ACPS: City Council versus School Board

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone remember Ramee Gentry's comments about parents during redistricting? She said that parents who are vocal and well organized should have their opinions discounted. She was elected Chair the next year.

That's what they all still think. I could stomach it if I thought any of them actually cared about parents and students who aren't vocal or well organized.

Nolan's weird facebook rant was next level though because they ALL know that this year was a massive screw up and now they are on the defensive on all issues. The question is. who will be the scapegoat? Hutchings? Anderson who is likely retiring anyway and was Chair for most of the time? Likely they will somehow try to blame parents (and teachers and school administrators).

It will be interesting to watch.

She lost credibility with me in the last election.

"A major contribution to a School Board candidate’s campaign became known to the public three years late.

On Sept. 17 of this year, Veronica Nolan, a School Board incumbent who’s seeking reelection, filed an amendment to her campaign finance report covering Oct. 1-22, 2015. The amendment added a $27,000 contribution from Leadership for Educational Equity, a nonprofit, on Oct. 22, 2015.

This contribution carried forward to the present, accounting for half of Nolan’s most recently reported campaign fund balance of just over $54,000.

Nolan made an electronic entry in the state’s online reporting program on Nov. 22, 2015 for the full amount. She thought this sufficed for public disclosure."

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2018/oct/30/campaign-finance-confusion-alexandria/

I thought 501C4s and 501C3s couldn't give money to political campaigns. That's also a huge amount of money for an Alexandria school board election. At the very least it's very shady.

And $27,000? Aren't there campaign contribution limits? Beyond the c3 or c4 contributing to a political campaign issue.

It looks like that organization offers fellowships so I wonder if she got some funding through them and then was counseled after the fact to report it as a campaign contribution to be on the safe side?

[Anonymous]

Oh, and Virginia has no limits on campaign contributions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and Virginia has no limits on campaign contributions.

Not exactly the issue. From the Washington Post, November 25, 2018:

"The amounts were eye-popping for a school board election in a system of fewer than 16,000 students. While most contenders for the Alexandria City School Board collected contributions of a few hundred dollars or less, Veronica Nolan and Christopher Suarez outraised some opponents more than tenfold.

The source of their financial boost: Leaders in Education Fund, the political giving arm of Leadership for Educational Equity, an organization that trains Teach for America alumni to run for public office and is tied to billionaire donors allied with the charter school lobby."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and Virginia has no limits on campaign contributions.

Not exactly the issue. From the Washington Post, November 25, 2018:

"The amounts were eye-popping for a school board election in a system of fewer than 16,000 students. While most contenders for the Alexandria City School Board collected contributions of a few hundred dollars or less, Veronica Nolan and Christopher Suarez outraised some opponents more than tenfold.

The source of their financial boost: Leaders in Education Fund, the political giving arm of Leadership for Educational Equity, an organization that trains Teach for America alumni to run for public office and is tied to billionaire donors allied with the charter school lobby."

Well, I don't think that's been a good investment for the "billionaire donors allied with the charter school lobby." It's been six years since she got this donation. Has she even expressed even the mildest support for charter schools? She's definitely carried other water for a billionaire or two while on the board. But not charter schools.

But the amount is staggering in context. I'd be surprised that no one has asked her about it but this is Alexandria. No follow up questions are ever asked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone remember Ramee Gentry's comments about parents during redistricting? She said that parents who are vocal and well organized should have their opinions discounted. She was elected Chair the next year.

That's what they all still think. I could stomach it if I thought any of them actually cared about parents and students who aren't vocal or well organized.

Nolan's weird facebook rant was next level though because they ALL know that this year was a massive screw up and now they are on the defensive on all issues. The question is. who will be the scapegoat? Hutchings? Anderson who is likely retiring anyway and was Chair for most of the time? Likely they will somehow try to blame parents (and teachers and school administrators).

It will be interesting to watch.

She lost credibility with me in the last election.

"A major contribution to a School Board candidate’s campaign became known to the public three years late.

On Sept. 17 of this year, Veronica Nolan, a School Board incumbent who’s seeking reelection, filed an amendment to her campaign finance report covering Oct. 1-22, 2015. The amendment added a $27,000 contribution from Leadership for Educational Equity, a nonprofit, on Oct. 22, 2015.

This contribution carried forward to the present, accounting for half of Nolan’s most recently reported campaign fund balance of just over $54,000.

Nolan made an electronic entry in the state’s online reporting program on Nov. 22, 2015 for the full amount. She thought this sufficed for public disclosure."

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2018/oct/30/campaign-finance-confusion-alexandria/

I thought 501C4s and 501C3s couldn't give money to political campaigns. That's also a huge amount of money for an Alexandria school board election. At the very least it's very shady.

And $27,000? Aren't there campaign contribution limits? Beyond the c3 or c4 contributing to a political campaign issue.

It looks like that organization offers fellowships so I wonder if she got some funding through them and then was counseled after the fact to report it as a campaign contribution to be on the safe side?

How is that being on the safe side?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and Virginia has no limits on campaign contributions.

Not exactly the issue. From the Washington Post, November 25, 2018:

"The amounts were eye-popping for a school board election in a system of fewer than 16,000 students. While most contenders for the Alexandria City School Board collected contributions of a few hundred dollars or less, Veronica Nolan and Christopher Suarez outraised some opponents more than tenfold.

The source of their financial boost: Leaders in Education Fund, the political giving arm of Leadership for Educational Equity, an organization that trains Teach for America alumni to run for public office and is tied to billionaire donors allied with the charter school lobby."

Well, I don't think that's been a good investment for the "billionaire donors allied with the charter school lobby." It's been six years since she got this donation. Has she even expressed even the mildest support for charter schools? She's definitely carried other water for a billionaire or two while on the board. But not charter schools.

But the amount is staggering in context. I'd be surprised that no one has asked her about it but this is Alexandria. No follow up questions are ever asked.

It came up in the last election but no one cared, obviously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and Virginia has no limits on campaign contributions.

Not exactly the issue. From the Washington Post, November 25, 2018:

"The amounts were eye-popping for a school board election in a system of fewer than 16,000 students. While most contenders for the Alexandria City School Board collected contributions of a few hundred dollars or less, Veronica Nolan and Christopher Suarez outraised some opponents more than tenfold.

The source of their financial boost: Leaders in Education Fund, the political giving arm of Leadership for Educational Equity, an organization that trains Teach for America alumni to run for public office and is tied to billionaire donors allied with the charter school lobby."

Well, I don't think that's been a good investment for the "billionaire donors allied with the charter school lobby." It's been six years since she got this donation. Has she even expressed even the mildest support for charter schools? She's definitely carried other water for a billionaire or two while on the board. But not charter schools.

But the amount is staggering in context. I'd be surprised that no one has asked her about it but this is Alexandria. No follow up questions are ever asked.

It came up in the last election but no one cared, obviously.

Yeah, it came up but consider the source. http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2018/oct/23/opinion-letter-editor-late-public-disclosure/

There is something disturbing going on with the race for the Alexandria School Board in District A. According to very recently amended campaign finance reports, three years ago, incumbent School Board member Veronica Nolan received $27,500 from the pro-charter school organization Leadership For Educational Equity. The disturbing part is that she failed to report the donation in her campaign finance reports for three years, until recently. Nolan, who reported $40,000 in her campaign war chest in 2015, failed to disclose this additional amount of $27,500 until Sept. 17 of this year.

#Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) used to be affiliated with the nonprofit Teach for America, which is a nonprofit organization where yet another District A School Board candidate Chris Suarez, who recently moved to Alexandria, taught for two years early in his career. Suarez’ campaign kickoff event was hosted by former District A School Board member Stephanie Kapsis. Kapsis, who has also endorsed Suarez, is now a managing director of pro-charter school organization KIPP DC.

#The real questions, however, are why Nolan sat on such a large amount of money for so long, and what is her position regarding charter schools.

#The Alexandria City School Board is not a place for people to play fast and loose with budgeting and financial requirements, nor is it a place for people to pad their resumes. It is a place to ensure that our students and families have proper stewardship of our schools and the very large budgets behind them. Let’s elect honest politicians who play by the rules and run for office without ulterior motives; people who don’t play games with the public’s trust at any level of elected government. If you live in District A, I suggest you consider Marc Solomon and Jacinta Greene for School Board. They are newcomers who are not caught up in these shenanigans. In District B, Jewelyn Cosgrove deserves your vote and in District C, Meagan Alderton.

#Gail Gordon Donegan

#Alexandria

[Anonymous]

So what have Nolan and Suarez done to advance charter schools in Alexandria over the past five or six years?

Not a fan of Nolan but this seems tenuous at best but I'm always open to seeing evidence of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what have Nolan and Suarez done to advance charter schools in Alexandria over the past five or six years?

Not a fan of Nolan but this seems tenuous at best but I'm always open to seeing evidence of it.

I am not aware of either promoting charter schools within the City of Alexandria. I am not a fan of Nolan but personally think Suarez is one of the better board members (may not be saying much). On the letter from 2018 above, I think Greene has not been good and Solomon did not understand special needs issues (ie he thought if your child was from a white middle class family, they would be fine at J-H regardless of whether they have special needs).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what have Nolan and Suarez done to advance charter schools in Alexandria over the past five or six years?

Not a fan of Nolan but this seems tenuous at best but I'm always open to seeing evidence of it.

I am not aware of either promoting charter schools within the City of Alexandria. I am not a fan of Nolan but personally think Suarez is one of the better board members (may not be saying much). On the letter from 2018 above, I think Greene has not been good and Solomon did not understand special needs issues (ie he thought if your child was from a white middle class family, they would be fine at J-H regardless of whether they have special needs).

Yes, the bar isn't very high for the Alexandria school board.

I'm interested in why you think that about Suarez and Greene. I don't have much of an impression of either one. There is also the SB member who rarely speaks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what have Nolan and Suarez done to advance charter schools in Alexandria over the past five or six years?

Not a fan of Nolan but this seems tenuous at best but I'm always open to seeing evidence of it.

I am not aware of either promoting charter schools within the City of Alexandria. I am not a fan of Nolan but personally think Suarez is one of the better board members (may not be saying much). On the letter from 2018 above, I think Greene has not been good and Solomon did not understand special needs issues (ie he thought if your child was from a white middle class family, they would be fine at J-H regardless of whether they have special needs).

Yes, the bar isn't very high for the Alexandria school board.

I'm interested in why you think that about Suarez and Greene. I don't have much of an impression of either one. There is also the SB member who rarely speaks.

Sure. I am a District A constituent and had a serious enough issue with my child that I contacted my school board representatives and then followed up at a later time advocating for related policy changes. Suarez and Rief were responsive to my concerns and advocated for changes (my issue was a small part of broader policy issues). Greene was almost completely non responsive to my specific concerns and did not engage at all on the broader issue. I think Suarez also pushes Hutchings more than most of the board. I have to admit I haven’t watched board meetings for a couple of months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what have Nolan and Suarez done to advance charter schools in Alexandria over the past five or six years?

Not a fan of Nolan but this seems tenuous at best but I'm always open to seeing evidence of it.

I am not aware of either promoting charter schools within the City of Alexandria. I am not a fan of Nolan but personally think Suarez is one of the better board members (may not be saying much). On the letter from 2018 above, I think Greene has not been good and Solomon did not understand special needs issues (ie he thought if your child was from a white middle class family, they would be fine at J-H regardless of whether they have special needs).

Yes, the bar isn't very high for the Alexandria school board.

I'm interested in why you think that about Suarez and Greene. I don't have much of an impression of either one. There is also the SB member who rarely speaks.

Sure. I am a District A constituent and had a serious enough issue with my child that I contacted my school board representatives and then followed up at a later time advocating for related policy changes. Suarez and Rief were responsive to my concerns and advocated for changes (my issue was a small part of broader policy issues). Greene was almost completely non responsive to my specific concerns and did not engage at all on the broader issue. I think Suarez also pushes Hutchings more than most of the board. I have to admit I haven’t watched board meetings for a couple of months.

I'm also a District A resident. One who, I admit, did not follow the school board that closely before this past year. I agree that Suarez, and I'd add Rief, question the superintendent and central office more than the other members (although that's a low bar). I sent a couple emails last spring (summer?) to the board, and Dr. Rief was the only who responded. The "SB member who rarely speaks" doesn't narrow it down, sadly.

[Anonymous]

Thank you to the two PP. I haven't paid much attention to Suarez. I've been preoccupied with the car crash that is Nolan, Anderson, and Lorber.

That's also good to know about Reif too. I do have a favorable impression of her since she's living this with her kids and it shows. And I remember one time in the fall when Ramee Gentry criticized central office.

I think Reif and Alderton are the only ones with current ACPS students. Lorber got on a zoom with parents and said that she understood what we were going through because she was babysitting her daughter's newborn a few hours a day. And then she chastised us & told us we were wrong. So that's what our district has representing us. Anderson is definitely in the silent/never speaks category.

I've heard that there will be a retirement in B. I hope there are more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to the two PP. I haven't paid much attention to Suarez. I've been preoccupied with the car crash that is Nolan, Anderson, and Lorber.

That's also good to know about Reif too. I do have a favorable impression of her since she's living this with her kids and it shows. And I remember one time in the fall when Ramee Gentry criticized central office.

I think Reif and Alderton are the only ones with current ACPS students. Lorber got on a zoom with parents and said that she understood what we were going through because she was babysitting her daughter's newborn a few hours a day. And then she chastised us & told us we were wrong. So that's what our district has representing us. Anderson is definitely in the silent/never speaks category.

I've heard that there will be a retirement in B. I hope there are more.

Alderton's children do not attend ACPS schools. They attend Catholic schools. Nolan and Rief have children attending public schools in Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

I guess we know why no one on the SB blinked when it was revealed that Hutchings sends his kid to private.