Fairfax County School Board members and teachers are praising teacher raises, hires and other plans to address the system’s rising enrollment — but some officials say his request for an increase of 8.4 percent in county funds, which dictates , is unrealistic.
"Boy, 8 percent sounds like quite a jump," Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova said Friday. "We need to be sensitive to the affordability of taxes to our residents. … An 8 percent increase seems like a stretch."
Steve Greenburg, president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers, acknowledged Dale's proposal was facing a tough fight.
"I don't think it does any good to be anything but optimistic," he said.
The county's transfer to the schools, funded largely by real estate and personal property taxes, accounts for nearly 71 percent of Dale's proposed budget; about 53 percent of the county's budget goes to the schools.
When presenting the budget to the board Thursday night, Dale told school board members several unpredictable budget factors were in play, among them, the amount of the county transfer and state-level cuts included in Gov. Bob McDonnell's budget, which won't be finalized until April.
County Executive Anthony Griffin won't release his budget proposal for the county, including a transfer amount, until Feb. 28. Supervisor John Foust, echoing what Dale told reporters earlier on Thursday, said Griffin has informally mentioned a 5 percent increase in the county's transfer.
That would amount to an increase of about $80 million, instead of the $135.4 million increase Dale included in his proposal.
Even a 5 percent increase is "kind of high," Foust said. "But we'll start at the point."
"We have to increase the schools budget with a cost of living" increase, he said.
Bulova said the county's recovery is "very tepid," insufficient to meet all of the "pent-up demands" including more funding for human services, public safety and transportation.
"Managing expectations is going to be a major challenge during this budget," said Bulova, who added she hadn't yet been fully been briefed on the details of Dale's proposal. "I am sympathetic to the needs of the school system with a growing student population that they're struggling to serve, so some increase is probably reasonable in order for them to meet that challenge. … It’s important we continue to maintain the kind of excellent school system that makes everything else work well."
School Board members and a teacher union representative were cautiously optimistic Thursday night after Dale's presentation.
Patty Reed (Providence) said after years of talking about teacher compensation and workload, Dale's proposal "put our money where our mouth is" on the issues; improving both has been near the top of the board's priority list for several years.
"There's a whole lot to like in this budget, if we can get the funding," said Dan Storck (Mount Vernon), whose district is often home to many of the system's minority, disadvantaged or underperforming students. The budget, particularly the reinstatement of summer school, would "truly make a difference for our neediest kids," he said.
Elizabeth Schultz (Springfield) told Dale the projected population and demographic shifts concerned her, saying the data the board has received over the past several years didn't give an adequate picture of what was coming.
"The concern is that demographics drive everything, how many teachers we need, the curriculum we have," she said. "Maybe we have to be humble enough that if we don't possess those strengths and do it well then we need to look [elsewhere]. I'm going to be very much encouraging us to improve our ability to budget based on our ability to predict who we're going to have going forward."
Dale noted the system brought on a full-time demographer within the past two years.
Greenburg said he was happy to see Dale's proposal addressed teacher workload and tuition reimbursement, among the improvements to compensation, after
"I just hope that all of the entities around him he's counting on to support it, i.e. the state, the supervisors, will come in behind him," Greenburg said.
He asked the school board Thursday night to consider hiring a full-time staff member for each of the board's 12 representatives. That would allow staff members to strengthen their own budget weaknesses and spend more time engaging with stakeholders, both during budget season and throughout the year, he said.
On a night in which the board also appointed its members as liaisons to federal, state and local groups and commissions, with the county's two major teachers unions, "as a model for not just now in the future, to have that regular communication."
I am happy to answer your questions and tolerate the unnecessary insults. It's almost laughable you think I am irresponsible. Have you checked out my opponent? Respectfully, A. Will Radle, Jr. Creating a Culture of Listening Candidate for VA8 Democratic Nomination
Note, I wrote "reduced take home pay". I never wrote "pay cuts". However, we have seen significant inflation in the costs of basic necessities. For example, many food companies have shrunk packaging significantly while maintaining the same price for goods. This means teachers and first responders confront the compounded challenges of reduced take home pay and increased living expenses in Fairfax County. May I point out that none of the 3 other candidates ever disputed the fact we reduced the take home pay of school and general county employees? I feel like you may perhaps be demanding more in this casual conversation than my opponents demanded in public debates. Interesting. Thank you for your passion in acquiring the information you seek. Perhaps, you can research the budget, consult with public employees and interview elected officials. At the end of your exhaustive research, you will find the take home pay of teachers and school employees as well as first responders and general county employees have been reduced in Fairfax County as I wrote. Separately, exact outcome measurements for "Solutions for an Enduring Nation: Restoring Confidence in America's Future", will be presented in a different forum. Perhaps, you will also demand Mr. Moran come as far as I have already by focusing on solutions and publishing a written plan for action.
I believe GJ voiced some of the frustration I have with our current political climate. It seems that most discussions revolve around what is felt or perceived, which may or may not match reality. I gave you hard numbers on what I've seen occur with general county employees with respect to salaries and health benefits in the past year, but that doesn't matter. I’m supposed to accept your statement without proof, or go dig up the proof on my own? If there are reasons other than the ones I pointed out for the reduction in take home pay, they should be explained and the magnitude of the reductions should be discussed. Making the statement without supporting data doesn’t make it true or false. It makes the statement hollow. <continued in next post>
Sometimes, we get in the minutia. Look, we have exhausted the topic of questioning my comment about reducing take home pay of public employees. You both indicated you do not disagree. I have proven the correctness of my statement. You just don't seem to like the accuracy of my statement and want to know how many pennies and how many dollars. That minute level of detail will vary with each employee. The comment section on Patch is not intended to serve as an exhaustive outlet. I appreciate your participation. Respectfully, I encourage both of you, if you have not already, to also leave your computers and go into the real world of PTA and School Board meetings. Visit a local firehouse or police station. I expect you will find your participation and visits welcome. Discounting anecdotes when you're discussing the frozen salaries of thousands of people in our community is peculiar. These are real people. Go talk with them. Ask them what frozen salaries with increasing gas prices and food costs means to them and their families. Thank you.
Thank you.
Personally, I disagree about a lot of the SLEEP concerns. However, I think Sandy Evans has displayed an interest in far more than SLEEP. I don't agree with all her votes, but I think most of them have been responsible. I agree with most votes that Patty Reed has cast--and I am puzzled as to what you think her "single issue" is. I don't know enough about McLaughlin to form an opinion, although I would like to know what the committee votes was about. Watching the last meeting, it is clear that the Old Guard is disturbed with some of the new people. The committee assignments were quite interesting. I would love to know the back story on that.
"On January 12, Superintendent Jack D. Dale presented to the School Board a $2.4 billion FY 2013 Proposed Budget with a projected enrollment of 181,608 students. This proposed budget reflects a 9% increase in the Transfer Fee from the County, which last fall suggested a 5% increase after 3 yrs of decline against increased enrollment costs [ZERO INCREASE LAST 3 YEARS]. The proposed budget includes an additional 721.3 positions to support changes in student demographics and projected enrollment growth of 3,900 students as well as market scale adjustments and step increases for all eligible employees. If [a person] measures just the increase in student enrollment in FCPS the past 5 years as a separate school system, it would rank the 6th largest in the state of VA. [THIS IS TRUE, YET LESS FUNDING TODAY]If a state, this same increase in numbers would equate to a state school system at # 42 in the nation … larger than 8 other present states total enrollments in public schools." FCPS serves a larger number of students with less funding. The number of students is significantly higher and includes a higher percentage with special needs. I question Elizabeth's implied assertion that SB members plan to provide an 8 percent increase in pay for teachers. I hope this helps.
I did not want you to feel like we were ignoring your concerns. It's just we cannot do anything about the situation in Loudoun County. Thanks for understanding.
At 721, that is one slot for every 5 new students. I guess I just don't understand Dale's math.
I thought you were implying a raise of 8% to teachers. Sorry for my confusion, my comments were meant to stress that I do not believe an 8% raise in the county transfer to FCPS is realistic given BOS concerns. Furthermore I do believe those School Board members mentioned have demonstrated lip service about certain issues but have little else to show. They must reach consensus and realize it is not about "them" but about making a differnece and doing something. Ms Schultz and others have yet to show any meaningful outcomes from their words.
2. We cannot expect taxpayers to fund a budget that is 8-9% higher--it is absurd. Look at the largest request by Dale---46 million smackers for a potential increase in enrollment of 3979 kids. That is $11,485 per kid. Look at Montgomery County's projections: 2250 more students and they are asking for only $14.1 million to pay for the increased enrollment. Why is FCPS TWICE AS MUCH???? There, I just knocked out $20 million that we don't need. 3. Why is Dale looking to increase the number of asst principals by 16? We need one for Lacey Elem-new school-but why do we need the other 15?? There. I just saved us another $2 million bucks. The money is being treated like its monopoly money. We should be justifying each and every expenditure, not figuring out how to blow another $200 million. 4. Why are we hiring a Teacher in residence from the Air and Space Museum, when what we need are more social workers and school psychologists? We are expecting 4000 more kids and aren't adding any of these positions. 5. The doozey. Why, oh why, is Dale giving himself and his staff a 4.7% raise?
Your statement suggests you are from Clifton ---single agenda. Ms. Schultz ignorance on the CIP and validity of the data was telling. The issue is complex and takes more than a discussion about Clifton. Projections are based upon many factors, one being the kindergarten enrollment and extrapilating that data into the future. Other issues pertaining to data accuracy that must be reviewed and understood are school capacities vs. enrollment, trends in demographics, programming (to include special ed capacity needs), AAP centers, etc. The demographer was brought on as a result of issues in the past. Previously the school system used the county's demographer. Projection accuracies are in the high 98th percentile. This information is an easy glance at the CIP data ---look in the column of projection accuracies. Ms. Schultz should have reviewed all this before speaking. Projections are accurate to the extent they can be due to the transitory nature of this area and the economy which certainly impacts student enrollment. She is suggesting $ for an outside consultant, some would argue that money would be better served for students and teachers.
Oh really?????? Let's see: Press release 1/8/2009: Dale releases proposed 2010 budget projecting 5000 new students. Enrollment 9/30/2009: increase of 3225 kids. Off by 35% Press release 1/7/2010: Dale releases 2011 budget projecting 1760 new students. Enrollment: 9/30/2010: increase of 2523 students. Off by 43% Press release 1/6/2011: Dale releases 2012 budget projecting 2120 new students. Enrollment: 9/30/2011: increase of 2856 students. Off by 35%
Not from anywhere near Clifton. I developed an interest in SB activities after a different redistricting. I have read the emails regarding Clifton and realize that the demographer did leave out a zip. I am also aware that FCPS has done a terrible job on projections--not factoring in huge new apartment complexes to various elementary schools, etc. An outside consultant could be much cheaper than a demographer who makes serious omissions in planning. You think I'm from Clifton--your name and your comments indicate that you may have a very personal connection to the school board issues.
And, by the way, that is your response to a question?? You, who wants to be an elected public official?? Calling people names and saying that you would share the information "if I knew you"??? Wow. What the hell does that even mean? Buddy, I'm going to make it my lifes mission to make sure you never hold elected office in a place I live.
How about you take a nice drive to look at the the new SOCO MS we "had" to build for $millions because those super accurate folks in the CIP area crammed too many kids into SOCO Secondary. If they had kept the kids at Lee and Hayfield before they opened the school-SOCO wouldn't have needed 15 trailers and then a middle school. Run the numbers on the cost of portable classrooms and relocating them while you're at it. How about you check your numbers for accuracy.