The Fairfax County School Board held the first of three possible public hearings on proposed boundary changes for four new elementary schools sites under construction — the Andrew Chapel in Vienna, Island Creek in the Alexandria area, Lorton Station in Lorton and Northeast Centreville in Centreville — and the six new elementary-school gifted and talented centers — Andrew Chapel site, Lorton Station site, Clearview in Herndon, Mosby Woods in Fairfax, Oak Hill in Herndon, and Riverside in Mount Vernon — Monday, Feb. 10. Last night's hearing drew 53 speakers. The other hearings were scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 11, and if needed, Thursday, Feb. 20. Last night's hearing drew 53 people. Below are some excerpts from the testimony presented.
Blair Glennon
Langley High School senior
Regarding the Andrew Chapel site's proposed boundaries
"Having attended Great Falls Elementary and subsequently becoming friends with many students from Forestville, I believe the curriculum offered at Great Falls Elementary is not comparable to the core knowledge curriculum offered at Forestville. This was evident by students who qualified to take [gifted and talented] classes at Cooper [Middle] in 1997 and is still evident at Langley [High] in 2003."
Claire Jones
Seneca Road resident
Regarding the Andrew Chapel site's proposed boundaries
"I am here tonight because I feel that our neighborhood has not received the positives we had hoped for with the building of a new school. Naturally, being at the most northwest corner of the county and also at the end of a pipe stem, we were shocked to hear that we are slated to be transferred to Great Falls Elementary, a fine school, but with drawbacks for our neighborhood."
Lori Latulip
Fox Run resident
Regarding the Andrew Chapel site's proposed boundaries
"We are not opposed to attending Andrew Chapel because we know that it will be an outstanding school and perform at the top of the list. As our children's advocates for a healthy quality of life, we are opposed to busing our kids unnecessarily to the school at the furthest distance and this in itself will have a negative impact on our kids."
Jack Barufrka
Wyndham Hills resident
Regarding the Andrew Chapel site's proposed boundaries
"Moving our neighborhood to the new school at Andrew Chapel would be highly and permanently disruptive. The only viable route to the new school is Route 7. The children in my neighborhood would pass Forestville and travel east on Route 7 in rush-hour traffic."
Laura O'Connor
Seneca Road resident
Regarding the Andrew Chapel site's proposed boundaries
"I am terribly disillusioned to find out that none of the main objectives set forth in this boundary adjustment have been met. Option 5 does not relieve the overcrowding at the area elementary schools nor has the space at Andrew Chapel Elementary School been effectively used."
Marion Devlin
Ascot resident
Regarding the Andrew Chapel site's proposed boundaries
"Our neighborhood is only four-tenths of a mile from Forestville. … However, some have suggested that our neighborhood should be moved from Forestville simply because of our Reston mailing address."
Patty Craver
Seneca Road resident
Regarding the Andrew Chapel site's proposed boundaries
"Moving our children from Forestville to Great Falls doesn't make sense. Our children should attend the school in closest proximity to their homes. Please keep the northwestern portion of Great Falls at Forestville."
Lauren Carbaugh
Hickory Creek resident
Regarding the Andrew Chapel site's proposed boundaries
"Hickory Creek is less than one mile from Great Falls Elementary School. The bus ride to Andrew Chapel will be in excess of four miles, over one-lane bridges and across traffic onto Route 7, which alternates between rush-hour gridlock in the mornings and 55-mph speeds in the afternoon."
Antonia Konieczny
Hickory Creek resident
Regarding the Andrew Chapel site's proposed boundaries
"You dismissed the option of building a smaller school within the community because we needed the extra classroom seats. Then you allocated 200 seats away to the GT program. This results in the same size school that you rejected to be built in the community."
Sharon Saile
Shouse Village resident
Regarding the Andrew Chapel site's proposed boundaries
"I support Option 5 because I believe it provides a fair balance between the needs of the new school and those of the existing schools."
Cristina Binzer
Forest Edge parent
Regarding the proposed boundaries for the GT centers at the Andrew Chapel site and Clearview
"In the event projections are wrong, we need you as a school board, to allocate part of your discretionary funds to make this happen [having two classes per grade level at the center] at Forest Edge. We need you as a school board to support slightly smaller classes than the norm until your projections materialize and actual numbers reach what is required."
Andrew Gluck
Forest Edge GT parent
Regarding the proposed boundaries for the GT centers at the Andrew Chapel site and Clearview
"To promote teacher excellence a minimum of two classes per grade is absolutely necessary to achieve the critical mass needed to sustain the kind of diversity of interests, breadth of experience and teacher collaboration that makes the GT experience as powerful as it can be."
Jonathan Sklar
Woodland Estates Homeowners Association, president
Regarding the proposed boundaries for the GT centers at the Andrew Chapel site and Clearview
"We simply cannot understand why the children farthest away from Andrew Chapel are bused right past students who are going to Forest Edge. We don't mind staying at Forest Edge, we mind having our community broken apart."
Jeannie Johns
Forest Edge GT parent
Regarding the proposed boundaries for the GT centers at the Andrew Chapel site and Clearview
"I appreciate the fact that the county has modified [its] initial proposal such that Forestville students will not be removed as a feeder school. My hope is that this modification will draw enough students to fill two classes per grade."