Reply to FCPS Masking Update

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Reply to "FCPS Masking Update"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Who can post McKay’s email?[/quote]

It's long:

To the Fairfax Community,

Thank you to the many people who have reached out to me by writing, emailing, and calling about the recent state decision to require schools to remove mask mandates. Regardless of your position, you were heard. I think that it's important to recognize that we all have been through a lot together and it is my hope that we continue to be kind to one another.

I do believe the action earlier this week will go down in Virginia history as one of the largest “big government” intrusions of our time. Not only does the directive tell school systems that they can ignore federal guidelines, but it also says the state now has health authority over local school districts’ operations in perpetuity. In the case of Fairfax County, that was also decided by 80 percent of legislators who don’t even represent our County. I should note here, however, that I’m thankful to almost every legislator who does represent Fairfax County for supporting our School Board’s desire to maintain local authority.

For me, this is much larger than masks. It is about who is in the best position to make decisions about our local community. It is about who knows the detailed operational and community-based needs of each one of our over 200 schools and school facilities, our 180,000 kids, and 25,000 school employees. I don’t believe those decisions are best made by the federal government, nor do I feel the state has come anywhere close to earning a right to be in that category.

The state funds approximately 23 percent our local FCPS budget. Fairfax County taxpayers fund 64 percent. I truly hope those who celebrated this state intrusion, also want the state to fund our schools commensurate with their new authority. I hope they realize that our current outstanding FCPS system would be an embarrassing shell of its current self if it were exclusively subjected to state policies and funding.

The same goes for nearly all of our local activities. Despite the impressive work of our local General Assembly delegation, they too would readily admit that our mental health programs, substance abuse programs, services for people with intellectual disabilities, criminal justice reforms, support for first responders, environmental initiatives, and public health programs all far exceed any state level of effort, just to name a few areas.

The truth is our economic success in Fairfax County is based on what we have created here locally. Local officials for decades, with the support of our residents, have formed a community that is the envy of the state and the economic driver of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

We’ve also built a community that does not perpetuate the “survival of the fittest” mentality. In fact, we believe government has a role to protect our most vulnerable and protect the interests of all its residents. This can only be done with boots on the ground, hearing directly from our residents, and working to find common sense solutions that balance these many needs – even when those needs are competing.

In Fairfax County, we value metrics, appreciate science, and demand results. Our schools demonstrated that by doing all of those things, they have not had to close a single school this academic year. I thank them for that – our children need to be in the classroom. I know it hasn’t been easy to make many of the tough decisions our schools have confronted. Some of those items include: balancing operations, teachers and staffing needs, building and logistical issues, academic challenges, and running the largest school district in Virginia during a pandemic.

Finally, some have falsely characterized my support of local authority as being partisan based on who the Governor is. This could not be further from the truth. I have said since day one of the pandemic that school-based decisions should be made by the local elected School Board. Not the Board of Supervisors, not the General Assembly, not the Governor. Always. Period. I have always voiced my support for our schools’ local authority. That said, I appreciated that Governor Northam listened to local elected officials and sought their advice throughout the pandemic – it’s one of the many reasons Virginia fared better than most of the rest of the country. I didn’t always agree with him. When we disagreed, I knew I was still heard. Sometimes, we all have to realize that listening and disagreeing are not the same as being ignored.

I will continue to work with the School Board as a partner and ensure that our school system continues to exceed all state standards. We must do right for all in our community, not just the ones who are the loudest, but also for the ones who need us the most. For Fairfax County to continue to be the envy of the state, and the extraordinary economic success story that it is, however, we must keep up the fight for local authority. Indeed, a “one-size-fits-all” mentality for Virginia would not have created anything close to the economy, community, or local services we enjoy today.[/quote]

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