Dear Chairwoman Raphael and Members of the School Board:
We, the undersigned, are Arlington taxpayers - some with children in schools and some without. We have different opinions among us about where schools should be sited and which programs should be located on those sites.
We do appreciate the urgency of creating seats and the difficulty of making major capital decisions based on long lead times. Nonetheless, we have concerns about the Arlington Public Schools Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) process.
Our major concerns with the APS CIP process are as follows:
1) The rollout of the current options has taken place in the past three weeks—after the bulk of the public meetings on the APS CIP were held. Now we have between May 8th and School Board adoption on June 17th to publicly vet those options. In our view, a single dedicated public hearing last week is insufficient;
2) Neighborhood associations were not included in the conversation about the new options;
3) There are many unanswered questions about the various site proposals. This lack of transparency includes detailed cost estimates, transportation management plans and the overall impact to the community; and
4) If these options are not able to move forward, there is little understanding of the alternatives.
We need to have an expeditious process which includes timely and clear communications, that engages all impacted communities and that is transparent. We want and hope to be a constructive part of this strategic process, appreciating the common-sense milestones and decision points that need to be set.
We want to work with you as we move forward on a timeline that creates the needed seats, while also bearing in mind good governance expectations and future educational needs.
We ask that the School Board work together with the County Board and the community to develop a fiscally responsible solution that serves all of Arlington for decades to come.
Thank you.
Cc: Chairman Jay Fisette, Arlington County Board
Updates
June 5, 2014
Reaching this point has been a long and draining road but seeing the momentum grow confirms that our demand for transparency is shared by so many. It is exhausting to keep pushing against a process that refuses to listen yet we are not stopping now.
Reached 100 supporters
June 5, 2014
6 Comments
This whole timeline is way too rushed. Parents are finding out about these major changes via email chains instead of real meetings. Slow it down.
WHAT ABOUT THE TRAFFIC? My street is already a nightmare during drop off and pickup. Adding more capacity here will just ruin the neighborhood quality of life.
Nice letter Kathleen. I want to make sure that South & Central Arlington's interests are better represented in this whole process.
Very good letter. I would like to know more about what these plans will do to insure that there is sufficient green space for our children to play. When I say "play", I mean outside of PE and school sports, and outside of those on permitted fields at practices restricted to team members.
I like the letter but I would also like to know the cost of transportation for the site options in addition to "detailed cost estimates, transportation management plans". Arlington is small enough that "impacted communities" really refers to the entire county not just the neighborhoods adjacent to a site.
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Dear Chairwoman Raphael and Members of the School Board:
We, the undersigned, are Arlington taxpayers - some with children in schools and some without. We have different opinions among us about where schools should be sited and which programs should be located on those sites.
We do appreciate the urgency of creating seats and the difficulty of making major capital decisions based on long lead times. Nonetheless, we have concerns about the Arlington Public Schools Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) process.
Our major concerns with the APS CIP process are as follows:
1) The rollout of the current options has taken place in the past three weeks—after the bulk of the public meetings on the APS CIP were held. Now we have between May 8th and School Board adoption on June 17th to publicly vet those options. In our view, a single dedicated public hearing last week is insufficient;
2) Neighborhood associations were not included in the conversation about the new options;
3) There are many unanswered questions about the various site proposals. This lack of transparency includes detailed cost estimates, transportation management plans and the overall impact to the community; and
4) If these options are not able to move forward, there is little understanding of the alternatives.
We need to have an expeditious process which includes timely and clear communications, that engages all impacted communities and that is transparent. We want and hope to be a constructive part of this strategic process, appreciating the common-sense milestones and decision points that need to be set.
We want to work with you as we move forward on a timeline that creates the needed seats, while also bearing in mind good governance expectations and future educational needs.
We ask that the School Board work together with the County Board and the community to develop a fiscally responsible solution that serves all of Arlington for decades to come.
Thank you.
Cc: Chairman Jay Fisette, Arlington County Board
Updates
June 5, 2014
Reaching this point has been a long and draining road but seeing the momentum grow confirms that our demand for transparency is shared by so many. It is exhausting to keep pushing against a process that refuses to listen yet we are not stopping now.
Reached 100 supporters
June 5, 2014
6 Comments
Glad someone is finally calling them out on the lack of transparency. The decision making feels very closed door right now.
This whole timeline is way too rushed. Parents are finding out about these major changes via email chains instead of real meetings. Slow it down.
WHAT ABOUT THE TRAFFIC? My street is already a nightmare during drop off and pickup. Adding more capacity here will just ruin the neighborhood quality of life.
Nice letter Kathleen. I want to make sure that South & Central Arlington's interests are better represented in this whole process.
Very good letter. I would like to know more about what these plans will do to insure that there is sufficient green space for our children to play. When I say "play", I mean outside of PE and school sports, and outside of those on permitted fields at practices restricted to team members.
I like the letter but I would also like to know the cost of transportation for the site options in addition to "detailed cost estimates, transportation management plans". Arlington is small enough that "impacted communities" really refers to the entire county not just the neighborhoods adjacent to a site.
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Glad someone is finally calling them out on the lack of transparency. The decision making feels very closed door right now.