What do I need to know about the Fairfax County School Board?

[Anonymous]

I stopped considering Elizabeth Shultz merely conservative when she brought Andrea Lafferty and her folk to actively protest at several school board meetings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most important thing you need to know is that they are run by the local Democratic party - and to some extent the national Democrats. Under Obama, FCPS became the laboratory for crap like transgender bathrooms. Once they got FCPS on board, they went around saying, "Fairfax County - one of the largest in the country is doing it, you must too..." If there is a liberal social initiative to be pushed, you can bet FCPS kids will be the first guinea pigs.

It's actually the right-wing Republicans who are obsessed with the issue. The local Republicans are also quite racist, as evidenced by the continued need to bash Obama even though we now have far and away the worst president in American history, Trump.

Truth be told, Fairfax County is overwhelmingly Democratic now, but it's a moderate strain - more Clinton than Sanders.

The School Board has one over-the-top liberal Democrat (Pay Hynes) and two over-the-top conservative Republicans (Elizabeth Schultz and Tom Wilson). The other nine members are garden-variety local politicians. They'd actually be more progressive when it comes to school policy if they were appointed, like the old School Board, not up for election every four years.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County is blue, and has been for a while, and the elected board reflects that. I don't know why PP expects the population who voted Dems in, to be mad that they are Dems.

Referring to changing an overtly racist school name as a "stupid liberal cause" shows pretty clearly where the R minority stands. If you wanted more money for schools, you should have voted for the restaurant tax.

+100. The PP totally lost all credibility with the "stupid liberal cause" remark.

Soooo, let me get this straight, anything that you don't agree with is a "stupid liberal cause". However, obviously everything you DO care about is important and not affected by your own hardcore political beliefs. The Hypocrisy is astounding.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is too large to be managed properly, OP. That is all you need to know.

One of the most accurate statements so far..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is too large to be managed properly, OP. That is all you need to know.

One of the most accurate statements so far..

More like the kind of generic insult that fools who can't think of anything brighter to say come up with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The naming of Justice High is an example. (My personal belief is that dropping the JEB would be the best solution -and the cheapest. That it could have been done over time.) It was clear, though, that some were determined for it to be named after Justice Marshall. (The lack of common sense is rampant, when the proposers seemed to have forgotten that we already have a Marshall High.) Some other names were proposed and there was a great one of a man with Hispanic/Native American background. His kids had attended Stuart and he was not only a war hero, but an educator who had worked on Reading. This was not good enough for our leftists. They were determined that it include Justice Marshall--therefore the name "Justice High." They claimed it was named after the three names proposed. That was b.s.

Dropping the "JEB" and keeping the "Stuart" would have been the worst solution of all. You'd have the expense of getting rid of all the "JEB Stuart" uniforms and signage, and all for a name that would still stand for a Confederate general.

The name "Justice" stands for both a principle (although one that too many Republicans are unwilling to extend to other Americans, or immigrants) and three individuals: Justice Thurgood Marshall, who lived in the Lake Barcroft neighborhood, Barbara Rose Johns, who protested segregation at her Virginia school in the 1950s, and Col. Louis Mendez, whose name you apparently can't remember but was indeed a WW II hero and educator. FCPS is throwing tons of resources at Justice HS, which has a lot of poor kids, and everyone should be proud that the School Board took the time to rebrand a school saddled with an inappropriate name even though it's not full of rich parents like Langley or McLean

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is too large to be managed properly, OP. That is all you need to know.

One of the most accurate statements so far..

More like the kind of generic insult that fools who can't think of anything brighter to say come up with.

Most recent PP, we get it, you have never resided elsewhere, and have no point of reference/comparison to what an efficient, decent and extremely high ranking public school system does (amongst an educated parent population), which is not have an enormous county they are trying to run, and self describe as "the biggest/best (fill in the blank here)". No, you are not the biggest/best anything, FCPS - instead you are poorly run, because you are simply too big to manage properly. It is not that difficult to understand, nor is it a personal attack. Obviously you grew up here and don't get it, but be open to outside opinions and be open to the fact that other places are better run simply because they are not so large and inefficient. Simple concept, but very D.C. -area to try to make it complicated, PP. Congratulations on proving my point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Fairfax County School Board has been dominated for years by the Democrats and under their oversight FCPS schools have become increasingly segregated. They were not passive observers in this process, but have taken multiple actions that have caused the segregation to get worse.

I see. So the Democrats on the School Board are too liberal, except when they aren't liberal enough.

The last Republican who ran (and lost) for our School Board seat ran on a platform of spending less money on lower-income schools and redistributing resources to wealthy schools. The incumbent Democrat, while she hasn't done anything to balance the demographics at county schools for a decade, at least supports spending more money on the students who need it most.

So, the Democratic way is separate, but equal (or maybe give them a bit more as long as they are not in school with our kids)?

They have moved wealthy kids out of Lee to West Springfield, wealthy kids out of Annandale to Lake Braddock, they won't move any kids from West Potomac (overcrowded) to Mt. Vernon (available space), and they won't build the western high school because too many folks are afraid of the boundary changes involved - which would include moving kids from Langley to Herndon. They have been spending our tax dollars to expand schools because they are so afraid to touch the boundaries.

Many on the School Board need to go. Some have been on it way too long (I'm looking at you Moon and Strauss) and some are way too political (McAlveen, Schultz, Hynes, Evans). They are all afraid of the cascading boundary changes that would be brought on by a new western high school.

+1

Ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is too large to be managed properly, OP. That is all you need to know.

One of the most accurate statements so far..

More like the kind of generic insult that fools who can't think of anything brighter to say come up with.

Most recent PP, we get it, you have never resided elsewhere, and have no point of reference/comparison to what an efficient, decent and extremely high ranking public school system does (amongst an educated parent population), which is not have an enormous county they are trying to run, and self describe as "the biggest/best (fill in the blank here)". No, you are not the biggest/best anything, FCPS - instead you are poorly run, because you are simply too big to manage properly. It is not that difficult to understand, nor is it a personal attack. Obviously you grew up here and don't get it, but be open to outside opinions and be open to the fact that other places are better run simply because they are not so large and inefficient. Simple concept, but very D.C. -area to try to make it complicated, PP. Congratulations on proving my point.

You only embarrass yourself with this silly word salad diatribe. You should learn the difference between making a point and simply bleating nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is too large to be managed properly, OP. That is all you need to know.

One of the most accurate statements so far..

More like the kind of generic insult that fools who can't think of anything brighter to say come up with.

Most recent PP, we get it, you have never resided elsewhere, and have no point of reference/comparison to what an efficient, decent and extremely high ranking public school system does (amongst an educated parent population), which is not have an enormous county they are trying to run, and self describe as "the biggest/best (fill in the blank here)". No, you are not the biggest/best anything, FCPS - instead you are poorly run, because you are simply too big to manage properly. It is not that difficult to understand, nor is it a personal attack. Obviously you grew up here and don't get it, but be open to outside opinions and be open to the fact that other places are better run simply because they are not so large and inefficient. Simple concept, but very D.C. -area to try to make it complicated, PP. Congratulations on proving my point.

You only embarrass yourself with this silly word salad diatribe. You should learn the difference between making a point and simply bleating nonsense.

You should learn the difference between being a blowhard and being correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is too large to be managed properly, OP. That is all you need to know.

One of the most accurate statements so far..

More like the kind of generic insult that fools who can't think of anything brighter to say come up with.

Most recent PP, we get it, you have never resided elsewhere, and have no point of reference/comparison to what an efficient, decent and extremely high ranking public school system does (amongst an educated parent population), which is not have an enormous county they are trying to run, and self describe as "the biggest/best (fill in the blank here)". No, you are not the biggest/best anything, FCPS - instead you are poorly run, because you are simply too big to manage properly. It is not that difficult to understand, nor is it a personal attack. Obviously you grew up here and don't get it, but be open to outside opinions and be open to the fact that other places are better run simply because they are not so large and inefficient. Simple concept, but very D.C. -area to try to make it complicated, PP. Congratulations on proving my point.

You only embarrass yourself with this silly word salad diatribe. You should learn the difference between making a point and simply bleating nonsense.

You should learn the difference between being a blowhard and being correct.

I’m sorry, have you said anything? Or do you just keep bloviating?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Fairfax County School Board has been dominated for years by the Democrats and under their oversight FCPS schools have become increasingly segregated. They were not passive observers in this process, but have taken multiple actions that have caused the segregation to get worse.

I see. So the Democrats on the School Board are too liberal, except when they aren't liberal enough.

The last Republican who ran (and lost) for our School Board seat ran on a platform of spending less money on lower-income schools and redistributing resources to wealthy schools. The incumbent Democrat, while she hasn't done anything to balance the demographics at county schools for a decade, at least supports spending more money on the students who need it most.

So, the Democratic way is separate, but equal (or maybe give them a bit more as long as they are not in school with our kids)?

They have moved wealthy kids out of Lee to West Springfield, wealthy kids out of Annandale to Lake Braddock, they won't move any kids from West Potomac (overcrowded) to Mt. Vernon (available space), and they won't build the western high school because too many folks are afraid of the boundary changes involved - which would include moving kids from Langley to Herndon. They have been spending our tax dollars to expand schools because they are so afraid to touch the boundaries.

Many on the School Board need to go. Some have been on it way too long (I'm looking at you Moon and Strauss) and some are way too political (McAlveen, Schultz, Hynes, Evans). They are all afraid of the cascading boundary changes that would be brought on by a new western high school.

+1

Ridiculous.

The Republicans don’t want to spend money on new public schools. They want to starve public schools and push people into charters and private schools. Betsy DeVos is typical of this mindset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is too large to be managed properly, OP. That is all you need to know.

One of the most accurate statements so far..

More like the kind of generic insult that fools who can't think of anything brighter to say come up with.

Most recent PP, we get it, you have never resided elsewhere, and have no point of reference/comparison to what an efficient, decent and extremely high ranking public school system does (amongst an educated parent population), which is not have an enormous county they are trying to run, and self describe as "the biggest/best (fill in the blank here)". No, you are not the biggest/best anything, FCPS - instead you are poorly run, because you are simply too big to manage properly. It is not that difficult to understand, nor is it a personal attack. Obviously you grew up here and don't get it, but be open to outside opinions and be open to the fact that other places are better run simply because they are not so large and inefficient. Simple concept, but very D.C. -area to try to make it complicated, PP. Congratulations on proving my point.

You only embarrass yourself with this silly word salad diatribe. You should learn the difference between making a point and simply bleating nonsense.

You should learn the difference between being a blowhard and being correct.

I’m sorry, have you said anything? Or do you just keep bloviating?

Case in point.

[Anonymous]

The Republicans don’t want to spend money on new public schools. They want to starve public schools and push people into charters and private schools. Betsy DeVos is typical of this mindset.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand. The School Board is more than happy to build new schools--the bonds always pass. They just don't want to deal with the politics of the issue.

PP, the SB spends an inordinate amount of time talking about how to close the achievement gap. Meanwhile, they are terrified and personally support the lobby that is AAP. That's the hypocrisy of the whole thing. They support segregation --as long as it is AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Fairfax County School Board has been dominated for years by the Democrats and under their oversight FCPS schools have become increasingly segregated. They were not passive observers in this process, but have taken multiple actions that have caused the segregation to get worse.

I see. So the Democrats on the School Board are too liberal, except when they aren't liberal enough.

The last Republican who ran (and lost) for our School Board seat ran on a platform of spending less money on lower-income schools and redistributing resources to wealthy schools. The incumbent Democrat, while she hasn't done anything to balance the demographics at county schools for a decade, at least supports spending more money on the students who need it most.

So, the Democratic way is separate, but equal (or maybe give them a bit more as long as they are not in school with our kids)?

They have moved wealthy kids out of Lee to West Springfield, wealthy kids out of Annandale to Lake Braddock, they won't move any kids from West Potomac (overcrowded) to Mt. Vernon (available space), and they won't build the western high school because too many folks are afraid of the boundary changes involved - which would include moving kids from Langley to Herndon. They have been spending our tax dollars to expand schools because they are so afraid to touch the boundaries.

Many on the School Board need to go. Some have been on it way too long (I'm looking at you Moon and Strauss) and some are way too political (McAlveen, Schultz, Hynes, Evans). They are all afraid of the cascading boundary changes that would be brought on by a new western high school.

+1

Ridiculous.

The Republicans don’t want to spend money on new public schools. They want to starve public schools and push people into charters and private schools. Betsy DeVos is typical of this mindset.

Charter schools in Fairfax County could be very positive - provide some benchmarks to assess our public schools against. As it is now, there is no way to assess the performance of the schools. The School Board is focuse on protecting their sinecure and riding on their reputation - but this can't go on for much longer as people are becoming aware of the deficiencies and the inequities. When you have a Langley and a McLean with ~90% capacity and bordering schools at 106%+ it's hard to claim that you're serving the students... And btw, no one is pushing people into private schools - they are choosing to pay to go for an exceptional education, one they used to get in FCPS but no more.