On June 24, the GFCA submitted a second letter to the Fairfax County School Board requesting a pause in their action to allow for community engagement and information sharing concerning School Boundary Adjustment Policy 8130 under review.  The Board has not paused the action thus far and a draft policy was approved by the School Board’s Governance Committee and discussed during the full Board’s Work session on Tuesday, June 25.

At that meeting, several Fairfax County School Board members emphasized the need for more robust community engagement throughout the review of the boundary adjustment process.  School Board members also discussed the need to revise school boundaries and governance policies to address overcrowding, balancing enrollment, optimizing budget allocation, and ensuring equitable access to educational programs and resources.  Additionally, they considered proposed revisions to school board policies on student assignment, middle school education, school construction, and the need for a comprehensive review of school boundaries every five years to reflect demographic changes.  Finally, members highlighted the importance of equitable access to education programs, efficient resource allocation, and modernization of schools in Fairfax County.

School Board members were tasked to submit any proposed substantive changes to the boundary policy via the Board's "Next Steps" process.  Only one member, Dr. Ricardy Anderson (Mason District), submitted changes but those changes were subsequently removed by her.  The suggestions she previously submitted were:

• enrollment/capacity should be added as a driver and considered first; to revise criteria for family involvement to include “caregivers”;
• phasing should be “attrition” for Middle schools and High schools and phasing for elementary schools should be limited to K through 3; and, finally,
•  that including language that delegation of implementation by the Superintendent is redundant.   

Because the foregoing suggestions were removed by Representative Anderson, and due to the fact that there were no other “Next Steps” submitted, the July 1 Governance Committee Meeting was cancelled.

The latest version of the draft policy will be noticed as New Business and attached to the July 11, 2024 Regular Meeting agenda of the School Board.  Formal School Board Action on this policy amendment is scheduled for July 18, 2024. 

During the June GFCA Executive Board Meeting its Special Committee on Schools (SCS) was re-activated.  The committee will be co-chaired by Ed Phillips and Jennifer Falcone.  They may be reached at schools@GFCA.org.    

In related action, following the June 11 GFCA Membership meeting, local residents formed a Facebook group FairFacts Matters to coordinate community efforts regarding school policy changes.  FairFACTS Matters is seeking community support and currently has a coordinated effort underway.  To learn what they are doing to protect our children and communities consider visiting https://www.fairfactsmatters.org/to stay connected with news as this matter progresses!  Like the GFCA’s efforts on several initiatives, they recognize this is a county-wide concern and have initiated a petition.  Read their information flyer here.

GFCA is continuing its efforts to share information and maintain liaison with this group of concerned residents through its Special Committee on Schools (SCS).  Committee meetings will be announced on the GFCA Event Calendar on the GFCA Homepage www.gfca.org.Read the GFCA letter here.