Due to overcrowding at South County Secondary School, school boundaries for Hayfield Secondary, Lake Braddock Secondary and South County Secondary Schools are once more in question. All affected communities are invited to two important town meetings -- one is this evening, Tuesday, October 10, and the next is on Wednesday, November 1, at 7:30 p.m., both at South County Secondary School's auditorium.
What’s happening to change it?
The Fairfax County School Board is reviewing at least two possible boundary scenarios: making a traditional boundary adjustment based on geography; or eliminating the middle school from South County Secondary and dividing the middle school population (projected at more than 1,000 students) between Hayfield Secondary and Lake Braddock Secondary Schools based on available seats at each school.
What are the desired outcomes?
- Hayfield Secondary School (HSS) should remain under capacity if boundaries are redrawn to allow for future growth. HSS was well over capacity for well over a decade!
- HSS should remain a balanced, diverse and desirable community school, with only elementary schools in the immediately surrounding neighborhoods feeding the school.
- Students should stay at HSS for all six years of middle and high school. Hayfield and Lake Braddock are secondary schools with carefully planned and separate spaces for middle school and high school populations. A large middle school population and a smaller high school population would be detrimental to the educational quality on both sides of the building.
- Transportation routes and bus ride time MUST be considered during the boundary-setting process.
- The school board MUST consider consequences from DoD’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process –– with a potential influx of 20,000 workers at Fort Belvoir over the next four years.
What about these town meetings?
Please plan to attend this evening's (Tuesday, October 10) meeting, and be sure to mark your calendar for the follow-up meeting on Wednesday, November 1. Each meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of South County Secondary School, located at 8501 Silverbrook Rd., Lorton, VA 22079. The meetings will feature group discussions and breakout sessions so the school board can gather data and info from the affected communities. As parents, residents and voters, you are strongly encouraged to attend and prove to the school board that you have a vested interest in the educational needs of your children and the welfare of your community. That’s why it’s important to be there!
2,729 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 1401 – 1600 of 2729 Newer› Newest»With 2B it will make the LHES boundary study much easier to accomplish. You will be able to clean up the gerrymandering and just move that part of Silverbrook going to LB to Sangster.
Where should Hagel circle go to to Middle School and High School? How should the LHES study affect this study?
I think that if a rising 8th grader is going to LB or HF for High School they might as well go to LB or HF now and not spend another year at SC. Let them be a Hawk or a Bruin and not spend a year as an "outsider" at SCSS.
Sending the 8th graders in addition to the 7th and 9th graders would move too many kids too fast to both Hayfield and Lake Braddock.
Go Option 3 or Option 2A, best of all!!
^^^Says the Silverbrooker.
How selfish can you be? Think beyond your gated community and what's good for all 3 schools.
6:10, hypocrisy.
What's hypocritical about 6:10? It sounds reasonable to me (and I live in Crosspointe).
Since FCPS knows the location of Laurel Hill this study should be done as if LH exists today. That would be 2B since the eastern Silverbrook barbell, Halley, Newington, Lorton Station, and Gunston should undergo changes when LH opens. Gunston is overcrowded and on septic. The western Silvrbrrok barbell obviously would remain at Silverbrook.
There is no North and South Crosspointe. We all pay the same dues to the HOA, we belong to the same pool, etc.
Clearly Newington Forest is trying to create a divide. They should stop causing trouble and accept their fate as future Bruins. Good luck with the gangbangers at Braddock!
I support 2A.
12/07/2006 6:10 PM
How is that selfish? It seems you are being the selfish one, why would splitting up a school be a good thing! Option 2a & b are the same, 2a keeps school together! I don't see a gated community in crosspointe, and option 2a is good for all 3 schools.
If Lorton Station, and Gunston (mason neck) stay at South County, who will be going to Hayfield?
Ok
Keep crosspointe together and split off South run oaks, Barrington, and the Woods at south run and send them to Lake Braddock. When the new LHES opens put them at Sangster. You can also take those kids west of 123 and send them to Sangster and LBSS. Bing bang boom we have room at SCSS and everybody is happy!
I think Hayfield could be better utilized by relieving pressure from high schools and middle schools in the Alexandria area rather then reaching down to Lorton. Keep the Lorton kids at a Lorton school and send the Fairfax Station kids with the other Fairfax station kids that are already going to LBSS. Lee, Edison, and Twain will need relief and BRAC will be hitting the Alexandria-Kingstowne area of the County the hardest. Hayfield needs the room to absorb Brac and the continued building in its current boundaries.
12/07/2006 8:55 PM,
You can not: split off South run oaks, Barrington, and the Woods at south run and send them to Lake Braddock. Crosspointe is in the middle. Option 2A is the better of the two options.
Nobody on the west side of 123 is at Siverbrook. They are already at 1 of 2 UC schools.
I didnt say they were at Silverbrook did I? They are actually at Halley which feeds SCSS. They should go to Sangster which feed LBSS. Most of the folks west of 123 go to Lake Braddock, they should as well.
9:01
Crosspointe is not in the middle!. Tell me one street in between these three subdivisions. Crosspointe is South of Silverbrook and East of Lake Mercer Park. Look at a map.
But Halley isn't OC, in fact it is actually UC. Why send kids from one UC school to another?
There are parts of Crosspointe which are also north of Silvebrook Rd. Think where fearless leader Liz Bradsher lives...
9:26
Everyone in Silverbrook is worried about split feeders. Your right Halley is not over crowded but in a couple years when LHES comes on line Halley will be involved in a boundary study. If you make an administrative move now you can free up space that can be used by schools that are overcrowded. It is like squeezing a ballon. By moving air to one side the other side has room to move in. Gunston and Lorton station are OC. Sangster and Halley are not. Shift population East to West and you create a balance. The students feeding SCSS would also be removed creating more elbow room for the closer communities that should stay at South County.
Mrs. Bradsheer lives in Crosspoint East of Lake Mercer Park. I was not talking about that section. Again look at a map. Barrington South run Oaks and Woods At south Run go from east to west, from Lake Mercer Park to 123 North of Silverbrook. Do you think I would take on Liz. No way. SCSS needs her.
I just checked where the Bradshers live.
http://www.whitepages.com/10001/map/map?CountryRegion=US&lat=38.730561&Subdivision=VA&AddressLine=9215+Silverline+Dr&PrimaryCity=Fairfax+Station&PostalCode=22039&long=-77.266100&
This is definitely north of Silverbrook. SCSS "needs" Liz like a hole in the head.
Your not paying attention. I Know where she lives, but it is not in the neighborhoods I mentioned. I am not saying do the whole 2b split which includes her section of crosspointe. I am saying a smaller split starting at Barrington and add the kids West of 123 going to Halley and SCSS to LBSS.
Got it!
The Sb will never go for such a disproportionate split and you know it. It doesn't alleviate the SC OC by enough students.
It makes no sense to include Halley as it's much further away from LB than any neighborhood that is north of Silverbrook/west of Hooes.
You still don't get it. That are split would not be a split feeder as they would be at Sangster which has room. Sangster goes to LBSS now. This would also relieve the overcrowding at Silverbrook ES.
As far as that area that goes to Halley they are right next to the area west of 123 already going to Sangster and LBSS.
Your right though it is still probably not enough so you might as well just go ahead with the entire 2B split. I was just trying to accomodate Liz as we all know she earned the entitlement to go to South county when she hijacked the system and got that school built early.
According to FCPS, Sangster is a GT Center school and has a lot of kids who are in the Irving/West Springfield pyramid.
It would make a lot more sense for more of Silverbrook to fight to get to redistricted to Halley (and therefore SC).
Parts of Silverbrook would never go to Halley. They are undercapacity and have full day kindergarten.
There is no way in you-know-where that Barrington is going to school in Springfield. Talk about wrong side of the tracks....
When they do the LHES boundary study it should include Gunston, Lorton Station, Halley, Newington Forest, Silverbrook, Sangster, and maybe a few others. Who has all day kindergarten, who is project excel, and where the GT Centers are should be up for discussion at the same time. I would not want to asume that because a school has all day kindergarten now that they will in the future.
When it is done Gunston (minus Mason Neck) and Lorton Station (if it still has a GT Center) can go to HF, Sangster can take more and go to LBSS, and if they can find enough FRL/ESOL maybe SCSS can have that nice package of Halley, LHES, NF, and Silverbrook.
Why couldn't Barrington go to Lake Bradock? What is wrong with that? It would be a shame for them to be at Hayfield for years, then SCSS for a couple and then Lake Braddock, but ... it is possible.
I think the LHES study should focus on the all of the schools that would share its boundaries. I think this would probably be limited to the ele. schools that currently feed South County. Between the empty seats at Halley and the new school seats of LHES (800ish?) that should alleviate the OC issues at LS, NF, Silverbrook and Gunston.
Vut back on topic, Option 2B is the way to go!
How about 2B, but 7-8-9 to Hayfield and only rising 7 to LBSS? Could that relieve enough pressure off of SCSS and should it alieviate the concern of OC at LBSS?
or 2A ...
7,8,9 brings back too many kids too fast to both LB and Hayfield. Option 2 (either one) is a bit more incremental.
12/07/2006 9:57 PM,
Why are you putting people’s address on this blog, don’t think it’s a good idea!!!!
I think some of the bloggers have things flipped around. They claim Hayfield is OC and can not fit any more kids in that school. They want Lorton Station and Mason Neck to stay at South County, don’t think so!! Those schools are way to close to Hayfield, and Hayfield has the room for them!! Mason Neck WILL go to Hayfield. They were going to Hayfield during the 1st study, but they were able to buy seats at South County! They also screwed up West Springfield too!
Nobody has claimed that Hayfield is currently overcapacity, in fact Hayfield wants more students. They don't want become OC by adding too many, too fast. Same with Lake Braddock. Err on the side of caution and add only 7th and 9th grades via Option 2B.
Does anyone know Gunston elementary numbers. What is their capacity and how many kids do they currently have attending the school?
If you're going to support an Option 2, why is everybody pushing 2B? To me, 2A is more logical. It moves more kids from SC to LB. LB still stays UC, SC is closer to capacity and Silverbrook doesn't get divided between tier one and tier two secondaries.
It is Mason Neck and Lorton Station claiming Hayfield needs to be filled up with kids from other schools who not in this study. Read 12/07/2006 9:00 PM. That must be Mason Neck person trying to put Edison and Lee kids at Hayfield. They will use any excuse, any other option, are prepared to mess up any other neighborhood or school, so they can stay at South County.
No one is claiming that HF is OC. If the board takes action on this study more of Lorton Station ES will go to Hayfield and that should bring HF to full capacity. There is room for them and they are welcome.
As for Mason Neck? That number of kids is so small (@10-15/year) it does not affect the capacity enough to worry about. They would be welcomed back to Hayfield, but that drive is significantly longer than SCSS. SCSS should welcome them as much as HF as the numbers are too small to argue over. Two rows of townhouses send more kids than all of Mason Neck sheeeesh.
9:39,
How can you say 2B is good for Lake Braddock? Lake Braddock will be at 97%(or higher) for the 07-08 school year. Hayfield will only be at 77%. We do not know what the %of capacity will be at LB for years 08,09,10. The SB will not share the data. You say to move on the side of error, how is 97%or higher doing that? What would happen to the kids if Lake Braddock is OC, would they send the kids back to South County? Would that be a good idea to keep sending these kids to different schools all the time? Hayfield will be out of the study when this boundary change is over, the Lake Braddock kids will not! Think about that!
12/08/2006 9:50 AM
I read 12/07/2006 9:00 PM on your reccomendation and think that he/she makes lots of sense. HF should be getting kids from the area near HF instead of as far away as Lorton Station and way down in Mason Neck.
2B is better than 2A because fewer kids are redistricted to LB under the 2B option. F&P knows what the current LB feeder schools have for 4th, 5th, 6th grade attendance. F&P also has histories of previous year 6th grade populations to specifically compare against the corresponding following year 7th grade enrollment.
F&P has shared the data. It's very obvious that there is room at LB and H to solve the SC OC.
What is wrong with 97%? 97% is under capacity! The school board put more kids at West Springfield when they were already 100% capacity. Lake Braddock numbers are decreasing, and the school board has shared the data. West Springfield numbers were not decreasing and they still went ahead with the boundary change. The good thing about options 2A and 2B is they pull kids from both sides of SCSS, keep LB and H around 90-92% and get SCSS to around 100%. I don't know which one is the best one to go with, but they are the only studies that make sense to me.
12/08/2006 9:57 AM
How would that Help South County? I thought this boundary study was to get the OC out of South County not other schools. This is getting out of control! Lorton Station and Mason Neck GO to Hayfield!
9:51 The utilization capacity for LB is known for the future and it is public! LB will be at 80% in a few years if you do not get any more students. It is true you are full now, but you will have space. I say implement 2B/2A with rising 7th grade only and you will still trend down to the 90-93% range by 2011. That will allow LB to make these kids Bruins from the start. If you wait you will get a bunch of unhappy kids and parents all at once. They will have spent their time volunteering and raising money for SCSS and pissed that they are starting over. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. LB should be looking for a way to take something now and
9:57 - Edison and Lee do not need to lose any kids, they are already at capacity. Lee HS was very concerned this year about the loss of some programs due to their lower numbers. This is typical of the way Mason Neck will mess up some other school just so they can stay at SCSS. As far as this "just 80 kids" argument is concerned, I would rather see 80 more kids from Lorton Station who live right by the school stay at SCSS before Mason Neck.
Good, go with option 2A!! 2A is the way to go!
and mitigate future attempts.
2B is better.
97% is not really below capacity. 100% capacity assumes a school has a perfect distribution of kids taking a perfect distribution of classes. That is not realistic so the goal is 85-90%. The guideline the board set for this study was 85-90% capacity so 97% is significantly over.
97% is bad because it forces students and teachers into creating schedules that are extremely inefficient.
Fortunately, 2A/2B bring LB and HF to the 90-93 range so that is workable. SCSS will be near or over 100% until either 1) a middle school is built 2) more schools are included in a study 3)mass migration out of the area.
If everybody is so uptight about not using Lake Braddock, 2A is the better option. Newington Forest will go as one school, it will not split Silverbrook, and it will make Hayfield happy. The argument that Newington Forest is closer to South County is not true. Look at the houses down Silverbrook Rd. and Hooes Rd on the Fairfax Station side. They could walk to the school, but they take the bus, just as the Newington Forest kids do. Newington Forest is surrounded by other communities that go to Lake Braddock and other schools! So 2A is the best option!
Will Halley ES become a split feeder in option #2a/b or #3?
Again, 97% capacity is good. 100% or just over is also ok. Plenty of schools in the area operate over 100% and there are no boundary studies for them. There should be no special favors for Lake Braddock.
10:21 Hayfield does not care who goes to LB. SB or NF? Hayfield just wants avoid overcrowding and keep kids all six years. The risk of not using LB is that there will be temptation to send too many and overcrowd Hayfield. As long as HF is properly sized with HS and MS kids LB and SCSS can remain at 80% and 120% capacity.
Hayfield needs to be part of solving the entire problem. It is not right to say SCSS and LB can remain at 80% and 120%, when that will lead to the taxpayer building and new middle school and our taxes will go up again. We need to support either option 2A or 2B. Both those options have the potential of solving the entire problem to the point where we may not have to consider a middle school at all. Both those options are the best for Hayfield, unlike option 3 which is a political move.
10:23
An ES can manage in the 97-105% range as they do not have kids and teachers changing classes, extra curricular activities, electives, and other issues to schedule around.
However, for a MS or HS 85-93% is good, 95% is marginal. 97% or over is bad and F&P should be be looking to see if the PROBLEM will get worse or better on its own or if they need to take action. We should not create overcrowding in schools by purposely making them so full.
SCSS has managed to work around the issue quite effectively. They have a "principal of the year", nice new school (and nice trailers) and a community of involved parents that are committed to making that happen. In this study since only 3 pyramids are involved it is impossible to get everyone down to a proper size. It makes the most ssense to leave SCSS the one that is over and leave LB and HF properly size -- that would be 2a/b. In the short run you can look at how fast you implement the moves to keep/make LB and HF avoid temporary oc problems.
2B sends fewer kids to LB than 2A. That would be better for LB.
NF only shares the Lake Braddock boundary via a skinny LB peninsula on the west side of NF. To extend the peninsula, it looks extremely gerrymandered
Silverbrook shares boundaries on both the north and west sides. That area looks like a missing puzzle piece that automatically fits in LB.
12/08/2006 10:34 AM
Would option 3, with only the move of option 2a/b to Hayfield be o.k. Hayfiled will have less students sent to the school and they will be out of the boundary study in the future! A middle school may not need to be built, if the numbers at Lake Braddock go down and the School Board could look at Mount Vernon space! Kids could go to Mount Vernon.
Option 2A/B and delay the NF/SB part of the move? ok, but I say go ahead and start moving rising 7 to LB now rather than have those kids go to SCSS for a year or two and then jerk them out. Once in a Secondary school they need to stay.
Is there really much difference between 2A and 2B in numbers to LB? Is this really the issue or is it something else?
Keeping schools under 95% was not even mentioned in the last boundary study. Edison, Lee, West Springfield and more will always remain just over 100%, and everyone said that was ok! The only reason the SB mentioned keeping schools a bit lower in capacity for this study was due to BRAC, and the possible increase in enrollments in a few years. I agree with you on one thing, 2A and 2B are the way to go. If you support those options, then we agree with each other.
If we're only going to put 7th grade at LB, I say send ALL of Silverbrook there rather than just North Silverbrook neighborhoods. It doesn't do SC any good to not get the numbers down ASAP.
2A/2B are the same! 2a is 93.6 & 2b is 92.9. The % is very little! 2A is better because the SB will not create a new split feeder school, they want to avoid creating a new split feeder school!
10:34 - Kids need to be moved to LB now. We already have the numbers for LB and these boundary studies are expensive. Lake Braddock has the room and needs to use it. There is a lot of support from both the Silverbrook and NF area for these studies (not everyone of course). There are many who would prefer to go to LB.
Be serious. The SB is constantly creating split feeders when necessary. In the last SC study alone, the SB created several split feeders.
The needs of the entire H, LB and SC, their respective feeder population as one large community outweigh 1 elementary school area.
That's why 2A is better, It will fix the split at Lorton Station and Mason Neck, and will avoid another split! The part of Lorton Station that will stay at SC will end up at LHES. All split feeders are fixed!
from The Times Newspapers and note that silverline is not officially listed as Timber Ridge so perhaps they are including a special finger island. meanwhile FCPS was at the Palnning Commission trying to get out of requirements like turn lanes and water run-off management. I guess the school board is looking for ways to build the middle school at any cost:
School briefs
12/06/2006
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School Board considers options for boundary changes
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On Thursday, Dec. 21, proposed high school boundary changes for the southern part of the county will be presented to the Fairfax County School Board at 7 p.m. in the board room at Jackson Middle School.
Of the three possible plans, schools staff are leaning toward Option 3, said Dean Tistadt, chief operating officer for facilities and transportation, based on feedback they have received from the public.
Option 3 would maintain South County as a secondary school. Elementary school students living in South Run Oaks, Barrington and Timber Ridge would attend Lake Braddock Secondary. Students in Lorton Station and Gunston elementary schools would attend Hayfield Secondary.
South County would operate at full or slightly above capacity with both Hayfield and Lake Braddock operating at about 90 percent capacity, allowing time and room for the potential influx of students after additional defense workers are relocated to Fort Belvoir in 2011.
The School Board will make its final decision Feb. 22.
I thought Option 3 sent no one to LB. This article says something different.
That sounds more like option 2B in the article, not option 3.
That sounds more like option 2B in the article, not option 3.
11:04, can you please provide the link? I couldn't find it on the Times website.
It sounds like 2B to me as well.
11:01 2A/b also creates a split feeder out of Halley by sending two of the four "islands" to Hayfield.
Yes, but F&P said they are sending two of the islands to Hayfield now, because those islands will be corrected in the LH elementary boundary change.
Halley isn't going to lose students to LH. It's already UC.
Halley will pick up a lot of students from Silverbrook, because that school is overcrowded. Some Silverbrook kids will go to Halley, some to LH. Lorton Station will then get relief by moving some of their students to LH. Then F&P will probably recommend that the islands go to Lorton Station. The big decision will be over Hagel circle, but the other islands will be corrected.
Halley as well as most other ES in the area will lose students and gain students when the LHES is done. Halley will probably have a net increase, but they will probably lose most if not all the islands.
Hagel circle will remain an island and remain at Halley and remain at SSCS. All other islands will go away. We will need another blog for that fight.
One boundary at a time.
If the post from earlier is true, then 2B seems to be the way to go.
The times did not print that, bloggers need be sure what they post is true!
It said "Advertisement" in the article. Who printed it? They got option 2A mixed-up with option 3.
http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab5.cfm?newsid=17560035&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=511694&rfi=6
^^^I found the link. The person who originally posted the blurb probably just cut and pasted. The Times actually does say Option 3 but describes the 2B option. If somebody gets email clarifying, please share it with everyone! :)
12:34-
What percent of these blogs do you think contain truth?
How many total bloggers would you say are on this site?
1:58,
Good point, my guess about 4 bloggers, give or take a few!
Yes, I am one of them. This blog is like a really bad soap opera or a car accident you just can’t look away from!
Everything I say is true and I know one other guy that tells the truth ... so at least 50% is true.
To make things easier, we should all put a T or F at the end of each post so we will know if the post is true or false. :)
T
maybe it should be T or BS
It should be BS, T.
I think Option 3 smells like BS.
I think the School Board IS BS! T.
10% truth by reasonable people on all sides
50% good people who think they have the facts right, but are wrong and even contradict themselves in their own posts
40% people who are not only wrong and don't know it, but they have extreme anger management issues
To the 10%---Happy Holidays
-Blogger number 5
I think the contradictions are more typos than anything else.
6
I agree....but its still pretty funny when someone rants for 3 paragraphs and then types the wrong conclusion
5
2:07-
Identify your posts by date and we can all check and give you a T,F, or BS
I prefer to identify my self as 104,
My ideas are to brilliant for just one number.
104 is always a big "T"
207 (yOU know who I am )
Just call me 2B.
Always part of the 10%, never BS
I guess this is what somebody meant about typos.
207's personal blogpage
"Fairboundaires 3.0"
7 bloggers tops...
3:52-
I guess that puts 3:18 in the 50% category.
Still looking for 10% people...
If you believe you are part of the 10% claim your previous posts and claim your prize
I think there's a lot more than 7. They are just not online on a Friday afternoon.
so what does that say about us.
so what does that say about us.
Still hard at work so we can afford our fancy houses in Crosspointe?
Or we have cheaper houses and dont have to work so hard giving us more free time for this.
We moved here from NC in summer, 2005. Therefore we bought our house after the boundaries were put in place for South County. My wife and I wanted that new school for our kids. Now my subdivision may be redistricted to Lake Braddock and apparently we can't grandfather or pupil-place to SC. That doesn't seem right.
to 12/09/2006 1:58 PM
you aren't going to lose anything since both Hayfield and LB are renovated facilities. Renovated can be better than new here and all 3 are far better facilities than many in this county. If you have middle schoolers check out the CIP worst condition list. 3 are schools that share boundaries and are in the same general area of the county.
Taken from the other board:
Anonymous said...
http://www.fcps.edu/schlbd/requests.htm
12 Dec
School Board update at South County Federation meeting, Lorton Station Elementary School, 7:30 p.m.
See you all there!
Here's the FCPS to LHES address and directions.
http://www.fcps.edu/maps/lortonstationes.htm
http://www.fcps.edu/schlbd/minutes/20061114R.pdf
This is the web address to see the school boards approval of South County's new $550,000 mulit-sports structure. This was approved at the November 14 SB meeting, and is on page 5.
So glad to see they are wasting money a$ u$ual! Your tax dollar$ at work!
Is the 12 Dec South County Federation meeting on the new Middle School still being held at Lorton Station ES? I heard a rumor it was moving to SCSS.
It is at SCSS and no school board members will be there.
So is it worth attending? Who will be there?
What about the SB meeting where Gary announces the F&P rec.? Date, time, place?
I believe that Gary gives the F&P reccomendation at a School Board meeting on 21 Dec and we can watch it on channel 21. Can anyone confirm? Is this T or BS?
I believe that is a big T
It is a big T...7 pm
Silverbrook is asking for people to tonight's meeting. Obviously they can't talk, but they can wear the clothes and hold up signs.
Is anyone from Hayfield or Lake Braddock going? Who can talk?
4:31-BS
5:15-Anyone can talk, but they won't discuss boundaries at the South County Federation
What happened?
I know that many people are working hard in the SCSS community to get the MS built including Mason Neck, Crosspointe, Lorton Sttation etc. If any piece of that goes to Hayfield or Lake Braddock will the Middle School effort fall apart?
If you are supporting Option 2A or 2B you should sign up to speak at the hearings.
Dec. 22: The January public hearing speakers list opens – sign up to speak at http://www.fcps.edu/schlbd/requestspeak.htm or by phone at 571-423-1060.
11:05, Even if both the eastern and western edges of the current SC Boundary are redistricted under either of the option 2 scenarios, SC is still slightly overcapacity as the population currently stands. Additionally,there is still a large amount of empty land right around SC that is just waiting to be developed. New houses mean more kids.
So yes, the School Board should vote for Option 2B.
yes, but will the departure of Mason Neck to Hayfield and Silverbrook to Lake Braddock take key people out of the orgainization to get the Middle School? or will it embolden them to fight harder? will it matter?
There will always be new key people as new housing is built. These will be the parents of the kids who live in the immediate vicinity of SC, not the people on the outskirts.
If Silverbrook is pushed out, we will do everything in our power to make the middle school NOT happen. Support Option 2A.
No we won't...but it will be harder
Support Option 4
What Option 4? Have I missed something?
Option 1: Move all SC middle schoolers out to H and LB.
Option 2A/B: Move some SC (all grades) to Hayfield and some to LB.
Option 3: Move too many SC students to H and none to LB.
Option 4 is probably to do nothing and let SCSS just remain overcrowded until a MS is built.
I think that even with 2A/2B a Middle School will be needed for the region eventually. 2A/B just delays the urgency of it. However, when it is built there will not be enough room to move many (if any) kids back to SCSS from Lake Braddock or Hayfield.
Implementing the 2A/2B option won't overcrowd Lake Braddock and Hayfield according to the projections. There would be no need to redistrict back to SC if a ms is built. There will be plenty of students in the surrounding area by the CIP ms date. The houses aren't there yet, but they are coming.
Then they can redistrict again and use Mount Vernon, West Potomac, and other schools. Whitman is smaller than Sandburg and Mount Vernon is larger than West Potomac. Changing those boundaries could result in both Sandburg and Whitman having walkers and both being in their attendance areas. I am sick of my ever increasing property taxes which are largely the result of fiscal mismanagement by politicians for schools.
You think we have a battle here with possibly redistricked the Silverbrook neighborhoods, try redistricked the Mount Vernon neighborhoods that go to Sandburg and West Potomac. That would make this boundry discussion look like a walk in the park. Frankly I don't see why Mount Vernon is even brought up in discussion regarding overcrowding at SCSS. Most of Gunston already goes to Hayfield, if you put the Mason Neck area of Gunston at Mount Vernon your talking about 80-90 kids, hardly putting a dent into the overcrowding at SCSS. The only way of using Mount Vernon to relieve SCSS is to send Lorton Station to Mount Vernon. Does anyone think that would fly, sending kids within 3 miles of SCSS to a School 15 miles away? And if your thinking of taking kids out of Hayfield to send to Mount Vernon or West Potomac to make more room at Hayfield for SCSS kids who would you take out? Face it Mount Vernon HS is just not an option.
12/14/2006 8:16 am,
I like your thinking, but Gary C. & Dan S. said those schools will not be used EVER! No body wants to go and they are too difficult to get to. The schools should be used because they are under capacity and the commute is not difficult, its right down rt.1 for most areas!
Right down (or up) Rte. 1 is not as easy as one would think. There are already jams and delays on that corridor due to Ft. Belvoir. North of the Belvoir gates are the traffic lights and strip-malls every couple of hundred feet. South of Belvoir is not quite as bad but it's not good. Civilian employees report to work at 7:30 am just around the same time that the high schools and secondary schools start their schedule.
Redistricting either NF or Slverbrook students to LB won't affect Route 1 traffic at all. I don't know if there is a logical route to Hayfield from North Lorton Station that can avoid Route 1 but if there isn't, the buses can exit Route 1 at Telegraph before Belvoir.
Just one more reason why a middle school proposal should not be entertained.
In today's Community Times (online version):
School board saving for rainy days
By: Kali Schumitz
12/13/2006
The Fairfax County School Board squirreled away another $10.2 million for next year's budget last week, preparing for what forecasters expect will be a particularly lean year.
"As we know, the '08 budget will be slender," said school board member Jane Strauss (Dranesville). "The more we can help ourselves, the better."
The extra cash was left over from $17.6 million the public school system received from the state this fall, after the state discovered an error in how sales tax revenues were allocated in the state budget.
A portion of that money was already allocated to items in the current budget year, but the influx of cash, combined with the standard end-of-budget-year leftovers, yielded the $10.2 million.
The school board now has $34.8 million set aside for fiscal 2008. The county Board of Supervisors has warned school board members not to expect much of an increase in funding from the county next year.
The bulk of county - and subsequently schools - funding comes from real estate taxes, which are based on annual real estate assessments.
Due to the downturn in the real estate market over the course of this year, assessments are not expected to rise more than 1 percent, if at all. It is possible that county revenues may not even keep up with the rate of inflation.
The good news for homeowners is that they will not be facing another year of increases in their tax bills.
A Nov. 17 memo from Deputy County Executive Edward Long indicates that the average tax bill could stay the same or increase by less than $50 over last year. Adjusted for inflation, Long wrote, next year's tax bills could actually be considered to be decreasing by an average of $93 to $140.
BRAC will change the demographic of the MV area to change from older people whose kids graduated to younger people with kids in school. The increase of housing at Ft. Belvoir will also increase the utilization of MV. Moving anyone from Gunston or Lorton Station to MV is just not a reasonable solution anyway. 1) Too far away 2)seriours traffic problems on Rt #1 now and getting worse and 3) most of them go (or will soon go) to Hayfield not SCSS anyway.
2B will work. Send the portion to Hayfield now with 7-8-9. Send the Silverbrook portion with just rising 7th grade. That will allow Lake Braddock to absorb new students as the other population goes down, get Hayfield the HS students it needs quickly, and relive most of the pressure off if SCSS. In 2015 the Middle School can be built in line with the CIP if it is needed.
Again a free Middle school is great but the taxpayer still has to pay to operate it. Revenues will be down so I say NO to a new middle school.
The only reason MV is brought up is because the Silverbrook and Newington Forest communities will try to use anything to avoid using LBSS as a common sense solution to the overcrowding at SCSS. They complain about possibly sending there kids 7 miles to LBSS but have no problem sending kids other kids more then 10 miles up Rt. 1 during rush hour and with even more traffic coming due to Brac and the new Army Museum which will be accessed via RT 1. I say Option 2 is the only solution.
We can move kids to other schools, but it will only delay the need for a Middle School. It will not eliminate the need. Taxpayers in SC deserve return on their money like everyone else. The SC community is expected to buy thier own school and pay to operate it also? Why don't we apply this standard to the entire county?
If a MS magically appeared next to SCSS it (and the High School) would be full immediately. A boundary move would still be necessary. Change the boundaries now AND accept the fact that we will need a Middle School soon.
There is no question that Option 2B is the best of all the choices.
Could you take the Silverbrook ES portion of 2B and redistrict what ES they go to so Silverbrook is not a split feeder? Let them go to a LB feeder?
It's bad enough you want to take us out of our closest secondary and ship us all the way to some school in Burke.
Now you want to redistrict us out of our elementary school that is RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET?
Silverbrook is overcrowded because of new housing construction in the Lorton area, not because of any of the closest neighborhoods to the school. In FCPS's infinite wisdom, they've been shipping kids from that area to our school. When LHES is built and those kids can attend it, our Silverbrook numbers will decrease.
Option 2b is bad! If you need to go with option 2, 2a is better!
ok, maybe that is a bad idea.
When LHES is built and the numbers at SB go down maybe all of it could go to Lake Braddock?
12/14/2006 11:40 AM,
Do you live in Laurel Hill?
I remember when South County was going to be built and at about the same time I wondered why FCPS was building an addition at Lake Braddock. It made no sense to add onto LB and I thought SC should have been larger. You got LB people and pols screaming for more and SC the same. Yet no one actually looks at the big picture and says no. Any attempt to do so is met with garbage [ie Gibson on why are we building Glasgow for 1500]. The people involved with the push for SC had unique access and politicians in their corner. FCPS built an addition at Westfields rather than another school making Westfields a ridculously large operation. Now it is building a 1500 seat Glasgow - that is absolutely absurd. Who looks at this stuff? Certainly not the FCCPTA's. All tht does is scream for money and never admit that an abundance of cash is missaprpriated and reading instruction is poor. Center had been the facilities guy on that and he did squat. Perhaps Stragtegic Governance will neutralize some of the wasted CIP building and transfer it to where people actually live or should go to school. More likely it will just further obscure the process since there is morbidly little debate on the part of the school board. People in South County have return on their investment and others do not. At least some everybody has facilities in good condition.
The Lake Braddock renovation was on the CIP long before SC construction. In fact the LB renovation was really for the Silverbrook area who had been complaining for decades about the overcrowding and distance of Hayfield from their part of Fairfax Station.
12:47,
No, it wasn't. Check your "facts".
The Lake Braddock renovation was desinged solely to meet the needs of the Lake Braddock school. It only added seats at the middle school level to balance the seats needed with the seats at the high school and with the projections in the late 1990's that showed growth at Lake Braddock.
Who cares who the Lake Braddock renovation was only meant for Lake Braddock? Is that the same as the Mount Vernon renovation only being for Mount Vernon? Mount Vernon is running way undercapacity.
Whatever the reason for a renovation, LB now has space for all the kids of Newington Forest to attend there. Option 2A should be chosen over 2B because it gets South County closer to capacity than 2B.
I agree that the boundaries need to move and relief the SCSS has to come quick. A MS will probably be necessary in 2015 like the CIP shows, but we can confirm that in a couple of years (with a new School Board and Gary's replacement in place).
Should the moves to LB and HF be for 7-8-9? 7-9? or just rising 7? Should it be different for HF and LB?
I think the SB should be cautious and send only 7 and 9 to both schools.
If a rising 8th grader is going to HF or LB for High School they might as well go to LB or HF for 8th grade. Don't leave them at SCSS as a "future Hawk/Bruin". Let the LB and HF programs get them and their parents involved right away. If you want to be cautious, send only 7, or only 7-8.
I would send rising 7-8-9 to Hayfield and rising 7 to LB.
In today's Laurel Hill Connection
Option 3: Middle School or More Students to Lake Braddock
Final option moves students from South County back to Hayfield, leaves Lake Braddock unchanged.
By Amber Healy
December 13, 2006
Photo by Amber Healy/The Connection
Under Option 3 of the Lake Braddock, South County and Hayfield Secondary school boundary study, some seventh, eighth and ninth grade students would be relocated to Hayfield starting next fall.
On Thursday, Dec. 21, the School Board will hear a recommendation on which solution may be best to fix overcrowding at South County Secondary. Many parents, however, think only one option is acceptable: Option Three.
According to information handed out at the Nov. 1 public meeting, Option 3 would transfer 296 students in seventh, eighth and ninth grades who live in Lorton Station, Lorton Valley and the Mason Neck area to Hayfield Secondary. The move would decrease the enrollment at South County from a projected 3,230 students down to 2,934 students, while Hayfield’s enrollment would rise from 2,329 students to 2,695 students. While Hayfield would be 95.3 percent utilized, South County would still be over capacity, at 113.4 percent utilization.
No changes would be made to the enrollment at Lake Braddock, which would remain at an estimated 3,764 students and at 81.5 percent utilization.
“Option 3 strikes a compromise,” said Gary Chevalier, chair of the Fairfax County Public School system’s Office of Facilities Planning. “It takes some kids out of South County and moves them to Hayfield and prevents the enrollment at South County from getting much higher.”
In addition, the option provides a two-year window of opportunity for community and elected leaders to find time to secure funding to build a middle school in South County, Chevalier said.
IF AT THE END of those two years, the funding has not been secured, a second boundary study may be needed to see if more students from the northern part of the South County boundary should be moved into Lake Braddock Secondary.
“Lake Braddock is already under capacity but in the other option (Options 2A/B), we need even more space than is currently there,” Chevalier said. “This gives us time to see if the population continues to go down and the space opens up.”
Trenda Jacocks, PTSA president at Lake Braddock, said she’s glad her school was not asked to take more students in Option 3.
“Ultimately, we will be affected because the School Board will have to make decisions in the future because they’re projecting that in two years the borders will be up for grabs again,” Jacocks said. “For now, this is a good option and it’s what we prefer.”
Parents at Lake Braddock can sympathize with the South County parents, who Jacocks said are showing a great deal of strength while going through their second boundary study in three years. She said the overall goal of the boundary study is to provide relief for the overcrowding at South County and to provide a learning environment in all three schools that is beneficial to all students.
The two other options included moving students to Lake Braddock, but Jacocks said she doesn’t think the extra capacity quoted by the facilities staff is as great as they’ve told her.
“We feel for the people at South County because they’re facing a future where the area is developing, and it’d be great for them to have a middle school if they need it,” she said. “I’m in favor of better facilities and more schools for children to have better learning environments.”
Not all parents agree with Jacocks, including Dick Reed, a Hayfield Secondary parent and PTA member.
“It’s not right for Lake Braddock to be at 80 [percent capacity] and South County to be at over 100,” Reed said. “I don’t want to stir my oar in the Lake Braddock lake, but it doesn’t make sense that they don’t get any kids, especially when South County is massively over and Lake Braddock is severely under.”
Reed said his school would welcome students back from South County but hopes that as many students would be brought over as quickly as possible, to make the transition faster and easier for younger students.
“We recognize that someone who went to South County for seventh grade might not want to go to Hayfield for eighth grade,” Reed said. “All I can say is, buy the orange T-shirt and be done with it.”
CHILDREN WHO would be moved to Hayfield would be doing so with their neighbors and friends, which should make for an easier transition, Reed said.
“We think it’d be better for kids who come back [in eighth grade] to be a Hawk for five years instead of four, so we hope they move all three grades if they choose this option,” he said.
School Board members won’t get to vote on the staff recommendation until late February, but that doesn’t mean they’re not thinking about what the staff will put on the table.
“Option 3 gets us down the field in the right direction,” said Board member Brad Center (Lee), using a football analogy. “It doesn’t get us to the end zone, maybe not in the red zone, but it’s close.”
Center said all the Board members are concerned about South County, already more than 500 students over its 2,500-student capacity. However, as Center represents Hayfield as well, he wants to make sure easing the strain at South County doesn’t overburden Hayfield again.
“Once we take Lake Braddock out of the situation, you’re trying to balance significant overcrowding between two schools, which limits our options,” he said. “At this point, it puts too much of the balance on Hayfield.”
To their credit, Center said many parents at Hayfield are more than willing to take students back, so long as it’s a move of seventh, eighth and ninth graders and their school isn’t overcrowded as a result.
“I want a buffer zone,” he said, something he’s been advocating since the West Springfield-Lee High School boundary study last year. “I have several options in my head that I want to talk with other Board members and people in the community about, but I want to take some of the burden off Hayfield and put it back on South County.”
BOARD MEMBER Dan Storck (Mount Vernon) said he’s still pushing for a middle school, but sees Option 3 as the best way to get there.
“This is a way to address the overcrowding and harm the fewest people at one time,” Storck said.
The two-year time buffer built into Option 3 as it’s currently proposed would also allow time for better numbers associated with the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) changes to Fort Belvoir and the Engineer Proving Ground to be gathered, Storck said. He believes the schools will be significantly impacted when an expected 22,000 employees move to the area by September 2011.
“I realize that our [enrollment] consultant and staff think the change won’t happen right away, but they haven’t accounted for BRAC in their projections,” he said.
Storck said he understands the reasons for leaving Lake Braddock out of the equation at this time, as the enrollment numbers there aren’t as predictable or clear as the ones at Hayfield and South County for the next few years. However, if no funding for a middle school is secured in that time, moving students to Lake Braddock will have to be discussed.
“If money would fall out of the sky, maybe the middle school would be built,” Storck said. “I believe it can be built sooner. I know we have the support of the community and local public officials are looking for additional funding options that can be used to make it happen.”
Sandy Moses, president of the PTA at South County, said that while Option 3 does provide time to help find funding for a middle school, it's still not her preferred option.
"As far as I'm concerned, the only option is to build a middle school," Moses said. "We're one big community here, and we don't want to see anyone leave."
She agreed with Storck that because the current enrollment numbers don't include BRAC, it's unclear whether any changes to the boundaries will create enough capacity in future years as people move into the area.
Despite the inclusion of a two-year buffer to find middle school-building dollars, Moses said it seems the responsibility of accomplishing that task falls too much on the residents and not enough on the school system.
"They don't seem to be taking responsibility for their past mistakes," she said.
The parents at South County fought for years to have the school built, and to ask some of them to leave so soon after the school opened is unacceptable, she said.
"Lorton Valley is right down the road from the school, and they might be pulled out," Moses said. "It's unfortunate that this had to happen at all."
Haha, I told you Silverbrook will prevail!
Somehow, someone needs to go to Lake Braddock.
All you Hayfielders need to get behind your anonymous voices and protest this injustice to the School Board. As 4:07 said, someone needs to go to Lake Braddock. This is a fiscal waste to rely on Hayfield to bear all responsibility for SC overcrowding and to keep SC extremely overcapacity when lake Braddock has so much room.
Hey how did Hayfield do on Jay Matthew's challenge index???
Lake Braddock #14 in the metro area
Hayfield #52
Can't find South County.
Someone needs to educate Dick Reed and his use of stats per the above article. LB is PROJECTED to be at 93% capacity in 2007. The HS will have a capacity of 97%. You don't send anybody to a school with such a high capacity %.
LB's seats are PROJECTED the EMPTY seats are at Hayfield. Stop the whinning.
SCSS was not listed on the challenge index because it doesn't have a full Senior Class. Did you not read the article??
There's no whining. Responsible citizens don't want to see their hard-earned tax dollars go to waste by not using empty seats.
However, I think we should redistrict the smaller of the two proposed group of kids to Lake Braddock as in the Option 2B scenario.
This is not over! 95%Hayfield, 113%SCSS, 81%LakeBraddock. Someone please tell me how that makes sense.
4:54
I have yet to hear anyone say seats should not be used at Hayfield, but I continue to hear Lake Braddock folks deny that they will have space in the future. Why do any projections if we are not going to use them as a planning tool. Sure Lake Braddock is full now. In five years it will not be. It only make sense to plan on utilizing the space that is coming.
It's over...Capaciy at LB is in the out years not now. You have gotten too personal and are not thinking about the kids. Shame on you, no doubt there will be coal for you in your stocking on Christmas!
BTW did you not know Hayfield has the largest auditorium and gym in the county? It is the perfect Secondary school with 2 cafeterias and a recently completed $55 million renovation. Think about the kids and not about "your want" for revenge. You have a warped idea of capacity.
Keep complaining to F&P and the SB. Last year for the Lee/West Springfield/Lake Braddock study, F&P recommended one thing and the SB voted against the proposal.
As we all remember from 2 years ago at the original boundary study, F&P proposed a plan and 3 amendments were added to it before the SB approved it.
I'd like to see those extra-thick walls that have diminished the capacity of Lake Braddock. Is this the only renovation in history that reduced the available seats?
It's not as if all 6 grades from 7-12 are going to be redistricted to either H or LB. Moving only 7th and 9th graders from just half an elementary school is not going to overburden Lake Braddock.
I'd like to see those extra-thick walls that have diminished the capacity of Lake Braddock. Is this the only renovation in history that reduced the available seats?
It's not as if all 6 grades from 7-12 are going to be redistricted to either H or LB. Moving only 7th and 9th graders from just half an elementary school is not going to overburden Lake Braddock in 07-08.
Its a different year and they made a mistake 2 years ago when they went against F&P. This time the SB should be sticking closer to the intended script. They don't want another flop in the cinema of Boundaries, especially not in an election year.
5:17
Warped idea? You are the warped one. Noone cares about the capacity for 2007 it is exactly the out years that should be the focus. Lake Braddock will have room get your head out of the sand and think about the kids packed in a SCSS while the kids at LBSS are kicking back with their feet on all the empty seats next to them. And what does Hayfield's gym have to do with anything. We know how many kids can fit at Hayfield and they will come back.
Good then take them back and leave LB out of it. LB can't take any students at this date. Oh and you are warped and mean and no Santa for you!!!
5:27, I live in Crosspointe. You are not presenting Silverbrook in a very good light.
I agree with 5:11-
It makes no sense not to include Mount Vernon...as Dick Reed says "severely under"
I don't live in Crosspointe nor in Silverbrook but I do think this blog is one sided and certain people are trying to cause problems for certain communities. Kind of sad since the majority of families at SCSS came from Hayfield Secondary.
Yes, where is Mt. Vernon on that Challenge Index??
This blog was much more fun when it was just the five of us from Hayfield posting
The only nastiness I've seen on this blog are the Newington Forest and the Silverbrook posters and that's to eachother.
It was, wasn't it? No one challenged us and now we have to share with some people it seems from the "dark side." When will this turmoil end??
Hey 5:41 you got it all wrong. You are one of those 5 aren't you trying to pull those communities apart??---NO SANTA FOR YOU either!
Hey 5:41-
Read the blog again. Look for Hayfield teeing off on Silverbrook in nasty fachion. Even posting personal addresses.
Take you rose glasses off or at least take you oar out the water
Whose address was posted?
At least Santa has a plan, he has to in order to do what he does. If we don't plan to use LBSS now we end up with option 3. leaving Lake Braddock at 80%. If a new middle school is built will Hayfield boundaries be readjusted? I doubt it, once again Hayfield gets dumped on!
If you read the blog the person mentions a link to an address and I don't think it way anyone from Hayfield. It seemed to me a Newington Forest person put that up. Impossible to tell. Who cares, it is not hard to find anyones address, especially someone as public as Liz.
The folks at SCSS couldn't wait to get out of Hayfield. The sad thing was the hard feelings about Hayfield they left with and the continued nose in the air attitude some (not all) in the Silverbrook has toward areas of Lorton Station and Hayfield. We all know what Silverbrook wants for SCSS and it is not the demographics at Hayfield.
And if Silverbrook is redistricted into LB, South County will go downhill.
Thanks 6:39 for making my point.
Don't you have a clan meeting to get too?
Anybody have a good recipe for gingerbread cookies?
It's nice to see the SB feels option 2B is bad, and Dick Reed feels splitting up schools is bad!
"CHILDREN WHO would be moved to Hayfield would be doing so with their neighbors and friends, which should make for an easier transition, Reed said." Option 3 is the best!
So then Option 2A is the best.
Nice try 6:37...Silverbrook and others left because of distance and not demographics. And now the communities to the West are trying to stay at a more diverse school (South County) rather than go a long distance to a less diverse Lake Braddock...
Certain areas west of I-95 were used to fill Hayfield when Hayfield was down in enrollment and WSHS and others up. The kids were bussed and they were bussed past schools of closer distance. Wouldn't you be a little upset as you see the schools go bye and know your kid was being used for one reason or another. Now SCSS is here, these communities were meant to attend SCSS. Silverbrook and Newington Forest paid their dues on the road. What I am hearing from the Hayfield 5 is pure sour grapes. Where is Hayfield on that challenge index? You going to blame Sivlerbrook on that too?
Hayfield is a public school, it needs kids, it needs to be competitive with other schools.
Je pense que le panneau d'école fait une autre erreur avec l'option trois. Nous allons finir vers le haut avec deux écoles surchargées en quelques années au lieu juste d'une.
I'm from Silverbrook. I would love for my neighborhood to go to Lake Braddock. I don't think it's fair that we aren't part of Lake Braddock but other HOAs and homes south of us go to LB. Only if our kids are designated GT, can they currently attend LB, and then only for 7th and 8th.
Lake Braddock has an incredible ranking. Parents in my area should be embracing Option 2B.
But they are not, so perhaps you should move.
The English translation of the French above is:
"I think that the school panel does another error with the option three. We will finish up with two overloaded schools in some years to the just place of a."
Obviously the sudo French "star" needs more work on his/her French. I hear Hayfield has the space if you need additional class time.
Speaking of French have you ever watched cooking with Jaques Papin? Most excellente.
8:21: When Hayfield opened in 1969 its boundaries included all of what is now Crosspointe. It was all farms back then. The urban legend is that one girl arrived the first day on horseback! When houses were built there, the kids had to go to Hayfield. There was no redistricting to add kids to Hayfield; it's just that a million houses were built on land that was in the Hayfield district all along.
About the Challenge Index: As you know, Hayfield had a large senior class in 2006, almost 600 students, because South County opened without a senior class. This year's junior class, thanks to the South County split, is a bit over 300. So the pool of students taking AP classes and tests was smaller in 2005-06 than it was in 2004-05, but with roughly the same number of students graduating.
Jay Mathews' data: 1,085 AP tests in 2005 and 538 grads; in 2006, only 866 tests but 562 grads. Data from Hayfield shows that the percentage of kids taking tests went up in 2006, from 20.4 percent to 25.1 percent.
Jay Mathews has never taken a boundary change into account in the Challenge Index but now that he has been made aware of the Hayfield numbers he may do so in the future.
Hayfield's ranking is negatively skewed by the opening of South County. Just be aware of that when you try to trash Hayfield by throwing around Challenge Index numbers.
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