Media Releases

Media Releases

Relevant media releases will be posted as soon as possible. The MOST RECENT media releases are posted on the Home Page.

July 17, 2009 Fairfax Connection entitled, "School Board Targets 23 Schools for Over-Enrollment":

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=330902&paper=63&cat=104

July 21, 2009 Fairfax Times, "Southwestern Schools Face Challenges"

http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/cms/archivestory.php?id=236400

Home of the Clifton Cardinals

September 4, 2009 Connection, "Big RED Machine Aims to Save School"http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=332292&paper=81&cat=104

The following article was sent to the Clifton Clatter on November 30th for release to the Clifton Community:

Clifton Community Fights to Save Its School

The effort to save Clifton Elementary School is continuing in earnest. Clifton Elementary School PTA President, Patti Hopkins, along with the PTA Board, selected area residents, Ina Patton and Charlie Rau, to represent the Clifton Community on the Southwestern Regional Planning Study Committee. This committee was developed by the Fairfax County School Board to increase community participation in the development of options to relieve forecasted overcrowding in several schools and to address concerns about the costs and feasibility to renovate our school.

The Committee selected Kelly Hutter of Greenbriar East and Andrew Flagel of Bonnie Brae Elementary Schools as co-chairs at its first meeting held on Thursday, October 29, at Liberty Middle School. The 40+ members of the Committee will be responsible for incorporating input and ideas about the Clifton Elementary renovation and projected overcrowding from members of their communities into a document to be presented to the School Board in the first quarter of 2010. This document will provide the School Board with a set of community-based solutions to the issues raised in the draft Feasibility Studies completed by FCPS staff in July.

The School Board is not obligated to incorporate any of the input in the Committee's document when it takes action on the issues raised in the draft Feasibility Studies. However, the guidelines for the community engagement process state that, “The committee can recommend changes to the draft Feasibility Studies prepared by staff based upon findings during this process. These studies should ultimately reflect the input of both staff and the committee.”

The Committee met for a second time on November 5, at Fairfax High School. Clifton ES representative, Charlie Rau, was given five minutes to address the Committee. Mr. Rau presented a brief overview of the issues from the perspective of a Clifton resident and parent. He highlighted the fact that closing Clifton Elementary would effectively quadruple the overcrowding problem detailed in the draft Feasibility Studies. He also indicated that renovation costs for Clifton Elementary could very well be substantially less than the draft feasibility studies indicate, and that, when schools in neighboring Loudoun and Prince William counties are taken into consideration, Clifton Elementary is far from the only public school in the area using well water.

The Committee established six subcommittees, which will study: data/cost effectiveness; schools/scope/boundaries; Clifton Elementary; expansion/renovation of existing schools; programs/centers; and Liberty/other potential new school sites. Charlie Rau will serve on the Clifton Elementary subcommittee and Ina Patton will serve on the Liberty/other site subcommittee. These subcommittees will work over the next few weeks before the full the Southwestern Regional Planning Study Committee meets again on Thursday, December 3, at 7pm in the Liberty Middle School cafeteria.

Meetings of the Community Engagement Committee for the Southwestern Regional Planning Process are open to the public, although no public comments are scheduled to be taken at this time. Community members who wish to submit comments and ideas about the issues are encouraged to contact their community's representatives directly.

Clifton RED will be hosting a community meeting on December 14, 2009 at 7pm in the Clifton Town Hall. Charlie Rau and Ina Patton will be there in person to listen to your concerns and hear your suggestions. They will also discuss, in concept, which renovation design plans the Clifton Community may be willing to agree to compromise on, in order to reduce the projected cost of the school renovation project and potentially save our school.

Clifton RED is the Clifton area's campaign to address the two draft Feasibility Studies conducted by Fairfax County Public Schools staff in July 2009. The studies raise concerns about whether Clifton Elementary School can be renovated and how to relieve forecasted over-crowding in the southwestern portion of the county. In addition to highlighting potential obstacles to renovation, the studies discuss the option of closing Clifton Elementary and relocating its students to a new 900+ student school to be built on land adjacent to Liberty Middle School, at a proposed cost of $26.8 million. Clifton RED is working to provide cost-effective solutions for the renovation of Clifton Elementary and forecasted overcrowding which would enable students to continue to attend their community-based schools.

December 10, 2009 Centre View Newspaper, "Parents Examine Boundaries http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=335854&paper=62&cat=104

December 18, 2009 Fairfax Station/Clifton Connection, "Clifton Community Says Renovation Do-able"

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=336043&paper=81&cat=104

June 8, 2010 Washington Examiner, "Fairfax parents, officials clash over fate of Clifton Elementary"

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Fairfax-parents_-officials-clash-over-fate-of-Clifton-Elementary-95820029.html

June 15, 2010 Fairfax Times, "Future of Clifton Elementary is in the balance" http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/cms/story.php?id=1655

June 15, 2010 WTOP.com " Community fights closure of Clifton Elementary"

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=600&sid=1980486

June 16, 2010 Washington Examiner, " School Board members tour Clifton Elementary, proposed new school site"

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/blogs/capital-land/school-board-members-tour-clifton-elementary-proposed-new-school-site-96492939.html

June 17, 2010 Connection Newspaper, "School Board Considers closing Clifton Elementary"

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=341664&paper=62&cat=104