Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 22:16     Subject: Re:APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
So I was mad at Nancy Van Doren above, but I did some googling and she sounds mostly sensible here http://bluevirginia.us/2016/04/blue-virginia-interview-endorsement-arlington-county-school-board-member-nancy-van-doren (haven't finished it yet).

Regarding getting money etc. from the County Board, she says she thinks they do fairly well since half of the County's budget goes toward schools. And when you look at it that way, yeah, half of a county's budget is a lot of money for schools. And a new high school is basically an entire year's worth of a school budget, or more.

Didn't some people on the county board endorse Van Doren for reelection to the school board? From my perspective I'm starting to think that we may want school board people that the county board WOULD NOT endorse, because the schools need school board members who will make the county uncomfortable by asking for more money occasionally.

It's a puzzle.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 21:40     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:WTF is wrong with the County Board and why does Van Doren kiss their behinds?


She was absolutely awful. Had nothing worthwhile to add to the conversation and in fact everything she said was detrimental.

For the most part, the County Board was patronizing and the School Board just took it.



The board has the power, because they have the land. They've got to do a little dance. We have to be loud and unyielding if we want a different outcome.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 21:20     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
Anonymous wrote:WTF is wrong with the County Board and why does Van Doren kiss their behinds?


She was absolutely awful. Had nothing worthwhile to add to the conversation and in fact everything she said was detrimental.

For the most part, the County Board was patronizing and the School Board just took it.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 21:14     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
WTF is wrong with the County Board and why does Van Doren kiss their behinds?
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 20:52     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
I appreciated that the one School Board guy questioned the County Board a bit and tried to get funding from them from the failed streetcar project etc. It totally failed, but I felt like at least he was not doing the same circle jerk as many of the other members and was trying to find money for schools.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 20:46     Subject: Re:APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Can someone with kids at WL when it was almost 3000 students tell us what that is like? Isn't harder to make sports teams, etc? When do kids eat lunch?
Just ask any parent with kids in the large Fairfax County high schools.


No high schools in FCPS have 3000 kids in 9-12, or as many freshmen as W-L has this year. Nice try to deflect from APS's overcrowding issues, though.


NP here. I taught at Lake Braddock in FCPS when the high school portion was just shy of 3,000 students a few years ago. And currently, there are schools in FCPS that are larger than W-L that are also growing. APS just needs to build additions or new schools. As a teacher, I value class size over the type or size of the school.


Let's make this simple. Neither Lake Braddock nor any other high school in FCPS has 3000 students, has a freshman class as big as W-L's, or is growing as fast as W-L. And, when Lake Braddock's enrollment was at its peak, the school had far more capacity than either W-L or any other high school in APS has today.

So FCPS really is not relevant to how APS addresses its problems, except insofar as some parents will leave APS for FCPS soon if APS doesn't have a better plan for addressing overcrowding than multiple school shifts and distance learning.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 20:30     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You people really don't understand who is living in affordable housing.


Can you elaborate?



Affordable housing is not for the middle class. If it were, Arlington Mill wouldn't be 67% below the national poverty level. You can go on the county's website and see the breakdown of who is living in Arlington's AH. It's not teachers, police, or fire fighters. Not at all. It's cab drivers, construction workers, and servers. They are not middle class. They may or may not work in Arlington, and they are by and large not US citizens. Their kids might be, but many/most of the parents are not. They do not care if the kids go to school in shifts, just so long as they can get a meal at some point. These people are from politically volatile and dangerous places. They are satisfied that their children aren't being shot at or lit on fire when they walk to school. They don't give a fuck about band practice, and SOL testing. Many of the parents don't have a traditional formal education themselves. APS is offering them something they couldn't dream about in their home countries. Everything about Arlington is better.
I'm not casting a judgement on these people either way, but it seemed some of the MONA's needed some insight. Here ya' go.


link please



https://arlingtonva.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2014/02/Occupations-of-Tenants-of-CAFs-Feb-2015.pdf


Thanks for this but where did you get the info about them not being us citizens? I always assumed those families tended to live in rentals where buildings were more concentrated like s arlington but not necessarily the recipients of affordable housing through the county.



https://commissions.arlingtonva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/10/PCReport_6_Nov0915.pdf


So... Yes you may very well be correct that most illegals live in MARKS. But make no mistake that the county is making sure those units stay in play ( and are increased). They are all part of the AHMP and counted in the total of available units. I also would surmise that the breakdown of employment is similar to the pie charts posted above.
Also understand that most of these people are not at 80% the median income. Many are not even at 25% the median income.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 20:21     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
Jesus fucking Christ.

We need to wake the fuck up. Seriously, you guys need to join CARD. They are are the only people asking questions. They need more members to be truly effective. They are already organized. Seriously guys. Sign up. Get informed.


Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 20:18     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
OMG! I'm watching Larvey on the AETV and she is driving me crazy! So smug, but won't work to fix anything.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 20:18     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
Anonymous wrote:Superintendent Murphy: More of the same re flex and high schools.

Board white haired dude (Vihlcheck?): We appreciate your leadership. "One other thing to mention is that these flex scheduling opportunities are also very cost effective."

Van Doren: (quickly) "And also good for education! (AND HOW!!!)

What a effing joke. These people are not in touch with their electorate, that's for sure.


My house will go on the market promptly. We're out.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 20:16     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
Van Doren is the worst! I met with her at a farmer's market while she was campaigning and she told me, in no uncertain terms, how the wants of residents don't matter b/c the board knows better.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 19:41     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
School Board dude: Why can't we have some of the money from the street car and other tabled products?

Vilhstadt: Whatever we have of that money is already in use for other transportation projects.

Same school guy: but don't we have additional financial capacity since we don't have to service those loans?

Board woman: The funds that were going to support that are earmarked for transportation. That won't help you.

Van Doren: There are increased school operating costs with these increased numbers. . . . Hey, maybe we can get high school kids out on internships and that would free up some seats!!!
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 19:33     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
School Board woman: Maybe demand for Arlington Tech will be even bigger than 800, and I'm sure we could do that!
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 19:19     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
Mr. Lander (school board): Our projections take into account expected growth in the schools, but they do not account for the growth that the COUNTY may be predicting in people without kids moving out and people with kids moving in. So we need to work together (i.e., you need to give us your stats on this) because in fact our projections may be off and we may need not 6,000 seats, but 10,000 seats.

!!!!

Vihlstadt (?): Need to take affordable housing into account -- its affect on seat projections -- before we approve these projects.
Anonymous
Post 05/24/2016 19:16     Subject: APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!
Anonymous wrote:Accented school board lady: "We understand that we can't have a full sized high school like the other three, but we appreciate the efforts you are making to get us smaller properties."


That's the school board chair.