Reply to Historically, what does it take for FCPS to redistrict at the HS level?

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Reply to "Historically, what does it take for FCPS to redistrict at the HS level?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

Two of the at-large candidates that come from a "let's do the analysis to reduce transportation costs/time and increase efficiency" background have recommended large county-wide studies.  (Lin-Dai Kendall and Lolita Mancheno-Smoak)[/quote]

Interesting.  I saw the comments each submitted to Fairfax CAPS on boundaries, and they would not suggest that either favored a large county-wide study.  [/quote]

Great example of why it helps to read multiple sources for information about candidates. Start with the campaign websites, watch the video coverage of debates, read multiple survey responses, etc.[/quote]

Time is limited.  It tells me something if Kendall and Mancheno-Smoak don't address this directly when corresponding with a group that's known for its anti-redistricting stance.

But, quite honestly, neither candidate appeals to me.  Kendall is too Tea Party Republican for my taste (don't agree with her views of [b]teaching creationism[/b] and dislike her [b]assertion that FCPS only redistricts to raise test scores at flagging schools[/b]) and I don't know what Mancheno-Smoak really stands for (her written responses to questions are poorly written and unclear).   Will probably vote for Stuban, McElveen and Brown-Kaplan.   [/quote]

To paraphrase the sound that's all over Kendall's website: "Whoa!"
I didn't even know this about her. 
I think she is totally unqualified for another reason: the numbers she cites on her website regarding FCPS's budget excesses aren't adjusted for inflation. If you adjust her budget figures for a 28% national rate of inflation over the decade, the actual budget is only 15% higher in real terms than it was a decade ago. And I don't have the numbers handy but I'd be willing to bet inflation was much higher in this area due to the runaway housing boom than it was in the country at large, which would mean a lower increase. 
To the extent there is a real increase at all, it's easy to sound indignant without having examined the reasons behind the increase: could it be unfunded mandates like NCLB? More strenuous requirements under IDEA? Or a myriad other factors.
I also find her assertion that the county spends half of its budget on only 25% of its population (meaning children, who are 27%, by the way, at last count) somewhat disingenuous. The only reason some of us chose to live in FFX county is the school system (not the endless exurb feel, not the traffic or the pollution) and I consider the portion of my tax money spent on schools money well spent, and money spent on my family as a whole, not just on my kids at my expense. 
She comes across to me as the slash and burn candidate, out to reduce her tax bill by destroying the school system.[/quote]

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