APS budget is unacceptable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And FCPS still funds TJ and offers more advanced instruction at elementary and middle school level. Amazing. You know how they do it? Larger class sizes! APS can’t have it all.

I’m good with the current gifted/advanced offerings for ES and MS. I definitely prioritize having smaller class sizes over adding more advanced options.

- Parent of two gifted kids

Higher class sizes are the way to pay teachers more in APS. That’s why FCPS can pay more.

Or push Youngkin and the CB to properly fund our (underfunded) schools.

Why was Youngkin trying to cut K-12 education? The GA salvaged some of the money but we still have a net loss.

I thought roughly 50% of the County budget went to APS despite the fact that only something like 19% of residents have children?

That doesn’t affect the true cost of a quality k-12 public school system. We all benefit from an educated population. Well, except the Rs. They benefit from ignorance.

APS is underfunded. Youngkin cut the budget but the GA were able to gain some back. The CB needs to step up.

When I see words like "true cost of a quality k-12 public school system" and a rejection of the concept that 50% of the county budget isn't enough, it makes me think such posters will never be satisfied.

APS is in the position that it's currently in because of bloat at the top, way too many administrative positions, expenditures on ridiculously expensive and unnecessary projects like ipads for early elementary school students and fancy architecture like the building HB is housed in rather than more teachers to reduce class size and better teacher salaries.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And FCPS still funds TJ and offers more advanced instruction at elementary and middle school level. Amazing. You know how they do it? Larger class sizes! APS can’t have it all.

I’m good with the current gifted/advanced offerings for ES and MS. I definitely prioritize having smaller class sizes over adding more advanced options.

- Parent of two gifted kids

Higher class sizes are the way to pay teachers more in APS. That’s why FCPS can pay more.

Or push Youngkin and the CB to properly fund our (underfunded) schools.

Why was Youngkin trying to cut K-12 education? The GA salvaged some of the money but we still have a net loss.

I thought roughly 50% of the County budget went to APS despite the fact that only something like 19% of residents have children?

That doesn’t affect the true cost of a quality k-12 public school system. We all benefit from an educated population. Well, except the Rs. They benefit from ignorance.

APS is underfunded. Youngkin cut the budget but the GA were able to gain some back. The CB needs to step up.

When I see words like "true cost of a quality k-12 public school system" and a rejection of the concept that 50% of the county budget isn't enough, it makes me think such posters will never be satisfied.

APS is in the position that it's currently in because of bloat at the top, way too many administrative positions, expenditures on ridiculously expensive and unnecessary projects like ipads for early elementary school students and fancy architecture like the building HB is housed in rather than more teachers to reduce class size and better teacher salaries.

Why is it always the HB building that is held up as an example of overspending on vanity capital projects and not buildings like Discovery with its indoor slide and solar panels or adding features to all three new high school buildings to get LEED Gold certification?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And FCPS still funds TJ and offers more advanced instruction at elementary and middle school level. Amazing. You know how they do it? Larger class sizes! APS can’t have it all.

I’m good with the current gifted/advanced offerings for ES and MS. I definitely prioritize having smaller class sizes over adding more advanced options.

- Parent of two gifted kids

Higher class sizes are the way to pay teachers more in APS. That’s why FCPS can pay more.

Or push Youngkin and the CB to properly fund our (underfunded) schools.

Why was Youngkin trying to cut K-12 education? The GA salvaged some of the money but we still have a net loss.

I thought roughly 50% of the County budget went to APS despite the fact that only something like 19% of residents have children?

That doesn’t affect the true cost of a quality k-12 public school system. We all benefit from an educated population. Well, except the Rs. They benefit from ignorance.

APS is underfunded. Youngkin cut the budget but the GA were able to gain some back. The CB needs to step up.

When I see words like "true cost of a quality k-12 public school system" and a rejection of the concept that 50% of the county budget isn't enough, it makes me think such posters will never be satisfied.

APS is in the position that it's currently in because of bloat at the top, way too many administrative positions, expenditures on ridiculously expensive and unnecessary projects like ipads for early elementary school students and fancy architecture like the building HB is housed in rather than more teachers to reduce class size and better teacher salaries.

Why is it always the HB building that is held up as an example of overspending on vanity capital projects and not buildings like Discovery with its indoor slide and solar panels or adding features to all three new high school buildings to get LEED Gold certification?

Agreed that they are all vanity projects but I doubt Discovery’s indoor slide, in the scheme of things, is the reason APS is facing increasing deficits in the upcoming years.

[Anonymous]

It’s because that HB building houses a preposterously small amount of students. Per pupil cost of the buiildig was absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And FCPS still funds TJ and offers more advanced instruction at elementary and middle school level. Amazing. You know how they do it? Larger class sizes! APS can’t have it all.

I’m good with the current gifted/advanced offerings for ES and MS. I definitely prioritize having smaller class sizes over adding more advanced options.

- Parent of two gifted kids

Higher class sizes are the way to pay teachers more in APS. That’s why FCPS can pay more.

Or push Youngkin and the CB to properly fund our (underfunded) schools.

Why was Youngkin trying to cut K-12 education? The GA salvaged some of the money but we still have a net loss.

I thought roughly 50% of the County budget went to APS despite the fact that only something like 19% of residents have children?

That doesn’t affect the true cost of a quality k-12 public school system. We all benefit from an educated population. Well, except the Rs. They benefit from ignorance.

APS is underfunded. Youngkin cut the budget but the GA were able to gain some back. The CB needs to step up.

When I see words like "true cost of a quality k-12 public school system" and a rejection of the concept that 50% of the county budget isn't enough, it makes me think such posters will never be satisfied.

APS is in the position that it's currently in because of bloat at the top, way too many administrative positions, expenditures on ridiculously expensive and unnecessary projects like ipads for early elementary school students and fancy architecture like the building HB is housed in rather than more teachers to reduce class size and better teacher salaries.

Why is it always the HB building that is held up as an example of overspending on vanity capital projects and not buildings like Discovery with its indoor slide and solar panels or adding features to all three new high school buildings to get LEED Gold certification?

+1. the slide is the most ridiculous thing ever

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And FCPS still funds TJ and offers more advanced instruction at elementary and middle school level. Amazing. You know how they do it? Larger class sizes! APS can’t have it all.

I’m good with the current gifted/advanced offerings for ES and MS. I definitely prioritize having smaller class sizes over adding more advanced options.

- Parent of two gifted kids

Higher class sizes are the way to pay teachers more in APS. That’s why FCPS can pay more.

Or push Youngkin and the CB to properly fund our (underfunded) schools.

Why was Youngkin trying to cut K-12 education? The GA salvaged some of the money but we still have a net loss.

I thought roughly 50% of the County budget went to APS despite the fact that only something like 19% of residents have children?

That doesn’t affect the true cost of a quality k-12 public school system. We all benefit from an educated population. Well, except the Rs. They benefit from ignorance.

APS is underfunded. Youngkin cut the budget but the GA were able to gain some back. The CB needs to step up.

When I see words like "true cost of a quality k-12 public school system" and a rejection of the concept that 50% of the county budget isn't enough, it makes me think such posters will never be satisfied.

APS is in the position that it's currently in because of bloat at the top, way too many administrative positions, expenditures on ridiculously expensive and unnecessary projects like ipads for early elementary school students and fancy architecture like the building HB is housed in rather than more teachers to reduce class size and better teacher salaries.

What do you think local govts spend money on? Schools are a huge priority.

How about this: let’s increase APS funding AND raise taxes enough so we can stick with 50% of the budget.

The tax rate here is low. And the per pupil spending (even with CIP projects!) is lower than areas with great school system. Take out the CIP funding and it’s much lower. You get what you pay for.

If you DGAF about the schools then just own it. But for those who do want our community to have good schools we are UNDERfunding them.

I get that the Rs want to tear down our schools to make the case for vouchers, but most people in Arlington don’t want that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And FCPS still funds TJ and offers more advanced instruction at elementary and middle school level. Amazing. You know how they do it? Larger class sizes! APS can’t have it all.

I’m good with the current gifted/advanced offerings for ES and MS. I definitely prioritize having smaller class sizes over adding more advanced options.

- Parent of two gifted kids

Higher class sizes are the way to pay teachers more in APS. That’s why FCPS can pay more.

Or push Youngkin and the CB to properly fund our (underfunded) schools.

Why was Youngkin trying to cut K-12 education? The GA salvaged some of the money but we still have a net loss.

I thought roughly 50% of the County budget went to APS despite the fact that only something like 19% of residents have children?

That doesn’t affect the true cost of a quality k-12 public school system. We all benefit from an educated population. Well, except the Rs. They benefit from ignorance.

APS is underfunded. Youngkin cut the budget but the GA were able to gain some back. The CB needs to step up.

When I see words like "true cost of a quality k-12 public school system" and a rejection of the concept that 50% of the county budget isn't enough, it makes me think such posters will never be satisfied.

APS is in the position that it's currently in because of bloat at the top, way too many administrative positions, expenditures on ridiculously expensive and unnecessary projects like ipads for early elementary school students and fancy architecture like the building HB is housed in rather than more teachers to reduce class size and better teacher salaries.

What do you think local govts spend money on? Schools are a huge priority.

How about this: let’s increase APS funding AND raise taxes enough so we can stick with 50% of the budget.

The tax rate here is low. And the per pupil spending (even with CIP projects!) is lower than areas with great school system. Take out the CIP funding and it’s much lower. You get what you pay for.

If you DGAF about the schools then just own it. But for those who do want our community to have good schools we are UNDERfunding them.

I get that the Rs want to tear down our schools to make the case for vouchers, but most people in Arlington don’t want that.

This is exactly right. People love to point to "bloat" and nice things like the Outdoor Lab but, again, none of these are busting the budget. They're 1%. Educating kids is expensive and better school districts, like in Massachusetts, spend more.

[Anonymous]

Why is it always the HB building that is held up as an example of overspending on vanity capital projects and not buildings like Discovery with its indoor slide and solar panels or adding features to all three new high school buildings to get LEED Gold certification?


+1. the slide is the most ridiculous thing ever

FYI FLeet ES and Cardinal ES also have indoor slides. Their slides are in stairwells which helps cut down on noise issues. They also have softer landings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it always the HB building that is held up as an example of overspending on vanity capital projects and not buildings like Discovery with its indoor slide and solar panels or adding features to all three new high school buildings to get LEED Gold certification?


+1. the slide is the most ridiculous thing ever

FYI FLeet ES and Cardinal ES also have indoor slides. Their slides are in stairwells which helps cut down on noise issues. They also have softer landings.

It’s a fun, non-tech reward that probably had negligible costs. I worked in one of those schools and it was a nice thing to have after walking kids up and down stairs all the time. Also good for indoor recess

[Anonymous]

Eyes on the prize, people! The per-seat cost of HBW/Shriver was exactly the same as the per-seat cost of the Hamm expansion. Totally agree, recent building expenses were absurd, but what's done is done. Let's focus on how to get class sizes smaller and how to actually pay great staff competitively with Fairfax. Debating slides and "the Heights" and the Outdoor Lab won't get us there. It will require sustained pressure to the County Board to prioritize schools over their myriad vanity projects, pressure on state elected officials to fix the ridiculous underfunding of Arlington schools relative to our neighboring districts, and pressure on the School Board to cut more Syphax bloat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eyes on the prize, people! The per-seat cost of HBW/Shriver was exactly the same as the per-seat cost of the Hamm expansion. Totally agree, recent building expenses were absurd, but what's done is done. Let's focus on how to get class sizes smaller and how to actually pay great staff competitively with Fairfax. Debating slides and "the Heights" and the Outdoor Lab won't get us there. It will require sustained pressure to the County Board to prioritize schools over their myriad vanity projects, pressure on state elected officials to fix the ridiculous underfunding of Arlington schools relative to our neighboring districts, and pressure on the School Board to cut more Syphax bloat.

Agree 100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eyes on the prize, people! The per-seat cost of HBW/Shriver was exactly the same as the per-seat cost of the Hamm expansion. Totally agree, recent building expenses were absurd, but what's done is done. Let's focus on how to get class sizes smaller and how to actually pay great staff competitively with Fairfax. Debating slides and "the Heights" and the Outdoor Lab won't get us there. It will require sustained pressure to the County Board to prioritize schools over their myriad vanity projects, pressure on state elected officials to fix the ridiculous underfunding of Arlington schools relative to our neighboring districts, and pressure on the School Board to cut more Syphax bloat.

APS should be a top County Board vanity project.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eyes on the prize, people! The per-seat cost of HBW/Shriver was exactly the same as the per-seat cost of the Hamm expansion. Totally agree, recent building expenses were absurd, but what's done is done. Let's focus on how to get class sizes smaller and how to actually pay great staff competitively with Fairfax. Debating slides and "the Heights" and the Outdoor Lab won't get us there. It will require sustained pressure to the County Board to prioritize schools over their myriad vanity projects, pressure on state elected officials to fix the ridiculous underfunding of Arlington schools relative to our neighboring districts, and pressure on the School Board to cut more Syphax bloat.

APS should be a top County Board vanity project.

It receives 50% of the county budget. What percentage of county budgets do other school districts receive?

[Anonymous]

50% of 0 is 0.

The % doesn’t matter, funding the cost matters.

If you are concerned about the %, raise taxes to maintain 50%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eyes on the prize, people! The per-seat cost of HBW/Shriver was exactly the same as the per-seat cost of the Hamm expansion. Totally agree, recent building expenses were absurd, but what's done is done. Let's focus on how to get class sizes smaller and how to actually pay great staff competitively with Fairfax. Debating slides and "the Heights" and the Outdoor Lab won't get us there. It will require sustained pressure to the County Board to prioritize schools over their myriad vanity projects, pressure on state elected officials to fix the ridiculous underfunding of Arlington schools relative to our neighboring districts, and pressure on the School Board to cut more Syphax bloat.

APS should be a top County Board vanity project.

That would provide a better benefit to the community than the $1M bus stop or over-the-top (gross) dog park.