Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tholen is toast at this point. The fact that Platenberg said tonight they won’t do a new renovation queue until 2025 means Dranesville will almost certainly vote out Democrats on both the School Board and Board of Supervisors in the next election. Could tip some of the at-large seats as well.

That’s ridiculous. McLean CLEARLY needs an EXPANSION!

My understanding of all of this was that during the McLean boundary process, when Elaine made her moves in the late stages of the process, she got agreement from other board members that they would support getting McLean in the reno q in the CIP in January 2023, just before she is up for reelection. If Platenberg said no new q until 2025, I agree that would be a bad sign for Elaine.

If true, it would be too little too late. She got on the board in Jan 2020 and did nothing to actually fix overcrowding at McLean - putting McLean on the renovation queue in 2023 would essentially mean any renovation would not be complete until what, maybe 2028? 2029? At that point, we will need a new high school in the Tysons area, so a renovation at McLean will be irrelevant.

It was quite telling that, during Jeff Plattenburg’s presentation on the CIP tonight, she didn’t ask about the timing of a new renovation queue or raise the timing of an addition at McLean. Rather, her only question related to clarifying that FCPS’s plans are only to build one, not two, new high schools in western Fairfax (the CIP materials were ambiguous). The new western high school, of course, is a major cause of concern for some Langley families in Great Falls; were FCPS to build two new high schools in that area, Great Falls would have a total meltdown. And, of course, she went out of her way to point out the one planned high school is still mostly unfunded at this point.

She really revealed who she cares about, and who she doesn’t care about. She’s shallow and snobby, and the best one can probably do at this point is just make sure she never gets elected to public office again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tholen is toast at this point. The fact that Platenberg said tonight they won’t do a new renovation queue until 2025 means Dranesville will almost certainly vote out Democrats on both the School Board and Board of Supervisors in the next election. Could tip some of the at-large seats as well.

That’s ridiculous. McLean CLEARLY needs an EXPANSION!

My understanding of all of this was that during the McLean boundary process, when Elaine made her moves in the late stages of the process, she got agreement from other board members that they would support getting McLean in the reno q in the CIP in January 2023, just before she is up for reelection. If Platenberg said no new q until 2025, I agree that would be a bad sign for Elaine.

If true, it would be too little too late. She got on the board in Jan 2020 and did nothing to actually fix overcrowding at McLean - putting McLean on the renovation queue in 2023 would essentially mean any renovation would not be complete until what, maybe 2028? 2029? At that point, we will need a new high school in the Tysons area, so a renovation at McLean will be irrelevant.

Anonymous wrote:Elaine is done for.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tholen is toast at this point. The fact that Platenberg said tonight they won’t do a new renovation queue until 2025 means Dranesville will almost certainly vote out Democrats on both the School Board and Board of Supervisors in the next election. Could tip some of the at-large seats as well.

That’s ridiculous. McLean CLEARLY needs an EXPANSION!

My understanding of all of this was that during the McLean boundary process, when Elaine made her moves in the late stages of the process, she got agreement from other board members that they would support getting McLean in the reno q in the CIP in January 2023, just before she is up for reelection. If Platenberg said no new q until 2025, I agree that would be a bad sign for Elaine.

If true, it would be too little too late. She got on the board in Jan 2020 and did nothing to actually fix overcrowding at McLean - putting McLean on the renovation queue in 2023 would essentially mean any renovation would not be complete until what, maybe 2028? 2029? At that point, we will need a new high school in the Tysons area, so a renovation at McLean will be irrelevant.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What embattled Tholen and Cohen fail to recognize is that the recall petitions, even if impeded by local Democratic prosecutors (or, more accurately, non-prosecutors), are a giant vote of “no confidence” in their continued service on the School Board. Both should take a cue from Beth Barts in Loudoun and resign.

what % of the actual voting public in their district signed the petition? How many of them would never vote for Tholen or Cohen anyway?

The petition bar is far lower than the number of people who regularly vote against them. It should be easy to for conservatives to get 10% of voters to sign a petition. The fact that they have trouble meeting that low bar shows you how little trouble the board is actually in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tholen is toast at this point. The fact that Platenberg said tonight they won’t do a new renovation queue until 2025 means Dranesville will almost certainly vote out Democrats on both the School Board and Board of Supervisors in the next election. Could tip some of the at-large seats as well.

That’s ridiculous. McLean CLEARLY needs an EXPANSION!

My understanding of all of this was that during the McLean boundary process, when Elaine made her moves in the late stages of the process, she got agreement from other board members that they would support getting McLean in the reno q in the CIP in January 2023, just before she is up for reelection. If Platenberg said no new q until 2025, I agree that would be a bad sign for Elaine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the recall petition for Laura Jane Cohen was filed in circuit court today. Not sure about Abrar Omeish. Cohen is asking for donations to defend the recall even though it appears FCPS is paying for the lawyers.

Cohen is not going to get donations. She just sold out the West Springfield Elementary neighborhood from Rolling Rd to Daventry for rezoning to Lewis High School.

She had a Freudian slip and bragged about it in her town hall meeting tonight. Whoops!

That's a nightmare for West Springfield homeowners. Lose property value and military families no longer want to rent your house

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tholen is toast at this point. The fact that Platenberg said tonight they won’t do a new renovation queue until 2025 means Dranesville will almost certainly vote out Democrats on both the School Board and Board of Supervisors in the next election. Could tip some of the at-large seats as well.

That’s ridiculous. McLean CLEARLY needs an EXPANSION!

My understanding of all of this was that during the McLean boundary process, when Elaine made her moves in the late stages of the process, she got agreement from other board members that they would support getting McLean in the reno q in the CIP in January 2023, just before she is up for reelection. If Platenberg said no new q until 2025, I agree that would be a bad sign for Elaine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tholen is toast at this point. The fact that Platenberg said tonight they won’t do a new renovation queue until 2025 means Dranesville will almost certainly vote out Democrats on both the School Board and Board of Supervisors in the next election. Could tip some of the at-large seats as well.

That’s ridiculous. McLean CLEARLY needs an EXPANSION!

Anonymous wrote:Tholen is toast at this point. The fact that Platenberg said tonight they won’t do a new renovation queue until 2025 means Dranesville will almost certainly vote out Democrats on both the School Board and Board of Supervisors in the next election. Could tip some of the at-large seats as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I may add some context and perspective.

If FCPS is talking about potentially rezoning your neighborhood, then it is already too late. They've made their decisions, and your kids are now just pawns in their rezoing game. Sure, there will be public meetings, time for comment, maps, websites for public input, easels that you can write your feelings on, but in the end, the decision is already made. If you think the board will listen to you, then you are dreaming. Sure go ahead and appeal to the board members. Let them know that they should not divide your community, tell them it is unfair to you and more importantly, your kids. Plead with them. Meet privately with them, put your kids in front of them...have at it. You are already done. If you want to, bring them data - real data - not the 'platenberg's pretend make-believe numbers' -- it makes no difference. They dont care. You can even see what their new boundary consultant says (i.e. the consultant who is paid by FCPS at the direction of the board)....

Get ready to be lied to, manipulated, and have last minute changes without opportunity for comment. Get ready for special interests - the groups/neighborhoods with the most influence (money) - to direct the actions of your board member.

This is called the ELAINE THOLEN MODEL.

If you think anyone on the board will care about your kids, just remember, Elaine the Pain pushed through a boundary change, switching 30 kids out of 2300 to a new pyramid in the middle of a pandemic. How do you think they will treat your kids?

I used to think Tholen was just meek, and unwilling to challenge Jeff Platenberg, but over time I’ve come to conclude she’s affirmatively malevolent. Nothing else can explain just how awful she has been.

Either way, one suspects this term on the school board will be her one and only.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What embattled Tholen and Cohen fail to recognize is that the recall petitions, even if impeded by local Democratic prosecutors (or, more accurately, non-prosecutors), are a giant vote of “no confidence” in their continued service on the School Board. Both should take a cue from Beth Barts in Loudoun and resign.

what % of the actual voting public in their district signed the petition? How many of them would never vote for Tholen or Cohen anyway?

The petition bar is far lower than the number of people who regularly vote against them. It should be easy to for conservatives to get 10% of voters to sign a petition. The fact that they have trouble meeting that low bar shows you how little trouble the board is actually in.

Most conservatives like myself have given up all hope that Fairfax County will move to the right. Most of the conservatives I know rarely vote when there are only local races (vice a presidential election). This includes the 2019 school board race. No conservative was going to win in that field.

Then the pandemic happened, the board fumbled and failed our kids at every turn, while promoting progressive CRT, p0rn in the libraries, renaming schools instead of opening schools, dumbing down TJ, re-upping braband's contract, and delivering an ineffective boundary change at McLean through a manipulative process. This got many conservatives like myself off the couch and donating to efforts to recall these clowns, holding signs, signing petitions. These progressives motivated people like me. So conservatives will be ready in 2023.

What Elaine and the others need to really worry about is that most of the things (admittedly not all) in my list above cross party lines. There is a noticeable number of Democratic families are not happy with how Elaine and the board handled things over the last 18 months. Even many Democrats dont want to co-parent with FCPS. Does this mean these Democratic families will vote republican? Maybe, maybe not. But it is very likely that these Democratic families will not vote for Elaine and the Clown Club. Add that to the motivated Republicans, and Elaine loses, Karl loses, gamara loses, and possibly rachna. Honestly, Id be happy with just that.