Boundary Recommendations for 12th PWCS High School Affect Western End Schools

Prince William County Schools recently announced the school division's recommendations for the boundaries of its 12^th high school.

While it would not lead to wide-spread redistricting of western end schools, some neighborhoods within the Brentsville, Patriot and Battlefield attendance areas might be affected.

According to the Prince William County Schools Office of Facility Services, “no final decisions regarding the high school boundaries have been made at this time.” However, maps are available for review on the Facility Services page of the PWCS.edu website that identify the school district’s preferred neighborhoods to be included in the boundary plans for the new high school located in mid-county.

The proposed attendance area for the 12^th Prince William High School mainly carves out from Brentsville District High School, Osbourn Park High School and Hylton High School attendance districts. In taking students from Brentsville, it makes a little room for a few small neighborhoods from Patriot and Battlefield to move into the Brentsville attendance area.

From Brentsville District High School, the new attendance area for the 12th high school would draw from neighborhoods farthest east. Streets listed are Morning Side Drive, Landview Drive, Lilac Street, Hitting Drive, Marine Drive, Gracie Drive, Buford Lane, Day Drive, Arbee Court, Stephen Street and Sowder Place.

In turn, the map shows Bristow neighborhoods east of Route 28, such as New Bristow Village, rezoned from Patriot to Brentsville.

In Haymarket, the map show the school division recommends  neighborhoods south of Route 55 be redistricted from Battlefield to Brentsville. These would include areas around Cerro Gordo Road, Beverly Road, Market Ridge Boulevard and Venus Court. This should slightly ease overcrowding at Battlefield High School.

Additionally, the zoning makes more room for the new development Pioneer Assemblage at Brentsville.

From Osbourn Park, the new attendance area would draw neighborhoods farthest south and southwest: Canova Drive, Visionary Court, Rideway Drive, Champlian Drive, Kahns Road, Silent Wolf Drive, Cornwell Drive, Peaks Mill Drive, Clewson Lane, Oak Lawn Lane, Caisson Court, Bacon Race Road, Marquis Place, Andee Lane and Lakeside Court.

From Hylton High School, it would take from neighborhoods on the western end of the attendance area: Oak Lawn Lane, Token Valley Road, Flanningan Court, Napa Drive, Tifton Court, Manet Court, Andes Court, Alps Drive, Kogan Drive, Courage Drive, Notthingham Drive and Fig Court.

From Forrest Park, it would draw from a small neighborhood north of Lyceum Lane.

According to the school district maps, all students graduating from Benton Middle School within the Benton attendance boundaries would progress on to the 12^th high school. The new high school would also take some students from Saunders Middle School, who resided on the west side of the Saunders attendance area. The 12^th high school would draw from West Ridge, Marshall and Coles Elementary Schools.

The posting of the school division's recommendations caused controversy when a draft form of the boundaries with a date of May 2014 was published on the PWCS.edu website. This had the Prince William citizen’s blog, “Our Schools” asking if perhaps Prince William County Schools had mastered time travel.

The website has since been updated to clarify that the recommendations are merely a draft.

David Beavers, Supervisor of Planning and Financial Services with the Office of Facilities Services for PWCS, explained that the draft posted included the initial recommendations for the School Board to review.

“The posting of the plan is the first step, so then we have our citizens meeting next week,” Beavers said.

He noted that the School Board needed to have recommendations before the citizens provided their input on the matter, so the school division provided that for its members. He described the current zoning as "the recommendations as it exists today.”

Beavers said he expects the recommendations will be “dynamic” as the public has a chance provides input, and emphasized the zoning “is not a signed, sealed and delivered deal" at this stage.

Explaining the initial zoning process, he said, “We work sort of from the outside in. We know what schools need to have overcrowding alleviated." He assured residents that the school division is not trying to avoid presenting its recommendations to citizens, nor trying to "pull one over" on anyone.