On Sunday October 21, 2018, City Manager Wyatt Shields and Superintendent Peter Noonan hosted a town hall to update the community about the development of the George Mason High School site. If you watch the video, at timestamp 5:40, Superintendent Peter Noonan describes where we are in the timeline and talks about the phases of the project.   The Schematic Design Phase is an extremely critical phase for the community stakeholders as it is in this phase that the program specifications of each department or space are defined, finalized and ultimately contractually incorporated into the design plans.  The timeline below shows that this phase is nowRead More →

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Remember interim’s School Superintendent Schiller’s February 2017 advice to build a single-phase high school for $ 60 million? What if we followed his advice? Let’s say he was off and it would cost $ 70 million. And, let’s not build a school for 1,500 students like he suggested, but a smaller school for 1,350 students. Also, don’t build an expensive 5 story school. Build a cheaper-style 2 story school that we can expand upon. Q: What are the advantages of this approach? A1. We save $ 50 million dollars and borrow $ 50 million less. A2. We can afford to keep the 10 acres ofRead More →

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Citizens gathered this past Sunday in the GMHS auditorium for another Q&A session on the referendum.  The session began with a pitch for a new school from Peter Noonan, Superintendent of Schools, citing research that indicates better outcomes for students with high ceilings and better ventilation. This was followed by financing details by City Manager Wyatt Shields.  School Board candidates Greg Anderson,  Alison Kutchma, Richard Crispin, Shannon Litton and Shawna Russell were in attendance.  Good questions were posed and more back up and tax implication information was requested.  FACTS will post the information requested when it becomes available. The session was videotaped. Click here forRead More →

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Below is the statement read by Mr. John Leimone to City Council during public comment on Monday, July 24, 2017.  Mr Lemoine has worked as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank and the International Monetary Fund. I strongly support the VPIS recommendation in the well-argued letter to you (City Council) to postpone any decision on a GMHS referendum until citizens have been thoroughly and honestly briefed on all aspects of this project, which because of the costs involved, poses an existential threat to the City’s future financial stability. Underlying this position are at least 4 major concerns: The Council and City Manager have glossedRead More →

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Open letter to City Council Members regarding the increasing operating costs for the schools.  Dear Council Member, Thank you for your service. I am concerned about the forecasted operational costs presented by Dr. Noonan and Mr. Shields at the Town Hall meeting. Below are the calculations that include the:   4% annual increase that Dr. Noonan said is required through 2030 2.5% city revenue growth that Mr. Shields said is forecasted for the same period.  The 2.5% takes into account all development in the pipeline. *  Note : this chart was revised based on input from Dr. Noonan; the school receives State and Federal subsidiesRead More →

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Maggie Schwind, is a third generation Falls Church City resident married to David Schwind, a second generation FCC resident.  Both Maggie and David want to continue to live in Falls Church City throughout retirement, but increasing real estate taxes are a major concern to them and should be to others.   David and Maggie obtained housing data from the Real Estate Assessment Office and have generously shared their analysis with the community.  Here is the Schwind’s analysis: “Starting from the data that was obtained from the Real Estate Assessment Office, I was able to put together a couple of pieces.  The first being the number andRead More →

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