Coraggio Consulting
Fairfax County School Board Public Hearing, Saturday, January 10, 2026

Date: Saturday, January 10, 2026
Place: Fairfax County School Board, Virginia
Length: 2h 59m (video)
Official meeting video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFqGdGcD2K4
Official School Board page (FCPS): https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/leadership/school-board

Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting.
Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-10-28. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:01:42] - Good morning, this is the last call. If you would like to sign up and have not signed up already to speak today, then you need to do so right now. Once the hearing starts, we cut off signups. So if you have not signed up and want to speak, please do so now.

[00:01:58] If you have hard copies of your testimony and would like to provide them to us, please bring them up here. Otherwise, you can email them to communityparticipation@fcps.edu. They will say that in just a few minutes as well. If you are a student, you will speak first at the top, even if you're a walk-in.

[00:02:18] So please be prepared for that.

[00:02:19] Thank you.

[00:04:58] Could Brian Krias please see the clerk really quickly?

[00:05:01] Thank you.

[00:05:57] - This January 10th, 2026 public hearing the Fairfax County School Board is called to order at 10:06 AM. On behalf of the school board, I would like to welcome Carolyn Pitches, chair of the city of Fairfax School Board.

[00:06:14] Good morning and welcome to the public hearing the superintendent's proposed school boundary adjustments on behalf of the entire school board i would like to thank you for sharing your comments with us this hearing is being broadcast on channel 99 and live streamed on youtube and at our website at www.fcps.edu backslash live stream on july 18th 2024 the school board updated the policy 8130 to require a comprehensive division wide review of school boundaries to be conducted every at least every five years and that the superintendent recommend any boundary adjustments to the school board for approval since september

[00:06:51] 2024 the division has conducted extensive community engagement including feedback from the superintendent's boundary review advisory committee and the community meetings from fall of 2024 through winter of 2025. during this process the school board discussed the progress of the boundary review at four work sessions the superintendent presented her proposed boundary adjustment recommendations to the school board at the January 8, 2026 regular meeting. We have 86 pre-registered speakers who will address the board at this public hearing. Speakers are allotted

[00:07:28] two minutes and we ask that you stay within that time. The timer will start when you begin to speak and the timer will sound after two minutes. Please ensure that your remarks are limited to the proposed school boundary adjustments and that your remarks adhere to the school board's expectation for community participation included in those expectations are that only one person is allowed at the podium when speaking neither adults nor children may accompany a speaker to the podium copies of all expectations are available at the back of the auditorium to assist with the flow of today's hearing please ensure that you are following along with the speakers list and are

[00:08:03] ready to go as soon as your name is called if you have a hard copy of your testimony please give it to the clerks if you are virtual please turn on your camera when you are the next in line to speak so that all you have to do is unmute when you are called on. If you have an electronic copy of your testimony and would like to share it with the board, please email it to communityparticipation@fcps.edu.

[00:08:25] When your name is called, the clerk will call your name three times before moving on to the next individual on the list. You may find copies of our speaking order in the back of the auditorium or on board docs. Given the length of today's hearing, we do ask for grace and patience from the audience members.

[00:08:41] also ask that you hold your applause so that we can keep the hearing flowing to ensure that all speakers are heard in a timely manner because of the length of the hearing school board members may be taking small breaks but are able to access the hearing throughout the building and we'll be listening to all speakers please note that if you need overflow seating you can find it in the cafeteria madam clerk please call our first speaker Addison Barnes good

[00:09:17] morning I'm Addison Barnes and I'd like to voice my feedback over a very specific small pocket SPA 8922 in the Rolling Valley Elementary area where I am in fifth grade. The current nearby changes reduced what was already a very lopsided split feeder at Rolling Valley, but reducing not eliminating our split feeder really makes it worse. Now we will have even fewer community members continuing onward with us towards middle and high school. That's a very lonely path.

[00:09:45] Two goals for this whole boundary review process are actually eliminating split fielders where possible and abiding by major and natural man-made barriers at our neighborhoods Fairfax County Parkway is a six-lane highway with concrete walls feels like one of the most logical adjustments when you look at a map to keep the neighborhoods north of the Parkway going north with rolling valley and onto Irving Middle School and West Springfield High moving our little SPA 8922 fully into that pyramid and accomplish both of those major goals we recognize their capacity concerns at Irving and West Springfield we've heard these are going to be looked at from different angles too like transfers. We

[00:10:24] also see other proposed changes are increasing other over capacity schools like Cardinal Forest. SPA 8922 is our entire bus routes. At an elementary level it's one not even full bus load of children so we're talking about just a handful at middle and just a handful at high. This is a perfect time and opportunity an opportunity to make one more tiny adjustment to correct what has been a very awkward boundary line for many years thank you all for your work

[00:10:52] in this James Sinclair at Glasgow my opinion Glasgow is not overcrowded because it only took to get used to the amount of people in the halls and getting through them isn't hard I like going to class and the modulars because I like being in the light and outside I feel like you guys are lighting a house

[00:11:32] on fire every time you make a proposal for the other schools you give them a a map and a fire extinguisher the map being the information about the change fire extinguisher being the time to respond but not us you tried to hide it like slamming the door and trapping us inside plus if you approve this proposal i won't be at the same middle school with my brother when he gets to sixth grade friendships can be confusing for him and i won't be there to defend him

[00:12:02] So Lilian chair, my name is Lillian chair I'm a current student who would be directly affected by the proposed boundary changes these changes

[00:12:35] Impact not only me but both of my siblings as well. We are at beech tree Glasgow and justice community for me personally This would mean being forced to change schools at my junior year of high school I also want to share that I only learned about these proposed changes this week Just as we return from winter break the timing feels deeply troubling Releasing information like this right before a break when families and students have limited time to process ask questions or respond feels Manipulative and lacking transparency these decisions are not just data points on a map

[00:13:08] They affect real students real families and real lives changing schools at this point would be extremely disruptive emotionally Experimental and during the most critical years of my education I would be separated from my friends my support system in the community. I've built over several years in addition I would lose opportunity to pursue an IB diploma, which is a central part of my Academic goals and future college plans. I am deeply involved in my current school this year. I brought back Justices Science Olympiad team I participate in marching band and the swim team and my true passion is rowing I

[00:13:48] Dedicate countless hours to the IB Curriculum and rowing are not available to me at my newly district school Losing them would mean losing X not just extracurriculars But activities that divine who I am as a student and a person this redistricting would also splinter my friend group across multiple high schools, removing the peer support that is especially important during junior and senior year.

[00:14:15] Even if I were grandfathered into my current school, I would be classified as a transfer by the county and state, which means no transportation and being ineligible to compete in sports for one year. This would severely jeopardize...

[00:14:32] Aaron Kirsch. Good morning, members of the Fairfax County School Board, and thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My wife and I bought a home in the Summerfield neighborhood because we wanted to give our children the opportunities that the Oakton High School provides, given it's currently ranked

[00:15:10] fourth in the county and sixth in the state. We know that Fairfax County as a whole has excellent educational opportunities for its residents, but we spent a lot of time researching and even more money purchasing a home to give our children access to Oakton. Our primary concern with the proposed changes at Western High School boundary lines is the new school is completely unranked.

[00:15:33] Because of this, we can only rely on the feeder schools to give us some insight into the potential of how the students will perform. We believe that options C and D will provide the most equivalent opportunities to the current boundaries for our kids because a large portion of the students from the Carson Middle School would feed into this new Western High School.

[00:15:53] Option B retains the Oakton District boundaries as they are today. But I think that these boundaries have always been flawed for the same reason, being the lack of continuity in the students from Carson. So while we don't oppose staying in the Oakton with option B, we believe it's less ideal than option C or D.

[00:16:12] Finally, option A does provide more Carson students to the new school, but it also has far more students coming from the current boundary of Westfield High School than option C or D. Respectfully, Westfield High School is currently ranked 17th in the county and 73rd in the state, a significant difference from oakton's previously mentioned fourth and sixth rankings respectively to this point option a also considerably raises the risk of my personal property value being cut by a significant amount as i'm sure it would for many other property owners in the areas surrounding the carson middle school given everything i strongly urge the board to select

[00:16:51] option c or d to preserve property values and give the families of our community the educational opportunities promised to them when buying into this region thank you stephanie friel i am stephanie And I'm speaking for Beach Street families impacted by the last minute boundary changes in Region 2.

[00:17:21] It targets a small community with little influence and less resources, showing a disregard for policy fairness and transparency. This process has betrayed our trust. The county's own tools were only updated 48 hours ago. The community meeting for this change was held outside our pyramid and announced with less than a week's notice on the same night as major school events.

[00:17:42] The few emails we got right before the holidays were lacking specifics and readable maps. Beatree becoming a split feeder wasn't included in Dr. Reed's documentation. This submission matters since it creates two split feeders, first to Poe and then to Falls Church.

[00:17:59] This isn't transparency, it's deception. All families discovered the change. After we discovered the change, we asked for answers and got none. We asked for three-year capacity calculations, got nothing, so we did our own. Counties' published calculations show Poe at 108% in three years with just the AAP Center.

[00:18:17] Adding Beech Tree pushes it to 114%. You're either relying on bad data or publishing bad data. We've asked about program continuity, more silence. Justice and Glasgow are IB, Falls Church is AP. What's the plans for those invested in IB?

[00:18:34] Beech Tree offers Arabic, yet Poe and Falls Church does not. How will language progressions be maintained? transportation and even sports aren't guaranteed for those selecting to continue their programs leaving families at these title one schools at risk is this really equity planned overcrowding double split theater no transparency no equity no answers this isn't a plan it's against policy and a disaster for our kids revert to the original scenario four pushing the beach tree change into the aap transition at poe and the falls church renovations are complete engage with our

[00:19:11] community with real accurate data and plans for program transition thank you david hardison uh good morning my name is dave hardison i grew up near belvedere elementary and i went there into homes and justice i take care of the house where i grew up and i spend a lot of time in the neighborhood i'm here to speak about the proposals to reassign students from glasgow to poland homes

[00:19:46] and then from justice to falls church in annandale those proposals stem from a multi-year effort to reduce the enrollment at Glasgow, which feeds to justice. And from my conversation, I know there's been support to bring the enrollment at Glasgow more in line with other middle schools in the county, and I applaud Dr. Anderson for her work to make that happen. When staff released an initial plan last month, that scenario would have created a lopsided split feeder. At most, only 46 students out of an enrollment of over 800 at Holmes would have fed to justice. I wrote to some of you about

[00:20:21] how this would result in a rough transition to high school for such a small cohort I'm pleased Dr. Reed's recommendation now reassigns those students to Annandale where they'd have a larger group of peers from Holmes however there's still pieces you needs to address you still need to address you just voted to create a new AAP center at Poe right now the AAP students at Masoncrest Beachtree and Belvedere whose neighborhoods would move to Poe and Holmes would still attend the Glasgow AAP Center. Please consider whether it's feasible to give the affected kids an option to

[00:20:59] attend either the Glasgow Center or the new AAP Center at Poe. Otherwise, you're still guaranteed to have small numbers of AAP students attending Glasgow and then going to Annandale or Falls Church rather than to Justice. Thank you for your time. Alexander Rosenthal. Morning and thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Alexander Rosenthal and I have a rising ninth grader at

[00:21:38] Glasgow and a rising senior justice a state had gone the comprehensive ban review was to ensure that community feedback was considered in the development of potential boundary scenarios this did not happen for our community which violates section 4 of policy 81 30.9 we were not impacted by any of the proposals until December 12th when the post scenario for recommendation was made there was no information readily available very little communication and the community comment window closed less than 48 hours later which is not enough time to provide meaningful feedback.

[00:22:07] Dr. Reid stated on Thursday that in listening to other communities, she elected not to make boundary changes that would impact them. We would like the same consideration afforded to us. We expect a fair and transparent process and the ability to provide feedback, which our community did not receive. Another stated goal in the presentation was ensuring that each FCPS student has equitable access to excellence and opportunities, and Policy 813.9 states that the boundary adjustments must minimize the disruption of student instructional programs.

[00:22:33] This proposal appears to counter to the policy as it removes opportunities for our community because Falls Church does not offer the IB program. The state's assignment on the presentation was to balance capacity. For our community, this has the opposite effect. Per the presentation, Falls Church capacity increases from 109 to 114%, while justice drops from 93 to 86.

[00:22:52] Per policy 813.9, children can choose to stay in their existing school, but we have heard no transportation will be provided. This is unreasonable. The policy mandates you offer the ability for the child to stay, so you must offer transportation, and you must account for siblings during the boundary adjustment process adjustment process to ensure that families can keep their children together moving children middle their school journey to a new school would be disastrous for them how would you feel in this situation if this would happen to you your family and your community may also the board submits an amendment to the proposal to revert to the original scenario four introduced in october

[00:23:24] and reject the post scenario four recommendation made on december 12th thank you brian sinclair hello my name is brian sinclair mason district resident and a father of three boys who attend Glasgow and beech tree schools I'm against the proposed plan to turn beech tree elementary into a double split feeder school for Poe and middle schools and Falls Church High School because it violates the values of Fairfax County

[00:24:00] schools student welfare transparency and equity student welfare the boundary review aims to fix overcrowding at Glasgow but a solution has already been adopted establishing an AAP Center at Poe Middle School this will reduce the number of students at Glasgow as students move to the new AAP Center Rather than wait to see how this solution progresses, the superintendent and board are rushing to move Beach Street families out of justice in Glasgow, which harms the students and their friendships.

[00:24:27] You're intentionally removing our kids from their friends when they go from elementary school to middle school and then again from middle school to high school. As far as I know, we're the only community in Fairfax County that is being turned into a double split feeder school. Transparency. For Beach Street families, there was no transparency for how these plans were made.

[00:24:43] Original plans did not involve us at all. Then suddenly, days before the last meeting of the Boundary Review Committee, a plan dropped that negatively affected us and gave us little time to respond. Having talked to other families in our area, leadership made few attempts to explain why this change is necessary or how we were chosen.

[00:25:01] Equity. One of the reasons for the overcrowding at Glasgow is that they, along with Poe and Holmes, are the only schools in Fairfax County to host 6th graders. They are also three of the four Title I middle schools in the county. Why has the school board failed to fix a pilot program from 1991?

[00:25:19] Maybe it's because you're targeting communities without the resources to fight back. It is clearly disparate treatment, and our kids shouldn't be punished because of it. Stop picking on beech tree families. Put a stop to the plan to turn beech tree into a double split feeder school immediately. Create an amendment to go back to the original version of Scenario 4.

[00:25:36] Thank you. Cheryl Schoenberg. Good morning.

[00:25:53] My name is Cheryl Schoenberg, a deeply concerned parent of rising 8th and 12th graders who endured the upheaval of COVID by building a strong community through the Beech Tree-Glasgow Justice Pyramid. This current proposal was sprung upon us deceitfully and creates inequity. Families like ours are making decisions right now, selecting classes based on current pyramids, not necessarily knowing these boundary changes could upend everything. That is shameful and feels like purposeful misinformation. No mention of Beech Tree was made in official emails and slides about

[00:26:26] becoming a split feeder accepting now the tool has only been updated 48 hours ago. Where is the transparency in that? This process is also out of compliance with your own regulation 8130 which requires public engagement in each school pyramid. That hasn't happened for Beachtree. That field's illegal. What is the justification for choosing Beachtree? A data point? Beachtree is the sixth smallest elementary school in Fairfax and this plan creates new unnecessary split feeders. Beachtree to two middle schools, Glasgow now to three high schools, when the stated goal was to eliminate

[00:27:00] split feeders, not to create them. What about community, sorry, program continuity? My children have been in IB schools their entire academic careers. My 11th grader is pursuing an IB diploma, has poured countless hours into it already. You cannot force her into a non-IB school now, with transportation not guaranteed. What happens if I can't drive her there? What happens to her IB Diploma. Unacceptable, inequitable, and disenfranchising. Dr. Reed said this process is about creating the best boundaries for student learning and communities. It does the opposite. Fractures communities, undermines program

[00:27:39] continuity, and disregards your own rules. Instead, why not pause this change for Beachtree until Falls Church High School is complete and AAP scale-up at PO is complete and revisit or revert to scenario. Kathy Hosek. Morning everyone.

[00:28:10] Thank you for the opportunity to speak here today. While watching the school board meeting on Thursday night I found it interesting that there was a proclamation for recognizing the 30th anniversary of having a directly elected school board and knowing that the boundaries had not been revisited in 40 years. I just thought that was an interesting. Anyway I applaud the board for addressing this necessary and long overdue work which began way back in 2024 with the updating of policy 8130 that i was at all the meetings and that was a lot of work so thank you for that as a member of the region 3 braq team it became clear that some communities had the time

[00:28:48] had the time access and confidence to speak loudly while other communities particularly underrepresented populations were largely were largely absent from written and public feedback As a result, our committee work often drifted from stated priorities toward the concerns of the loudest voices.

[00:29:06] Future processes must include proactive outreach, earlier community engagement, and clearer guidance to principals and PTAs about their role in sharing this information. Boundaries cannot be addressed in isolation from programming. We need to offer accessibility of all programs to students to include AAP, special education, immersion, and academies, to name just a few.

[00:29:29] Each pyramid needs to have a common base of what is available as these choices directly affect capacity, staffing, and transportation. When AAP centers or specialized programs shift students across pyramids, it can strain that school's ability to serve their zoned students.

[00:29:45] We can do all the boundary work possible, and parents will still opt into desired programs for their child, which may mean pupil placing into another school. Wherever possible, programming needs to be readily accessible to all the students in their home pyramid or at the very least their own region I look forward to staying engaged with the ongoing boundary process as this is just the beginning of this work I am grateful that we have had a substantive start

[00:30:09] thank you for listening Reza Jabari good morning thank you very much for hearing me I am the I am a member of the Fairfax community as Fairfax acres community SPA 4703 located near the intersection of Germantown Road and Rosehaven Street just below Oakmark Park and bounded by I-66 and Route 123. We have been

[00:30:44] requesting reassignment from the Fairfax pyramid to the Octon pyramid. This change aligns with the boundary change priorities and reduces proximity and transportation significantly. It reduces student travel time by approximately 50 percent, removes an existing attendance island, improves vocability strengthens feeder community and aligns our community with the octone schools which the community is already identified with this changes are strongly supported by the community the request was initially approved by the

[00:31:20] boundary review advisory committee under scenario four and the community remained hopeful about this change until three days ago when the superintendent's final boundary recommendation were released at the time the community learned that our approved a reassignment request had been removed from the final recommendation so the community like I said has submitted a petition expressing a strong support for that reassignment and formally requesting that it be restored we respectfully request the board to retain the board to the scenario

[00:31:56] for and reassign the Fairfax community to the Octom permit key reasons for this is improved proximity transportation equity and walkability and community identity and geographic alignment also reverting this assignment under the purpose of the review undermines the purpose of the review it's really into this and attendance I that increases increases transportation time and in

[00:32:26] inefficiency undermines the stated purpose Anna Hakamashi good morning and And thank you for providing me the opportunity to speak.

[00:32:48] I also want to speak about the same area, Fairfax Acres and Oak Mar. And today's recommendation for the school boundary changes does not include one of the approved scenario for recommendation to reassign Fairfax Acres and Oak Mar neighborhood to auction pyramids.

[00:33:10] There's a petition signed by the community requesting the reassignment. And up until three days ago, the community were under the impression that they were moving to Oakton, and suddenly we were surprisingly notified that we are not. Geographically, we are within walking distance to Oakton Elementary School, and it really doesn't make sense that the students who live west of our community, near Franklin Farm, Navy Elementary, or Vapals Mill Elementary, they travel 10 miles, they pass through our

[00:33:46] neighborhood to attend Oakton high school while our community located directly alongside the same route within only less than two miles to Oakton high school and we are excluded from attend from Oakton's attendance area. There has been pushbacks from some part of Oakton community suggesting that reassigning our neighborhood to Oakton pyramid will overcrowd Oakton elementary school. However However, the current data does not support this claim, as both Providence Elementary School and Oakton Elementary School are operating at similar utilization levels.

[00:34:25] The concern of newly developed townhomes in Oakton would equally affect Providence and Fairfax, and if future capacity adjustments become necessary, significantly more flexibility exists on the east side of the Oakton pyramid, while west side is already constrained.

[00:34:45] several elementary schools. Ed Phillips. Good morning. I represent the Great Falls Citizens Association, the special committee on schools. First, I'd like to thank Fairfax County public school staff, the school board, and all the volunteers who put a lot of time and effort on the superintendent's boundary review committee. It's quite a remarkable community engagement

[00:35:23] effort. I haven't seen anything like it. I went to the first meeting or perhaps one of the first meetings i have two observations one of them kind of makes sense to me and it's obvious and the other one was less obvious to me and they're still valid today the first observation is that schools and committees are most successful together our association supports the superintendent's boundary change proposal scenario number four because it keeps our community together going to quality schools with quality teachers and most importantly good outcomes largely for most the

[00:36:00] students second observation was a parent stood up at that first meeting and succinctly offered rather than change boundaries to provide access to schools being programs to schools we applaud dr. Reed's initiative to bring advanced academic programs to every single middle school in the county it's good for all

[00:36:24] students thank you Gail Ferris good morning I'm Gail Ferris and I'm the father of a Beech Tree Elementary School alumna who is also a sixth grader now at Glasgow Middle School. I share the concern that other Beech Tree parents have said on how the splits and the proposed boundary changes would affect our children. Beech Tree students would not experience one but two splits. The first split would be at the grade school level when half of rising sixth graders

[00:37:02] will continue to attend Glasgow Middle School while the other half would now attend Poe Middle school then for the group attending poe the students would be subject to a second split as poe itself is a split feeder school to high school with 80 percent or more moving on to annandale high school but the beech tree kids moving with only 20 of their poe classmates to falls church high school the multiple splits in their fcps time would prove challenging both academically and socially beech tree alums currently at glasgow like our daughter would be faced with an extremely difficult decision choice one would be to uproot our daughter at

[00:37:41] the end of the school year for a second middle school transition to poe only to be split again with a small minority of newly made friends at poe to falls church choice two would be to stay at glasgow through eighth grade under policy 8130 but they would have no bus transportation furnished and would have an even smaller cohort when she goes to falls church in the ninth grade if the board approves the new boundaries as proposed with the disadvantages that i've mentioned it might at a minimum consider allowing all beech tree alums currently attending glasgow middle school to choose to continue on to justice with the rest of the middle school thank you to the

[00:38:21] board for all of the hard work in this evaluation and i hope that you'll consider reevaluating the splits from Beech Street. Tamara O'Neill. Hello my name is Tam O'Neill. I'm a West Springfield parent, a Girl Scout troop leader, basketball coach, volunteer, and a huge supporter of Fairfax County Public Schools. Our neighborhood is deeply grateful for Dr. Reed's recommendation to keep the West

[00:39:00] Orange Hunt and Huntsman Estates zoned for Sangster, Irving, and West Springfield. For the past 18 months our families and most importantly students have lived with uncertainty and stress caused by this convoluted and disruptive boundary process children have worried about where they will attend school families have hesitated to make plans and we are finally relieved that we are almost at the end of this process yet despite this relief of almost being done we and many other

[00:39:36] West Springfield communities were chilled by our representatives comments on Thursday night. Ms. Anderson, you stated, and I quote, I don't know that we will have the list of areas that still need to be addressed all the way complete, so I do anticipate that I will bring some sort of follow-on that adds that area within my district, which I think is the one that if nothing else, we need to have our radar on. Ms. Anderson, this vagueness so late in the process signals a troubling disregard for your constituents and a misunderstanding of the needs of the

[00:40:11] community you represent. Any follow-on language of targeting any neighborhoods in West Springfield would directly contradict both the final recommendations of the BRAC process and your own superintendent's data-driven decision. Ms. Anderson, I support and stand united with West Springfield communities like Hunt Valley, Daventry, West Springfield, West Orange Hunt, Huntsman Estates, Cardinal Forest, and Chenin Station when I say that we

[00:40:40] respectfully but adamantly reject any adult. Heather Hawes. Good morning. My name is Heather Hawes. I am a West Springfield parent in the Sangster Elementary School, Irving Middle School, and Wentz-Springfield High School's pyramid. I want to thank you, Dr. Reed, for your recommendation for applying Policy 8130 thoughtfully and in balance with its stated

[00:41:17] priorities by keeping our students zoned for Sangster, Irving, and West Springfield High school. As we move forward, I also want to highlight an important takeaway to carry into the next required boundary review in five years. This process underscores that not all split feeders are inherently problematic. Policy 8130 makes that clear by stating that they should be eliminated wherever possible in balance with access to programming, proximity, transportation, capacity, and community cohesion. In some cases, split feeders are an intentional and functional

[00:41:56] outcome of how programs and attendance areas are structured. When a split feeder does not create a capacity pressure, transportation inefficiency, or community disruption, eliminating it for the sake of a structural uniformity can introduce new problems rather than solving existing ones.

[00:42:15] The materials in this review show that not all split feeders have the same impact and that nuance matters. I appreciate that Superintendent Reed Reed's recommendation reflect that distinction and applies the policy as a balancing framework rather than a checklist. As FCPS looks ahead to the next boundary review cycle, I hope the division continues to evaluate the split feeders based on real-world outcomes, not simply their existence, and preserves structures that are working as

[00:42:50] intended thank you for your time and for your continued leadership heather mccain good morning my name is heather mccain and i serve on the hoa board for the walney oaks neighborhood spa 4420 i'm here to speak in strong opposition to the proposed boundary changes or more accurately the lack thereof this process was intended to modernize our county yet the plan before you

[00:43:25] lacks the promised transparency and once again leaves walney oaks behind after more than 20 years are being used as a quick zoning fix by every geographic standard Walney Oaks is an attendance island our children do not attend the same middle school as all the adjacent neighborhoods this is not only a mapping issue it's a safety issue that creates daily burdens for families and waste transportation resources these concerns were clearly shared with the district including through maps and videos of our children's commutes that were provided to Mr. Eric Gordon this board also maintained, I'm sorry, this board also mandated eliminating split feeders. Yet this proposal

[00:44:05] continues to fracture Brookfield Elementary and Franklin Middle School, forcing students to separate from peers while the county promotes continuity of cohorts elsewhere. Throughout this process, our community worked closely with Dr. Reed, her staff, and the Boundary Review Action Committee. We were repeatedly told that our concerns were valid and that returning Walney oaks to rocky run middle school would reduce crowding at franklin eliminate the attendance island and provide for a safer shorter commute this option was even placed on superintendent reed's hotspots list and was included in the committee's november recommendations with total committee

[00:44:43] agreement at that time we are deeply disappointed and feel deceived to see that recommendation ignored we are not even on the list of spas for future consideration by approving this plan as is you would be choosing to ignore your own mandates preserve isolation for Walney Oaks signaling that our children's safety and stability are acceptable casualties we urge you to fix it

[00:45:07] now Joy Wong who's virtual Joy Wong Joy Wong Mark Barr thank you very much I am here as a parent of a child children at Kilmer Middle School and Wolf Trap Elementary School and what I want to start off and say is I am here in full support of the superintendent's recommendations I do want to

[00:45:46] recognize again for everybody who is speaking here that this is my own perspective and that there may be some additional targeted changes that we may want to consider in the future but i do want to make sure that having watched the school board over the last couple of meetings and there seems to be some disagreements at times that overall the recommendations laid forth by the superintendent were thoughtful were considerate were equitable and i want to make sure that you continue to support that going forward understanding there may need to be some changes minor target ones in the future what i will say about the wolf trap and i am very appreciative of you removing the split feeder i do feel like it is fairfax county public schools vision to

[00:46:24] eliminate split feeders because it unifies our school neighborhoods it creates a single cohesive community throughout the entire school experience and this enriches the lives of not just today's students but for future generations as well we are making a decision now that will affect kids 10 20 30 years in the future i will say as somebody who has been very actively involved i will admit in the community engagement meetings i want to say that i very much respect the work of uh the superintendent her staff and school board member marin and listening to the community in those meetings i do feel that they took careful consideration of what our perspectives were

[00:47:01] this came up on thursday that the priorities for this program for this initiative may have changed slightly but they haven't they have just been reprioritized based on community feedback i feel that the recommendations laid forward they are equitable i feel like they are transparent i feel like they are informed evident by the superintendent or her staff being able to answer your nuanced questions about communities they know this data they have done the research so i very much appreciate the fact that you have this meeting that these recommendations

[00:47:30] value everybody's voice but also gives everybody voice equal value melissa morrison members of the the board. I represent the Herndon Pyramid PTAs and I appreciate the progress made in this boundary review. However, I want to address the decision not to redistrict Herndon and Western Great Falls

[00:48:06] neighborhoods that live much closer to undercapacity, newly renovated Herndon High School and instead continue busing them to higher utilization Langley High over interstates with commutes averaging 40 minutes plus each way, among the longest in the county and in the history of Fairfax County. Redistricting to Herndon would reduce transportation costs, shorten commutes, ease capacity pressure, improve efficiency, and strengthen social integration. I recognize redistricting can be disruptive and those concerns deserve care, but choosing not to redistrict is

[00:48:46] also a decision with real cost. By busing students an extra 15 miles each way, FCPS incurs significant ongoing expenses in fuel, labor, maintenance, and bus replacement, money that cannot be spent on instruction or student supports. Longer routes also strain a system already facing driver shortages and take time away from families. If redistricting is not recommended in this cycle, then we ask that these neighborhoods and the millions in transportation

[00:49:21] costs they generate be formally addressed within the next five-year cycle to rebalance enrollment and resources. Equity is not only about where students live. It is about how we allocate

[00:49:35] limited dollars and who benefits from those choices. Thank you. Thiru A. Thiru A. Good morning.

[00:50:08] My name is Thiru Aidan Nuthila and I'm a parent at Crossfield Elementary, which means now I know more about FCPS boundary maps than I ever knew about my Mottage paperwork. At this point, I probably can give a tour of the new school.

[00:50:25] Not that I don't like it, but so many emails. But I want to sincerely thank everyone, every parents involved, community involved. This hasn't been easy on anyone's trying to balance the enrollment projections, community feedback, 47 different versions of just one more scenario.

[00:50:49] After seeing multiple scenarios of where my kids might end up, I had a moment where I thought, wow, it's just not my family. Even the maps don't listen to my opinion or my views. All fun aside, I am here to strongly support the new recommendation keeping the cross field aligned with the Carson and Oakton High School Pyramid.

[00:51:13] Families spoke up, you listen, and I truly appreciate that. I urge the board to adopt the recommendation. By doing so, you affirm the stability matters, that community bonds matter, and the student well-being is at the heart of the boundary. Thank you for your service.

[00:51:30] Thank you to the parents and the community. just taking care of children's future. And thanks again for giving cross-field parents the chance to finally close all those boundary maps, at least for the next 10 years. Thank you.

[00:51:48] Erin, Laura. Good morning. I'm a community member, a coach, and a parent of three students who will proudly walk through the doors of Lewis High School. I know what you're doing today is hard, but today I'm asking you to truly hear the voices of our community because equity requires listening to all voices, not just the loudest ones.

[00:52:13] Lewis High School serves a population where nearly 70% of our feeder schools are Title I. The proposal before you does not offer relief now. It pushes meaningful change out 10 years. In that time, 4,000 students will pass through a system that we already know is failing them.

[00:52:28] That's not a future problem. It's a current one. If equity is truly the goal, then action must happen now. Boundary changes that immediately populate school and stabilize enrollment are the only solutions that will have an immediate, measurable impact. Delaying action while investing time and money to move only a small fraction of students is not equity, it's inefficiency, and it disproportionately impacts the families who lack the resources to advocate, litigate, or simply be louder.

[00:52:57] School funding is directly tied to student population. Choosing not to fully populate Louis is depriving the school of critical resources. Just 200 additional students would bring millions of dollars to our school for staff, programs, and opportunities our students deserve.

[00:53:13] Lewis is not failing because of its students. In fact, 18% of our graduating students earned a 4.0 GPA or higher last year. The negative reputation surrounding Lewis is perpetuated by inaction, not reality. And proposals that impact only 1% of students while leaving most schools over capacity does not fix inequity.

[00:53:35] It preserves it. Our children deserve the same level of education within the doors of their own school without having to transfer or rely on online courses that are not equivalent. If these changes are not made now, what assurance do we have that they ever will be? Equity delayed is equity denied. Thank you.

[00:53:56] Bridget Hebert. Good morning. My name is Bridget Hebert. I'd like to start by thanking off Superintendent Reid, her staff, the board members, our Madison rep, and the community volunteers throughout this process. I'm here today representing the Flint Hill Attendance Island to express strong support for Superintendent Reed's boundary recommendation, particularly for

[00:54:30] Region 1 and the Flint Hill Elementary School. Throughout this process, families across Region 1 consistently identified their top priorities: keeping neighborhoods together, minimizing student disruption, and maintaining continuity for children. These priorities were reflected repeatedly in survey responses, public meetings, and written feedback. Dr. Reed's recommendation directly aligns with the community's desires by keeping the flint hill attendance island at flint hill elementary her final recommendation avoids unnecessary disruption for hundreds of students

[00:55:06] and reflects broad and sustained community support just as importantly this recommendation avoids creating a new split feeder one of the central goals of this boundary review was to reduce split feeders not shift them from one community to another moving the flint hill attendance island would have created a new split feeder and significantly expanded disruption directly contradicting the objective we appreciate the recognition that not all attendance islands are problematic in this case flint hill attendance island represents roughly half of the students

[00:55:40] enrolled population and has been fully integrated into the school community it has never functioned as an island we are grateful that dr reed and the board listened carefully to community input and data resulting in a recommendation that minimizes harm preserve stability and reflects the values established at the outset of this process i respectfully urge the board to adopt dr reid's recommendation as presented thank you for your time and consideration caitlin smalls

[00:56:16] caitlin smalls caitlin smalls brett shenker thank you for having me while i'm listed as the pine spring pta president i'm here speaking for myself as a parent a taxpayer and a voter i I want to get out early. I implore the board to reject and vote no on this plan and continue the process.

[00:56:53] It's been over a year since this process began with multiple phases, and we as a community participated in each step. We gave feedback, attended hearings and meetings. We discussed amongst ourselves. We gave our opinions online. We as a school's district has spent at least $270,000 to consultants, not to mention time spent by county staff on this process, facility costs, and more. The end result is an incomplete assignment.

[00:57:15] We were told after meetings on the fourth plan, changes would likely be minor. This proposal is a major change that solves no issues for Pine Spring, and we as a community deserve more input and not just two hearings. The process was tasked with multiple goals, including balance capacity, reduce and eliminate attendance islands, prevent schools from being out of boundaries, and make transportation safe and efficient.

[00:57:37] Under this proposal, Pine Spring is still overcapacitated at 111% and one of the most overcrowded in the district. It's been that way for over a decade, and it still has an attendance island. 1.2% of Fairfax students are impacted by the plan. Zero attend Pine Spring.

[00:57:53] Only 39% of the 64 split feeders and attendance islands are addressed. 39% is a failing grade. We aren't disappointed in staying at Pine Spring. We love our community. We love the teachers, the staff there. We're disappointed in this process. We were told resolving the issues in our area overcrowding attendance island.

[00:58:10] Graham being outside its boundary, and I quote from multiple people present at non-public meetings, was too hard and difficult to solve. If at my job I said something was too hard and difficult and only 39% of a project was done, I wouldn't have a job. I'd be fired. I was told this process will continue. Yes, it was to continue in five years. Not now, not immediately after this process is over.

[00:58:32] We spent a year on this. Our time and effort has led to nothing and frayed trust in multiple levels. for what if after this work is approved why would I trust further engagement a new phase of this process result Shay cousin Shay cousin Shay cousin

[00:58:59] Andreanne Constance good morning I'm speaking today in support of the proposed boundary recommendations and to thank the Brock members for their tireless work my children are elementary and middle school students and superintendent superintendent Reed's recommendations keep my children in the same pyramid. Moreover, it keeps our neighborhood in the community that we are geographically closest

[00:59:32] to and socially engaged with youth sports scouting troops, our community pool, libraries, rec centers. We use it all within the West Springfield Pyramid. I'd like to thank the BRAC representatives that came out to our neighborhoods and listened to our concerns. They dedicated hours on Sunday evenings, walk the paths our children take to school over the summer and provided transparency in this process i hope their work is not forgotten and i would love to see a handbook or best practices guide compiled of their work so that we can carry that a these practices forward in future reviews

[01:00:10] throughout this 18 months i've attended several community meetings and repeatedly heard from school board members what is your vision or solution for the issue so i'd like to offer a suggestion for future capacity discussions invest in programs like the leadership academies at lewis or other schools so that participants get experience at our state capital enrichment i as someone who is often in enrichment would love to see more northern virginia students in the hallways of the pocahontas building and something that was voiced not infrequently at community meetings incorporating a policy of resident residency audits for any schools

[01:00:50] considered for boundary adjustments finally i'd like to share my gratitude to the superintendent their office staff and school board members that stayed well after community meetings to speak with myself and neighbors i feel that my and my neighbors concerns were addressed with the current recommendations and i asked the school board to adopt the superintendent's recommendations thank you rebecca shaw thank you for having me today my name is rebecca shaw i am a parent of

[01:01:26] two children in Fairfax County public schools with special needs. I am also a teacher in a neighboring school division where I teach students in the special education classroom setting. I wanted to speak to you today about the next steps in the boundary adjustment initiative.

[01:01:43] As of now, the focus has been on numbers, percentages, and a big picture. I feel that it is important now at this stage to shift our focus to the 2,210 students whose lives and education may be disrupted by this change as a mom of two autistic children and a teacher of students with a range of disabilities i am concerned this type of school change and honestly life change would be hard for any student while i am concerned for all students who have made friends built connections with school staff and have a routine within their current school to take

[01:02:17] location i am especially concerned for our special education population children with ieps and 504 plans are amongst our most vulnerable and fragile students who benefit from consistency and long-standing relationships at their current school. I ask that if you must transition children you construct a plan for their transition. As a mom I can make social stories visuals and talk about it to no end but these kids need your help. They need tours and open houses of their new school teacher collaboration from both schools individual meetings and plans of transition. I ask that you consider how you can support families impacted by the adjustments especially families with special

[01:02:54] needs children. I have felt concern and stress over the last few months, and it has not been forgotten. I often thought to myself, how could I possibly tell my children and change their whole world? My heart goes out to any special needs parents feeling the same anxiety I feel. As of now, my children are not going to be moved, and please keep Walney Village with Cub Run. Thank you.

[01:03:37] Maoli Voda. Maoli Voda. Vody. Maoli Vody. Carolyn Moore. Morning. Thanks for taking the time to listen to our comments today. First, a point for your consideration. Think about how much this entire process cost FCPS, and it's only going to affect 2,200 students, or about 1% of the entire county's student population. Was it worth it? What was stopping FCPS from correcting these serious issues

[01:04:14] before this comprehensive boundary review? Second, I want to address student safety and balancing school capacity. I firmly believe that modular classrooms are a serious safety issue. Imagine the worst-case scenario, an active shooter. There is no protection in a trailer. Look at the high schools, for example. Ten high schools today are over capacity, but only one will be reduced below 100% by these changes. Three actually increase their capacity, making two more go over capacity that aren't today. Seven remain over capacity. Many of these schools share boundaries with under-capacity schools. Today, five of those schools have less than 90% capacity.

[01:04:48] Only two of those schools gain students, and only one of those rises above 90% capacity. Let's talk about the equitable access to programs. High schools are where we really see this disparity between over and under capacity schools. My friend's son couldn't take a music theory class because not enough students registered. Another friend's daughter had a workshop on college essay writing canceled because, again, not enough students registered.

[01:05:10] Our school didn't have a baseball team for three years because we couldn't find nine kids to put on that field. Nine kids. You can't tell me these kids are getting equal access to their education when their opportunities are constantly being canceled. Make these boundary adjustments, but don't stop there. Superintendent Reed also flagged about a dozen items, and there's probably dozens more for Boundary View in the next five years.

[01:05:32] Don't wait five years. Make these changes as soon as you can. Find solutions and implement them immediately. The school community needs to know that we are a huge school district, and we need to have flexible boundaries in order to best benefit the students in the whole district, not just your kids, not just my kids, but all of the kids, especially the ones who don't have parents here fighting for them to have equal access to all the programs that FCPS has to offer.

[01:05:57] you. Olivia Miller, Olivia Miller, Olivia Miller. Meg Howard, Meg Howard, Meg Howard. Laura Harani.

[01:06:36] Good morning. I have been to several of your meetings. I've heard several of the presentations throughout the last time of period, throughout the last year. It has been extremely in-depth.

[01:06:52] I think what you guys are doing is excellent. I think that you guys should actually go more invasive you should make every change that you think is at the benefit of the county i think the county as a whole individuals we are not looking at you guys need to be seeing the big picture of where we're going and what is happening for our county however because these changes are so drastic right now because this hasn't been done every couple years what i am asking is that you make the appeal process the transition process easier for families who wish to stay where they currently

[01:07:31] are and where their path for their children currently should be again if i sell my house my house goes to whatever the school district it is supposed to be if you make changes to my house and i'm perfectly happy with where those changes are i continue to go to where you think my school should be based on what is best for the county but if i as a parent say this isn't quite the right plan for me again a small percentage most likely that you allow those individuals those families to have an easier path to keep their children where they want to be assuming that we

[01:08:10] will have to then be responsible for getting our child to the appropriate bus stop or arranging transportation on our own it should help with the overall issues but also kind of make it a little little bit softer for those of us who feel very strongly one way or the other. I think it's a small percentage that feel strongly one way or the other. So make it a little bit easier for us.

[01:08:36] Thank you. Douglas Hastings. Thank you. My name is Doug Hastings. I have two kids in the West Breyer Elementary School, Kilmer and Madison Pyramid. And I just wanted to say that I support my whole family and I believe many in my neighborhood support the superintendent's recommendations. We appreciate Dr. Reid and the board taking into account all the comments you've heard from those in Northeast Vienna who want to remain in Madison, which would have been changed under Scenario 4. So without repeating everything, just a few quick additional points. First,

[01:09:14] the Vienna area, which includes the neighborhoods just outside of the Town of Vienna boundaries, all have close ties to Madison. That certainly includes us because all of our kids' cousins go to Madison and we participate in Vienna community events and sports. Second, the superintendent's recommendations avoid transportation and traffic issues that Scenario 4 presented.

[01:09:32] Our kids can easily drive when they're old enough or even bike to Madison, but they would need to drive down Route 7 and right by Tyson's and go way out of the way to get to Marshall. We actually even looked at traffic data. That area has some of the highest accidents around, while the back roads through Vienna have almost nothing, which would be key for young drivers.

[01:09:51] And third and finally, the superintendent's recommendation does a much better job of balancing and avoiding overcrowding by sending more students to Madison, which is currently at a much lower capacity. We think all of those are really important considerations for us. And while we understand people's concern about split feeders, I think those have to weigh much more in favor.

[01:10:09] So we strongly appreciate all of your consideration and feedback that go into the superintendent's recommendation for this area. Thank you. Taylor Oas, Taylor Oas, Taylor Oas, Dana Stewart.

[01:10:46] My name is Dana Stewart, and I served as the Madison Paired Rep on the Boundary Review Committee. I live in the Sully District and thank McStick for understanding the unique logistics of our community. As a committee member, I can attest to the time, care, and dedication show by Dr. Reed, staff, and my fellow members as we work toward recommendations aligned with the Board's goals.

[01:11:08] This is a long and complex process and not everything on our wish list was achieved. For those who engage with me, I appreciate you and want to acknowledge your frustrations that we could not resolve every issue. As a Madison parent, I recognize the privileges of my community and this process made clear there is more important work to do.

[01:11:24] Even so, I believe this effort represents a meaningful starting point and that Dr. Reed has presented a proposal that reflects substantial committee input provided by community feedback. While the process may have been frustrating at times, it provided opportunities to review ideas, offer feedback, and better understand the nuances and tradeoffs facing each community.

[01:11:44] The proposal before you reflects the collective countywide effort, not a series of isolated decisions. I am testifying today because I believe it would be a disservice to the FCPS community for the board to introduce amendments that create cascading boundary changes without adequate time for public review and understanding. Many lessons were learned and the most productive path forward is to carry those lessons into the future. I would like to thank Dr. Reed and her staff for consistent engagement with the committee, willingness to listen to every idea no matter how unconventional, and readiness to pivot when needed. In closing, I want to share that it was disheartening as a volunteer to experience hotility from leaders within my own community.

[01:12:23] I want to thank FCPS for saying and showing that my children and all children are valued members of the communities that we create meaningful and passionate dialogue is always appreciated but it's critical that we ensure community processes do not become dominated by the most affluent or the loudest voices as this risks discouraging volunteers and drowning out perspectives that are equally important to sound decision making thank you for your time and the

[01:12:50] opportunity to serve... Sheila Conley. Hi, my name is Sheila. I'm adjusting what I'm saying because I'm going to piggyback on to what Douglas Hastings had to say. My student, my children are students who go from West Breyer to Kilmer to Madison. And more specifically, I want to highlight the proximity issue. If they were to go to Madison High School, they could walk or bike there.

[01:13:29] What's important is their trip home. They're a part of the town of Vienna. They've been going to programs at the Vienna Community Center since they were in second grade. Right now they're in the Phoenix Club, which allows teenagers to actually socialize face-to-face, not on phones, not on computers.

[01:13:50] They could walk to these on their way home. They could also walk to many of the businesses and have a job. None of this would be possible if they were, under scenario number four, to have gone to Marshall. I think they're both great schools, but proximity and staying within the town of Vienna is really crucial to our family and the families who live within the town of Vienna.

[01:14:14] Thank you. Erin Tannenbaum. Good morning. My name is Erin Tannenbaum. I'm a Wolf Trap Elementary parent and a prior administrator of the unit.

[01:14:35] Sorry, and prior to the current administration was the director of the U.S. Department of Education's School Pulse panel, where my work focused on education policies and how changes in timing affect students, families, and school systems. I recognize how emotional and personal this process has been for many families, and I respect how much people here care about getting it right for their children.

[01:15:01] My comment today is not about redrawing boundaries. It's about when to implement them. The question before you is whether these finalized boundaries should take effect in fall 2026 or be delayed until fall 2027. From both a parent and implementation standpoint, fall 2026 is the right choice.

[01:15:21] Families are already planning ahead for housing, childcare, transportation, and academic transitions. Extending uncertainty by another year doesn't add value. It simply prolongs stress and confusion, even when the boundaries themselves are sound for families like mine including those raising children with disabilities predictability matters even more my son is autistic and transitions deep depend on clarity and stable expectations delaying decisions doesn't improve planning it makes it harder for families and schools to prepare appropriately schools also need lead time

[01:16:01] but they do not benefit from indefinite lead times a clear 2026 implementation date gives schools time to plan staffing and support while addressing capacity concerns sooner rather than later there is also an equity dimension here when timelines stretch without clear justification families with fewer resources and families navigating special education needs have the the hardest time adjusting.

[01:16:29] Ho Quynh Wong.

[01:16:44] Hi, I'm glad to be here. So my name is Ho Quynh Wong. I'm a mother of two teenager kids. I would like to echo what just previously two neighbors, although I don't know them in person, the problem of the changing the boundary from Medicine High School to Marshall High School.

[01:17:07] I would like to thank the superintendent and the Boundary Committee because we noticed for the most recent version, January 8th version, our neighborhood remain in the Medicine High School boundary. So we know that for Medicine High School and Marshall High School, my previous neighbors mentioned about proximity. But I want to point out it's not just the proximity. We live in the

[01:17:41] north-east boundary of town for Vienna. Okay, so our neighbor's case has been to Madison High School for over 60 years. For Madison High School and Marshall High School, the problem is they offer two different programs: ABC versus IB program.

[01:18:01] I am a educator myself. I strongly believe that you know education should be following the principle that you're teaching your kids or your students based on aptitude, ability and potential, AAP. However, because they offer two different programs, my family believe you know AP is more suitable for my kids. So So we moved from a Marshall High School neighborhood to Madison High School neighborhood.

[01:18:38] And we now see Madison High School activities out there. If we change the boundary, got Kobista.

[01:18:54] Hey, so I knew there were going to be a lot of really extreme emotion happening at this meeting. I just want to show up and say thank you for all the work that you've done. You guys have done a tremendous effort on this, and it's been really appreciated on my front my family so I wanted to say thank you I feel heard I feel like we've had to do a lot of work to get be informed but by taking that effort to be able to be informed we have been given that ability to kind of hear what you guys are saying and then be able to kind of just provide the feedback and you guys have been responsive to that as well as I feel like you can based on all the extreme demands from all different parties so that's all I want to say

[01:19:33] thank you Amy Eckert Amy Eckert Amy Eckert Stephanie Felton Downer morning

[01:20:09] I live in the Jefferson Village and Greenway Downs neighborhood in Falls Church. Our neighborhood is split into four elementary schools, Pine Spring, Timber Lane, Graham Road, and Beech Tree. It's a long-standing problem that our children are split up to make attendance numbers work with no concern for our community.

[01:20:26] The Boundary Commission's priority goals were to address split feeders, attendance islands, capacity issues, and out-of-attend-zone schools. Our neighborhood has all of those and was identified early on in the process as a problem for the consultant to fix. Our neighborhood goal has always been to attend the same elementary school.

[01:20:43] We actively engaged in the feedback process and were pleased when Scenario 4 met our neighborhood goal while also solving the Commission's priority problems. The Falls Church High School pyramid feedback session, Dr. Reed said that Scenario 4 was the final scenario and that only minor changes would come after.

[01:20:59] So we were surprised to find out that the consultant proposed reverting back to existing boundaries post Scenario 4 with no communication or opportunities for feedback. This was a bait and switch, not a minor change. As a BRAC representative, I believed in and supported your vision of community feedback and transparency.

[01:21:18] I now believe that was all just a box to check, rather than engagement and good faith from the administration. It's also become apparent that the Boundary Commission has failed to meet its goals. Only about 30% of the priority issues countywide were resolved by the final recommendation. In a time of budget shortfalls, a significant amount of money was spent on this effort, only to end up back where we started.

[01:21:38] scenario four proposed a good solution for our neighborhood but you have chosen no solution that is unacceptable and this board has lost our trust i expect my neighbors and i will be a lot more engaged in the school board election next year our request is that the board either includes scenario four for our neighborhood when it votes or commits to do an immediate follow-on review and boundary adjustment targeting jefferson village and greenway downs neighborhood our problems were supposed to be a priority and we shouldn't have to wait another five years to solve them thank you

[01:22:05] linda colbert good morning school board members and superintendent dr reed i'm linda colbert mayor of the town of vienna the town and madison high school have traditionally always had a very special and close relationship the town and madison high school collaborate on

[01:22:44] many things including the madison homecoming parade where we close two lanes of maple avenue on a friday afternoon and our police escort the madison homecoming parade down to madison high school the wings program these are senior interns many of them intern in town departments the madrigals sing at every every year at our mayor and council holiday party vienna youth incorporated they wear red and black now and i grew up in town it didn't used to be that way but now they wear

[01:23:17] red and black and those are the colors of the warhawks at madison on nutley street the water tower which is next to the madison warhawk softball field is painted home of the warhawks if kids were assigned to a different high school they would feel excluded from many of those events and the whole town of vienna madison spirit it would undermine the whole concept of community so thank you very much for the latest proposal assigning all town of Vienna residents back to

[01:23:55] Madison High School it just makes sense and I ask all school board members to please approve this new boundary line adjustment I want to thank all of you for the work that you have done on this I'm going to give some special thanks to Dr. Reed who met with me met with vienna residents and really listened to us and understood where we were coming from and i want to thank school board member kyle mcdaniel who has been very accessible and saved

[01:24:28] christy kabitsahovitz christy kabitsahovitz christy kabitsahovitz ashley lowry good morning

[01:25:07] my name is ashley lowry and i am a resident of jefferson village and parent of fcps students at Pine Spring Elementary in the Falls Church Pyramid, along with my friend Stephanie. I want to echo what she said to begin, and thank you for your service to the community.

[01:25:24] Over 10 years ago, I first raised the boundary issue at a neighborhood meeting to then school board member Dahlia Palczyk and was assured it was in process. To my disappointment, nothing materialized. When the boundary review was announced, our community was promised a resolution that would meet the project's stated objectives.

[01:25:43] Scenario four for my neighborhood fully aligned with those goals. It eliminated both our Pine Spring attendance island and shifted Timberlane students to Graham Road Elementary to eliminate Timberlane as a split feeder. Scenario four would resolve this.

[01:26:01] It reduced overcrowding. Pine Spring Elementary operates at 111% capacity. Scenario four would place our neighborhood at Graham Road, which would have left it operating at 94% capacity. It would have assigned students to their closest school.

[01:26:17] I currently drive past both Graham Road and Timber Lane to reach Pine Spring. Scenario 4 resolves this. I am frustrated that after soliciting community time and feedback, it appears to have been disregarded as it relates to the issues that persist in my neighborhood.

[01:26:34] Recognizing that you are balancing competing priorities, I would be remiss if I did not point out that the objectives stated at the beginning of this project remain unresolved in the currently proposed scenario. not just for my neighborhood but for many others. Scenario four directly and entirely met the stated objectives. The outcome is not only disappointing but represents a waste of time and money on a project that also that allows known problems to persist. At a minimum Fairfax County constituents deserve an

[01:27:04] explanation as to why nothing is being done to solve the problems. Erin West Hi. Can you hear me? Yes go ahead Ms. West. Hi I'm from the Tyson's Green neighborhood in Vienna and we are zoned for West Breyer Elementary, Kilmer Middle School and under scenario four Marshall High School. I want to start by thanking the board for the recent update to include the Madison priority transfer in scenario four. That addition shows that you heard our

[01:27:40] neighborhood and recognize that our children are part of the Vienna community. We truly appreciate that option but a transfer is still temporary and uncertain. What families need is a clear permanent answer about where their children belong. This is why we are asking that Tyson's Green be fully aligned with Madison, not just offer to transfer. For us, this is not about property value or school rankings. This is about the sense of community our family feels. In scenarios one, two, and three, Tyson's Green was aligned with Madison and our neighborhood was elated because it reflected our real ties to Vienna. It was surprising to see that change in scenario four, especially given

[01:28:17] the clear connections our families have to the Vienna community. Our lives are rooted in Vienna. Our kids attend programs at the Vienna Community Center, play on Vienna sports teams, and build all of their friendships here. Those community ties matter more than a line on a map, especially as children move into their high school years. Under scenario four, Tyson's Green would otherwise become a tiny island separated from the rest of Vienna and from the neighborhoods around us that are all going to Madison. That isolation does not reflect how our families actually live or who our kids grow up with tyson's green is small including us in madison does not

[01:28:53] meaningfully impact capacity but being excluded from it has a very real impact on families who would be cut off from their community so we feel that the transfer option is a helpful step and we're grateful for it but the best solution is to reflect what already exists by zoning tyson's green to Madison and giving our families that stability and certainty thank you

[01:29:17] Valentina Deng Valentina Deng Valentina Deng Jyoti Wadhwa good morning my name is Jyoti Wadhwa and I'm speaking from Briarwood Trace first I'd

[01:29:54] like to thank everyone it's nice to be here in person this process has taken an extraordinary amount of time cost from the county BRAC volunteers consultants and families who showed up at meetings analyzed data endlessly and took time away from home and work to engage in good faith i appreciate everyone who contributed to this process that being said it is with real disappointment that after all this effort the recommendation before you today the board and us does not support the repeatedly what has repeatedly been described as the very

[01:30:32] criteria that the board was seeking and even uh the the office of the superintendent after scenario four a cost-saving edge refinement that fully meets policy 8130 that creates no operational impact briarwood trace is exactly that we are the poster child of just 33 students reassigned that we're asking for reassignment to oakton and we have no operational impact oakton capacity but we're being asked to wait for two years for some some change to happen

[01:31:10] through western high school capacity is not an issue for us however we found out only yesterday through the public hearing that a study was done on safety why we're finding out only yesterday is very disappointing but there was a safety concern we asked that the board not approve this right now because we need time to respond to that there could be operational things that are done such as guards around there the safety was for marsha road and there's solutions that we want

[01:31:47] so we're asking priyanka agarwal hi um my name is priyanka and i'm i'm representing the tyson's woods community um our neighborhood uh first i would like to start by thanking dr reed and her team uh for their time their care their diligence they brought to this boundary review

[01:32:21] our community feels heard and we are truly appreciative of what the final proposal by dr reed has come out to be we respectfully ask you to support to approve the superintendent's proposal that keeps the tyson switch community at vienna elementary school and align our neighborhood with thorough middle school and madison high school eliminating this current split feeder today our children attend vienna elementary but are later divided into different middle and high

[01:32:54] schools this breaks cohorts apart and disrupts the continuity fcps aims to preserve aligning with thorough and madison resolves this issue simply and permanently tyson switch is a very small community with just 28 students across grades kindergarten through six splitting such a small group increases the chances that the students move forward without familiar peers keeping cohorts together supports academic stability social development and emotional well-being this alignment also preserves community cohesion tyson's woods are deeply we are we our

[01:33:32] families are deeply connected to the vienna school community through volunteering carpools child care coordination and trusted relationships we have built over the years maintaining consistent feeder pattern allows those connections to continue geographically this alignment makes sense and reflects how our community already functions most importantly the solution causes zero disruption no students are asked to move no friendships are broken while finally resolving a long-standing split feeder issue we respectfully ask the board for

[01:34:04] Muni Karana. Morning my name is Muni Karana and I'm a parent from Briarwood Trace. As a parent my fourth most responsibility is to protect my children. I take that responsibility serious.

[01:34:29] On December 26th was our last was our second check-in with Mr. Eric Gordon and we were told that safe routes to school assessment was still underway. We since then families are just finding out the results from that safe safe safe routes assessment yesterday safe routes assessments was intended to identify both risks and solutions but many of these solutions can often be implemented in the near term there have not been any written reports evaluations or findings that have been provided to us in our community without knowing what was identified or what could be

[01:35:05] addressed now I am deeply uncomfortable supporting this recommendation as our current stands families deserve to understand the risks they need to under the options that they have and I don't feel as if I respectfully urge the board to withhold support until the recommendations are revealed either to allow for conditional approval or to address Briarwood Trace separately thank you Sabina Shresthal Sabina Shresthal

[01:35:40] Sabina Shresthal Jim Gulley Jim Gulley Jim Gulley Bethany Gardner hi good morning. As a parent of two students at Herndon Elementary School, a member of the PTA board, the superintendent's family vision group, and TPAC board, I want to emphasize my commitment

[01:36:20] to Fairfax County Public Schools. Yet I also want to express that I'm very disappointed in the results of this boundary view. While I appreciate that the overcrowding at Coates Elementary School has created the need to transfer some of those students into the Herndon community, the process for why Herndon was chosen has not been clear, adequately explained, or adequately justified. Herndon Elementary School is in year one of a three-year renovation, a process itself which has been delayed and fraught. We just received a new principal, who's lovely, one month ago after not having a permanent principal for two years. We also

[01:36:56] recently received an off-track rating under Virginia's new school performance and support framework, meaning the state believes Herndon needs to add additional support to improve school performance. The Herndon community is doing everything it can to support students and staff during this tumultuous time, which is why I don't understand why we are transferring 190 students into this school that is clearly in a fragile state.

[01:37:20] During Clearview Elementary School's recent renovations, not even siblings were allowed to transfer in. Not only that, Clearview, recently renovated with a wonderful long-term principal, is only at 74% utilization and could easily absorb the CODE students and is in a more stable state to do so, providing an opportunity for the CODE students to thrive.

[01:37:41] I'm also wondering why two school board members, one in front of dozens of Herndon families, have publicly stated that the Coates-Herndon transfer was no longer occurring, information that turns out to be misguided at best and disingenuous at worst. I'm not sure what can be done at this late date, but I urge the school board to reconsider this student transfer for the well-being of students at both Coates and Herndon Elementary. Thank you.

[01:38:11] Nashua Hamed. Eric Scannell. Eric Scannell.

[01:38:24] Good morning. Good morning. I'm Eric Scannell. I'm speaking for the Briarwood Trace neighborhood is happy to see my neighbors here today. And thanks also to, you know, Carl, appreciate all your help over the last year or so with these boundary adjustments you guys are doing. I'm a little bit disappointed only in that, you know, we had a small edge case to ask the board to approve, you know, not busting our kids 30 minutes halfway across the kind of falls church instead allow us to walk at with cost savings, right to three schools

[01:39:03] that are all within the county guidelines for walking distance. So I want to address both capacity and real-world conditions. Briarwood Trace does not require additional capacity at Oakton and does not depend on future changes related to Western High School. Our families are also using this area safely every day.

[01:39:20] Our children, me included, play on the playground all weekends and we walk and bike through the neighborhood regularly. This is all being done safely today, supported by the new flashing crosswalks at all intersections installed by Fairfax County just a few months ago to improve pedestrian safety. Because there is no capacity-based reason to wait and because safety infrastructure is already in place, delaying this decision by two years does not align with current conditions.

[01:39:43] And so absent the documented safety findings and defined near-term remediation, including those that could be implemented before January 30th, I cannot support this recommendation as written. And I respectfully ask the Board to please withhold support until the recommendation is amended to allow for conditional approval or to explicitly address Briarwood Trace as a separate case in the near future.

[01:40:02] Thank you very much. - Jim Krishna. - Good afternoon members of the board. Thank you for your time and offering this venue for public testimony.

[01:40:20] My name is Ashim. I'm a father of two future Marshall High students that lives in Vienna, and I'm also myself a Madison High alumni. I'm here to ask you to keep the Marshall and Madison boundaries as they are today, instead of accepting the superintendent's proposal.

[01:40:36] The superintendent's proposal is moving 128 students out of Marshall to Madison. That is a 6% reduction to a school that is not fully at capacity. This reduction will lead to a decrease in academic and extracurricular opportunities for Marshall students.

[01:40:54] Additionally, the superintendent's proposal will create an even more lopsided split feeder at Kilmer Middle School than exists today, with an even smaller number of students going to Madison while everyone else goes to Marshall from Kilmer. My recommendation instead is to keep the Madison and Marshall boundaries as they are today.

[01:41:13] Let's address the most significant issue in the pyramid, which is Kilmer being overcapacity. Currently, Kilmer has a substantial number of students attending that are currently zoned for Madison. I suggest having all the Kilmer-Madison students be rezoned to Thoreau-Madison.

[01:41:30] That will address the Kilmer overcapacity issue and make Kilmer a single feeder to Marshall. This recommendation changes very little from what we have today. keep Marshall and Madison boundaries as they are, and move the Kilmer Madison students to Thoreau Madison. I hope you'll consider this recommendation, and thank you for your time. Rebecca Herrera.

[01:41:57] Hi, I'm a parent, and my daughter goes to KJMS, and I've expressed since October, been expressing that my daughter, for the past two years, she built peers going from Green Bayer East Elementary into Katherine Johnson Middle School and I spoke in the meeting the zoom meeting in October my my daughter for the past two years she's been she built a community with you know the Katherine Johnson students and they were all supposed to go into Fairfax High so I urge the school board and Dr. Reed to

[01:42:34] please keep the KJMS middle schoolers going into Fairfax High because it's causing a lot of stress and disappointment separating KJMS into three different high schools. She was pulled from Greenbrier, a small group from Greenbrier going into middle school. She made peers there and now she's being pulled back from Catherine Johnson being zoned into Chantilly and it's causing a lot of disruption and, you know, isolation. So

[01:43:05] I just want to keep the scenario as it is now for KJMS students to go together into Fairfax High because Fairfax High is one of the, you know, high school years, like the most important years of your school life so I just want to you know just you know keep it as it is like KJMS all those middle schoolers in eighth grade rising ninth graders going to Fairfax High together as it is now I don't have more to say but I don't have

[01:43:38] much time Amanda sure thank you for your time today as you can see the people who have come up here are extremely happy that you have changed their split

[01:44:13] feeder situation and let communities stay together. And then you see the opposite that are extremely unhappy that you have created a split feeder and are going to cause harm. I'm part of the extremely unhappy people that found out very recently that Beachtree Elementary School, which by the way is not listed anywhere at all, is going to become a double split feeder. I have children in Beachtree Elementary, Glasgow, and Justice. And this completely disrupts our little community.

[01:44:49] My high schooler spoke earlier, and she will have to make a decision to stay in the IB program at Justice High School or move over to Falls Church. If she stays at Justice High School, will she have transportation? I don't know. I have a Glasgow Middle School AAP student who will be going into 8th grade. Does he stay at Glasgow? Can I get him to school every day? I have to also get my daughter to school every day. All of these decisions are greatly impacting my

[01:45:23] immediate family, but also our entire community. We are being split twice. The Beach Street Elementary tree kids are being split from Beach Street to Glasgow and to Poe. Then again, the Poe kids get split. Most go to Annandale. Our little Beach Tree kids go to Falls Church. This is just detrimental to the neighborhood. Why do this? Small amount of kids. This information, by the way, was released at the beginning of December and asked for feedback the day after Christmas. So we said to the

[01:46:00] community we know you're busy you're with your family so due to technical difficulties we are now going back to miss meg howard who is in so miss howard you may proceed hey can you hear me yes oh okay hi um good afternoon uh when the comprehensive boundary view was announced i

[01:46:37] expected the primary focus to be on balancing enrollment and capacity across the county i also understand that capacity and equitable access to programming are not all are not the only considerations and that other factors are important as well however those are the areas i'm focusing on today i come to um you as a fairfax county alumni a fairfax county public school teacher and a parent whose children have all attended fairfax county i followed all four scenarios developed by the boundary review committee and like many families and staff i was surprised by how significantly those scenarios changed over time, in some cases in ways that were unexpected

[01:47:17] and difficult for communities to track. While West Springfield High School was adjusted in the first three scenarios, those adjustments were removed in the final recommendation, despite continued and growing over capacity. The final recommendations rely on 2024-25 enrollment data, not current 25-26 figures. West Springfield's status capacity is 2,493 students, yet enrollment in 2,425 was 2,791, 112% utilization. Current enrollment is closer to 2,860, and this is the first time West Springfield

[01:47:53] High School has required modulars classrooms. This raises a serious question. What happens next year if enrollment continues to increase? When any school operates over capacity, the strain is most acutely in staffing and instruction. At West Springfield and at other overcapacity schools across the county, we are seeing larger class sizes, reduced scheduling flexibility, and teachers sharing two, three, or even four classrooms, which directly impacts planning time, instructional continuity, and access to programs. The elementary schools feeding into this pyramid reflect the

[01:48:27] same trend. For example, Cardinal Forest Elementary is projected. Ms. Howard, your time is now up. - Steven Moskowitz.

[01:48:52] - Morning, I'm a parent of a first and third grader at Herndon Elementary. I believe it is our duty to help our neighbors at Coates Elementary, which is currently extremely overcrowded. That being said, I question as to why Herndon Elementary will shoulder an inequitable share of the load.

[01:49:08] My issue is not with the soon-to-be former Coates students who will be joining us here at Herndon. Once they are here, they are Herndon bees and be welcomed like every other student. The families leaving Coates should know what this plan signs their children up for. Cernan Elementary has been identified as off-track under the Virginia School Performance and Support Framework.

[01:49:26] We are the only elementary school in FCPS federally identified as a comprehensive support and improvement school. We are in the middle of an extensive renovation following years of FCPS neglect. FCPS has failed to provide equitable translation services at public meetings, despite our having a primarily Spanish-speaking population.

[01:49:45] We were without a principal for most of the 24-25 school year, and the principal selected to finally fill this vacancy, quit a month into this school year. We had two of our vice principals move this December with no notice to the community. As the parent community has expressed to multiple board members, we have no trust in FCPS to support our school.

[01:50:04] We have been neglected, disregarded, and disrespected for too long. Our new principal, Dr. Barab, is doing her best to right this ship, and adding 190 new students to the school to bring us to over 100% capacity will not make this any easier on her. The students of Herndon Elementary deserve a free and appropriate education, just like their peers elsewhere in Fairfax County.

[01:50:23] How will the board provide Dr. Farab and Herndon Elementary the resources to accompany these new students? I'm not just talking about classroom teachers, but also the additional specialists, counselors, special education teachers, and MLL teachers that Herndon Elementary already desperately needs.

[01:50:39] Thank you all for your time today. I will close with this. This proposed redistricting plan fails the current and future students of Herndon Elementary. Without a concrete commitment for additional resources and a plan for implementing them, This board will as well. Thank you. Katie Benson.

[01:51:03] Good morning. I am a proud Beachtree parent here to address the inequitable and fundamentally flawed boundary proposal. The boundary review has lasted two years, yet Beachtree was never mentioned until a community meeting on December 10th.

[01:51:20] This last-minute notice was provided the same night as our school event, making community involvement nearly impossible. The lack of transparency since then has been staggering. The online boundary tool never reflected any impact to Beachtree until two days ago. But perhaps most concerning, the proposal slides boast a reduction of split feeder schools while never mentioning that you created a brand new double split feeder.

[01:51:41] Furthermore, Beachtree, Glasgow, and Justice are all diverse Title I schools with multi-language families. The lack of clear and timely communication reveal a shocking level of inequity, excluding most of our community from having any voice at all. Information to our community was hurried, vague, or completely omitted.

[01:51:59] This appears deceitful and undermines any trust in you or the broader process. This rush plan creates a new split feeder out of the sixth smallest elementary school. We have only around 50 students per grade, and you are proposing to split this close community up between two schools, significantly decreasing their already small support system.

[01:52:15] Then you plan to do it all over again to one of these groups when they would leave Poe for Falls Church, moving them through three different pyramids. This robs our children of protective factors during their most vulnerable developmental transitions. This plan is short-sighted and irresponsible. Lastly, by your own numbers, moving the Beachtree students from Glasgow to Poe provides minimal impact on Glasgow, but will push Poe over capacity, whereas the new Poe AAP Center will have significant impact on both Glasgow and Poe's numbers. My recommendations are to pause the plan to turn Beachtree into a split theater, revert to the original scenario four, observe the actual impact of the Poe AAP Center and Falls Church renovation once completed, and flag the site for reevaluation during the next

[01:52:54] review. Please spare our children from this unjustified and unnecessary harm. Thank you.

[01:53:02] Earl Johnson. Morning. My name is Earl Johnson. I am a resident of Roan Stallion Estates on Stuart Mill Road in the Hunter Mill District and part of the Flint Hill Island. I'm also a parent of two children that attend Flint Hill Elementary School. I want to first recognize the students that spoke earlier. They demonstrated a lot of courage and involvement in the process and that makes me feel better about the future. I strongly support Dr. Reed's recommendations for the boundary changes.

[01:53:51] for over a year number of people have been involved and laying out this roadmap and I must admit at the beginning I was a little skeptical of the process but I feel that it's been transparent it's been thoughtful it's been iterative and it's been responsive there have been some new recommended changes that impact our community these changes would turn our Flint Hill Island into a split feeder

[01:54:19] So my kids would leave Flint Hill Elementary, go to a new elementary school, and then go back to a middle school, splitting again off a cohort of students that they had just met.

[01:54:36] I know that not all of the split feeders were addressed in this process, but we certainly shouldn't create new split feeders. We shouldn't create new problems as we come to an end here. So with that, I urge the board to support Dr. Reed's recommended changes.

[01:54:56] Thank you.

[01:55:06] Cam Toon Nguyen. Ma'am, we can't hear you. Can you? Yep, I'm unmuted. Okay, now we can hear you. Thank you. Yes, hi.

[01:55:22] My name is Cam Toon Nguyen, and I'm speaking from Briarwood Trace. From a family perspective, being told to wait two years without being told what specifically needs to change or how it will be fixed is discouraging. We are not Briarwood Farms.

[01:55:39] We are Briarwood-Trace, and Briarwood-Trace fully meets policy 8130 and within existing capacity targets for our 33 students. Treating these communities as interchangeable ignores those facts.

[01:55:55] Families deserve transparency and a defined path forward. If safety issues exist, we should be told what they are and what near-term remediations would address them and ask to wait and not ask to wait indefinitely without that clarity and without identifying near-term fixes could be implemented even before january 30th i cannot support advancing this recommendation as written and respectfully ask the board to withhold support until the recommendation is amended to allow the conditional approval or to explicitly explicitly address

[01:56:34] briar would trace as a separate case thank you for your time caesar casanova hello my name is caesar casanova and i'm a lifelong resident of fairfax county a proud fcps alumnus and a parent to two children who currently attend vienna elementary i'm here today to request that the school board approve the superintendent's recommendation for our neighborhood tysons woods spa 3914 to be

[01:57:12] rezoned for vienna elementary through middle and madison high school as someone who grew up in this community and benefit from a strong sense of continuity within FZPS, I know firsthand how important it is for students to feel connected and supported throughout their educational journey. Currently at Vienna Elementary, less than 10% of students are split from their peers. A small population of students in our neighborhood advanced to Kilmer and Marshall High School while their peers proceed to Thoreau Middle and Madison High School. Residents in Tyson's Woods want this split feeder eliminated because it creates unnecessary social and emotional challenges during this transition from elementary to middle school. For example, my second grader is

[01:57:49] only one of two students who would have to attend a different middle and high school than her peers. My fifth grader is one of four students. These numbers highlight how isolating this experience can be for children. Approving this recommendation change supports the guiding principles of policy 8130 by eliminating the unbalanced split feeder system at Viena Elementary, optimize school capacity by easing the overcrowding Kilburn Middle and Marshall high school, provide a safer commute for students by utilizing WD trail, which backs up to our community. And most importantly, this change will allow our children to maintain the strong

[01:58:25] community ties that they've built in the elementary and continue those relationships through middle and high school. Thank you for your time and consideration. Michelle Sinclair. As PTA president of Beachtree Elementary, I'm calling on the board to revert to the original version of Scenario 4 instead of shifting us at the 11th hour.

[01:59:03] You know turning Beech Tree into a new split feeder is bad news because there are no references to that change in the superintendent's presentation we all received on January 7th. This is deceitful and underhanded. Glasgow was badly overcrowded. According to families, this was a major complaint about four years ago, but the board elected not to address the issue at that time.

[01:59:24] A lot has changed in four years. Glasgow is less crowded. and Poe's own demographics pages are updated monthly, and using those numbers, the opening of the AAP Center at Poe will resolve any remaining imbalances. In fact, using the county's projection data, adding Beech Tree students to this pile will actually tip the scales into a 114% overcrowding situation at Poe in just three years, forcing Beech Tree into yet more boundary shift chaos.

[01:59:52] An outdated crowding situation at Glasgow should not be used now to justify creating new and lasting disruption for beech tree families. Some students thrive in new environments, but many do not. Neurodivergent kids already face an uphill battle to understand social cues and navigate friendship, which can be a bewildering minefield for them. If there's no enrollment-driven need to fragment the beech tree community, why are we subjecting them to that? Where is the equity for them? And let's not forget this is the COVID generation who already face challenges in school and social-emotional development due to massive upheaval in their schooling.

[02:00:29] This change forces families to make difficult and expensive choices between keeping siblings together with no insurances of school transportation or spreading themselves thin across two middle or high schools, two PTAs, two band schedules, and so on. The original Scenario 4 addressed capacity concerns while minimizing disruption.

[02:00:47] With overgrouting at Clasgow no longer a problem and Poe absorbing additional students through its AEP center, reverting to that original plan as both reasonable and responsible. David Knott. Good afternoon. My name is David Knott.

[02:01:22] I live in the northeast corner of Vienna, just outside the town boundary in the Westbriar Elementary Boundaries. My wife and I have a sixth grader and a third grader, and I'm here because the latest boundary proposal keeps our neighborhood in the existing Kilmer-Madison split, which is a very lopsided split.

[02:01:39] And we have seen the harmful effects of this split on our neighbors older children that we've watched go through high school under the existing boundaries only seven student planning areas feed kilmer and then madison and only about 10 of each kilmer class today goes on to madison that means students arrive at high school with a tiny cohort often without their established peer group making it harder to feel connected and to thrive the The latest proposal makes this worse by reducing the Kilmer-Madison pathway from 7 SPAs just down to 2.

[02:02:19] That would create an even smaller island cohort. Less than 5% of Kilmer 8th graders will matriculate to Madison each year, which conflicts with the stated goal of reducing split feeder patterns. Our single highest priority is to eliminate the middle school-high school split.

[02:02:38] There is a simple and straightforward alternative that solves this without undermining the broader plan of keeping town of Vienna in Madison High School, and that is to zone us for Thoreau, Madison. This alignment keeps cohorts together.

[02:02:54] So our request is, please amend the proposal to avoid assigning our neighborhood to Kilmer, Madison. If we remain at Madison for high school, align us to Thoreau. this request is about our concern for the well-being and success of our children please don't deepen a split that is already failing them thank you for your time kristelle green kristelle green

[02:03:27] kristelle green fatima akram kwam good morning i'm here as a parent of two elementary school children from franklin manor affected by the crossfield to lease cornered redistricting we have been closely and consistently engaged in this process from the very beginning we followed

[02:04:05] every meeting reviewed every scenario and email and we understood this those scenarios and participated in good faith we didn't feel the need to speak at those meetings because based on everything shown and discussed we were comfortable with all four scenarios in every scenario our children remained at crossfield at no point until the final proposal was a change to our elementary school shown discussed or even suggested the challenge is that an 11th hour change introduced after months of engagement limits families ability to effectively advocate for their children and the integrity of their neighborhood like many families here we made one of the largest

[02:04:43] decisions of our lives when we chose our home for the school community trusting our children could remain there during their most formative years these early years are foundational academically socially and emotionally and stability matters we are not opposed to change in principle we understand the district faces complex challenges what has been most difficult is feeling blindsided after doing exactly what we were asked to do stay engaged stay informed and trust the process we are here to offer constructive solutions one option is to grandfather current Crossfield students through elementary school applying the change only to future kindergarteners

[02:05:19] another solution is to group this one street with the surrounding neighborhood and route students along the Crossfield Carson Oakton line all three of which are under enrolled this would eliminate both an attendance island and a multi multi theater pattern behind every boundary line is a child who wants to feel safe known and settled we trusted this process we trusted this district today we ask you to honor that trust by choosing stability for our children because once that trust is broken it cannot simply be redrawn thank you

[02:05:51] gregory p3 good afternoon my name is gregory p3 i'm here as a parent of a b street third grader and kindergartner we are a small community and a smaller school splitting them up at the elementary level and then again the middle school continues to shrink our community when the school employees and educators understand the community that is coming through they better understand how to

[02:06:25] connect with the students and provide them with the education that is needed and it is why that i would like to also suggest that we go back to the original version of scenario four a lot of us at each tree feel that is the best solution thank you for your time and listening to our concerns

[02:06:47] christian stansnovich hi good morning um my name is christian stansnovich and my husband sebastian and i are parents of two daughters with our youngest phoebe a sixth grader at vienna elementary school we've been pta members and community volunteers since our daughter was in mrs allen's

[02:07:21] virtual class in first grade during covid and our daughter was an a brownie and troop 50166 at louise archer vienna jammer for three years participating in all halloween parades as a brownie and a jammer in the town since we moved here the nysa's art program she was a student correspondent and last year's longest table vienna on mill street and the town green which i'm a committee member of and participated in the madison pyramid art showcase the madison pyramid choir program

[02:07:59] and is currently at cotillion at the vienna firehouse um our community tyson's woods has the full support of our principal principal carmichael his administration the vienna elementary school PTA board and they have given our full support in writing to to you in eliminating the split feeder which in Phoebe's case she is one of four students that would then be split from her cohorts and I just want

[02:08:35] to thank we want to we are very thankful to Dr. Reed and her supportive staff for her recommendation to eliminate the split feeder at VES this keeps our students together through middle school and high school which enriches bonds and reinforces their learning experience and social engaged within their community we would like to thank Melanie Marin Carl Frisch and the BRAC members for

[02:09:04] your dedication and with CT Ju CT Ju CT Ju Roshan Sukroni Roshan Sukneri Roshan Sukhneri Sarah Almasi Sarah Almasi Sarah Almasi

[02:09:38] Carrie Dulski good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to speak my name is Carrie Dulski I'm here on behalf of many Fairhill elementary families to highlight a boundary issue that is no longer our community reflects our community or Fairfax County Public Schools planning principles Fairhill sits in an attendance island an isolated ship carved away from the rest of Falls Church High School Pyramid and daily life our family are rooted in Fairfax and Vienna both in geography and postal address. Our kids play on

[02:10:16] Fairfax and Vienna sports teams, attend preschools and camps there, and build friendships and support networks there. But when it comes to school progression, the boundaries pull our students in the opposite direction from the communities where they spend their entire childhoods. Logistically, it is also a hardship. My neighborhood sits off Cedar Lane, less than a mile from Thoreau Middle School, and closer to Oakton, Fairfax, and Madison High School. Yet our current assigned pyramid buses students across major highways and congested corridors including Route 29, Route 50, and the 5495 interchange, creating unnecessary transportation safety and operational burdens for families. With the opening of the new Western High School, we respectfully ask FCPS to reevaluate the Fair Hill neighborhoods. With nearby schools expected

[02:10:55] to shed enrollment, there will be capacity and geographic logic to absorb our area. Our community is diverse in language, culture, and socioeconomic background. Integrating Fair Hill into any of the high schools would support balanced, inclusive school environments aligned with county values there are multiple petitions within the Walker precinct asking FCPS to correct this outdated boundary I'm asking the committee to please include the thorough review that Fair Hills neighborhoods deserve as part of the new Western school boundary

[02:11:20] process thank you for your time Jonathan Boyd good morning I'm speaking today to voice my disagreement and displeasure with the changes recommended for SPA 3521 to be reassigned from CrossFit elementary school to Lee's Corner Elementary School. I've watched this process play out over the past several months with no indication from any of the proposed boundary changes that this change was

[02:11:55] even a possibility. Without inclusion in any of the previous boundary change scenarios, we were caught off guard when the superintendent recommended our street and neighborhood be moved to a new elementary school. I currently have three children attending Crossfield. We have built our lives around the Crossfield community. Our daughters attend school, Girl Scouts, and sports with their Crossville classmates. As a coach for my daughter's basketball team, I endeavored to include Crossville students under my daughter's team so that her and her friends could play together. If we were to switch schools, most of the other students in our daughter's classes would be located across Fairfax County Parkway. Instead of a short walk or bike ride away, our daughters would be separated from

[02:12:33] their classmates by a four-lane divided parkway. In addition to the inherent stress of switching schools and the superintendent's recommendation without prior opportunity for review, this change does little to solve any issues these boundary changes are intended to address. Namely, we are not located in an attendance island and transportation is unaffected. The Crossfield bus will pass our street even if our children are not on it. Additionally, Crossfield is not overcrowded.

[02:12:56] The superintendent's recommendations note that this change would affect 12 students and reduces Crossfield's capacity 1% from 83 to 82%. This highlights the unnecessary nature of the change for county purposes on top of all the reasons it would be detrimental for the community that we informed with Crossfield. I strenuously object to this change based on the late notice of its inclusion in the superintendent's recommendation, its unnecessary nature, and the abrupt change to a community our children are grounded in. Thank you for your time.

[02:13:30] When we moved to Greenway Downs, we knew our neighborhood was divided among four elementary schools. We were encouraged to learn that the boundary review was finally underway and that it would focus on attendance islands and split feeders, the exact issues impacting our neighborhood and Timberlane Elementary. These boundaries are long overdue for correction. Many are rooted in decades-old decisions tied to racial redlining, something I don't think the broader community is talking about nearly enough. Even knowing our neighborhood might leave our beloved Timberlane,

[02:14:07] we supported these changes so that Greenway Downs and Jefferson Village could come together into one neighborhood school, and so that Timberlane, located in Falls Church, could become part of the Falls Church High School Pyramid rather than continue as a split feeder tied to McLean High school pyramid. We are proud to live in Falls Church, proud to be part of the Falls Church High School pyramid, and we believe that all FCPS schools serve our community well and could even better serve our students with many necessary common-sense boundary changes. What has been deeply frustrating is that the complexity of our area has been used as a reason to take no action. Of course this work is complex. You knew that 18 months ago when this process began. All four scenarios presented to the community required change for our neighborhood and

[02:14:46] for Timber Lane, and yet this proposed scenario, released without opportunity for public feedback like the others, preserves the status quo and leaves the exact issues you set out to address untouched. This process has brought out some of the worst in our community. Red sign parents put out along our children's bus routes reading "Protect Our Children's Education" have forced parents like me to explain to my kids that some families believe the middle and high school they will attend are not good enough for their children.

[02:15:12] A small, highly organized group successfully framed Timber Lane staying in the McLean Pyramid as an equity issue when it's exactly the opposite. They were successful, and I believe this is where the school board must lead and be strong. By standing behind its own schools, rejecting pressure driven by property values or school rankings, and staying focused on the issues this process was meant to address.

[02:15:32] After 18 painful months, the proposed scenario makes no changes. Our neighborhood will continue to be divided among four schools, and at Timber Lane will continue to be in a McLean Pyramid with community events like choral-- John Gilmore, John Gilmore, John Gilmore.

[02:16:01] Nadia Bilal, Nadia Bilal. Hi. I'm Nadia Bilal. Good afternoon, everyone.

[02:16:31] We live in the Clarks Crossing neighborhood in Vienna, north of Clarks Crossing Road. When we moved to Vienna five years ago in the middle of a pandemic, we had heard a lot about the, about Vienna's strong sense of community. And this was one of the reasons we actually moved here.

[02:16:48] my two kids an eighth grader at kilmer and a third grader at wolf trap have integrated into the community very well and have made great friends in fact my daughter is thriving at wolf trap because she has not only made great friends but she has also developed a strong bond with the wolf trap community i believe dr reed's recommendation avoids splitting the wolf trap children as they move into middle school which would have been very distressing for them in my opinion i also wanted to voice my strong support for this recommendation for our neighborhood neighborhood because i believe i strongly believe that keeping kids together during this very

[02:17:27] important transition from elementary to middle school with their peers they know and trust is critical for them to continue to thrive academically emotionally and socially again last but i want to say that i would respectfully urge our board to please approve this recommendation and thank you for your hard work and listening to us and thank you for your

[02:17:50] time. Amanda Parker. Ms. Parker we can't hear you. Ms. Parker we still can't hear

[02:18:30] you. All right Ms. Parker we'll try you again in just a minute. We're going to move on to the next person then we'll come back. Leslie Aschenbach. Leslie

[02:18:56] Aschenbach. Good afternoon my name is Leslie Aschenbach and I've lived behind Herndon Elementary since 1988. My daughters attended Herndon for 13 years

[02:19:34] and I served as a volunteer and PTA officer. I've also worked for Fairfax County Public Schools for 22 years and as an administrative assistant, giving me both a parent and a division-wide perspective. During that time, I watched Herndon's enrollment grow beyond 1,050 students at one point.

[02:19:53] I'm here today to strongly oppose the proposal to move 190 students from COATS to Herndon. I speak on behalf of Herndon Elementary's community about the long-term impact this move would have. Herndon Elementary is currently on the VDOE off-track or needs to improve list, undergoing a major renovation and has had five principals in rapid succession.

[02:20:14] While the new principal is committed to improving outcomes, frequent leadership changes often lead to staffing instability, vacancies, and reduced instructional continuity, directly affecting student achievement and student's sense of safety and belonging. Under the current recommendation, Herndon would move from 82% to 101% capacity.

[02:20:35] That increase is not theoretical. It means larger class sizes, fewer flexible learning spaces, and already stretched counselors, special education staff, and administrators stretched even further. At a recent community meeting, families were told that code students would be reassigned elsewhere, so the reversal of that plan recently came as a surprise.

[02:20:58] Being told that the school would be snug for one year raises a serious question. If boundary reviews occur every five years, how long is one year really? And know that five years is truly the entire life of an elementary student.

[02:21:14] Given my FCPS experience, I know schools under renovation are typically closed to transfers. Yet this proposal adds 190 students to Herndon while other schools in the same pyramid remain under capacity. Equity should not mean. Ashley Parker.

[02:21:40] Sorry, Amanda Parker. I apologize. Amanda Parker. Can you hear me now? Yes. Thank you. Great. Ms. Parker, if you could turn off your video and just give us your audio because I think when you're doing your video, you're freezing. So if we could just try with

[02:22:09] your audio. All right. Ms. Parker, we'll try one more time with gesture audio. We're going to move to the next person and then come back. So we've got Nick Socorak. Yes. Thank you. Can you hear me okay? Yes. Thank you. Great. Thank you. I am a parent in the Bryn Mawr Elementary area and

[02:22:43] specifically, we are just west of 395 and just north of 395. And I'm here because we have an eighth grader who attends Glasgow Middle School for Level 4 AAP services and a fourth grader who attends Belvedere Elementary for Level 4. And these are our designated centers because of where we are. My fourth grader will likely go to Poe in a few years with that AAP center. All of the schools that my kids could or have attended before high school are inside the Beltway.

[02:23:14] The original Scenario 4 reassigned my neighborhood to Annandale High School, which is 10 minutes or less away. It's also where we have community and do a lot of rec sports for the past 10 plus years. My kids attend school with kids, the vast majority of whom will go to Justice High School or Annandale High School.

[02:23:32] But this very last change has switched us back to no change from before, which is going to Edison. And this was communicated the week of Christmas and feedback was requested the day after Christmas. Edison is 20 minutes away from us because while it's close in mileage, there are few crossings at the mixing bowl.

[02:23:53] We can either go south on 395 or 495 to Van Dorn, and that's really it. Edison is a great school, but we have no community there. The rest of that school all lives south of the Beltway, and only our neighborhood and the little Bryn Mawr neighborhood east of 395 are north of the Beltway.

[02:24:15] It's very difficult to cross that barrier on a regular basis and requires navigating two highways. I would respectfully request that the board reconsider A&L High School for my small community in my neighborhood for travel, community, and continuity reasons for my children.

[02:24:33] Thank you.

[02:24:43] Danielle Thorek, if you could unmute, please.

[02:25:16] We still can't hear you. We can see you. Hi, good afternoon. How are you? We can hear you now. Can you guys hear me? We can hear you now. Okay, good. Thank you. Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to speak.

[02:25:34] My name is Daniel Farrar and I have some prepared remarks. I'm a parent of a grade four and grade five students at Wolf Trap Elementary School. Under the superintendent's proposed boundary changes, my children would remain at Wolf Trap Elementary and now will attend Thurum Middle School and Madison High School.

[02:25:49] So I'm here to express our strong support for this proposal. We really appreciate that this proposal prioritizes educational stability, keeps students together and supports long-term planning for elementary through high school. We feel that stability is critically important for our family, especially because one of my sons is part of an Individualized Education Program, or IEP.

[02:26:10] So for students who receive special education services, consistency in school placement, staff, routines, and peer relationships is not just helpful. It is essential for academic progress and emotional well-being. When we reviewed Scenario 4, it certainly created significant stress for our family.

[02:26:28] So the possibility of moving schools, adjusting to new environments, and rebuilding support systems was overwhelming, particularly for a child who relies on predictability and established relationships to succeed, especially structure. That uncertainty affected not only our child, but our entire family.

[02:26:45] So the superintendent's proposal provides a thoughtful and balanced solution. It minimizes disruption, it preserves continuity of learning, and allows students to remain in the school communities where they are already supported and thriving. And we especially, you know, want to thank Dr. Reed for that. It respects the needs of students with IEPs while also considering the broader impact on families and neighborhoods.

[02:27:08] So we certainly vote for superintendent's proposal. So thank you for considering that and taking that into account.

[02:27:23] Christina Olaterlisa. Good afternoon. I'm here today requesting the neighborhood that consists of Cedar Pond Drive, Adams Hill, Limb Tree, and Hillington, located in SP-1803, be assigned to Flint Hill Elementary School rather than Oakton Elementary School.

[02:27:52] This was shown in Scenarios 1, 2, and 3. We are a small neighborhood, and the only neighborhood next to us attends Flint Hill Elementary. We are in the Madison Pyramid and should go to Flint Hill Elementary, which is also in the Madison Pyramid, rather than Oakton Elementary, which is in the Oakton Pyramid.

[02:28:11] Further, Flint Hill is currently at 92% capacity, which is sufficient for growth, while Oakton Elementary is at 98% capacity, which is a slight capacity deficit. Projections for Oakton Elementary also show the capacity will get worse with projected development.

[02:28:29] Flint Hill is projected to continue to have excess capacity in the future. Please reassign our neighborhood to Flint Hill Elementary, which is where our neighbors attend and is within our high school pyramid. Thank you.

[02:28:48] - Deborah Rohde, Deborah Rohde, Deborah Rohde. Joy Jaylon.

[02:29:14] Hi, my name is Joy. I'm a mother and a town of Vienna resident. Thank you to the members of the board today for hearing the community. I am here in full support of maintaining the boundaries of northeast Vienna, specifically the town of Vienna area marked 3801 Madison High School. I support scenarios one through three and Dr. Reed's recommendations. I support that community feedback was taken into account and not advancing scenario four.

[02:29:46] There have been several concerns today raised against split feeders, but I am here to strongly support the existing and recommended continuing split feeder for Northeast Vienna, Town of Vienna, West Breyer, Kilmer, and Madison. As a result, I am electing to share personal examples of how my children have thrived in this pathway and traveled safely home after late night activities and yes one is neurodivergent it wasn't until

[02:30:22] our oldest child a stem focused student was debating whether to apply to tj that the situation became clear she said i don't want to apply to tj i want to attend a high school experience that's local to my vienna community she entered madison knowing that no one no one and built lasting friendships she found her passion in robotics working with the team to become nationally ranked last year marched with the band played clarinet sold trees on maple avenue for the optimist club received an award for the optimist club for her essay and biked and walked home

[02:30:58] safely from late night activities something that would not have been possible with the nearest school she is now a freshman at georgia tech studying engineering alongside three madison robotics teammates my second daughter discovered rowing at eight years 10 years old and now rosa

[02:31:15] madison thank you very much penny yanarakis good afternoon i want to begin by acknowledging the significant time and effort that has gone into the boundary review process and i thank you for your service to our students and families that being said i'm concerned that you have fallen

[02:31:55] short in your communication outreach and community engagement as it pertains to beech tree to the beach tree community namely it is violating the standards set forth in school board policy 8130.9 in section 4 paragraph 5 the policy clearly states that public engagement must occur in each affected school pyramid both before changes are proposed and again after changes are proposed but before they

[02:32:29] are finalized and voted on in this case the beech tree community of region 2 a small directly impacted community was not afforded any of these required opportunities there was no meeting no survey no meaningful outreach to include targeted communication to families who who's uh who would need language assistance and not even a basic opportunity to ask questions or understand the rationale for the post scenario four changes to the boundary review public engagement is not a

[02:33:07] formality it is how this board ensures transparency informed decision making and trust when a community is excluded entirely the process is not just disappointing it is out of compliance with board policy we respectfully ask the board to pause the vote until beech tree families have a meaningful opportunity to participate in public discourse as violating your own policy

[02:33:36] is impermissible and thus the vote cannot go forward as scheduled eric eric fink good afternoon members of the board and superintendent reid my name is eric fink and i want to thank you for the opportunity to speak today i just want to acknowledge the incredible amount of time you you put into this process your families are probably excited to once see you

[02:34:12] again once this process wraps up the reason I am here is to express my strong support for the superintendent's recommendation as it relates to Madison High School the Rowe Middle School Kilmer Middle School and West Briar Elementary this proposal reflects what the community has asked for clarity consistency and fairness it directly advances policy 8130 by significantly addressing split feeders improving continuity and making better use of existing school capacity and while the latest boundary scenario is not perfect and no plan ever will be it represents a meaningful step in the right

[02:34:49] direction it acknowledges the complex challenges that FCPS is facing from overcrowding to equity and long-term sustainability this proposal shows progress a willingness to listen and a commitment to balance and competing across our communities it may not check every box but it demonstrates thoughtful movement forward rather than standing still and that matters starting with West Breyer Elementary the proposed changes help reduce split feeders to middle schools and simplify high school pathways in an ideal world those West Breyer students who are now aligned to attend Madison like my children were would also feed into Thoreau rather than Kilmer as mentioned earlier doing so

[02:35:29] would strengthen continuity and improve the currently minimal cohorts transitioning from Kilmer to Madison. Larger, more connected cohorts help students feel supported, build relationships earlier, and allow for smoother academic and social transitions. While I understand there are logistical constraints, this is a refinement worth considering in this and future boundary views. At the high school level, realigning students from Marshall to Madison strengthens feeder patterns and reduces split pathways. Students benefit from when they stay together, when possible, and families deserve predictable,

[02:36:00] stable school assignments. Thank you. Jane Lloyd, members of the board, Dr. Reed. I am also here with the Beech Tree community. I wonder if you're as surprised that we're all here as we are to be here because it seems like you've made considerable effort to remove us from this conversation. Even

[02:36:39] those of us who have been following the boundary proposals regularly were unaware that Beech Tree was brought to the chopping block. We found out the day before public comments were due and not from FCPS communications. Due to FCPS's continued obfuscation, we were unaware that Beech Tree remained on the chopping block. We had half a day's notice to sign up for this hearing. It was only the morning after speaker registrations that the Beech Tree split was included on the Boundary Explorer tool. I'm not sure if you've read your strategic governance manual lately, but I have,

[02:37:15] and I'd be happy to remind you of what it says. The board's role and responsibilities is to report regularly to the community on operational goals and challenges and initiatives to improve division operations, to partner with parents and groups representing the diverse elements of the Fairfax County community. Your governance commitment is that you will communicate frequently and regularly with residents in the community, maintaining public trust through full and open communication.

[02:37:44] In this instance, you have failed. You have broken our trust. You have violated your own governance policies by withholding information and communication from our community. This is not the governance I expect from my elected officials.

[02:38:02] I demand that you fulfill your responsibilities by hearing us now. We do not want this split. Our district does not need this split. And you would know that if you hadn't worked so underhandedly to keep us out of this conversation.

[02:38:21] My family lives in the town of Vienna off of Pleasant Street Southwest in the Hunter Mill District, and we have two elementary age students I represent.

[02:38:42] We are currently zoned for the Split Feeder Marshall Road Elementary and are requesting to be re-zoned to Vienna Elementary. Our homes are a five-minute safe walk to Vienna Elementary by sidewalks, and the school has capacity surplus at 78% capacity.

[02:39:00] Why are we spending public funds to bus students further away when a walkable, underutilized school is nearby? Based on the priorities of the boundary review, we expected that our area would be moved to Vienna Elementary.

[02:39:15] This change would reduce transportation costs, improve walkability, and better utilize existing capacity without requiring additional boundary adjustments. Additionally, Marshall Road AP students attend Mosaic Elementary, which is in the Oakton High School pyramid.

[02:39:35] For us, this means that our students are not able to attend Louise Archer, a school that is less than 0.5 miles away from our homes. a school that has 81% capacity and is in the same Madison High School pyramid.

[02:39:51] Why are AAP centers not aligned with the high school pyramids or based on proximity to the students' homes? Finally, we are on the edge of SPA 4801, which is significantly oversized. How were these SPAs generated? Why are they not all the same size if students in each SPA have be moved as a unit is this equitable we are requesting that our street pleasant street southwest be flagged for an elementary school change and removed from the sba 4801 thank you

[02:40:29] jeff squire i have the misfortune of going almost last today many people have already left everyone else is exhausted they've heard a lot of things today and they're generally just hoping for this to conclude soon that's very emblematic of what's happening to the communities of beech tree elementary there's one clear distinction though i knew from this list that

[02:41:07] i would be going towards the end the community of beech tree had no idea that we would find ourselves in this situation we have not been included on any of the previous proposals and we're not on the existing proposal and that is despite being created as a new split feeder which is against the priorities of this redistricting and not just a regular split feeder a double split feeder that means our kids will be separated from their peer group twice which i'll give you the benefit of the doubt you may not have known would be this problematic at the beginning but you should know now clearly that it is a huge problem we've heard other speakers here today

[02:41:43] thank the school board for listening to their community and working with them i ask you now why not us like many of the people from the bee tree community that have spoken here today i found out about this uh through the grapevine and after the public comment period had closed i recognize that the board has a difficult problem there is no win-win solution to to this problem but you do have an obligation to hear out and engage with the communities that are negatively affected by this.

[02:42:10] So I'd ask you three things. First is to acknowledge Beachtree Elementary and any other new split feeders that you have created with this. Second, to delay the vote and engage with our communities the way that you are supposed to, and to share data with us. We've had to find our own on school demographics because none has been shared with us.

[02:42:29] And then lastly, if you can't find yourself to delay the vote, then at least revisit codified better exceptions especially for transportation if you acknowledge that our kids should have an exception to go to their existing boundaries they can't do that without transportation we are not a rich community most of our parents are double working communities transportation is critical thank you that concludes our pre-registered speakers and now we are on walk-in speakers as a reminder only the speaker may be at the podium when speaking

[02:43:07] neither adults nor children may join them if you have hard copies of your testimony please give it to me or my team when you move um when you're on your way up if you have electronic copies of your testimony and would like to share it with the board please email it to community participation at fcps.edu as a reminder please hold your applause so that we can keep the hearing flowing to ensure that all speakers are heard in a timely manner so our next person is brian corius thank you board very much for your time today so dr reed

[02:43:43] You may remember me as the guy that said I could actually hear the marching band from Chantilly high school Right. I could hear every time they play I had a tiger Well another school is actually that same distance which is Rocky run middle school So currently our kids actually go to Franklin Which is a school three times the distance of Rocky run that was done that nobody in this room made that decision that was done 20 years ago because of over capacity after what's going on at that time at Rocky Run however everything has changed with the

[02:44:18] renovation with the changes to Rocky Run so give you an idea we are an island right now in the Walney community we're the only neighborhood that actually goes to Franklin we also bus our kids to two schools so if they're in the AAP they go to Rocky Run if they go to the regular school they go to Franklin that cost in you know just in infrastructure money things along those lines our kids also have to cross route 50 they have no sidewalks to get to Franklin if they go to Rocky Run it's actually residential they could literally just walk there it's

[02:44:55] very very simple so we made a request originally to be able to do that and we actually thought we had a lot of confidence I know Heather over here actually had been talking to the board quite a bit. We thought it was done, but the latest notes say that it isn't.

[02:45:12] We don't know if that's tied into Western. That's what we suspect. And that could potentially not only make us a single split feeder, but into a double split feeder. So I really, really ask that you reconsider.

[02:45:28] I mean, it does cause a huge amount of problems for the kids in our neighborhood. would love someday when I hear eye of the tiger knowing that that's coming from my kids school

[02:45:38] thank you George Becerra good afternoon Dr. Reed and school board members my comments today come from my public observations on this process and from a county look and not just one neighborhood

[02:46:14] or school one where are the consultants true they didn't attend or were not invited to the last two work sessions on this topic and we're not here this past Thursday when the superintendent made our recommendations why would the board have an opportunity to question them in public they did they did get around half a million dollars number two i truly believe this process started with the best intentions with only 1.25 change to where kids would move this will not produce any systematic real changes you all lost lost an opportunity to make real history here in fairfax county you buckled politically to the loudest voices which led to the creating of minimal change but the board will have a pr campaign if we were the ones who did this when it not have been done in

[02:46:49] over 40 years three the board had no real idea what this topic would stir up remember when i suggested in january 2024 please put the boundary discussions policy 8130 in the main conference room of gatehouse it could not be recorded there in at the small adjacent room next year thank god you listened to that so i didn't have to record more of your meetings or dr reed no one can say you're not in the community and meeting with everyone but sometimes you need to let your staff and the process play out for example you ran the subsequent part of the community boundary meetings the qa part why not the staff or the consultants you hired why not just sit and listen sometimes it felt like you were agreeing to things on the spot therefore that's why some

[02:47:26] committee members are saying the loudest voices win five make the boundary review vote in 2032 and not in 2031. the reason for this reason is that's when the congressional magistrate district max maps are made from the federal data coming out in 2031 or 2032. uh the reason i would know this is because i was on the board of supervisors advisory committee on the creation of the current ministerial district maps six uh the board and the superintendent on 30 talked about

[02:47:50] This will be done in five years. Honestly, when I look and scan across this diocese, it's probably two, if the most of you will be here, only ones we recount on the clerk's office records. Thank you, Dr. Reeve, for putting me on the bracket, but specifically, do not consider me for follow-on groups on this topic in the future, but I'm better used on the public voice end.

[02:48:08] Jennifer Wolfe. Good afternoon. My name is Jen Wolfe. I am a resident of the Walney Oaks community with past and current involvement at Brookfield Elementary, Franklin Middle School, and Chantilly High School.

[02:48:28] I am here to speak in strong opposition to the proposed boundary changes, which once again ignore our community. Much of what needs to be said has already been said by my neighbors, but I want to reiterate one critical point. Why was the recommendation to return Walney Oaks from Franklin Middle School, currently at 96% capacity, back to Rocky Run Middle School at 75% capacity, closer to our homes, safer commute for our students, and reconnecting our children with their elementary feeder communities removed after the recommendations

[02:49:03] at that November meeting. That recommendation was supported by every boundary committee member present at that meeting. Its removal reflects a troubling lack of transparency, and that lack of transparency is a disservice to our children. We were later told that decisions affecting Walney Oaks are on hold and will be revisited during the Western High School boundary process starting in February. Western High School is 5 miles from our house, past our current high school, Chantilly High School. Yet one of this committee's stated goals was to eliminate attendance islands and

[02:49:38] split feeders, both of which describe Walney Oaks twice over. According to the report before you, however, our community must wait while the rest of the county receives resolution now. Because FCPS chose to purchase a school at the end of this process, we are being told our needs can no longer be properly addressed here. This is unacceptable. What happens when this process ends and the Western High School process ends and Walney Oaks is forgotten yet again? Do we wait another five years? After more than 20 years, waiting is not a solution. We urge you to fix this now. Fix the island,

[02:50:14] fix the feeders, and honor the commitments made to this community. Thank you for your time. Priya Swamy. Good afternoon. My name is Priya Swamy and I'm speaking on behalf of families in the Briarwood Farms neighborhood in the comprehensive boundary review executive summary the superintendent recommends that Briarwood Farms be flagged for a future boundary review in two years while not including this area in the recommendation for the current boundary review well this is a disappointing outcome for our community in the near term we appreciate that Briarwood Farms has been clearly identified and flagged

[02:50:53] for future consideration which we view as a positive and constructive step forward. FCPS has stated that the review of Briarwood Farms is being deferred for two years in order to gather enrollment data following the opening of the new Western High School and to better understand its impact on Oakton High School. At the same time, FCPS's projections show that Falls Church High School is already operating over capacity. From the community's perspective, it is unclear how Briarwood Farms was evaluated as a near-term option given the existing overcrowding at Falls Church High School and its approximately 25-minute travel distance from Briarwood Farms compared to Oakton High School, which is significantly closer,

[02:51:32] approximately five minutes, and not projected to be over capacity. As Briarwood Farms is now a flagged area, families are seeking greater transparency into how Oakton's capacity will be monitored after Western opens, how that information will be shared with the community, and what specific enrollment thresholds or planning criteria would indicate that Briarwood Farms could reasonably be assigned to Oakton High School.

[02:51:56] In that context, Briwood Farms families respectfully recommend that the superintendent's recommendation be amended so that the review occurs on a one-year time frame rather than two years and to provide earlier clarity and maintain continuity for students and families as enrollment data becomes available.

[02:52:13] Our focus is on proximity, safety, and long-term stability for our students, and clarity around these criteria will help families remain engaged, informed, and constructive partners as the process moves forward. Thank you for your time, and we look forward to working with Dr. Reed and her team.

[02:52:32] Charles Sexton.

[02:52:47] Good afternoon. I'm a father of three young children and a resident of Tyson's Green, a small neighborhood in Vienna on the border of Tyson's. Under scenario four, we are zoned for Westbriar, Kilmer, and Marshall, and I'm here to ask that Tyson's Green instead be zoned for Westbriar, Kilmer, and Madison.

[02:53:05] The proposed the proposed priority transfer to Madison already acknowledges what our neighborhood has been saying all along that our children belong to the Vienna community Tyson's Green is small and does not meaningfully affect high school capacity there is no reason for us to be carved out of Madison and in turn the Vienna community when we can easily fit in our children attend programs at the Vienna Community Center our parents belong to Vienna based groups and our kids play on Vienna youth sports teams these town based connections are far more central to our lives than elementary school boundary lines sending our kids to Marshall would split them from their core community and their closest friends

[02:53:44] when those bonds matter the most this modestly helps balance the Kilmer split feeder but the much larger and more disruptive split feeder not addressed in this plan is the Vienna community itself under scenario four Tyson's green becomes a tiny island separated from the rest of Vienna at the high school level especially with our wolf trap neighbors now being rezoned to Madison middle school is a short transitional period while high school is when identity and lifelong friendships take root if a split must exist it makes sense for more it makes much more sense for that to occur in middle school rather than at the high school level severing our ties with our

[02:54:20] community we are asking that Tyson's green be aligned with Madison so our children can remain with the community they already call home thank you stephanie burchard stephanie burchard stephanie burchard cassandra powers good afternoon my name is cassie powers i'm the parent of a first grader

[02:55:00] at pine spring elementary and a three-year-old and so we are new to this process i'm also here to support to voice my support of the original version of scenario four i'm part of the jefferson village in greenway downs neighborhood we are a very strong group when we first moved to the neighborhood we thought we were buying a starter home and we fell in love with our neighbors and the community and we're staying and we want for the four elementary schools that our neighborhoods currently belong to to become one we love pine spring elementary but we love the community more and we think that it's in the best interest of our neighbors and the community to all go to a single elementary school and then go right on up to the falls church pyramid so i'm here to support the

[02:55:38] original version of the scenario four to keep our community as one and to send us to gram road thank

[02:55:45] you katie kirsich katie kirsich katie kirsich robert sabinosh okay uh thank you all for listening

[02:56:23] to us today i know you all as a board go through a lot of hard changes and decisions to make so it's very refreshing to be on this side as well um the reason why we're here today is i'm part of the beachtree neighborhood my kids don't go to beachtree or glasgow yet but we have been excited as a family to get them into justice through the ib program uh if we if you guys make these changes we'll be put over to falls church where we won't have access to that or at least through uh transportation as well would not be included i love stuff like this anyway one of my favorite

[02:57:01] things about the ib program is it also allows people to go to school at the university level around the world one of the things i learned last year was meeting a gentleman in spain who was going to get his master's degree in electrical engineering for about five thousand dollars you're not going to get that in the united states that's what the ib program means to us as a family maybe my kids won't do it but i want them to have the opportunity the other thing that this proposed

[02:57:38] change does is it splits up a lot of our communities not just from going from different schools, but even all the way down to our neighborhood pool. I go to Shra. All the kids we know go to Shra. They're in drama. They're in band. They play sports together. If this proposal takes place, now we're going to have kids from Annandale and Falls Church and from Justice.

[02:58:04] It's going to be a little bit less of a community. It's going to be a lot more crazy competition, I think. We're also not looking at property values. We know where we live. There may not much difference going from one school that has a 77 percent graduation rate to another school that has a 77 percent graduation rate i don't see much at least that's according to niche.com correct me if i'm wrong but uh we're really looking at things from a community and that's what we'd like to keep so that's really that's really where i am so we'd like to see fairfax county i'd like to get back

[02:58:43] into fairfax county public schools so thank you guys very much chair anderson that was our last speaker thank you for sharing your comments today the board will hear additional overflow testimony on the proposed school boundaries at our public hearing on the capital improvement program and overflow school boundaries on january 13th 2026 and the board will take action on the superintendent's proposed school boundary adjustments at our regular meeting on thursday january 22nd 2026.

[02:59:15] if you wish to provide feedback to the board before this vote or to submit written copies of of your testimony provided today, please do so by sending your comments to communityparticipation at FCPS.edu. Thank you for your participation and have a nice day. The public hearing on the superintendent's proposed school boundary adjustments is adjourned as of 12:59 p.m.

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