To: Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Boundary Review Committee, 

In response to a Change.org petition asking to remove our families from Lemon Road Elementary School, we have made our own petition requesting to stay. Scenario 4 reduces Kilmer to 101% capacity without moving us. The suggested move from Lemon Road ES (1.0 miles away) to Freedom Hill ES (1.8 miles away) lengthens K-6 bus rides across I-495, undermining proximity & transportation, and disrupting SACC/day-care continuity. If split-feeder cleanup is desired, feeder alignment is the least-harm option. Thank you for keeping our elementary students at their closest school. 

Capacity is already fixed in Scenario 4. Kilmer drops from severe overcrowding to 101% without moving us. If the problem is solved with Scenario 4, there’s no justification for an extra elementary move. Moreover, this proposal would reassign about 38% of Lemon Road ES zoned households—Freedom Hill ES cannot cleanly absorb this change as they are at 81% capacity.

Proximity & transportation time. For our community, Lemon Road (1.0-1.2 miles away) is the closest Elementary School. Freedom Hill (1.8-2.4 miles away) requires buses across I-495, increasing route length and cost. Policy gives heavy weight to shortest, safest trips; this petition goes the wrong way. The move would completely eliminate walking to school as distance and crossing I-495 exit/on-ramps make it unrealistic. 

Continuity. Many families in our Lemon Road community already participate in its SACC/day-care routes. Moving them severs established child-care and after-school logistics. 

Proximity and Equity Concerns. Filling one school by exporting kids past a closer school contradicts neighborhood schools and raises transportation & equity concerns. This petition would remove half of Lemon Road ES's zoned apartment homes by moving Alister Falls Church (176 units) and 50% of Tysons View Apartments (about 155 units).

There’s a cleaner split-feeder solution. We support Scenario 4, which has no changes for Lemon Road Elementary. If FCPS must eliminate the Lemon Road ES split, 81% of Lemon Road ES currently feeds to Kilmer MS. While much work was done to reduce Kilmer's 118% overcrowding, the October 16, 2025 Marshall Pyramid presentation (https://www.fcps.edu/system/files/forms/2025-10/fall_2025_community_meetings_10-16-25_falls_church_and_marshall.pdf shows a feeder count of about 12 students per year that currently don't go to Kilmer MS from Lemon Road (Lemon Road to Longfellow MS feeder count is 85 over 7 years). Our community supports Scenario 4 as is, but if there is a split feeder tweak to make, this is the far less disruptive option as it changes Kilmer's population by 1-2%. Scenario 4 meets capacity goals without moving our ES/MS/HS; please keep us in the Marshall HS pyramid, our closest option. 

Conclusion. Thank you for your effort on all these scenarios. We respectfully ask to keep our neighborhood at Lemon Road ES and retain Scenario 4’s assignments for our area. If any fine-tuning is pursued, please use the least-disruptive option that preserves proximity, transportation, equity, efficiency, and continuity.

Thank you!