Fairfax County planners want to expedite their review process for public school facilities with several projects on the horizon.
The county Planning Commission’s schools committee held a meeting to discuss Fairfax County Public Schools’ upcoming capital projects on June 4.
The Planning Commission is required to sign off on projects under a state-mandated 2232 review, referring to a section of state law that requires proposed public facilities to be compatible with a locality’s comprehensive plan. The plan is a nonbinding document used by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to help guide land-use decisions.
FCPS officials provided a brief presentation about their review process and four upcoming projects that will require commission approval: the second phase of the new Skyview High School, construction of a Silver Line Elementary School and renovations to Cub Run Elementary and Franklin Middle schools.
The projects are in the FCPS Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), a six-year plan for capital projects approved on an annual basis with funding allocated only one year at a time.
Each of the projects will require 2232 approval, which the school division hopes to expedite.
FCPS Chief of Facilities Services and Capital Programs Erik Gordon and Salem Bush, branch chief of the county’s Department of Planning and Development, said that from around 2012 to 2022, the 2232 process was faster.
Under the old process, renovations or construction projects that were substantially in line with the county’s comprehensive plan would be reviewed quickly and placed on the planning commission’s consent agenda with no public hearing. The commission had the option to pull an item from the consent agenda and request a public hearing, but was not required to do so.
Now, all the 2232 reviews are required to undergo public hearings, which lead to longer review times. Gordon said review times have risen from around 50 days to an average of 200 days.
Keeping a project from getting underway can lead to increased costs from inflation and a volatile construction market.
“We all know time is money,” said at-large school board member Kyle McDaniel.
FCPS is asking the commission to revert to the old process, which the commissioners were open to doing, while also identifying other areas of the process that could be sped up.
“We do want to do what we can to have the resources applied as efficiently and effectively as possible,” said Planning Commission Chair Phil Niedzielski-Eichner.
While most of the committee’s discussion was around the 2232 process, how the schools determine capacity issues and how decisions are made to build new schools, the FCPS presentation also provided an update on four projects.
Renovations at Cub Run Elementary are expected to take place from the current fiscal year through fiscal year 2028, while work at Franklin Middle is expected to kick off in fiscal 2027, which starts July 1. Full details of those projects haven’t been shared yet by FCPS. Franklin was constructed in 1984, and Cub Run was built in 1986.
FCPS is also waiting for an architecture and engineering contract to be awarded for the second phase of renovations for the new Skyview High School.
Last month, the planning commission signed off on using the former King Abdullah Academy campus as a public facility, but that vote was only for a portion of the building to be used in the upcoming school year. Further approval is needed to fully open the facility.
FCPS is also still working on plans for Silver Line Elementary School, which will be in the Herndon area. It’s listed in the CIP at an $80.5 million price tag and estimated for completion in fiscal year 2031.
