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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm impressed at how much Arlington spends/invests in its parks, trails, and even dog parks.  It's a great place to live. [/quote]

If only we could get that same investment in the schools. Priorities are a bit off IMO.[/quote]

Agreed! APS is not investing in ALL students given the amount of money in their budget. Parks are great, but I would rather have GREAT schools. [/quote]

You are not going to have great schools when 1/3 the kids are FARMS. It just won't happen. [/quote]

way too many kids in APS are FARMS. It's never going to be the district it once was. [/quote]

Ludicrous and ignorant statement. APS used to be excellent even with the 30% FRM. [/quote]

The way things are being run APS is not on track to be what it was at one time. Regardless of the numbers, APS is a sinking ship and it has been for the past few years. [/quote]

I agree. But citing too many poor kids as the reason they will never be a great school system is ludicrous and ignorant.[/quote]

APS is a sinking ship as the PP stated but I don’t think it’s because of too many poor kids. [/quote]

NP. Longtime homeowner and involved parent with kids in APS now. I am aware of many challenges in APS but I disagree the system is sliding downhill. For one thing, I don't think folks appreciated how demographics have changed so much - families for last 20 years enjoyed the extra infrastructure and per-pupil focus of the gap left behind by baby boomers when they were students. I agree we were slow to respond to the new wave of student population, but that has a LOT to do with the County Board's policies  housing and budgeting. Part and parcel is that the baby boomers moved on from focusing on schools to the board and building community centers, libraries, car-less, age-in-place, etc. that matter to boomers. APS struggles in part because they are no longer THE focus like they were during a certain period of time. County Board and staff repeatedly stress that families with kids are only 20% of Arlington, meaning they are justified in spending elsewhere. APS should have received far more county budget for infrastructure in past 15 years but board kept a stranglehold - (in part because they didn't want to see "too much" school infra built and left empty someday. Ironically, there may come a day when all the boomers are gone and the senior centers sit empty...maybe then we can convert them into schools, ha![/quote]

This is a problem of our entire country- we invest more in our past than in our future. Where I grew up, almost 50% of the budget each year is spent on paying the pensions of retired teachers - teachers who live nowhere near the communities they once served. Playground equipment and schools are dilapidated and taxpayers are severely overburdened for schools they can’t use. It’s causing a death spiral. [/quote]

In many ways public education feels like a broken system. I don't know where APS can even start to mitigate -- we are bleeding out in all directions. There is a lot going on and I often wonder if it's like this in other areas outside of DMV that have smaller school districts. Here, we seem to always be at battle with each other. There are boundary changes like every couple years, debates on building new schools, changes in actual educational programs that some follow and some do not, long term subs in lots of schools, not to mention systematic issues and crowding that seem to haunt us more and more each year. Wish I could say I don't feel like the system is "sliding downhill" like PP. It feels like we already slid. [/quote]

I don't let the annual drama from APS Planning affect my overall great opinion of the educational value here.  
Our DC is getting a superior education. Someone previously mentioned that all residents have a stake in the success of our school system as it's a prime backer for our economic success.  True![/quote]

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