Dear Dranesville Families,
Happy New Year!
As we enter into our CIP planning and comment period for this school year, I wanted to summarize some of what I see happening for our Dranesville schools and give you a better sense of what the CIP is and what you can expect to see in that document. We have made some progress and have some more strategic work to do on our facilities planning. I want you to be aware of what is going on. In addition to the capital spending plan, this year’s CIP has new sections on Environmental Sustainability and Asset Management. You can access the proposed CIP document through the FCPS CIP webpage or go directly to the proposed CIP here (https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/Proposed-FY-2024-28-CIP_0.pdf) .
Your best opportunity for input on the capital planning for schools is happening next week with the public hearing on January 12. There will be a work session where the board will discuss the CIP on January 10. Also, feel free to reach out to my office with any comments or questions.
Elaine
CIP Public Hearing- January 12, 6pm
Sign up now!
You and/or your student may sign up to speak for 2 minutes either in-person at Luther Jackson Middle School or live virtually. The sign up list is now open, and you can access the sign up list here.
What is the role of the annual CIP plan?
The CIP 5-year enrollment projections are used for short term planning purposes. The numbers are used to determine the need for staff at each school and short term changes that need to occur to accommodate the number of students such as modifying an existing school building or adding a modular. Longer term plans are done in conjunction with staff in Fairfax County as part of the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan. This plan is the long term plan for development in the county. It is reviewed frequently to manage changes in the county and to make necessary revisions. Please note that spending on school maintenance and on trailers is not included in the CIP.
FCPS Capital Project Spending
The FCPS Operating Budget consists of multiple funds, including the Governmental Funds category. This category contains the Operating, Capital Projects and Special Revenue Funds. The FCPS Capital Projects Fund tracks financial transactions used for the acquisition, new construction, or renovation of school sites, buildings, and other major capital improvements. All construction projects are budgeted in the Construction Fund, a subset of the Capital Projects Fund, and are primarily funded from the sale of general obligation bonds by the county. Again, please note that spending on school maintenance and on trailers is not included in the CIP.
Our general obligation bond funding has historically had a $180M annual limit in spending. This bond funding is voted on by the community every 2 years on the odd years so we will vote on this again in 2023. Through work of our Board of Supervisors (BOS) and School Board Joint CIP Task Force, future bond limits will be increased to $205M in FY23 and FY24 and to $230M in FY25. Dranesville Supervisor John Foust was a member of that task force and advocated heavily for school construction and maintenance needs.
In general, capital spending priorities are determined by the current Renovation Queue (a list of schools) developed in 2009. The determination of the queue was based a 2008 study that developed and utilized the following evaluation criteria, weighted by importance:
- Quantity and quality of core instructional spaces ...................40%
- Age and condition of the facility...............................................30%
- Quantity and quality of supplemental instructional space .......10%
- Adequacy of administrative and support space.......................10%
- Code compliance of the facility ...............................................10%
Multiple teams of architects and engineers evaluated the 63 schools that were constructed or renovated prior to 1992. The scores were totaled from each consulting team, resulting in the ranked order of schools from highest to lowest need. We are nearing the end of that list.
I have advocated since 2020 for a new list to be created with newly established criteria. Work on the new renovation queue is underway. A consultant has been hired to evaluate the condition of each of our school buildings. Based upon this analysis and public input, new criteria will be determined for the renovation queue rankings, and a new list will be generated in 2023.
Good News
In Dranesville, several of our schools have recently been renovated: two of our high schools (Langley-2018 and Herndon-2021) and two of our elementary schools (Forestville ES-2018 and Clearview ES-2021). Cooper MS’s renovation is underway with completion in 2023. Dranesville ES and Herndon ES are entering into the renovation planning phase. Work will continue at those two elementary schools between now and 2026.
Concerns
McLean High School
McLean HS is in need of renovation. Below is a chart of FCPS high schools ranked by the date of previous renovation/building activity that shows where McLean sits. It is understood that the renovations of McLean HS and Woodson HS were done in phases resulting in the overall product being less comprehensive than other renovations done since. I am anxious to see where the new renovation queue, being developed over the next year, will show McLean HS ranked for high school renovations.
FCPS High School Renovation Information Sorted by Renovation Date
What is being done for McLean HS while we wait for a renovation?
The Office of Facilities Management is responsible for routine grounds and preventative and corrective building maintenance as well as infrastructure repair and replacement. All of this must take place over the lifespan of a building. The ongoing funding of this work comes from operational funds, not bonded capital money.
Work orders are generated regularly to the Office of Facilities Management and routine maintenance is done to ensure that McLean HS is maintained as best as possible given the aging infrastructure. Our custodial staff works very hard to keep the building clean and operating as efficiently as possible. In addition, there are several upgrades that have been done recently or that we can expect soon. For example, I have advocated for bathroom renovations since 2020 and we will be using some infrastructure funding from the State of VA to finally complete this in the summer of 2023. Here is a list of other items that have been done or are planned.
- 2012-2021
- Flooring replacement and improvements across the building- 2015-2018
- Gym and stadium maintenance and improvements- 2012, 2019, 2021
- Tennis Court refurbishment- 2021
- Auditorium improvements- 2016
- 2022
- Carpet replacement in Dept. of Student Services
- Main gym bleacher replacement
- Softball bleacher replacement
- Roof work summer 2022, December 2022 and early January 2023
- Pending- senior lounge flooring replacement
- Stormwater/drainage improvements
Upcoming work
- Summer 2023
- Building-wide bathroom renovations
- Tile flooring and carpet replacement on first floor
- Stadium bathrooms installed
- Upgrades to the Softball Field
What is being done to alleviate the overcrowding that McLean HS is experiencing?
Given the realities of the timing of FCPS renovations and construction, (5 to 7 years for a major renovation to be completed once a school has bond funding allocated), a Modular building was added to the McLean campus in 2021. This building is not permanent but is superior to having a set of trailers on site. The installed modular has 12 classrooms, bathrooms and a planning area for teachers. School capacity numbers are calculated with and without including the square footage of the modular buildings. By 2027, McLean HS is projected without modular capacity to be 121% and with the modular capacity to be 105%.
In addition, a boundary adjustment started in 2021 between McLean HS and Langley HS and Longfellow MS and Cooper MS with generous phasing (grandfathering). The population of McLean HS decreases by approximately 50 students per year due to the ongoing phasing of the boundary adjustment. The phasing will be complete in school year 2024-25.
Kent Gardens
Kent Gardens ES is overcrowded. What is being done to alleviate this problem?
Due to a very popular French Immersion program, the establishment of a Local Level 4 Advanced Academic program, and development in the surrounding neighborhoods, Kent Gardens is one of FCPS’s most overcrowded elementary schools. This overcrowding is straining the existing infrastructure and creating traffic issues.
Kent Gardens has been listed as a high priority school to monitor in the CIP since 2020. Facilities has been working with school staff to utilize space as efficiently as possible, a new duplex was added in summer 2022 and a quad of classrooms was added. In addition, the immersion program’s (which is open to out of boundary students) incoming first grade class was decreased for school year 2022-23 to 25% from 40% students out of boundary. This 25% is continuing for the 2023-24 school year .
Facilities and Instructional Services staff have been meeting regularly since winter 2021 to analyze and discuss data and long-term and short-term options for Kent Gardens. In October 2022, a public information session was held, and Kent Gardens ES parents/caregivers’ input and ideas were gathered. This Information is housed on the Kent Gardens ES Capacity Challenges webpage. In addition, Facilities staff is analyzing short term improvements that can be done for the aging trailers at Kent Gardens and the over-utilized common spaces.
It is my intention to have the next CIP modified to identify Kent Gardens as a school requiring staff to do a full scoping of alternatives to alleviate overcrowding at the school. This means a full analysis of student membership changes that are projected to occur with program changes or boundary adjustments. Staff will come forward to the community with this analysis and recommendations in 2023 taking into account the public input we have already gotten. Community input will be sought on these options before a final decision is made. The Comprehensive Planning and Development Committee and the Facilities Planning Advisory Council will also analyze the options presented.
Tysons Area Development Concerns
Due to development in the Tysons area, there are potential capacity impacts to the Langley, McLean, Marshall, and Madison high school pyramids. Analysis of this development and its impacts can be extrapolated to other areas of significant development in the county such as the Rt. 28 Corridor and the Route 1 Corridor. The analysis of proffer numbers or the student yield numbers the developers use to predict the number of students a particular development may produce project higher enrollment numbers than we see in the CIP. For the purposes of the CIP, a number of factors such as historical and current kindergarten membership, migration in and out of Fairfax County schools for special programs, movement between schools for special programs, and overall Fairfax County population trends are also considered.
FCPS staff has made some suggestions to update the Student Yield formula that will more accurately determine student yields from development across the county. I have been part of a team of school board members asking for this. At this point, these suggestions have been reviewed by county staff and comments are being discussed with the Comprehensive Planning and Development Committee.
Summary
In summary, the CIP is a document filled with data and information regarding our county wide view of capital spending for the near term, primarily the next 5 years. Given our fiscal constraints, our renovation queue, and our overall maintenance spending is extended beyond what is ideal, and our facilities staff is working to reimagine an approach to alleviate some of the most acute issues in the county.
Please tune in to our work session on the CIP January 10, 2023 scheduled at 12:30pm or watch the recording. Regular Meetings and Work Sessions are live-streamed on the FCPS website and televised on FCPS Cable Channel 99. Recordings of Regular Meetings and Work Sessions Meetings are available here after the meeting. Please do reach out with any questions or comments you may have.
Budget Public Hearing- January 23, 6pm
Sign up opens January 9 at 6am!
You and/or your student may sign up to speak for 2 minutes either in-person at Luther Jackson Middle School or live virtually. The sign up list will open on January 9, and you can access the sign up list here.
Upcoming School Board Meetings
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January 10 at 12:30pm - Work Session: CIP, OAG Annual Report
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January 12 at 6pm - Capital Improvement Program Public Hearing
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January 12 at 7pm - Regular Meeting
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January 17 at 11am - Work Session
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January 23 at 6pm - Fiscal Year 24 Budget Public Hearing
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January 24 at 5:00 p.m. - Work Session: FY2024 Budget (Budget Public Hearing if needed)
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January 26 at 7:00 p.m. - Regular Meeting
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January 31 at 1:00 p.m. - Work Session: SY2023-24 Calendar
Please note, times and topics are subject to change.
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The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
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