Parents Speak Out on Proposed School Boundary Changes

Parents and community members gathered before the Fairfax County School Board this week to express their concerns over proposed changes to school boundaries in the southwestern part of the county.

Much of the testimony centered on the school board's decision last year to close Clifton Elementary School. However, representatives from 10 other local PTAs also testified that their members had voted in favor of a resolution expressing "no confidence" in the study, showing widespread unease over the largest boundary study in FCPS history.

The PTAs that have signed the resolution are from Oak View, Clifton, Willow Springs, Union Mill, Deer Park, Poplar Tree, Fairview, Colin Powell, Providence, Greenbriar West and London Towne elementary schools. 

"Early on, several of the PTAs expressly did not want to get involved in what has become a very contentious issue. As the study evolved, these PTAs from all areas of the study region have banded together willingly over what we see as an incomplete solution to the overcrowding issue in this area," said Amy Riddick, president of the PTA at Fairview Elementary, adding that the 11 PTAs represent 8,500 students in the area.

Riddick said that the final FCPS staff recommendations, which were presented to the board last month, raised more questions then the other four options presented to the public and that there were too many "domino effects" caused by moving children from one school to another. She questioned why the school board would schedule the vote before new five-year projection data is released next month. 

"We do understand that some schools in the area have an overcrowding problem, and we feel for those schools that need immediate relief," Riddick said. "In no way do we want to unnecessarily stall solutions to these problems. However, expediency is not always the best solution." 

Proposed Changes

The school board authorized the study last September. Four options were presented to the public and feedback obtained through public meetings and online questionnaires before the final staff recommendation was presented to the board in January. The school board can vote to adopt some of these changes, accept them all, or even reject them entirely. 

The proposed changes are an attempt to relieve overcrowding at a number of local schools. Colin Powell Elementary, for instance, will have nearly 200 students more then the recommended number during the next school year, according to projection data.

The proposed changes come in two phases. In the first phase, which will take effect during the next school year:

•  Clifton Elementary will close and its students will be sent to Fairview, Oak View and Union Mill. 
• Bonnie Brae, Brookfield, Bull Run, Cub Run, Deer Park, Eagle View, Fairview, Fairfax Villa, Greenbriar East, Greenbriar West, London Towne, Oak View, Poplar Tree, Providence, Virginia Run and Willow Springs elementary schools will all have their enrollment numbers change.

In phase two, during the 2013-2014 school year, changes at Centreville, Centre Ridge, Colin Powell, Eagle View, Fairfax Villa, Greenbriar East and Union Mill elementary schools will take effect once building construction is complete.

Students in Advanced Academic Programs would also experience some shifts. 

The total cost for building construction is over $15 million, which would come from the construction reserve account.

Clifton Supporters Remain Vocal

Many parents had scathing words for the board, and some personal attacks aimed at certain board members, when it came to the subject of Clifton Elementary School closing. Some urged scrapping the study entirely and starting from scratch. Some had suggestions to relieve the overcrowding. 

Dwayne Nitz spoke on behalf of the proposed Lewis and Clark charter school, which organizers hope would replace Clifton Elementary if it is closed as planned. The school's location six miles from the overcrowded schools in the area will help relieve the congestion at those schools, and would also serve at-risk students, he said.

Before Monday's hearing, Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrity, long a vocal opponent of closing Clifton Elementary, said that school board members were rushing to close the school before elections in the fall. 

"There are a whole slew of unanswered questions related to this boundary study. In my opinion the biggest is: 'Why the rush?' " Herrity wrote in his newsletter. "Why rush kids and teachers into school trailers and inadequate facilities that don’t meet the county’s basic educational specifications?"

Board Responds

After the meeting, some board members said that they would receive criticism no matter what they  did, and they would stay accountable to their constituents.

"There's some decisions people aren't going to like and some things that people are going to like," Elizabeth Bradsher, of the Springfield district, said. 

"Boundary changes are hard. It is very hard to make changes," said Jane Strauss, of the Dranesville district, noting that in her 18 years on the school board, not one boundary study has been easy. "People value their neighborhood school and that's a good thing." 

"We are always rushing to keep up and it comes with the territory," Strauss said of the criticism leveled at the board.