Turnout Low at School Budget Forum
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Originally published at 12:01 a.m., April 4, 2008
Updated at 11:04 a.m., April 4, 2008
The Loudoun County School Board braced itself last night for an evening full of tough questions from the community about budget reductions.
Instead, it got a pair of presentations followed by an early adjournment -- after just two people addressed the board.
Loudoun Education Association president Sandy Sullivan was the first to take to the podium. She presented the board with a petition signed by 875 LCPS employees urging the board to reconsider cutting four additional paid holidays for 12-month classified employees, such as custodians and secretaries, that were proposed in its original budget request.
The vacation time has been in jeopardy since Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III suggested putting it on the chopping block this week after the Board of Supervisors gave the school district a smaller budget increase than it requested.
Melissa Arseniuk
School Board Chairman Robert DuPree, right, and other school board members welcomed budget-related questions from the public Thursday. Just two citizens voiced concerns.
The second and final presenter -- a teacher and mother from Middleburg -- used her time in front of the mic to advocate for full-day kindergarten. She said it was a shame that Loudoun doesn't offer full-day kindergarten instruction at all schools.
And with that, the meeting was adjourned after less than half an hour, and the crowd of about 30 people -- the majority of whom were school board employees -- filed out of the room.
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It was a surprise to both school board members and the handful of citizens who braved the rain to attend. Most were anticipating a long night of questions from a far larger crowd of concerned parents.
Before opening the floor to questions, Hatrick assured the small crowd that the budget reductions would not change the way schools do business in Loudoun.
"We haven't dropped our commitment to excellence," he said. "We haven't dropped our commitment to wanting to be a top-tier school system, but we are living in difficult economic times."
At the same time, he acknowledged the reductions would affect the school system.
"Every change that we're recommending will affect the service level. It just has to: You put more kids in the classroom, you affect the classroom … It all has an effect," he said. "Long term, I wouldn't want to see these changes in place. But for the short term … we believe they're the least harmful (reductions that) we can recommend.
"We took no pleasure in any of this," he added, "and anybody out there who thinks that, 'Oh, it was just easy, you just cut out the fluff,' ... they're just uninformed. That's the politest thing I can say."
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a 19 percent increase in the property tax rate, from 96 cents to $1.14 per $100 of assessed value, but it was less than the growing school district wanted. As a result, Hatrick has suggested cuts of $48.7 million from the district's proposed budget for fiscal year 2009.
Hatrick's suggested budget savings include $13.3 million in salary adjustments; increasing class sizes by one student per class to save $7.3 million; $2.59 million in group health insurance adjustments; and delaying the purchase of new science textbooks and instructional technology upgrades for savings of $4.2 million and $3.6 million, respectively. The superintendent's 15-point list of suggested budget reductions was released Tuesday.
In December, the school board asked the county for $103.8 million more than it received last year. The budget approved Tuesday gives schools about half the requested increase.
Tagged: Board of Supervisors, budget, LC Board of Supervisors, school board, taxes
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The schools get just about everything they want and have no clue how to make substantial, necessary cuts in a tough economic climate. No wonder no one shows for these hearings -- most of us are a our second jobs so we can afford taxes in this county.
Posted by mrgreen (anonymous) on April 4, 2008 at 7:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What's the point of going? It's done. Taxes are raised and the budget is "reduced".
Posted by mazman128 (anonymous) on April 4, 2008 at 9:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Teacher positions are being cut, class sizes are increasing, and the only thing the Loudoun Education Association president fights for is four MORE days of vacation for teachers?
Posted by hphokie (anonymous) on April 4, 2008 at 10:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
No Joke, a low turn out. Well Mr. Hatrick is the most powerful man in LC. Maybe in VA there is be no other school system will have this type of budget. HOME SCHOOL IS THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE. Better Quality, Better bang for the Buck, and Better management! Good bye Loundoun, I am moving to Fairfax.
Posted by Funnyguyva (anonymous) on April 4, 2008 at 10:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The apathy at these meetings and for the presentation by Gov. Kaine is easy to explain - nothing EVER gets done in Virginia without YEARS of arguing by our esteemed lawmakers and supervisors, so why bother? Nothing we can do will change things, the non-NOVA republicans have seen to that. The easiest thing to do is to vote by moving OUT of the Commonwealth entirely. That includes taking my business and its employees and all of our collective tax dollars with me. THEN, and only then, maybe Richmond will listen. And it will be too late.
Posted by nocando (anonymous) on April 4, 2008 at 11:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How utterly ridiculous to chant "cut Hatrick's salary in half". Uninformed? Well I'd say that's a nice way of putting it. Even if Hatrick retired tomorrow, I would guarantee you that a replacement for a Superintendent in a County like Loudoun would require a salary much larger than the one Hatrick has now. People need to get off his back. He is a man of integrity and honesty. He's not the problem.
Posted by maravetz (anonymous) on April 4, 2008 at 12:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
hphokie, perhaps you should read a little more carefully. The LEA president was arguing for more vacation days for 12-month classified staff--the underpaid, overworked custodians and secretaries--not the teachers. Loudoun County Schools are top-notch schools and are in that position because of Dr. Hatrick who works tirelessly and passionately for them. To those of you who bash LCPS at every turn, have you ever stepped inside one and asked what you can do to help your community? I bet not. It is much easier to criticize.
Posted by julier930 (anonymous) on April 4, 2008 at 5:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
julier930 you are making the same broad stereotype that you accuse hphokie of doing. I have had interaction with LCPS, volunteering in the school system, etc. and with Dr. Hatrick. My experience has been one of deception, arrogance and total lack of concern. I now have my student in private school.
Posted by thunter2276 (anonymous) on April 5, 2008 at 8:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Wrong thunter--I was correcting hphokie on misreading the intent of the LEA president's comments on the proposed cuts to the budget. I was also speaking--albeit broadly--to others' comments regarding the quality of the schools and the quality of the leadership that brought the schools to the position that they are in now. I am sorry to hear that your experience was a negative one, but judging from the many positive comments I have heard from parents and others who have volunteered in the schools, you are in the minority.
Posted by julier930 (anonymous) on April 5, 2008 at 5:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Julier930, perhaps you should get out more. I have family among the "underpaid overworked custodians and secreataries", and what they're paid is comparable to private industry, except LCPS does give them much more vacation than private business does. To ask for more vacation at a time when finances are so critical seems to ignore the burning issue folks are worried about: less teachers and bigger classes. But you keep attacking anyone who might suggest that we all need to tighten our belts in tough times. Fiscal responsibility and caring about the schools are not mutual exclusive ideals. And BTW, I think Ed Hatrick is doing a very good job.
Posted by hphokie (anonymous) on April 5, 2008 at 7:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Lee, I swear I can't tell if your posts are a result of you taking drugs, or if it is a result of you being off your drugs.
Posted by maravetz (anonymous) on April 7, 2008 at 9:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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