Fairfax County supervisors decided Monday to approve the expansion of the Islamic Saudi Academy despite neighbors’ concerns over traffic and the school’s curriculum.
At a public hearing earlier this month over 50 people expressed concerns over the expansion, citing the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2007 report that the the school taught religious intolerance and the impact the school growth would have on traffic in the neighborhood.
With the supervisors’ approval, the school will add four buildings, expanding its campus on 34 acres along Popes Head Road to accommodate 500 students. The school currently hosts about 270 students.
To reduce traffic congestion on Popes Head Road, all students will be required to ride buses to school unless they are arriving late.
The school also has a campus on Richmond Highway in Alexandria that hosts about 700 students.