPS high school.

https://rahs.highlineschools.org/academics/course-offerings

No.

Not possible.

They didn't follow the proper processes to do this.

The money they spent was money allocated for a new general high school to ease overcrowding through the normal bond process.

It was NOT allocated for a magnet school available to only a few students.

FCPS is cutting money right and left from other students. Most teachers are teaching classes of 30-35 students per year. Many high school teachers have a student load well in excess of 150-180 students per teacher.

If they want a magnet school, then go through the normal bond process.

Do not steal money from the rest of the county meant to relieve overcrowding to fund a vanity project with possible kickbacks or benefits to school board members working in that industry.

I don’t feel strongly about this school, but you mislead when you say they bought it with money allocated to overcrowding. They haven’t disclosed anything about where the money came from.

You can argue why you think the school should be a traditional one, but you hurt your credibility with the argument above.

Money to buy land and build a western HS to address overcrowding has been in the CIP for over a decade. You keep arguing that only the land portion was "funded," but regardless all of it was planned to happen. There was never any such plan to spend money on a magnet. That never made it into any bond proposals. It was never voted on.

I don’t “keep arguing” about anything, since I haven’t previously weighted in on this. The disclosure in the last bond was that they would spend money (13.5 million I believe) for acquisition of a school site. So, if you want to argue semantics, they were 136 million above what the bond discussed. However, they have wiggle room in how their bond funds are used.

What I hear you arguing is that the CIP has contemplated a future western high school, but so what? That’s not a document that binds the school system in any way whatsoever.

I also think you keep glossing over an inconvenient fact, which is that a magnet school would alleviate overcrowding in the area, just not the particular way that you want it alleviated.

Again, I don’t feel strongly about how this school is used, and I think both the traditionalists and the magnets have compelling arguments, but your argument about disclosures in bond documents is not one.

The school system exists to educate the students. I would assume this includes providing spaces for education to occur.
Chantilly has 3000 students and new construction in its boundaries.
Westfield has 2700 and lots of new construction in its boundaries.
Centreville has around 2400 with modulars and trailers, I think?

There are plans to expand Centreville to 3000. They do not even yet have the permits to build.

The need is now. This new school can alleviate the overcrowding--and, hopefully, solve it. It may not be a large school, but it can be made to work.

If not, you are going to have to bus a lot more kids cross county--and we need a lot more buses and bus drivers. We are already short on both. And, buses and bus drivers also cost money.
And, you will be busing kids who likely will not be able to participate in extra-curricular activities because of the distance. More students spending an hour and a half or so on a school bus-rather than doing homework or participating in activities at their school.

I just do not understand why people cannot understand the difference between want and need.

I just do not understand what makes your “wants” into the collective’s “needs”. Sure one way to alleviate overcrowding is with a traditional high school. Another way to alleviate overcrowding is with a magnet or a split magnet/traditional. You can’t just pretend that the traditional alleviates overcrowding in the area and that the other options would do nothing to alleviate crowding, though of course that depends on the actual details.

The bus cost thing is a red herring. I’m just not seeing how adding a bus or two results in significant additional costs. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to some other costs for the school system. You seem to be fine with a rushed $150 million purchase then complain about how we can’t add a couple hundred thousand dollars in bus routes (if that even) to the budget. It’s like rushing to buy a Lamborghini and then complain about the cost of a gas change for it.

If they want a magnet, FCPS needs to put it up to a taxpayer vote, just like any other bond

There is no money available for or allocated to a fancy new magnet school that will cost millions more taxpayer dollars to launch.

You know, our schools are all understaffed due to overcrowding. This magnet school vanity project does not address this issue. It makes it worse because we can almost guarantee that the magnet classes will have a much lower teacher to student ratio than the 35:1 all the regular classes have this year (or roughly 170:1 that the high school teachers have this year)

kids in FCPS who do not qualify for free lunch have to pay around $50.00-$100.00 fee to take art or music classes in the FCPS middle in high schools. Our district has a 4 BILLION dollar budget, yet non rich and non farms kids cannot afford to take music or art classes because FCPS won't pay for their art supplies or music licensing. Yet they want to create an expensive magnet school out of thin air for a handful of students (400 magnet students is roughly 100 out of 14,000 students per each grade, serving less than 1% of high school students, 0.7% of high school students to be exact), when the rest of the students cannot get the basics like a freshman choir or band class without their parents putting up an $100.00 extra dollars??

A magnet school that will cost tens of millions of dollars to create, serving only 400 of the roughly 60,000 high school students, less than 1% of FCPS high school students, is an obscene waste of taxpayer funds, especially when in spite of a 4 BILLION dollar budget we are cutting everywhere, asking teachers to teach the max number of students allowed by the state formula, cutting special ed programs for older students, cutting crossing guards, not paying teachers what was agreed upon, cutting middle school programs, and more. Yet FCPS wants to blow millions of dollars on 400 high school students, without a taxpayer vote and with no transparency?

No. This is not right.

This is not what the money was allocated for.

Earlier bond documents and CIPs referred to a new elementary school in Fairfax or Oakton, and then the two-term School Board Chair, Karl Frisch, got that money reallocated to a school in Dunn Loring instead.

If you think their CIP plans are set in stone (which, of course, is not the case since the plans in place prior to the KAA purchase didn't even call for construction to begin until 2034), then you haven't been paying attention.

As for overcrowding, FCPS projected that by 2029, Herndon will be at 69%, Chantilly at 98%, Westfield at 94%, Oakton at 94%, and Centreville at 69% (although the Centreville percentage is based on an expansion that's been held up). South Lakes would be at 100%, but that's full capacity, not overcrowded. The only school that FCPS projected would be acutely overcrowded by 2029 was West Springfield, which is nowhere near KAA, at 120%.

And, FCPS had done a dismal job at projections. I hope they are correct, but anything above 90% is a risky guess that we will be having another study in a couple of years.

Are they counting all the new construction? You can mock it, but itis going on. I doubt it is included.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that they will start it as a regular high school, but add an Aviation or Aerospace-focused Academy as part of the school. They will spend 2-3 years renovating one of the extra buildings to bring in specialized equipment/labs for the academy. That will also give them time to hire the right people.

Here's the academic sequence for students at Raisbeck Aviation HS near Seattle. The school has slightly over 400 students, so it is feasible to have such a program in a building that's built for fewer students than a typical FCPS high school.

https://rahs.highlineschools.org/academics/course-offerings

No.

Not possible.

They didn't follow the proper processes to do this.

The money they spent was money allocated for a new general high school to ease overcrowding through the normal bond process.

It was NOT allocated for a magnet school available to only a few students.

FCPS is cutting money right and left from other students. Most teachers are teaching classes of 30-35 students per year. Many high school teachers have a student load well in excess of 150-180 students per teacher.

If they want a magnet school, then go through the normal bond process.

Do not steal money from the rest of the county meant to relieve overcrowding to fund a vanity project with possible kickbacks or benefits to school board members working in that industry.

I don’t feel strongly about this school, but you mislead when you say they bought it with money allocated to overcrowding. They haven’t disclosed anything about where the money came from.

You can argue why you think the school should be a traditional one, but you hurt your credibility with the argument above.

The money came from a bond that was passed by the voters to build a new high school to relieve overcrowding.

Never in the bond process did FCPS present to voters of Fairfax County that the bond money would be repurposed from a necessary high school to relieve overcrowding to a frivolous vanity project magnet that is only available to a handful of students and does not do anything to relieve overcrowding.

Only $25 million for land acquisition had been funded through the 2023 bond referendum, so you're talking out of both sides of your mouth. You're claiming it was fine for them to lay claim to other money that had been earmarked for other projects to pay for a $150 million acquisition that's now closed, but then you're saying the school has to be a neighborhood school. A speclalized program isn't a "frivolous vanity project" if it's what the KAA property best supports.

As for overcrowding, FCPS projected that by 2029, Herndon will be at 69%, Chantilly at 98%, Westfield at 94%, Oakton at 94%, and Centreville at 69% (although the Centreville percentage is based on an expansion that's been held up). South Lakes would be at 100%, but that's full capacity, not overcrowded. The only school that FCPS projected would be acutely overcrowded by 2029 was West Springfield, which is nowhere near KAA, at 120%.

Further, these projections were developed before the current Administration cracked down on undocumented immigrants, which is leading by both forced and unforced departures from NoVa.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that they will start it as a regular high school, but add an Aviation or Aerospace-focused Academy as part of the school. They will spend 2-3 years renovating one of the extra buildings to bring in specialized equipment/labs for the academy. That will also give them time to hire the right people.

Here's the academic sequence for students at Raisbeck Aviation HS near Seattle. The school has slightly over 400 students, so it is feasible to have such a program in a building that's built for fewer students than a typical FCPS high school.

https://rahs.highlineschools.org/academics/course-offerings

No.

Not possible.

They didn't follow the proper processes to do this.

The money they spent was money allocated for a new general high school to ease overcrowding through the normal bond process.

It was NOT allocated for a magnet school available to only a few students.

FCPS is cutting money right and left from other students. Most teachers are teaching classes of 30-35 students per year. Many high school teachers have a student load well in excess of 150-180 students per teacher.

If they want a magnet school, then go through the normal bond process.

Do not steal money from the rest of the county meant to relieve overcrowding to fund a vanity project with possible kickbacks or benefits to school board members working in that industry.

I don’t feel strongly about this school, but you mislead when you say they bought it with money allocated to overcrowding. They haven’t disclosed anything about where the money came from.

You can argue why you think the school should be a traditional one, but you hurt your credibility with the argument above.

The money came from a bond that was passed by the voters to build a new high school to relieve overcrowding.

Never in the bond process did FCPS present to voters of Fairfax County that the bond money would be repurposed from a necessary high school to relieve overcrowding to a frivolous vanity project magnet that is only available to a handful of students and does not do anything to relieve overcrowding.

Can you link to the bond material because a quick search of the 2023 referendum material doesn’t support your claim. What am I missing?

Not either PP here, but it really does not matter. If you make it a magnet it does not resolve the overcrowding problem in the area. They honestly do need the school to relieve the overcrowding. If it has to be a smaller school, so be it. There is room for expansion if budgets change. And, certainly, those two additional buildings could support classrooms easily and cheaply. I did a google search, they should be able to get a minimum of twenty classrooms in each of those buildings. Likely more. Anyone who says this would not work has not driven over there. It is basically a private drive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that they will start it as a regular high school, but add an Aviation or Aerospace-focused Academy as part of the school. They will spend 2-3 years renovating one of the extra buildings to bring in specialized equipment/labs for the academy. That will also give them time to hire the right people.

Here's the academic sequence for students at Raisbeck Aviation HS near Seattle. The school has slightly over 400 students, so it is feasible to have such a program in a building that's built for fewer students than a typical FCPS high school.

https://rahs.highlineschools.org/academics/course-offerings

No.

Not possible.

They didn't follow the proper processes to do this.

The money they spent was money allocated for a new general high school to ease overcrowding through the normal bond process.

It was NOT allocated for a magnet school available to only a few students.

FCPS is cutting money right and left from other students. Most teachers are teaching classes of 30-35 students per year. Many high school teachers have a student load well in excess of 150-180 students per teacher.

If they want a magnet school, then go through the normal bond process.

Do not steal money from the rest of the county meant to relieve overcrowding to fund a vanity project with possible kickbacks or benefits to school board members working in that industry.

I don’t feel strongly about this school, but you mislead when you say they bought it with money allocated to overcrowding. They haven’t disclosed anything about where the money came from.

You can argue why you think the school should be a traditional one, but you hurt your credibility with the argument above.

Money to buy land and build a western HS to address overcrowding has been in the CIP for over a decade. You keep arguing that only the land portion was "funded," but regardless all of it was planned to happen. There was never any such plan to spend money on a magnet. That never made it into any bond proposals. It was never voted on.

I don’t “keep arguing” about anything, since I haven’t previously weighted in on this. The disclosure in the last bond was that they would spend money (13.5 million I believe) for acquisition of a school site. So, if you want to argue semantics, they were 136 million above what the bond discussed. However, they have wiggle room in how their bond funds are used.

What I hear you arguing is that the CIP has contemplated a future western high school, but so what? That’s not a document that binds the school system in any way whatsoever.

I also think you keep glossing over an inconvenient fact, which is that a magnet school would alleviate overcrowding in the area, just not the particular way that you want it alleviated.

Again, I don’t feel strongly about how this school is used, and I think both the traditionalists and the magnets have compelling arguments, but your argument about disclosures in bond documents is not one.

The school system exists to educate the students. I would assume this includes providing spaces for education to occur.
Chantilly has 3000 students and new construction in its boundaries.
Westfield has 2700 and lots of new construction in its boundaries.
Centreville has around 2400 with modulars and trailers, I think?

There are plans to expand Centreville to 3000. They do not even yet have the permits to build.

The need is now. This new school can alleviate the overcrowding--and, hopefully, solve it. It may not be a large school, but it can be made to work.

If not, you are going to have to bus a lot more kids cross county--and we need a lot more buses and bus drivers. We are already short on both. And, buses and bus drivers also cost money.
And, you will be busing kids who likely will not be able to participate in extra-curricular activities because of the distance. More students spending an hour and a half or so on a school bus-rather than doing homework or participating in activities at their school.

I just do not understand why people cannot understand the difference between want and need.

I just do not understand what makes your “wants” into the collective’s “needs”. Sure one way to alleviate overcrowding is with a traditional high school. Another way to alleviate overcrowding is with a magnet or a split magnet/traditional. You can’t just pretend that the traditional alleviates overcrowding in the area and that the other options would do nothing to alleviate crowding, though of course that depends on the actual details.

The bus cost thing is a red herring. I’m just not seeing how adding a bus or two results in significant additional costs. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to some other costs for the school system. You seem to be fine with a rushed $150 million purchase then complain about how we can’t add a couple hundred thousand dollars in bus routes (if that even) to the budget. It’s like rushing to buy a Lamborghini and then complain about the cost of a gas change for it.

If they want a magnet, FCPS needs to put it up to a taxpayer vote, just like any other bond

There is no money available for or allocated to a fancy new magnet school that will cost millions more taxpayer dollars to launch.

You know, our schools are all understaffed due to overcrowding. This magnet school vanity project does not address this issue. It makes it worse because we can almost guarantee that the magnet classes will have a much lower teacher to student ratio than the 35:1 all the regular classes have this year (or roughly 170:1 that the high school teachers have this year)

kids in FCPS who do not qualify for free lunch have to pay around $50.00-$100.00 fee to take art or music classes in the FCPS middle in high schools. Our district has a 4 BILLION dollar budget, yet non rich and non farms kids cannot afford to take music or art classes because FCPS won't pay for their art supplies or music licensing. Yet they want to create an expensive magnet school out of thin air for a handful of students (400 magnet students is roughly 100 out of 14,000 students per each grade, serving less than 1% of high school students, 0.7% of high school students to be exact), when the rest of the students cannot get the basics like a freshman choir or band class without their parents putting up an $100.00 extra dollars??

A magnet school that will cost tens of millions of dollars to create, serving only 400 of the roughly 60,000 high school students, less than 1% of FCPS high school students, is an obscene waste of taxpayer funds, especially when in spite of a 4 BILLION dollar budget we are cutting everywhere, asking teachers to teach the max number of students allowed by the state formula, cutting special ed programs for older students, cutting crossing guards, not paying teachers what was agreed upon, cutting middle school programs, and more. Yet FCPS wants to blow millions of dollars on 400 high school students, without a taxpayer vote and with no transparency?

No. This is not right.

This is not what the money was allocated for.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that they will start it as a regular high school, but add an Aviation or Aerospace-focused Academy as part of the school. They will spend 2-3 years renovating one of the extra buildings to bring in specialized equipment/labs for the academy. That will also give them time to hire the right people.

Here's the academic sequence for students at Raisbeck Aviation HS near Seattle. The school has slightly over 400 students, so it is feasible to have such a program in a building that's built for fewer students than a typical FCPS high school.

https://rahs.highlineschools.org/academics/course-offerings

No.

Not possible.

They didn't follow the proper processes to do this.

The money they spent was money allocated for a new general high school to ease overcrowding through the normal bond process.

It was NOT allocated for a magnet school available to only a few students.

FCPS is cutting money right and left from other students. Most teachers are teaching classes of 30-35 students per year. Many high school teachers have a student load well in excess of 150-180 students per teacher.

If they want a magnet school, then go through the normal bond process.

Do not steal money from the rest of the county meant to relieve overcrowding to fund a vanity project with possible kickbacks or benefits to school board members working in that industry.

I don’t feel strongly about this school, but you mislead when you say they bought it with money allocated to overcrowding. They haven’t disclosed anything about where the money came from.

You can argue why you think the school should be a traditional one, but you hurt your credibility with the argument above.

The money came from a bond that was passed by the voters to build a new high school to relieve overcrowding.

Never in the bond process did FCPS present to voters of Fairfax County that the bond money would be repurposed from a necessary high school to relieve overcrowding to a frivolous vanity project magnet that is only available to a handful of students and does not do anything to relieve overcrowding.

Can you link to the bond material because a quick search of the 2023 referendum material doesn’t support your claim. What am I missing?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that they will start it as a regular high school, but add an Aviation or Aerospace-focused Academy as part of the school. They will spend 2-3 years renovating one of the extra buildings to bring in specialized equipment/labs for the academy. That will also give them time to hire the right people.

Here's the academic sequence for students at Raisbeck Aviation HS near Seattle. The school has slightly over 400 students, so it is feasible to have such a program in a building that's built for fewer students than a typical FCPS high school.

https://rahs.highlineschools.org/academics/course-offerings

No.

Not possible.

They didn't follow the proper processes to do this.

The money they spent was money allocated for a new general high school to ease overcrowding through the normal bond process.

It was NOT allocated for a magnet school available to only a few students.

FCPS is cutting money right and left from other students. Most teachers are teaching classes of 30-35 students per year. Many high school teachers have a student load well in excess of 150-180 students per teacher.

If they want a magnet school, then go through the normal bond process.

Do not steal money from the rest of the county meant to relieve overcrowding to fund a vanity project with possible kickbacks or benefits to school board members working in that industry.

I don’t feel strongly about this school, but you mislead when you say they bought it with money allocated to overcrowding. They haven’t disclosed anything about where the money came from.

You can argue why you think the school should be a traditional one, but you hurt your credibility with the argument above.

The money came from a bond that was passed by the voters to build a new high school to relieve overcrowding.

Never in the bond process did FCPS present to voters of Fairfax County that the bond money would be repurposed from a necessary high school to relieve overcrowding to a frivolous vanity project magnet that is only available to a handful of students and does not do anything to relieve overcrowding.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, both of those schools are at capacity, or very, very close. So, we wait until all western schools are overflowing?

Enrollments could decline and there are already hundreds of empty seats at Herndon.

GREAT. You just solved the problem. Put the Aviation magnet school at Herndon. There's clearly space and it's also very close to Dulles Airport and the aviation experts. Thank you for solving this problem for us.

That actually makes sense.

And move all the southern academies to Lewis

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I just do not understand what makes your “wants” into the collective’s “needs”. Sure one way to alleviate overcrowding is with a traditional high school. Another way to alleviate overcrowding is with a magnet or a split magnet/traditional. You can’t just pretend that the traditional alleviates overcrowding in the area and that the other options would do nothing to alleviate crowding, though of course that depends on the actual details.

How is a magnet going to guarantee alleviation of overcrowding? Please explain. Chantilly is 500 students (maybe more) over capacity. You think a magnet is going to solve that?
Westfield is at 2700 and growing. A magnet is not going to solve that.
Centreville is overcrowded--it's hard to determine how much as they have a modular and trailers.

The bus cost thing is a red herring. I’m just not seeing how adding a bus or two results in significant additional costs. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to some other costs for the school system. You seem to be fine with a rushed $150 million purchase then complain about how we can’t add a couple hundred thousand dollars in bus routes (if that even) to the budget. It’s like rushing to buy a Lamborghini and then complain about the cost of a gas change for it.

We are talking way over 500 students--really much closer to 1000. You think a "bus or two" is going to solve that?
And, yes, a "bus or two" might be a couple of hundred thousand dollars per year. But, we are talking about a lot more than a bus or two. I would guess that for more than 500 students that would mean 20 buses --at more than $100K/ bus. Add to that, the fuel costs and the need for more bus drivers and their pay (when we already are short bus driver).

But, most important, you have no problem with having hundreds and hundreds of more students on buses for more than an hour and a half per day.
Does that not fall into your considerations at all?

How about you address all the money our School Board is spending on staff that could not even present a proposal for how to make this into a traditional school or a magnet?

If FCPS can give up the amount of $$ spent on this school to fight a losing legal battle, they can make this into a traditional school

A magnet would pull more from that area of the county in the same way that TJ is more appealing to families in the East. Having watched the work session, it feels like the most likely outcome is an academy and traditional school. If the traditional school is 1,000 kids, then your overcrowding issues can be solved, without having to move a bunch of those centreville kids to Westfield. Again, this depends on The details, but there is a split magnet/traditional solution that could work pretty easily. Desiring it to be exclusively traditional is a “want” not a “need”.

Your concern for other’s kids being on the bus for too long has always been just a really absurd argument. Families would get to decide whether they want that bus ride or not. The kids on buses argument when families have decided on house and school has never been compelling.

It's really gross that you are trying to steal this school away from the community that needs it. Just stop, we know exactly where you live - you live in the northern party of the county and you don't want your precious snowflake on the bus for 45 minutes ALL THE WAY to TJ (a CHOICE on your part), so you're hoping and wishing for an equivalent closer to home. At the expense of all the Oak Hill kids who are on the bus for 45 minutes TO THEIR BASE SCHOOL.

I appreciate your belief that my kids deserve to be in TJ, but I’m confused about why you think I’m the northern part of the county when I told you that I’m centreville. Try to keep up here, we should have a voice here too without you trying to silence us for speaking up for our community. And why in the world do you think your commute should be put above the rest of our kids? because that makes you an entitled twerp.

DP. It always is amusing when people on DCUM think there is only one other poster. Maybe, maybe not.