Issues to Consider in Completing the APS Elementary School Planning Community Questionnaire

Arlington Public Schools (APS) is facing a serious shortage of classroom space (“seats”) for elementary school students, Kindergarten through 5^th Grade. Current projections estimate a dramatic increase of K 5 students, from 13,264 today to 15,701 (+18.4%) in 2023, and to 17,383 (+10.7%) in 2028. Arlington is currently undergoing a development boom, and most of this growth is projected to occur along the major transportation corridors, including Rosslyn Ballston, Columbia Pike, and Route 1, where APS does not currently have enough neighborhood seats. The Arlington County Board’s November 16 action to encourage construction of more affordable housing units by revising the county’s bonus density provisions will likely contribute further to the projected shortage in some areas.

To address this shortfall, Arlington Public Schools (APS) is proposing, among other strategies, to relocate Arlington Traditional School (ATS) to the McKinley School building in the fall of 2021 and redistribute current McKinley-zoned students to the former Reed School in Westover, which will reopen in 2021 as a 725-seat elementary school, and to other area schools such as Ashlawn.

Background

Forty percent of current McKinley students live within the walk zone for Reed. If McKinley remains a neighborhood school, its attendance zone would be modified to replace many of the students who move to Reed with kids from planning units to the southeast. This could result in the 283 homes in Dominion Hills Planning Unit 13040 being redistricted from Ashlawn to McKinley.

In recent years, APS’s track record in predicting school populations in our area has not been good and many doubt that accurate estimates can be made until the results of the 2020 United States Census are available.

• McKinley ES was expanded in 2017 to have a capacity of 688 students K-5^th Grade. The current population is 785 – 114% of capacity.
• Ashlawn ES was expanded in 2015 to have a capacity of 681 students K-5^th Grade. The current population is 708 – 104% of capacity.
• Glebe School, capacity 512 students, is currently at 110% of capacity with a population of 563.
• Meanwhile, the following schools in western North Arlington are currently under capacity, with a total of 189 unfilled seats:

• Tuckahoe, 507 (93%); Nottingham, 468 (91%); Discovery, 562 (89%); Jamestown, 565 (94%).

Following are some points to consider as you complete the APS questionnaire:

APS proposals fail to remedy overcapacity issues at the neighborhood schools in our area of the county.

• If McKinley closes as a neighborhood school, Ashlawn and Glebe will remain at or overcapacity. Given continued growth in this part of the county, it is likely these schools will be 100+ students over capacity in a few years.
• The purpose of opening Reed Elementary was to alleviate overcrowding at Ashlawn and McKinley. Under the APS proposals, Reed Elementary opens at capacity with no room for growth, and Ashlawn will be at or over capacity. Closing McKinley and moving the majority of its students to Reed simply moves one overcrowded school to another.

Cost of moving schools

• APS has not disclosed the costs associated with moving schools. In addition to the cost of simply moving equipment, APS will likely incur millions of dollars in construction costs to make the new buildings suitable for each school's particular educational model. Moreover, is it cost effective to move schools if future capital improvement projects will create seats in areas where there is a deficit?

If Arlington Traditional moves to McKinley, our neighborhood loses a walkable school and bus/car traffic will significantly increase

• McKinley is a walkable school. This past summer, with Federal grant money, Arlington County added crosswalks and upgraded the streets surrounding McKinley to enhance its walkability. If ATS moves to McKinley's building, ATS estimates it will need 15 to 17 buses. That is more than double the 7 buses currently serving McKinley. This volume of buses, plus the additional vehicles generated by the high percentage of ATS students who are driven to school by their families, will strain the McKinley Road and McKinley School infrastructure beyond capacity.

Potential Expansion of VPI and Preschool Program

• Keeping McKinley open as a neighborhood school may provide APS the opportunity to expand the Virginia Preschool Initiative ("VPI") program and the Community Peer Pre-K ("CPP") program.

APS should slow down the process and take a holistic approach to these boundary changes

• APS families deserve a comprehensive process to these boundary changes. Instead of rushing this process, APS needs to make sure student enrollment projects are as accurate as possible. APS has already admitted that it will have to amend boundaries again in a few years, and that does not serve our students well.
• The School Board should insist that the Elementary Boundary Process be postponed until accurate data becomes available from U.S. Census late in 2020.

Elementary Boundary Committee

DOMINION HILLS CIVIC ASSOCIATION