Liz - 'BTW I would have a very hard time if we allowed community members to determine how a school was to be renovated'

Kevin Sneed, Director, Design and Construction Services, FCPS - 'If the decision is made to renovate the school we _MIGHT_ include input from the community/school'

Who the f*** does these people think they are? I got news for you Liz and Kevin - you work for the taxpayers, assholes.

COMMUNITY INPUT WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




By Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 25, 2008

A surprise proposal from the Fairfax County executive to spend $10 million to build additional classrooms for South County Secondary School would alleviate crowding on the Lorton campus but could delay or derail plans for a new middle school in the fast-growing area.

County Executive Anthony H. Griffin's proposal to add a wing to the campus is a response to the growth the school experienced soon after opening in 2005. South County Secondary has 2,929 students in seventh through 12th grades, more than 400 above capacity. The proposal was disclosed this month.

Many residents and politicians have long championed a new middle school to ease crowding. Griffin's proposal, which casts doubt on the prospects for a new school, puts them in an awkward position.

"I don't want to be ungrateful," said Fairfax County School Board member Elizabeth T. Bradsher (Springfield). "I appreciate their offer. But if you have this amount of money for a wing, why won't you go all the way and work toward resolving the problem in its entirety?"

Griffin said the county can't afford a new middle school, which officials said could cost $35 million to $40 million if built soon. Instead, he offered to recommend that county supervisors approve $10 million over two years to fund the expansion. The deal is subject to approval from the School Board and the Board of Supervisors.

"I can't fix their problem for them, but I can help them in the short term," Griffin said. He added that he was looking for creative ways to ease crowding, in response to queries from supervisors.


Officials said Griffin's proposal was unusual because it would circumvent the usual process for planning and funding school construction. But as the former Lorton prison and the area around it developed, many residents have lobbied to expedite school construction. Their cause has drawn support from supervisors, state lawmakers, members of Congress and at least one congressional candidate.

Dean Tistadt, the school system's chief operating officer, said he was "pleasantly surprised" by Griffin's offer and called it an "elegant solution to a complicated problem." He said he plans to recommend that the School Board accept it.

The wing would add up to 35 classrooms, enabling the school to rid its parking lot of more than 20 trailers and to operate with the standard seven-period schedule. The school is using a nine-period timetable to accommodate extra students.

Tistadt said the expansion could be completed as early as the 2010-11 school year. That would eliminate the need for a change in South County Secondary's attendance zone, which Tistadt said would otherwise be necessary next year. In the aftermath of a widely unpopular boundary change just approved in western Fairfax, School Board members might find that appealing.

Tistadt acknowledged that expanding South County Secondary would reduce the likelihood of adding a middle school in the area in the near future. But he said an expansion would not rule out a new school, especially if plans to realign the region's military bases bring a wave of students to Fort Belvoir and surrounding neighborhoods.

Many south county residents dispute official assurances that a middle school is unnecessary in the short term.

Let's see we can spend $10 million on an addition-funded 100% by the Board of Supervisors......or.....we can borrow $50 million.........

Hey times are tough....lets go for the $50 million........

********************************************************************************

2009 Bond Referendum

The 2009 bond referendum included:


$ 50,000,000 to construct a new middle school in the south county area.

wrong info Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bet she can recite the VA ABC store's price list
> from memory.
>
>
> Wrong-she buys her booze in DC- remember?

I cannot stop laughing at this!

The community has read the e-mails [and remembers more] than the school board.

Still laughing!

Tistadt said the expansion could be completed as early as the 2010-11 school year. That would eliminate the need for a change in South County Secondary's attendance zone.


So, FCPS saw that boundary changes weren't a good deal for South County, then screwed the rest of us?

The duplicitiousness of the evil empire is coming to an end.

Mr. Dale - TEAR DOWN THIS WALL (OF MISINFORMATION, PROPAGANDA, AND LAWBREAKING).

And the wall came tumbling down.

she never does that Wrote:
.> **************************************************
> *****************************
>
>
> From: Bradsher, Elizabeth (School Board Member)
> To: James, Denise; Burke, Barbara; Hunter, Barbara
> M. (Gatehouse); Tistadt, Dean
> CC: Raney, Jim (School Board Member); Wilson,
> Tessie (School Board Member); Janice Miller
> BCC:
> Sent: 4/14/2010 10:21:02 AM
> Subject: RE: Robinson meeting
>
> Attachments:
>
>
> Good morning,
>
> This is a very quick email “debrief” on my
> observations of the meeting last night. It was
> clear this first Ad Hoc Committee has wonderful
> co-chairs that are committed to the intent of the
> process. In addition the Community Outreach
> Subcommittee did a very professional job outlining
> the issues and setting up the focus groups. (I
> would have added additional facts on certain
> subjects but this was their presentation---not
> mine or FCPS’s) I know staff assisted with
> resources and I wanted all of you to know this
> morning that I am very grateful for all your hard
> work over the past several months. I realize this
> has been no easy task.
>
> I am of course still concerned with the issues
> being presented as a School Board member and
> realize despite all our efforts we will never be
> able to separate bias and emotions from these
> school based issues. Upon reviewing the sign in
> sheets at the tables I noted about 50% of those
> attending were from the Clifton community. There
> was one table with a majority of parents from the
> Oak Hill community all of whom wanted to continue
> to attend Oak Hill and apparently were from an
> “island” within that boundary. At another
> table there were parents from the Sangster
> Community who live in Orange Hunt Estates and are
> the 10% of Sangster that go to Irving and WSHS and
> want to keep it that way. So what we got last
> night were residents all interested in keeping,
> for lack of a better phrase, “their little piece
> of the pie.”
>
> The issue although about facilities and enrollment
> morphed into boundaries and as such the Clifton
> issue was one that was not reviewed based upon
> factual stats, etc. but rather emotion and also a
> very important piece, the subject of perceived
> community. If Clifton remains, thought many that
> would mean Oak Hill remains, Sangster remains,
> etc. I spoke to several parents from the
> Silverbrook community who chose to attend. In
> their words they said the “tables were
> stacked” with Clifton parents and their comments
> were not adequately presented.
>
> I realize we have 3 more meetings and these will
> be of interest. However, if we can’t overcome
> tremendous personal/parent bias then I would have
> to say this form of engagement affords minimal
> information, despite offering such potential and
> valuable community awareness.
>
> Liz
> PS Perhaps I am having a bad day?
>
>
> Elizabeth T. Bradsher
> Fairfax County School Board
> Springfield District
> Phone: (571) 296-1875
> Debora L. Cain, Executive Administrative
> Assistant
> Phone: (571) 423-1070

"Percieved community"?! "their little piece of the pie"?!

It's one thing to be thought of fool of (among other things), it's quite another to open your mouth and remove all doubt....

She doesn't even know her own district. There is no Sangster island(10%).

In addition to no "Sangster Island" --Oak Hill which is mentioned repeatedly in her statement above was not in the boundary study. I imagine she was referring to Oak View. Does she not even know her own schools? or is it Tessie's?

Oak View is in Braddock district---BUT most of the attendees are from Springfield district. Next year, there will be even more Springfield constituents.

Your tax dollars at work folks.....

When Liz Bradsher's school opens-that she claims is desperately needed and don't forget her fiscal responsibility and how she always acts in the best interests of ALL students......

Based on FCPS data:

SOCO HS and MS current data:

program capacity 1594 (high school)
program capacity 680 (middle school)

total 2274

The high school currently has 1939 students. In 2008-09 it was 2031 so it has gone down.


Now, let's look at the middle school population:


Current enrollment is 868 students. The average middle school has 1014 students, so when this school opens it will have 150 empty seats.

Could surrounding schools have accommodated this "overcrowding" problem?

Lake Braddock HS/MS:

HS enrollment is 2557-program capacity is 2935...378 empty seats
MS enrollment is 1349-program capacity is 1584...235 empty seats

TOTAL EMPTY SEATS AT LBSS: 613


How about Hayfield which is where a lot of these SOCO were pulled FROM:

Hayfield HS enrollment is 1950-program capacity is 2235...285 empty seats
Hayfield MS enrollment is 987=program capacity is 1215....228 empty seats

GRAND TOTAL of just Hayfield and Lake Braddock is 1126 EMPTY SEATS...

And I didn't even look at Mt Vernon and Lee.

This is government at its worst.

They lie to get what they want and they waste precious financial resources that could be used for other schools.

Why the bleepity bleep did SOAR care about the pittance involving Clifton-where there really is no savings and they stood by and let Bradsher build this $50 million school that we don't even need?

I am disgusted with all of them.

What is really over the top abusive about this is that the SOCO community fought hard against any redistricting because they knew if FCPS shuffled the kids around to all the schools with empty seats then they wouldn't even need their stupid school.

Now they cry, waaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh, our schools are overcrowded-we need fifty million dollars.

They take the words selfish and self serving to a whole new level.

Liz was new to the Board during West county redistricting. She made it clear to individuals that she would do nothing to jeopardize getting "her" school built. She knew she needed votes from other members.

This "hands off" other districts is reasonable--IF you have a reasonable representative. It is ridiculous when you have a Liz or a Stu.

dishonesty rules supreme Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I am disgusted with all of them.

So, move already.

That philosoph of a "hands off" attitude toward other districts is irresponsible.

If everyone just agrees with other members' "Bridge to nowhere" projects-we are in serious trouble.

Stu-as much of a jerk as he is-was the only one to vote against SOCO MS. He felt no obligation to return Liz's favor by granting him his carnage involving South Lakes.

We have spineless elected officials with no morals...there lies the problem.

If Liz had needed his vote, Stu would have given it to her.

Staff has responsibility in this, too. Tistadt was awfully anxious to close Clifton--which is especially troubling since he ultimately supported Liz on South County.

Have there been any rumours about what FCPS wants to do with it? I found Liz's statement about razing it for 1M troubling.

dishonesty rules supreme Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Your tax dollars at work folks.....
>
> When Liz Bradsher's school opens-that she claims
> is desperately needed and don't forget her fiscal
> responsibility and how she always acts in the best
> interests of ALL students......
>
> Based on FCPS data:
>
> SOCO HS and MS current data:
>
> program capacity 1594 (high school)
> program capacity 680 (middle school)
>
> total 2274
>
> The high school currently has 1939 students. In
> 2008-09 it was 2031 so it has gone down.
>
>
> Now, let's look at the middle school population:
>
>
> Current enrollment is 868 students. The average
> middle school has 1014 students, so when this
> school opens it will have 150 empty seats.
>
> Could surrounding schools have accommodated this
> "overcrowding" problem?
>
> Lake Braddock HS/MS:
>
> HS enrollment is 2557-program capacity is
> 2935...378 empty seats
> MS enrollment is 1349-program capacity is
> 1584...235 empty seats
>
> TOTAL EMPTY SEATS AT LBSS: 613
>
>
> How about Hayfield which is where a lot of these
> SOCO were pulled FROM:
>
> Hayfield HS enrollment is 1950-program capacity is
> 2235...285 empty seats
> Hayfield MS enrollment is 987=program capacity is
> 1215....228 empty seats
>
> GRAND TOTAL of just Hayfield and Lake Braddock is
> 1126 EMPTY SEATS...
>
> And I didn't even look at Mt Vernon and Lee.
>
> This is government at its worst.
>
> They lie to get what they want and they waste
> precious financial resources that could be used
> for other schools.
>
> Why the bleepity bleep did SOAR care about the
> pittance involving Clifton-where there really is
> no savings and they stood by and let Bradsher
> build this $50 million school that we don't even
> need?
>
> I am disgusted with all of them.

Liz didn't want to let any of the Lorton (nka Laurel Hill) kids to get any Lake Braddock, Mount Vernon, Hayfield or Lee on them to track into their million dollar homes.

Just pathetic.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2011 06:05PM by Thomas More.

Thomas: You need to calm down or STFU.

You are going to suffer a heart attack.

Either you are part of the solution or part of the problem. Which are you?

Now think again, which are YOU!

to Sangster PTA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In addition to no "Sangster Island" --Oak Hill
> which is mentioned repeatedly in her statement
> above was not in the boundary study. I imagine
> she was referring to Oak View. Does she not even
> know her own schools? or is it Tessie's?

No she does NOT know her own schools. She prostituted herself at the Sangster PTA meeting on Tuesday, telling people she was "owed" something, referring to FDK, for closing Clifton and Pimmit Hills. Unfuckingbelievable.

I have talked to so many people - they all seem to think that many of the school board members who are not running again could care less and are just on a KAMIKAZE mission - destroy the Clifton community at all costs, spread kids around without a long term plan, etc... How sad. And how unfortunate for our kids.

To: Thomas More Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thomas: You need to calm down or STFU.
>
> You are going to suffer a heart attack.
>
> Either you are part of the solution or part of the
> problem. Which are you?
>
> Now think again, which are YOU!

another troll appears, get lost

Wow,

You only called me a troll.

Thanks!

I am here forever. You figure it out.

Thomas More Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> dishonesty rules supreme Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Your tax dollars at work folks.....
> >
> > When Liz Bradsher's school opens-that she
> claims
> > is desperately needed and don't forget her
> fiscal
> > responsibility and how she always acts in the
> best
> > interests of ALL students......
> >
> > Based on FCPS data:
> >
> > SOCO HS and MS current data:
> >
> > program capacity 1594 (high school)
> > program capacity 680 (middle school)
> >
> > total 2274
> >
> > The high school currently has 1939 students.
> In
> > 2008-09 it was 2031 so it has gone down.
> >
> >
> > Now, let's look at the middle school
> population:
> >
> >
> > Current enrollment is 868 students. The average
> > middle school has 1014 students, so when this
> > school opens it will have 150 empty seats.
> >
> > Could surrounding schools have accommodated
> this
> > "overcrowding" problem?
> >
> > Lake Braddock HS/MS:
> >
> > HS enrollment is 2557-program capacity is
> > 2935...378 empty seats
> > MS enrollment is 1349-program capacity is
> > 1584...235 empty seats
> >
> > TOTAL EMPTY SEATS AT LBSS: 613
> >
> >
> > How about Hayfield which is where a lot of
> these
> > SOCO were pulled FROM:
> >
> > Hayfield HS enrollment is 1950-program capacity
> is
> > 2235...285 empty seats
> > Hayfield MS enrollment is 987=program capacity
> is
> > 1215....228 empty seats
> >
> > GRAND TOTAL of just Hayfield and Lake Braddock
> is
> > 1126 EMPTY SEATS...
> >
> > And I didn't even look at Mt Vernon and Lee.
> >
> > This is government at its worst.
> >
> > They lie to get what they want and they waste
> > precious financial resources that could be used
> > for other schools.
> >
> > Why the bleepity bleep did SOAR care about the
> > pittance involving Clifton-where there really
> is
> > no savings and they stood by and let Bradsher
> > build this $50 million school that we don't
> even
> > need?
> >
> > I am disgusted with all of them.
>
> Liz didn't want to let any of the Lorton (nka
> Laurel Hill) kids to get any Lake Braddock, Mount
> Vernon, Hayfield or Lee on them to track into
> their million dollar homes.
>
> Just pathetic.

+1

YES! This is exactly the (most recent) reason why WSHS slipped through the cracks...again for a complete renovation. The SB ignored these numbers no matter how many times we spelled it out for them. They have to pump cement under the stair case to keep it from collapsing for Godsake.

SangsterPTA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> to Sangster PTA Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > In addition to no "Sangster Island" --Oak Hill
> > which is mentioned repeatedly in her statement
> > above was not in the boundary study. I imagine
> > she was referring to Oak View. Does she not
> even
> > know her own schools? or is it Tessie's?
>
> No she does NOT know her own schools. She
> prostituted herself at the Sangster PTA meeting on
> Tuesday, telling people she was "owed" something,
> referring to FDK, for closing Clifton and Pimmit
> Hills. Unfuckingbelievable.


Not sure how the Sangster parents "owe" her. They didn't really close Pimmit Hills. They kicked the kids out and turned it into a bus driver training facility so now taxpayers are spending more money on Administration and getting less service to students.

Closing Clifton isn't saving any money either since the multiple additions are going to cost much more than renovating Clifton would and Clifton really never needed all the renovations they proposed in the first place. It sounds like they want to knock the building down. This is likely one big plan to force people into letting them build a new school in the area since the first attempt to put the kids on asbestos land didn't go over so well.

What I just can't understand is how any human with any emotion can be so callous about how they are impacting the lives of thousands of YOUNG children. This impacts more than Clifton now too because there are so many other schools involved. These are children who aren't going to see their best friends anymore, aren't going to see the familiar faces of teachers they were with, aren't going to get to start school with a feeling of stability and security, etc. Same thing for the teachers. The poor teachers have suffered all year not even knowing if they are going to have a job next year and be able to support their families.. What did they do to deserve this?

I would hope that Sangster parents aren't buying her BS or that makes them as callous and selfish as she is. Liz only seems to care about the PTAs when they serve a purpose TO HER because she had no trouble at all dismissing the 12 PTAs that were against her boundary changes and closing Clifton.

"dismissing the 12 PTAs that were against her boundary changes"

The SB did a smart thing ignoring the PTA's most of whom react hysterically to any change. My experience with PTA's are that they are a closed group and rarely take up suggestions/concerns from other parents.

Even when they passed a resolution appealing against this proposal, they did not get feedback from the involved parents.

So, yeah the SB was right in seeing through the PTA BS. They need to stick to helping to improve curriculum, etc.

Let me get this straight:

Smith tells PTA at Virginia Run that personal emails to board members are more effective than the PTA resolution.

Bradhser's assistant asks Liz if she wants to read her emails or have the assistant send automatic response.

Now, tell me--how is one supposed to convey his/her opinion to School board members:

According to Smith, the PTA resolution is inappropriate
According to email from assistant, members are not reading emails......

It's a puzzlement.

Dale did not respond to parents about the discipline issue.
SB members did not respond to parents about discipline issue(Hone is the exception.)
Dale responded defensively to BOS--essentially telling them that it was none of their business.

The Washington Post publishes a front page article and community suddently gets dialogue it has been requesting for years.

Does anyone else have a problem with this?

<> Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "dismissing the 12 PTAs that were against her
> boundary changes"
>
> The SB did a smart thing ignoring the PTA's most
> of whom react hysterically to any change. My
> experience with PTA's are that they are a closed
> group and rarely take up suggestions/concerns from
> other parents.
>
> Even when they passed a resolution appealing
> against this proposal, they did not get feedback
> from the involved parents.
>
> So, yeah the SB was right in seeing through the
> PTA BS. They need to stick to helping to improve
> curriculum, etc.


Welcome to the list Stu.

If you think that the PTAs need to stick to helping improve curriculum, than why did the SB reach out to the PTAs last year during the Southwestern Regional Planning Study Committee ask them to vote for who they wanted to be on the Committee? That wasn't about curriculum - it was about facilities and boundaries. It is pretty funny how the SB uses the PTAs when they think it might be to their advantage and then blows them off when they don't like the feedback. We see through you now. Game over.

To Committee ()

The points that I make are perfectly valid - I know first hand why the PTA at my school wanted to oppose the proposal and it had nothing to do with the kids.

But feel free to go ahead and make some random counter arguments. Exactly the reason why folks like u are ignored by the SB

From the South Lakes HS PTA Newsletter, October 2007:


Vice President
Maria Allen
703-648-3239
703-915-9332 (cell)
mariaallen@comcast.net


You will find elsewhere in this newsletter an article by Maria Allen about the upcoming boundary meetings. We need strong support from the South Lakes parents at these meetings. Please put those dates on your calendar as well.
Lastly, please bookmark our PTSA website— www.southlakesptsa.org


On July 11, the school board finalized plans to conduct a boundary study in the western part of Fairfax County in order to address the issue of underutilization of South Lakes High School and overcrowding at Westfield High School. Included in the boundary study are the following schools: Chantilly High, Herndon High, Oakton High, South Lakes High, and Westfield High.
The school board listed these four primary considera-tions:
Projected school enrollment and capacity – Enrollments and capacities at several schools in the study are out of balance. For example, South Lakes High School will have 700 to 800 student spaces available when its reno-vation is completed in 2008. Available space should be utilized to reduce overcrowding at other schools in the study area.
The distribution of programs and resources – Schools with unusually high or low enrollments often experience difficulty allocating resources. In schools with high enroll-ment there may be restricted opportunities available in co-curricular and extra curricular activities such as sports or music programs. Conversely, schools with low enroll-ments may have trouble offering all the electives or higher lever courses desired by students.
The socioeconomic characteristics of school populations – There are significant disparities in the socioeconomic characteristics of schools in the study area. The effect of boundary changes on these characteristics should be considered with the goal being to provide balance among the schools to the extent practicable.
Contiguous school attendance areas – Boundary recom-mendations resulting from this study should, where possi-ble, eliminate attendance area “islands”.


Important dates to put on your calendar Public Input 3 town hall style community meetings November 12 7:30PM Chantilly HS December 3 7:30 PM Westfield HS December 19 7:30 PM Oakton HS
In addition, there will be two public hearings before the School Board in February at Luther Jackson MS

As I recall South Lakes was working hand in glove with Stu on this. South Lakes PTA came up with their own proposal for boundaries. It created quite a stink!

Also, Fox Mill PTA worked closely with Stu, as well.

Keeping Silverbrook United
Silverbrook parents, School Board members meet, discuss boundary study options.

By By Amber Healy
Wednesday, November 01, 2006


The community that worked together for over a decade to have the South County Secondary School built is staying strong, organizing and meeting to find a solution to keep their children together.
Under all of the three proposed options to the boundary study that would remove students from the overcrowded South County school, children from Silverbrook Elementary would be split up, most likely going to Lake Braddock Secondary. It's an option, parents believe, that is simply unacceptable.
"The best alternative is to keep Silverbrook together and keep South County together," said South Run Oaks resident Alan Fogg, whose three children currently attend South County.
The boundary study, which will impact students at South County, Hayfield and Lake Braddock Secondary schools, has been a contentious undertaking by the Fairfax County School Board. Some board members have been hesitant to modify the boundaries so soon after boundaries were changed to accommodate the September 2005 opening of South County.
"None of the options presented so far are acceptable," said Fogg, at the beginning of a meeting on Thursday, Oct. 26 in the Silverbrook gymnasium. "They did not include any realistic way to solve the problem."

TWO OF THE THREE proposals would remove rising seventh and ninth grade students beginning next fall, sending half east to Hayfield and the other half to Lake Braddock. The third option would remove all middle school students from South County, send them to Hayfield or Lake Braddock for two years and reunite all students at South County for high school. Parents at Thursday's meeting argued that the only real solution is to build a middle school.
School staff members have said a middle school is not needed and that excess capacity at both Hayfield and Lake Braddock is more than enough to accommodate the students.
"Lake Braddock's core facilities have not expanded during the school's renovation," said South Run Oaks resident Tory Smith, who picked apart all three options and discussed her problems with each in depth.
"The school has added seats, but things like the gym, the cafeteria and the sports fields have not been expanded," she said. "Some of the sports teams already have to practice on a staggered schedule because there's no room."
If the first option were approved and middle school students taken out of South County, making it only a high school, the students would turn into ping-pong balls, bouncing back and forth between schools, she said.
"Plus, all the available seats at Lake Braddock are projected," Smith said. "We all know our track record with projections hasn't been great."
Other concerns, including the amount of time students will spend on buses going to and from either Lake Braddock or Hayfield, or the amount of traffic student drivers will encounter during morning and afternoon rush hours, add to the problems Smith said her community should not have to face.
She urged parents to attend the next boundary study meeting, scheduled for Wednesday night at South County, as a group and speak out in their opposition to the proposals.
"Our mantra should be, keep Silverbrook together," she said. "That's the only acceptable solution."
Rob Robertory, a Barrington resident, said the numbers just don't add up in support of any of the proposed options.
"We're still trying to find all the extra capacity at Lake Braddock that the school staff's been saying they've had for the past three years," Robertory said. Citing information from the 2006-07 enrollment projections for a handful of schools in the vicinity of Lake Braddock, South County and Hayfield, Robertory pointed out that in almost every case where the school staff had predicted a loss of students, there had in fact been an increase.
For example, Robertory said, the population at Robinson Secondary School was under-projected by 136 students between the end of the 2005-06 school year and the start of the current one. Enrollment numbers at Woodson High School were 73 students lower than how many are currently attending there, while Annandale High School has 102 students more than were expected.

NONE OF THE proposed options takes into consideration any additional students to move into the area as a result of changes at Fort Belvoir and the Engineer Proving Ground in Springfield, due in part to a lack of solid statistics from the Army, Robertory said.
"It's not inconceivable that the EPG will put pressure on West Springfield (High School) and Lake Braddock, but it will definitely affect Lee," he said. "No one knows for certain what will happen. There's a lot of crowded schools, but it doesn't make sense to keep crowding Lake Braddock."
Supervisor Elaine McConnell (R-Springfield) said she's inclined to believe the Army's statement that not many school-aged children will be moved into the area, as many employees will simply be changing their commute, from Crystal City to the EPG or Fort Belvoir.
"I feel comfortable about it," said McConnell, about students not overcrowding schools. "The kids are already here, the families are already here, they're just changing direction."
Supervisor Gerry Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) disagreed, stating that half of the current employees at the National Geospatial Service will be retiring or relocated by the time the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) changes are in place in September 2011, leaving nearly 4,000 positions open for new families to take.
"That might have a dramatic effect on the people moving closer to the EPG and could have an impact on our schools," Hyland said.
To provide a bit of perspective, Crosspointe resident Liz Bradsher gave an overview of the history of South County, listing how the Silverbrook community and its support of the school was vital in it being built before planned in the school system's Capital Improvement Plan.
"No one is entitled to go to this school, but we've definitely earned the privilege to go to South County," Bradsher said. "The residents here were the catalyst to make it work. We are one of the South County core communities."
Bradsher said both Hayfield and Lake Braddock were good schools, but her community has grown used to wearing South County's blue and green attire.
"This is our community school," she said. "Lake Braddock doesn't need our students. We are two miles away from South County, it's in our community."
Bradsher received a standing ovation from the crowded gymnasium.
Hyland said he was sympathetic to the parents' ordeal and would feel the same way if he were in their seats.
"My commitment to everyone here, if the School Board decides to try to move up the construction of the middle school ... is to do everything in my power to help make that happen," Hyland said. "We need to find, between the Board of Supervisors and the School Board, a way to look at building a middle school as an alternative. If we do that, maybe the decision to do any boundary changes should be put off."
Hyland was interrupted by loud applause as he spoke but continued to promise his support of building a middle school prior to its 2017 date on the CIP.
"I hope to get something from (Superintendent) Jack Dale and Dean (Tistadt, assistant superintendent of facilities and transportation) and the county executive within a week to 10 days to find out if this is a viable option," he said.
This time, McConnell was on the same page as Hyland, adding that for the 23 years she's been on the Board of Supervisors, she'd believed the Lorton area needed a high school.
"The fact is, I'm also an educator and I know how real the need is to have schools close to home," McConnell said. "We desperately need a middle school. You have my support."
School Board member Dan Storck (Mount Vernon) said he was initially against a boundary study so soon after the school opened, and if a viable way to fund a middle school within the next few years could be found, he'd consider not changing the boundaries.
"We recognize the numbers we've used might not be perfect but we need to make them the best we can," Storck said. "The concerns we all have is that we don't know what the numbers truly are for some things."

Crosspointe resident Liz Bradsher gave an overview of the history of South County, listing how the Silverbrook community and its support of the school was vital in it being built before planned in the school system's Capital Improvement Plan.
"No one is entitled to go to this school, but we've definitely earned the privilege to go to South County," Bradsher said. "The residents here were the catalyst to make it work. We are one of the South County core communities."
Bradsher said both Hayfield and Lake Braddock were good schools, but her community has grown used to wearing South County's blue and green attire.
"This is our community school," she said. "Lake Braddock doesn't need our students. We are two miles away from South County, it's in our community."
Bradsher received a standing ovation from the crowded gymnasium.

good for me but not for thee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Crosspointe resident Liz Bradsher gave an overview
> of the history of South County, listing how the
> Silverbrook community and its support of the
> school was vital in it being built before planned
> in the school system's Capital Improvement Plan.
> "No one is entitled to go to this school, but
> we've definitely earned the privilege to go to
> South County," Bradsher said. "The residents here
> were the catalyst to make it work. We are one of
> the South County core communities."
> Bradsher said both Hayfield and Lake Braddock were
> good schools, but her community has grown used to
> wearing South County's blue and green attire.
> "This is our community school," she said. "Lake
> Braddock doesn't need our students. We are two
> miles away from South County, it's in our
> community."
> Bradsher received a standing ovation from the
> crowded gymnasium.

Bet she misses the applause now.

Why on earth did she think her platform (give me what's mine) would translate well to even an incrementally larger political stage?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/04/AR2011010405026.html

An article about new education foundation to support FCPS.. Tessie is on the board. Just a question: do you think she will be paid for this in the future?

Yes To Middle School, Boundary Study
Funding for planning of middle school included in Capital Improvement Plan, but boundary study may
be needed this fall.
By Amber Healy
January 30, 2008


"Parents will be incredibly upset, but I don’t see that we have another option at this time," he said.
Dean Tistadt, chief operating officer for Fairfax County Public Schools, said another boundary study is
the only way to provide relief at South County for the time being.
"Even under the most optimistic scenario, even if the stars aligned just so and money fell from the
heavens, we can't get the middle school built and open for another four years," Tistadt said. "South
County can't continue to operate on a nine-period day for that long."
Tistadt has been opposed to building a middle school, stating that adequate extra capacity exists at
surrounding schools to absorb the extra students from South County.
"I still feel that we don't need it, but I do acknowledge that parents don't want their children bused far
from their homes," he said. "But I don't have $60 million for a middle school that we might need in the
future when there are schools that we know right now need repairs, like Thomas Jefferson [High School
for Science and Technology] and West Springfield. I have to struggle with that."

Bradsher probably cut the deal with Tistadt way back to give him Clifton on a silver platter.

Tistadt was adamantly opposed to a SOCO MS-he wanted the addition.

He doesn't seem like the kind pf guy to give an inch. I bet he agreed if Liz would close Clifton.

It certainly makes sense.

Time to FOIA emails between these two going back 2 years.

Liz:

BTW I would have a very hard time if we allowed community members to determine how a school was to be renovated. I don't believe South County was given the opportunity to decided how they wanted the school built? FCPS should be determining such need, materials used, etc.

Sneed:
I see no reason to include this in today's session, especially the tour which I assumed was to only give the board a sense of scale regarding the school and grounds. Once we open the door to speculating about the billion possible ways to renovate the school we could be there for weeks. If the decision is made to renovate the school we might include input from the community/school.

Tistadt in letter to Herrity:
We design our capital projects in collaboration with the school communities. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to conduct simultaneous design with communities while already starting construction. The School Board continues to place a strong emphasis on community collaboration and transparency.

Just reread Tistadt's letter to Herrity about design/build. Is this whole thing of constantly building large additions or schools just to keep his empire?

It seems to me that design/build would work well for FCPS. VDOT does it quite a bit and so do other organizations. The only problem is that it would dramatically reduce his staff. Are there any other perks it would change?

We really need an audit of Facilities and Construction.

My limited understanding of design build as it applies to school construction is that it is more expensive.

The more pieces of the contract you bid out to a 3rd party-the more profit margin the contractor puts in there.

I guess the question is does FCPS have lower labor costs than a contractor?

Tistadt and company have seriously screwed up by delaying many projects. Interest rates bottomed last year-borrowing costs on debt- and construction prices are way down. I don't see any acceleration of projects as they often claim.

puzzlement Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Let me get this straight:
> The Washington Post publishes a front page article
> and community suddently gets dialogue it has been
> requesting for years.
>
> Does anyone else have a problem with this?

FCPS on trial: So one judge upholds a motion and makes FCPS cough up materials last week, they all of a sudden voluntarily produce more documents and a different judge this week denies all the motions of FCPS, the school board and their attorneys to get the case stricken from court, plus makes them provide even more documents because she wants to personally review them?

Then, no story from the Washington Post?
All WaPo can manage in terms with its vast journalistic integrity is posting in miniature point font the following correction to a month old story?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/06/AR2011020603710.html

Correction to This Article
This article about the cost to Northern Virginia school districts of responding to Freedom of Information Act requests by parents mischaracterized the role of Fairfax County resident Elizabeth Schultz. The story described Schultz as having filed more than a dozen FOIA requests in her bid to keep her neighborhood school, Clifton Elementary, from closing. It also described Schultz as being among those who filed a lawsuit, based on information found through FOIA requests, seeking to keep Clifton open. But while Schultz is a founder of a group trying to save Clifton and has distributed results of the FOIA requests and information regarding the lawsuit, both the FOIA requests and the lawsuit were actually filed by other residents affiliated with the group. In addition, the article described Schultz as having a daughter at Clifton. In fact, Schultz has a son at the school.

Two new articles from Patch looking at time FCPS spent on FOIA requests, School Board emails in closing Clifton, what the Hill case means for freedom of information.

Beyond The Docket Part I: FCPS FOIA Requests Take Seven Months to Fill: http://fairfaxcity.patch.com/articles/beyond-the-docket-part-i-fcps-foia-requests-take-seven-months-to-fill

Beyond The Docket Part II: Landmark FOIA Case Reveals Contentious School Board E-mails: http://fairfaxcity.patch.com/articles/beyond-the-docket-part-ii-landmark-foia-case-reveals-contentious-school-board-emails

http://fairfaxstation.patch.com/articles/beyond-the-docket-part-ii-landmark-foia-case-reveals-contentious-school-board-e-mails

"9:46 p.m. Bradsher emails Tistadt. "We have the votes to close and holding on this. Tomorrow at the meeting Brad is going to ask staff a question on enrollment and projections. Please know that we will need a strong answer from staff on the response in particular, Clifton's decline. I told Brad we do projections far more differently than years ago and Larry is fairly confident about his research and projections. This needs to be conveyed at tomorrow's meeting. I have an early morning meeting but will have my phone with me if you need to talk to me. This is very difficult! :-("


So she was manipulating the numbers on Clifton's decline? And she was still undecided?

patch reader Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> http://fairfaxstation.patch.com/articles/beyond-th
> e-docket-part-ii-landmark-foia-case-reveals-conten
> tious-school-board-e-mails
>
> "9:46 p.m. Bradsher emails Tistadt. "We have the
> votes to close and holding on this. Tomorrow at
> the meeting Brad is going to ask staff a question
> on enrollment and projections. Please know that we
> will need a strong answer from staff on the
> response in particular, Clifton's decline. I told
> Brad we do projections far more differently than
> years ago and Larry is fairly confident about his
> research and projections. This needs to be
> conveyed at tomorrow's meeting. I have an early
> morning meeting but will have my phone with me if
> you need to talk to me. This is very difficult!
> :-("
>
>
> So she was manipulating the numbers on Clifton's
> decline? And she was still undecided?

I'm confused - how could Liz know she had the votes to close Clifton if she didn't know how many School Board members there were?

At first, I thought Lizzy B. just might be a nasty horrible person who for some bizarre reason was vindictive because of some family issue with her whole "my family owned land in Clifton when I was growing up" issue.

Then I thought she was plotting due to some evil plot in fcps.

Now, with the whole don't know who or how many are on the school board with me, I wonder if there is something really wrong up in the bell tower.

Either she is dumb as a box of rocks or she lied on the witness stand.

Whichever she is or did, both are bad.

What School Board reps see when they look in the mirror:
Attachments:

Reading articles online and working on reading E-mails.

An abomination.
Attachments:

Keep going Patty! What a mess we have to unfold here. Time to take out the trash indeed.

Accountability and transparency?
Attachments:

PLEEAASSSEEE post the part where this dim bulb trys to define what a converstaion is.

That was priceless.

I simply cannot believe Bradsher can be that stupid that she does not know how many school board members there are. That is priceless! She sure could count votes when it came to closing Clifton. Seriously, isn't that like perury or something. It is impossible for her not to know how many school board members there are.

I am sitting here in my work cube, laughing my butt off, and my coworkers are looking at me like "this dude is whacked"!

Q: What is the price of a bottle of Vodka at the VA ABC store?

A: Which brand?

Q: Any brand is fine.

A: Well, you got good stuff like Absolut, or Belevedere, or Ketel One. Or cheap stuff like Popov and Smiroff. And of course, they all come in flavored varieties.

Q: Ok - how about Absolut?

A: What size - you've 200ml, 350ml, 1l, 1.75L?

Q: OK - how about what you usually buy?

A: 1.75L Absolut is $39.90, plus tax of course.

Q: Thank you.

Q All right. So we have the same e-mail chain
7 with the FYI, a discussion of talking with Mr. Raney
8 by phone, and then you forward this e-mail chain at
9 9:30 p.m. to two school board members, Ms. Wilson and
10 Mr. Gibson, right?

11 A Right.

12 Q Why did you do that?

13 A Just to let them know.

14 Q Were you concerned at all about, you know,
15 the communicating with more than one school board
16 member on e-mail chains?

17 A I saw that I was just communicating with
18 two.

19 Q And you're also a school board member,
20 right?

21 A Yes, I am.

22 Q Do you include yourself in the rule of
three?

2 A Yes.

3 Q Do you know what I mean by that?

4 A Yes.

5 Q What do I mean by that?

6 A I think you're talking about the Sunshine
7 laws.

8 Q The informal assemblage of three or more
9 members?

10 A Uh-huh.

11 Q Okay.

*************************************************

What adult says uh-huh so many times?

begging for a claymation 'death match' version for school bd

think monster truck voice: "school board lie-off! who is the bigger liar?"
Attachments:

Good grief! Is Liz Bradsher drunk at the SB meetings or while giving an interview?


I am scared for the kids of FCPS.

Does anybody know whether she got the Democratic endorsement?

endorsed? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does anybody know whether she got the Democratic
> endorsement?

For what?

Her membership application is still pending and wont be acted on before May,

She hasn't filed for any elected office yet.

Gag!
Just read a Patch article where Bradsher says she hasn't decided if she is running for School Board or Board of Supervisors.
Please don't tell me this raving lunatic is going to run again.

How could she possibly run for School Board?
And how does she think she is Supervisor material?

I feel ill.

No way! Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gag!
> Just read a Patch article where Bradsher says she
> hasn't decided if she is running for School Board
> or Board of Supervisors.
> Please don't tell me this raving lunatic is going
> to run again.
>
> How could she possibly run for School Board?
> And how does she think she is Supervisor
> material?
>
> I feel ill.

In her deluded mind, everybody loves her. It's so hard for her to choose between the positions because she's trying to gauge how much more power she can make a grab for. Can one of her friends (if there are any still left in this county) please tap her on the shoulder and tell her that the curtain has been pulled away from the wizard? Her true character has been revealed.

self-love Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No way! Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Gag!
> > Just read a Patch article where Bradsher says
> she
> > hasn't decided if she is running for School
> Board
> > or Board of Supervisors.
> > Please don't tell me this raving lunatic is
> going
> > to run again.
> >
> > How could she possibly run for School Board?
> > And how does she think she is Supervisor
> > material?
> >
> > I feel ill.
>
> In her deluded mind, everybody loves her. It's
> so hard for her to choose between the positions
> because she's trying to gauge how much more power
> she can make a grab for. Can one of her friends
> (if there are any still left in this county)
> please tap her on the shoulder and tell her that
> the curtain has been pulled away from the wizard?
> Her true character has been revealed.


She is the BITCH of the school board.

Please hope she does not run for any office but gets some help.

Does zero tolerance not apply to SB members while they are at work or otherwise?

My question:

I think it is clear that Liz had ulterior motives in all of this. But, in light of all the emails, I do not understand why the others went along with it. I know they give deference to the member whose district is affected--but why was Tessie so interested in helping her? Why Janie? Stu doesn't count--he's just on a power trip.

I think that Kathy was able to do some shuffling in her district as a result of this, but I don't understand why every one else jumped on the bandwagon. Were they really not aware of the issues? Did they not understand or were they just seeing parts of the puzzle? For example, did Raney see the whole picture? It seems like he was leaning against it for a while. What about Center?

From the emails, it seems like Tessie was the biggest helper--along with Tistadt. Tistadt wants to do anything that involves spending money for construction or moving trailers.

Are they really that stupid?

questioner Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My question:
>
> I think it is clear that Liz had ulterior motives
> in all of this. But, in light of all the emails,
> I do not understand why the others went along with
> it. I know they give deference to the member
> whose district is affected--but why was Tessie so
> interested in helping her? Why Janie? Stu
> doesn't count--he's just on a power trip.
>
> I think that Kathy was able to do some shuffling
> in her district as a result of this, but I don't
> understand why every one else jumped on the
> bandwagon. Were they really not aware of the
> issues? Did they not understand or were they just
> seeing parts of the puzzle? For example, did
> Raney see the whole picture? It seems like he was
> leaning against it for a while. What about
> Center?
>
> From the emails, it seems like Tessie was the
> biggest helper--along with Tistadt. Tistadt wants
> to do anything that involves spending money for
> construction or moving trailers.
>
> Are they really that stupid?


You don't know what the plans are for the building yet. Once that is known, there will be more light and pieces to the puzzle.

http://fairfaxstation.patch.com/articles/fcps-spending-average-425-per-hour-to-defend-itself-school-board-in-foia-lawsuit

Article says bill to Hunton Williams is over $100,000 and rising. $425 per hour for FCPS to defend itself.

It is a shame the taxpayers have to foot the bill for this, but if it exposes the fraudulent process, I think it is worth it--and I don't live near Clifton and was not affected by this boundary study.

FCPS already spends millions on defense.

Does it occur to the SB that if they would only obey the laws and policies that they could save a LOT of money? This is far from a frivolous lawsuit. It affects the core of our principles.

The reason Lizzie has willing partners in her reign of terror is because they; (1) have no political future, and (2) have nothing to lose.

tessie and Stu have been basically run out of town and told never to return to a political life. Their tenure was disastrous for this school district and they clearly did more harm than good.

Smith, like, Bradsher, is an egomaniac who thinks the world loves her. She surrounds herself with a handful of close friends who stroke her ego telling her how wonderful she is.

This school district will be a different one in January 2012 after the elections. Newly elected folks with ethics and morals will be serving and we will put all this ugliness behind us.

EVERYONE MUST VOTE IN NOVEMBER so that we can regain control of this runaway train.

This FIOA lawsuit is crazy - no organization can work when every single email is exposed in such forums and brought to court.

From now on 2 things will happen - neither of which servers are kids.

1) There will be FOIA request for every decision that FCPS takes


2) FCPS decision makers will stop using email and just use good old cell phones to make deals.

Either way all of us are screwed.

And the basis of the lawsuit is also amazing..they are questioning why FCPS SB members exchanged emails to discuss CES closing??? WTF is wrong with that..?

() Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WTF is wrong with
> that..?

Absolutely nothing, as anyone other than a Clitonite can clearly see from the emails. No smoking gun, nothing inappropriate, just a bunch of childish photoshop pictures amongst meaningless email messages.

While understanding the angst of a local school closing, the Clifton games are costing the rest of us taxpayers a lot of money. The insanity has to stop!

The person(s) responsible for creating this problem--Bradsher, Wilson, Smith, Tisdadt--should pay the legal fees. If they had been doing their job properly (no collusion, no plotting), there would have been less mess and fewer FOIA requests necessary.

Not a clifton elitist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> () Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > WTF is wrong with
> > that..?
>
> Absolutely nothing, as anyone other than a
> Clitonite can clearly see from the emails. No
> smoking gun, nothing inappropriate, just a bunch
> of childish photoshop pictures amongst meaningless
> email messages.
>
> While understanding the angst of a local school
> closing, the Clifton games are costing the rest of
> us taxpayers a lot of money. The insanity has to
> stop!


The whole thing is weird. And I don't mean the Clifton foia. Now why do you people think the right to foia exists? When government goes wacko at least we have a recourse for exposure.

Strauss got her Langley addition and the Langley pyramid hold harmless for South Lakes boundary changes. I suppose that was her trade.

Gibson does have moments of conscience. Never Strauss. Tisdadt can get fired plus I suppose he likes a big department.

Anyone ofthese clowns who wrote a ridiculous email should be canned. Discusions should have been held at work sessions - verbal calls. Most of those emials are about nothing but vitriol and Quenn Bee schemes.

Anyone who is even defending what these dingbats put in their emails is as brainless as they are.

Not sure where you guys work but my firm tells us OVER AND OVER never put in an email something that could embarass you or the firm.

How complicated is that????

They can use email to transact business, they just shouldn't personally insult people-particularly BOS members....

If Liz wants to send emails to her friends about all the drinking she does- she is free to do so, just not on her taxpayer provided computer/blackberry/email account.

If you can't grasp this simple concept, I won't waste my time.

No one is defending the SB..but asking for all emails from the SB and challenging why they exchanged emails, is pretty dumb.

But I guess we have dumb people everywhere.

If you want to see the FCPS SB email's ..then pay for it. Pay for the lawyer fees ( I bet the lawyers are instigating this).

In addition we all will be paying for this stupidity when the FCPS SB just freezes all communication with the community after these FOIA lawsuits.

This doesn’t make any sense. According to the Patch article, FCPS was billed $106,130 by Hunton & Williams which charges $425 per hour. $106,130 divided by $425 hr. is roughly 250 hours. Assuming a 40 hour work week, that means they have already spent 6 weeks full-time on this case alone. However, the Court case was filed and there was 7 days for them to prepare until a trial which lasted only 2 days. At best that is only 2 weeks (not 6 weeks) of work that it should have taken them. It makes you wonder whether publishing this high number is just a PR spin for FCPS to try and play victim? Also, I would like to see what legal fees were 4 years ago before this particular Board was in charge. There have been multiple lawsuits filed against this particular Board in the last few years not just lawsuits related to Clifton.

Calculate Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This doesn’t make any sense. According to the
> Patch article, FCPS was billed $106,130 by Hunton
> & Williams which charges $425 per hour.
> $106,130 divided by $425 hr. is roughly 250 hours.
> Assuming a 40 hour work week, that means they
> have already spent 6 weeks full-time on this case
> alone. However, the Court case was filed and
> there was 7 days for them to prepare until a trial
> which lasted only 2 days. At best that is only 2
> weeks (not 6 weeks) of work that it should have
> taken them. It makes you wonder whether
> publishing this high number is just a PR spin for
> FCPS to try and play victim? Also, I would like
> to see what legal fees were 4 years ago before
> this particular Board was in charge. There have
> been multiple lawsuits filed against this
> particular Board in the last few years not just
> lawsuits related to Clifton.


What really doesn't make any sense is that according to Patch, they billed them the $106,130 in January. The trial didn't even occur until two weeks ago.

Is it possibly more than one lawyer at $425 per hour? If so, the charge is a lot more than $425/hour total. Which goes to prove my point: the SB can't count!

Liz made that pretty clear on the stand.

Also, I'll have to go check, but I think FCPS had more than 6M in lawyer's fees last year.

They have a lawyer on staff--isn't he there to keep them from doing something wrong. Even the FBI consults with the US attorney's office before they take an action. Shouldn't the SB consult their attorney over things like boundary issues?

If FCPS had to pay out 6 million in legal fees we have a HUGE problem.

Stop blaming Clifton parents for the legal problems of the FCPS.

Blame the SB. They started it and for no good reason.

Interesting timing of this press release

from www.fcps.edu

News Releases
Printer-Friendly Version

Thursday, March 10, 2011

FCPS Facilities Planning Advisory Council Advises School Board, Staff Members on Facilities Issues

The Fairfax County School Board has established a new standing committee, the Facilities Planning Advisory Council (FPAC), to advise and inform the School Board and staff members on long-term plans for facilities needs. FPAC, which is made up of 13 Fairfax County residents—one from each magisterial district, three at-large members, and one from the City of Fairfax—will submit its first report to the School Board for the Facilities and Transportation Services work session on Monday, March 14.

FPAC has elected officers and formed two subcommittees: the South County Regional Planning Subcommittee and the Strategic Planning Subcommittee. The group meets twice monthly on Tuesday evenings at the Gatehouse Administration Center.

Issues which may be considered by FPAC include school program capacity, enrollment and projections, transportation and operating efficiencies related to facilities planning, capital improvement plan prioritization, creative financing and construction strategies, scope of renovations, school closures and new schools, and student accommodation planning.

Complete information about FPAC, including its meeting schedule, is available at http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/fpac/index.htm.

from proposed budget:
http://www.fcps.edu/fs/budget/documents/proposed/2012/ProposedBudget12.pdf
p. 160

estimated legal contracting 2011 $6,579,431
I guess they knew they were in trouble when they created this budget.....interesting. They have only proposed 2.5M next year......

Maybe it's over 6M because they think they are going to lose?

Where is the outrage now?

Maybe if everyone fought to save Clifton elementary we would not be in this mess.

You have no one to blame except yourself and the SB.

It is easy to complain on here but it would have just been easy to also email the SB.

get serious people Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not sure where you guys work but my firm tells us
> OVER AND OVER never put in an email something that
> could embarass you or the firm.

So, how do you and your firm communicate those illegal items that could embarass? Verbal only?

Back on topic. All I see here is pure harrassment by the Clifton community. Poking fun at drink comments, etc., but absolutely nothing illegal or unethical in the emails that have been posted. Most of this thread is simple troll traffic

Calculate Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Assuming a 40 hour work week, that means they
> have already spent 6 weeks full-time on this case
> alone. However, the Court case was filed and
> there was 7 days for them to prepare until a trial
> which lasted only 2 days. At best that is only 2
> weeks (not 6 weeks) of work that it should have
> taken them.

You are basing this on one FTE working/billing. They likely had more than one person working at the same time.

That money could have paid for other legal work---not only the Clifton issue. They surely have to get advice on many other matters.

The Truth Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> get serious people Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Not sure where you guys work but my firm tells
> us
> > OVER AND OVER never put in an email something
> that
> > could embarass you or the firm.
>
> So, how do you and your firm communicate those
> illegal items that could embarass? Verbal only?
>
> Back on topic. All I see here is pure harrassment
> by the Clifton community. Poking fun at drink
> comments, etc., but absolutely nothing illegal or
> unethical in the emails that have been posted.
> Most of this thread is simple troll traffic

Actually unless the Clifton community stretches from Route 50 near Loudoun County all the way down to 123 and Henderson across to I-66 and 50 interchange, I'd say there is a lot more than just the Clifton community piling on about Bradsher.

I can easily say that at a minimum the Clifton attendance area (Fairfax, Fairfax Station and Clifton) will be doing all they can come October and November of this year to make sure this woman does not get elected to any office in this county.

Legal or illegal, she ran on a platform of community schools and keeping children in their community. She has closed a community school that served the largest geographical area of any elementary school in Fairfax County under the guise of saving money. We'll never really know the end cost benefit (if any), but we do know that she was pushing for one thing with board members and telling HER constituents something else. If she had come out early in this process saying that she saw no way for the school to remain open, I think everyone would have handled all this much better. She has strung community after community along only to crap on them in the end. That needs to stop. If this really was all about money do you think South County Middle would be in the construction process. That school wasn't needed as surrounding schools had room for SC students, but $50M of construction funding is going to that school. She says one thing and does something completely different. No integrity and it shows plain as day in her actions and in the e-mails posted.

Absolutely agree with The Truth ().

And at one of the hearings, a Clifton resident ( a doc, no less) went on to suggest that the SB could easily find land for new school using Eminent domain. Shows how much they care about others, as long as they are not impacted.

I have long lost any goodwill towards the CES community on the closure issue.

Initially I was not at all affected by CES closure. Great . Then my community is moved to a new school. OK..a minor hassle, but not a deal breaker. But now, I have to deal with FCPS SB spending their limited budget on a FOIA lawsuit, which is basically bogus?

That's just plain BS. Its time for rest of SW folks to get up and tell these CES folks to stop dragging all of us down.

() Wrote:

> Absolutely agree with The Truth ().
>
> And at one of the hearings, a Clifton resident ( a
> doc, no less) went on to suggest that the SB could
> easily find land for new school using Eminent
> domain. Shows how much they care about others, as
> long as they are not impacted.
>
> I have long lost any goodwill towards the CES
> community on the closure issue.
>
> Initially I was not at all affected by CES
> closure. Great . Then my community is moved to a
> new school. OK..a minor hassle, but not a deal
> breaker. But now, I have to deal with FCPS SB
> spending their limited budget on a FOIA lawsuit,
> which is basically bogus?
>
> That's just plain BS. Its time for rest of SW
> folks to get up and tell these CES folks to stop
> dragging all of us down.

Bad, bad Clifton people!

Looks like Liz and her little coterie is kicking into higher gear as she ponders her sky's-the-limit political fortunes.

Good luck with that. If she doesn't see the writing on the wall, and take a breather (or is that breathalyzer) from political office, her opponents will have a field day. Just saying she doesn't know the number of School Board members after serving on the Board for years by itself would make her a laughing stock.

Now, you are living in denial. This is post from a honest impacted parent and u choose to dismiss it? This is exactly what u are accusing the SB off. How ironic.

() Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Absolutely agree with The Truth ().
>
> And at one of the hearings, a Clifton resident ( a
> doc, no less) went on to suggest that the SB could
> easily find land for new school using Eminent
> domain. Shows how much they care about others, as
> long as they are not impacted.
>
> I have long lost any goodwill towards the CES
> community on the closure issue.
>
> Initially I was not at all affected by CES
> closure. Great . Then my community is moved to a
> new school. OK..a minor hassle, but not a deal
> breaker. But now, I have to deal with FCPS SB
> spending their limited budget on a FOIA lawsuit,
> which is basically bogus?
>
> That's just plain BS. Its time for rest of SW
> folks to get up and tell these CES folks to stop
> dragging all of us down.


You cry about a $6 million legal bill? Where were the tears when the SB was building themselves Gatehouse and their state-of-the-art parking garage? The SB spends and shuffles money around with no oversight, that's what you should be mad about!

And, where were you? Nowhere, right? Till u got screwed.

You're right, I was busy working and raising kids, thinking (naively) that the school board was was made of fair, nice people who were spending all of that money wisely. Now I see how corrupt they really are, and how the money flows with no oversight.

The Truth Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> get serious people Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Not sure where you guys work but my firm tells
> us
> > OVER AND OVER never put in an email something
> that
> > could embarass you or the firm.
>
> So, how do you and your firm communicate those
> illegal items that could embarass? Verbal only?
>
> Back on topic. All I see here is pure harrassment
> by the Clifton community. Poking fun at drink
> comments, etc., but absolutely nothing illegal or
> unethical in the emails that have been posted.
> Most of this thread is simple troll traffic


What everyone sees is that Bradsher and her cronies are dishonest elitists who think their constituents should cow-tow to them. These emails lay bare what she really thinks about those of us who voted for her, her fellow SB members who don't go along and the BOS members who have the audacity to challenge her. Yes, there's a lot of troll traffic on this thread, your post included.

From what I have read:

If the School Board had followed the law and kept everything transparent, there would be no suit.

Probably, no one would have asked for FOIA if the decision to close Clifton had not been so sketchy. The reasons given for closure were not strongly supported by the data.

If Liz had not been dealing with SOAR to get Clifton closed, her motives would not have been questioned.

After reading the initial FOIA, it became apparent that the SB was a runaway train. It begs the question, why is FCPS so reluctant to release the emails?

I would think that if the plaintiffs had no case that the legal fees for FCPS would not be so high.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

() Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And, where were you? Nowhere, right? Till u got
> screwed.


Where were you when they decided to close Graham Road Elementary and a lawsuit spawned from that? What about THOSE legal fees?

It's interesting what makes it into the Press and what doesn't, isn't it?

West boundary veteran Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> From what I have read:
>
> If the School Board had followed the law and kept
> everything transparent, there would be no suit.
>
> Probably, no one would have asked for FOIA if the
> decision to close Clifton had not been so sketchy.
> The reasons given for closure were not strongly
> supported by the data.
>
> If Liz had not been dealing with SOAR to get
> Clifton closed, her motives would not have been
> questioned.
>
> After reading the initial FOIA, it became apparent
> that the SB was a runaway train. It begs the
> question, why is FCPS so reluctant to release the
> emails?
>
> I would think that if the plaintiffs had no case
> that the legal fees for FCPS would not be so
> high.
>
> Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Absolutely agree with West boundary veteran.

I don't know what I was thinking when I came on here supporting Liz. For everyone that I've offended in this thread, please forgive me. I know I was a pompous ass. In truth, I am a close friend of Liz and I will benefit from closing Clifton. Also, I have some pretty sever mental issues and am usually too heavily medicated to make it to my keyboard. I am having a brief moment of lucidity, so if I come back here and continue to defend the SB and post hateful rants about the residents of Clifton and everyone who has more money or a nicer house than me, please know that my medication has once again worn off.

Justataxpayer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Legal or illegal, she ran on a platform of
> community schools and keeping children in their
> community. She has closed a community school that
> served the largest geographical area of any
> elementary school in Fairfax County under the
> guise of saving money. We'll never really know
> the end cost benefit (if any), but we do know that
> she was pushing for one thing with board members
> and telling HER constituents something else. If
> she had come out early in this process saying that
> she saw no way for the school to remain open, I
> think everyone would have handled all this much
> better. She has strung community after community
> along only to crap on them in the end. That needs
> to stop. If this really was all about money do
> you think South County Middle would be in the
> construction process. That school wasn't needed
> as surrounding schools had room for SC students,
> but $50M of construction funding is going to that
> school. She says one thing and does something
> completely different. No integrity and it shows
> plain as day in her actions and in the e-mails
> posted.

All of this: TRUE.

FCPS school board/employees: Don't put anything in your emails that is unprofessional, inappropriate, or personal (in a way that would come back to kick you in the rear end). It shows how arrogant Liz Bradsher, Tessie and others have been, if they feel that they are above any rules or transparency of the school board process.

The idea that Liz Bradsher is contemplating running for another political office is disturbing. Being so ambitious, manipulative, and unethical has led Liz to be detached from reality.

http://reston.patch.com/

My favorite quote from Stu:


"At the end of the day, it is the caring, dedicated, talented teachers, support staff, students, parents, administrators and – yes – school board members who are most responsible for the success of our students and our schools. And it important to keep this success in perspective, when considering the claims of those who say things have never been worse. "

can't make this up Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> http://reston.patch.com/
>
> My favorite quote from Stu:
>
>
> "At the end of the day, it is the caring,
> dedicated, talented teachers, support staff,
> students, parents, administrators and – yes –
> school board members who are most responsible for
> the success of our students and our schools. And
> it important to keep this success in perspective,
> when considering the claims of those who say
> things have never been worse. "

Stu's record as a uniter is surely under-appreciated. Not everyone could get both Republicans (Patty Reed, Pat Herrity, Barbara Comstock) and Democrats (Tina Hone, Sandy Evans, Penny Gross, Kaye Kory and Chap Peterson) to say he or she is totally full of crap.

Keep these brilliant columns coming, Stu. We have so much to learn from you.

can't make this up Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> http://reston.patch.com/
>
> My favorite quote from Stu:
>
>
> "At the end of the day, it is the caring,
> dedicated, talented teachers, support staff,
> students, parents, administrators and – yes –
> school board members who are most responsible for
> the success of our students and our schools. And
> it important to keep this success in perspective,
> when considering the claims of those who say
> things have never been worse. "


Aren't BOTH of his jobs paid for through tax dollars? I hope he isn't sitting around writing this junk while we are paying his wages.

Not a clifton elitist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> () Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > WTF is wrong with
> > that..?
>
> Absolutely nothing, as anyone other than a
> Clitonite can clearly see from the emails. No
> smoking gun, nothing inappropriate, just a bunch
> of childish photoshop pictures amongst meaningless
> email messages.
>
> While understanding the angst of a local school
> closing, the Clifton games are costing the rest of
> us taxpayers a lot of money. The insanity has to
> stop!


Yes Yes Yes - it's all Clifton supporters that are costing us money.

Then why does FCPS now have in-house counsel for over a HALF A MILLION DOLLARS per year?

Seems like all they keep doing is building up defenses so they can pillage and plunder your rights, your student's rights, your money, the discretion of decent teachers and staff and so on.

Strange that only FCPS seems to have a problem with this. The thing is those other people we elect who actually make the laws apparently think otherwise. Would hardly have passed all those pesky laws for the hell of it.

By the way, they have just ramped up the penalties even MORE. http://www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2011/hb1457/

The only thing right the poster had to say is that "the insanity has to stop".
Agreed.
So when is FCPS and their run away School Board going to stop the insanity?

It's worse than Esq. states; FCPS pays around $717,000 for in-house legal staff when benefits are calculated.

We didn't use to have [need] in-house legal staff.

The equation is:
(Dale + Senior Staff)/School Board = Taxpayers' Pockets/Taxpayers' Bank Accounts

Or:
Part of the Whole Problem/Whole Problem = % of $ left in your wallet/all of your $

Will be on the SOLs [for Taxpayers].

Could it be true? Hmm....

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/capital-land/2011/03/ffx-lawmkers-consider-dissolving-school-board

Anyone attending the SB work session this morning got to see The Queen mean Girl in action.

Bradsher, in her always condescending tone says:


"Where Tina (Hone) and I differ is that I have children and she does not".

Unreal.

The audience actually booed Bradsher. It was ugly.

Tina- I would trust you with my kids ANY DAY over that nut Bradsher.

You're a MOM to 170,000 kids in this school district and they are all blessed to have you looking out for them.

Take that and shove it. Liz. You are nasty.

Liz outdoes herself today Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anyone attending the SB work session this morning
> got to see The Queen mean Girl in action.
>
> Bradsher, in her always condescending tone says:
>
>
> "Where Tina (Hone) and I differ is that I have
> children and she does not".
>
> Unreal.
>
> The audience actually booed Bradsher. It was
> ugly.
>
> Tina- I would trust you with my kids ANY DAY over
> that nut Bradsher.
>
> You're a MOM to 170,000 kids in this school
> district and they are all blessed to have you
> looking out for them.
>
> Take that and shove it. Liz. You are nasty.

Why does this not surprise me?

Liz - Here are some other ways you and Tina differ:

She has class; you do not.

She speaks eloquently; you are a babbling idiot.

She sticks up for kids; you take care of a few cronies.

She doesn't have a litany of e-mails detailing her drinking habits; you do.

She has a political future; you have none.

http://notlarrysabato.typepad.com/
How he went so light this time is beyond me.
Weenie of the week at best.

How did these horrible people get elected?
Some of the most nasty, rude and self-aggrandizing public officials.

November cannot come soon enough!