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Dear City of Fairfax School Parents, Staff Members and City Residents,
My name is Peter Noonan and I am the Superintendent of Schools for the City of Fairfax. For some of you this will be my first correspondence with you. I formally started this summer, although as a former Principal at Lanier Middle and Assistant Superintendent at Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), I do feel as if I am 'home' in my return to the city. I will be sending a more formal hello and introduction later this month, but I wanted to provide you some critical and timely information today.
As many of you know, three of our four city schools are overcapacity. The City School Board and I are working with FCPS staff and the FCPS School Board on solutions to resolve the overcrowding. This is not a neat and simple process. Based on a recommendation from the FCPS School Board Facilities and Planning Advisory Council (a council with a former City of Fairfax School Board member as a representative for the City), the FCPS School Board will discuss a timeline and scope for a boundary study to relieve overcrowding at Fairfax High School, Lanier Middle School, Providence Elementary School and surrounding schools in the area. We believe this is an important first step in "right sizing" our schools and adhering to our School Services Agreement with FCPS.
The FCPS School Board will review this issue on Monday, September 10 at 4:00 at its work session at the Gatehouse Administrative Center, 8115 Gatehouse Road, Room 1600 in Falls Church. The meeting is open to the public. We understand this is a very difficult time in the day of a family, but I am sure you can agree the importance of the topic. The proposed timeline is a boundary scope this fall and a subsequent boundary adjustment in May/June with implementation in the 2014-2015 school year.
I will be at the meeting, along with City School Board Members and would welcome you to join along to learn more about the process. I am also happy to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to email me if you have questions.
As I mentioned, there is no simple or immediate solution. We in City schools welcome and appreciate County students in our schools and understand how both City and County communities benefit. Our main priority is to have the appropriate number of students so all kids can not only learn, but thrive.
One of our main goals is to communicate with each of you about this process. Please, 'like' us on Facebook, follow me on Twitter (@peternoonan), encourage your friends to sign up for CloseUp, visit our website or attend our public meetings and work sessions.
Thank you for your time. I hope you had a nice first week back and are getting settled. I know as a former teacher and principal, this is an exciting time filled with hope and a little bit of nerves for us all.
Sincerely,
Dr. Peter Noonan
Superintendent | 
