Metro West development at Vienna Metro (Oakton, Fairfax: high school, move, transportation)

[FC Merrifield]

Originally Posted by JEB77

I don't know why there's a Woodson island in the middle of the Robinson district. I just know that, when people asked about it during the Southwestern Boundary study a few years ago (which accompanied the closing of Clifton ES), FCPS suggested it might revisit the island later.

The section of Vienna assigned to McLean used to go to Langley. FCPS Staff proposed in the mid-80s to move that area, which includes Shouse Village, to Marshall. The residents weren't happy and persuaded the School Board to send them to McLean instead. I read the minutes of the School Board meeting a few years ago and it was an ugly discussion. The McLean boundary looks even stranger now because FCPS later approved an administrative boundary change when a new apartment complex was being built in Tysons to pull that area out of the McLean district and send it to Marshall, which was under-enrolled at the time.

MetroWest is so close to Oakton HS that I'd be really surprised if FCPS changed its mind and sent the kids there to Falls Church, although stranger things have happened. The easiest way for FCPS to increase the enrollment there, if they decided it was necessary, would either be to send the half of Timber Lane that now goes to McLean to Falls Church or to move some kids from the Mantua/Truro area there from Woodson. Either would be very controversial, though, because Timber Lane accounts for most of the diversity at McLean, and Mantua parents know how to throw their weight around and would put up a big fight. The latest projections that I've seen indicate that FCPS expects Falls Church to be at 96% capacity in four years, so it seems most likely that they will just wait for the enrollment to grow.

That's some interesting history there. Thanks. But regarding that section of Vienna assigned to McLean, why was it ever assigned to Langley in the first place? That makes even less sense than assigning it to McLean.

As for Falls Church, you're right, there's no way the Timber Lane section would be sent to Falls Church if they fought so hard against being sent to Marshall. And yes, geographically Metro West is so close to Oakton that it makes little sense to send to send them anywhere else - which is why it wouldn't surprise me if they did. I mean, the Langley district stretches Arlington County to Loudoun County. The kids that live near the western edge of the district are driving all the way across the county when Herndon HS is right next to them.

Even if Falls Church will be near capacity in the future, I wonder if FCPS would change the border anyway because it wants to "even out" the test scores in that area, similar to what happened at South Lakes HS. Also, the fact that a charter school might be built right next to Falls Church HS could mean that FCPS would want to make Falls Church more "attractive." Taking a chunk of the Oakton/Madison/Marshall population would help achieve this goal.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by FC Merrifield

That's some interesting history there. Thanks. But regarding that section of Vienna assigned to McLean, why was it ever assigned to Langley in the first place? That makes even less sense than assigning it to McLean.

As for Falls Church, you're right, there's no way the Timber Lane section would be sent to Falls Church if they fought so hard against being sent to Marshall. And yes, geographically Metro West is so close to Oakton that it makes little sense to send to send them anywhere else - which is why it wouldn't surprise me if they did. I mean, the Langley district stretches Arlington County to Loudoun County. The kids that live near the western edge of the district are driving all the way across the county when Herndon HS is right next to them.

Even if Falls Church will be near capacity in the future, I wonder if FCPS would change the border anyway because it wants to "even out" the test scores in that area, similar to what happened at South Lakes HS. Also, the fact that a charter school might be built right next to Falls Church HS could mean that FCPS would want to make Falls Church more "attractive." Taking a chunk of the Oakton/Madison/Marshall population would help achieve this goal.

Boundaries have moved around a lot, so it's hard to know why a neighborhood like Shouse Village was ever assigned to Langley. There are still some areas further west south of Route 7 with Vienna addresses assigned to Langley. Here are the School Board minutes from the mid-80s reflecting the reassignment of Shouse Village from Langley to McLean, despite the Staff's recommendation to reassign the neighborhood to Marshall:

http://commweb.fcps.edu/schoolboarda.../19840412r.pdf

The areas assigned to Marshall have changed a lot since the mid-1980s, so I don't think there'd be the same amount of angst now if a similar proposal were ever on the table.

As to comparing the situations at South Lakes and Falls Church, the reality - as best I can assess it - is that there really isn't much consistency in terms of what FCPS does with boundaries. The South Lakes boundaries got changed in 2008 because a group of parents in Reston convinced the School Board representative from Hunter Mill - Stu Gibson - to take up their cause (which was to add more students from affluent homes to South Lakes). He did so, arguing at the time that South Lakes students were being disadvantaged because the school's enrollment was declining and students wouldn't have the same opportunities that were available to students at larger schools. The irony is that the School Board may have gone overboard; by some measures, South Lakes is now one of the most over-crowded high schools in the county. Arguably, had the School Board done nothing, the enrollment at South Lakes still would have increased in a few years as some of the older homeowners in Reston sold their homes to younger families. No one from the School Board has ever taken up Falls Church's "cause" with quite the same fervor. Tina Hone, who used to be one of the at-large members of the School Board, used to muse about redistricting Mantua ES from Woodson to Falls Church, but that never went anywhere.

If FCPS were physically able to uproot one of Madison, Oakton, Fairfax or Woodson and move the school further west, the boundaries would be easier to manage. The fact that these schools are so close to one another, while there's been so much population growth further west, has made it hard for the county to come up with boundaries that don't entail long commutes for some students at those schools. In Oakton's case, the school itself - which is close to MetroWest - lies almost at the eastern end of the attendance area. That's another reason why I think it's hard to see how FCPS could reassign Oakton students to Falls Church, which is even further east. The real wild card will be how much additional housing gets built around Tysons in the coming years, and how that might affect some of the current boundaries. FCPS used to assume that developers could build apartments and that not many students would live in such housing (as opposed to SFHs), but I think the number of families with kids living in apartments may be turning out to be greater than FCPS had projected in the past. In the Tysons area, for example, there are a lot of kids attending Longfellow MS and McLean HS who live in complexes like The Rotonda. The City of Falls Church has encountered the same issue (i.e., FCC under-estimated the number of school-age children moving into new condos on Broad Street).

[Benny Lava]

Is it standard to get a copy of the punch list at the time of the pre-closing orientation? I'm not talking about the final walkthrough right before closing, but the one that happens a week or so before.

[Zack]

Originally Posted by dealhunter999

Last weekend, we saw Saratoga (TH condo) model in Ashburn. We loved the open floor layout, which is on par with Stuart. HOA fee is very reasonable.

The only thing I dislike is that there are about 34 steps from garage to living room.

I'm also curious as to why one would choose a TH condo over a townhome or vice-versa? I see staying in this place for next 5-10 years and then hopefully rent it.

Thanks!

What are the HOAs running for the condos.

[elephantlaotie]

Originally Posted by Benny Lava

Is it standard to get a copy of the punch list at the time of the pre-closing orientation? I'm not talking about the final walkthrough right before closing, but the one that happens a week or so before.

Yes.

[Newbee_0711]

Originally Posted by Zack

What are the HOAs running for the condos.

I think it's around 400-450 a month.

[lysol]

How does everyone like this community so far? The wife and I will be moving to the western side of DC and for some reason, this community keeps coming back up. We will be planning a visit soon. This thread has slowed down lately though.

We are stuck between either the Blake or Stuart townhouse.

[lysol]

We will probably go with the blake to stay more conservative with our budget. We just called and my wife will be visiting the complex in the next 2 weeks. Spoke with Rob.

Does anyone have the Blake with the rec room and 1-car garage instead of the 2-car garage?

[Newbee_0711]

Originally Posted by lysol

We will probably go with the blake to stay more conservative with our budget. We just called and my wife will be visiting the complex in the next 2 weeks. Spoke with Rob.

Does anyone have the Blake with the rec room and 1-car garage instead of the 2-car garage?

If you are choosing between Blake and Stuart, go with Stuart. 4th floor gets really hot and 1st floor is really cold. However, if you choose to go with Blake, opt for 2 car garage instead of a rec room. Parking for 2nd car can become painful.

[lysol]

Thank you for your response. That is the feel we are getting about parking. We might end up going with the Stuart. The Tyler is out of our price range but the Stuart's floor plan seems lest narrow so that would be a plus. Are the HOA fees pretty much the same? I was told the HOA for the Blake is around $140/mo.

Has anyone had experience going through the VA LOAN route with this place?