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Dear Franconia Residents/Estimados Residentes de Franconia,
I hope that you all are gearing up for a relaxing holiday weekend!
I’d like to thank those of you who reached out to me about the FCPS Boundary Policy 8130 that you may have read about in another board member’s newsletter. I want to clarify the process we've been engaged in and clear up potential confusion.
The School Board engages in regular cyclical reviews of all its policies. For some time, the Governance Committee has been reviewing and updating Policy 8130 to address a range of community concerns including instructional program locations, overcrowding, temporary classrooms (trailers), and transportation.
The FCPS School Board sets policy and the Superintendent and her team implement it. When the Board or one of its committees reviews a policy, that signals the starting place to begin a rigorous process to achieve a desired goal. The policy review is not the endpoint.
I value your input. The following outlines how the process works and how you can participate when any policy is taken up for consideration – including Policy 8130.
What’s Happened So Far?
The current Board has taken over where the previous Board review left off to address critical community concerns, and the Governance Committee began reviewing Policy 8130. You can find historical and current boundary information and work on BoardDocs and learn more about this policy review.
It is important to note that it has been close to forty years since FCPS took a comprehensive look at boundaries. Since then, our county has grown, programming requirements have changed, and population shifts have occurred.
The Fairfax County School Board’s Governance Committee is still in the review stage of Policy 8130.
What’s Next?
Once the Governance Committee's review is complete, it will send its proposed draft to the full Board. The Board will hold a meeting called a Work Session where the full Board discusses the proposed policy changes. Like Regular School Board meetings, School Board Work Sessions are open to the public and available via the FCPS live stream and on the School Board Meeting YouTube channel.
During a Work Session, the Board determines the policy's next steps. If the Board decides to move the proposed policy changes forward, the updated policy will then be brought for a vote at a Regular School Board meeting.
If the policy passes with a majority of votes at a Regular School Board meeting, the Board hands the baton to the Superintendent, who will use the updated policy to review and propose any future changes to school boundaries. As part of this work, robust public engagement will occur.
The Superintendent will then return to the Board with her recommendations.
As someone whose entire career has focused on engaging families and communities in FCPS, I value hearing everyone’s voice.
Scheduled Governance Committee Meeting
The Governance Committee is scheduled to continue work on Policy 8130 at their June 18, 2024 Committee Meeting. The meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. and is open to the public at the Gatehouse Administration Center, 8115 Gatehouse Road, Falls Church, VA.
I look forward to continued dialogue with you as we move through this critical strategic process to ensure equitable access to programming, reduce student transportation times, promote facility and transportation efficiency, and provide capacity relief.
Kind Regards/Bondadosamente,
Marcia St. John-Cunning
Franconia District School Board Member
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.
© Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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