How Does Prince William County, VA Get the Needed 13th High School?
Living in Western Prince William County since the beginning of 2005, I have seen the area grow and develop, and honestly, couldn't be happier. I moved from Fairfax County because at the time we bought, we couldn't afford a home in Fairfax County, where we had been perfectly happy. We found our money went a lot further in Prince William County than in Fairfax County.
Part of the residential growth, which is not at all unexpected given the affordability of the County, we have seen schools overcrowd and roads need expansion and development. To deal with the road issues, the County has 10 Billion dollars in road projects in the works, and relies on proffers from developers as more of the County is developed.
The much needed 13th high school has been proposed by Brookfield Homes, given a blessing by the Prince William County School Board, and even involves a swap of parkland with the county to allow for the school to sit across from a very large parcel of parkland that runs along Vint Hill Road on the northwest corner of Rollins Ford Road. The high school would sit near the northeast corner of the intersection. It would alleviate 500 students from three surrounding high schools that are already over capacity. So how do you get this high school?
Email Jeanine Lawson, Brentsville District Supervisor; Peter Candland, Gainesville District Supervisor and Corey Stewart, Board of County Supervisors Chairman.
What's being held up by the County, is the approval of Brookfield Homes new development called Strathmore. It runs behind the community of Braemar where Pioneer Drive is currently located in that rural area. It will be a majority of single family homes with very few townhouses. The number of overall residences has been cut back and will be only 404 units.
The impact these homes would have immediately on schools and roads is not enough for the high drama that those who reject any form of new development would have you believe. And because our County has NO MONEY for road projects, or the 13th high school themselves, this is truly the only way to get these improvements.
The Board of County Supervisors are meeting on August 12th (2015.) Unfortunately, there is a very vocal minority in the area that will make this a non-starter if those that are more open minded about growth don't let our support be known. Our high schools will continue to be overcrowded and new road projects put off. The reality is that our County is developed by those developers like Brookfield Homes who pay proffers to mitigate the impact to the systems. That's how this is done. No high school and no roads will be done UNTIL this project is approved.
Certainly, none of us can think you were the last person that was going to move to Prince William County. This is a very desirable place to live, and afforable. But if you want those roads and schools without further development, you best elect someone who is willing to raise your taxes to do it. If you are like me and don't want to pay more in taxes, and want that new high school (which would likely open in 2020 if approved in August) please email your supervisor and let them know you support Strathmore.
Prince William County can continue to be a very high demand county if we allow controlled growth, which would be neighborhoods like Strathmore. If we don't, developers will find another place that will allow them and THAT area will benefit from their proffers and be the next "IT" place to live. And as someone who has worked this area as a full-time real estate agent since 2005, you will realize the loss of property value if development comes to a screeching halt in our area.
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