APS: who is the best CB candidate on schools issues?

[Anonymous]

From their websites, seems like de Ferranti gets the schools issues and the need for CB cooperation/contribution, but I haven't seen either live or heard them speak on the issues. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

In the primary, de Ferranti, but only because he appears to have at least the vaguest inkling of our schools’ needs while Choun doesn’t appear to have any. Generally election, Vihstadt. He’s the only one who gets that we can’t leep loading up the county with high-density residential (affordable or not) without building more schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the primary, de Ferranti, but only because he appears to have at least the vaguest inkling of our schools’ needs while Choun doesn’t appear to have any. Generally election, Vihstadt. He’s the only one who gets that we can’t leep loading up the county with high-density residential (affordable or not) without building more schools.

Yup, definitely Vihstadt overall. The candidates in the Dem primary have no idea what they are doing.

[Anonymous]

OP and that's how I read it as between the two in the primary, and then Vihstadt for the general as well. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I’m a South is who was livid about the cancellation of the streetcar.
That’s water under the bridge. Vihstadt all the way.

[Anonymous]

Met de Feranti yesterday while he was door knocking. He says the right things about need to have the County Board more involved with the School Board problems. Whether he would be able to follow through is impossible to know.

I'm not convinced that Vihstadt is super helpful here. He is very committed to having the county become more involved with additional affordable housing. That may be creating more issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Met de Feranti yesterday while he was door knocking. He says the right things about need to have the County Board more involved with the School Board problems. Whether he would be able to follow through is impossible to know.

I'm not convinced that Vihstadt is super helpful here. He is very committed to having the county become more involved with additional affordable housing. That may be creating more issues.

No he isn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the primary, de Ferranti, but only because he appears to have at least the vaguest inkling of our schools’ needs while Choun doesn’t appear to have any. Generally election, Vihstadt. He’s the only one who gets that we can’t leep loading up the county with high-density residential (affordable or not) without building more schools.

Yup, definitely Vihstadt overall. The candidates in the Dem primary have no idea what they are doing.

I'll hold my nose and vote for V. I didn't vote for him last time, but I'm not seeing anything from De Ferranti that makes me believe he will push back against the insanity of inviting thousands of families to live in CAFs, approving upzoning in GLUPs, and approving SFH lot subdivisions, and then pretending the kids are not here, or are just a temporary blip on the radar. The only way they will get the message is if we don't vote for their guy. No swim palace. I was fine with the idea, in theory, and voted for the bond. But nobody told me that my kids might have to go to HS in shifts at the time so that we could operate a swimming facility that will lose money every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the primary, de Ferranti, but only because he appears to have at least the vaguest inkling of our schools’ needs while Choun doesn’t appear to have any. Generally election, Vihstadt. He’s the only one who gets that we can’t leep loading up the county with high-density residential (affordable or not) without building more schools.

Yup, definitely Vihstadt overall. The candidates in the Dem primary have no idea what they are doing.

I'll hold my nose and vote for V. I didn't vote for him last time, but I'm not seeing anything from De Ferranti that makes me believe he will push back against the insanity of inviting thousands of families to live in CAFs, approving upzoning in GLUPs, and approving SFH lot subdivisions, and then pretending the kids are not here, or are just a temporary blip on the radar. The only way they will get the message is if we don't vote for their guy. No swim palace. I was fine with the idea, in theory, and voted for the bond. But nobody told me that my kids might have to go to HS in shifts at the time so that we could operate a swimming facility that will lose money every year.

This all day long!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Met de Feranti yesterday while he was door knocking. He says the right things about need to have the County Board more involved with the School Board problems. Whether he would be able to follow through is impossible to know.

I'm not convinced that Vihstadt is super helpful here. He is very committed to having the county become more involved with additional affordable housing. That may be creating more issues.

I think you have your candidates confused, Vihstadt had been the one (unsuccessfully) resisting the rest of the CB’s plans to build more affordable housing.

As for de Ferranti, he does support the CB being more involved with the schools, but that’s no so much from a giving more money standpoint as a “let’s micromanage APS budgeting a bit more and find alternative solutions to overcrowding rather than building more seats.” Except the fourth high school, he’s “evolved” on that recently, I suspect because he’s figured out that appealing to APS parents will help help him win.

[Anonymous]

Count me as firmly in the Vihstadt camp. He's the welcome voice of reason on a whole host of isses and I'll keep voting for him as long as he wants the job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the primary, de Ferranti, but only because he appears to have at least the vaguest inkling of our schools’ needs while Choun doesn’t appear to have any. Generally election, Vihstadt. He’s the only one who gets that we can’t leep loading up the county with high-density residential (affordable or not) without building more schools.

Yup, definitely Vihstadt overall. The candidates in the Dem primary have no idea what they are doing.

I'll hold my nose and vote for V. I didn't vote for him last time, but I'm not seeing anything from De Ferranti that makes me believe he will push back against the insanity of inviting thousands of families to live in CAFs, approving upzoning in GLUPs, and approving SFH lot subdivisions, and then pretending the kids are not here, or are just a temporary blip on the radar. The only way they will get the message is if we don't vote for their guy. No swim palace. I was fine with the idea, in theory, and voted for the bond. But nobody told me that my kids might have to go to HS in shifts at the time so that we could operate a swimming facility that will lose money every year.

This all day long!

Yeah, the pool palace gotta go. The whole thing was dreamt up almost 20 years ago by excollegiate swimmers who wanted to host the summer olympics here, no joke. Then it got shopped around to build a "constituency" for it and voila: "public support"!

Never mentioned, in addition to being a money loser, is that it won't be free. There was a survey a decade ago that floated admission/membership fees. Remember how Tejada wanted to make the fees lower based on income? That was the only time the issue came up. People think it's gonna be free or cheap to get in. Nope. No chance a family membership would be under $1,000 per year by now.

[Anonymous]

Both Dorsey and Cristol campaigned on the promise of more coordination with APS. I asked them and they both talked about it. Of course, Cristol didn't really say anything, it was all non-committal consultant speak, literally.

Vihstat is the only one who questions county spending, to include CAFs, aquatics etc. So, perhaps if he had been more than just ONE vote all the extra budget money at the end of the year (like $11 million or so) could have been used for schools, or something (like flooding in certain neighborhoods). Think of all the end of the year money that goes to the AFIH fund, like $10million a year. Over 4 years that a new elementary school! An underground parking garage!

The County wants to spend money to keep lower income families in Arlington, I get that. But that isn't leaving enough money for them to have a real seat in a real classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both Dorsey and Cristol campaigned on the promise of more coordination with APS. I asked them and they both talked about it. Of course, Cristol didn't really say anything, it was all non-committal consultant speak, literally.

Vihstat is the only one who questions county spending, to include CAFs, aquatics etc. So, perhaps if he had been more than just ONE vote all the extra budget money at the end of the year (like $11 million or so) could have been used for schools, or something (like flooding in certain neighborhoods). Think of all the end of the year money that goes to the AFIH fund, like $10million a year. Over 4 years that a new elementary school! An underground parking garage!

The County wants to spend money to keep lower income families in Arlington, I get that. But that isn't leaving enough money for them to have a real seat in a real classroom.

+100

What I'd vote for is anyone who commits to requiring developers who add housing density to also put in money for school construction funds. Ridiculous that they'll get them to pay for public art instead of schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the primary, de Ferranti, but only because he appears to have at least the vaguest inkling of our schools’ needs while Choun doesn’t appear to have any. Generally election, Vihstadt. He’s the only one who gets that we can’t leep loading up the county with high-density residential (affordable or not) without building more schools.

Yup, definitely Vihstadt overall. The candidates in the Dem primary have no idea what they are doing.

I'll hold my nose and vote for V. I didn't vote for him last time, but I'm not seeing anything from De Ferranti that makes me believe he will push back against the insanity of inviting thousands of families to live in CAFs, approving upzoning in GLUPs, and approving SFH lot subdivisions, and then pretending the kids are not here, or are just a temporary blip on the radar. The only way they will get the message is if we don't vote for their guy. No swim palace. I was fine with the idea, in theory, and voted for the bond. But nobody told me that my kids might have to go to HS in shifts at the time so that we could operate a swimming facility that will lose money every year.

+1

Well said.