Beech Tree families oppose split feeder plan

The latest change proposed by Fairfax County Public Schools for the Comprehensive School Boundary Review calls for Beech Tree Elementary School to become a split feeder.

Beech Tree families only learned about that recently, which they say hasn’t given them enough time to respond. The school board is scheduled to vote on the boundary study on Jan. 22.

A double split feeder

The revised plan calls for a portion of Beech Tree students to go to Poe Middle School and then to Falls Church High School, while others would continue on their current path, to Glasgow Middle School and Justice High School.

Students at Poe would then be split, with some going to Annandale High School and others to Falls Church. These changes would make Beech Tree a “double split feeder,” said Beech Tree PTA President Michelle Sinclair.  

Throughout the past months of meetings and scenario developments, “we were mildly following along because Beech Tree had never been included,” Sinclair said. The split feeder proposal wasn’t included in Scenario 4, the latest iteration of the boundary proposal, presented in October. It also wasn’t included in the online boundary mapping tool until Jan. 7.

Related story: Additional school boundary changes proposed

“One of the main purposes of the boundary study is to eliminate split feeders; now they’re creating a new one,” she said. “If this were to go through, our next step is to fight it tooth and nail.”

When FCPS scheduled an information meeting on Dec. 20 about additional revisions to Scenario 4, Sinclair and other Beech Tree families didn’t go because “it was Beech Tree’s International Night, which was a big deal.” In fact, Beech Tree wasn’t discussed during the FCPS presentation at that meeting.

After Beech Tree families learned about the split feeder plan in mid-December, they were asked to submit feedback by Dec. 26, when schools were on break. Since then, “we’ve been struggling to understand what’s going on,” Sinclair said.

Beech Tree parents eventually learned that the split feeder was added to the plan because Scenario 4 wouldn’t reduce overcrowding at Glasgow enough.

At a hastily called school board hearing on Jan. 10 on the boundary study, Beech Tree parents and students showed up in force, many holding signs saying “stop the split.” Although the hearing drew families from throughout the county, “We were the loudest,” Sinclair said.

Policy violation

The last-minute change to create a split feeder at Beech Tree violates FCPS policy and the Virginia Code, both of which set requirements for notification and community engagement, said Sonali Khadilkar, a parent and attorney.  

As a result, the revised Scenario 4 cannot be considered in the school board vote on new boundaries on Jan 22, she said.

In a letter Khadilkar sent to all school board members, she reminded them that, “Virginia Code Section 22.1-79 provides that public comment shall be obtained no less than seven days after reasonable notice to the public prior to redistricting.”

Related story: Reid presents boundary proposal to school board

“FCPS policy 8130 goes into further detail,” she wrote, “stating that community engagement shall occur before the review begins and at the completion of the review. This communication shall include, at a minimum, in-person and virtual meetings in each region and via electronic communications with the community.”

The FCPS policy also requires public engagement in each affected school pyramid before changes and after changes are proposed. FCPS didn’t hold a meeting for the Justice pyramid.

“Parents have been excluded from any serious participation or notice about actions and decisions affecting their children,” Khadilkar said.

She wants the school board to adopt the original Scenario 4 or pause the whole boundary study.

Transportation challenges

The boundary study allows students to request a transfer, which would permit them to remain at their current school, but FCPS won’t provide transportation.

Khadilkar says if her 10th-grade daughter wants to stay at Justice, rather than go to Falls Church, it will be a struggle to provide transportation.

Related story: Transportation is a big issue for school boundary plan

“We don’t have a third car. We work full-time. It’s an equity issue,” she said. Her daughter might have a driver’s license by next year, but even if she has the use of a car, student parking is extremely limited at Justice, and priority is given to seniors.

In addition, FCPS prohibits students who transfer high schools from playing sports for a year. That policy was implemented following a football recruiting scandal. That means Khadilkar’s daughter might not be able to stay on the Justice basketball and softball teams, which could affect college admissions and scholarships.

Curriculum disruptions

Justice has an International Baccalaureate program, while Falls Church has a less rigorous Advanced Placement program.

If the revised Scenario 4 takes effect, Stephanie Friel will have to figure out the school situation for her kids – a junior in the IB program at Justice and an eighth-grader at Glasgow. She would like her 10th grader to stay at Justice, but figuring out the transportation will be challenging.

Friel took a deep dive into the school capacity data and found that some of the overcrowding at Glasgow will be relieved by the new AAP Center approved for Poe, so creating a split feeder at Beech Tree isn’t necessary.

When Friel heard on Dec. 5 that there would be a meeting on Dec. 10 at Annandale High School on the revised Scenario 4, “I checked the boundary tool three times, and Beech Tree wasn’t affected, so I went to a concert at Justice.”

She didn’t find out until Dec. 12 that Beech Tree would become a split feeder, and even then, the boundary maps weren’t updated. “A lot of people didn’t realize this was happening until last week.”