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Stick a fork in Liz [Bradsher], her political career is done.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Denton56
They also get re-elected, regardless of what they do.
Not sure I can reconcile these two observations, unless you meant she can get re-elected to the School Board, but should put aside her aspirations for higher office.
I can see there were arguments for closing the school, but I don't personally think it was right to announce that the school would be closed, but not be specific as to when the school would be shut down or where the students would be reassigned. No one likes that degree of uncertainty, and it can't be good for the area. If FCPS needs to conduct a larger boundary study in that area, the decision could have been announced when the new boundaries were established. Sure, it will make it easier to conduct the study in some respects if Clifton ES is already out of the picture, but to me the convenience to FCPS Staff is more than outweighed by the prolonged anxiety the decision will create.
Facilities Work Session July 13, 2009 Transportation
The present location of Clifton Elementary School presents only limited concerns from a transportation perspective, since there is limited space for loading/unloading of buses and no provision for overnight bus parking. In addition, the steep hill used to enter the school can present issues in inclement weather. These concerns are limited provided that enrollment remains relatively flat.
Should the population increase and additional buses be needed to support the school, transportation concerns will increase due to the limited space available onsite. Further, if the attendance area is enlarged to support a larger school facility at the present site, then the need for students to traverse the narrow roads near the school would create new issues for families not familiar with the Clifton area. While families living in Clifton expect to traverse those roads, families being bused from other communities may not be familiar with the roads.
[NOTE: Fairfax County parents and taxpayers - you are TOO STUPID to learn how to drive on new roads per your Big Brother, the Fairfax County School Board
At this time, no students walk to Clifton Elementary School due to safety concerns. There is a lack of safe paths or sidewalks to the school.
[NOTE: There isn't a lack of safe paths or sidewalks - there aren't ANY AT ALL - SO? Kids have been bused to this and other schools for decades. It's a problem why? And, yes, School Board, you are welcome, since the 'no sidewalks' is a part of residential conservation zoning, protecting the entire County's drinking water in the Occoquan Reservoir Watershed] Renovation and the Educational Specifications
When FTS begins the planning of a renovation, there are a few key factors which dictate the amount of space to be added in order to fulfill the requirements of the educational specifications.
The primary consideration is determining the number of core classrooms needed to accommodate current or future enrollments. In the case of Clifton, the five year projection is nearly 400 students, which would necessitate two additional classrooms.
[NOTE: JUST TO BE CLEAR - read the above statement again. July 2009 FCPS document]
http://www.fcps.edu/news/documents/Finalstaffreport.pdf
FINAL STAFF REPORT
May 3, 2010
The latest projections by the Facilities Planning Services Office reflect the historic trend and show a continuing, slow decrease in enrollment to a projected total of 298 at Clifton Elementary School by September 2015 (school year 2015-16).
[NOTE: A scant NINE MONTHS later, an Amber alert - Clifton has LOST OVER 100 STUDENTS!!! A 25% decline in projected enrollment! A statistical impossibility...unless you are a corrupt group bent on getting your way - then you can make the numbers anything you want and ignore all best management practices, all alternatives, even offers of federal aid - 'it costs too much to take federal aid' - swear, they said that!!!]
WE NEED AN INVESTIGATION OF THE FAIRFAX COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD - NOW - BEFORE THEY DO MORE HARM TO OUR COUNTY!
Facilities Work Session July 13, 2009 Transportation
The present location of Clifton Elementary School presents only limited concerns from a transportation perspective, since there is limited space for loading/unloading of buses and no provision for overnight bus parking. In addition, the steep hill used to enter the school can present issues in inclement weather. These concerns are limited provided that enrollment remains relatively flat.
Should the population increase and additional buses be needed to support the school, transportation concerns will increase due to the limited space available onsite. Further, if the attendance area is enlarged to support a larger school facility at the present site, then the need for students to traverse the narrow roads near the school would create new issues for families not familiar with the Clifton area. While families living in Clifton expect to traverse those roads, families being bused from other communities may not be familiar with the roads.
[NOTE: Fairfax County parents and taxpayers - you are TOO STUPID to learn how to drive on new roads per your Big Brother, the Fairfax County School Board
At this time, no students walk to Clifton Elementary School due to safety concerns. There is a lack of safe paths or sidewalks to the school.
[NOTE: There isn't a lack of safe paths or sidewalks - there aren't ANY AT ALL - SO? Kids have been bused to this and other schools for decades. It's a problem why? And, yes, School Board, you are welcome, since the 'no sidewalks' is a part of residential conservation zoning, protecting the entire County's drinking water in the Occoquan Reservoir Watershed] Renovation and the Educational Specifications
When FTS begins the planning of a renovation, there are a few key factors which dictate the amount of space to be added in order to fulfill the requirements of the educational specifications.
The primary consideration is determining the number of core classrooms needed to accommodate current or future enrollments. In the case of Clifton, the five year projection is nearly 400 students, which would necessitate two additional classrooms.
[NOTE: JUST TO BE CLEAR - read the above statement again. July 2009 FCPS document]
http://www.fcps.edu/news/documents/Finalstaffreport.pdf
FINAL STAFF REPORT
May 3, 2010
The latest projections by the Facilities Planning Services Office reflect the historic trend and show a continuing, slow decrease in enrollment to a projected total of 298 at Clifton Elementary School by September 2015 (school year 2015-16).
[NOTE: A scant NINE MONTHS later, an Amber alert - Clifton has LOST OVER 100 STUDENTS!!! A 25% decline in projected enrollment! A statistical impossibility...unless you are a corrupt group bent on getting your way - then you can make the numbers anything you want and ignore all best management practices, all alternatives, even offers of federal aid - 'it costs too much to take federal aid' - swear, they said that!!!]
WE NEED AN INVESTIGATION OF THE FAIRFAX COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD - NOW - BEFORE THEY DO MORE HARM TO OUR COUNTY!
That's quite a rant, IMHO. I'm more moved by these testimonials than what you posted:
Can someone explain the actual reason they don't want the school closed for those of us not as close to the issue? Something like "it's so darn convenient to have it nearby" or "I don't like those other schools" or "the kids will be forced to go to some other high school" or "it'll lower my property values". If I'm the school board tell me why you want to keep it open.
It's hard to read more than a dozen of these statements and not think FCPS ought to reconsider.
JEB77:
Excuse the rant = not.
Injustice pisses me off.
Nine people who chuck $30k at a race to earn $20k and control nearly $3.5 billion in Country appropriated funds and federal subsidies just mowed over the will of a huge segment of Fairfax County, shuttered a school to solve an overcrowding problem and have done a huge shell game to support their claims that water is bad (not), enrollment is declining (not) and that it costs less to build a brand new school than renovate a school with 98%+ enrollment (again, process began because they cried ^OVERCROWDING^.
Fraud, waste, abuse, malfeasance, neligence, dereliction of duty, self-aggrandizement - seven deadly sins of an elected official. And the FCPS School Board = the Dirty baker's half-dozen = has committed them all.
If a rant, then it's much-needed. Want to join the team?
Dr. James Raney, School Board Member At Large, asked that exact question during the meeting on July 8, 2010 after he voted for an amendment to postpone closure to allow the School Board time to a) evaluate water reports released after the meeting began (nice integrity, Ch.of Ops, Dean Tistadt), b) the disproven enrollment projections (see their own projections, which changed nearly 25% downward in under 9 months once they figured out what result they wanted), c) investigate offer by state & federal historic preservation societies to help with the renovation and their support to save the school and more...
The esteemed (NOT) Chairman Kathy Smith's oh-so-professional response to her colleague?
"It's on the internet."
Would be funny if it weren't true.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) facilities staff members recommended that Clifton Elementary be closed, rather than renovated, due to a number of reasons, including:
The unique topographical challenges of the Clifton Elementary School site will result in higher than normal renovation costs.
Enrollment is projected to decline from the current 369 students to a projected 298 students in 2015.
Due to the higher than normal construction costs, and the low student enrollment, the cost per student to renovate the school will be much greater than other recent renovations, estimated at a cost per student of $35,287 (versus a current renovation at a similar sized school of a cost per student of approximately $24,740).
Closing Clifton Elementary means that funds identified in the Capital Improvement Program for its renovation can be reassigned by the School Board to other capital projects such as renovations and capacity enhancements (new schools, building additions, and modulars).
Oh sorry, I shouldn't have said ''unknown reasons", I should have said ''totally made up reasons".
Dr. James Raney, School Board Member At Large, asked that exact question during the meeting on July 8, 2010 after he voted for an amendment to postpone closure to allow the School Board time to a) evaluate water reports released after the meeting began (nice integrity, Ch.of Ops, Dean Tistadt), b) the disproven enrollment projections (see their own projections, which changed nearly 25% downward in under 9 months once they figured out what result they wanted), c) investigate offer by state & federal historic preservation societies to help with the renovation and their support to save the school and more...
The esteemed (NOT) Chairman Kathy Smith's oh-so-professional response to her colleague?
"It's on the internet."
Would be funny if it weren't true.
LOL, gotta love 'em! They just make up their own ''facts'' as they go along to support whatever goofball thing they want to do this month. Kathy Smith is hilarious, when she isn't crying during SB meetings. If our school board was a sitcom it would not be believable!
Excuse the rant = not.
Injustice pisses me off.
Nine people who chuck $30k at a race to earn $20k and control nearly $3.5 billion in Country appropriated funds and federal subsidies just mowed over the will of a huge segment of Fairfax County, shuttered a school to solve an overcrowding problem and have done a huge shell game to support their claims that water is bad (not), enrollment is declining (not) and that it costs less to build a brand new school than renovate a school with 98%+ enrollment (again, process began because they cried ^OVERCROWDING^.
Fraud, waste, abuse, malfeasance, neligence, dereliction of duty, self-aggrandizement - seven deadly sins of an elected official. And the FCPS School Board = the Dirty baker's half-dozen = has committed them all.
If a rant, then it's much-needed. Want to join the team?
You are incorrect on only one point, many school board members spend far more than $30,000 on their elections. During the last race, in 2007, Mr. Moon took in over $100,000 for his election. Tessie Wilson spent $55,000, over $33,000 of that was her own money. Rather amazing for a job that pays $20,000 a year.
Can someone explain the actual reason they don't want the school closed for those of us not as close to the issue? Something like "it's so darn convenient to have it nearby" or "I don't like those other schools" or "the kids will be forced to go to some other high school" or "it'll lower my property values". If I'm the school board tell me why you want to keep it open.
Why NOT keep it open?! why build a new school when they have a school that everyone likes, right in their own neighborhood? You've stated many of the reasons why people want their neighborhood school to remain open.
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They made up their numbers - and here's proof.
