James DeVita We currently have children in trailers. We need additional buildings to eliminate this practice.

Julie Farnam The biggest issue here is that the seats are not evenly distributed. While many schools  do have room, others, particularly those in South Arlington (e.g., Oakridge) are still  crowded. We must also weigh this with the push the County has made to increase  density. The downward trend may remain if things are status quo in Arlington, but if the County continues to focus on increasing density, more people will live here, and some  will have children who will need to attend school. This is why close coordination is necessary between the County and APS. Schools cannot be an afterthought in the  decision-making process for the County Board and it has been in recent years. For  example, the site of the former Febrey-Lothrop House will be the location of forty large,  single-family homes. Given the size of the homes, it’s likely that many of them will be  occupied by families with children. This has the potential to significantly impact area  schools, yet it wasn’t until the civic association president flagged this for the County, did  the County adjust its projections for those impacted schools.  In the short term, we may also need to look at redistricting. I understand this is  unpopular and as someone who has two elementary-aged children, I understand the  impact this can have on families and children. Their friends are at their school. The  teachers they love are at their school. It’s disruptive to the kids. But I think it can be  achieved in a less disruptive way by exploring things such as seeing if there are  families who would want to voluntarily switch schools, phasing it in so that newly  enrolled students start at the new school (with consideration to those with siblings who  are already enrolled at the old school), and other options.  

With regards to funding, I’d like to see Arlington County do a better job at managing the  money it currently has. The County does not have a clear vision for its future.  Although there is the Arlington 2050 initiative, that is in its early stages, and I’d argue, a  vision is long overdue. Furthermore, we have no plan on how to get to wherever we  are going, in part because there isn’t an articulated vision nor milestones to achieve  along the way. With no vision and no plan, it is difficult to prioritize initiatives. This  leads to the County spending money on things that may not be as effective and  impactful as possible. If schools and the education of our children are a priority, and I  strongly believe they should be, we need to fund this over those “nice-to-have” things  that the County spends money on (e.g., a second entrance to the Crystal City metro).  

Finally, I will add that collaboration requires strong communication between the County  Board and the School Board. Currently, the Boards may only communicate chair to  chair. This represents a level of micromanagement that is inconsistent with best  practices in leadership. Absolutely, Board leadership must be informed and aware of  what is discussed, but there are ways to achieve that without creating a bottleneck in  communications (or worse, a chilling effect on communications). Which facilities need  funding first should be an ongoing conversation and partnership between the two  Boards, but that won’t happen if they aren’t communicating effectively. I would change  this immediately if I were elected to the County Board. 

Tenley Peterson The bonding capacity of Arlington County is a primary concern for future investment across the County. As a former Chair of the Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission, I advised the County Board on the development of the biennial CIP. I remain a champion for fiscal responsibility and ensuring that the 10% debt service threshold is not breached. 

As a County Board member, I look forward to working with APS to ensure that our land and facilities are developed in a responsible manner. I will also strongly encourage full consideration of opportunities to co-locate County activities with those of APS and will work with the Department of Management and Finance to analyze the comprehensive needs of APS for capital requirements.

It is important that the facility needs of schools with high percentages of children eligible for Free and Reduced Price Meals not be overlooked. It may be possible that some APS facility needs be addressed using our Pay-As-You-Go budget, which provides funding for capital improvements using current year ongoing revenue, one-time funding, state and federal grants, and developer fees. There are also opportunities to see APS capital needs realized through our community development, such as the future Arlington Community High School that is being provided by Amazon for their HQ2 project. The County must continue to collaborate with APS in development activities to ensure that we are efficiently and responsibly utilizing public space and capital spending while also prioritizing equity. 

Natalie U. Roy APS and other Northern Virginia school systems are now operating in a declining  enrollment scenario which is affecting schools in various ways all over the County. There  are substantial seat surpluses at some schools and relocatable classrooms at others.  The surplus of seats is an opportunity for consolidation and moving programs. This is also  the time to investigate ways to improve the function of underutilized facilities jointly maintained/owned by APS and the County.  The County Board and School Board need to  work closely with the Public Facilities Review Committee and the Joint Facilities Advisory Commission (I am a current member), on numerous fronts including infrastructure  projects, transportation planning, and capital facility needs and improvement plans.

Julius D. “JD” Spain, Sr. It is imperative that Arlington Public Schools (APS) and the County work together  and share data as soon as possible to ensure that the enrollment in schools is effectively managed. This must include information about new housing permits  and any data that may affect birth rates and population shifts.  

Additionally, it is essential to address the utilization rate of buildings across the  county and identify areas where overcrowding and surplus exist. This will  guarantee that students who face opportunity gaps do not also have to deal with  overcrowding in their local schools. To achieve this, it is crucial to maintain open  channels of communication and collaboration between the County and APS. As a  newly elected member of the County Board, I am committed to working closely  with school board members to ensure that decisions made on the County Board  side are taken with full consideration of the impact on Arlington's youngestcitizens. By continuing to work together and sharing critical data, we can ensure  that our schools are effectively serving the needs of our community.