School board to hear boundary plan

A committee of parents will present two plans at the Prince William County School Board meeting Wednesday proposing which neighborhoods may attend J.W. Alvey Elementary School in September.

The new school’s capacity of 852 students will alleviate overcrowding at Mountain View and Tyler elementary schools.

Parents of students at Mountain View and Tyler elementary schools have drafted various plans for Alvey, located on Waverly Farm Drive in the Dominion Valley community.

After receiving feedback from those who attended the community meetings in November and December, the committee designed a new plan, Plan 8, said Charles Husser, boundary planning committee’s chairperson.

“We wanted to submit more than one plan. We wanted to submit a choice,” Husser said.

In Plan 8, Mountain View students would attend Alvey, who live in areas west of U.S. 15 and south of Route 66. Students in Lake Manassas, Virginia Oaks, Broad Run Oaks (still in development) who are currently at Tyler would move to Alvey.

Residents who live off Aldie Road will be assigned from Mountain View to Tyler in Plan 8. Currently attending Tyler, students in Somerset and Hillwood Trailer Park would attend Mountain View. Lake View Estates and Oak Valley neighborhoods will remain at Tyler in this plan.

The alternative plan, Plan 5, is favored by the majority on the parent committee, Husser said.

Areas west of U.S. 15 and south of Route 66 would remain in Alvey boundaries. Lake Manassas, Virginia Oaks, Broad Run Oaks and Lake View Estates would also be in Alvey boundaries. Somerset, Hillwood Trailer Park and areas east of Catharpin Road would remain at Tyler. Oak Valley would be moved to Mountain View.

Amy Larsen, who lives in Lake Manassas is glad both proposals will allow her second grader and friends in Virginia Oaks to relocate to Alvey together.

In another plan presented at community meetings, the neighborhoods were divided.

Ideally, Larsen’s children would remain at Tyler however their sense of community and ability to remain with friends is more important than which school building they attend, Larsen said.

The community’s turnout meetings have helped provide insight for the committee’s proposals, said Dave Beavers, Prince William County analyst, who is working with the committee of parents.

About 40 people attended the meeting in December, he said.

“It gives us good feedback to have the community involved,” Beavers said.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the committee will recommend that rising fifth graders remain at their current school if they provide their own transportation, Beavers said.

A public hearing on the boundary proposals will be held at the School Board meeting Jan. 22. The School Board will make a decision on the boundary changes at the meeting.

Staff writer Jennifer Brennan can be reached at (703) 368-3101, Ext. 123.