Thursday, May 07, 2009

Residents join officials to discuss overcrowding at Belvoir Elementary

Residents of Woodlawn Village met with officials from Fort Belvoir and Fairfax County Public Schools Tuesday night to hash out concerns of overcrowding at Fort Belvoir Elementary School. At the meeting’s conclusion, both sides agreed that there’s no easy decision in sight between now and next fall. 

A recent boundary study conducted by FCPS determined that FBES is over its enrollment capacity by more than 200 students. Currently at 1,480 students, projections show an increase to nearly 1,700 children by 2013.

In that same study, Woodlawn Elementary School was found to have a capacity of fewer than 200 students - raising the possibility of relocating children from Woodlawn Village to the elementary school a mile away. Projections also show the school increasing at a significantly slower rate than Belvoir.

According to Denise James, director of Facilities Planning Services for FCPS, on-post housing improvements, which have increased the number of bedrooms in many units to three, four and, in some cases, five, have attracted many more families to the installation. She cites this as one reason for overcrowding at FBES.

James said Woodlawn Village was considered for relocation due to its proximity to Woodlawn ES, which is the only school in the study with the capacity to receive students over the next several years.

One advantage the area has over others studied is that it allows students to walk to school, James said. She added there are safe walkways and a crossing guard to help students cross Pole Road. Installation officials are also examining the possibility of opening a back gate to the housing area.

However, those points did not sit favorably among residents attending. Many from Woodlawn cited concerns from pedestrian access to school safety and transportation. Sarah Lake questioned why the concept of children walking to school was being forced onto parents.

“My son is not walking to school. There’s no way I would allow that to happen,” Lake said. “There’s a concern over gangs and it’s not a safe area. I also want more information about this pedestrian gate they want opened up. Right now, I don’t see how making our children walk one mile to school is such a great idea.”

Of everything mentioned, no issue appeared greater than that of academics. Residents hammered away at statistics that show Woodlawn ES as having poor test scores - a complete contrast to FBES which is one of Fairfax County’s more academically successful schools.

Adding to that, many residents asked about school transitioning programs, special education classes and other school resources available or not available at Woodlawn ES.

From her perspective, Rebecca Spatter, who moved to Woodlawn Village in January, said she would consider moving if her kids have to relocate from FBES to Woodlawn ES.

“It all comes down to a community issue and our preference is to be in a military community. That’s why we decided to live here, as opposed to living somewhere else,” Spatter said. “We
want that kind of environment for our children. Surrounding schools are inferior to Belvoir. As parents, we’re upset that this is being pushed on us.”

When questions arose about an additional elementary school being built on post, Bill Parsons, the installation’s director of Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation, stated the Army does not fund schools and that a project would have to be negotiated with Fairfax County.

He said previous elementary schools at the Barden Education Center and the Markham School Age Services building have been turned over to the DoD. Installation services in those buildings would then have to be displaced to once again become elementary schools.

Installation Commander Col. Jerry Blixt said land near FBES has been set aside for a new school, but that the project is years away. For now, both Fairfax County and Fort Belvoir officials reiterated that any decision on where to place students would strictly be on an interim basis. 

“We’re all aware of the issues. I’m not fond of the idea of children walking, either,” Blixt said. “We care about our children and we care where they get an education. This is not an easy decision, but nothing is being done in haste.”

If approved by the Fairfax County School Board, a change would go into effect for the 2009-2010 school year for kindergarten through 5th-grade students. 6th-grade students would have the option of remaining at FBES for their last year and that transportation would be provided for these students, James said.

The school board will conduct a public hearing on the proposal June 3 at Jackson Middle School. Anyone interested in speaking must first sign up through http://www.fcps.edu.
For additional information, email boundaries@ fcps.edu. The board will vote on the proposed boundary change June 25.