Letters to the EditorWorst Possible Alternative For Mt. Daniel ConstructionEditor, Regarding the Mt Daniel School remodeling project ((9/2/04 News-Press), Superintendent Berlin has presented an oversimplified version of the issues involved. She failed to mention that, while all members of the School Board now realize that the current design is based on the worst possible alternative for new construction at the school, all of them, except for one, refuse to admit that they made a mistake and refuse to slow the process in order to consider alternative plans. The Superintendent also failed to report that the proposed addition has not been conceived in the context of a long term master plan for the Mt Daniel School site. In fact, judging from statements made during Board meetings, all Board members support the preparation of a long term site plan for the School. Yet, except for one member, they all have been in favor of making decisions on the basis of the current misconceived designs. The argument has been that it would be better to spend taxpayer’s money on the basis of a faulty design in order to keep a political promise rather than to correct the faulty design in order to give taxpayers real value for their money. Regarding the proposed bus loop on Highland Avenue, again the Superintendent chose to ignore the critical elements in the decision. The location of the proposed loop is unquestionably dangerous, not only to Falls Church school children, but as importantly to the hundreds of Falls Church and Fairfax residents who walk to Fairfax School bus stops and the metro every day. Years ago, Fairfax recognized the danger at that site and moved the stop for Fairfax school buses to the other side of the hill. In addition, this proposal will unreasonably impact on at least 4 homes, in terms of noise and air pollution, depressed property value, and decreased security. The proposal will also adversely and unnecessarily degrade the environment in the area as a whole. The community, including both Falls Church and Fairfax residents offered suggestions on how the Board can achieve their stated objectives with minimum impact on the community and the environment. So far most Board members seem to have turned a deaf ear to those suggestions. The community will continue to fight for neighborly co-existence between residents and the school and for effective and sustainable use of taxpayer’s money. Hopefully the Superintendent and the Board will soon realize that, with proper planning and mutual courtesy, the community will always be on their side.Salem Gafsi; Falls Church |