Fairfax County Public Schools will acquire the 30-acre campus of the King Abdullah Academy in Herndon. The school board approved a $150 million purchase of the property at a meeting on June 12.
The King Abdullah Academy was a private school, funded by the Saudi government. It announced in January that it would be closing permanently at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.
The purchase “offers an elegant solution to a problem that we have been grappling with for a very long time, trying to figure out a location for a western high school,” board member Sandy Anderson said at Thursday’s meeting.
Board documents state that the school division has been searching “for some time” for a property in the western part of the county that would be suitable for a high school. The goal was to reduce overcrowding in western Fairfax County schools.
FCPS projected the cost to acquire and construct a new school in the area at about $431 million. The King Abdullah property, which would require minimal work, cost the school system $150 million, representing savings of about $281 million.
The property consists of 325,000 square feet of internal space, as well as 30 acres of land at 2949, 2950, and 2954 Education Dr., Herndon. It also includes two amphitheater-style outdoor classrooms, robotics and ceramics laboratories, performing arts and athletic facilities, multiple cafeterias and dining areas, and two administrative buildings. It comes with all the furniture and equipment.
FCPS staff submitted an offer to the property owners in May. They accepted, and the deal will close by no later than August 14.
Some board members, including Karl Frisch, noted that there were still “lots of decisions to be made” regarding the school. This may include discussions of whether it will become a magnet school or if it will have an impact on the boundaries for existing schools.
Feature image by Mike Ramm
