At its Jan. 8 regular meeting, the Fairfax County School Board heard Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reed present recommendations from a yearlong comprehensive boundary review that staff say would affect approximately 2,210 students at 52 schools.

Reed and planning staff described a process that included 48 community meetings, a Boundary Explorer tool that received roughly 25,000 comments, and a superintendent advisory committee that met 16 times. The proposed adjustments are intended to balance enrollment and capacity, improve program access and reduce split feeders and attendance islands, staff said.

The changes outlined by staff include shifts designed to eliminate selected attendance islands and split feeders at elementary, middle and high school levels. Reed summarized the projected impact on student counts and told the board the estimates assume students currently transferring under existing permissions would continue to do so; she urged careful review of the slide materials and public input before decisions are final.

Board members pressed staff on several specifics: how many trailers or modular classrooms might be removed as a result of the changes, how program placement (for example, AAP middle-school centers) will be coordinated with any boundary work, and how certain flagged neighborhoods (including Briarwood, Tysons Green and parts of the Annandale/Lake Braddock area) will be handled. Staff committed to follow-ups, including written clarifications for flagged sites, an after‑action report on the process, and a plan to monitor capacity and transportation impacts.

During question-and-answer exchanges, staff said some changes would take immediate effect for the 2026 school year while others would be evaluated over the coming years — for example, the board asked staff to reassess some high‑school options after the planned opening of Western High School. The presentation noted the board will hold a public hearing on the recommended boundary changes on Saturday, Jan. 10 (with overflow testimony at the Jan. 13 CIP hearing) and that a vote is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2026.

Why it matters: The review was the first comprehensive countywide boundary evaluation in nearly four decades. Board members and staff said the goal is to normalize review cycles going forward and to reduce inefficiencies such as split feeders and unnecessary transportation burdens. Several members asked staff to ensure the next phase emphasizes community engagement and program alignment so students do not get displaced repeatedly.

What’s next: The board will accept public testimony at the Jan. 10 hearing and will review written submissions. Staff said they will provide additional data requested by board members (transportation modeling, a clearer accounting of modular classroom impacts and written justifications for flagged neighborhoods) ahead of the Jan. 22 vote.

Quotes and attributions in this article come from the public record provided at the Jan. 8 meeting.