With the outside temperatures around freezing and the winds gusting, the temperatures inside were rising as Fairfax County citizens sounded off on several boundary issues.
The new school on the block, dubbed the "Southwest County" school out in western Fairfax County, was the prominent issue on the agenda, with 42 of the 47 speakers taking one side or the other. The school is on Union Mill Road in the Centreville area and will open in September to alleviate the middle school overcrowding in that area. Currently, students living just east of that area are bused to Lanier Middle School, and Fairfax High School. Boundary changes going into effect next fall will affect some students but not all.
Catherine Potter's son Charlie will be in seventh grade next year, but his school, dubbed a "three-feeder" school because the boundaries split students into three middle schools, is part of the equation. Potter doesn't like the situation and wants the boundaries redrawn so he would attend the new school.
"There's no good reason to have a three-feeder school. These boundaries were set a long time ago," she said.
Dan McGraw has similar problems with his children.
"We're so close to the southwest middle school, there's no need to bus to Fairfax-Lanier," he said.
Fairfax-Lanier are in the City of Fairfax, which is not in the Fairfax County Public School system so that added another side to the argument for the parents that pay Fairfax County taxes.
Other topics on parents' agendas included overcrowding, money, grades, diversity and traffic dangers.
A group of about 40 residents from the Willow Springs community gathered in solidarity over the issue. They stood while each of their group spoke. At one point, someone from the back shouted out "sit down!" but that was the extent of the evening's adversity.
"We wanted to show we were a tight community," said Willow Spring resident Sharon Ricciardi.
Many said they had looked at the issue a few times before with the school board. Christy Sciscoe noted the issue last year when they left the boundaries unchanged.
"This issue has supposedly been resolved several times in favor of leaving the boundaries as they are. The change was turned down as part of the Westfield High School boundary process in 1999, was turned down for an administrative change in 2000 and was voted down by this school board just last year," Sciscoe said.
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<bt>Another issue examined involved the Sangster Elementary School Gifted and Talented program in Springfield. Sangster is new as well, but some students are being bused to Springfield Estates Elementary School in eastern Springfield. Nine-year-old Robert Kallard is in third grade at Springfield Estates.
"I ride a bus 10 miles each way because I am in a gifted and talented school," he said.
Fairfax County public schools administrator Gary Chevelier went over the procedure after all the citizens got a chance to speak out in front of the school board, including Superintendent Daniel Domenech.
"These are certainly times when they amend the staff proposal, the look at the big picture," Chevlier said.
The next step for the decisions is a work session and the boards final vote on Feb. 21.