[During the February 7 School Board Public Hearings on the Southwestern Boundary Studiens Fairfax Education Coalition Member Kim Farrell delivered the following statement. G. Brandon, Web Editor]
Fairfax County is considering its most sweeping redistricting plan in several years as it seeks to balance booming enrollment at many elementary schools and the expected closure of one, Clifton Elementary.
The Southwestern Boundary Study, which the school board authorized in September, contemplates four approaches to rebalancing populations within a school district that is growing swiftly but unevenly, with the heaviest growth along the Route 29 corridor through the heart of the county.
By now, it's common knowledge that the School Board voted to close Clifton Elementary School after the 2010-11 school year. The reason given by various board members was to save money by not spending the budgeted $11 million on renovating Clifton and instead allocating the money more prudently to other communities and schools with greater needs. Unfortunately, there is no place for these 400 students to go. Neighboring schools can't accommodate this many students, so the plan now is to pay nearly $15 million to renovate neighboring schools so they have somewhere to go. Huh.
