They have so many things on their plate.

I feel like they need to come down clearly on KAA's future use, preferably as a neighborhood school, and figure out what it will cost and how it will affect nearby boundaries.

They also have to figure out whether this means scaling back the Centreville expansion and, if so, how much money that saves.

Once they've worked through that, sure, they can look at the updated facilities assessments they claim will be ready by mid-2026 and hopefully come up with a plan by the beginning of 2027 to help the older high schools like McLean that got short-changed in their prior "renovations."

They've shown no ability to juggle multiple things at once, but they ought to at least have a longer term vision that's not just neglect and chaos.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confident the naysayer in this current conversation is McLean Mom who is just devastated that her kid's school is falling apart with crumbling walls and ceilings, leaking toilets, and extremely dangerous facilities.

I saw a Great Falls/Langley poster asking on Next Door why McLean wasn't getting money for a renovation instead of FCPS buying KAA.

Of course, it doesn't have to be one or the other.

Of course, Great Falls wants McLean expanded.......

Anonymous wrote:I'm confident the naysayer in this current conversation is McLean Mom who is just devastated that her kid's school is falling apart with crumbling walls and ceilings, leaking toilets, and extremely dangerous facilities.

I saw a Great Falls/Langley poster asking on Next Door why McLean wasn't getting money for a renovation instead of FCPS buying KAA.

Of course, it doesn't have to be one or the other.

I'm confident the naysayer in this current conversation is McLean Mom who is just devastated that her kid's school is falling apart with crumbling walls and ceilings, leaking toilets, and extremely dangerous facilities.

FCPS and individual School Board members have repeatedly said the KAA acquisition will save FCPS somewhere between $250-300 million that can be used for other capital projects in other parts of the county.

Stated differently, they have clearly implied that, if they did not expect these savings, they would not have approved the KAA purchase.

All I am saying is that we should hold them accountable for their own statements and they should work expeditiously to identify other schools in the county that will benefit from the purported savings. It’s a classic case of asking them to put their money where their mouths have been.

On the other hand, you appear to be suggesting that they should have gone ahead with the KAA purchase, regardless of how much it would cost and whether it would result in any savings, merely because you think you deserve a new school. That may be your view, but it does not align with the School Board’s rationale for the purchase.

Anonymous wrote:

You're looking for some kind of quid pro quo, like you'll accept this school if you can guarantee some money earmarked for your school (McLean?). That's not how this is going to work. Not having to spend $450 million in the future is the benefit. Trying to tie how those future savings will be spent to specific schools or projects would only anger those who don't get their "guaranteed" kick back. The whole county benefits from not spending that money in the future as everything planned after the Western HS gets moved up by hundreds of millions of dollars.


What you call a quid pro quo others would consider equity.

I really do not understand why you think this is inequitable.

Why do we build schools or expand them?
So, you would wait for McLean to be expanded before you give ready relief to overcrowded schools in another area?

That is unfair in your mind?

I am not familiar with McLean. It sounds egregious that it has not been upgraded if it is as bad as you say. Certainly, it appears to be overcrowded. As does Chantilly and, to a lesser extent, Westfield.

Honestly, you do not see the difference?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...Dunne has repeated the claim that the KAA purchase will save FCPS hundreds of millions that can be spent on other school renovations, but there too FCPS has provided no information on which schools may eventually benefit from the purported savings.

I think it's fairly obvious that everything that was behind the Western HS in the last CIP will benefit by being a couple hundred million dollars closer to the front of the queue. Not sure why you think the order would change for any other items when this one got moved back up in line.

That's not obvious at all. They are saying they'll have a new facilities assessment done by mid-2026, so they could just create a new queue. If they can leapfrog KAA they can adopt a new queue that reflects current conditions rather than continue to rely on one generated over 15 years ag.

I don't see how making a smart decision that saves future money also requires that they must immediately lock in a plan to spend that future money. It's a separate issue, and sounds like one that should be brought up mid-2026 when there is new facility assessment data available. It seems like you are arguing to build another far-reaching future spend queue right now just like the one you are complaining they are currently following.

It doesn’t have to be far-reaching. But if they are going to continue to claim that spending all this money on KAA will result in cost savings that will benefit other schools, they should commit sooner rather than later to identifying which schools will benefit. Otherwise we’re going to find that all these savings were illusory and just part of a rationale to leapfrog KAA over other school projects.

easy--unless they go with a magnet:
Chantilly
Westfield
Centreville
possibly Oakton

You're identifying the schools that might send kids to KAA, not those who supposedly would be the beneficiaries of the purported savings associated with buying KAA, rather than spending over $450 million to build a new HS from scratch. They aren't the same thing.

Dunne has suggested some of those saving might be spent on schools in the Mount Vernon District, but schools in other parts of the county need help as well.

You're looking for some kind of quid pro quo, like you'll accept this school if you can guarantee some money earmarked for your school (McLean?). That's not how this is going to work. Not having to spend $450 million in the future is the benefit. Trying to tie how those future savings will be spent to specific schools or projects would only anger those who don't get their "guaranteed" kick back. The whole county benefits from not spending that money in the future as everything planned after the Western HS gets moved up by hundreds of millions of dollars.

What you call a quid pro quo others would consider equity.

If this property hadn’t become available the reality is that a new western high school likely never would have been built. No land, too expensive, and too many other schools like Oakton and Herndon had already been expanded (and eventually they would have found a way to expand Centreville as well).

However, it’s FCPS and School Board members who repeatedly have said the KAA purchase will save FCPS between $250-300 million that will benefit other communities. That is based on an assumption that they would have devoted their entire capital budget for several years to building a new western HS - which we all know probably would never have happened.

However, since that’s the party line, they should go ahead and start telling us what projects will benefit from thepurported savings. It could be McLean HS, which is certainly in poor condition, but it could be other schools like aging Annandale HS or Lewis HS, or overcrowded Kilmer MS.

Holding them accountable makes perfect sense. If they don’t do this, the purported benefits of the KAA acquisition for others in the county will clearly be a farce. It will just turn out to have been a windfall for those closest to KAA who otherwise would have attended other schools.

You're looking for some kind of quid pro quo, like you'll accept this school if you can guarantee some money earmarked for your school (McLean?). That's not how this is going to work. Not having to spend $450 million in the future is the benefit. Trying to tie how those future savings will be spent to specific schools or projects would only anger those who don't get their "guaranteed" kick back. The whole county benefits from not spending that money in the future as everything planned after the Western HS gets moved up by hundreds of millions of dollars.

People keep forgetting that there is a need for this school that would have been met already had the site not been given away and/or another suitable site found.

It is not like it is a bolt out of the blue that the school is needed. It is serendipity that the school became available. Here is hoping that the School Board uses common sense and allows it to serve the community and not the elite who want a magnet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...Dunne has repeated the claim that the KAA purchase will save FCPS hundreds of millions that can be spent on other school renovations, but there too FCPS has provided no information on which schools may eventually benefit from the purported savings.

I think it's fairly obvious that everything that was behind the Western HS in the last CIP will benefit by being a couple hundred million dollars closer to the front of the queue. Not sure why you think the order would change for any other items when this one got moved back up in line.

That's not obvious at all. They are saying they'll have a new facilities assessment done by mid-2026, so they could just create a new queue. If they can leapfrog KAA they can adopt a new queue that reflects current conditions rather than continue to rely on one generated over 15 years ag.

I don't see how making a smart decision that saves future money also requires that they must immediately lock in a plan to spend that future money. It's a separate issue, and sounds like one that should be brought up mid-2026 when there is new facility assessment data available. It seems like you are arguing to build another far-reaching future spend queue right now just like the one you are complaining they are currently following.

It doesn’t have to be far-reaching. But if they are going to continue to claim that spending all this money on KAA will result in cost savings that will benefit other schools, they should commit sooner rather than later to identifying which schools will benefit. Otherwise we’re going to find that all these savings were illusory and just part of a rationale to leapfrog KAA over other school projects.

easy--unless they go with a magnet:
Chantilly
Westfield
Centreville
possibly Oakton

You're identifying the schools that might send kids to KAA, not those who supposedly would be the beneficiaries of the purported savings associated with buying KAA, rather than spending over $450 million to build a new HS from scratch. They aren't the same thing.

Dunne has suggested some of those saving might be spent on schools in the Mount Vernon District, but schools in other parts of the county need help as well.

You're looking for some kind of quid pro quo, like you'll accept this school if you can guarantee some money earmarked for your school (McLean?). That's not how this is going to work. Not having to spend $450 million in the future is the benefit. Trying to tie how those future savings will be spent to specific schools or projects would only anger those who don't get their "guaranteed" kick back. The whole county benefits from not spending that money in the future as everything planned after the Western HS gets moved up by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...Dunne has repeated the claim that the KAA purchase will save FCPS hundreds of millions that can be spent on other school renovations, but there too FCPS has provided no information on which schools may eventually benefit from the purported savings.

I think it's fairly obvious that everything that was behind the Western HS in the last CIP will benefit by being a couple hundred million dollars closer to the front of the queue. Not sure why you think the order would change for any other items when this one got moved back up in line.

That's not obvious at all. They are saying they'll have a new facilities assessment done by mid-2026, so they could just create a new queue. If they can leapfrog KAA they can adopt a new queue that reflects current conditions rather than continue to rely on one generated over 15 years ag.

I don't see how making a smart decision that saves future money also requires that they must immediately lock in a plan to spend that future money. It's a separate issue, and sounds like one that should be brought up mid-2026 when there is new facility assessment data available. It seems like you are arguing to build another far-reaching future spend queue right now just like the one you are complaining they are currently following.

It doesn’t have to be far-reaching. But if they are going to continue to claim that spending all this money on KAA will result in cost savings that will benefit other schools, they should commit sooner rather than later to identifying which schools will benefit. Otherwise we’re going to find that all these savings were illusory and just part of a rationale to leapfrog KAA over other school projects.

easy--unless they go with a magnet:
Chantilly
Westfield
Centreville
possibly Oakton

You're identifying the schools that might send kids to KAA, not those who supposedly would be the beneficiaries of the purported savings associated with buying KAA, rather than spending over $450 million to build a new HS from scratch. They aren't the same thing.

Dunne has suggested some of those saving might be spent on schools in the Mount Vernon District, but schools in other parts of the county need help as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...Dunne has repeated the claim that the KAA purchase will save FCPS hundreds of millions that can be spent on other school renovations, but there too FCPS has provided no information on which schools may eventually benefit from the purported savings.

I think it's fairly obvious that everything that was behind the Western HS in the last CIP will benefit by being a couple hundred million dollars closer to the front of the queue. Not sure why you think the order would change for any other items when this one got moved back up in line.

That's not obvious at all. They are saying they'll have a new facilities assessment done by mid-2026, so they could just create a new queue. If they can leapfrog KAA they can adopt a new queue that reflects current conditions rather than continue to rely on one generated over 15 years ag.

I don't see how making a smart decision that saves future money also requires that they must immediately lock in a plan to spend that future money. It's a separate issue, and sounds like one that should be brought up mid-2026 when there is new facility assessment data available. It seems like you are arguing to build another far-reaching future spend queue right now just like the one you are complaining they are currently following.

It doesn’t have to be far-reaching. But if they are going to continue to claim that spending all this money on KAA will result in cost savings that will benefit other schools, they should commit sooner rather than later to identifying which schools will benefit. Otherwise we’re going to find that all these savings were illusory and just part of a rationale to leapfrog KAA over other school projects.

easy--unless they go with a magnet:
Chantilly
Westfield
Centreville
possibly Oakton

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...Dunne has repeated the claim that the KAA purchase will save FCPS hundreds of millions that can be spent on other school renovations, but there too FCPS has provided no information on which schools may eventually benefit from the purported savings.

I think it's fairly obvious that everything that was behind the Western HS in the last CIP will benefit by being a couple hundred million dollars closer to the front of the queue. Not sure why you think the order would change for any other items when this one got moved back up in line.

That's not obvious at all. They are saying they'll have a new facilities assessment done by mid-2026, so they could just create a new queue. If they can leapfrog KAA they can adopt a new queue that reflects current conditions rather than continue to rely on one generated over 15 years ag.

I don't see how making a smart decision that saves future money also requires that they must immediately lock in a plan to spend that future money. It's a separate issue, and sounds like one that should be brought up mid-2026 when there is new facility assessment data available. It seems like you are arguing to build another far-reaching future spend queue right now just like the one you are complaining they are currently following.

It doesn’t have to be far-reaching. But if they are going to continue to claim that spending all this money on KAA will result in cost savings that will benefit other schools, they should commit sooner rather than later to identifying which schools will benefit. Otherwise we’re going to find that all these savings were illusory and just part of a rationale to leapfrog KAA over other school projects.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...Dunne has repeated the claim that the KAA purchase will save FCPS hundreds of millions that can be spent on other school renovations, but there too FCPS has provided no information on which schools may eventually benefit from the purported savings.

I think it's fairly obvious that everything that was behind the Western HS in the last CIP will benefit by being a couple hundred million dollars closer to the front of the queue. Not sure why you think the order would change for any other items when this one got moved back up in line.

That's not obvious at all. They are saying they'll have a new facilities assessment done by mid-2026, so they could just create a new queue. If they can leapfrog KAA they can adopt a new queue that reflects current conditions rather than continue to rely on one generated over 15 years ag.

I don't see how making a smart decision that saves future money also requires that they must immediately lock in a plan to spend that future money. It's a separate issue, and sounds like one that should be brought up mid-2026 when there is new facility assessment data available. It seems like you are arguing to build another far-reaching future spend queue right now just like the one you are complaining they are currently following.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...Dunne has repeated the claim that the KAA purchase will save FCPS hundreds of millions that can be spent on other school renovations, but there too FCPS has provided no information on which schools may eventually benefit from the purported savings.

I think it's fairly obvious that everything that was behind the Western HS in the last CIP will benefit by being a couple hundred million dollars closer to the front of the queue. Not sure why you think the order would change for any other items when this one got moved back up in line.

That's not obvious at all. They are saying they'll have a new facilities assessment done by mid-2026, so they could just create a new queue. If they can leapfrog KAA they can adopt a new queue that reflects current conditions rather than continue to rely on one generated over 15 years ag.

Anonymous wrote:...Dunne has repeated the claim that the KAA purchase will save FCPS hundreds of millions that can be spent on other school renovations, but there too FCPS has provided no information on which schools may eventually benefit from the purported savings.

I think it's fairly obvious that everything that was behind the Western HS in the last CIP will benefit by being a couple hundred million dollars closer to the front of the queue. Not sure why you think the order would change for any other items when this one got moved back up in line.