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The Critical Need to Build Up McLean High School

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Not More or Better Space, but the Same Quality Space as Other High Schools

* McLean High School requires an addition to ensure an adequate amount of permanent, protected, quality learning space for its current and future students.

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* Among the 25 high schools in FCPS, McLean HS is currently third worst in square footage with 127 sq. ft. per student – district wide median space per high school student is 166 sq. ft.  (1).

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* In two years with a projected 2,500 students, McLean HS will be number one as the worst in square footage per student, the most crowded at 27 percent over its 1,993 student capacity and tops in trailers classes among FCPS high schools (1, 2).

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Overcrowding Puts the Safety and Security of Students and Staff at Risk

* McLean HS overcrowding is not about students being inconvenienced or uncomfortable – it’s about keeping more than 2,300 students safe and secure in a 1950s era school designed for 1,993.

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* The safety and security of students and staff is compromised by crowded classrooms, congested halls, clogged doorways and the potential inability to safely get students into or out of the main building during an emergency.

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* To handle the student overload, the school has 18 trailer classes and the count climbs annually.

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* More than 540 students -- 20 percent of the entire student body -- travel outside at least 50 yards to attend classes in trailers beyond the safety and security of the main building.

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Tysons/Fairfax County Economic Engine Driving McLean HS Overcrowding

* The tremendous growth and building boom at Tysons has meant jobs, strong economic development and a more robust tax base (3).

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*Tysons growth has caused a spillover effect at McLean HS -- the jobs are attracting families who are flooding into McLean HS and its feeder schools for an excellent education.

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* Families have come to the right place for an education, but it comes at a steep price – critical overcrowding at McLean HS and no plan to add permanent, protected, quality learning space.

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Boundary Adjustment No Quick Fix … Overcapacity Festered for Years

* While a boundary adjustment may be a necessary step, it will not be enough to completely solve overcrowding and get students out of trailer classes and into a safe and secure building.

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* In 2016-2017 when McLean HS was at 2,046 students, and roughly 50 students over capacity, there were 10 trailer classes on campus (4,5).  The count today is 2,350 students and 18 trailer classes.

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* Similar growth rates and overcrowding have prompted the school board to approve additions at high schools that were not part of the renovation cycle (6).

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* The “One Fairfax” policy is meant for all schools and neighborhoods to be treated fairly – McLean HS should be treated no differently when it comes to providing permanent, protected, quality learning space (7).

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SOURCES: 1. https://mcspaces1955.wixsite.com/mclean/overcrowding-table; 2. CIP 20-24 https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/facilities-planning-future/capital-improvement-program; 3. Tysons 2019 Annual Report p. 50 https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/tysons/ 4. FCPS Monthly Membership Resports 5.  https://fairfaxcountygis.maps.arcgis.com/ 6. FCPS 2019 Bond Issue https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/facilities-planning-future/2019-school-bond-referendum  7. https://www.fcps.edu/onefairfax/

 

Summary prepared by McLean High Students, Parents and Community Expect Sensible School Size (McSPaCES)