Any predictions on where the cuts will hit the hardest? (McLean: middle school, live in) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - Page 6 - City-Data Forum

Yankeesfan · 10-20-2009, 07:19 AM

"Disadvantaged communities" are those where the parents don't speak English and/or are illiterate, so the students don't get educational assistance at home. This was the original goal of full-day kindergarten, to assist those students. Then middle-class parents jumped on the bandwagon because it reduced their need to pay for childcare. Then everyone else wanted it because they felt like their children were being put at a disadvantage compared to the full-day students.

springfieldva · 10-20-2009, 09:02 AM

I don't think I really understand why we have a $176 million shortage in the first place. Is it because fed and state funding has been cut? Is it because distressed homeowners aren't paying their property taxes (if so do we have recourse)? Is it because we are plain flat spending too much on (?) ?

It doesn't ring true to me that this is all attributable to a decline in home values - somehow we were able to get by before home values shot through the roof.

The cuts they are looking at are pretty painful and appear to be a drop in the bucket in terms of solving the problem...

car54 · 10-20-2009, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by springfieldva

It doesn't ring true to me that this is all attributable to a decline in home values - somehow we were able to get by before home values shot through the roof...

The real estate tax rate was considerably higher before the boom.

When prices shot up, so did assessments and the tax rate was lowered...now that assessments are plummeting, the tax rate needs to rise. It has been increased a couple of times, but still hasn't reached the pre-boom level.

Of course, not helping matters is the fact that when the County was flush with cash, they spent more on the nice-to-have stuff...and some of that stuff is unaffordable now...so it probably will have to go.

springfieldva · 10-20-2009, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by car54

The real estate tax rate was considerably higher before the boom.

When prices shot up, so did assessments and the tax rate was lowered...now that assessments are plummeting, the tax rate needs to rise. It has been increased a couple of times, but still hasn't reached the pre-boom level.

Of course, not helping matters is the fact that when the County was flush with cash, they spent more on the nice-to-have stuff...and some of that stuff is unaffordable now...so it probably will have to go.

I hope they look at letting go of any frills they have before they start thinking about raising our taxes again.

car54 · 10-20-2009, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by springfieldva

I hope they look at letting go of any frills they have before they start thinking about raising our taxes again.

The trouble is, people will never agree on what is a frill...

Personally, I think Fairfax One (the incredibly expensive police helicopter) is a frill. I know of no other Va County that operates a chopper. But I imagine that a severely injured car crash victim that is alive today because of the thing might disagree.

tgbwc · 10-20-2009, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denton56

FC students do not need the summer off to work the farms. There is not one single farm in Fairfax county. Oh wait, I forgot, teachers and principals don't like that idea so it can't happen. Staff wants the summer off. My bad.

A good number of staff members like that idea. I am a member of the teaching staff and many (not all) people I talk to would like to go to a modified calendar.

tgbwc · 10-20-2009, 07:33 PM

FY 2011 budget planning discussions have considered reducing the school year to 180 days with a savings of $19.2 million.

tgbwc · 10-20-2009, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by springfieldva

If I'm doing the math right, even with those cuts, they're still looking at over a 100 million short fall?

Those are just some of the cuts. Not all the individual cuts are big numbers. For example, TJ is currently staffed about 2 students below regular high schools. If they increased class size to the current rate of the other high schools, the savings would be $0.3 million.

The last numbers for cuts I saw totaled $224.2 million. The "straw man" totals were $169.6 mil.

Muffy62 · 10-21-2009, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgbwc

FY 2011 budget planning discussions have considered reducing the school year to 180 days with a savings of $19.2 million.

Can I say that after the testing is done (May/June) the kids go on "vacation". Teachers have covered the required curriculum for the tests. Everything taught after the test is extra or filler stuff. And the last few days of school is a waste of time -- we schedule yearbook signings, field days and count down to when the last school bus pulls out for the year! So going back to the 180 schedule would be a savings!

Yankeesfan · 10-21-2009, 08:28 AM

I didn't realize that the schools had gone beyond 180 days. What is the current number?