FCPS Central HQ
FCPS Central HQ Lobby
FCPS Computerized Parking Lot
A picture really is worth a thousand words isn’t it?
This is the Fairfax County Public Schools headquarters, known as “Gatehouse,” located in Falls Church.
It’s a pretty large building which makes it hard to believe claims that central HQ staff is “lean.” If it were so lean, why the need for so much administrative office space?
Notice the beautiful granite lobby flooring.
Notice the computerized parking garage system that tells visitors how many spots are available on each floor.
FCPS Central HQ Cafeteria
FCPS headquarters also contain a fitness center and on-site credit union. Check out the beautiful cafeteria – which seems rather unnecessary considering that at least six restaurants and a grocery store are within a three-block walking distance from this building.
FCPS Student Trailers
FCPS Student Trailer
Now juxtepose FCPS administrators’ plush work space with our student’s 21st century classroom – double-wide trailers with no indoor plumbing and usually lacking air conditioning.
As of today – Friday, October, 28th, we are 10 days away from electing a new school board. Sitting school board members who are seeking re-election are telling voters not to look to the past. Why? Well, the pictures displayed here demonstrate incumbents have focused our valuable tax dollars on themselves before students!
While our kids sit in trailers, these long-time incumbents were voting themselves beautiful plush administrative offices. And they didn’t do it just once, they did it twice. In 2008, several of these sitting incumbents – particularly Jane Strauss, Kathy Smith and Dan Storck – voted to spend up to $130 million on a second plush administrative building. (FCPS School Board Minutes 9/18/08 & 10/2/08)
Thankfully, that debacle – known as Gatehouse II – was voted down by a very prudent Board of Supervisors.
I’m not buying this eleventh-hour, canned campaign rhetoric that 18-year incumbent Jane Strauss and 12-year incumbent Ilyrong Moon are throwing out about 21st century classrooms. We’ve been in the 21st century for a decade now. They have both been in office for almost two decades each! Why weren’t they preparing us for the 21st century during the 20th century?
It’s time to get this school district’s priorities right again. We can’t do that if Jane Strauss, Ilyrong Moon and Kathy Smith are re-elected.
If these incumbents really cared about all students, they would have lowered class size years ago and made administrators work out of trailers instead of our kids and teachers.
On Tuesday, November 8th, say NO to expensive new administrative buildings.
Say NO to incumbents Jane Strauss, Ilyrong Moon, Kathy Smith and Dan Storck.
Say YES to NEW School Board members who will use tax dollars efficiently and put kids and teachers first!
The decision is in your hands voters.
McLean Connection Class Size Article
Related articles
- The Benefits (& Drawbacks) of FCPS School Board Incumbency (redapplemom.wordpress.com)
- Louise Epstein Responds To Janie Strauss’ Comments in Washington Post (redapplemom.wordpress.com)
- Look Who Teachers Did NOT Endorse for School Board (redapplemom.wordpress.com)
- Janie Strauss & Ilyrong Moon Point Fingers on Failure of Parental Notification (redapplemom.wordpress.com)
- CBS News Runs Story on Jane Strauss’ Plagiarism (redapplemom.wordpress.com)
- FAIRGRADE Emails Prove Strauss Is Misleading Voters (redapplemom.wordpress.com)
- Louise Epstein WON the Debate Big, Big, Big! (redapplemom.wordpress.com)
Red Apple Mom 
So here’s a question: Does the money for all these fancy buildings and features come from school bonds, school operations, or some other source? If the first (school bonds), is there a particular school bind that funded all this luxury, or were the voters kept in the dark somehow?
Comment by isophorone — November 2, 2011 @ 9:42 pm
…meanwhile my first grade is sitting on the floor to learn because chairs and desks/tables are considered a “limited resource.”
Comment by jodidelgado — January 25, 2012 @ 7:59 pm