On July 5, the McLean Citizens Association (MCA) Board approved release of a letter to the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Board about their plans to address Kent Gardens Elementary School overcrowding with a Boundary change. Kent Gardens is currently more than 20% over capacity. The FCPS Board will be holding a vote on the scope of this Boundary change on July 13. The letter referenced recent polling from Kent Gardens Elementary School parents that the boundary change should focus on schools within the same grouping of elementary schools that feed up to McLean High School. MCA independent analysis, which is consistent with FCPS own capacity projections, shows that these elementary schools (including Haycock, Franklin Sherman, and Chesterbrook Elementary Schools) have sufficient capacity to absorb Kent Gardens’ excess capacity.
Additionally, and consistent with recent polling of Kent Gardens parents, MCA recommended that the boundary change be grandfathered to limit disruption to families wanting continuity for children currently enrolled at Kent Gardens. Those families preferring to send their children to their new in-boundary Elementary School before the end of grandfathering should be offered that option. Finally, MCA recommended FCPS include the review of Middle School impact in the scope of any boundary change study and plan.