Catholic School Controversy: Paul VI Parents Petition to Halt Move to Loudoun
Opponents hoping school rethinks 2020 exit from Fairfax City.
http://chantilly.patch.com/groups/schools/p/catholic-school-controversy-paul-vi-parents-petition-to-halt-move-to-loudoun

Parents and Fairfax community members are petitioning Paul VI Catholic High School to reconsider a new campus in Loudoun County. The school announced late last year that it was leaving its Fairfax City home.

The message on a new change.org petition asks the school to "work with alumni and elected officials of Fairfax City and County to find a viable way to keep Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax."

After two days, the petition has more than 100 signatures. And a related Facebook page has double that number of followers.

The new campus would replace the school’s existing Fairfax City location at 10675 Fairfax Blvd. The relocation wouldn’t occur until about 2020, officials said.

“A new PVI campus would be a larger, state-of-the art school facility that would further strengthen its heritage as a leading Catholic high school," Sister Bernadette McManigal, Superintendent of Schools for the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, stated in a press release in December.

Fairfax City Mayor Scott Silverthorne told Patch at the time that he views this as a big loss for the city.

"I am very disappointed in the Archdiocese's decision," he said. "I fought hard to try to get them to stay."

Catholic School Controversy: Paul VI Parents Petition to Halt Move to Loudoun.
What do you think of the school's big move?
Attachments:

I remember that place. All of the fuck ups I knew went there. Glad to report, though, that the ones I still know are doing quite well as adults.

My first child will enter PVI in 4 years and we are looking forward to a new school with state of the art equipment, athletic facilities and all of the amenities that a new facility will bring. Stop living in the past. The fact is the city and neighbors will not allow the necessary improvements to keep the school competitive and attracting the best students and teachers.

I don't think it's living in the past so much as not wanting to drive to Loudon...just as I'm sure you wouldn't want to drive to fairfax. Is there not enough demand to support 2 schools?

There is not a snowball's chance that a petition is going to change anything when it comes to the Catholic Church.

Loverde makes these decisions with his inner circle of priests, together with input from the finance people and the large donors. It's over, folks.

Spielberg's nephew will provide the star-power this protest needs.

Why wouldn't they just open another school? Enrollment down?

They probably got a huge offer for the land. What's going in there town houses or condos?

A satellite location of the Lamb Center. Construction starts in early 2015. We'll be picking up laborers at the new Annandale Centro de Trabajo.

The land and building will likely be sold to George mason or ffx county.

It will be sold to the highest bidder. His eminence needs a new silver cloud.

Formerly Fairfax High School and George Mason College. Hopefully Mason can grab it back.

In 1998 that building was shit. It is about 1 million years old. Yes they added on a nicer gym but I can't even imagine what that land right on 29 is worth compared to that ancient building. They were still tearing asbestos out of there in the late nineties and the heat didn't work in certain rooms half the time. It was truly out of the dark ages. I guarantee you it would cost a lot less to start over than to overhaul that building where it needs to be. The Diocese is very smart to do this and I'm kind of surprised they've waited this long. They'll make a killing on the land and build a palace of a school out in Loudoun where the PVI-type families mostly live now. Anyone left in FFX can haul out to O'Connell, go to Flint Hill if they can afford it, or suck it up and go to FCPS. Sorry people, but the Diocese has legal bills and they are going to follow the $$$. I'm sure this is a done deal.

pvigrad Wrote:
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> In 1998 that building was shit. It is about 1
> million years old. Yes they added on a nicer gym
> but I can't even imagine what that land right on
> 29 is worth compared to that ancient building.
> They were still tearing asbestos out of there in
> the late nineties and the heat didn't work in
> certain rooms half the time. It was truly out of
> the dark ages. I guarantee you it would cost a
> lot less to start over than to overhaul that
> building where it needs to be. The Diocese is
> very smart to do this and I'm kind of surprised
> they've waited this long. They'll make a killing
> on the land and build a palace of a school out in
> Loudoun where the PVI-type families mostly live
> now. Anyone left in FFX can haul out to
> O'Connell, go to Flint Hill if they can afford it,
> or suck it up and go to FCPS. Sorry people, but
> the Diocese has legal bills and they are going to
> follow the $$$. I'm sure this is a done deal.
It may be a done deal, but it would make a ton of sense to build a new school in Loudoun and keep PVI in Fairfax. There is enough demand for both. Just like the new Catholic school in PW County, John the Baptist. Mid- to Western- Fairfax County families will not want their kids to have to go further west to Loudoun County.

If you look at the demographics for Catholic schools, when Good Counsel moved out to Olney from Silver Spring, most of the previous draw went to St. John's and Gonzaga, while Good Counsel turned into an exurbia school. It is great for those kids that live out there, and seems to be a real success. Fortunately, the kids that previously would have gone there had a couple of pretty good options.

The same is not true for PVI. O'Connell and other Catholic schools are just too far away.

pvigrad Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In 1998 that building was shit. It is about 1
> million years old. Yes they added on a nicer gym
> but I can't even imagine what that land right on
> 29 is worth compared to that ancient building.
> They were still tearing asbestos out of there in
> the late nineties and the heat didn't work in
> certain rooms half the time. It was truly out of
> the dark ages. I guarantee you it would cost a
> lot less to start over than to overhaul that
> building where it needs to be. The Diocese is
> very smart to do this and I'm kind of surprised
> they've waited this long. They'll make a killing
> on the land and build a palace of a school out in
> Loudoun where the PVI-type families mostly live
> now. Anyone left in FFX can haul out to
> O'Connell, go to Flint Hill if they can afford it,
> or suck it up and go to FCPS. Sorry people, but
> the Diocese has legal bills and they are going to
> follow the $$$. I'm sure this is a done deal.

I'd love for them to just spend the money to fix it up. Why not have two schools? One in Fairfax and one in Loudoun.

I'm sure they'd love to have two schools. Do they have the $$ though? I doubt it. The CC isn't pulling in the donations the way it used to and they've sure had a lot of settlements. Is there an enormous waiting list for PVI or something? Pretty sure there wasn't one when I was there. Anyone could basically go if you could pay the tuition that's how we ended up with so many FCPS fuckups.

Well, if you can afford to send your kids to private school then surely you can afford to move closer to their new location in Loudoun, right?

Who cares? I'm Jewish anyway and Catholics are hethens anyway.

I really can't imagine what kind of repairs the old building must need at this point. Major things like pipes, electric, etc? It would probably cost less to knock it down and start over at this point. Renovating is often more costly and time consuming than starting from scratch.

I have a feeling that building is close to being condemned and this is their way out of it.

I wasn't really a big fan of PVI, I was involved in sports and made some lifelong friends but on the whole the administration was terrible. Fr Lyle was principal when I was there-enough said. I no longer live in the area either, but still it does make me a little sad that the clock is ticking on that place.

This "parents petition" isn't going to do a thing though. Sorry guys.

@pvigrad

I knew a teacher who was sicker than he'd ever been in his life after working at PVI for a year and I've heard other teachers mention that asbestos is still in the building.

Broham Wrote:
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> @pvigrad
>
> I knew a teacher who was sicker than he'd ever
> been in his life after working at PVI for a year
> and I've heard other teachers mention that
> asbestos is still in the building.


All this asbestos hysteria has been whipped up by asbestos removal companies. They have made billions removing the stuff.

Asbestos is harmless if it is LEFT THE FUCK ALONE. If it needs to be disturbed for some reason, THEN you take steps to mitigate the hazard. Removing it releases tons of the shit into the air and all the plastic sheeting, duct tape and cheapo vacuum cleaners in the world won't change that.

When all the asbestos is gone, the scammers will find some other benign substance to scare the morons with and make more billions.

move on Wrote:
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> My first child will enter PVI in 4 years and we
> are looking forward to a new school with state of
> the art equipment, athletic facilities and all of
> the amenities that a new facility will bring. Stop
> living in the past. The fact is the city and
> neighbors will not allow the necessary
> improvements to keep the school competitive and
> attracting the best students and teachers.


The best teachers? Catholic schools don't pay shit.

There may be a few great teachers that are devout Catholics and do it for that reason, but the vast majority couldn't get on with FCPS or the other public school systems around here.

I heard the nuns were selling meth to the students. Saw it on channel 9 news
Attachments:

@broham-I know for a fact they were dealing with asbestos when I was there. Don't know much about it but it was definitely a problem.

@teacher-you are dead on. Catholic Schools do have some good teachers but they would usually leave for public school b/c of the $$. We had some seriously horrible teachers there too and tons of new graduates with no experience that left fast for FCPS when they could land a job.

morons Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Broham Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > @pvigrad
> >
> > I knew a teacher who was sicker than he'd ever
> > been in his life after working at PVI for a
> year
> > and I've heard other teachers mention that
> > asbestos is still in the building.
>
>
> All this asbestos hysteria has been whipped up by
> asbestos removal companies. They have made
> billions removing the stuff.
>
> Asbestos is harmless if it is LEFT THE FUCK ALONE.
> If it needs to be disturbed for some reason, THEN
> you take steps to mitigate the hazard. Removing
> it releases tons of the shit into the air and all
> the plastic sheeting, duct tape and cheapo vacuum
> cleaners in the world won't change that.
>
> When all the asbestos is gone, the scammers will
> find some other benign substance to scare the
> morons with and make more billions.


Yeah, I mean it's not like the building was worked on and said asbestos was disturbed in the mid-2000s or anything...oh, wait it was.

What he said. They were constantly working on that building since it was/is falling apart. I distinctly remember wires hanging out of the ceiling in the language hall for days on end while they "worked" on them. Who knows what they were really doing.

The building is way too old and FCPS would have torn it down by now if they owned it. Hope you guys get a new school built there, but that land is too valuable. Really wondering how much they will actually get for it. Mabye if your lucky they'll find some cheaper land somewhere close to build another Catholic high school in FFX too but I seriously doubt it. Good luck with all that. Glad I live in an area with good public schools and can save my $ for their college.

I remembered some classic PVI tactics the other day. They got a new basketball coach, a huge black guy, but to get him to coach they had to give him a job. He didn't have any teaching credentials so they made him the "study hall monitor", a job which used to be rotated by teachers. He would literally just hang out in the cafeteria all day and babysit/chat with students during study hall. At least he was cool. Still, what a waste of money. PVI administration has always been totally corrupt and only concerned about sports and image.

Well finally PVI finally admits to their real mission which has nothing to do with teaching young adults about being good disciples of Jesus Christ and spreading the Gospel. No instead its more concerned with becoming an academic and sports power house like DeMatha and Gonzaga.


Of course the school manages to sully itself every few years. First Spielburg, than the religion teacher who was making S&M and Porn, and most recently the LAX team / photo texting scandal which was being reported in UK news papers of all places. They are using an oldy goody page out of the Catholic play book, which is relocate the problem somewhere else and try to establish a new identity.

Catholicism is a farce

I heard the new location is going to offer even shorter skirts to the little whores.

I wish I could find the reference, but I believe that the diocese owns neither the building nor the land. They lease them from the City.

(Come to think of it, I know a guy who's on the Council. I should ask him.)

There's demand for more enrollment, but not enough to justify two schools. Can't expand PVI, because the City won't let them because the people who live around the school don't want it. Any Board member who voted to allow it would not be re-elected, as they see it. So they don't have the money to run two schools because there wouldn't be enough enrollment, so they chose the only option they had; put a newer, larger school out in Loudoun. That's the best I can tell what's going on. I'm not sure it's a reasonable option to stay in Fairfax.

I expect my son will likely attend PVI, and I don't relish driving from Fairfax City to Loudoun daily. I'll probably arrange carpools.

Paul VI Parents Petition Wrote:
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> Fairfax City Mayor Scott Silverthorne told Patch
> at the time that he views this as a big loss for
> the city.
>
> "I am very disappointed in the Archdiocese's
> decision," he said. "I fought hard to try to get
> them to stay."
>

Bullshit.

The City of Fairfax has been stone-walling PVI since I went there in the late 90's. And there refusal to work with PVI on their current expansion plans is the reason why they're finally leaving. And its long overdue.

Kardinal Wrote:
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> Can't expand PVI, because
> the City won't let them because the people who
> live around the school don't want it. Any Board
> member who voted to allow it would not be
> re-elected, as they see it.

I'd say this has more to do with PVI being a private school.

If PVI were a public school they would have expanded years ago and the city would have told the residents to go fuck themselves.

I fingered the girls high school coach's butt. Hillary.

It was hairy!

Kardinal Wrote:
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> I wish I could find the reference, but I believe
> that the diocese owns neither the building nor the
> land. They lease them from the City.
>
> (Come to think of it, I know a guy who's on the
> Council. I should ask him.)

I asked the Councilman. He said the diocese owns both to the best of his knowledge. So I was wrong. Mea culpa.

Long Overdue Move Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Paul VI Parents Petition Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Fairfax City Mayor Scott Silverthorne told
> Patch
> > at the time that he views this as a big loss
> for
> > the city.
> >
> > "I am very disappointed in the Archdiocese's
> > decision," he said. "I fought hard to try to
> get
> > them to stay."
> >
>
> Bullshit.
>
> The City of Fairfax has been stone-walling PVI
> since I went there in the late 90's. And there
> refusal to work with PVI on their current
> expansion plans is the reason why they're finally
> leaving. And its long overdue.

Getting rid of the competition Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Kardinal Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Can't expand PVI, because
> > the City won't let them because the people who
> > live around the school don't want it. Any
> Board
> > member who voted to allow it would not be
> > re-elected, as they see it.
>
> I'd say this has more to do with PVI being a
> private school.
>
> If PVI were a public school they would have
> expanded years ago and the city would have told
> the residents to go fuck themselves.

Again, it's not the board so much as the residents. If the residents were on board with the expansion, the board would be fine with it. A politician can't serve his constituents unless he's re-elected.

Kardinal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Again, it's not the board so much as the
> residents. If the residents were on board with
> the expansion, the board would be fine with it. A
> politician can't serve his constituents unless
> he's re-elected.

Wasn't the school there first? Does anyone know when they built the place?

I know that PVI dates back to the early 80's but the complex/buildings have been there much longer. And I'm pretty sure its always been some type of school.

pvigrad Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> The building is way too old and FCPS would have
> torn it down by now if they owned it.

Hah - have you been in some of the 60's era FCPS schools? There are still a bunch of unrenovated 60's and 70's era buildings in FCPS, especially in the Langley pyramid. PVI is no better or worse than FCPS, and the new gym/classroom section is pretty nice. The old auditorium at PVI, while quite obviously ancient, is pretty cool.

PVI is for the rich white kids that parents hate everybody but whites. Glad there getting the fuck out of Fairfax county.

The PVI building dates back to the 1930s. The building is very small on less than 15 acres of land. The site is way too small to expand the building. It's not the fault of Fairfax city or the neighbors. It's the Catholic Church who is to blame for the move. BTW -- PVI is just an average school. Not much goes on their academically.

Coming to the nuisance? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I know that PVI dates back to the early 80's but
> the complex/buildings have been there much longer.
> And I'm pretty sure its always been some type of
> school.


Paul VI started around '83. Before that it may have had something to do with GMU, after decades as Fairfax High (since '36).

"Nothing much goes on THEIR academically"???? I guess you did not go to PVI. The adjective is "there". Get a proper education before you criticize another school.

So ignorant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Nothing much goes on THEIR academically"???? I
> guess you did not go to PVI. The adjective is
> "there". Get a proper education before you
> criticize another school.

"Their" is an adjective. "There" can be all sorts of things. In the sentence above, it would have been an adverb specifying where things go on or don't.

Search on google, "CBS 60 MINUTES Christo Rey Chicago". 100% graduation rate to college. Chicago is just one location. How many public schools can state those statistics?

A few points:

In theory, there should be a Catholic high school in FFX county, as well as one in Loundon, which is rapidly expanding. The problem is having enough enrollment. I have heard that there is a pent up demand in Loudoun. They may lose some kids from FFX county, but they'll make up for it in what they pick up in Loudon.

Another reason for not building another HS is the situation at O'Connell. O'Connell might be the choice for some from FFX county when PVI leaves. As it is now, there is a big enrollment shortage at O'Connell. They have somewhere between 1100 and 1200 students. However, they are allowed to have as many as 1600 - 1700. I'm sure the Diocese is hoping that some students will shift to O'Connell. That remains to be seen, as that requires, for most, a drive to a point inside the Beltway that you would have to do in morning rush hour. It's not exactly an appealing option.

With a new facility, the school could become a lot like Good Counsel, in Olney. THey moved out, and that strengthened them academically (their old facility was in bad shape) and athletically. GC is a WCAC powerhouse in many sports, especially football. A PVI located in eastern Loudon could draw kids that might otherwise go to Centreville, Westifield, and Chantilly, and pick up a lot of athletic talent in the process (especially for football). They may decide to rejoin the WCAC in football (they left at the end of 2010).

The move could have an impact on sports at public schools. Schools in the middle of the county, such as FFX, Woodson and Oakton wouldn't lose as many good athletes, but Western schools might lose more. This could equalize the sports programs in the public schools.

Loudoun has been the number one growing county in the country a couple times in the last few years. The new homes in Ashburn and South Riding are full of parents who have young children now. In 2020 there is going to be a large market for high school education out there. It makes perfect sense to move PVI out there.