Fairfax school officials to review closing Clifton Elementary

School officials Monday will review a report that could seal the fate of a rural elementary school on the chopping block in southwestern Fairfax County.

Although fewer than 400 students attend the school, officials have proposed closing Clifton Elementary School and building a new school three miles away as part of a plan to reduce school overcrowding in the area.

Coupled with a series of renovations to neighboring schools and tweaking school district boundaries, school staff members say the moves could ease strain on area schools already at 96 percent capacity.

But many Clifton residents say closing the school would destroy the lifeline of their community.

“Clifton Elementary is really the glue of Clifton,” resident Dariece Rau said. “We don’t have sidewalks. We don’t have community swimming pools. This is the place where people bond.”

School officials say 12 area elementary schools are overcrowded by about 1,500 students and boundary changes alone will not be enough to solve the overcrowding.

Officials instead could decide to renovate Clifton, as had been planned for 2013-14, but the absence of a public water system remains a major obstacle. The school relies on well water and brings in bottled water daily.

For a full renovation, school officials say it would cost more than $35,000 per student.

A school staff report says, “The cost differential to renovate Clifton, approximately 50 percent more than the average elementary school renovation, remains a major concern. This concern is heightened in light of the projected declining enrollment and the cost/risk factors associated with the school remaining on well water, some of which are not fully quantifiable.”

If Clifton closes, it would send students to a handful of neighboring schools and ultimately alter enrollment in Springfield, Fairfax and Centreville schools.

“It’s always difficult,” school board member Jane Strauss said about potentially splitting up Clifton students. “But there aren’t enough classrooms to accommodate the children in the area. We are seeing more incoming kindergarten students than graduating seniors.”

The school board is expected to make a final decision on Clifton in the coming weeks, before any potential boundary decisions.

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