Statement from We Are Oakton

Our Waples Mill community could be rezoned to a new school pyramid starting in Fall 2026.

FCPS has begun the process of review of and possible proposals to change school boundaries across the county. Under its Boundary Policy 8130, FCPS states it will review school boundaries at least every 5 years. Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Comprehensive School Boundary Review proposals could rezone Waples Mill Elementary out of Franklin Middle and Oakton High Schools in 2026.

We Are Oakton is a group of parents and citizens in the Waples Mill Elementary attendance zone that are concerned with any potential school boundary changes that would rezone Waples Mill students out of the Franklin Middle and Oakton High schools pyramid.

We are monitoring the Fairfax Public School Comprehensive Boundary Review.  It is our position that Waples Mill Elementary and the Oakton community are best served by keeping existing school boundaries intact.  Rezoning Waples Mill Elementary out of the Franklin - Oakton Pyramid is NOT supported by FCPS’s own long-range planning and has not been recommended in FCPS’s own Capital Improvement Plan.

Instead of rezoning, capacity and enrollment issues at certain FCPS schools can be addressed in ways that are in closer alignment with FCPS stated goals of ensuring equitable access to programming, promoting attendance zones that maintain neighborhood groupings, and that consider transportation times.

We believe that such a rezoning of Waples Mill students would be disruptive to the educational experiences and social connections of children, and there are other options.

• Rezoning Waples Mill Elementary out of the Franklin - Oakton Pyramid is not supported by FCPS’s own long-range planning and has not been recommended in FCPS’s own Capital Improvement Plan.

• FCPS’s own enrollment /capacity projections, which do not project Oakton High to be over capacity in the next several years, should be considered.

• Waples Mill Elementary in Oakton is not the cause of an attendance island or zone for FCPS high schools.

• The impact of rezoning Waples Mill students out of the Franklin – Oakton pyramid will have a disproportionate negative impact on students’ access to programs and facilities as compared to other options that do not involve rezoning.

If you would like to receive more information or updates on these issues, please provide your contact information at the link here: https://forms.gle/Dtco3drphruUg6oB7