Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Notes from Tonight's Meeting

Author:
  • Lansdowne high school students currently attending Stone Bridge will be able to continue attending Stone Bridge. Starting with rising freshman, Lansdowne students will attend Tuscarora High School. Stone Bridge will continue to be very crowded and I hope that many current Lansdowne/Stone Bridge students will choose to move to Tuscarora.
  • New elementary boundaries for Dulles South were adopted to set attendance zones for Buffalo Trail ES. The alternative plan proposed by Mr. DuPree and Mr. Reed passed.
  • CFO Leigh Burden presented highlights of the FY2010 WABE report and the FY10 financial report.
  • The Board discussed two proposed policies concerning energy efficiency and water conservation.
  • The Board postponed consideration of the proposed CIP due to the weather as temperatures and rain fell outside.

We adjourned at 10:33pm.

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76 comments:

  1. John,
    When will the board discuss the CIP again?
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  3. if you are so concerned about Stone Bridge's overcrowding why did you vote for the phasing option!! This is opening a can of worms for future boundary changes... are you prepared to answer why little Johnny can't stay at Little River and his neighborhood be "phased" like Lansdowne??
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  4. So, where can we see the official boundary maps?
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  6. John votes with wisdom and just a hint of compassion, a great combo.

    Lansdowne should be phased for all the reasons stated last night by rep Ohnieser. Also, as pointed out by rep Bergel, Lansdowne will almost certainly be back at SBHS in a few years anyway as that is the closest school to Lansdowne.

    Bergel had it right regarding the search for a phantom school location instead of building on either of the two parcels of Ashburn land WE ALREADY OWN THAT IS READY TO BE BUILT UPON. Even if we had money to spend and even if land was available, how can we possibly justify spending money on "new" land that isn't required?

    Where Bergel got it wrong is in the cost of busing kids in the phasing approach. The error is the assumption that there is "no cost" for busing the kids already. The "real cost" is only the difference between the two costs.

    I bet when the southern shift occurs, and it will, for all the complaining about phasing for Lansdowne, Ashburn Farm will demand phasing even for their local (in Ashburn) move. I wonder if Lansdowne will show up at the meeting and protest phasing for Ashburn?
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  7. Lansdowne was asked to go to a school a long ways from home. This was the least the school board could do to accommodate Lansdowne.

    This situation is much more extreme than the original staff plan. Lansdowne isn't moving to another Ashburn school down the street. Much bigger deal, and, temporary. So this situation is not the norm and because of this, it doesn't set any precedents for future local moves at all.

    When the time comes for the next Ashburn move, I propose that we just replay the video of all of the Ashburn residents making the case for NOT phasing.

    And what's up with Tom Marshall; whew... He either can't make up his mind or he votes against his own motion. Now, he's angry and implies that Lansdowne residents are crybabies because they can't accept a last-minute, remote, temporary move without neighbors as well as Leesburg residents can accept a long-planned permanent local move. Uh, yeah Tom, same thing.
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  8. Now that Stone Bridge will be sending their overflow to Tuscarora it is time to talk about a long term solution for the overcrowding of the high schools in Ashburn/Dulles North. We need another high school to be built and put into the CIP to begin next year. If Loudoun Valley Estates is the only option then we need to go with it.
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  9. Anonymous 2:43pm

    "Lansdowne was asked to go to a school a long ways from home. "

    Are you serious. It's what 2-3 miles more to Tuscarora??? How is that a long way?????
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  10. HS 6 is NOT the answer for the overcrowding the the Ashburn area. That school will be the school to relieve Briar Woods in the next few years when it is over capacity and there is no place for the kids that live there to go. Take a look at the long range numbers. 2018-19 I beleive we are looking at 4000 kids. So sending kids north of the Greenway south will only create more of a problem. The ONLY solution to this will be building HS8. No not on the ISA site, it is not a place to build a high school- that site was and should always be the site for Monroe. Yes new land and schools cost money- but what better way to invest in our future. The need for schools will never go away and pretending that we have a magic solution that is HS6 in LV II won't change anything. The kids in northern Ashburn are HERE NOW! Tuscarora is not the best solution but is it a solution that will work until such time that we have the funds to build a new school, HS8-- where it is needed, where the kids actually LIVE. Temporary homes for all of our kids will continue if HS6 is the answer. We all won't fit into 4 schools, we need 5. If I were a Lansdowne resident I would be actively looking at where the best location for that school would be and I would be hounding the BOS and the school board to start making HS8 a reality-- sooner rather than later.
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  11. Ashburn has always had temporary moves. The Farm has been to Aldie, Seneca Ridge, Harper Park, the list goes on. It is NOT out of the norm to shift kids to Leesburg or any place else to attend school. IT is the first time Lansdowne has felt the growing pains. Probably won't be the last. And yes, other neighborhoods will demand that they have the same options in future moves. To say that this is a special situation is just silly. It happens all of the time. Look at South Riding, why are their kids being overflowed to Ashburn for middle school? Why were Lansdowne kids overflowed to Sanders Corner? Why are Rosa Lee Carter kids going to Hillside? IT is because we don't have ENOUGH schools in the right places. Look at the future numbers- it is not hard to see where we need schools.
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  12. Providing needed seats is a good investment. Construction costs are low. Now is a great time to build schools we need. I do not understand if we don't have the land for HS-8, why not go ahead with HS-6? Dr. Hatrick made it clear we can no longer keep delaying building schools. Tuscarora can not hold the overflow from Stone Bridge for long. Broad Run is going to be overcrowded along with Briar Woods. Look how long it took to get the land for Woodgrove, Tuscarora and HS-7. We can no longer afford to keep waiting for land, we need a school so our children will be able to go to safe schools that are not overcrowded.
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  13. anonymous 8:58 HS 6 will be needed but it does nothing to relieve the overcrowding in Northern Ashburn. Building it now will only create many more boundary changes at the high school level. We have time to find land for HS8 but it needs to be the priority so that school can be up and running before Tuscarora and Broad Run become too overcrowded. A middle school is needed in northern Ashburn as well to provide relief for Eagle Ridge and Belmont Ridge. These schools are needed for the kids that are living here right now. Not for some future development. Schools need to be built where kids live not where a hunk of land is currently available. Temporary moves every few years is not good for our students.
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  14. When will people figure out that if HS-6 is built as the next high school, Lansdowne will be in Leesburg forever and HS-8 will never be built? Look at the numbers for Broad Run, Briar Woods, and Stone Bridge. The math is pretty simple.
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  15. Not building a high school now somewhere in Ashburn/Dulles North will cause additional overcrowding. Just look at the bad temporary boundary change made last night that will overcrowd yet another school, in Leesburg this time. We are out of time and almost out of seats. We desperately need a school built!
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  16. The math is very simple. If we build another high school soon then NO SCHOOL WILL BE OVERCROWDED!!!! Isn't that a good thing. Shouldn't all the children of Loudoun County be allowed to attend a school where they can safely move from class to class, where they can actually get into the classes they want, where they have a chance to make the team, etc....Building HS-6 does not cause Lansdowne to be in Leesburg forever. It allows enough seats for every high schooler to be able to attend a school that is not overcrowded.
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  17. We have needed a high school built in the Dulles North planning district for the past 3 years as 2 of the 3 high schools have been overcrowded - Broad Run with trailers and Stone Bridge. Briar Woods has had significant capacity that went unused. During the relief timeframe of Briar Woods a new school should have been constructed. It wasn't.

    Now, even with the Ashburn overflow to Tuscarora we still have Broad Run and Stone Bridge overcrowded. Briar Woods in 2012 will severely overcrowd and Tuscarora will also overcrowd. What is astonishing and disappointing is that some on this blog think "we have time!!"

    To all who are reading this, especially those of you from the Broadlands, Brambleton, Leesburg, South Riding and Lovettesville, please think about these blog posters who say there is time. Then please review the BOS and school board public hearing tapes from February, March and April. Then look at Adamo's numbers. Take note that Ashburn community members are blocking the building of schools. This delay tactic will affect the whole county as the Ashburn overflow will domino to Woodgrove and HS7 because the problem is NOT getting addressed.

    Looking for land has already transpired for 7 months and could easily go on for another 2 years. This is not an answer, this is a delay tactic by both members of the Ashburn community as well as the politicians. Next year's CIP process will be lame duck as each politician lines up for their reelection. They will likely push the decision for funding the building of a high school to the next school board and to the next BOS.

    I'd like to better understand how many years this behavior may have been going on by community members and perhaps this is why there has been so much movement of students from school to school at every level. The planning department perhaps can't plan because the parents and politicians are getting in the way.

    We are so so so behind on building at this point, it doesn't matter who goes where in Ashburn/Dulles North Planning District....we flat out don't have enough seats.

    Let's do things in the proper order, get the infrastructure funded, build the school and then determine the most efficient way to use the capacity in Ashburn. Let's stop making the Ashburn problem the problem of the entire County.

    Enough said. Thanks John for your blog.
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  18. In general, the School Board wants to build more schools. Dr. Adamo is always gathering information and the SB generally tries to plan new schools. The boundaries may be at issue, but not the need for more seats SOMEWHERE. If you are upset about schools, start nagging your Supervisor constantly and unremittingly. Until the BOS realizes that we don't want our school system crippled by their inaction and their intransigence, nothing will be accomplished.
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  19. anonymous 10:38 "building a school somewhere in Dulles/Ashburn" This is why we have the mess we have!! Ashburn WANTS schools! But schools where KIDS ARE RESIDING NOW! Building a school "somewhere" will forever cause ridiculous boundary shifts and neighborhoods split apart. Including Lansdowne. Just sticking up a building and bussing kids everywhere is no solution. You want HS6 first, fine but don't complain when Tuscarora is over-crowded and there is no relief. Or maybe we can just split Lansdowne apart to help, on a temporary basis.
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  20. Repetition for clarity:

    To all who are reading this, especially those of you from the Broadlands, Brambleton, Leesburg, South Riding and Lovettesville, please think about these blog posters who CONTINUE to say there is time to act on building another high school. Then please review the BOS and school board public hearing tapes from February, March and April. Then look at Adamo's numbers. Take note that Ashburn community members are blocking the building of schools. This delay tactic will affect the whole county as the Ashburn overflow will domino to Woodgrove and HS7 because the problem is NOT getting addressed.
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  21. Many children will be moved from multiple high schools if we allow communities and politicians to continue to block building and do nothing.

    Hatrick is coming unglued....the stalling is making him comment to the school board..."I don't care where you want a school nor what you call it. I have to take anything anywhere I can get it. We need a school."

    The planning department has combed through Northern Ashburn for land over the past 3 years. None was affordable in the best of times for the county. Politicians led by Stevens Miller of Ashburn Farm looked again...and after 7 months nothing is tangible.

    Planning is critical, that is why we have a planning department. And, if the school board does not appreciate their work, then they should be fired. But I don't think that is a core issue.

    There is no coincidence in this delay tactic that the chairman of the school board, Robert DuPree is from Ashburn Farm. And Stevens Miller also of Ashburn Farm was the chairman of the ad hoc committee.

    The only input incorporated into the ad hoc committee recommendations came from the "community" of Ashburn Farm. Lansdowne and other communities in attendance input was not incorporated.

    Wake up everyone please. This is not about Lansdowne....this will affect the entirety of the county.
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  22. Anonymous 6:31am: We are in this mess because we are a growing county. Continuing to delay a school site that has been in the CIP for years does not make sense. This county desperately needs another high school. Kids already live in Loudoun Valley Estates. Why do you want to deny them a seat where they live?
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  23. Mr Dupree said the other night that he was going to look under every rock, not leave any stone unturned to find some new land. Has he looked at Loudoun Valley Estates or the ISA sites? We already own them. Why would he not "look" there?

    Reminds me of when OJ was searching for the real killer.

    How long are we going to accept this misappropriation of funds/funding and abuse of power by the school board to achieve a political victory?

    There are those that say we will still need another new school in the Ashburn area. To those, I say, ok, after we build on the land we already own that is build-ready and fill those seats, we can decide if even more seats are needed. If we still need more seats, THEN look for new land, not NOW while the problem is getting worse by the day.
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  24. Mr Dupree said the other night that he was going to look under every rock, not leave any stone unturned to find some new land. Has he looked at Loudoun Valley Estates or the ISA sites? We already own them. Why would he not "look" there?

    Reminds me of when OJ was searching for the real killer.

    How long are we going to accept this misappropriation of funds/funding and abuse of power by the school board to achieve a political victory?

    There are those that say we will still need another new school in the Ashburn area. To those, I say, ok, after we build on the land we already own that is build-ready and fill those seats, we can decide if even more seats are needed. If we still need more seats, THEN look for new land, not NOW while the problem is getting worse by the day.
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  25. From what I'm reading, a majority of the posters on this thread are only interested in continuing the band aid approach to fixing the overcrowding problems in Ashburn.

    Say we build HS6 now. That means that Brambleton and Broadlands will shift to HS6. Part of Ashburn Farm will shift to Briar Woods. Lansdowne would then shift back to Stone Bridge. Overflow from Broad Run will have to go somewhere.

    After all of that is done, we still need another HS in northern Ashburn. So when that gets built, all those same communities and probably more will get shifted, again.

    This kind of thinking guarantees that boundary shifts will be done every 2-3 years, affecting thousands, if not tens of thousands of kids in the process.

    I cannot see how this is good for the entirety of Loudoun County. Seems to me that we'd identify a long term solution and work towards that, which would also minimize the number of boundary changes that we'd have to go through.

    What about the land at the Water Treatment plant? Doesn't the county own that land as well?

    Keep the ISA land for the Monroe Academy, keep HS6 in LVE II, and put HS8 on the Water Treatment land.
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  26. Anonymous 11:25

    The Water Treatment site. Are you kidding!! I thought the idea was to build a school where the kids are. Who lives in the industrial area around a sewage treatment facility? The closest neighborhood would be Ashburn Village. Do you think they would support that! That land is for future needs so we don't have to later try to find land to build more facilities near residential areas.
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  27. Interesting thoughts, however, the water treatment site is NOT owned by the county. Unfortunately some of the school board members had false information. It's not even clear that the Loudoun Water site is available for sale or lease due to their requirements to expand their treatment facilities. Much more marshland was discovered than initially thought. Oh and did you know we dropped $40K+ to examine this land!! Would've been nice to use that for a teacher!!

    It doesn't really matter anyway, because who is going to vote for land purchase in these tough economic times when we ALREADY have land. There is no quorom for that on the BOS. We need that money for many other pressing needs. Have you seen the Superintendents' compliance CIP...scarey stuff.

    We must build on land we own or we aren't going to have seats. Period.

    It is not in any of our interests to block the building of schools. Please help lets make it clear to the leadership of Ashburn Farm United that they must rethink their past and current positions of blocking the building of schools.

    Tell Ashburn Farm United...Look at what happened with Woodgrove....those kids have suffered because of community members pushing back on why this land and not that land. In the meantime, they went through extraordinary measures like having 6th-7th-8th-9th grade together. But their overcrowding issue remained contained within Western Loudoun.

    Also, the moves described within your blog that concern you are ALL within the Ashburn/Dulles North planning district. Yes this will affect Ashburn/Dulles North kids...BUT NOT everyone else in the entire county!!!

    Your comments appear very parochial althought I'm sure they weren't intended that way. The Ashburn/Dulles North issues should have been addressed a long long time ago. We haven't done that. We didn't even use Briar Woods effectively. It's hard for us to then advocate finding a perfect school whilst we toss our community out to the reaches of South Riding and Lovettesville as we search.

    Ashburn Farm United worked hard to show that schools are needed. The numbers have shown that for years which is why Lansdowne has been advocating for schools for well over a year if not more. Ashburn Farm United's whining and crying because perfect land is not available is not helpful to anyone.

    No matter where a school goes, there will be redistricting otherwise they would open up empty. The redistricting will affect all communities in Ashburn/Dulles North....why? Because we didn't advocate like we should've before to get schools built. Now, instead of relieving 1 high school....we need a school to relieve 4 high schools.

    Let's get a school built where it can be built. It's that simple.

    We've got some lemons, let's make some lemonade.
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  28. Let's say for arguments sake that a school was built on the water treatment plant site or anywhere else that Ashburn Farm views as the "perfect" site (for them). That new site will always pull the surrounding neighborhoods into it so that those kids can walk. Another reason that LVE is a great location. So boundaries will be redrawn no matter what when a new school is added to the mix. Unless they build a new high school in the conference center or on the Belmont Ridge MS site, Lansdowne will be back at SBHS in a few years. Once a new school is added, a shift in almost any direction will pull others out of SB, making room for Lansdowne again since SB will be the closest school. It's what makes sense.
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  29. Perfect. If the criteria for determining which school your kids go to is how close you live, then my kids won't move again. SB is the closest school for us, within walking distance. No other HS is within walking distance. Not Broad Run, Briar Woods and certainly not HS6. Thanks!
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  30. But you're forgetting; AF has several schools that are all as close or closer than Lansdowne is to SB now. Lansdowne doesn't have to drive past other schools to get to SB. As a result, AF has a few good choices as far as distance and rational planning goes. And, if AF (to the south side of SBHS) were to go to BR or BW instead, they wouldn't be driving past another high school to do so. They would also be going there with their neighbors. Wow, sounds good to me.
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  31. Lots of kids in AF would have to drive past SB to get to either BR or BW. Lots of kids in AF live closer to SB than ANY other HS. So why does your argument apply only to Lansdowne?
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  32. Has anyone looked at the numbers?? We will be needing not only HS6 but HS8 and possibly another high school to serve these kids. Lansdowne will most likely be split if a new school is not placed somewhere along rt 7.There will be no room for them at Stone Bridge, why, because Briar Woods is will be FULL even with HS6. You would rather take kids and continue to bus them all over because there is the belief that no land can be found to accomodate the kids north of Rt 7. Stone Bridge is not the answer for Lansdowne-- a new school is. It is time to start looking for stable boundaries not bandaides. I will not vote for any bond that does not address this issue and I know many others that feel the same way.
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  33. Nobody to the south of SBHS would drive past SBHS to go to their eventual schools to the south or to the east in the case of the ISA property.
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  34. A friend from Lansdowne told me last Spring about Lori Water's backward C that pulled all the communities from Lansdowne, west and down to the ISA property? Is that still a possible solution? Maybe she saw it a long time ago and had it right in the beginning. Should that be put on the table as an option?
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  35. We are out of time to keep messing around with finding land. We need a high school to be put on the ballot next year. HS-6 has been in the CIP for years. We know a school needs to be built there. We need more time to figure out the best location for HS-8. It's that simple. Should Brambleton be bussed to South Riding just because land can't be purchased in Northern Ashburn? TALK ABOUT A SOUTHERN SHIFT!!!!
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  36. Our teachers did not get a raise last year. We are now talking about increasing class sizes AND not giving teachers a raise this year. Can someone from Ashburn Farm United please explain how we are coming up with the $50 million to pay for the land?
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  37. It isn't even about finding land; it's about delaying building as long as possible while other communities temporarily take up the Ashburn slack and keep the precious SBHS seats for AF students. The only school that AF will ever support is one that is in the perfect location for AF, not the rest of the planning district. Cause after all, it's all about AF and SBHS which they (seem to think they) own.
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  38. So instead of moving Lansdowne kids out of Belmont Ridge MS (when it was overcrowded), Ashburn Farm kids had to go to Eagle Ridge. So can we move the kids that can walk to Belmont Ridge MS to another school? Oh no...that's right Lansdowne thinks they own Belmont Ridge MS because it's in their community. Lansdowne would never want their MS kids to go anywhere else besides Belmont Ridge, so how can Lansdowne complain when Ashburn Farm wants the same thing for their kids?
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  39. Ashburn is always going to be split, it's too big for a single school.

    Only some of Ashburn was moved out of BRMS, not all. Just as "some" of AF (the ERMS kids that go to SBHS) should move out of SB as well. They should go with their classmates and neighbors to BWHS. And there are lots of kids who want to do just that instead of being separated from their friends.
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  40. Schools are not owned by any HOA. One of the Lansdowne HOA’s made up of 2,000 homes has an elementary school and a middle school which kids walk to. Ashburn Farm has one elementary school and 2 high schools that children can walk to. I agree that kids should go to a school that they can walk to. Let’s save the money on the busses. It’s unfortunate that the Ashburn Farm Developer didn’t proffer more land for schools that kids could walk to when they built a 4,000 home community.
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  41. I agree with the poster suggesting that ER kids all go to BWHS. They stay with their classmates and neighbors. It's the obvious solution that also happens to free up some space at SBHS as a side benefit.

    Let's give some of those bulldogs wings...go BW falcons!
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  42. hummm, all Eagle Ridge kids to BWHS, but what if you walk to SBHS, you would rather send those kids on a bus to go someplace 6 miles down the road, Interesing logic
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  43. What about the handful of ERMS kids that go to BRHS? How did that happen? ERMS actually feed into 3 high schools - unfortunately my daughter was one of the 13 ERMS kids to go to BRHS and all of her friends went to the other 2 high schools.
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  44. If you go to ER and want to walk to SB; it's a long walk. You could walk just a little further to BWHS instead. No issue with riding a bus at all, that's silly.

    So let's see it's either a) stay together with all your friends that you have been going to school with the last 3 years or b) walk to SB to be apart from them? What kid would choose that? None, and their parents shouldn't either.
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  45. There are kids in Lansdowne that are closer to Harper Park MS, why do we bus them to Belmont Ridge MS?? Oh that's right, Lansdowne kids can't go to school with kids from Leesburg.
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  46. Ashburn Village has 5071 homes
    The Broadlands has 3882 homes
    Ashburn Farm has 3844 homes

    Is Ashburn Village too large to fit into Broad Run High School? No
    Is The Broadlands too large to fit into Briar Woods? No
    Is Ashburn Farm too large to fit into Stone Bridge? No
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  47. "If you go to ER and want to walk to SB; it's a long walk."
    Shows how much you know... DN 14 goes to Eagle Ridge and is DIRECTLY across the street from Stone Bridge, in fact the school can be seen from living room windows on my street. And for the record, I would never allow my kid to walk to Briar Woods or even drive there. I do allow walking to Stone Bridge and we don't have to drive there. I can't think of ONE kid on my street that would rather go to Briar Woods, nor can I think of any kid in my neighborhood that would rather go to Briar Woods-despite going to Eagle Ridge. No one asked to go to Eagle Ridge nor did anyone ask to go to Belmont Ridge, it is all that is available to our kids. What is so wrong with having friends in other schools? Why does one assume that kids can't have relationships with kids from everywhere. My kids have friends at Heritage, Briar Woods, Broad Run, Westfield, Fairfax, Robinson, and Centreville. They are all close friends, the only difference is they go to different schools. What is the big deal?
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  48. Too bad the developer of Lansdowne didn't proffer enough land to build schools to serve the kids that live there. Maybe instead of another Harris Teeter and a bunch of townhouses crammed all together to give the developer a big paycheck a high school could have been built.
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  49. ok how about this, in 2 years Belmont Ridge is looking at 1400 kids, so rather than move some Farm kids out why don't we shift half of Lansdowne to Harper Park or better yet Smart's Mill-after all gotta keep that precious feeder system. Sounds crazy doesn't it! If it does then the argument of moving AF out of Stone Bridge should sound just as crazy. The only thing that 1400 kids at Belmont and 1300 at Eagle Ridge tells me is that someplace in the middle is the need for another middle school, so no one is shifted many miles away from home.
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  50. if people don't think there is a need for a high school along rt 7, they should really take a look at the Stone Hill Middle school boundary. that school has a "catchment" area from rt 7 to the north to rt 50 to the south with a small bit of south riding added in for good measure(they will be gone with MS 5 opening). Adding a new high school would give those kids along rt 7 someplace other than Broad Run which is over-crowded. A new middle school could open up space at Belmont Ridge to get those kids out of Stone Hill and sent to Belmont and then Belmont could be the feed to the new high school.A new middle school would get kids out of Belmont and Eagle Ridge and be the feed to Stone Bridge. Eagle Ridge would then be less crowded and feed Briar Woods and Stone Hill would have room for the ever increasing population in that area and HS 6 could be it's feed. So as has been stated many times before a new middle school and 2 high schools are needed for the approx. 9000 kids that will be needing them in the very near future. Yea,it is going to cost money but would you rather have your kids forever shifting back and forth and never get any kind of stable boundary that the east and Leesburg have?
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  51. Mr. Stevens,

    Do you read your own blog? Do you see the battle that still rages on the SBHS issue? At the past two School Board meetings, parents from both Ashburn Farm and Lansdowne have gotten up to speak about the healing that needed to happen between these two communities. Do you see any healing happening? Do you see two communities ready to move on and make nice? Instead of providing a continuing platform for residents to air their obviously differing opinions on this subject, how about taking the first step towards helping these communities come together. Instead of sitting on the sidelines admiring the problem, how about being part of the solution!!!
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  52. The school board would have been very wise in the beginning to 1) take the staff recommended plan AND 2) also take a border DN from Lansdowne. These changes would have made sense geographically and made both communities feel like they had given something rather than either community feeling like they were taken advantage of as is the current perception. The shared pain would have probably brought communities together. The board has made enemies of the communities by dragging this out and singling out a single community as though they were the problem to be solved.

    Ashburn even had kids speak at the last minute against phasing which obviously would have meant throwing out current classmates of theirs. I really question the wisdom of the Ashburn parents in making their kids focal points like this in such a heated debate. Particularly when those kids that the Ashburn kids are trying to have removed from the school really want to stay. Hopefully nothing bad will come of this.

    Lansdowne never had a chance in this mess because they had no representation. Their "representative" also represents and lives in Ashburn, who was their adversary. After having his own children removed from the argument by taking Broad Run redistricting off the table, he played both good-cop and bad-cop while selling Lansdowne down the river.
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  53. Belmont Country Club residents would be wise to start gearing up now for the next boundary battle because they are next out of Stone Bridge. Even with Lansdowne out of the picture, Stone Bridge will still be over capacity. Then it will be Ashburn Farm vs. Belmont CC. Why do you think the school board sent Lansdowne all the way to Tuscarora instead of to Heritage? They're saving Heritage for Belmont.

    And everything that was said about Lansdowne can be said about Belmont. They haven't suffered enough boundary changes. They chose to build a country club instead of a high school. They chose to build a golf course instead of a high school. (Not that residents decide what gets built, but that doesn't seem to matter.) They live further away from Stone Bridge than Ashburn Farm, etc.
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  54. UGH..... When will everyone just get it---- WE NEED 2 MORE HIGH SCHOOLS!! One north of the Greenway and one south. There are going to be 9000+ kids down the road and if something is not done to address this problem, EVERY kid is going to shuffeled out of their own communities, neighborhoods split apart and a bigger mess then we already have. Sending ANYONE to Briar Woods would have made that school even more overcroweded than it already will be! We should be working TOGETHER to get this issue resolved, not griping about who stays at Stone Bridge-- or whatever school is next on the chopping block. I am just glad my kids will be out of school by that time. If you have a 1st, 2nd or 3rd grader, beware.
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  55. The idea that sticking with the original staff plan as some have stated would have yielded the same result in the end-- Stone Bridge would have remained overcrowed and then who would go--Both Lansdowne and Belmont CC have a 30% growth rate-- AF is stable and Belmont Greene is almost stable so even if you took out AF totally from Stone Bridge it would remain overcrowded and then what would be done?? And to make matters worse, Briar Woods would be extremely overcrowded- even with HS 6 and nothing would be done with Broad Run. Though I don't agree with Mr. Ohneiser on anything else, I do agree that this was the best solution until a new school north is built. But I realize that everyone has their own opinion but the one thing I have not heard is Lansdownes solution to the problem other than HS 6 which would really solve nothing long term and create more issues than it temporarily solves. What is their idea about solving the middle school overcrowding?
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  56. The middle school problem will be solved when the new Dulles South middle school opens in 2011 and seats open up at Stone Hill Middle to releive Farmwell, Belmont Ridge and Eagle Ridge. The real question is what is going to be done when 4 high schools are above the 115% capacity. We need a high school in the CIP ASAP.
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  57. You honestly believe that a middle school in SOUTH RIDING will relieve the 1400 kids that will be in Belmont in 2 years?? and Eagle Ridge, where exactly are the kids from Eagle Ridge live that will end up at Stone Hill, glad I won't be one of them..... And what do you propose to do with all the South Riding kids that need a middle school?? Have you seen the South Riding numbers?? There is a new elementary school opening next year and they STILL have overcrowding issues and look at those boundaries-- all over the place, no thank you! They have enough problems already, they certainly don't need Ashburn's. NO the answer to the middle school problem in Ashburn is another middle school in Ashburn! Shifting kids all over is how we got to where we are now.
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  58. The biggest problem in the "newly named Ashburn" is the high school students that are being temporarily thrown over 4 other neighborhoods to get to their high school. That is the first priority that needs to be fixed. Tuscarora will be over capacity in its third year. Ashburn Farm wants everyone to forget about anything Leesburg as if Leesburg residents are the second class citizens of Loudoun County. If Lansdowne isn't removed from the Leesburg schools then the stability of Leesburg is at risk but that's not important to Ashburn Farm.
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  59. As opposed to Lansdowne's solution of throwing Ashburn Farm kids over several neighborhoods to go to Briar Woods.

    Why don't you stop with all the misinformation and bitterness you are putting out there and become part of the solution?
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  60. Lansdowne is being thrown over neighborhoods that they do not go to school with. Lansdowne is an island by itself. Ashburn Farm was not thrown over any neighborhood that they didn't go to school with to attend Briar Woods.
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  61. Right, and I guess it doesn't matter to you that my son didn't go to ES with most of the kids he now finds classmates at Eagle Ridge.
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  62. And what is wrong with asking and looking for the best location for schools? After all, poor planning and just accepting anything we can get is really what got us into this mess to begin with. It's time we all stand up and say we need schools in the right locations!

    Complaining about what developer proferred sites for schools is irrelevant because ultimately, it is the Board of Supervisors that didn't push for the right number of schools, in the right locations when the developments were approved.
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  63. I find it quite interesting that AF is practically in BR's backyard but they go to SB.......AND the AF community wouldn't dream of going to "BR" - for what reason I don't know! They have a dedicated staff and great opportunities to excel in extra-curricular activities (State Champions in many sports). I know BR is crowded, is that the reason?
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  64. I find it interesting that Leesburg Today is reporting that George Mason has gotten Van Metre to donate 37 acres of land for a new GMU campus in Ashburn. Yet Loudoun officials couldn't get more land out of these developers for K-12 schools in the communities these developers built.
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  65. I find it quite interesting that Lansodowne is practically in Harper Park's backyard but they go to Belmont Ridge MS.......AND the Lansdowne community wouldn't dream of going to "Harper Park" - for what reason I don't know! They have a dedicated staff and great opportunities to excel in extra-curricular activities . I know Harper Park is crowded, is that the reason?

    BTW...Broad Run has what...8 trailers??? A little over crowded. Plus the fact that all of Ashburn Village goes to Broad Run might be the reason AF doesn't go there.
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  66. Belmont Ridge MS is IN Lansdowne. Why doesn't Ashburn Farm want to go to Harper Park? If AF kids have to be bussed out of Ashburn to a Leesburg middle school, what does it matter which Leesburg school it is?
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  67. Stone Bridge is IN Ashburn Farm. Broad Run is NOT in Ashburn Farm. Briar Woods is NOT in Ashburn Farm.

    Nobody in Ashburn Farm said anything about not wanting to go to Harper Park. Why do you constantly try to stir up trouble? You have provided nothing positive to this conversation.
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  68. If Ashburn Farm was assigned to Harper Park again(we have been there once before), I doubt that anyone would balk at that since Eagle Ridge and Belmont are over-crowded. BUT... moving AF out of Stone Bridge when it is in the neighborhood and is the CLOSEST high school to the community then yes, that is a problem. And for those who don't know, Briar Woods is in Brambleton- not in the backyard of Ashburn Farm.
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  69. AF needs to accept that these are Loudoun schools that everybody has to share and proximity is only one consideration for attendance zones.

    The big picture considerations of rational distribution county-wide are far more important since there are too few schools in all locations. We needs more schools now and the LVE property must be the next build site for a high school.

    The school board must be grilled for not actively pursuing the LVE site NOW since we own it already and it is ready to build upon.

    We can't allow AF to get in the way of building schools because of their obsession with SBHS and staying there.

    Does everybody realize that the school board wasted $40,000 to "study" whether the water treatment plant property was suitable to build a school on. This is a horrible site for a school for all kinds of reasons that everybody knew up front. And as it turns out, it can't be built upon...shock. The board can't blame t he BOS on one hand and then waste money searching for phantom land that we don't need. Don't be fooled, they aren't looking for anything but time.

    These guys need to be held accountable for their inaction and failure to satisfy the needs of the many for the selfish concerns of a few.
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  70. Why can't the Leesburg HS boundaries be redrawn to include Lansdowne to Tuscarora (or other Leesburg school) on a permanent basis. Even with a LVE HS being built, that will be filled with BWHS overflow kids and the additional gazillion houses in Brambleton. Belmont CC and Ashburn Farm will have enough students to fill Stone Bridge HS. The kids just to the west of Lansdowne don't have a problem going to a Leesburg HS, why do the parents of Lansdowne have a problem with it?

    If these are schools that everyone has to share, how come we didn't move out Lansdowne kids when Belmont Ridge MS became over crowded. Oh that's right, we moved Ashburn Farm kids to Eagle Ridge.
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  71. OK, if the solution for Stone Bridge is HS 6 in LV II what then is the solution when it becomes full with the kids that live there, Briar Woods is full with the kids that live in Broadlands and Brambleton and Broad Run is full of AV kids and Stone Bridge is full of Lansdowne and Belmont CC kids, does Af then homeschool? And by the way-- that all happens within the next 8-9 years.
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  72. when will Lansdowne accept the fact that they are Loudoun county schools? What is Lansdowne's obsession with SBHS?? See how it sounds when someone says it about Lansdowne? Not so nice is it- the only obsession that AF has with SBHS is that it is the closest school, many students can and do walk there,and other schools are over-crowded. Tuscarora is a new school with open seats and someone has to go there.Lansdowne is the closest to that school. The only reason that has been given as to why this is a bad idea is because it is temporary- well, welcome to Loudoun county- where ALL the boundaries are temporary, unless you are east of 28. If you want permanent boundaries, then one should lobby building schools where the kids are living not where they are going to be living in the future.
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  73. Only half of Ashburn Farm is closer to Stone Bridge. The other half of Ashburn Farm is closer to Broad Run. Lansdowne overcrowds Tuscarora in 3 years. Another high school is needed. Stone Bridge does not belong to any HOA. These are the facts and a solution needs to be developed that allows all the children of Loudoun County to attend high schools that are not overcrowded. This is not about Lansdowne and Ashburn Farm; it is about the need for another high school.
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  74. First off, let me start by saying I don't live any either Ashburn Farm or Lansdowne. I really could care less where your children go to school, except for I don't believe they should go to overcrowded schools. Here's my two cents....

    The original staff plan (Spring 09) never addressed the main goal of redrawing the boundaries of SBHS....getting students out of SBHS. In fact, the original staff plan accelerated student enrollment at SBHS above 2000 students. Shipping students from one overcrowded HS (SBHS) to another (BWHS) made no sense whatsoever to me.

    The new staff plan (Fall 09) shifted students from Lansdowne to empty seats at Tuscarora in Leesburg. My question on this is why Lansdowne? Why weren't students that were closer to Tuscarora sent there? Lansdowne is right to have a beef with LCPS. Why did LCPS lock in all of Leesburg to the 3 High Schools? The LCPS answer would be this new plan moved the least amount of students. I don't know if it did or not, but it seems it could have been better thought out then this.

    Finally the whole Ashburn Farm vs. Lansdowne is a joke. Lansdowne complains the LCPS caved to an HOA to keep AF kids at SBHS. Their argument is that SBHS belongs to Loudoun County, not just AF. And they are right. I don't think AF wanted Lansdowne out of SBHS, they just didn't want THEIR kids out of SBHS....and they used a very organized group of people (Ashburn Farm HOA and Ashburn Farm United) to put their message out.
    Since when is a group standing up for what they believe in...a wrong thing?

    Thanks for reading the ramblings of an older (not old) person :)
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  75. THe school board didn't want to shift any other kids in Leesburg because of that thing called a feeder system, see how it has messed everything up! As long as they focus on this, then we will continue to have problems. I still cannot figure out how we can have a feeder system when we don't have equal numbers of high schools and middle schools. And I don't understand how putting kids on busses and shipping them all over the county to keep that system intact is a good thing. I don't see how dividing up neighborhoods can be good. I don't see how building schools far away from student populations is good. I really would like to see that transportation budget and what the forecast for it will be when we build all these schools that all kids will need to be bussed to cuz they can't go to the school within their own neighborhoods. Thankfully my kids are almost out of this messes up system!
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  76. There's a comment that bears repeating on this string of posts. Mr. Stevens, where are you?!?!?!? Step up and help put this issue to bed and start the healing process!
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