Seven candidates will vie for three at-large seats on the Fairfax County School Board in the Nov. 8 elections.
As election day approaches, Patch has selected six questions and sent them in a survey to all at-large candidates.
Over the course of the next week, Patch will run the responses of the six candidates who returned the questionnaires. These responses are unedited, in the candidates' own words. Note: Candidate Lin-Dai Kendall did not return the survey.
Oct. 12: Ted Velkoff
Today, Ted Velkoff
Is FCPS underfunded, overfunded, or properly funded at the current level? Explain.
FCPS is underfunded. The Federal Government imposes many unfunded mandates on our schools. The Commonwealth of Virginia underfunds education at all levels – in our universities (the result of which is that our universities limit the number in-state students in order to make up the difference with out-of-state students paying higher tuition); in our K-12 schools; and in pre-K (where many of our neediest children go without needed preparation for public schools). Not only is state education underfunded, the available funds are distributed in a manner that is unfair to Fairfax County citizens. Because the Commonwealth uses a formula called the Local Composite Index (LCI), our county gets back about 24 cents for every dollar it pays in. The burden for making up the rest of the school system budget (about 75% of $2.2B) falls on the citizens of Fairfax County. Because Virginia is a Dillon Rule state and the taxing authority of the Board of Supervisors is limited, the tax burden falls heavily on property owners in Fairfax County.
When you compare high schools in Fairfax County, especially looking at free and reduced meals and band and athletic booster numbers, there is a large disparity between some high schools, resulting in “Have vs. Have-not” schools within Fairfax County. How do you intend to deal with this growing disparity? How does the School Board and Board of Supervisors plan to help the most needy schools, as its budget continues to shrink?
First, we need to continue to target resources to the schools with the greatest needs, in order to address this imbalance. Second, we need to encourage business partners to contribute funds and resources to these schools, to help cover expenses that may be more easily covered in other communities. Finally, we need to use the Foundation for Fairfax County Public Schools as a source of funding to help reduce disparities between schools.
The School Board is almost entirely dependent on school system staff for knowledge and understanding, and there is no standing ombudsman function. Do you trust the central office staff of FCPS to provide the School Board with honest, well-reasoned, fact-based analysis of policy questions facing that body?
The School Board and the Board of Supervisors have responsibilities that run in parallel. The School Board oversees the school system, which is managed by the superintendent; the Board of Supervisors oversees county government, which is managed by the county executive. The twelve member School Board is currently supported by a staff of four people; each of the ten supervisors typically has a staff of four or five people that report to that supervisor. Although the Board of Supervisors has sole authority to generate revenue, the School Board has sole authority over the school system budget, which comprises more than 53% of county revenue. The public rightly expects the School Board to operate with independence of the superintendent, just as it expects the Board of Supervisors to act with independence of the county executive. I believe the time has come to examine both the size and reporting structure of the staff that reports to the School Board. The hiring of an auditor and perhaps an ombudsman is a good first step.
What role do you think parents should play in setting policy and effecting change in our school system? If you had to draw a pie chart showing all those whom you think should be involved in overseeing FCPS policies, what would it look like?
The twelve elected members of the School Board are completely responsible for setting and changing the policies that govern our school system. The School Board has full responsibility for establishing the goals and objectives for our schools; has full responsibility for selecting a superintendent who will work to achieve those goals; and has full responsibility for holding the superintendent accountable for meeting the Board’s objectives. The School Board represents the citizens (parents, teachers, students, taxpayers) of Fairfax County, and each board member is responsible for reflecting community opinion, to his or her best ability, in each decision he or she makes.
School start time is an issue that has not been addressed in some time. Will you seriously consider pushing the start time of our high schools back? Why or why not?
The arguments for helping teenagers get more sleep are compelling and grounded in science. But changing the bell schedule will have negative consequences for some children and families that outweigh the benefits for them. I believe what we learned in 2009 was that the issue is less about high school start times, and more about high school end times. At town hall meetings and in the opinion survey, parents in overwhelming numbers expressed concern that the costs to their families – in impact on after-school athletics, activities and programs, childcare and family schedules – outweighed the benefits of a later start time. I am completely open to a reconsideration of this question, but in order to support a change to the schedule, I would need to be convinced that the concerns raised by parents two years ago have been addressed to their satisfaction.
Do you support video surveillance in the county’s high schools? To what extent?
Before we even consider increasing the current level of video surveillance in high schools (which I believe the community is not ready to do, given the recent issues with the discipline system), we should first be sure we have made every possible effort to curb the behaviors that led to recent incidents in the first place. This could take the form of presentations, programs or discussions with students in school and with parents at PTA meetings and town halls.
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