The Observer Newspapers | Redistricting Lawsuit Filed

April 3, 2008

Redistricting Lawsuit Filed

By Leslie Perales

Observer Staff Writer

A group of 11 parents filed a lawsuit against the Fairfax County School Board March 28 to stop a redistricting plan the board approved in late February. The plan would transfer students from the Fox Mill Elementary School attendance area and a portion of the Floris Elementary School attendance area to South Lakes High School.

Of the 11 petitioners, seven will be affected by the boundary decision next year and the other four petitioners would be affected in future years. For example, petitioner Mary Mireles has a kindergartener at Floris Elementary School who would attend South Lakes instead of Westfield when entering high school. All of the children of the 11 petitioners would attend South Lakes under the boundary changes.

The lawsuit alleges that the School Board's approval of the boundary change was "arbitrary and capricious." The lawsuit states that it was an "abuse of discretion" for the School Board because it did not obtain public input on what factors it should consider in determining the attendance areas and what neighborhoods should be included in the study.

Possible factors for considering boundary adjustments are outlined in the School Board's policy. "In general, such adjustments may relieve facility crowding, make effective use of new or existing space, avoid underused buildings, better relate program resources to needs, and/or reduce operating costs," the School Board's policy states. The Code of Virginia also dictates that School board has the authority to "provide for the consolidation of schools or redistricting of school boundaries or adopt pupil assignment plans whenever such procedure will contribute to the efficiency of the school division."

According to the lawsuit, "The School Board did not comply with its own Regulation 8130.5 in that it failed to obtain public input on 'suggest[ed] neighborhoods that might be included in the new alignment.'" The regulation calls for the School Board to allow public comments to be heard at a public hearing. According to the Virginia Code, "Such public hearing may be held at the same time and place as the meeting of the school board at which the proposed action is taken if the public hearing is held before the action is taken."

The county held three town hall-style meetings pertaining to the redistricting in November and December and the board held four public hearings in January and February. The last hearing, on Feb. 19, was scheduled after two new plans were introduced and speakers were asked to comment only on the two new plans.

"Public input became a sham and a form of window dressing," said Steven David Stone, the lawyer handling the case on behalf of the 11 petitioners. He said the lawsuit also challenges the School Board's actions as being beyond its legal authority because the board is supposed to redistrict only for "efficiency" reasons.

The petitioners also claimed that the School Board violated Dillon's Rule, which states that a school board can only exercise powers granted to them by the General Assembly. "The General Assembly has not given the School Board explicit authority to consider the socioeconomic characteristics of school populations in making decisions to redistrict school boundaries," the lawsuit states.

The suit also stated that the General Assembly has not allowed the School Board to consider instructional effectiveness as part of the redistricting process. School Board members discussed socioeconomic characteristics of school populations and instructional effectiveness through the distribution of programs and resources during the redistricting process.

The lawsuit also states that the School Board failed to perform a cost-benefit analysis before making a decision and completed the study based on "unreliable enrollment projections." It stated the School Board said program offerings at South Lakes would benefit from the redistricting, but since the Feb. 28 decision the school has only gained three additional courses. South Lakes principal Bruce Butler said Wednesday the school plans to add about five new courses next school year, but that number is not final.

Paul Regnier, spokesman for Fairfax schools, declined to comment on the lawsuit. The county has three weeks to respond to the suit.

The suit was filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court and was announced by the Fairfax County Coalition of Advocates for Public Schools, a group formed to campaign against the redistricting. Nick Pesce, president of FairfaxCAPS, said he hopes to set a trial date soon and bring the case in front of a judge for a formal ruling. The group wants the case to be decided by this summer, he said.

Before the redistricting, Fox Mill students would have attended Oakton High School and Floris students would have attended Westfield High School. The redistricting would also bring students from the Madison High School attendance island to South Lakes, and reroute some students from Chantilly to Oakton High School. Denise James, director of facilities planning services for Fairfax County Public Schools, said about 226 students will be affected by the boundary change next year.