2025 Great Falls Holiday Ornament 

Now on Sale

For the fourth year in a row, the Great Falls Citizens Association has partnered with the Arts of Great Falls to sell a holiday ornament, celebrating a local landmark. The ornament features Forestville School, known today as the Old Schoolhouse, located on Georgetown Pike next to the Great Falls Grange in the village.  An original watercolor by local artist Colleen Regan, it is a great stocking stuffer and is now on sale at Great Dogs of Great Falls for $20 each. (cash or Check only to GFCA)  Proceeds from the sales will go towards the installation of wayside signs and historic markers for the Grange and Old Schoolhouse.

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History of Forestville School

A legacy of Community Collaboration

The Forestville School house has been an iconic community landmark since it opened in 1889. For more than a century it has served the local citizens in many different capacities and its lasting legacy is a testament to community collaboration.

It was originally constructed as a one room schoolhouse to serve an agrarian crossroads village.  There was only one teacher to teach grades one through seven. A second room and teacher were added in 1912.  In addition to serving as a schoolhouse, it was also used extensively for community meetings, a polling place for elections, and at times, a court room.

When a new school was built in 1922, the former schoolhouse was converted into a private residence.  It was later purchased by the Great Falls Grange and once again became a place for community meetings and a lending library.  Later one room was used as the Great Falls post office and the other as a bank.

When the post office moved out in 1981 the property was offered for sale. The Great Falls Citizens Association asked the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to purchase the property to save the schoolhouse from demolition.  The Supervisors agreed to buy it if the community would raise part of the funds.

Great Falls Heritage Inc. was formed to do the fund raising.  After much effort on the part of many volunteers, a substantial contribution was made to the Supervisors and they purchased the property for the Fairfax County Park Authority.  The volunteers than went back to work to raise money for necessary renovations to the building.  And once again the schoolhouse became a site for community meetings.  © Karen Washburn 2024

School Boundaries – Safe for Now

Langley Community HS Pyramid

Safe for now: It is highly unlikely that any students will be rezoned out of the Langley Community High School (LHS) pyramid in this cycle of Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) Comprehensive School Boundary Review for implementation in School Year 2026-2027.

Next Cycle: In five years, the outcome could be different. At the FCPS hosted Community Engagement Meeting on October 15, at Langley HS, Superintendent, Dr. Michele Reid, indicated that there is a real possibility of making adjustments to the Langley pyramid in the next cycle. She noted that many homes are closer to other High Schools.

Summary of Comprehensive School Boundary Review Community Meeting, October 15, 2025, at Langley High School:

• Refining Boundary Change Scenarios: The FCPS Comprehensive School Boundary Review, which started in the summer of 2024, is now in its final few months. FCPS are in the process of refining the final boundary change scenarios.
• Scenario #4: There are NO families or students being rezoned out of the LHS pyramid in any of the current FCPS Boundary Change Scenarios including the Scenario #4, released Monday, October 13, 2025. Under Scenario #4, LHS is still projected to be at 102 percent capacity.

• Scenario #5 highly unlikely to affect LHS: There will likely be a Boundary Change Scenario #5 in November/December 2025 that will include a proposal to utilize the newly acquired western High School in Herndon (former King Abdula Academy property). The school boundary pyramids are likely to be affected are Centerville HS, Chantilly HS, and Westfields HS.

Remaining Boundary Review Steps: There will be two more Superintendent Boundary Review Advisory Committee meetings in November. We have two parents from the LHS pyramid who are volunteer members of committee along with a few FairFACTS Matters members ensuring community equities are considered.  The Superintendent finalizes boundary change proposal (Scenario #5 or some variant of it) and presents it to the School Board in December. There will be School Board meetings and vote in January / February 2026 to implement this cycle’s boundary change for School Year 2026-2027. More details at FCPS Comprehensive School Boundary Review.

The next Special Committee on Schools will be November 6 or November 10. The purpose is to prepare for any surprises in the final steps of this cycle and begin to strategize approaches for engage FCPS before the next Boundary review in five years. Contact Schools@gfca.org to participate.

Update to 1990 Countywide Comprehensive Plan-

Long-range planning in Fairfax County is guided by the Comprehensive Plan. The first Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan was adopted in the mid-1950s and updated regularly through an amendment process. It is required by state law to be used as a guide in decision-making for the built and natural environment by the Board of Supervisors, the Planning Commission, the public, and staff. The Plan is a living document that responds to the climate of the times.

This strategic update, called Plan Forward, will help the county address emerging trends while ensuring planning remains consistent with Fairfax County’s broader vision. It reflects the county’s commitment to thoughtful, forward-looking planning and to effectively serving its diverse community. To learn more about Plan Forward visit: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-development/sites/planning-development/files/Assets/Documents/compplanamend/policy-plan-update/2022-CW-2CP-Staff-Report.pdf

Over the past three decades, Fairfax County has experienced transformation driven by rapid population growth and changing demographics, and a shift from greenfield development toward more complex infill and redevelopment. Once largely suburban in character, the county has embraced a more focused urban development pattern. The county’s priorities have evolved by adopting initiatives such as the One Fairfax Policy and the Countywide Strategic Plan, which reflect a broader commitment to equity, sustainability, and long-term resilience. Additionally, changing land use trends warrant a forward-looking approach to provide additional flexibility to adjust to evolving market conditions.

GFCA recently sent a letter to the Fairfax County Planning Commission and Supervisor Bierman addressing the important issues that impact our community from the Plan Forward document including maintaining low density zoning, tree canopy, dark skies, traffic limits and impacts and the protection of historic and scenic Georgetown Pike, just to mention a few.  See letter below.

The public hearing before the Board of Supervisors on Plan Forward is scheduled for November 18 at 4:30 in the Government Center: Questions and comments can be submitted by email or directed to Connie Bebek at (703) 324-1237.

Supervisor Bierman Town Hall @the Grange

November 13

“The free exchange of ideas is absolutely critical to a functioning democracy and community

— so let’s talk!”

Supervisor Bierman will be hosting a Town Hall on November 13 at the Great Falls Grange. The town hall will run from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Supervisor Bierman will be taking questions at the town hall, or you can submit questions or topics that you would like covered by emailing them in advance to DranesvilleBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov with the subject line “Town Hall Question.” 

New Unified Sanitation Districts 

Transforming Residential Waste Collection

Update:

The Board of Supervisors has postponed the public hearing on the Unified Sanitation District (residential trash and recycling collection) indefinitely.

The Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) has been conducting a marketing campaign about Unified Sanitation Districts. They have published a website covering frequently asked questions that seems to be regularly updated with new information. 

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/recycling-trash/unified-sanitation-districts 

Matt Adams, lead on the project, spoke again about the program on the EnviroPod podcast. He noted that working out all of the details of the Unified Sanitation Districts (including the district boundaries, services, and contract models) will likely take the full 5-year period. They are deferring some of the detailed analysis until the county decides to move forward with this model, which is planned to be voted on by the Board of Supervisors, after the October 14 public hearing. 

The public hearing will be at the Fairfax Government Center Board Auditorium, located at 12000 Government Center Parkway on Tuesday, October 14.  Instructions on ways to provide testimony in person, in writing, by phone or by video is available at: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/clerkservices/ways-provide-public-hearing-testimony

DPWES is also encouraging anyone with comments to submit input to USDfeedback@publicinput.com. The website states that DPWES will review the input and share all feedback with the Board of Supervisors prior to the October public hearing. 

The Department of Public Works and Environmental Services hosted a virtual town hall on May 27 to discuss the proposed Unified Sanitation Districts (USD) with the Dranesville District. View the recording here.

2025 Annual Report

Per the GFCA bylaws, the 2025 annual report summary and budget overview is now available:   (click here to access the report)  It was a dynamic and robust year with special attention to the Leigh Mill Road Bridge gas spill and clean up, the Walker Road bridge construction closures and the Potomac Interceptor wastewater pipe break mitigation efforts at Manhole 31. The GFCA welcomed many new members to the board with significant experience with community issues and continued an ongoing and productive engagement with Supervisor Bierman and VDOT on many issues including the recent limit on truck size to forty feet in length on Leigh Mill Road.  GFCA’s Special Committee on Schools continued close collaboration with the Fairfacts Matters Foundation’s mission on the school boundary redistricting initiative currently ongoing by the Fairfax County School Board. The GFCA also expanded communication outlets with our membership and community in an effort to reach a larger audience and share the issues that impact our residents.