FCPS Class Size Petition- Please sign (and pass around for signatures)

[Anonymous]

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stop-oversize-classes-in-fairfax-county-school/

Fairfax County Public Schools: Don't pass
a 2014-15 class size increase without county-established class size caps.

Many Fairfax County schoolchildren are assigned to very large classes. They must often deal with cramped spaces, more stressful environments and less of the individual attention they need.

And it might get worse next year. To help balance the 2014-15 budget, class size may be increased even more next year. Another class size increase without county-established caps will put even more children in unfairly lower-quality, oversize classes.

Fairfax County doesn't have its own class size caps. FCPS consents to Virginia's high state caps of 29-35 for elementary school! We must do better than that. In addition, Virginia establishes NO caps for middle and high schools.

County-established caps will protect children from excessively large classes that damage their education.

We, the undersigned, urge FCPS: Don’t pass a 2014-15 class size increase without county-established class size caps.

Signers: please include your school name in the Comments box, if you are comfortable doing so.

*Please note: No donation is required to sign. Some signers may be directed to an optional donation page generated by ipetitions. If you do not wish to donate, leave the donation form blank and your signature will still be recorded.

[Anonymous]

Just signed it - passing it back up

[Anonymous]

Fairfax County doesn't have its own class size caps. FCPS consents to Virginia's high state caps of 29-35 for elementary school! We must do better than that. In addition, Virginia establishes NO caps for middle and high schools.

I have mixed feelings about large class sizes in high school.

With so many freshmen university classes in large, lecture hall format, I often think that having a few much larger classes (with smaller seminar times) for HS kids would be a good idea.

So many of my college classmates were completely unprepared for how to learn in the lecture class format, and many bright and smart students crashed and burned their freshman year of college as a result.

I think all smaller classes in the upper high school classes might actually do the kids a disservice.

[Anonymous]

Much rather have large classes in high than elementary. Although, good English teachers need smaller classes in order to evaluate all the writing. Bad English teachers don't do that.

[Anonymous]

20:02 I can see your point about children having one large core class, but even in a very large college, I only had one of these types of classes a semester and they were for classes that introduced a lot of information and didn't require a lot of writing or discussion back. There are plenty of smaller class settings at all colleges. I'm not convinced it's the best way to teach or learn just because they have large classes in college.

[Anonymous]

Are you going to back this up with a tax increase to pay for it?

[Anonymous]

I think that this is a stupid petition. Yes, I want smaller class sizes, but "the man" already knows this and a petition isn't going to make it happen. And the county can't afford this - where do you think the money will come from to fund this. Librarians and library assistants are already on the chopping block and that's just to keep the status quo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you going to back this up with a tax increase to pay for it?

Yes. It would cost less than switching to private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stop-oversize-classes-in-fairfax-county-school/

Fairfax County Public Schools: Don't pass
a 2014-15 class size increase without county-established class size caps.

Many Fairfax County schoolchildren are assigned to very large classes. They must often deal with cramped spaces, more stressful environments and less of the individual attention they need.

And it might get worse next year. To help balance the 2014-15 budget, class size may be increased even more next year. Another class size increase without county-established caps will put even more children in unfairly lower-quality, oversize classes.

Fairfax County doesn't have its own class size caps. FCPS consents to Virginia's high state caps of 29-35 for elementary school! We must do better than that. In addition, Virginia establishes NO caps for middle and high schools.

County-established caps will protect children from excessively large classes that damage their education.

We, the undersigned, urge FCPS: Don’t pass a 2014-15 class size increase without county-established class size caps.

Signers: please include your school name in the Comments box, if you are comfortable doing so.

*Please note: No donation is required to sign. Some signers may be directed to an optional donation page generated by ipetitions. If you do not wish to donate, leave the donation form blank and your signature will still be recorded.

What does "state caps of 29-35" mean? Is it 29 for some schools or situations and 35 for others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you going to back this up with a tax increase to pay for it?

Yes. It would cost less than switching to private school.

So you're saying that if FCPS doesn't cap classroom sizes, you're switching to private school?

[Anonymous]

A rise in property taxes can be devastating to those retirees living on fixed income. It's not just working people who are affected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A rise in property taxes can be devastating to those retirees living on fixed income. It's not just working people who are affected.

Fairfax County provides tax relief for seniors and people with disabilities:

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dta/taxrelief_home.htm

The qualifications for real estate tax relief:

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dta/taxrelief_faq.htm

The gross income from all sources of the owners of the dwelling and any relatives of the owners who reside in the dwelling may not exceed $72,000. The following income limitations and percentage of relief apply:

Gross Income Amount of Tax Relief
$52,000 or less 100%
$52,001 to $62,000 50%
$62,001 to $72,000 25%

[Anonymous]

The state averages are much less than the state caps. The state says something like each class must have an average of 25 students to 1 teacher with no class being over 30 or 35 children depending on the age. This isn't a per school basis, so FCPS is taking some schools and making their averages close to 20:1 and others closer to 30:1. Class sizes within the county now range from about 15:1 to 38:1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
A rise in property taxes can be devastating to those retirees living on fixed income. It's not just working people who are affected.

Fairfax County provides tax relief for seniors and people with disabilities:

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dta/taxrelief_home.htm

The qualifications for real estate tax relief:

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dta/taxrelief_faq.htm

The gross income from all sources of the owners of the dwelling and any relatives of the owners who reside in the dwelling may not exceed $72,000. The following income limitations and percentage of relief apply:

Gross Income Amount of Tax Relief
$52,000 or less 100%
$52,001 to $62,000 50%
$62,001 to $72,000 25%

That's not much relief--remember you still have property insurance, income tax, state income tax, food, gas, medicare tax, medical expenses, etc.

[Anonymous]

Remember it is a zero sum game. If class sizes are not increased, then other services will be cut. Do do not sign this petition unless the class size issue is the most important of all to you. The list of potential cuts is large. Just advocate wisely.