HomeFairfax General ForumArrest/Ticket SearchWiki newPictures/VideosChatArticlesLinksAbout
Fairfax County General :  Fairfax Underground fairfax underground logo
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Board nears vote on crowding solutions for Fairfax High School
Posted by: Holly ()
Date: May 07, 2013 03:38PM

Board nears vote on crowding solutions for Fairfax High School
School is projected to be 600 students over capacity in 2017 if no changes are made
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20130502/NEWS/130509620/1117/board-nears-vote-on-crowding-solutions-for-fairfax-high-school&template=fairfaxTimes

A decision on plans to reduce crowding at Fairfax High School by reassigning hundreds of students is a week away. School Board members met Monday for a final work session on the Fairfax High School and Lanier Middle School boundary shift. The vote is scheduled next Thursday, May 9.

Fairfax High School is projected to have a capacity deficit of 600 students by the 2017-18 school year if no changes to attendance are made. Similarly, Lanier Middle is projected to be some 115 students over capacity by 2017-18.

To allow for grandfathering of some students currently attending schools, staff is recommending reassigning 261 students (208 from Fairfax High) from these schools in 2014-15, and 468 students (371 from Fairfax High) in 2017-18. Fairfax High School is in Fairfax City. No Fairfax City students are being moved, but rather the county population is being shifted to county schools. City schools are run by Fairfax County Public Schools.

School Board discussions on Monday focused on eliminating split feeder schools, meaning elementary or middle schools where students would be divided between two or more high schools’ attendance areas. Board members also talked about additional grandfathering, so that students who start in a school can finish there. Student commutes to schools was also discussed.

“Pieces are moving all over, but at the end of the day, if we do not relieve overcrowding significantly, I will have viewed us as failing our job,” said School Board member Patty Reed (Providence District). “I don’t know about everyone else but I don’t want to come back to this issue.”

Although amendments were offered Monday by School Board members and are planned to be debated during the vote, the primary options are:

--Reassigning a portion of the Greenbriar West Elementary School’s attendance area from Lanier Middle/Fairfax High to Rocky Run Middle/Chantilly High, which would eliminate the school’s current split feeder, meaning all of the students would now attend the same middle and high schools.

--Reassigning all of the Fairfax Villa Elementary attendance areas from Lanier/Fairfax to Frost Middle and Woodson High schools starting in the 2013-14 school year.

--Oak View Elementary attendance areas would also be shifted from Frost Middle/Woodson High School to Robinson Secondary School. Staff said this would address a long-standing split feeder issue.

“I’m looking to keep people closer to their community schools than what we have here,” School Board member Megan McLaughlin (Braddock District) said. She indicated she would support temporary split feeder options if it meant shorter commutes for students long term.

“When we’re done [with this boundary shift], a lot of our schools in this boundary study are going to be close to about 108 percent capacity,” she said. “In fact, not only that, if you look at the map, staff says the capacity at all of the high schools in this grouping are going to be at 107 percent.”

McLaughlin and other School Board members said they would support adding a small number of students to crowded schools if it meant shorter travel times.

“The question is where is the right place for those kids to go if we’re pulling them out of Fairfax?” she said.

Fellow School Board member Elizabeth Schultz (Springfield District) voiced similar concerns about distance from schools and the possibility of adding students to Centreville High School, which was removed from the scope of the boundary study because it is projected to be at 121 percent capacity by 2017-18.

“If you look at that distance traveled, I think that it’s about a 45 minute commute or bus ride [for some students under the proposed options],” she said. “And part of the concern is if you miss the bus, it is a major, major investment on parents to get the students into Fairfax, particularly if they are younger children who are elementary bound.”

While there is support for alternatives to the proposed options, some School Board members were against adding options this late in the debate.

“I would support amendments that increase the relief for Fairfax High School, but no amendments that would decrease relief,” School Board member Ted Velkoff (At-large) said. “I also would not support the creation of new split feeders… I will not support any options that are made of components that have not been shown in options A, B and C. For me this is a transparency issue. This information has been talked about for at least six months… and I think to construct combinations of communities to be moved that haven’t been part of this since these charts showed in January is not in keeping with our responsibility to the community.”

More on this boundary study can be found at http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/fairfaxlanier/index.shtml

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Board nears vote on crowding solutions for Fairfax High School
Posted by: Small Wonder ()
Date: May 07, 2013 04:14PM

Is the crowding due to an increase in the student body or did they close some schools down?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Board nears vote on crowding solutions for Fairfax High School
Posted by: remember history ()
Date: May 07, 2013 04:50PM

File under: Fairfax City and Gatehouse get their revenge.

This insane story began when FCPS decided to close a nice neighborhood elementary school known as Eleven Oaks on the Fairfax City-County-GMU border. The usual community dissent had the usual effect - none. FCPS then decided to turn the school site into a school bus parking lot. Meanwhile, Fairfax City looked at the location and decided to buy and flip the land to a developer at a huge profit. FCPS agreed, with the caveat that Fairfax City provide another location to park the buses. Easy, they thought. We'll just make a deal with GMU to park the buses on some vacant GMU land down by Braddock Road.

Good plan, until the real estate bubble burst. The land became worth a lot less, and GMU was no longer interested in a buses-for-housing partnership. Fairfax City came back to FCPS asking for relief from the bus depot requirement. FCPS offered up some land at Woodson HS, but the Woodson PTSO objected, and VDOT's requirement for changes at the Pickett Road/Main Street intersection made the project too expensive.

Fairfax City hired a real estate consultant to find a home for the bus depot. They decided to take the green buffer between the Pickett Road tank farm and Fair City Mall, again over the objections of the tank farm owners and neighboring residents. But Fairfax City was able to threaten eminent domain, and everyone fell into line to make the bus depot a reality.

That's when Fairfax City let the other shoe drop. Citing the agreement that Fairfax City has with FCPS to run Fairfax City Schools, Fairfax City demanded that FCPS remove many of the county residents attending Fairfax HS. FCPS, pissed off by the demand but unable to do anything but comply, blamed Woodson for the entire mess and decided to stick it to them.

And that, as they say, is the rest of the story.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Board nears vote on crowding solutions for Fairfax High School
Posted by: Wow? ()
Date: May 07, 2013 04:52PM

remember history Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> File under: Fairfax City and Gatehouse get their
> revenge.
>
> This insane story began when FCPS decided to close
> a nice neighborhood elementary school known as
> Eleven Oaks on the Fairfax City-County-GMU border.
> The usual community dissent had the usual effect
> - none. FCPS then decided to turn the school site
> into a school bus parking lot. Meanwhile, Fairfax
> City looked at the location and decided to buy and
> flip the land to a developer at a huge profit.
> FCPS agreed, with the caveat that Fairfax City
> provide another location to park the buses. Easy,
> they thought. We'll just make a deal with GMU to
> park the buses on some vacant GMU land down by
> Braddock Road.
>
> Good plan, until the real estate bubble burst.
> The land became worth a lot less, and GMU was no
> longer interested in a buses-for-housing
> partnership. Fairfax City came back to FCPS
> asking for relief from the bus depot requirement.
> FCPS offered up some land at Woodson HS, but the
> Woodson PTSO objected, and VDOT's requirement for
> changes at the Pickett Road/Main Street
> intersection made the project too expensive.
>
> Fairfax City hired a real estate consultant to
> find a home for the bus depot. They decided to
> take the green buffer between the Pickett Road
> tank farm and Fair City Mall, again over the
> objections of the tank farm owners and neighboring
> residents. But Fairfax City was able to threaten
> eminent domain, and everyone fell into line to
> make the bus depot a reality.
>
> That's when Fairfax City let the other shoe drop.
> Citing the agreement that Fairfax City has with
> FCPS to run Fairfax City Schools, Fairfax City
> demanded that FCPS remove many of the county
> residents attending Fairfax HS. FCPS, pissed off
> by the demand but unable to do anything but
> comply, blamed Woodson for the entire mess and
> decided to stick it to them.
>
> And that, as they say, is the rest of the story.

WHAT!?!

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Board nears vote on crowding solutions for Fairfax High School
Posted by: JK ()
Date: May 07, 2013 05:08PM

Wow? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> remember history Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > File under: Fairfax City and Gatehouse get
> their
> > revenge.
> >
> > This insane story began when FCPS decided to
> close
> > a nice neighborhood elementary school known as
> > Eleven Oaks on the Fairfax City-County-GMU
> border.
> > The usual community dissent had the usual
> effect
> > - none. FCPS then decided to turn the school
> site
> > into a school bus parking lot. Meanwhile,
> Fairfax
> > City looked at the location and decided to buy
> and
> > flip the land to a developer at a huge profit.
> > FCPS agreed, with the caveat that Fairfax City
> > provide another location to park the buses.
> Easy,
> > they thought. We'll just make a deal with GMU
> to
> > park the buses on some vacant GMU land down by
> > Braddock Road.
> >
> > Good plan, until the real estate bubble burst.
> > The land became worth a lot less, and GMU was
> no
> > longer interested in a buses-for-housing
> > partnership. Fairfax City came back to FCPS
> > asking for relief from the bus depot
> requirement.
> > FCPS offered up some land at Woodson HS, but
> the
> > Woodson PTSO objected, and VDOT's requirement
> for
> > changes at the Pickett Road/Main Street
> > intersection made the project too expensive.
> >
> > Fairfax City hired a real estate consultant to
> > find a home for the bus depot. They decided to
> > take the green buffer between the Pickett Road
> > tank farm and Fair City Mall, again over the
> > objections of the tank farm owners and
> neighboring
> > residents. But Fairfax City was able to
> threaten
> > eminent domain, and everyone fell into line to
> > make the bus depot a reality.
> >
> > That's when Fairfax City let the other shoe
> drop.
> > Citing the agreement that Fairfax City has with
> > FCPS to run Fairfax City Schools, Fairfax City
> > demanded that FCPS remove many of the county
> > residents attending Fairfax HS. FCPS, pissed
> off
> > by the demand but unable to do anything but
> > comply, blamed Woodson for the entire mess and
> > decided to stick it to them.
> >
> > And that, as they say, is the rest of the
> story.
>
> WHAT!?!


That story is quite accurate, actually. Now look for traffic jams on a daily basis along Pickett Road and Main St near the Annandale border especially with a formerly "dead" shopping center being renovated and soon to be 95% leased.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Board nears vote on crowding solutions for Fairfax High School
Posted by: old skool ()
Date: May 07, 2013 07:54PM

JK Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow? Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > remember history Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > File under: Fairfax City and Gatehouse get
> > their
> > > revenge.
> > >
> > > This insane story began when FCPS decided to
> > close
> > > a nice neighborhood elementary school known
> as
> > > Eleven Oaks on the Fairfax City-County-GMU
> > border.
> > > The usual community dissent had the usual
> > effect
> > > - none. FCPS then decided to turn the school
> > site
> > > into a school bus parking lot. Meanwhile,
> > Fairfax
> > > City looked at the location and decided to
> buy
> > and
> > > flip the land to a developer at a huge profit.
>
> > > FCPS agreed, with the caveat that Fairfax
> City
> > > provide another location to park the buses.
> > Easy,
> > > they thought. We'll just make a deal with GMU
> > to
> > > park the buses on some vacant GMU land down
> by
> > > Braddock Road.
> > >
> > > Good plan, until the real estate bubble burst.
>
> > > The land became worth a lot less, and GMU was
> > no
> > > longer interested in a buses-for-housing
> > > partnership. Fairfax City came back to FCPS
> > > asking for relief from the bus depot
> > requirement.
> > > FCPS offered up some land at Woodson HS, but
> > the
> > > Woodson PTSO objected, and VDOT's requirement
> > for
> > > changes at the Pickett Road/Main Street
> > > intersection made the project too expensive.
> > >
> > > Fairfax City hired a real estate consultant
> to
> > > find a home for the bus depot. They decided
> to
> > > take the green buffer between the Pickett
> Road
> > > tank farm and Fair City Mall, again over the
> > > objections of the tank farm owners and
> > neighboring
> > > residents. But Fairfax City was able to
> > threaten
> > > eminent domain, and everyone fell into line
> to
> > > make the bus depot a reality.
> > >
> > > That's when Fairfax City let the other shoe
> > drop.
> > > Citing the agreement that Fairfax City has
> with
> > > FCPS to run Fairfax City Schools, Fairfax
> City
> > > demanded that FCPS remove many of the county
> > > residents attending Fairfax HS. FCPS, pissed
> > off
> > > by the demand but unable to do anything but
> > > comply, blamed Woodson for the entire mess
> and
> > > decided to stick it to them.
> > >
> > > And that, as they say, is the rest of the
> > story.
> >
> > WHAT!?!
>
>
> That story is quite accurate, actually. Now look
> for traffic jams on a daily basis along Pickett
> Road and Main St near the Annandale border
> especially with a formerly "dead" shopping center
> being renovated and soon to be 95% leased.


Somewhat accurate. Eleven Oaks School wasn't a "nice neighborhood elementary school" for many, many years (Green Acres was one much more recently).

For at least a decade before the circa 1953 Eleven Oaks School was torn dorn, it housed an ALC center (special school for a handful of gangbangers and drug dealers). My wife parked her bus at 11 Oaks back in the 60's, so bus parking is nothing new at that location (there was even a fuel pump there for the buses). Not to mention that the 11 Oaks property was split in two by the new George Mason Blvd, which would have gone through the old school building.

Of course, more buses would fit after the building was torn down around 2007, but there has never been more than 40-50 buses parked there. In contrast, the big bus yards at West Ox and Newington hold 300-400.

BTW Pickett and Main is already a clusterfuck. 40-50 additional vehicles won't even be noticed.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Board nears vote on crowding solutions for Fairfax High School
Posted by: Fairfaxian ()
Date: May 08, 2013 04:26PM

Yes, it's all about bruised egos and revenge. Bet you didn't even know that Fairfax City has its own school board. Not sure what they do, but they do think very highly of themselvesand like to be stroked.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Board nears vote on crowding solutions for Fairfax High School
Posted by: SB Historian ()
Date: May 08, 2013 04:47PM

So if you believe the conspiracy version of the story, the moral of the story is that Woodson parents won the battle over the bus depot, but lost the war over the school's future, because the City of Fairfax and FCPS are going to send Fairfax Villa (a lower-income area) to Woodson and move other kids from Fairfax Station to Robinson.

And, because Megan McvLaughlin (the School Board member for most of the Woodson district) was among the biggest opponents of the bus depot near Woodson, FCPS and the City of Fairfax will take particular pleasure in making sure this happens on her watch and that she can't stop it.

I guess that's epic, as suburban school politics go. On the other hand, Fairfax HS really is crowded now, so it's reasonable to think the City of Fairfax FCPS would be doing something to address that even if there wasn't a history of bad blood among the players.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Board nears vote on crowding solutions for Fairfax High School
Posted by: A voice from Villa ()
Date: May 08, 2013 05:54PM

SB Historian: You obviously are not familiar with the Villa community. Your denigration of this student population with mostly professional, well-educated parents is offensive. We may not all make more than $150K a year, but my spouse and I and many of our friends in this community have IQs at or above that number. Not everyone chooses to monetize their intelligence, but we do provide the domestic infrastructure that supports high-achieving schools.

If sending our kids to the Woodson pyramid is intended as revenge, our SB rep (Meghan M) will get the last laugh.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Board nears vote on crowding solutions for Fairfax High School
Posted by: Truth Teller ()
Date: May 08, 2013 09:19PM

A voice from Villa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SB Historian: You obviously are not familiar with
> the Villa community. Your denigration of this
> student population with mostly professional,
> well-educated parents is offensive. We may not all
> make more than $150K a year, but my spouse and I
> and many of our friends in this community have IQs
> at or above that number. Not everyone chooses to
> monetize their intelligence, but we do provide the
> domestic infrastructure that supports
> high-achieving schools.
>
> If sending our kids to the Woodson pyramid is
> intended as revenge, our SB rep (Meghan M) will
> get the last laugh.

Meh. Send Villa to Woodson and the island to Robinson, and the test scores at Woodson will start to slip, even if Mensa Boy sends his kids there.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Board nears vote on crowding solutions for Fairfax High School
Posted by: New High School: Build it! ()
Date: May 09, 2013 01:24AM

Solution:

Build a new high school in Clifton that caters to Clifton as well as Fairfax Station, this solves a lot of overcrowding issues at the following schools:
Centreville, Fairfax, Robinson and Woodson...

Let me tell you, Woodson is NOT a closer drive than Fairfax or Robinson for Fairfax Villa individuals.

Options: ReplyQuote


Your Name: 
Your Email (Optional): 
Subject: 
Attach a file
  • No file can be larger than 75 MB
  • All files together cannot be larger than 300 MB
  • 30 more file(s) can be attached to this message
Spam prevention:
Please, enter the code that you see below in the input field. This is for blocking bots that try to post this form automatically.
 ********  **    **  **     **  ********    *******  
    **     ***   **  **     **  **     **  **     ** 
    **     ****  **  **     **  **     **         ** 
    **     ** ** **  *********  ********    *******  
    **     **  ****  **     **  **                ** 
    **     **   ***  **     **  **         **     ** 
    **     **    **  **     **  **          *******  
This forum powered by Phorum.