The following letter to the editor was submitted by 26 Arlington residents, regarding the Arlington Public Schools proposed Capital Improvement Plan.
With an exploding school population leading to hundreds of Arlington students spending their school days in trailers, Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy’s proposed solution falls far short of meeting the needs. The Superintendent’s Proposed Capital Improvement Plan (“CIP”) only funds 53% of the needed seats district-wide. Our school system is facing a 4,600 total seat deficit but the Superintendent’s Proposal is for only 2,445 additional seats.
Perhaps the worst looming problem is at the high school level. Arlington will soon be short 2,775 high school seats, but the CIP would fund just 43% — fewer than half! — of the needed seats. That shortfall would be more than enough to fill an entire high school but the Superintendent does not plan to build one.
Instead, Superintendent Murphy wants to use incremental measures such as “internal modifications” to existing buildings, which would leave 1,575 Arlington students without a seat in high school. He would address that huge shortfall by having students attend school in shifts, partnerships with local colleges, and even more trailers. Cost estimates or details have not been provided for these stop-gap measures.
As parents of APS students, we are seriously concerned about Superintendent Murphy’s plan and its inadequate approach to Arlington’s demonstrated school enrollment boom. We don’t want our children to attend high school in shifts or be off-loaded to local colleges because of poor capacity planning. We don’t want our children spending their school days in villages of trailers. We don’t understand why Arlington’s many community centers sit under-utilized while our children sit in trailers.
We believe Arlington can do better for its students, and we call on the School Board, APS Superintendent Dr. Murphy and the Arlington County Board (which controls the overall size of the school CIP) to work together now to create real seats in real school buildings for Arlington’s students.
Bob Adamson, Arlington
Katie Adamson, Arlington
Rasha AlMahroos, Arlington
Jon Berroya, Arlington
Meghan Berroya, Arlington
Sarah Botha, Arlington
Stephanie Carpenter, Arlington
Christopher Carpenter, Arlington
Lee Davis, Arlington
Ben Eggert, Arlington
Kelly Fado, Arlington
Robin Frank, Arlington
Yahya Fouz, Arlington
Brian F. Keane, Arlington
Kate S. Keane, Arlington
Mary Kusler, Arlington
Kim Lipsky, Arlington
Michelle McCready, Arlington
Tamara McFarren, Arlington
Geoffrey Megargee, Arlington
Peter O’Such, Arlington
Valerie O’Such, Arlington
Wendy Pizer, Arlington
Stacy Rosenthal, Arlington
Jesse Rosenthal, Arlington
Laura Simpson, Arlington
ARLnow.com occasionally publishes thoughtful letters to the editor about issues of local interest. To submit a letter to the editor, please email it to [email protected]. Letters may be edited for content and brevity.