Reply to School Board Regular Meeting last night Thursday April 27th

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Reply to "School Board Regular Meeting last night Thursday April 27th"

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[quote=Anonymous]OP here - I don't twitter (yet) ;=)

In thinking about this event some more, I was struck by the calls by several Board members for more engagement with 'stakeholders' in making policy changes - particularly to pensions.  This is, to my mind, a good suggestion.  But it was in stark contrast with the lack of citizen engagement ('stakeholders') over issue like the Policy 1450 and other 'diversity' proclamations.  Before I get flamed, I should note that I am of the simple notion that appropriate behavior can be guided by the maxim to "Respect yourself and respect others".  The fact that numerous protesters show up every two weeks to complain about Policy 1450 shows that the Board's actions in this regard were unsuccessful and I suggest that they move to conciliate with these members of the Community.  It may not be possible to reach agreement but it would redound to the benefit of the Board to try.

Teachers' burdens will only increase as more and more spending is diverted to special interests and the broad group of 'regular kids' is increasingly marginalized.  Others have noted the decline in real spending (adjusted for inflation) for the 75% of the students who are not receiving ESOL or IEP Level 2 services.  This is a real issue for our community as more and more people recognize that for many students FCPS is not special or exceptional.  For ESOL and Special needs and even AAP, FCPS offers first rate services - but for the other 75% the increase in class sizes and the cuts in program funding (in inflation adjusted terms) are making Loudoun, Prince William and private alternatives look increasingly attractive.  A loss of reputation will significantly reduce demand for housing and for businesses to locate here - but this is already happening - no population increase in Fairfax last year - office vacancy rates above 17% and rising, and the lowest proportion of additional Business and Professional Services jobs created vs. Loudoun and Arlington...

At the same time, the Board of Supervisors seems to be reluctant to become involved.  Yet they have deep professional staff support and the appropriate backgrounds and expertise to assist the School Board and relieve some of their burdens (particularly by consolidating the pension management with the existing three County plans).  There is no reason for a School Board to be managing a pension.

Chair Bulova has stated she is reluctant to intervene when we have an elected School Board.  But the school system pays the salaries of teachers who take a year off to lead the teachers' associations (similar to unions) in advocacy to the Board.  There is no similar representative of the citizens' interests at the Board.  The Auditor General position is ineffective and, according to the appointed citizen auditor on the Audit Committee (who resigned in protest), the interim AG is unqualified.  The pension plan has incurred $337M of 'debt' in the past two years without a referendum or even any explicit recognition that this is an additional County obligation (indirectly through the school system).  So the pension plan has $830M of unfunded obligation that the citizens of Fairfax will have to fund - that's roughly $800 for every man, woman and child in Fairfax County - roughly approximating $3,200 per household.  This is a real burden that the Board of Supervisors should be concerned about!  As I noted in my earlier post, a former School Board member sent an email to current members chastising them for not managing the business of the Board.  This is an indication of the seriousness of the situation and of the need for responsible intervention and good governance.

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