McDaniel on FCPS budget

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The one thing FCPS DOES NOT need is more money. They have heaps of money. They need to use the money they have more efficiently, prioritize teachers and stop spending so much on detrimental, useless technology.

A vast majority of funding goes to in school teachers and staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one thing FCPS DOES NOT need is more money. They have heaps of money. They need to use the money they have more efficiently, prioritize teachers and stop spending so much on detrimental, useless technology.

A vast majority of funding goes to in school teachers and staff.

Their budget is just shy of 4 billion this year.

When is tge last time they had a full audit for waste, fraud and abuse?

Surely, with a close to 4 billion dollar budget, FCPS could find some things to shave off the top at Gatehouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Kyle McDaniel wants to use his School Board seat as a platform primarily to argue for a meals tax and the election of other Democratic candidates to office (see his Twitter page), that's fine with me. What I don't like is the all-Democratic School Board using kids as bargaining chips by unleashing Reid to propose unwanted county-wide boundary changes and then arguing they are compelled for budgetary reasons to do so, when that's clearly not the case.

McDaniel didn’t actually say he supports a meals tax though. At least not in the original article linked.

McDaniel also said he supports kids staying in their neighborhood schools, and yet he is the one spearheading the revisions of policy 8130 and rezoning kids to balance equity with no grandfathering of high school students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Kyle McDaniel wants to use his School Board seat as a platform primarily to argue for a meals tax and the election of other Democratic candidates to office (see his Twitter page), that's fine with me. What I don't like is the all-Democratic School Board using kids as bargaining chips by unleashing Reid to propose unwanted county-wide boundary changes and then arguing they are compelled for budgetary reasons to do so, when that's clearly not the case.

McDaniel didn’t actually say he supports a meals tax though. At least not in the original article linked.

McDaniels is a classic politician, says one thing but does another. In his few months in the school board, he has already proven this.

I think any claims by McDaniel need to be taken with a grain of salt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one thing FCPS DOES NOT need is more money. They have heaps of money. They need to use the money they have more efficiently, prioritize teachers and stop spending so much on detrimental, useless technology.

A vast majority of funding goes to in school teachers and staff.

That’s is a lot of money. I think they need to review and cut programs not working in the system so they can reallocate.

[jvmorgan]

Anonymous wrote:
It’s mainly (or almost entirely) from data center tax revenue. The meals tax does not generate a meaningful amount of revenue in comparison. Data center related tax revenue for the current fiscal year will be close to $200M including both the personal property and real property taxes. The schools receive around 57% of this money.

2.7% of revenues (from Prince William’s meals tax) with an increase of $10M from FY2024-2025 is still something, especially since a portion of those revenues come from visitors to Prince William County. And it is a good reminder that in Northern Virginia, Fairfax County and Loudoun County are the last hold outs when it comes to a Meals Tax, meaning that residents of these counties who visit other jurisdictions in Northern Virginia (e.g., commuters) pay meals taxes that help support neighboring governments, but don’t get anything in return from visitors from those nearby jurisdictions to Fairfax County.

The data center taxation issue is actually rather interesting as it literally represents having raised taxes in a manner that affects a single industry. https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/prince-william-county-hikes-data-center-taxes-while-cutting-homeowners-rate/article_8f5a8f76-0259-11ef-b71c-cf647816343e.html. One of the argument levied against adopting a meals tax is that it is a “single-industry tax.”

Personally, I think opposing a tax solely because it is a “single-industry tax” is mindlessly ideological as it ignores any practical impacts of adopting or failing to adopt such a tax. Plus, a meals tax really isn’t a tax on restaurants; rather, it’s a modest tax on patron expenditures, with the restaurants serving as trustees for the collected taxes.

The Prince William County increase in taxation rates for data centers is also interesting because apparently the increase merely brought Prince William County’s taxes for data centers more in line with its neighbors, resulting in benefits for the county and its residents (including the flexibility to lower the real estate tax rate).

That’s what adopting a Meals Tax in Fairfax County would be doing: bringing our taxation policy more in line with our neighbors, resulting in benefits such as increased tax revenue stability, sharing the tax burden with visitors to Fairfax County, and raising revenues to fund our local government at less cost to Fairfax County residents than using real estate taxes to raise those same revenues. Opposing a Meals Tax means giving up on those benefits. Thus, I think the Board of Supervisors should only refuse to adopt a meals tax if there is a really good reason, supported by real evidence and not just speculation, for opposing adoption of a meals tax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one thing FCPS DOES NOT need is more money. They have heaps of money. They need to use the money they have more efficiently, prioritize teachers and stop spending so much on detrimental, useless technology.

A vast majority of funding goes to in school teachers and staff.

That’s is a lot of money. I think they need to review and cut programs not working in the system so they can reallocate.

Plus 1 to review how to cut things and prioritize what is working.

[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.

What? Is this unilateral decision by the board

[Anonymous]

jvmorgan wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It’s mainly (or almost entirely) from data center tax revenue. The meals tax does not generate a meaningful amount of revenue in comparison. Data center related tax revenue for the current fiscal year will be close to $200M including both the personal property and real property taxes. The schools receive around 57% of this money.

2.7% of revenues (from Prince William’s meals tax) with an increase of $10M from FY2024-2025 is still something, especially since a portion of those revenues come from visitors to Prince William County....

That’s what adopting a Meals Tax in Fairfax County would be doing: bringing our taxation policy more in line with our neighbors, resulting in benefits such as increased tax revenue stability, sharing the tax burden with visitors to Fairfax County, and raising revenues to fund our local government at less cost to Fairfax County residents than using real estate taxes to raise those same revenues. Opposing a Meals Tax means giving up on those benefits. Thus, I think the Board of Supervisors should only refuse to adopt a meals tax if there is a really good reason, supported by real evidence and not just speculation, for opposing adoption of a meals tax.

PWC per 100 of valuation is .9945 and stormwater is flat/unit FX floor plus stormwater is 1.1575. SFH 1m assessment PWC 9945+ 52.26-9997.26 FX 11575. FX 1577.74>PWC. Meals tax can be 1-6% and est was 6% FX yield 200m. 1 penny of RE tax est yield is 32.5 million so in theory it could reduce RE rates by maybe 1 penny per 1% of meal tax. That would be a benefit but it is highly doubtful that would happen. https://www.vmdo.com/original-mount-vernon-high-school.html

And Reston-Hunter Mill Magisterial District is treated dramatically diffeently so NO to meals tax https://www.restonnow.com/2014/10/02/small-tax-district-5-a-primer/

[jvmorgan]

Anonymous wrote:. . . Meals tax can be 1-6% and est was 6% FX yield 200m. 1 penny of RE tax est yield is 32.5 million so in theory it could reduce RE rates by maybe 1 penny per 1% of meal tax. That would be a benefit but it is highly doubtful that would happen. https://www.vmdo.com/original-mount-vernon-high-school.html

And Reston-Hunter Mill Magisterial District is treated dramatically diffeently so NO to meals tax https://www.restonnow.com/2014/10/02/small-tax-district-5-a-primer/

Not really sure how either of those cited pages supported the arguments presented. Plus, it is unclear why it even matters whether the Board reduces real estate taxes as to whether a meals tax makes sense. As noted, a 1% meals tax is worth approximately 1¢ of the real estate tax rate ($50 a year for a home values at $500k). Every dollar raised through a meals tax is a dollar that isn’t being raised by increasing the real estate tax, like the Board did after the 2016 meals tax referendum failed (the Board was probably getting tired of governing a county with a crumbling infrastructure, significantly reduced services, and insufficient funds to readily attract and retain a quality work force).

Those who would want a meals tax, in whole or in part, to be used to reduce the real estate tax rate should make that position and express support for a meals tax contingent on the Board reducing the real estate tax rate. But just opposing the meals tax without any reason beyond speculation about what the Board might or might not so seems to be communicating that one doesn’t care to have a say in how meals tax revenues might be used.

[Anonymous]

jvmorgan wrote:

Anonymous wrote:. . . Meals tax can be 1-6% and est was 6% FX yield 200m. 1 penny of RE tax est yield is 32.5 million so in theory it could reduce RE rates by maybe 1 penny per 1% of meal tax. That would be a benefit but it is highly doubtful that would happen. https://www.vmdo.com/original-mount-vernon-high-school.html

And Reston-Hunter Mill Magisterial District is treated dramatically diffeently so NO to meals tax https://www.restonnow.com/2014/10/02/small-tax-district-5-a-primer/

Not really sure how either of those cited pages supported the arguments presented. Plus, it is unclear why it even matters whether the Board reduces real estate taxes as to whether a meals tax makes sense. As noted, a 1% meals tax is worth approximately 1¢ of the real estate tax rate ($50 a year for a home values at $500k). ...

I cited those pages because there is a project that will include some of the same amenities/function etc and 1 designated area has a special tax district and the other will not. This goes back 9 years and some members of the BOS noted the issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm for it. Will tax more undocumented individuals.

Fairfax homeowners get their property taxes raised around 10% each year. And now they want to charge us an increased meal tax. Good Teachers are leaving our school system in droves. There is a breaking point.

[Anonymous]

Re transportation costs- maybe they need to hire someone who actually knows what they are doing with planning. In our elementary school where 95+% walk or are driven, we have about 5 students who are special needs and in wheelchairs who get a bus to themselves. Instead of putting atleast 2 per bus, the school system gives an entire bus to one student. How’s this economical in any way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My expectation is that they will add a Meals tax and will not lower the Real Estate tax. Taxes never go down, only up.

This is why FFX home owners will vote no on a meals tax. You will continue to raise our property taxes every single year and not use the meals tax as an offset to doing that.
This will be a tax in addition to. My property taxes have increased 50% since 2015 on my little 1200 sq ft house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one thing FCPS DOES NOT need is more money. They have heaps of money. They need to use the money they have more efficiently, prioritize teachers and stop spending so much on detrimental, useless technology.

A vast majority of funding goes to in school teachers and staff.

Their budget is just shy of 4 billion this year.

When is tge last time they had a full audit for waste, fraud and abuse?

Surely, with a close to 4 billion dollar budget, FCPS could find some things to shave off the top at Gatehouse.

Not all programs are successful. Deprioritize waste first.