Went to Frost Middle School for orientation today - the place is not in a good state of repair. I went into a classroom where paint was peeling off the wall and the AC smelled very musty/moldy. The noise from the floor above (chairs moving) was really loud too.

What gives?

All the money goes to pay the employees in the Central office.

What did you expect....tax dollars to be spent on facilities?

I went to Frost in 1988. Probably hasn't changed one bit in 26 years.

West Springfield HS is also bad. The windows leak, paint peeling, bathrooms falling apart, etc. And that's when I was in there 5 years ago . . .

Well, you've come to the right place...no reason to speak with the principal or the school board. Just come onto a fringe website with 5 users and complain about the problem here. That'll get everything fixed in a matter of hours...well played, OP.

The principals , school board members, and superintendent are all at the Greenbriar resort. After a couple rounds of golf they intend to discuss the needed repairs during the catered dinner.

Threads get thousands of "views", occasionally hundreds. It's a good place present information.

If you bring it to the school's attention they will likely say, "oh, you are the only one who has ever had a complaint about that".

OP here. It was the first time I had seen these conditions in the school (only been there once before). I will bring it up with the admin. We have been in two elementary schools here one old one old then renovated but I never saw peeling paint like this and Ive only smelled the mold in trailers not main buildings. Im just surprised this building is not maintained. Old doesnt have to mean rundown.

dfjkajf Wrote:
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> I went to Frost in 1988. Probably hasn't changed
> one bit in 26 years.


Really? Name one teacher.

ReAnimator Wrote:
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> All the money goes to pay the employees in the
> Central office.
>
> What did you expect....tax dollars to be spent on
> facilities?


Well, they did "find" $50,000,000 so decided to use it for turf fields!

we think better there Wrote:
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> The principals , school board members, and
> superintendent are all at the Greenbriar resort.
> After a couple rounds of golf they intend to
> discuss the needed repairs during the catered
> dinner.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

That is EXACTLY what they are doing. Or HAVE been doing.

So sorry, but we must spend all available tax dollars on luxury housing for my dear undocumented immigrant constituents. Remember, we're trying to build a voter base that is guaranteed to elect socialists for the next 60 years. The rest of you can go F yourselves!

What gives? Wrote:
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> Went to Frost Middle School for orientation today
> - the place is not in a good state of repair. I
> went into a classroom where paint was peeling off
> the wall and the AC smelled very musty/moldy. The
> noise from the floor above (chairs moving) was
> really loud too.

Why is it I am catching the scent of a plant trying to get Frost bumped to the top of the list for school repairs. Frost is in much better shape than other schools that have less political clout.

Bill.N. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What gives? Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Went to Frost Middle School for orientation
> today
> > - the place is not in a good state of repair.
> I
> > went into a classroom where paint was peeling
> off
> > the wall and the AC smelled very musty/moldy.
> The
> > noise from the floor above (chairs moving) was
> > really loud too.
>
> Why is it I am catching the scent of a plant
> trying to get Frost bumped to the top of the list
> for school repairs. Frost is in much better shape
> than other schools that have less political clout.

Okay the reason you are 'catching a scent' of me wanting to get the school repaired is I dont really want my kids sitting in a classroom with peeling paint and mold in the AC. Is that really so subversive or selfish? As I said we have attended 2 elementary schools and I have been to 2 others in my time - none of them had walls of peeling paint and moldy AC.

Are these unreasonable standards?

When wil Clifton es reopen?

Doug Newstrom Wrote:
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> dfjkajf Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I went to Frost in 1988. Probably hasn't
> changed
> > one bit in 26 years.
>
>
> Really? Name one teacher.


Mr. Roycroft taught alegbra and you, Doug, were quite a baseball player.

Doug Newstrom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> dfjkajf Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I went to Frost in 1988. Probably hasn't
> changed
> > one bit in 26 years.
>
>
> Really? Name one teacher.

I only remember one teacher. Ms. Cox for Science and that's only because I must have rubbed one out to her many times. She was like a smaller, shorter Elle Macpherson look alike. Still probably the prettiest teacher I ever had.

Jdjcjkxkxkf Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Doug Newstrom Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > dfjkajf Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > I went to Frost in 1988. Probably hasn't
> > changed
> > > one bit in 26 years.
> >
> >
> > Really? Name one teacher.
>
> I only remember one teacher. Ms. Cox for Science
> and that's only because I must have rubbed one out
> to her many times. She was like a smaller,
> shorter Elle Macpherson look alike. Still
> probably the prettiest teacher I ever had.

I though she was the old and senile science teacher... my memory is fading. I need to check the yearbook when I get home.

I also remember Mr. King the gym teacher and Mr. Degrassi the math teacher.

Sharon Fulova Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So sorry, but we must spend all available tax
> dollars on luxury housing for my dear undocumented
> immigrant constituents. Remember, we're trying to
> build a voter base that is guaranteed to elect
> socialists for the next 60 years. The rest of you
> can go F yourselves!


This is true. Who won the golf tournament?

Do I need to call a press conference to address the needs of the community?

K. Lepto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jdjcjkxkxkf Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Doug Newstrom Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > dfjkajf Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > I went to Frost in 1988. Probably hasn't
> > > changed
> > > > one bit in 26 years.
> > >
> > >
> > > Really? Name one teacher.
> >
> > I only remember one teacher. Ms. Cox for
> Science
> > and that's only because I must have rubbed one
> out
> > to her many times. She was like a smaller,
> > shorter Elle Macpherson look alike. Still
> > probably the prettiest teacher I ever had.
>
> I though she was the old and senile science
> teacher... my memory is fading. I need to check
> the yearbook when I get home.
>
> I also remember Mr. King the gym teacher and Mr.
> Degrassi the math teacher.

Dude, if you find your old yearbook, what her's first name??

Thanks! She was a hottie (at least my pubescent self thought so).

bummer rich kids slumming it in the 'best' school system in the country. What a croc

K. Lepto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Doug Newstrom Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > dfjkajf Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > I went to Frost in 1988. Probably hasn't
> > changed
> > > one bit in 26 years.
> >
> >
> > Really? Name one teacher.
>
>
> Mr. Roycroft taught alegbra and you, Doug, were
> quite a baseball player.

The same Mr. Rycroft (David Rycroft) was the head golf pro at the Ospreys Golf Club in Woodbridge until this past winter, when he moved on to take another job with the company that runs the course. I remember quite well the first time I saw him there because I did a double-take thinking, "That guy looks really familiar." Then I saw his nametag and I asked him whether he taught at Frost in the mid-1980s. He said he did and he asked my name, and when I gave it, he said, "Yes, I remember that name, you were an excellent student." To which I replied, "You don't remember me at all!" (I took algebra in the 7th grade and started out well but my grades nose-dove during the second semester.)

I remember the names of a number of teachers from Frost:

Maurice George taught 7th grade gym
Mr. King (don't know his first name) taught 8th grade gym
Mr. Usiskin (don't know his first name) also taught gym
Fred Scango taught shop
Karen Hamilton taught English
Gretchen Mathews taught English (she either got married or divorced because two years later when my brother went to Frost, she was Gretchen Portwood)
Charlotte Duncan taught 7th grade social studies
Martha Kidd taught civics
Kim Cox taught science (she was the young one)
Mrs. Mills taught 7th grade science (she is likely the one K. Lepto was thinking of with the reference to "old and senile")
Keith Barney taught foreign languages when I was in the 7th grade
Irene Zaptin taught Latin when I was in the 8th grade
David Rycroft taught algebra
Jim Allison taught geometry and probably some other math
Jim Andrukonis taught speech and drama (he was big on the "Baseball in '87" campaign....wonder if he's still around whether he goes to Nats games)
Mr. DeGraff and Mrs. Beardmore taught math

I remember Mrs. Mathews teaching English because she talked about liking Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin and a friend of mine said something like, "Damn! Teachers aren't supposed to know who Billy Joel is and she's talking about Led Zep!"


As far as the Frost building not having changed, it was expanded sometime in either the late 1980s or the 1990s. I drove around the back side of Woodson one day looking at the renovations and I noted there had been another corridor added across the back side of Frost. Recall it was shaped roughly like a boxed-off letter "A" (sort of like an "A" you'd see on an early 1980s-era video game). They built something to close off the open end of that "A" (the end closer to Woodson's football stadium).

kvFhP Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Okay the reason you are 'catching a scent' of me
> wanting to get the school repaired is I dont
> really want my kids sitting in a classroom with
> peeling paint and mold in the AC. Is that really
> so subversive or selfish?

If it means your kids's school is getting repaired before another school in worse shape then yes it is. FCPS has not stayed on top of school maintenance so that a number of schools have problems that should have been addressed. Unfortunately the issue of school repair priority has become political. There have been instances of certain schools being bumped up in priority not because of their condition but because of their political clout.

The question isn't whether Frost suffers from deferred maintenance. The question is whether Frost is bad enough to be bumped up in priority. The answer is no.

Bill.N. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> kvFhP Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > Okay the reason you are 'catching a scent' of
> me
> > wanting to get the school repaired is I dont
> > really want my kids sitting in a classroom with
> > peeling paint and mold in the AC. Is that
> really
> > so subversive or selfish?
>
> If it means your kids's school is getting repaired
> before another school in worse shape then yes it
> is. FCPS has not stayed on top of school
> maintenance so that a number of schools have
> problems that should have been addressed.
> Unfortunately the issue of school repair priority
> has become political. There have been instances
> of certain schools being bumped up in priority not
> because of their condition but because of their
> political clout.
>
> The question isn't whether Frost suffers from
> deferred maintenance. The question is whether
> Frost is bad enough to be bumped up in priority.
> The answer is no.

How do you know the answer is 'no' Are you in command of all the facts or are you just a sheep that accepts the rule of the school board? I see a problem and I aim to have it addressed. If that is political then so be it. I care if my kid sits in a shit classroom. It doesnt have to be modern, it doesnt have to be pretty but it needs to be clean and healthy.

Richest County in the country and we get peeling paint on the walls - come on.

Vb3JV Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bill.N. Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > kvFhP Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> >
> > > Okay the reason you are 'catching a scent' of
> > me
> > > wanting to get the school repaired is I dont
> > > really want my kids sitting in a classroom
> with
> > > peeling paint and mold in the AC. Is that
> > really
> > > so subversive or selfish?
> >
> > If it means your kids's school is getting
> repaired
> > before another school in worse shape then yes
> it
> > is. FCPS has not stayed on top of school
> > maintenance so that a number of schools have
> > problems that should have been addressed.
> > Unfortunately the issue of school repair
> priority
> > has become political. There have been
> instances
> > of certain schools being bumped up in priority
> not
> > because of their condition but because of their
> > political clout.
> >
> > The question isn't whether Frost suffers from
> > deferred maintenance. The question is whether
> > Frost is bad enough to be bumped up in priority.
>
> > The answer is no.
>
> How do you know the answer is 'no' Are you in
> command of all the facts or are you just a sheep
> that accepts the rule of the school board? I see
> a problem and I aim to have it addressed. If that
> is political then so be it. I care if my kid sits
> in a shit classroom. It doesnt have to be modern,
> it doesnt have to be pretty but it needs to be
> clean and healthy.
>
> Richest County in the country and we get peeling
> paint on the walls - come on.

Well, some of the bathrooms at WSHS aren't usable after about 10 or 11 in the morning because they don't flush. The stairs to trailers are broken, the ceiling is falling down in places, some sinks have been covered with a board for years because they don't work. But hey, they managed to find money to put new carpeting in the principal's office a few years ago. After all, the floor the constantly-changing principal walks on has to be nice, even if you can't take a leak in the school.

Vb3JV Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How do you know the answer is 'no' Are you in
> command of all the facts or are you just a sheep
> that accepts the rule of the school board? I see
> a problem and I aim to have it addressed. If that
> is political then so be it. I care if my kid sits
> in a shit classroom. It doesnt have to be modern,
> it doesnt have to be pretty but it needs to be
> clean and healthy.

If your kid got a gash on his arm and you went to the ER, you'd want him treated right away. However your kid would have to wait while the person having a heart attack was treated, and also for kids who had similar injuries to your kid who had been waiting longer. If you tried to push to the front of the line, everyone else would have good reason to be pissed off with you. Same with school repairs. Nothing I could anonymously post on this forum would be likely to convince you that as bad as you think Frost is, there are schools in worse shape, and there are schools in as bad a shape that have been waiting longer for repairs. It sucks but it is the reality. Get in line.

I'm guessing OHS is in worse shape than Frost.

Bill.N. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Vb3JV Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > How do you know the answer is 'no' Are you in
> > command of all the facts or are you just a
> sheep
> > that accepts the rule of the school board? I
> see
> > a problem and I aim to have it addressed. If
> that
> > is political then so be it. I care if my kid
> sits
> > in a shit classroom. It doesnt have to be
> modern,
> > it doesnt have to be pretty but it needs to be
> > clean and healthy.
>
> If your kid got a gash on his arm and you went to
> the ER, you'd want him treated right away.
> However your kid would have to wait while the
> person having a heart attack was treated, and also
> for kids who had similar injuries to your kid who
> had been waiting longer. If you tried to push to
> the front of the line, everyone else would have
> good reason to be pissed off with you. Same with
> school repairs. Nothing I could anonymously post
> on this forum would be likely to convince you that
> as bad as you think Frost is, there are schools in
> worse shape, and there are schools in as bad a
> shape that have been waiting longer for repairs.
> It sucks but it is the reality. Get in line.

I understand the concept of triage and I appreciate your opinion but absent any specific examples I will aver to get the issue before me addressed. Perhaps there is a work order in for it already. In any event I would encourage any parent that sees functionally obsolete property to contact the school.

Want an example? Falls Church High School

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-parents-seek-school-repairs/2012/01/05/gIQA9xnndP_story.html

It is pretty incredible that many of the Fairfax County residents paying the highest property taxes are forced to send their children to dilapidated schools and also to have their children in the most overcrowded classrooms. Class sizes, more or less, are inversely related to the number of FARM students. The more FARM students, the smaller the class size.

It used to be, in the U.S., that you were taxed to pay for the services that the government provided. Now one group of citizens is taxed to support another group, who elect politicians for that purpose. But it's not only citizens but children, who are taxed in their educations for the benefit of other children.

OHS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It is pretty incredible that many of the Fairfax
> County residents paying the highest property taxes
> are forced to send their children to dilapidated
> schools and also to have their children in the
> most overcrowded classrooms. Class sizes, more or
> less, are inversely related to the number of FARM
> students. The more FARM students, the smaller the
> class size.
>
> It used to be, in the U.S., that you were taxed to
> pay for the services that the government provided.
> Now one group of citizens is taxed to support
> another group, who elect politicians for that
> purpose. But it's not only citizens but children,
> who are taxed in their educations for the benefit
> of other children.

That has always been the case, stupid.