How would you cut the budget?

[Anonymous]

Close TJHSST

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, agree with cutting transportation to AAP centers and specialized schools - if you want to go to TJ, get yourself there.

And no need to hire specialized math teachers for the 4 kids that are taking invariant calculus. If your kid wants to take advanced math, she can take it online or at the local community college.

Agree with ending transportation for AAP and TJHSST. There is a parent-funded bus for the kids who are pupil-placed at Langley.

My sister’s county in North Carolina has three buses for a 500 kid elementary school. Technically your child can ride the bus, but the bus routes are two hours long. So almost everyone drives their child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are already facing a budget shortfall and if the economy tanks it will be worse. What do you think should be done to cut the budget?

The county will fund the schools. I wouldn’t worry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 million (and I'd add, cut AAP centers. Local Level IV at every school.)

Some schools are over capacity even after shipping out all their AAP kids to a center. They couldn't do Local Level IV if they wanted to.
Others don't have enough AAP kids per grade to fill a classroom so they need the center. It's probably cheaper to run the busses to centers who can take them than to hire more teachers for half empty classes.

Then obviously, all kids need to be returned to their base schools and boundaries redrawn based *only* on what those numbers look like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cut gatehouse staffing by 50%, reduce superintendent pay by 20%, eliminate IB or at most offer at 1 school.

This!

Also, cut all the second tier superintendents by half, then cut their pay by 20%

There is no reason why we pay a DEI superintendent almost $300,000.

My oldest graduated from FCPS before DEI was a big thing. All so kids mixed between ethnic groups and the friend groups were full of kids of all races.

My youngest is finishing high school this year, having gone through the formative teen years during FCPS heavy DEI push and emphasis everywhere. The kids all mostly self segregate between racial, ethnic and identity groups, instead of just hanging with kids of shared interest. It is sad to see how different the teens were pre DEI focus and now.

If this represents the fruit of the labor of FCPS dei focus, then cur all of it. It has been a waste of money and actually harmed kids by focusing on perceived differences based on ethnicity and skin color.

+100
Totally agree. Before the constant focus on DEI, everyone just hung out together at my kids' school when my oldest two went there. In the last four years, that has completely changed. It is so unhealthy - for *everyone* - to have this preoccupation with skin color/affinity groups. DEI has been so damaging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

BRAC is the closest thing to DOGE that FCPS has ever undertaken. The “one off” boundary changes are expensive and incredibly inefficient, costing up to several hundred thousand dollars each, which is large part of the reason why they aren’t common. One BRAC analysis for 2x to 4x cost that covers every school in FCPS? That is incredibly, incredibly efficient by comparison.

No. It is not anywhere comparable to DOGE except for major disruption.

The purpose of DOGE is to cut waste, fraud, and abuse. Whether it does that is certainly up for discussion.

However, this BRAC is:
BRAC committee is anything but transparent--NDA's for committee members; questionable selection processes for the committee.

Waste: Spending $$$ to a contractor --why? So, FCPS can pass the buck on decision making and pretend that an unprejudiced third part is making the decisions. (Meanwhile, the committee selected is anything but unprejudiced.)
While there certainly are boundaries that need to be adjusted, it would appear they are not the ones much discussed on this thread.
A PP said this would be money savings. Does he/she really believe that this is only 2 to 4 times the cost of an individual school boundary study?
Why spend money on a study that is not needed? It seems to me that with all the construction going on around Coates that this could have been easily adjusted two years ago.

$$ for double busing.
Do you think it is not going to cost money to switch staffs? Haven't heard a word about how these changes are going to affect that.

Fraud: Maybe, maybe not. Why was there a non-compete award? Is the contract limited to $500K? Highly unlikely
Have there been change orders?

Abuse: Putting the entire school community into uncertainty. It may not be a right to be sent to a certain school, but when a switch is made, it disturbs neighborhoods and communities. Anyone who says differently has not been through a boundary change.

Not addressing the AP/IB issue when discussing this. That is a major concern of many parents of high school students.

One of the SB members said that they would not eliminate AAP centers because of the AAP so activism. Fine, but why does one group have so much influence, when the community as a whole has made it clear they do not want this fiasco of a study? Overwhelmingly, people want to stay at their current schools.

From the CIP, there do not appear to be any high schools that are too small. There are a couple that are full, but it appears that is a temporary situation.

Fairfax County residents are undergoing a major employment upheaval right now. Adding this to it is abusive.

DP. The fact that AAP has a loud advocacy group is sickening. Where's the advocacy group for the Gen Ed kids? Talk about INEQUITY...

They're busy running to every thread to type in ALL CAPS about how unfair the AAP program is. Their time would probably be better spent actually advocating for their own gen ed kids instead of obsessing over other people's AAP kids.

Well, sorry - FCPS is laser focused on "equity" and offering AAP to one huge group but not the other is the very definition of inequity. If they were serious, they would make sure every child had the opportunity to cycle into and out of AAP groups as needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cut gatehouse staffing by 50%, reduce superintendent pay by 20%, eliminate IB or at most offer at 1 school.

This!

Also, cut all the second tier superintendents by half, then cut their pay by 20%

There is no reason why we pay a DEI superintendent almost $300,000.

My oldest graduated from FCPS before DEI was a big thing. All so kids mixed between ethnic groups and the friend groups were full of kids of all races.

My youngest is finishing high school this year, having gone through the formative teen years during FCPS heavy DEI push and emphasis everywhere. The kids all mostly self segregate between racial, ethnic and identity groups, instead of just hanging with kids of shared interest. It is sad to see how different the teens were pre DEI focus and now.

If this represents the fruit of the labor of FCPS dei focus, then cur all of it. It has been a waste of money and actually harmed kids by focusing on perceived differences based on ethnicity and skin color.

A little off topic, but having grown up in the equality era and now being in the equity era, it does feel like equality is a better path. We always learned don’t judge people by the color of their skin, but the equity approach seems to directly force us to do that.

I’m not convinced equity is the best path forward, and seems to run very counter to its intended purpose.

-a Dem voter

+1
"Equity" forces everyone to point out our differences and harbor resentment. "Equality" means that everyone - no matter what - is afforded the same opportunities. I'll take equality any day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cut all DEI personnel and programs immediately.

So you mean to cut special education?

Did I say that? You're just making stuff up.

DEI includes more than LGBQ

You're right, it's racist too.

So tired of having to educate you morons about DEI. Define it for me so I can understand what you think it is. Hint: It’s not racist. But I ask you: Why do you hate inclusion? Seriously.

And how much does “DEI” cost the schools?

We have laws that cover the issues that matter. We do not need a special staff. We do have diversity--we don't need anyone teaching us about who is privileged and who is now.
What is the best thing for the minority groups? Education. Period. What is the best thing for majority groups? Education.

We do not need "Pride Days" or "Transgender visibility" days. We just need for kids to treat each other with respect. And, you do not need a special staff for that.

And you think that people treat others with respect automatically?

You think that teachers do not do that without being told? You think that Nardos King is going to make a difference in that?

Teachers don’t know even who that is.

Anyone who has been with the county more than 5-10 years knows exactly who she is. Most of us agree these positions should be cut. The poster who is putting up actual numbers is doing good work. Keep going!

I’ve been with FCPS 32 years and I didn’t recognize her name. My spouse has been with FCPS 18 years and when I just asked her she said “Nope. What region or area she in?” I’d be willing to bet if I asked 10 of my ES colleagues, none would know her name.

She’s the chief equity officer. She used to be a regional assistant superintendent and before that was a hs principal. Can’t remember which - maybe Mount Vernon? She has been failing upwards. She is incredibly unimpressive and produces no work of value. She has tons of staff in her equity office who also do nothing of value.

She's best known for having taken out an ad in the Mount Vernon HS yearbook when she was principal touting "Body Magic" energy drinks she was selling as a side hustle that would supposedly "Enhance Your Sex Drive."

Just what the kids at Mount Vernon needed...

DP. Holy $hit! I didn't know this -

https://www.potomaclocal.com/2010/07/28/controversial-ad-lands-principal-in-hot-water/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are already facing a budget shortfall and if the economy tanks it will be worse. What do you think should be done to cut the budget?

The county will fund the schools. I wouldn’t worry.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 million (and I'd add, cut AAP centers. Local Level IV at every school.)

Some schools are over capacity even after shipping out all their AAP kids to a center. They couldn't do Local Level IV if they wanted to.
Others don't have enough AAP kids per grade to fill a classroom so they need the center. It's probably cheaper to run the busses to centers who can take them than to hire more teachers for half empty classes.

You don’t need a whole classroom of AAP kids. Teachers can do extension in class or have an AART do pullout. Just like most other school districts in this country. Research shows that when you mix higher and lower kids together in the same classroom, everyone rises.

No it doesn’t. It shows lower performers do better but the higher performers do not. In fact they’re often used as teacher helpers.

Like the high achieving Gen Ed kids in classrooms that include SPED?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 million (and I'd add, cut AAP centers. Local Level IV at every school.)

Some schools are over capacity even after shipping out all their AAP kids to a center. They couldn't do Local Level IV if they wanted to.
Others don't have enough AAP kids per grade to fill a classroom so they need the center. It's probably cheaper to run the busses to centers who can take them than to hire more teachers for half empty classes.

You don’t need a whole classroom of AAP kids. Teachers can do extension in class or have an AART do pullout. Just like most other school districts in this country. Research shows that when you mix higher and lower kids together in the same classroom, everyone rises.

No it doesn’t. It shows lower performers do better but the higher performers do not. In fact they’re often used as teacher helpers.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 million (and I'd add, cut AAP centers. Local Level IV at every school.)

Some schools are over capacity even after shipping out all their AAP kids to a center. They couldn't do Local Level IV if they wanted to.
Others don't have enough AAP kids per grade to fill a classroom so they need the center. It's probably cheaper to run the busses to centers who can take them than to hire more teachers for half empty classes.

You don’t need a whole classroom of AAP kids. Teachers can do extension in class or have an AART do pullout. Just like most other school districts in this country. Research shows that when you mix higher and lower kids together in the same classroom, everyone rises.

No it doesn’t. It shows lower performers do better but the higher performers do not. In fact they’re often used as teacher helpers.

+1

You can find research that supports just about anything you like. Confirmation bias.

[Anonymous]

If one group of kids (AAP) is somehow entitled to their own special learning environment, then Gen Ed kids also deserve the same treatment. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are already facing a budget shortfall and if the economy tanks it will be worse. What do you think should be done to cut the budget?

The county will fund the schools. I wouldn’t worry.

DP
I highly doubt they will fund FCPS's budget request.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If one group of kids (AAP) is somehow entitled to their own special learning environment, then Gen Ed kids also deserve the same treatment. Period.

They do. AAP parents do not disagree with you on this. Your fight is with the "push in" special ed parents on that one.