Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ChenLing wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What do you mean the board doesn't know why we spend more than other counties?

This is something a current board member told me when I asked about it. I know that about half the gap is due to us paying debt service (from CIP school bonds) from our operating budget. For other school systems like Alexandria and Montgomery County the city/county handles CIP funds or the bond payments instead of the school system. The other half of the gap is harder to explain -- adjusted for student population we have similar class sizes, number of schools, student-teacher ratios, and transportation costs as our neighbors. Our teachers are more tenured on average (so higher on the step scale), but we pay them less, and it almost exactly evens out. We also have similar programs (option or magnet schools, extra curriculars, etc).

Anonymous wrote:
Four-fifths of the budget is staff salaries and Arlington has lower class sizes and smaller schools than most other counties (i.e., more staff).

Our school sizes are comparable. We do have slightly smaller class sizes (compared to say Fairfax), but similar to FCC and Manassas City. It doesn't account for the full difference.
Any real differences provides opportunities to increase efficiency. Even if we can reduce costs by 3%, it would more than close our budget deficit.

Anonymous wrote:
You talk about special ed staffing above--this is all based on planning factors and the number of students in the school with IEPs. You're suggesting that each school be allocated different numbers of staff based on (something) instead of having a uniform staffing model? How would that work? Who determines how many staff are really needed at each school? And as for letting go the "youngest" teacher, you probably mean the teacher with the least tenure, which is how that works in every school district in the country. Not to mention that APS staff are offered positions elsewhere in the system if a position is eliminated at a specific school.

Maybe you should volunteer for some committees and learn some more about how school systems work before running for one of the five board seats--we don't need another board member who only started paying attention when their kids hit elementary school and is now going to learn on the job by asking questions that have already been asked and answered a thousand times. You might also learn about what a school board is responsible for versus the paid school administration, and why you don't get answers from the people you are asking.

I understand your concern -- I know I have a lot to learn. On the other hand, I was an English Language learner who relied on in-school free meals, and my current level of success was due in large part to the amazing teachers I had in my public school education. I care deeply about the success of our public school system. And yes my kids are young, but that means that I am invested in this for the long term.

I think I bring a unique set of skills to the school board (technology, data) that they are currently lacking. I also appreciate that I'm in a privileged position to be able to serve on a school board in the first place. It's not something I do lightly or for vanity.

We get that you care but how exactly does that qualify you to oversee my kid's school district when it's clear I know far more about it than you do?

Why are you being such an a$$? You are the reason why good candidates don’t run.

I don’t understand why ppl on this thread are being so nasty to someone who is actually POSTING HERE UNDER HIS OWN NAME. Come back when any of the other school board candidates do that.

+1

This is literally the process of running for office. The public gets to ask you questions about your qualifications and you have to defend/explain yourself and make a case for why you should be elected. I don't think anyone has said anything on here that would not be asked in one of the public forums, of any of the candidates. Just because he chose to publicly come on DCUM doesn't mean he gets to just present his side and walk away--of course he will be subject to questioning and examination.

And he patiently responded to a lot of specific questions. It isn't the questioning that's the problem. It's the rude comments completely dismissing him because he isn't a professional educator or doesn't have enough "time in." In and of themselves, those factors can be reasonable points to consider in the overall judgment of one's suitability for the role. But the comments asking why he thinks he can solve the problems with no knowledge (like any SB member ever really has the necessary knowledge going in), are snarky and rude and just unnecessary as the initial response to his willingness to post. I haven't met the guy and haven't looked into any of the candidates, yet. IMO, anyone who is willing to stick their neck out and run is worthy of at least a basic level of respect.

Please. No one is saying you can’t ask questions and ask about qualifications, but nice strawman! We are criticizing the manner in which that has happened in the multiple threads on this topic—the nastiness. You can question someone at length and still be respectful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ChenLing wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What do you mean the board doesn't know why we spend more than other counties?

This is something a current board member told me when I asked about it. I know that about half the gap is due to us paying debt service (from CIP school bonds) from our operating budget. For other school systems like Alexandria and Montgomery County the city/county handles CIP funds or the bond payments instead of the school system. The other half of the gap is harder to explain -- adjusted for student population we have similar class sizes, number of schools, student-teacher ratios, and transportation costs as our neighbors. Our teachers are more tenured on average (so higher on the step scale), but we pay them less, and it almost exactly evens out. We also have similar programs (option or magnet schools, extra curriculars, etc).

Anonymous wrote:
Four-fifths of the budget is staff salaries and Arlington has lower class sizes and smaller schools than most other counties (i.e., more staff).

Our school sizes are comparable. We do have slightly smaller class sizes (compared to say Fairfax), but similar to FCC and Manassas City. It doesn't account for the full difference.
Any real differences provides opportunities to increase efficiency. Even if we can reduce costs by 3%, it would more than close our budget deficit.

Anonymous wrote:
You talk about special ed staffing above--this is all based on planning factors and the number of students in the school with IEPs. You're suggesting that each school be allocated different numbers of staff based on (something) instead of having a uniform staffing model? How would that work? Who determines how many staff are really needed at each school? And as for letting go the "youngest" teacher, you probably mean the teacher with the least tenure, which is how that works in every school district in the country. Not to mention that APS staff are offered positions elsewhere in the system if a position is eliminated at a specific school.

Maybe you should volunteer for some committees and learn some more about how school systems work before running for one of the five board seats--we don't need another board member who only started paying attention when their kids hit elementary school and is now going to learn on the job by asking questions that have already been asked and answered a thousand times. You might also learn about what a school board is responsible for versus the paid school administration, and why you don't get answers from the people you are asking.

I understand your concern -- I know I have a lot to learn. On the other hand, I was an English Language learner who relied on in-school free meals, and my current level of success was due in large part to the amazing teachers I had in my public school education. I care deeply about the success of our public school system. And yes my kids are young, but that means that I am invested in this for the long term.

I think I bring a unique set of skills to the school board (technology, data) that they are currently lacking. I also appreciate that I'm in a privileged position to be able to serve on a school board in the first place. It's not something I do lightly or for vanity.

We get that you care but how exactly does that qualify you to oversee my kid's school district when it's clear I know far more about it than you do?

Why are you being such an a$$? You are the reason why good candidates don’t run.

I don’t understand why ppl on this thread are being so nasty to someone who is actually POSTING HERE UNDER HIS OWN NAME. Come back when any of the other school board candidates do that.

+1

This is literally the process of running for office. The public gets to ask you questions about your qualifications and you have to defend/explain yourself and make a case for why you should be elected. I don't think anyone has said anything on here that would not be asked in one of the public forums, of any of the candidates. Just because he chose to publicly come on DCUM doesn't mean he gets to just present his side and walk away--of course he will be subject to questioning and examination.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ChenLing wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What do you mean the board doesn't know why we spend more than other counties?

This is something a current board member told me when I asked about it. I know that about half the gap is due to us paying debt service (from CIP school bonds) from our operating budget. For other school systems like Alexandria and Montgomery County the city/county handles CIP funds or the bond payments instead of the school system. The other half of the gap is harder to explain -- adjusted for student population we have similar class sizes, number of schools, student-teacher ratios, and transportation costs as our neighbors. Our teachers are more tenured on average (so higher on the step scale), but we pay them less, and it almost exactly evens out. We also have similar programs (option or magnet schools, extra curriculars, etc).

Anonymous wrote:
Four-fifths of the budget is staff salaries and Arlington has lower class sizes and smaller schools than most other counties (i.e., more staff).

Our school sizes are comparable. We do have slightly smaller class sizes (compared to say Fairfax), but similar to FCC and Manassas City. It doesn't account for the full difference.
Any real differences provides opportunities to increase efficiency. Even if we can reduce costs by 3%, it would more than close our budget deficit.

Anonymous wrote:
You talk about special ed staffing above--this is all based on planning factors and the number of students in the school with IEPs. You're suggesting that each school be allocated different numbers of staff based on (something) instead of having a uniform staffing model? How would that work? Who determines how many staff are really needed at each school? And as for letting go the "youngest" teacher, you probably mean the teacher with the least tenure, which is how that works in every school district in the country. Not to mention that APS staff are offered positions elsewhere in the system if a position is eliminated at a specific school.

Maybe you should volunteer for some committees and learn some more about how school systems work before running for one of the five board seats--we don't need another board member who only started paying attention when their kids hit elementary school and is now going to learn on the job by asking questions that have already been asked and answered a thousand times. You might also learn about what a school board is responsible for versus the paid school administration, and why you don't get answers from the people you are asking.

I understand your concern -- I know I have a lot to learn. On the other hand, I was an English Language learner who relied on in-school free meals, and my current level of success was due in large part to the amazing teachers I had in my public school education. I care deeply about the success of our public school system. And yes my kids are young, but that means that I am invested in this for the long term.

I think I bring a unique set of skills to the school board (technology, data) that they are currently lacking. I also appreciate that I'm in a privileged position to be able to serve on a school board in the first place. It's not something I do lightly or for vanity.

We get that you care but how exactly does that qualify you to oversee my kid's school district when it's clear I know far more about it than you do?

Why are you being such an a$$? You are the reason why good candidates don’t run.

I don’t understand why ppl on this thread are being so nasty to someone who is actually POSTING HERE UNDER HIS OWN NAME. Come back when any of the other school board candidates do that.

Why is is being an a$$ to ask how someone is qualified to oversee a school district when they have very little knowledge of it? Isn't that the question we should all be asking? Chen himself said - disparaging the entire current Board and the rest of the candidates - that it's not enough to simply care. (I thought that was rude, by the way. YMMV)

I given Chen credit for coming on here, and I think he's eager and all, but I notice he got real quiet when hard questions started being asked.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ChenLing wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What do you mean the board doesn't know why we spend more than other counties?

This is something a current board member told me when I asked about it. I know that about half the gap is due to us paying debt service (from CIP school bonds) from our operating budget. For other school systems like Alexandria and Montgomery County the city/county handles CIP funds or the bond payments instead of the school system. The other half of the gap is harder to explain -- adjusted for student population we have similar class sizes, number of schools, student-teacher ratios, and transportation costs as our neighbors. Our teachers are more tenured on average (so higher on the step scale), but we pay them less, and it almost exactly evens out. We also have similar programs (option or magnet schools, extra curriculars, etc).

Anonymous wrote:
Four-fifths of the budget is staff salaries and Arlington has lower class sizes and smaller schools than most other counties (i.e., more staff).

Our school sizes are comparable. We do have slightly smaller class sizes (compared to say Fairfax), but similar to FCC and Manassas City. It doesn't account for the full difference.
Any real differences provides opportunities to increase efficiency. Even if we can reduce costs by 3%, it would more than close our budget deficit.

Anonymous wrote:
You talk about special ed staffing above--this is all based on planning factors and the number of students in the school with IEPs. You're suggesting that each school be allocated different numbers of staff based on (something) instead of having a uniform staffing model? How would that work? Who determines how many staff are really needed at each school? And as for letting go the "youngest" teacher, you probably mean the teacher with the least tenure, which is how that works in every school district in the country. Not to mention that APS staff are offered positions elsewhere in the system if a position is eliminated at a specific school.

Maybe you should volunteer for some committees and learn some more about how school systems work before running for one of the five board seats--we don't need another board member who only started paying attention when their kids hit elementary school and is now going to learn on the job by asking questions that have already been asked and answered a thousand times. You might also learn about what a school board is responsible for versus the paid school administration, and why you don't get answers from the people you are asking.

I understand your concern -- I know I have a lot to learn. On the other hand, I was an English Language learner who relied on in-school free meals, and my current level of success was due in large part to the amazing teachers I had in my public school education. I care deeply about the success of our public school system. And yes my kids are young, but that means that I am invested in this for the long term.

I think I bring a unique set of skills to the school board (technology, data) that they are currently lacking. I also appreciate that I'm in a privileged position to be able to serve on a school board in the first place. It's not something I do lightly or for vanity.

We get that you care but how exactly does that qualify you to oversee my kid's school district when it's clear I know far more about it than you do?

Why are you being such an a$$? You are the reason why good candidates don’t run.

I don’t understand why ppl on this thread are being so nasty to someone who is actually POSTING HERE UNDER HIS OWN NAME. Come back when any of the other school board candidates do that.

Why is is being an a$$ to ask how someone is qualified to oversee a school district when they have very little knowledge of it? Isn't that the question we should all be asking? Chen himself said - disparaging the entire current Board and the rest of the candidates - that it's not enough to simply care. (I thought that was rude, by the way. YMMV)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

ChenLing wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What do you mean the board doesn't know why we spend more than other counties?

This is something a current board member told me when I asked about it. I know that about half the gap is due to us paying debt service (from CIP school bonds) from our operating budget. For other school systems like Alexandria and Montgomery County the city/county handles CIP funds or the bond payments instead of the school system. The other half of the gap is harder to explain -- adjusted for student population we have similar class sizes, number of schools, student-teacher ratios, and transportation costs as our neighbors. Our teachers are more tenured on average (so higher on the step scale), but we pay them less, and it almost exactly evens out. We also have similar programs (option or magnet schools, extra curriculars, etc).

Anonymous wrote:
Four-fifths of the budget is staff salaries and Arlington has lower class sizes and smaller schools than most other counties (i.e., more staff).

Our school sizes are comparable. We do have slightly smaller class sizes (compared to say Fairfax), but similar to FCC and Manassas City. It doesn't account for the full difference.
Any real differences provides opportunities to increase efficiency. Even if we can reduce costs by 3%, it would more than close our budget deficit.

Anonymous wrote:
You talk about special ed staffing above--this is all based on planning factors and the number of students in the school with IEPs. You're suggesting that each school be allocated different numbers of staff based on (something) instead of having a uniform staffing model? How would that work? Who determines how many staff are really needed at each school? And as for letting go the "youngest" teacher, you probably mean the teacher with the least tenure, which is how that works in every school district in the country. Not to mention that APS staff are offered positions elsewhere in the system if a position is eliminated at a specific school.

Maybe you should volunteer for some committees and learn some more about how school systems work before running for one of the five board seats--we don't need another board member who only started paying attention when their kids hit elementary school and is now going to learn on the job by asking questions that have already been asked and answered a thousand times. You might also learn about what a school board is responsible for versus the paid school administration, and why you don't get answers from the people you are asking.

I understand your concern -- I know I have a lot to learn. On the other hand, I was an English Language learner who relied on in-school free meals, and my current level of success was due in large part to the amazing teachers I had in my public school education. I care deeply about the success of our public school system. And yes my kids are young, but that means that I am invested in this for the long term.

I think I bring a unique set of skills to the school board (technology, data) that they are currently lacking. I also appreciate that I'm in a privileged position to be able to serve on a school board in the first place. It's not something I do lightly or for vanity.

We get that you care but how exactly does that qualify you to oversee my kid's school district when it's clear I know far more about it than you do?

Why are you being such an a$$? You are the reason why good candidates don’t run.

I don’t understand why ppl on this thread are being so nasty to someone who is actually POSTING HERE UNDER HIS OWN NAME. Come back when any of the other school board candidates do that.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mathematically, the 20 percent of the budget that is not salaries (as you note, a lot is debt service) can’t produce enough “efficiency” to close that 3 percent gap—we have to pay the electric bills and buy supplies each year. So you can’t reduce costs 3 percent without cutting staff, which means increasing class sizes or eliminating/reducing certain types of school-based positions.

So what are you thinking in terms of cuts?

80% of the budget is salaries?

Is this analogous to Congress screaming about what they call pork projects that in truth are like 1% of the budget because 80% is made up of Medicare, social security, and the military, which are politically untouchable? So they end up arguing over crumbs? Tell me if this is a bad analogy.

You are correct. Anyone that says they don’t know why we spend what we spend relative to other counties should look at what drives total salary costs—number of positions and what we pay. The number of positions we have is mostly driven by classroom planning factors, the number of buildings we have, and (to a much smaller extent) the number of people in non-school positions/central admin.

Anonymous wrote:Mathematically, the 20 percent of the budget that is not salaries (as you note, a lot is debt service) can’t produce enough “efficiency” to close that 3 percent gap—we have to pay the electric bills and buy supplies each year. So you can’t reduce costs 3 percent without cutting staff, which means increasing class sizes or eliminating/reducing certain types of school-based positions.

So what are you thinking in terms of cuts?

80% of the budget is salaries?

Is this analogous to Congress screaming about what they call pork projects that in truth are like 1% of the budget because 80% is made up of Medicare, social security, and the military, which are politically untouchable? So they end up arguing over crumbs? Tell me if this is a bad analogy.

Anonymous wrote:

ChenLing wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What do you mean the board doesn't know why we spend more than other counties?

This is something a current board member told me when I asked about it. I know that about half the gap is due to us paying debt service (from CIP school bonds) from our operating budget. For other school systems like Alexandria and Montgomery County the city/county handles CIP funds or the bond payments instead of the school system. The other half of the gap is harder to explain -- adjusted for student population we have similar class sizes, number of schools, student-teacher ratios, and transportation costs as our neighbors. Our teachers are more tenured on average (so higher on the step scale), but we pay them less, and it almost exactly evens out. We also have similar programs (option or magnet schools, extra curriculars, etc).

Anonymous wrote:
Four-fifths of the budget is staff salaries and Arlington has lower class sizes and smaller schools than most other counties (i.e., more staff).

Our school sizes are comparable. We do have slightly smaller class sizes (compared to say Fairfax), but similar to FCC and Manassas City. It doesn't account for the full difference.
Any real differences provides opportunities to increase efficiency. Even if we can reduce costs by 3%, it would more than close our budget deficit.

Anonymous wrote:
You talk about special ed staffing above--this is all based on planning factors and the number of students in the school with IEPs. You're suggesting that each school be allocated different numbers of staff based on (something) instead of having a uniform staffing model? How would that work? Who determines how many staff are really needed at each school? And as for letting go the "youngest" teacher, you probably mean the teacher with the least tenure, which is how that works in every school district in the country. Not to mention that APS staff are offered positions elsewhere in the system if a position is eliminated at a specific school.

Maybe you should volunteer for some committees and learn some more about how school systems work before running for one of the five board seats--we don't need another board member who only started paying attention when their kids hit elementary school and is now going to learn on the job by asking questions that have already been asked and answered a thousand times. You might also learn about what a school board is responsible for versus the paid school administration, and why you don't get answers from the people you are asking.

I understand your concern -- I know I have a lot to learn. On the other hand, I was an English Language learner who relied on in-school free meals, and my current level of success was due in large part to the amazing teachers I had in my public school education. I care deeply about the success of our public school system. And yes my kids are young, but that means that I am invested in this for the long term.

I think I bring a unique set of skills to the school board (technology, data) that they are currently lacking. I also appreciate that I'm in a privileged position to be able to serve on a school board in the first place. It's not something I do lightly or for vanity.

We get that you care but how exactly does that qualify you to oversee my kid's school district when it's clear I know far more about it than you do?

Why are you being such an a$$? You are the reason why good candidates don’t run.

I don’t understand why ppl on this thread are being so nasty to someone who is actually POSTING HERE UNDER HIS OWN NAME. Come back when any of the other school board candidates do that.

Anonymous wrote:

ChenLing wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What do you mean the board doesn't know why we spend more than other counties?

This is something a current board member told me when I asked about it. I know that about half the gap is due to us paying debt service (from CIP school bonds) from our operating budget. For other school systems like Alexandria and Montgomery County the city/county handles CIP funds or the bond payments instead of the school system. The other half of the gap is harder to explain -- adjusted for student population we have similar class sizes, number of schools, student-teacher ratios, and transportation costs as our neighbors. Our teachers are more tenured on average (so higher on the step scale), but we pay them less, and it almost exactly evens out. We also have similar programs (option or magnet schools, extra curriculars, etc).

Anonymous wrote:
Four-fifths of the budget is staff salaries and Arlington has lower class sizes and smaller schools than most other counties (i.e., more staff).

Our school sizes are comparable. We do have slightly smaller class sizes (compared to say Fairfax), but similar to FCC and Manassas City. It doesn't account for the full difference.
Any real differences provides opportunities to increase efficiency. Even if we can reduce costs by 3%, it would more than close our budget deficit.

Anonymous wrote:
You talk about special ed staffing above--this is all based on planning factors and the number of students in the school with IEPs. You're suggesting that each school be allocated different numbers of staff based on (something) instead of having a uniform staffing model? How would that work? Who determines how many staff are really needed at each school? And as for letting go the "youngest" teacher, you probably mean the teacher with the least tenure, which is how that works in every school district in the country. Not to mention that APS staff are offered positions elsewhere in the system if a position is eliminated at a specific school.

Maybe you should volunteer for some committees and learn some more about how school systems work before running for one of the five board seats--we don't need another board member who only started paying attention when their kids hit elementary school and is now going to learn on the job by asking questions that have already been asked and answered a thousand times. You might also learn about what a school board is responsible for versus the paid school administration, and why you don't get answers from the people you are asking.

I understand your concern -- I know I have a lot to learn. On the other hand, I was an English Language learner who relied on in-school free meals, and my current level of success was due in large part to the amazing teachers I had in my public school education. I care deeply about the success of our public school system. And yes my kids are young, but that means that I am invested in this for the long term.

I think I bring a unique set of skills to the school board (technology, data) that they are currently lacking. I also appreciate that I'm in a privileged position to be able to serve on a school board in the first place. It's not something I do lightly or for vanity.

We get that you care but how exactly does that qualify you to oversee my kid's school district when it's clear I know far more about it than you do?

Then why don't you run and save the system?

ChenLing wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What do you mean the board doesn't know why we spend more than other counties?

This is something a current board member told me when I asked about it. I know that about half the gap is due to us paying debt service (from CIP school bonds) from our operating budget. For other school systems like Alexandria and Montgomery County the city/county handles CIP funds or the bond payments instead of the school system. The other half of the gap is harder to explain -- adjusted for student population we have similar class sizes, number of schools, student-teacher ratios, and transportation costs as our neighbors. Our teachers are more tenured on average (so higher on the step scale), but we pay them less, and it almost exactly evens out. We also have similar programs (option or magnet schools, extra curriculars, etc).

Anonymous wrote:
Four-fifths of the budget is staff salaries and Arlington has lower class sizes and smaller schools than most other counties (i.e., more staff).

Our school sizes are comparable. We do have slightly smaller class sizes (compared to say Fairfax), but similar to FCC and Manassas City. It doesn't account for the full difference.
Any real differences provides opportunities to increase efficiency. Even if we can reduce costs by 3%, it would more than close our budget deficit.

Anonymous wrote:
You talk about special ed staffing above--this is all based on planning factors and the number of students in the school with IEPs. You're suggesting that each school be allocated different numbers of staff based on (something) instead of having a uniform staffing model? How would that work? Who determines how many staff are really needed at each school? And as for letting go the "youngest" teacher, you probably mean the teacher with the least tenure, which is how that works in every school district in the country. Not to mention that APS staff are offered positions elsewhere in the system if a position is eliminated at a specific school.

Maybe you should volunteer for some committees and learn some more about how school systems work before running for one of the five board seats--we don't need another board member who only started paying attention when their kids hit elementary school and is now going to learn on the job by asking questions that have already been asked and answered a thousand times. You might also learn about what a school board is responsible for versus the paid school administration, and why you don't get answers from the people you are asking.

I understand your concern -- I know I have a lot to learn. On the other hand, I was an English Language learner who relied on in-school free meals, and my current level of success was due in large part to the amazing teachers I had in my public school education. I care deeply about the success of our public school system. And yes my kids are young, but that means that I am invested in this for the long term.

I think I bring a unique set of skills to the school board (technology, data) that they are currently lacking. I also appreciate that I'm in a privileged position to be able to serve on a school board in the first place. It's not something I do lightly or for vanity.

We get that you care but how exactly does that qualify you to oversee my kid's school district when it's clear I know far more about it than you do?

Mathematically, the 20 percent of the budget that is not salaries (as you note, a lot is debt service) can’t produce enough “efficiency” to close that 3 percent gap—we have to pay the electric bills and buy supplies each year. So you can’t reduce costs 3 percent without cutting staff, which means increasing class sizes or eliminating/reducing certain types of school-based positions.

So what are you thinking in terms of cuts?

Anonymous wrote:
What do you mean the board doesn't know why we spend more than other counties?

This is something a current board member told me when I asked about it. I know that about half the gap is due to us paying debt service (from CIP school bonds) from our operating budget. For other school systems like Alexandria and Montgomery County the city/county handles CIP funds or the bond payments instead of the school system. The other half of the gap is harder to explain -- adjusted for student population we have similar class sizes, number of schools, student-teacher ratios, and transportation costs as our neighbors. Our teachers are more tenured on average (so higher on the step scale), but we pay them less, and it almost exactly evens out. We also have similar programs (option or magnet schools, extra curriculars, etc).

Anonymous wrote:
Four-fifths of the budget is staff salaries and Arlington has lower class sizes and smaller schools than most other counties (i.e., more staff).

Our school sizes are comparable. We do have slightly smaller class sizes (compared to say Fairfax), but similar to FCC and Manassas City. It doesn't account for the full difference.
Any real differences provides opportunities to increase efficiency. Even if we can reduce costs by 3%, it would more than close our budget deficit.

Anonymous wrote:
You talk about special ed staffing above--this is all based on planning factors and the number of students in the school with IEPs. You're suggesting that each school be allocated different numbers of staff based on (something) instead of having a uniform staffing model? How would that work? Who determines how many staff are really needed at each school? And as for letting go the "youngest" teacher, you probably mean the teacher with the least tenure, which is how that works in every school district in the country. Not to mention that APS staff are offered positions elsewhere in the system if a position is eliminated at a specific school.

Maybe you should volunteer for some committees and learn some more about how school systems work before running for one of the five board seats--we don't need another board member who only started paying attention when their kids hit elementary school and is now going to learn on the job by asking questions that have already been asked and answered a thousand times. You might also learn about what a school board is responsible for versus the paid school administration, and why you don't get answers from the people you are asking.

I understand your concern -- I know I have a lot to learn. On the other hand, I was an English Language learner who relied on in-school free meals, and my current level of success was due in large part to the amazing teachers I had in my public school education. I care deeply about the success of our public school system. And yes my kids are young, but that means that I am invested in this for the long term.

I think I bring a unique set of skills to the school board (technology, data) that they are currently lacking. I also appreciate that I'm in a privileged position to be able to serve on a school board in the first place. It's not something I do lightly or for vanity.

Anonymous wrote:Chen seems sincere but has he done anything in APS literally at all?

(Reposting from the other similar thread: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/30/1185438.page. Please read my replies to various questions there.)

Hi. Honestly not a whole lot -- I've done the standard things that an involved and privileged parent has done -- I've joined my school's PTA, I've donated, I've volunteered in the classroom and as a chaperone.
Outside of APS proper, I teach ballroom dance at College Park, I coach my daughter's soccer team, I tutor undergraduate CS students, and I'm mentoring a couple of high school students (one in APS).

My wife and I moved to Arlington for the excellent schools. It wasn't something I thought I needed to worry about. I got involved because of the boundary change process. During public hearings I, along with others, asked questions for which we received responses but not real answers. At the time I didn't know whether they didn't want to give us the answer or if they didn't have the answer. So I started digging -- reading board docs, watching old board meetings, asked followup questions, etc., and it became obvious that they often didn't have the answer.

This kind of problem isn't unique to APS. I've seen this in many organizations where some things are done a certain way because of risk aversion, because it was the easy thing to do, or because "it's always been done that way". I have a lot of experience trying (successfully and unsuccessfully) to fix these underlying problems. I believe that this skill set -- active listening, problem solving, people coordination -- would be a useful one for the school board.

Since then I've been learning as much as I can -- talking with teachers, parents, principals, facilities folks, and (since declaring) every member of the current board except CDT.
I know I have a lot to learn still, but I'm a fast learner and public education is something I truly care about.

Anonymous wrote:Are there more candidate forums coming up?

Arlington Democrats may have a candidate forum during their next monthly meeting on 4/3 (it's planned but not yet announced).
The Arlington NAACP will host one on 4/15 from 7-9pm.
The Arlington Chamber of Commerce will host one on 4/23 from 3-4pm.
The CivFed and the League of Women Voters will host one on 4/24 from 6:30-8:30pm

That's all the ones I know of so far. 😅

I'll post information and links on my facebook page https://facebook.com/chen4arlington when I have them. I'll also post links to the forums afterwards.