Living in LoCo
Group Forms, Again, to Advocate for School
LoudounExtra.com staff at 9:33 a.m., March 20, 2008 (6 comments)
From Living in LoCo South Riding correspondent Val Cavalheri:
A group formed to advocate for a new high school in the Dulles South area in 2002 has been reactivated.
Neighbors for Education members say they hope to bridge the gap between the school board, the Board of Supervisors and the parents of Dulles South students. The reason for the group becoming active again is that a BOS vote will soon determine if a new high school (known as HS-7) will be constructed by 2011 to relieve overcrowding at Freedom High School.
A classroom created in an oversized hallway at Little River. (Photos by Jeff Morse and Cheryl Bacak)
Freedom could eventually have nearly 900 students in excess of its designed capacity of 1,600 students.
The group sent pictures (two of which are shown here) and information to the Board of Supervisors' finance committee, which met Tuesday night, with hopes of swaying the committee's vote. Committee members voted to recommend to the board that HS-7 be put back into the FY09 budget.
Neighbors for Education, led by local school PTA leaders and concerned parents, includes Cheryl Bacak, PTA president of Mercer Middle and Freedom High; Jeff Morse, parent of Mercer and Freedom students; Sarah Lichter, vice president of the Mercer PTA; Stacey Collins, vice president of the Mercer PTA; Tricia Haneghan, president of the Pinebrook PTA; and Dana Pastro, secretary of the Mercer PTA.
Bacak explained the concerns of Neighbors for Education members:
At Little River, teaching carts allow teachers to be mobile. In between classes, they move to available classrooms.
"The school board has placed HS-7, the high school to relieve Freedom, in the CIP to open in 2011, requiring funding in this FY09 budget. Kirby Bowers (county administrator) has delayed HS-7 one year to the FY2010 budget with an opening in 2012. People who have expressed opposition to building the school believe that given the current economic climate, the incurred costs are not justified; however, there are no available seats in any combination of schools that can absorb the overflow of students from FHS."
Under a property tax rate of $1.10 per $100 of assessed value (the current rate is 96 cents), school spending per student would fall by 2.7 percent. Although the $1.10 tax rate would mean an increase of about $23 million for the district, school officials have said that's inadequate because of growth. For per-pupil spending to stay at the current $12,962, supervisors would have to adopt a rate of $1.133 – or $1.163 to account for inflation.
Although Neighbors for Education came into existence in the Dulles South area, group members say they are advocating for the needs of students across Loudoun.
The original Neighbors for Education group was officially deactivated when Freedom opened in 2005.
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Loudoun has never seen a school filled to 50% overcapacity, which is where Freedom High School will be if HS-7 is left off this CIP.. Two other high schools in Dulles District will be at 437 and 589 over capacity in the same year if HS-7 isn't built...this is not a MINOR inconvenience! It will be a safety issue!
Posted by jmorse1110 (anonymous) on March 20, 2008 at 8:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The overcrowding in our schools is a crisis that the county needs to budget for. An additional high school in the Dulles South area is going to be essential for the academic future of our kids as well as their overall well-being. Funding for this should not be delayed.
Posted by julieabel (anonymous) on March 21, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The over-crowding is very serious and needs to be address immediately. If the schools are crowded and not staffed with the best teachers and administrators, the result is a difficult learning environment and students falling below their potential. Given the number of school shootings across the country, do we want to risk creating a negative high school environment? We want to feel confident when our children leave for school each morning – confident that they will be safe and confident that they will be able to go on to higher education of their choice.
News articles estimate that fully funding the school budget will cost the average homeowner an extra $650 in property taxes next year. Balance that against the investment we have all made already to create a positive, peaceful, opportunity-rich community for our families. The risks of not contributing to a fully funded, great school system are too serious to ignore.
Posted by skcpatterson (anonymous) on March 21, 2008 at 9:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Funding for HS-7 needs to be included in this FY-09 budget in order to be ready to open in 2011 when overcrowding at Freedom High School will peak. If HS-7 isn't ready by 2011 there will be a significant negative impact on quality of learning and safety. The logistical problems will bring the school day to a halt. There won't be enough time or space to get such a large number of students through lunch. The crowds in the hallways would prohibit timely class-changes. There won't be enough classroom space. There won't be enough lockers. It just doesn't make sense to put off building HS-7. The Board of Supervisors should let common sense and simple math be the basis for making this decision and put funding for HS-7 back into the FY-09 budget.
Posted by Triciah (anonymous) on March 21, 2008 at 1:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Based on the numbers generated by the county, if HS-7 is not built, all the area high schools will be overcrowded by a significant amount. It is plain and simple -this ia a safety issue. Buildings are constructed with a certain capacity and Freedom High School will be way over capacity if HS-7 is not built by 2011. There is no other reasonable choice - keep HS-7 in FY-09 budget.
Posted by rowln (anonymous) on March 22, 2008 at 4:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am a parent of two children at Little River Elementary, and I already have seen the impact of overcrowding. Little River currently has approximately 1050 students in a building constructed for 850 students (approx 200 over capacity). That is nowhere near the 56% overcapacity that is projected at Freedom High School, should HS-7 not be built to open in 2011. At Little River, there are several specials/resource classrooms in the hallways, and two 5th grade classes are currently in rooms so tiny that the fire code mandates that they limit these classes to 20 students!!! I'm very concerned for the current 4th through 8th graders that would be severely impacted by putting off HS-7 (I have a current 5th grader). I also continue to have concern for children in the earlier grades. My first grader is in one of NINE "maxed out" first grade classes at Little River. I implore the Loudoun County BOS to not only ensure that HS-7 stays in the budget for FY09, but also continue to plan for the upcoming huge numbers of young children going through the Loudoun County School system in the Dulles South area. Thank you.
Posted by dldard (anonymous) on March 22, 2008 at 8:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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