APS budget is unacceptable

[Anonymous]

Bickering about APS’s allocation of the budget it receives is futile. There are no incremental changes within the APS budget itself that are going to move the needle in terms of getting our schools where they should be—particularly, and let’s just be honest here—for how wealthy the area is.

Let me explain to you the real problem:

Arlington County’s “vision statement” BEGINS with the objective of being “diverse and inclusive”. That’s number 1 on the board.

FY24 budget included 4 priority “community programs” for funding:
1. Eviction prevention
2. Mental and behavioral health services
3. “Responding to an insufficient supply of affordable housing”
4. Funding for the County’s own (ie internal) “planning and economic development departments” (bang up job those guys are doing… just look at Lee Hwy!)

Are those the community programs you think should be highest priority?

Separately, the budget identified 3 “strategic funding priorities”:
1. “Investments in climate and energy (restoration of climate position)”
2. Libraries of the future
3. “Investing in our partners in various areas (Langston, Columbia Pike) to increase their capacity”

Are those your priorities? I’m putting 1 and 3 in exact quotes because they’re so absurd.

This is why your kids go to a public school with 30 to a class and poorly paid teachers in a neighborhood of $2MM homes. They are stealing your money and giving it away to build more subsidized housing, more capacity for the homeless drug addicts now commonplace in places like Clarendon and Courthouse, two predominantly minority communities (with absolutely no accountability or transparency), and… I don’t even know what “restoration of climate position” means but I’m sure someone’s idiot cousin is getting a nice government contract. Be sure to let us all know if Arlington County deploying its limited funding is what finally turns the tide on global warming.

Our schools should be getting this money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bickering about APS’s allocation of the budget it receives is futile. There are no incremental changes within the APS budget itself that are going to move the needle in terms of getting our schools where they should be—particularly, and let’s just be honest here—for how wealthy the area is.

Let me explain to you the real problem:

Arlington County’s “vision statement” BEGINS with the objective of being “diverse and inclusive”. That’s number 1 on the board.

FY24 budget included 4 priority “community programs” for funding:
1. Eviction prevention
2. Mental and behavioral health services
3. “Responding to an insufficient supply of affordable housing”
4. Funding for the County’s own (ie internal) “planning and economic development departments” (bang up job those guys are doing… just look at Lee Hwy!)

Are those the community programs you think should be highest priority?

Separately, the budget identified 3 “strategic funding priorities”:
1. “Investments in climate and energy (restoration of climate position)”
2. Libraries of the future
3. “Investing in our partners in various areas (Langston, Columbia Pike) to increase their capacity”

Are those your priorities? I’m putting 1 and 3 in exact quotes because they’re so absurd.

This is why your kids go to a public school with 30 to a class and poorly paid teachers in a neighborhood of $2MM homes. They are stealing your money and giving it away to build more subsidized housing, more capacity for the homeless drug addicts now commonplace in places like Clarendon and Courthouse, two predominantly minority communities (with absolutely no accountability or transparency), and… I don’t even know what “restoration of climate position” means but I’m sure someone’s idiot cousin is getting a nice government contract. Be sure to let us all know if Arlington County deploying its limited funding is what finally turns the tide on global warming.

Our schools should be getting this money.

Preach. Local elections have local consequences. So many people put blinders on with their national political affiliation without understanding that has little to do with day-to-day good local governance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thinking about this more. Getting rid of outdoor lab and moving the employees to Arlington might make a ton of sense. You could sell the property and make a lot of cash. There’s nothing they teach there that couldn’t be done at an Arlington nature center. And since the overnights are now in jeopardy anyway due to the Oakridge thing. Why not get rid of it?

Ignorant. Thankfully, APS doesn’t own the outdoor lab or Murphy would have probably sold it back in 2010. It’s owned by a separate nonprofit. APS just pays for staffing.

With so many central office staff who do next-to-nothing for students…. cutting people who actually teach kids should not be the priority, ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet that if these weren't the first two goals in APS's strategic plan, teachers would be slightly less likely to mind the COL increase:

~ Disproportionally in suspension rates by race/ethnicity, students identified with a disability, and English Learners will be annually reduced and overall suspensions will not increase. (PO-SWB-1)

~ By 2024, at least 80% of students with disabilities will spend 80% or more of their school day in a general education setting. (PO-SWB-2)

Teachers are not only underpaid, but general ed teachers also are responsible for meeting the needs of many special education kids. They have limited recourse for poor behavior since APS wants low suspension numbers. APS's retention strategy seems to be hoping teachers will keep going out of the goodness of their hearts.

A student can be 100% in a general Ed setting and still receive support and services from special Ed teachers. And I sincerely hope the people educating our children aren’t aiming for MORE suspensions of children with disabilities and minorities.

I would like to see more suspensions of minorities. Also kids with disabilities. Also whites. And girls. A little restoration of regular order is… in order.

I’d also like them to light every single iPad in the county on fire.

Textbooks, chalkboards, kids in detention. That’s how you save money AND raise kids proper.

Do you really think suspensions are going to fix the behavior problems? They don't.

DP. Maybe not fix but at least get those problems out of the classrooms where they are disruptive and sometimes dangerous to teachers and students who actually want to learn.

You must be kidding. They remove the kid for 1 maybe 2 days, then they are right back. Same problem. Suspensions don't fix a thing.

Suspend them again.
Seriously, if behavior can’t meet minimum standards of decency they shouldn’t be there.

Ultimately it's public school. Something has to be sorted so they can get an education. Teachers shouldn't be left to deal with it on their own, but you can't just keep suspending the kid without addressing the issue.

--Parent whose 4 yo was sent to the principal's office every day for the first three weeks of kindergarten. My kid had no idea what that meant or why she was there, so it had no impact except getting her out of the classroom. Things improved a lot once another adult observed and coached my kid and the teacher.

Your 4 yo was not ready for kindergarten and should have waited a year.

+100

Your kid should have spent another year in pre-k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bickering about APS’s allocation of the budget it receives is futile. There are no incremental changes within the APS budget itself that are going to move the needle in terms of getting our schools where they should be—particularly, and let’s just be honest here—for how wealthy the area is.

Let me explain to you the real problem:

Arlington County’s “vision statement” BEGINS with the objective of being “diverse and inclusive”. That’s number 1 on the board.

FY24 budget included 4 priority “community programs” for funding:
1. Eviction prevention
2. Mental and behavioral health services
3. “Responding to an insufficient supply of affordable housing”
4. Funding for the County’s own (ie internal) “planning and economic development departments” (bang up job those guys are doing… just look at Lee Hwy!)

Are those the community programs you think should be highest priority?

Separately, the budget identified 3 “strategic funding priorities”:
1. “Investments in climate and energy (restoration of climate position)”
2. Libraries of the future
3. “Investing in our partners in various areas (Langston, Columbia Pike) to increase their capacity”

Are those your priorities? I’m putting 1 and 3 in exact quotes because they’re so absurd.

This is why your kids go to a public school with 30 to a class and poorly paid teachers in a neighborhood of $2MM homes. They are stealing your money and giving it away to build more subsidized housing, more capacity for the homeless drug addicts now commonplace in places like Clarendon and Courthouse, two predominantly minority communities (with absolutely no accountability or transparency), and… I don’t even know what “restoration of climate position” means but I’m sure someone’s idiot cousin is getting a nice government contract. Be sure to let us all know if Arlington County deploying its limited funding is what finally turns the tide on global warming.

Our schools should be getting this money.

Preach. Local elections have local consequences. So many people put blinders on with their national political affiliation without understanding that has little to do with day-to-day good local governance.

Agree, plus a lot a large share I'd Arlington voters DGAF about the schools.

[Anonymous]

I’ve read that some Syphax positions are being cut. Is this true?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet that if these weren't the first two goals in APS's strategic plan, teachers would be slightly less likely to mind the COL increase:

~ Disproportionally in suspension rates by race/ethnicity, students identified with a disability, and English Learners will be annually reduced and overall suspensions will not increase. (PO-SWB-1)

~ By 2024, at least 80% of students with disabilities will spend 80% or more of their school day in a general education setting. (PO-SWB-2)

Teachers are not only underpaid, but general ed teachers also are responsible for meeting the needs of many special education kids. They have limited recourse for poor behavior since APS wants low suspension numbers. APS's retention strategy seems to be hoping teachers will keep going out of the goodness of their hearts.

A student can be 100% in a general Ed setting and still receive support and services from special Ed teachers. And I sincerely hope the people educating our children aren’t aiming for MORE suspensions of children with disabilities and minorities.

I would like to see more suspensions of minorities. Also kids with disabilities. Also whites. And girls. A little restoration of regular order is… in order.

I’d also like them to light every single iPad in the county on fire.

Textbooks, chalkboards, kids in detention. That’s how you save money AND raise kids proper.

Do you really think suspensions are going to fix the behavior problems? They don't.

DP. Maybe not fix but at least get those problems out of the classrooms where they are disruptive and sometimes dangerous to teachers and students who actually want to learn.

You must be kidding. They remove the kid for 1 maybe 2 days, then they are right back. Same problem. Suspensions don't fix a thing.

Suspend them again.
Seriously, if behavior can’t meet minimum standards of decency they shouldn’t be there.

sure let's just keep suspending them without making any effort to get to the root cause. that'll be great.

What is the correct way to deal with major behavioral issues if the root cause is trauma, poverty, a parent who is on drugs, and apathy about education? We often know the root cause but that doesn’t give us solutions. Instead of providing realistic solutions for teachers, schools just keep telling them “build relationships ” and “behavior communicates needs” and “do a social justice circle.” And then they’re getting a 1% COL increase? This is unsustainable.

Excuse me, but you forgot “maybe they’d be better behaved if your lessons were more engaging.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read that some Syphax positions are being cut. Is this true?

Sort of. Some being cut, some that are open aren’t being filled. The cuts don’t make a dent. The truth is for the past 5 years Syphax has added too many jobs that aren’t needed. Now they finally realized they spent too much and are asking us, teachers, to go advocate for more money for the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thinking about this more. Getting rid of outdoor lab and moving the employees to Arlington might make a ton of sense. You could sell the property and make a lot of cash. There’s nothing they teach there that couldn’t be done at an Arlington nature center. And since the overnights are now in jeopardy anyway due to the Oakridge thing. Why not get rid of it?

Ignorant. Thankfully, APS doesn’t own the outdoor lab or Murphy would have probably sold it back in 2010. It’s owned by a separate nonprofit. APS just pays for staffing.

With so many central office staff who do next-to-nothing for students…. cutting people who actually teach kids should not be the priority, ever.

Staff at the Outdoor Lab should be cut. The recent events and complaints are enough to have the non-profit owners hire qualified outdoor educators similar to other nonprofits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thinking about this more. Getting rid of outdoor lab and moving the employees to Arlington might make a ton of sense. You could sell the property and make a lot of cash. There’s nothing they teach there that couldn’t be done at an Arlington nature center. And since the overnights are now in jeopardy anyway due to the Oakridge thing. Why not get rid of it?

Ignorant. Thankfully, APS doesn’t own the outdoor lab or Murphy would have probably sold it back in 2010. It’s owned by a separate nonprofit. APS just pays for staffing.

With so many central office staff who do next-to-nothing for students…. cutting people who actually teach kids should not be the priority, ever.

They teach each APS kid for 1-2 days per year. This is a nice to have but not critical part of their education. I’d choose more classroom teachers or SPED teachers over the Outdoor Lab.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet that if these weren't the first two goals in APS's strategic plan, teachers would be slightly less likely to mind the COL increase:

~ Disproportionally in suspension rates by race/ethnicity, students identified with a disability, and English Learners will be annually reduced and overall suspensions will not increase. (PO-SWB-1)

~ By 2024, at least 80% of students with disabilities will spend 80% or more of their school day in a general education setting. (PO-SWB-2)

Teachers are not only underpaid, but general ed teachers also are responsible for meeting the needs of many special education kids. They have limited recourse for poor behavior since APS wants low suspension numbers. APS's retention strategy seems to be hoping teachers will keep going out of the goodness of their hearts.

A student can be 100% in a general Ed setting and still receive support and services from special Ed teachers. And I sincerely hope the people educating our children aren’t aiming for MORE suspensions of children with disabilities and minorities.

I would like to see more suspensions of minorities. Also kids with disabilities. Also whites. And girls. A little restoration of regular order is… in order.

I’d also like them to light every single iPad in the county on fire.

Textbooks, chalkboards, kids in detention. That’s how you save money AND raise kids proper.

Do you really think suspensions are going to fix the behavior problems? They don't.

DP. Maybe not fix but at least get those problems out of the classrooms where they are disruptive and sometimes dangerous to teachers and students who actually want to learn.

You must be kidding. They remove the kid for 1 maybe 2 days, then they are right back. Same problem. Suspensions don't fix a thing.

Suspend them again.
Seriously, if behavior can’t meet minimum standards of decency they shouldn’t be there.

sure let's just keep suspending them without making any effort to get to the root cause. that'll be great.

Figure out how to get to the root cause, but that’s again putting the onus on schools to fill in for bad parents. In the meantime these semi-feral kids are disrupting school for everyone else.

I sound hard hearted because I’m so tired of hearing about the fights, the outbursts and the abhorrent behavior in my kids’ classrooms.

Two were talking about children with behavioral problems whose parents don’t have the skills or capacity to support them. Who *but* the schools is going to help them? Suspension will just alienate them from school/authority and probably does lead to the school-to-prison pipeline. Maybe that helps your kid in ninth grade but not sure how it helps society.

the solution for a lot of more serious cases is to have alternative school programs, with teachers and staff who have the physical capacity and ample training to use restraint and seclusion. But simple suspension is surprisingly effective. More often than not, parents care but aren’t sufficiently aware of the seriousness of the issue until a kid is suspended. Plus, just knowing that they can be suspended is often a good incentive for students to avoid egregious behavior.

There is a ton of research on this and good arguments on both sides, but more and more data is coming out that overall strict inclusion policies have terrible outcomes. It’s bad for teacher retention, student academic success, and the general environment of the school. We need to find a better middle ground between extremely strict policies either way.

This. Suspensions and self contained classrooms staffed by appropriately trained and compensated educators, potentially with an SRO nearby.

I’m fully aware of the school to prison pipeline but the current environment is failing those kids and failing all the other students and teachers being forced to deal with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thinking about this more. Getting rid of outdoor lab and moving the employees to Arlington might make a ton of sense. You could sell the property and make a lot of cash. There’s nothing they teach there that couldn’t be done at an Arlington nature center. And since the overnights are now in jeopardy anyway due to the Oakridge thing. Why not get rid of it?

Ignorant. Thankfully, APS doesn’t own the outdoor lab or Murphy would have probably sold it back in 2010. It’s owned by a separate nonprofit. APS just pays for staffing.

With so many central office staff who do next-to-nothing for students…. cutting people who actually teach kids should not be the priority, ever.

They teach each APS kid for 1-2 days per year. This is a nice to have but not critical part of their education. I’d choose more classroom teachers or SPED teachers over the Outdoor Lab.

Proposed Outdoor Lab budget doesn't make sense. They are cutting redundant positions but increasing spending by over 200K in just 2 years. Have heard nothing but grief concerning the place this school year. No wonder APS is failing at teaching Math and Science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet that if these weren't the first two goals in APS's strategic plan, teachers would be slightly less likely to mind the COL increase:

~ Disproportionally in suspension rates by race/ethnicity, students identified with a disability, and English Learners will be annually reduced and overall suspensions will not increase. (PO-SWB-1)

~ By 2024, at least 80% of students with disabilities will spend 80% or more of their school day in a general education setting. (PO-SWB-2)

Teachers are not only underpaid, but general ed teachers also are responsible for meeting the needs of many special education kids. They have limited recourse for poor behavior since APS wants low suspension numbers. APS's retention strategy seems to be hoping teachers will keep going out of the goodness of their hearts.

A student can be 100% in a general Ed setting and still receive support and services from special Ed teachers. And I sincerely hope the people educating our children aren’t aiming for MORE suspensions of children with disabilities and minorities.

I would like to see more suspensions of minorities. Also kids with disabilities. Also whites. And girls. A little restoration of regular order is… in order.

I’d also like them to light every single iPad in the county on fire.

Textbooks, chalkboards, kids in detention. That’s how you save money AND raise kids proper.

Do you really think suspensions are going to fix the behavior problems? They don't.

DP. Maybe not fix but at least get those problems out of the classrooms where they are disruptive and sometimes dangerous to teachers and students who actually want to learn.

You must be kidding. They remove the kid for 1 maybe 2 days, then they are right back. Same problem. Suspensions don't fix a thing.

Suspend them again.
Seriously, if behavior can’t meet minimum standards of decency they shouldn’t be there.

Ultimately it's public school. Something has to be sorted so they can get an education. Teachers shouldn't be left to deal with it on their own, but you can't just keep suspending the kid without addressing the issue.

--Parent whose 4 yo was sent to the principal's office every day for the first three weeks of kindergarten. My kid had no idea what that meant or why she was there, so it had no impact except getting her out of the classroom. Things improved a lot once another adult observed and coached my kid and the teacher.

Your 4 yo was not ready for kindergarten and should have waited a year.

+100

Your kid should have spent another year in pre-k.

Nah, it's been almost a decade and my kid is in the right grade. We just had a teacher who wasn't experienced with kindergarten and who got a class that was full of kids with serious undiagnosed issues. My kid was the least of the problems in that classroom once they got settled in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet that if these weren't the first two goals in APS's strategic plan, teachers would be slightly less likely to mind the COL increase:

~ Disproportionally in suspension rates by race/ethnicity, students identified with a disability, and English Learners will be annually reduced and overall suspensions will not increase. (PO-SWB-1)

~ By 2024, at least 80% of students with disabilities will spend 80% or more of their school day in a general education setting. (PO-SWB-2)

Teachers are not only underpaid, but general ed teachers also are responsible for meeting the needs of many special education kids. They have limited recourse for poor behavior since APS wants low suspension numbers. APS's retention strategy seems to be hoping teachers will keep going out of the goodness of their hearts.

A student can be 100% in a general Ed setting and still receive support and services from special Ed teachers. And I sincerely hope the people educating our children aren’t aiming for MORE suspensions of children with disabilities and minorities.

I would like to see more suspensions of minorities. Also kids with disabilities. Also whites. And girls. A little restoration of regular order is… in order.

I’d also like them to light every single iPad in the county on fire.

Textbooks, chalkboards, kids in detention. That’s how you save money AND raise kids proper.

Do you really think suspensions are going to fix the behavior problems? They don't.

DP. Maybe not fix but at least get those problems out of the classrooms where they are disruptive and sometimes dangerous to teachers and students who actually want to learn.

You must be kidding. They remove the kid for 1 maybe 2 days, then they are right back. Same problem. Suspensions don't fix a thing.

Suspend them again.
Seriously, if behavior can’t meet minimum standards of decency they shouldn’t be there.

Ultimately it's public school. Something has to be sorted so they can get an education. Teachers shouldn't be left to deal with it on their own, but you can't just keep suspending the kid without addressing the issue.

--Parent whose 4 yo was sent to the principal's office every day for the first three weeks of kindergarten. My kid had no idea what that meant or why she was there, so it had no impact except getting her out of the classroom. Things improved a lot once another adult observed and coached my kid and the teacher.

Your 4 yo was not ready for kindergarten and should have waited a year.

+100

Your kid should have spent another year in pre-k.

Nah, it's been almost a decade and my kid is in the right grade. We just had a teacher who wasn't experienced with kindergarten and who got a class that was full of kids with serious undiagnosed issues. My kid was the least of the problems in that classroom once they got settled in.

PP, I'm sure that there were kids in that classroom who had more significant issues than your's. But, you admit that your kid needed to be "coached" in order to be able to participate effectively... can you see how having every classroom with kids who need "coaching" is unsustainable? Perhaps both students and teachers would be better served if resources could be concentrated to help these kids rather than spreading it all around the schools, overwhelming the teachers and disrupting the other students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thinking about this more. Getting rid of outdoor lab and moving the employees to Arlington might make a ton of sense. You could sell the property and make a lot of cash. There’s nothing they teach there that couldn’t be done at an Arlington nature center. And since the overnights are now in jeopardy anyway due to the Oakridge thing. Why not get rid of it?

Ignorant. Thankfully, APS doesn’t own the outdoor lab or Murphy would have probably sold it back in 2010. It’s owned by a separate nonprofit. APS just pays for staffing.

With so many central office staff who do next-to-nothing for students…. cutting people who actually teach kids should not be the priority, ever.

Staff at the Outdoor Lab should be cut. The recent events and complaints are enough to have the non-profit owners hire qualified outdoor educators similar to other nonprofits.

Outdoor Lab staff was not the problem in "recent events and complaints."