APS budget is unacceptable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1997/10/02/arlington-schools-may-ease-stance-on-jefferson-high/6ac6403c-ef7f-406a-bc4a-a3eb654e1734/


Article from 1997 about aps paying tuition to tj

For the math challenged on this forum this 1997 article explains why sending kids to TJ does not save APS money no matter what TJ costs:

The $8,000 is less than the average $9,305 cost of educating a student in the Arlington system. But the system does not save any money by sending a student to Jefferson because it cannot, for example, reduce the salaries of teachers when a few students leave their classes, school officials explained.

Ok then let’s call it a way to reduce class sizes.

I can see why you are anti-TJ, you seem to be pretty anti-math. If x number fewer kids go to a school, they don't reduce class sizes. Class sizes are determined by planning factors. The planning factors are established by the school board and listed in a book/manual.

If the planning factor for a class is 25 and 21 kids show up, they get a teacher. If 29 kids sign up, they will divide them into two sections. Sending 25 kids to TJ (from three high schools) doesn't change the planning factors--it might have a tiny tiny effect on how many sections of a class are offered in a school.

This is why the finance department doesn't have precise estimates of every possible budget scenario (especially when it comes to option schools) and goes by averages. They can't tell you the exact effect changes would have on staffing because it has to do with what home schools those kids are assigned to, what grades they are in, how close to the planning factors those grades are already--or the specific classes those kids would enroll in, whether those kids would be bus riders or not at their home schools, etc. etc.

We're talking about a $825 million budget here. The total cost of sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ is less than 0.1% of the budget, so the marginal difference in cost (up or down) between sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ versus keeping them in Arlington is like a hundredth of a percent.

Yup. This whole thread is discussing negligible line items.

What we really need is full funding from Youngkin and the county.

And what exactly is full funding???

Senate proposal is a start - pg 32
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/D2WW4J839BAE/$file/FY%202025%20Superintendent's%20Presentation%20FINAL%20(331%20pm).pdf

The state and county should step up and appropriately fund our schools.
"“Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average,
the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other
states receive 14 percent more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average,
after normalizing for differences in cost of labor among states. This equates to about
$1,900 more per student than Virginia.”
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC)
estimates that annually APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million"

I'll never understand why we're willing to give billionaires $2b+ to build stadiums, but don't even consider giving $2b to public education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We should be getting more slots at TJ, not fewer.

+1

+2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1997/10/02/arlington-schools-may-ease-stance-on-jefferson-high/6ac6403c-ef7f-406a-bc4a-a3eb654e1734/


Article from 1997 about aps paying tuition to tj

For the math challenged on this forum this 1997 article explains why sending kids to TJ does not save APS money no matter what TJ costs:

The $8,000 is less than the average $9,305 cost of educating a student in the Arlington system. But the system does not save any money by sending a student to Jefferson because it cannot, for example, reduce the salaries of teachers when a few students leave their classes, school officials explained.

Ok then let’s call it a way to reduce class sizes.

I can see why you are anti-TJ, you seem to be pretty anti-math. If x number fewer kids go to a school, they don't reduce class sizes. Class sizes are determined by planning factors. The planning factors are established by the school board and listed in a book/manual.

If the planning factor for a class is 25 and 21 kids show up, they get a teacher. If 29 kids sign up, they will divide them into two sections. Sending 25 kids to TJ (from three high schools) doesn't change the planning factors--it might have a tiny tiny effect on how many sections of a class are offered in a school.

This is why the finance department doesn't have precise estimates of every possible budget scenario (especially when it comes to option schools) and goes by averages. They can't tell you the exact effect changes would have on staffing because it has to do with what home schools those kids are assigned to, what grades they are in, how close to the planning factors those grades are already--or the specific classes those kids would enroll in, whether those kids would be bus riders or not at their home schools, etc. etc.

We're talking about a $825 million budget here. The total cost of sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ is less than 0.1% of the budget, so the marginal difference in cost (up or down) between sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ versus keeping them in Arlington is like a hundredth of a percent.

Yup. This whole thread is discussing negligible line items.

What we really need is full funding from Youngkin and the county.

And what exactly is full funding???

Senate proposal is a start - pg 32
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/D2WW4J839BAE/$file/FY%202025%20Superintendent's%20Presentation%20FINAL%20(331%20pm).pdf

The state and county should step up and appropriately fund our schools.
"“Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average,
the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other
states receive 14 percent more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average,
after normalizing for differences in cost of labor among states. This equates to about
$1,900 more per student than Virginia.”
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC)
estimates that annually APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million"

I'll never understand why we're willing to give billionaires $2b+ to build stadiums, but don't even consider giving $2b to public education.

Best comment in this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1997/10/02/arlington-schools-may-ease-stance-on-jefferson-high/6ac6403c-ef7f-406a-bc4a-a3eb654e1734/


Article from 1997 about aps paying tuition to tj

For the math challenged on this forum this 1997 article explains why sending kids to TJ does not save APS money no matter what TJ costs:

The $8,000 is less than the average $9,305 cost of educating a student in the Arlington system. But the system does not save any money by sending a student to Jefferson because it cannot, for example, reduce the salaries of teachers when a few students leave their classes, school officials explained.

Ok then let’s call it a way to reduce class sizes.

I can see why you are anti-TJ, you seem to be pretty anti-math. If x number fewer kids go to a school, they don't reduce class sizes. Class sizes are determined by planning factors. The planning factors are established by the school board and listed in a book/manual.

If the planning factor for a class is 25 and 21 kids show up, they get a teacher. If 29 kids sign up, they will divide them into two sections. Sending 25 kids to TJ (from three high schools) doesn't change the planning factors--it might have a tiny tiny effect on how many sections of a class are offered in a school.

This is why the finance department doesn't have precise estimates of every possible budget scenario (especially when it comes to option schools) and goes by averages. They can't tell you the exact effect changes would have on staffing because it has to do with what home schools those kids are assigned to, what grades they are in, how close to the planning factors those grades are already--or the specific classes those kids would enroll in, whether those kids would be bus riders or not at their home schools, etc. etc.

We're talking about a $825 million budget here. The total cost of sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ is less than 0.1% of the budget, so the marginal difference in cost (up or down) between sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ versus keeping them in Arlington is like a hundredth of a percent.

Yup. This whole thread is discussing negligible line items.

What we really need is full funding from Youngkin and the county.

And what exactly is full funding???

Senate proposal is a start - pg 32
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/D2WW4J839BAE/$file/FY%202025%20Superintendent's%20Presentation%20FINAL%20(331%20pm).pdf

The state and county should step up and appropriately fund our schools.
"“Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average,
the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other
states receive 14 percent more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average,
after normalizing for differences in cost of labor among states. This equates to about
$1,900 more per student than Virginia.”
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC)
estimates that annually APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million"

I'll never understand why we're willing to give billionaires $2b+ to build stadiums, but don't even consider giving $2b to public education.

Ask Youngkin

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1997/10/02/arlington-schools-may-ease-stance-on-jefferson-high/6ac6403c-ef7f-406a-bc4a-a3eb654e1734/


Article from 1997 about aps paying tuition to tj

For the math challenged on this forum this 1997 article explains why sending kids to TJ does not save APS money no matter what TJ costs:

The $8,000 is less than the average $9,305 cost of educating a student in the Arlington system. But the system does not save any money by sending a student to Jefferson because it cannot, for example, reduce the salaries of teachers when a few students leave their classes, school officials explained.

Ok then let’s call it a way to reduce class sizes.

I can see why you are anti-TJ, you seem to be pretty anti-math. If x number fewer kids go to a school, they don't reduce class sizes. Class sizes are determined by planning factors. The planning factors are established by the school board and listed in a book/manual.

If the planning factor for a class is 25 and 21 kids show up, they get a teacher. If 29 kids sign up, they will divide them into two sections. Sending 25 kids to TJ (from three high schools) doesn't change the planning factors--it might have a tiny tiny effect on how many sections of a class are offered in a school.

This is why the finance department doesn't have precise estimates of every possible budget scenario (especially when it comes to option schools) and goes by averages. They can't tell you the exact effect changes would have on staffing because it has to do with what home schools those kids are assigned to, what grades they are in, how close to the planning factors those grades are already--or the specific classes those kids would enroll in, whether those kids would be bus riders or not at their home schools, etc. etc.

We're talking about a $825 million budget here. The total cost of sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ is less than 0.1% of the budget, so the marginal difference in cost (up or down) between sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ versus keeping them in Arlington is like a hundredth of a percent.

Yup. This whole thread is discussing negligible line items.

What we really need is full funding from Youngkin and the county.

And what exactly is full funding???

Senate proposal is a start - pg 32
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/D2WW4J839BAE/$file/FY%202025%20Superintendent's%20Presentation%20FINAL%20(331%20pm).pdf

The state and county should step up and appropriately fund our schools.
"“Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average,
the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other
states receive 14 percent more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average,
after normalizing for differences in cost of labor among states. This equates to about
$1,900 more per student than Virginia.”
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC)
estimates that annually APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million"

I'll never understand why we're willing to give billionaires $2b+ to build stadiums, but don't even consider giving $2b to public education.

Best comment in this thread.

+1

People are arguing over field trips? Way to focus on the wrong problem here.

Contact the county board. Contact your state legislators. Contact the governor. This is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1997/10/02/arlington-schools-may-ease-stance-on-jefferson-high/6ac6403c-ef7f-406a-bc4a-a3eb654e1734/


Article from 1997 about aps paying tuition to tj

For the math challenged on this forum this 1997 article explains why sending kids to TJ does not save APS money no matter what TJ costs:

The $8,000 is less than the average $9,305 cost of educating a student in the Arlington system. But the system does not save any money by sending a student to Jefferson because it cannot, for example, reduce the salaries of teachers when a few students leave their classes, school officials explained.

Ok then let’s call it a way to reduce class sizes.

I can see why you are anti-TJ, you seem to be pretty anti-math. If x number fewer kids go to a school, they don't reduce class sizes. Class sizes are determined by planning factors. The planning factors are established by the school board and listed in a book/manual.

If the planning factor for a class is 25 and 21 kids show up, they get a teacher. If 29 kids sign up, they will divide them into two sections. Sending 25 kids to TJ (from three high schools) doesn't change the planning factors--it might have a tiny tiny effect on how many sections of a class are offered in a school.

This is why the finance department doesn't have precise estimates of every possible budget scenario (especially when it comes to option schools) and goes by averages. They can't tell you the exact effect changes would have on staffing because it has to do with what home schools those kids are assigned to, what grades they are in, how close to the planning factors those grades are already--or the specific classes those kids would enroll in, whether those kids would be bus riders or not at their home schools, etc. etc.

We're talking about a $825 million budget here. The total cost of sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ is less than 0.1% of the budget, so the marginal difference in cost (up or down) between sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ versus keeping them in Arlington is like a hundredth of a percent.

Yup. This whole thread is discussing negligible line items.

What we really need is full funding from Youngkin and the county.

And what exactly is full funding???

Senate proposal is a start - pg 32
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/D2WW4J839BAE/$file/FY%202025%20Superintendent's%20Presentation%20FINAL%20(331%20pm).pdf

The state and county should step up and appropriately fund our schools.
"“Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average,
the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other
states receive 14 percent more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average,
after normalizing for differences in cost of labor among states. This equates to about
$1,900 more per student than Virginia.”
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC)
estimates that annually APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million"

And yet for over a decade, possibly 2, APS has spent more per pupil than all the surrounding school districts except DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1997/10/02/arlington-schools-may-ease-stance-on-jefferson-high/6ac6403c-ef7f-406a-bc4a-a3eb654e1734/


Article from 1997 about aps paying tuition to tj

For the math challenged on this forum this 1997 article explains why sending kids to TJ does not save APS money no matter what TJ costs:

The $8,000 is less than the average $9,305 cost of educating a student in the Arlington system. But the system does not save any money by sending a student to Jefferson because it cannot, for example, reduce the salaries of teachers when a few students leave their classes, school officials explained.

Ok then let’s call it a way to reduce class sizes.

I can see why you are anti-TJ, you seem to be pretty anti-math. If x number fewer kids go to a school, they don't reduce class sizes. Class sizes are determined by planning factors. The planning factors are established by the school board and listed in a book/manual.

If the planning factor for a class is 25 and 21 kids show up, they get a teacher. If 29 kids sign up, they will divide them into two sections. Sending 25 kids to TJ (from three high schools) doesn't change the planning factors--it might have a tiny tiny effect on how many sections of a class are offered in a school.

This is why the finance department doesn't have precise estimates of every possible budget scenario (especially when it comes to option schools) and goes by averages. They can't tell you the exact effect changes would have on staffing because it has to do with what home schools those kids are assigned to, what grades they are in, how close to the planning factors those grades are already--or the specific classes those kids would enroll in, whether those kids would be bus riders or not at their home schools, etc. etc.

We're talking about a $825 million budget here. The total cost of sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ is less than 0.1% of the budget, so the marginal difference in cost (up or down) between sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ versus keeping them in Arlington is like a hundredth of a percent.

Yup. This whole thread is discussing negligible line items.

What we really need is full funding from Youngkin and the county.

And what exactly is full funding???

Senate proposal is a start - pg 32
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/D2WW4J839BAE/$file/FY%202025%20Superintendent's%20Presentation%20FINAL%20(331%20pm).pdf

The state and county should step up and appropriately fund our schools.
"“Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average,
the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other
states receive 14 percent more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average,
after normalizing for differences in cost of labor among states. This equates to about
$1,900 more per student than Virginia.”
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC)
estimates that annually APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million"

I'll never understand why we're willing to give billionaires $2b+ to build stadiums, but don't even consider giving $2b to public education.

Ask Youngkin

OK, and all the previous governors as well, yes? Democrat and Republican.
None of them have made the public education investment effort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1997/10/02/arlington-schools-may-ease-stance-on-jefferson-high/6ac6403c-ef7f-406a-bc4a-a3eb654e1734/


Article from 1997 about aps paying tuition to tj

For the math challenged on this forum this 1997 article explains why sending kids to TJ does not save APS money no matter what TJ costs:

The $8,000 is less than the average $9,305 cost of educating a student in the Arlington system. But the system does not save any money by sending a student to Jefferson because it cannot, for example, reduce the salaries of teachers when a few students leave their classes, school officials explained.

Ok then let’s call it a way to reduce class sizes.

I can see why you are anti-TJ, you seem to be pretty anti-math. If x number fewer kids go to a school, they don't reduce class sizes. Class sizes are determined by planning factors. The planning factors are established by the school board and listed in a book/manual.

If the planning factor for a class is 25 and 21 kids show up, they get a teacher. If 29 kids sign up, they will divide them into two sections. Sending 25 kids to TJ (from three high schools) doesn't change the planning factors--it might have a tiny tiny effect on how many sections of a class are offered in a school.

This is why the finance department doesn't have precise estimates of every possible budget scenario (especially when it comes to option schools) and goes by averages. They can't tell you the exact effect changes would have on staffing because it has to do with what home schools those kids are assigned to, what grades they are in, how close to the planning factors those grades are already--or the specific classes those kids would enroll in, whether those kids would be bus riders or not at their home schools, etc. etc.

We're talking about a $825 million budget here. The total cost of sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ is less than 0.1% of the budget, so the marginal difference in cost (up or down) between sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ versus keeping them in Arlington is like a hundredth of a percent.

Yup. This whole thread is discussing negligible line items.

What we really need is full funding from Youngkin and the county.

And what exactly is full funding???

Senate proposal is a start - pg 32
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/D2WW4J839BAE/$file/FY%202025%20Superintendent's%20Presentation%20FINAL%20(331%20pm).pdf

The state and county should step up and appropriately fund our schools.
"“Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average,
the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other
states receive 14 percent more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average,
after normalizing for differences in cost of labor among states. This equates to about
$1,900 more per student than Virginia.”
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC)
estimates that annually APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million"

And yet for over a decade, possibly 2, APS has spent more per pupil than all the surrounding school districts except DC.

Those are different concepts. What Arlington gets from the state compared to other counties (and therefore, how much of the school budget has to be raised from local taxes) is separate from how much Arlington spends per student.

Why should Arlington contribute to much to the state in tax revenue and get so little back in return? We are subsidizing many other counties' school systems because of an anti-DC bias in the General Assembly that leads to a lopsided state school contribution system. They base the state contribution of what is necessary to fund the state minimum quality level of education and assume an average of 45 percent statewide local funding based on a "composite index." By the current formula, Arlington gets $2,300 per kid from the state; Fairfax gets $5,300, Loudoun gets $6,000, and Prince William gets $8,000. Are those counties really that much "poorer" than Arlington?

There are so many parts of the formula that they could change: how different measures of prosperity and population are weighted, whether to cap the required local share and at what level, whether the local share of the state’s poor school-age children should be accounted for in sales tax revenue distributions, whether to fund cost of competing adjusted salaries in selected districts, and the size of various funding streams targeting low-income, special education, and other at-risk students.

[Anonymous]

I thought Loudon was one of the richest counties in the US, nevermind Virginia!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1997/10/02/arlington-schools-may-ease-stance-on-jefferson-high/6ac6403c-ef7f-406a-bc4a-a3eb654e1734/


Article from 1997 about aps paying tuition to tj

For the math challenged on this forum this 1997 article explains why sending kids to TJ does not save APS money no matter what TJ costs:

The $8,000 is less than the average $9,305 cost of educating a student in the Arlington system. But the system does not save any money by sending a student to Jefferson because it cannot, for example, reduce the salaries of teachers when a few students leave their classes, school officials explained.

Ok then let’s call it a way to reduce class sizes.

I can see why you are anti-TJ, you seem to be pretty anti-math. If x number fewer kids go to a school, they don't reduce class sizes. Class sizes are determined by planning factors. The planning factors are established by the school board and listed in a book/manual.

If the planning factor for a class is 25 and 21 kids show up, they get a teacher. If 29 kids sign up, they will divide them into two sections. Sending 25 kids to TJ (from three high schools) doesn't change the planning factors--it might have a tiny tiny effect on how many sections of a class are offered in a school.

This is why the finance department doesn't have precise estimates of every possible budget scenario (especially when it comes to option schools) and goes by averages. They can't tell you the exact effect changes would have on staffing because it has to do with what home schools those kids are assigned to, what grades they are in, how close to the planning factors those grades are already--or the specific classes those kids would enroll in, whether those kids would be bus riders or not at their home schools, etc. etc.

We're talking about a $825 million budget here. The total cost of sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ is less than 0.1% of the budget, so the marginal difference in cost (up or down) between sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ versus keeping them in Arlington is like a hundredth of a percent.

Yup. This whole thread is discussing negligible line items.

What we really need is full funding from Youngkin and the county.

And what exactly is full funding???

Senate proposal is a start - pg 32
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/D2WW4J839BAE/$file/FY%202025%20Superintendent's%20Presentation%20FINAL%20(331%20pm).pdf

The state and county should step up and appropriately fund our schools.
"“Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average,
the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other
states receive 14 percent more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average,
after normalizing for differences in cost of labor among states. This equates to about
$1,900 more per student than Virginia.”
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC)
estimates that annually APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million"

I'll never understand why we're willing to give billionaires $2b+ to build stadiums, but don't even consider giving $2b to public education.

Ask Youngkin

OK, and all the previous governors as well, yes? Democrat and Republican.
None of them have made the public education investment effort.

Don't deflect. Youngkin is the governor now and he's the one who's good with the huge payment for the stadium.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1997/10/02/arlington-schools-may-ease-stance-on-jefferson-high/6ac6403c-ef7f-406a-bc4a-a3eb654e1734/


Article from 1997 about aps paying tuition to tj

For the math challenged on this forum this 1997 article explains why sending kids to TJ does not save APS money no matter what TJ costs:

The $8,000 is less than the average $9,305 cost of educating a student in the Arlington system. But the system does not save any money by sending a student to Jefferson because it cannot, for example, reduce the salaries of teachers when a few students leave their classes, school officials explained.

Ok then let’s call it a way to reduce class sizes.

I can see why you are anti-TJ, you seem to be pretty anti-math. If x number fewer kids go to a school, they don't reduce class sizes. Class sizes are determined by planning factors. The planning factors are established by the school board and listed in a book/manual.

If the planning factor for a class is 25 and 21 kids show up, they get a teacher. If 29 kids sign up, they will divide them into two sections. Sending 25 kids to TJ (from three high schools) doesn't change the planning factors--it might have a tiny tiny effect on how many sections of a class are offered in a school.

This is why the finance department doesn't have precise estimates of every possible budget scenario (especially when it comes to option schools) and goes by averages. They can't tell you the exact effect changes would have on staffing because it has to do with what home schools those kids are assigned to, what grades they are in, how close to the planning factors those grades are already--or the specific classes those kids would enroll in, whether those kids would be bus riders or not at their home schools, etc. etc.

We're talking about a $825 million budget here. The total cost of sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ is less than 0.1% of the budget, so the marginal difference in cost (up or down) between sending a couple of dozen kids to TJ versus keeping them in Arlington is like a hundredth of a percent.

Yup. This whole thread is discussing negligible line items.

What we really need is full funding from Youngkin and the county.

And what exactly is full funding???

Senate proposal is a start - pg 32
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/D2WW4J839BAE/$file/FY%202025%20Superintendent's%20Presentation%20FINAL%20(331%20pm).pdf

The state and county should step up and appropriately fund our schools.
"“Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average,
the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other
states receive 14 percent more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average,
after normalizing for differences in cost of labor among states. This equates to about
$1,900 more per student than Virginia.”
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC)
estimates that annually APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million"

I'll never understand why we're willing to give billionaires $2b+ to build stadiums, but don't even consider giving $2b to public education.

Ask Youngkin

OK, and all the previous governors as well, yes? Democrat and Republican.
None of them have made the public education investment effort.

Don't deflect. Youngkin is the governor now and he's the one who's good with the huge payment for the stadium.

Who was governor when the Redskins stadium was being proposed for Potomac Yards.
I am not deflecting. My point wasn't so much about a current specific stadium proposal. It was the broader idea of never proposing such a huge investment in public education period. Clearly such investment resources are possible - Amazon HQ2, stadium proposals, other proposals to bring big business opportunities to the state - but they seem to be reserved for business and profit ventures. How about the ROI from an amply funded educational system?

[Anonymous]

So complain to Youngkin.
https://vadogwood.com/2023/12/22/governors-proposed-budget-fails-to-address-virginias-school-funding-issues/

[Anonymous]

Alright…. let’s talk about it. I’m a high school teacher. Now, we’ve got more security, an intervention counselor, a Dean of Students (discipline is their job)… and things are worse than they were before. Before, when we had ONE SRO. Yes… The kids were scared of him. They knew he could actually do something, unlike these other folks. They were scared into behaving. It worked, and it was maybe 1/5 of the costs now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Alright…. let’s talk about it. I’m a high school teacher. Now, we’ve got more security, an intervention counselor, a Dean of Students (discipline is their job)… and things are worse than they were before. Before, when we had ONE SRO. Yes… The kids were scared of him. They knew he could actually do something, unlike these other folks. They were scared into behaving. It worked, and it was maybe 1/5 of the costs now.

I’m a parent and I 100% support this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alright…. let’s talk about it. I’m a high school teacher. Now, we’ve got more security, an intervention counselor, a Dean of Students (discipline is their job)… and things are worse than they were before. Before, when we had ONE SRO. Yes… The kids were scared of him. They knew he could actually do something, unlike these other folks. They were scared into behaving. It worked, and it was maybe 1/5 of the costs now.

I’m a parent and I 100% support this.

+1
None of the MANY new jobs created have made schools better