Some Fairfax County families are worried that the long-promised new high school in the western part of the district could become a magnet school instead of a traditional, community-based campus.
Almost 300 people signed a petition urging Superintendent Michelle Reid and other county leaders to make it a regular public high school as it prepares to welcome students. A decision on what type of programming the school will offer hasn鈥檛 been made yet, but school board documents suggest the school could begin to welcome 9th and 10th grade students next fall.
The community fears come just over a month after the school division finalized the sale of the former King Abdullah Academy in Herndon. The district bought the private school and all of its furniture and technology for $150 million. County leaders said hundreds of millions were saved by not having to build the campus from scratch.
The almost 33-acre site has libraries, study rooms, multi-purpose halls, basketball courts and soccer fields. At a work session last month, the school board contemplated different ideas for what type of school it may become.
鈥淗aving a magnet school there, when we have a magnet school already, is not necessarily a step in the wrong direction, but I do think it鈥檚 a side step,鈥� parent Kerin Hamel said. 鈥淭he best move forward is making it a public school, to ease the overcrowding.鈥�
Students who attend nearby Carson Middle School then go on to several different high schools, separating them from friends, parent Steve Pierce said. Using a magnet model for the new school may not address overcrowding, he said, and 鈥渋f they care about equity, there is nothing that creates more winners and losers than a highly selective magnet program where only the best and the smartest and brightest get in.鈥�
At an , board members discussed several models, including a traditional school, traditional with academies, a school within a school, a magnet school and a campus with a traditional framework organized in a unique way.
According to school board documents, the school could have an official name by December, and program selection could come in November. The campus could open to some students by the fall, and its first graduating class could finish by June 2029.
鈥淲e are talking about literally $150 million taxpayer dollars here, and wanting to make sure that money is used in a way that actually benefits kids and communities,鈥� Pierce said.
Asked about the community concerns, a school system spokesman said there鈥檚 not a push for a specific type of school or program at the current stage of the process, and 鈥渕ultiple options will be carefully considered as we weigh up the best use of this exciting new space for our students.鈥�
Hamel, who has a child in elementary school and another in middle school, said a new magnet school could be a significant addition in the future, but the traditional public school is necessary 鈥渂ecause that鈥檚 really, again, what鈥檚 been promised.鈥�
鈥淚 understand that a traditional public school is not necessarily going to solve all of those issues overnight,鈥� Hamel said. 鈥淏ut I think a lot of people, if you have school-aged kids, and you鈥檝e been thinking about high school or they鈥檙e already in high school, you already know the situation is pretty dire. We鈥檝e got schools that are at capacity or going to be at capacity really, really soon if drastic measures aren鈥檛 taken.鈥�
Pierce, meanwhile, said several school board members and someone on the superintendent鈥檚 staff acknowledged the petition and its message. He鈥檚 hoping school leaders are transparent about the next steps in the process.
鈥淢y hope and my belief is that if they hear us, they will listen to us and they鈥檒l do the right thing,鈥� he said.
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