McDaniel on FCPS budget

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is definitely a bit of fat in FCPS, but the vast majority is salaries for underpaid instructional staff. Simple supply and demand economics dictates that wages for teachers need to rise, or this shortage is only going to get worse. The division is already hundreds of teachers in the hole going into this school year, with ever-decreasing enrollments at teacher colleges.

Would love to hear OP’s strategies for recruiting a workforce when most of our staff aren’t currently paid a wage that allows them to even rent in Fairfax.

OP here. I voted for the meals tax the last go round. I was a supporter of public schools until the spring 2024 “great boundary reset” exercise. So, at this point, I just can’t support a school district that is running itself into the ground because of equity. They’ve done nothing to garner my support and everything to lose it. Maybe they don’t need my support, but I don’t think I’m the only one thoroughly disgusted with the 8130 push over the objection of constituents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t have a strategy and it’s more of a protest vote, unfortunately. Though, I’m not the one making the decisions and they aren’t listening to people like me anyway.

Plenty of constituents think a less political and more facts-based approach to boundaries makes sense. Plenty of us want the transportation savings, elimination of underenrolled next to overenrolled schools, elimination of attendance islands … Plenty of us didn’t fall for the great falls/fairfacts misinformation campaign focused entirely on self-interest of one or two areas in the county.

“Plenty” of you fall for the sb’s line that this is needed and will result in some mythical savings. There’s literally a handful of you on this message board as proof.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is definitely a bit of fat in FCPS, but the vast majority is salaries for underpaid instructional staff. Simple supply and demand economics dictates that wages for teachers need to rise, or this shortage is only going to get worse. The division is already hundreds of teachers in the hole going into this school year, with ever-decreasing enrollments at teacher colleges.

Would love to hear OP’s strategies for recruiting a workforce when most of our staff aren’t currently paid a wage that allows them to even rent in Fairfax.

OP here. I voted for the meals tax the last go round. I was a supporter of public schools until the spring 2024 “great boundary reset” exercise. So, at this point, I just can’t support a school district that is running itself into the ground because of equity. They’ve done nothing to garner my support and everything to lose it. Maybe they don’t need my support, but I don’t think I’m the only one thoroughly disgusted with the 8130 push over the objection of constituents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t have a strategy and it’s more of a protest vote, unfortunately. Though, I’m not the one making the decisions and they aren’t listening to people like me anyway.

Plenty of constituents think a less political and more facts-based approach to boundaries makes sense. Plenty of us want the transportation savings, elimination of underenrolled next to overenrolled schools, elimination of attendance islands … Plenty of us didn’t fall for the great falls/fairfacts misinformation campaign focused entirely on self-interest of one or two areas in the county.

P.S. you are the reason I no longer support the meals tax. I get to cancel out your vote!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is definitely a bit of fat in FCPS, but the vast majority is salaries for underpaid instructional staff. Simple supply and demand economics dictates that wages for teachers need to rise, or this shortage is only going to get worse. The division is already hundreds of teachers in the hole going into this school year, with ever-decreasing enrollments at teacher colleges.

Would love to hear OP’s strategies for recruiting a workforce when most of our staff aren’t currently paid a wage that allows them to even rent in Fairfax.

OP here. I voted for the meals tax the last go round. I was a supporter of public schools until the spring 2024 “great boundary reset” exercise. So, at this point, I just can’t support a school district that is running itself into the ground because of equity. They’ve done nothing to garner my support and everything to lose it. Maybe they don’t need my support, but I don’t think I’m the only one thoroughly disgusted with the 8130 push over the objection of constituents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t have a strategy and it’s more of a protest vote, unfortunately. Though, I’m not the one making the decisions and they aren’t listening to people like me anyway.

Plenty of constituents think a less political and more facts-based approach to boundaries makes sense. Plenty of us want the transportation savings, elimination of underenrolled next to overenrolled schools, elimination of attendance islands … Plenty of us didn’t fall for the great falls/fairfacts misinformation campaign focused entirely on self-interest of one or two areas in the county.

P.S. you are the reason I no longer support the meals tax. I get to cancel out your vote!

Except you don’t get to vote on meals tax anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is definitely a bit of fat in FCPS, but the vast majority is salaries for underpaid instructional staff. Simple supply and demand economics dictates that wages for teachers need to rise, or this shortage is only going to get worse. The division is already hundreds of teachers in the hole going into this school year, with ever-decreasing enrollments at teacher colleges.

Would love to hear OP’s strategies for recruiting a workforce when most of our staff aren’t currently paid a wage that allows them to even rent in Fairfax.

OP here. I voted for the meals tax the last go round. I was a supporter of public schools until the spring 2024 “great boundary reset” exercise. So, at this point, I just can’t support a school district that is running itself into the ground because of equity. They’ve done nothing to garner my support and everything to lose it. Maybe they don’t need my support, but I don’t think I’m the only one thoroughly disgusted with the 8130 push over the objection of constituents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t have a strategy and it’s more of a protest vote, unfortunately. Though, I’m not the one making the decisions and they aren’t listening to people like me anyway.

Plenty of constituents think a less political and more facts-based approach to boundaries makes sense. Plenty of us want the transportation savings, elimination of underenrolled next to overenrolled schools, elimination of attendance islands … Plenty of us didn’t fall for the great falls/fairfacts misinformation campaign focused entirely on self-interest of one or two areas in the county.

P.S. you are the reason I no longer support the meals tax. I get to cancel out your vote!

Except you don’t get to vote on meals tax anymore.

I do get to vote on the very close issue of vouchers though! That’s a state issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is definitely a bit of fat in FCPS, but the vast majority is salaries for underpaid instructional staff. Simple supply and demand economics dictates that wages for teachers need to rise, or this shortage is only going to get worse. The division is already hundreds of teachers in the hole going into this school year, with ever-decreasing enrollments at teacher colleges.

Would love to hear OP’s strategies for recruiting a workforce when most of our staff aren’t currently paid a wage that allows them to even rent in Fairfax.

OP here. I voted for the meals tax the last go round. I was a supporter of public schools until the spring 2024 “great boundary reset” exercise. So, at this point, I just can’t support a school district that is running itself into the ground because of equity. They’ve done nothing to garner my support and everything to lose it. Maybe they don’t need my support, but I don’t think I’m the only one thoroughly disgusted with the 8130 push over the objection of constituents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t have a strategy and it’s more of a protest vote, unfortunately. Though, I’m not the one making the decisions and they aren’t listening to people like me anyway.

The 8130 push is one of the few options to get school transportation and facility costs under control. Roughly 85% of the FFX County school system budget is spent on teachers and teaching assistants. The remainder of the budget is where there is potential for savings, namely transportation costs (5.4% or $207 million), facilities management (3.8% or $145 million), and general support and administration (5% or $190 million). School board members have seen staff estimates showing that annual transportation costs could be cut by 10% to 20% and facilities management costs could be cut by 5% to 10% through more efficient district boundaries and better utilization of county-wide capacity. That’s potential for up to $50 million in annual savings that could be put toward more teachers and reducing classroom sizes. But opposition to 8130 and similar measures makes it very difficult for the administrator and board to make changes to realize those savings.

The current school system budget is unsustainable, as teachers are underpaid (relative to the surrounding counties) and attrition is excessive (leading to severe understaffing and many classes led by assistants and subs), so significantly more funding is needed, and, if it’s not going to come through more efficient district boundaries and better utilization of county-wide capacity, then it needs to come from the state (which the county has no control over) or through local taxes (property taxes or meal taxes). Realistically, if Richmomd won’t provide more funding, then it will likely require an all-of-the-above approach of more efficient school boundaries and new/higher taxes.

Within the context of the overall budget, $50M reallocated away from transportation and facilities is not worth it, especially if it’s only realized by changing school boundaries and disrupting family and community ties to existing pyramids. It seems almost like an exercise in blackmail, whereby the School Board will engage in a highly disruptive exercise in order to focus attention on the additional money it wants from both the state and county taxpayers.

FCPS lost 10K kids due to its response to COVID and could lose another 10K kids if it implements widely unpopular boundary changes. The current School Board seems to have no clue as to how fragile the system is right now, and their apparent insistence on county-wide boundary changes may just push it over the edge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is definitely a bit of fat in FCPS, but the vast majority is salaries for underpaid instructional staff. Simple supply and demand economics dictates that wages for teachers need to rise, or this shortage is only going to get worse. The division is already hundreds of teachers in the hole going into this school year, with ever-decreasing enrollments at teacher colleges.

Would love to hear OP’s strategies for recruiting a workforce when most of our staff aren’t currently paid a wage that allows them to even rent in Fairfax.

OP here. I voted for the meals tax the last go round. I was a supporter of public schools until the spring 2024 “great boundary reset” exercise. So, at this point, I just can’t support a school district that is running itself into the ground because of equity. They’ve done nothing to garner my support and everything to lose it. Maybe they don’t need my support, but I don’t think I’m the only one thoroughly disgusted with the 8130 push over the objection of constituents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t have a strategy and it’s more of a protest vote, unfortunately. Though, I’m not the one making the decisions and they aren’t listening to people like me anyway.

The 8130 push is one of the few options to get school transportation and facility costs under control. Roughly 85% of the FFX County school system budget is spent on teachers and teaching assistants. The remainder of the budget is where there is potential for savings, namely transportation costs (5.4% or $207 million), facilities management (3.8% or $145 million), and general support and administration (5% or $190 million). School board members have seen staff estimates showing that annual transportation costs could be cut by 10% to 20% and facilities management costs could be cut by 5% to 10% through more efficient district boundaries and better utilization of county-wide capacity. That’s potential for up to $50 million in annual savings that could be put toward more teachers and reducing classroom sizes. But opposition to 8130 and similar measures makes it very difficult for the administrator and board to make changes to realize those savings.

The current school system budget is unsustainable, as teachers are underpaid (relative to the surrounding counties) and attrition is excessive (leading to severe understaffing and many classes led by assistants and subs), so significantly more funding is needed, and, if it’s not going to come through more efficient district boundaries and better utilization of county-wide capacity, then it needs to come from the state (which the county has no control over) or through local taxes (property taxes or meal taxes). Realistically, if Richmomd won’t provide more funding, then it will likely require an all-of-the-above approach of more efficient school boundaries and new/higher taxes.

Within the context of the overall budget, $50M reallocated away from transportation and facilities is not worth it, especially if it’s only realized by changing school boundaries and disrupting family and community ties to existing pyramids. It seems almost like an exercise in blackmail, whereby the School Board will engage in a highly disruptive exercise in order to focus attention on the additional money it wants from both the state and county taxpayers.

FCPS lost 10K kids due to its response to COVID and could lose another 10K kids if it implements widely unpopular boundary changes. The current School Board seems to have no clue as to how fragile the system is right now, and their apparent insistence on county-wide boundary changes may just push it over the edge.

+1. Instead they just rail against their constituents Sandy Anderson-style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is definitely a bit of fat in FCPS, but the vast majority is salaries for underpaid instructional staff. Simple supply and demand economics dictates that wages for teachers need to rise, or this shortage is only going to get worse. The division is already hundreds of teachers in the hole going into this school year, with ever-decreasing enrollments at teacher colleges.

Would love to hear OP’s strategies for recruiting a workforce when most of our staff aren’t currently paid a wage that allows them to even rent in Fairfax.

OP here. I voted for the meals tax the last go round. I was a supporter of public schools until the spring 2024 “great boundary reset” exercise. So, at this point, I just can’t support a school district that is running itself into the ground because of equity. They’ve done nothing to garner my support and everything to lose it. Maybe they don’t need my support, but I don’t think I’m the only one thoroughly disgusted with the 8130 push over the objection of constituents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t have a strategy and it’s more of a protest vote, unfortunately. Though, I’m not the one making the decisions and they aren’t listening to people like me anyway.

Plenty of constituents think a less political and more facts-based approach to boundaries makes sense. Plenty of us want the transportation savings, elimination of underenrolled next to overenrolled schools, elimination of attendance islands … Plenty of us didn’t fall for the great falls/fairfacts misinformation campaign focused entirely on self-interest of one or two areas in the county.

P.S. you are the reason I no longer support the meals tax. I get to cancel out your vote!

Except you don’t get to vote on meals tax anymore.

I do get to vote on the very close issue of vouchers though! That’s a state issue.

You republicans are hysterical. Truly comical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cut administration and gatehouse staff for starters.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is definitely a bit of fat in FCPS, but the vast majority is salaries for underpaid instructional staff. Simple supply and demand economics dictates that wages for teachers need to rise, or this shortage is only going to get worse. The division is already hundreds of teachers in the hole going into this school year, with ever-decreasing enrollments at teacher colleges.

Would love to hear OP’s strategies for recruiting a workforce when most of our staff aren’t currently paid a wage that allows them to even rent in Fairfax.

OP here. I voted for the meals tax the last go round. I was a supporter of public schools until the spring 2024 “great boundary reset” exercise. So, at this point, I just can’t support a school district that is running itself into the ground because of equity. They’ve done nothing to garner my support and everything to lose it. Maybe they don’t need my support, but I don’t think I’m the only one thoroughly disgusted with the 8130 push over the objection of constituents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t have a strategy and it’s more of a protest vote, unfortunately. Though, I’m not the one making the decisions and they aren’t listening to people like me anyway.

The 8130 push is one of the few options to get school transportation and facility costs under control. Roughly 85% of the FFX County school system budget is spent on teachers and teaching assistants. The remainder of the budget is where there is potential for savings, namely transportation costs (5.4% or $207 million), facilities management (3.8% or $145 million), and general support and administration (5% or $190 million). School board members have seen staff estimates showing that annual transportation costs could be cut by 10% to 20% and facilities management costs could be cut by 5% to 10% through more efficient district boundaries and better utilization of county-wide capacity. That’s potential for up to $50 million in annual savings that could be put toward more teachers and reducing classroom sizes. But opposition to 8130 and similar measures makes it very difficult for the administrator and board to make changes to realize those savings.

The current school system budget is unsustainable, as teachers are underpaid (relative to the surrounding counties) and attrition is excessive (leading to severe understaffing and many classes led by assistants and subs), so significantly more funding is needed, and, if it’s not going to come through more efficient district boundaries and better utilization of county-wide capacity, then it needs to come from the state (which the county has no control over) or through local taxes (property taxes or meal taxes). Realistically, if Richmond won’t provide more funding, then it will likely require an all-of-the-above approach of more efficient school boundaries and new/higher taxes.

Within the context of the overall budget, $50M reallocated away from transportation and facilities is not worth it, especially if it’s only realized by changing school boundaries and disrupting family and community ties to existing pyramids. It seems almost like an exercise in blackmail, whereby the School Board will engage in a highly disruptive exercise in order to focus attention on the additional money it wants from both the state and county taxpayers.

FCPS lost 10K kids due to its response to COVID and could lose another 10K kids if it implements widely unpopular boundary changes. The current School Board seems to have no clue as to how fragile the system is right now, and their apparent insistence on county-wide boundary changes may just push it over the edge.

FCPS needs another $100M for staff (new staff/backfills and benefits) to get attrition under control, so, if you aren’t supportive of the County pursuing $50M in savings through more efficient bussing and facilities utilization, then I hope you are supportive of increased property taxes and a meal tax. Because if we don’t get those taxes, it will force the school board to make more draconian changes than they would otherwise to to keep class sizes at current levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is definitely a bit of fat in FCPS, but the vast majority is salaries for underpaid instructional staff. Simple supply and demand economics dictates that wages for teachers need to rise, or this shortage is only going to get worse. The division is already hundreds of teachers in the hole going into this school year, with ever-decreasing enrollments at teacher colleges.

Would love to hear OP’s strategies for recruiting a workforce when most of our staff aren’t currently paid a wage that allows them to even rent in Fairfax.

OP here. I voted for the meals tax the last go round. I was a supporter of public schools until the spring 2024 “great boundary reset” exercise. So, at this point, I just can’t support a school district that is running itself into the ground because of equity. They’ve done nothing to garner my support and everything to lose it. Maybe they don’t need my support, but I don’t think I’m the only one thoroughly disgusted with the 8130 push over the objection of constituents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t have a strategy and it’s more of a protest vote, unfortunately. Though, I’m not the one making the decisions and they aren’t listening to people like me anyway.

The 8130 push is one of the few options to get school transportation and facility costs under control. Roughly 85% of the FFX County school system budget is spent on teachers and teaching assistants. The remainder of the budget is where there is potential for savings, namely transportation costs (5.4% or $207 million), facilities management (3.8% or $145 million), and general support and administration (5% or $190 million). School board members have seen staff estimates showing that annual transportation costs could be cut by 10% to 20% and facilities management costs could be cut by 5% to 10% through more efficient district boundaries and better utilization of county-wide capacity. That’s potential for up to $50 million in annual savings that could be put toward more teachers and reducing classroom sizes. But opposition to 8130 and similar measures makes it very difficult for the administrator and board to make changes to realize those savings.

The current school system budget is unsustainable, as teachers are underpaid (relative to the surrounding counties) and attrition is excessive (leading to severe understaffing and many classes led by assistants and subs), so significantly more funding is needed, and, if it’s not going to come through more efficient district boundaries and better utilization of county-wide capacity, then it needs to come from the state (which the county has no control over) or through local taxes (property taxes or meal taxes). Realistically, if Richmond won’t provide more funding, then it will likely require an all-of-the-above approach of more efficient school boundaries and new/higher taxes.

Within the context of the overall budget, $50M reallocated away from transportation and facilities is not worth it, especially if it’s only realized by changing school boundaries and disrupting family and community ties to existing pyramids. It seems almost like an exercise in blackmail, whereby the School Board will engage in a highly disruptive exercise in order to focus attention on the additional money it wants from both the state and county taxpayers.

FCPS lost 10K kids due to its response to COVID and could lose another 10K kids if it implements widely unpopular boundary changes. The current School Board seems to have no clue as to how fragile the system is right now, and their apparent insistence on county-wide boundary changes may just push it over the edge.

FCPS needs another $100M for staff (new staff/backfills and benefits) to get attrition under control, so, if you aren’t supportive of the County pursuing $50M in savings through more efficient bussing and facilities utilization, then I hope you are supportive of increased property taxes and a meal tax. Because if we don’t get those taxes, it will force the school board to make more draconian changes than they would otherwise to to keep class sizes at current levels.

I don’t accept that your number justifies system-wide changes that will send more families fleeing out of FCPS.

Enjoy your self-inflicted death spiral.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is definitely a bit of fat in FCPS, but the vast majority is salaries for underpaid instructional staff. Simple supply and demand economics dictates that wages for teachers need to rise, or this shortage is only going to get worse. The division is already hundreds of teachers in the hole going into this school year, with ever-decreasing enrollments at teacher colleges.

Would love to hear OP’s strategies for recruiting a workforce when most of our staff aren’t currently paid a wage that allows them to even rent in Fairfax.

OP here. I voted for the meals tax the last go round. I was a supporter of public schools until the spring 2024 “great boundary reset” exercise. So, at this point, I just can’t support a school district that is running itself into the ground because of equity. They’ve done nothing to garner my support and everything to lose it. Maybe they don’t need my support, but I don’t think I’m the only one thoroughly disgusted with the 8130 push over the objection of constituents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t have a strategy and it’s more of a protest vote, unfortunately. Though, I’m not the one making the decisions and they aren’t listening to people like me anyway.

Plenty of constituents think a less political and more facts-based approach to boundaries makes sense. Plenty of us want the transportation savings, elimination of underenrolled next to overenrolled schools, elimination of attendance islands … Plenty of us didn’t fall for the great falls/fairfacts misinformation campaign focused entirely on self-interest of one or two areas in the county.

P.S. you are the reason I no longer support the meals tax. I get to cancel out your vote!

Except you don’t get to vote on meals tax anymore.

I do get to vote on the very close issue of vouchers though! That’s a state issue.

You republicans are hysterical. Truly comical.

I’m not a Republican, but they well indeed might have the last laugh. Last I checked the state government is ever so slightly blue. Not sure if they can afford to lose too many delegates or state senators.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is definitely a bit of fat in FCPS, but the vast majority is salaries for underpaid instructional staff. Simple supply and demand economics dictates that wages for teachers need to rise, or this shortage is only going to get worse. The division is already hundreds of teachers in the hole going into this school year, with ever-decreasing enrollments at teacher colleges.

Would love to hear OP’s strategies for recruiting a workforce when most of our staff aren’t currently paid a wage that allows them to even rent in Fairfax.

OP here. I voted for the meals tax the last go round. I was a supporter of public schools until the spring 2024 “great boundary reset” exercise. So, at this point, I just can’t support a school district that is running itself into the ground because of equity. They’ve done nothing to garner my support and everything to lose it. Maybe they don’t need my support, but I don’t think I’m the only one thoroughly disgusted with the 8130 push over the objection of constituents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t have a strategy and it’s more of a protest vote, unfortunately. Though, I’m not the one making the decisions and they aren’t listening to people like me anyway.

The 8130 push is one of the few options to get school transportation and facility costs under control. Roughly 85% of the FFX County school system budget is spent on teachers and teaching assistants. The remainder of the budget is where there is potential for savings, namely transportation costs (5.4% or $207 million), facilities management (3.8% or $145 million), and general support and administration (5% or $190 million). School board members have seen staff estimates showing that annual transportation costs could be cut by 10% to 20% and facilities management costs could be cut by 5% to 10% through more efficient district boundaries and better utilization of county-wide capacity. That’s potential for up to $50 million in annual savings that could be put toward more teachers and reducing classroom sizes. But opposition to 8130 and similar measures makes it very difficult for the administrator and board to make changes to realize those savings.

The current school system budget is unsustainable, as teachers are underpaid (relative to the surrounding counties) and attrition is excessive (leading to severe understaffing and many classes led by assistants and subs), so significantly more funding is needed, and, if it’s not going to come through more efficient district boundaries and better utilization of county-wide capacity, then it needs to come from the state (which the county has no control over) or through local taxes (property taxes or meal taxes). Realistically, if Richmond won’t provide more funding, then it will likely require an all-of-the-above approach of more efficient school boundaries and new/higher taxes.

Within the context of the overall budget, $50M reallocated away from transportation and facilities is not worth it, especially if it’s only realized by changing school boundaries and disrupting family and community ties to existing pyramids. It seems almost like an exercise in blackmail, whereby the School Board will engage in a highly disruptive exercise in order to focus attention on the additional money it wants from both the state and county taxpayers.

FCPS lost 10K kids due to its response to COVID and could lose another 10K kids if it implements widely unpopular boundary changes. The current School Board seems to have no clue as to how fragile the system is right now, and their apparent insistence on county-wide boundary changes may just push it over the edge.

FCPS needs another $100M for staff (new staff/backfills and benefits) to get attrition under control, so, if you aren’t supportive of the County pursuing $50M in savings through more efficient bussing and facilities utilization, then I hope you are supportive of increased property taxes and a meal tax. Because if we don’t get those taxes, it will force the school board to make more draconian changes than they would otherwise to to keep class sizes at current levels.

I don’t accept that your number justifies system-wide changes that will send more families fleeing out of FCPS.

Enjoy your self-inflicted death spiral.

The money has to come from somewhere. If residents won’t support taxes, what choice do they have?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cut administration and gatehouse staff for starters.

This.

Plus +1. And I am a democrat who is tired of the bloated and incompetent staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.ffxnow.com/2024/08/01/fairfax-county-school-boards-new-budget-chair-suggests-change-in-approach-to-funding-challenges/

Just saw this and had to laugh. They must be smoking something if they think they’re going to have the public on their side for the meals tax or increased budget after detrimentally pressing reset on the boundaries.

If anything, the FCPS SB is doing everything that it can to get vouchers in Virginia.

Meal tax, not. No way

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is definitely a bit of fat in FCPS, but the vast majority is salaries for underpaid instructional staff. Simple supply and demand economics dictates that wages for teachers need to rise, or this shortage is only going to get worse. The division is already hundreds of teachers in the hole going into this school year, with ever-decreasing enrollments at teacher colleges.

Would love to hear OP’s strategies for recruiting a workforce when most of our staff aren’t currently paid a wage that allows them to even rent in Fairfax.

OP here. I voted for the meals tax the last go round. I was a supporter of public schools until the spring 2024 “great boundary reset” exercise. So, at this point, I just can’t support a school district that is running itself into the ground because of equity. They’ve done nothing to garner my support and everything to lose it. Maybe they don’t need my support, but I don’t think I’m the only one thoroughly disgusted with the 8130 push over the objection of constituents.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t have a strategy and it’s more of a protest vote, unfortunately. Though, I’m not the one making the decisions and they aren’t listening to people like me anyway.

Plenty of constituents think a less political and more facts-based approach to boundaries makes sense. Plenty of us want the transportation savings, elimination of underenrolled next to overenrolled schools, elimination of attendance islands … Plenty of us didn’t fall for the great falls/fairfacts misinformation campaign focused entirely on self-interest of one or two areas in the county.

P.S. you are the reason I no longer support the meals tax. I get to cancel out your vote!

Except you don’t get to vote on meals tax anymore.

I do get to vote on the very close issue of vouchers though! That’s a state issue.

You republicans are hysterical. Truly comical.

I’m not a Republican, but they well indeed might have the last laugh. Last I checked the state government is ever so slightly blue. Not sure if they can afford to lose too many delegates or state senators.

Are there even republicans in the county?