Class Sizes in Fox Mill Elementary School
The following information may be of interest to anyone who is concerned about the enrollment and the class sizes at our school. If you have any thoughts on this information, you may want to provide them to our elected representatives.
Enrolment
Enrolment at Fox Mill has increased from 619 students at the beginning of the 2003-04 school year to 750 students at the beginning of the current school year. That is a 19.5% increase in 2 years. The figures are:
Student enrolment at Fox Mill Elementary School, 2003-05
Month/Year..............Number enrolled.............Source Link
Sept. 2003.......................619........................FCPS Web site
Sept. 2004.......................672........................FCPS Web Site
Sept. 2005.......................750........................Principal Sheehy
Class Size
In October 2003, Fox Mill had an identical average class size as the county average – 21.8 students. Since then, our average class size has increased to 24, which is 10.1% in 2 years. By contrast, the county average declined in 2004 to 21.4, and 2005 data does not appear to be available yet. The figures are:
Average class sizes at Fox Mill Elementary School compared to Fairfax County, VA, 2003-05
Date................Fox Mill........County Average.......Source
Oct. 31, 2003......21.8..............21.8...................FCPS Web site
Oct. 29. 2004......22.4..............21.4...................FCPS Web Site
Sept. 2005..........24.0............unavailable...........Principal Sheehy
Taxes
While our enrollment and class sizes are increasing, tax assessments are also increasing. On September 13, 2005, The Washington Post reported that real estate assessments in Fairfax County are up 85% since 2000, and that the county had a $46.6 million surplus in its 2005 fiscal year. In our neighborhood we're guessing that assessments are up more like 100 to 125%.
If we're paying twice as much in taxes, why do we have more kids in every class?
How to contact FCPS personnel and elected officials about this matter:
Stuart Gibson, Hunter Mill School Board Representative
Catherine Hudgins, Hunter Mill Board of Supervisors Representative
Gerald Connolly, Chairman, Board of Supervisors
Patricia Sheehy, Principal, Fox Mill Elementary School
Betsy Goodman, Assistant Superintendent, Cluster VIII
Jack Dale, Superintendent, Fairfax County Public Schools
Send an email to all of the officials listed above
posted by AlexM at 1:55 PM
4 Comments:
i have just found my way to this blog. Wow. Very impressive. As a parent at Fox Mill, with a child in the immersion program, I am grateful for a site like this which puts all this information in one place.
Thank you,
Wendi Kaufman
2:14 PM
Please attend PTA meetings where issues like those discussed in this blog are addressed. Also, go to the school's web site for information that is updated weekly. Thank you.
5:40 PM
Please tell me how to keep families with children from moving into our neighborhood so the class sizes will go down. Maybe we can knock over a few houses and build an assisted living home instead - the senior citizens don't have school age kids right?
9:49 PM
fm fan doesn't get it. We are all FM fans, but we are trying to keep it that way. Maybe we would have more class space for kids moving into our neighborhood if we weren't hosting so many from other neighborhoods. If the school system doesn't get control over this problem, we won't have nearly as many families with children that will want to move into our neighborhood. Closing our eyes won't make this problem go away.
2:07 PM
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