Superintendent Michelle Reid's preliminary boundary recommendation for the new Skyview High School draws students exclusively from western Fairfax County, leaving the McLean and Langley pyramids unaffected.

Reid released the recommendation on July 2 and formally presented it to the Fairfax County School Board on Thursday. The plan would reassign approximately 2,544 students across six high schools and several middle schools in the Westfield, Chantilly, South Lakes, Centreville and Oakton areas starting in the 2027-2028 school year.

Skyview, located at 2949 Education Drive in Herndon on the former King Abdullah Academy campus, sits on a 30-acre site FCPS acquired for $150 million, land and buildings, in summer 2025. Under the recommendation, the school would open at 89% capacity.

Who moves where

Reid's plan would shift 1,062 Westfield High School students, 384 South Lakes students and 333 Chantilly students to Skyview. Another 420 middle schoolers face reassignment, including about 177 Rachel Carson Middle School students who would move to Franklin Middle School in Chantilly and eventually feed into Chantilly High School.

The proposal also shuffles students among Centreville, Westfield and Chantilly high schools, along with Liberty, Rocky Run and Stone middle schools. FCPS eliminated elementary school boundaries from the study after families objected during spring community meetings.

No changes are proposed for Oakton High School or Langston Hughes Middle School in Reston, even though both were included in the original study area.

The plan won't solve every capacity crunch. Centreville High School would remain at 101% capacity utilization, down slightly from 104%, and Oakton stays at 103%.

What comes next

A public hearing is scheduled for Monday, and the board is set to vote on the final boundary next Thursday.

For the 2026-2027 inaugural year, rising ninth and tenth graders from anywhere in FCPS may opt in to Skyview. Space is available for 500 students in each grade. Mandatory boundary assignments take effect in 2027-2028, with a phasing option allowing rising ninth graders that year to remain at their current school based on educational needs. Full enforcement begins in 2028-2029.