How many HQ admin positions are being eliminated ?

Posted by mitlen (anonymous) on April 14, 2009 at 7:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"The school district's budget crunch was eased by a $11.8 million infusion from the federal stimulus package, although supervisors reacted by slashing $7.3 million in local funding for schools at a work session last month."

I like the bait and switch tacit used. The stimulus money is designed in INCREASE funding, not REPLACE funding!

Posted by jay (anonymous) on April 14, 2009 at 9:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

As the dust settles on a very difficult budget cycle, I'd like to thank both Boards for their time, effort and expertise. I think we walk away with a reasonable budget that was produced at a very difficult and emotional time. Thank you to all Supervisors and School Board members. (even to the couple of members that I never agree with)

Posted by maravetz (anonymous) on April 14, 2009 at 11:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

What did Hatrick give up? Anyone at the Taj Majal taking furlough days? Anyone give up their free taxpayer paid cars? What does the high echelon travel budget look like? Until the "chiefs" give up something, I will consider the school budget a joke. Go ahead Hatrick, keep tossing those kids under the bus to keep your perks.

Posted by GenuineRisk (anonymous) on April 14, 2009 at 11:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The school board should be ashamed of themselves - having kids pay to play sports! whats next paying to ride a school bus! Lets cut some staff and expense budgets and let the kids play on our taxpayer funded fields and facilities for "free".

BTW I thought that stimulus money was not for operational costs.

Posted by jrg2 (anonymous) on April 14, 2009 at 11:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Where is all the money that we smokers are paying in the new taxs, that was suppose to go to education, how about the lottery money. How does a family you have 3 or 4 kids who want to play sports pick which child gets to play. $200 to park a car.....this is again plan greed. Thats what put us in the postion we are in now...GREED

Posted by janetleslie (anonymous) on April 14, 2009 at 11:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

$100 for sports is nothing. Band parents have already been notified that it will cost between $200 and $350 next year, depending which high school your kids attend. How many of those kids are going to drop out because their parents can't afford it? Just more kids to hang out on the street corners with nothing to do, while certain administrators toodle around in their free cars, gasing up for free, and taking free 2-3 week family vacations and calling it a "business trip". Something is really stinky in Ashburn.

Posted by GenuineRisk (anonymous) on April 14, 2009 at 12:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank god this is over. Will it be painful? Sure, but remember, we're all to blame for this situation.

http://loudounobserver.blogspot.com/

Posted by LoudounObserver (anonymous) on April 14, 2009 at 1:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If you would have just voted yes on the food tax,back in November alot of this could have been avoided...and I would have paid less in food tax then I will be, paying $100 for every sport my child wants to play.

Posted by rarcr (anonymous) on April 14, 2009 at 2:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The student fees, parking fees, etc. are not about the cuts. They are about earning more money. Anyone thought through about where that money goes and who controls it? What if one high school produces more money than another high school. What about the money that was made by the state in the state basketball tournaments? The state got a lot of money for the tournament games without having to pay.

Posted by michael34 (anonymous) on April 14, 2009 at 2:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm glad the School Board made the tough choices this year. Thank God they left in the money for Hatrick and company to travel to Europe and Asia. What would have happened he couldn't have observed how China educates their students! Catastrophe! I'm glad we can still operate tiny schools in Middleburg and Aldie with less than 100 kids. It's inefficient but we can afford it now that kids have to pay to play sports. I'm just thankful that my kids middle school still has a principal, an assistant principal, three deans, a couple guidance counselors and a parent advocate (whatever that is) or two. No room to cut ANYTHING here. I'm glad we still have the resources to maintain 40 staff people to teach a dozen kids Mandarin Chinese. Nope, this was a real tough budget.
Memo to Hatick: Next year, when you tell us that you have to drop English, Math and Science unless we hand over the dough, we'll be ready to call your bluff.

Posted by rjburnsva (anonymous) on April 14, 2009 at 9:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hats off to the school board for coming through in tough times. A 1.7% decrease in the budget and no employees RIFd? Wow, talk about a sacrifice! Who can blame them for taking it out on student athletes and drivers? How can Loudoun homeowners be upset over losing $6.4 billion in equity this year and watching their average tax bill more than double in the past 8 years when school employees will forgo a COLA next year?

Posted by Loudountag (anonymous) on April 14, 2009 at 10:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If kids want to drive themselves to school they can cough up a measly $200. Shoot- triple it to $600. I'd rather they ride the bus anyway.
.
Driving is a privilege, not a right

Posted by AFF3 (anonymous) on April 15, 2009 at 6:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Charging students and parents/kids fees for parking, sports and cutting field trips is not going to fix your problems.....kids will stop driving, students will not sign up for sports, field trips reduced and then you will have to start chewing your own limbs off like a bunch of animals to save your couward butts! We can see that the administration and adults took out their spending/budget problems on the students of Loudoun County...Do you realize how many kids can not afford to play sports? Some of the kids could not even afford the cleats and gear to play the sports before these fees. You cowards should of done whatever it took to keep the kids out of this budget mess. The adults of this county and the administration should buckled down and start the cuts at the top, not the bottom. I would rather my tax dollars go to kids to play sports and take field trips than to white boards, your perfect healthcare packages and your corporate whinning....You guys are gonna get it anyway, you remind me of the pissed off jerk that comes home and kicks his dog cause he had a bad day......hope your budget goes belly up!

Posted by purplehayes3 (anonymous) on April 15, 2009 at 11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

and come to think of it why don't we make all the kids walk to school, regardless of how far they have to walk and get rid of all the buses....hey there we go, then we could get rid of all the teachers....kids could stare at computers all day and do online courses, there you go, hey i got it, lets turn the baseball, football and soccer fields into day labor sites....there you go.....budget solved.....send my fees to the county to pay for the kids sports.....have a nice day.....

Posted by purplehayes3 (anonymous) on April 15, 2009 at 11:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

home school is the answer.

Posted by Funnyguyva (anonymous) on April 16, 2009 at 8:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Funnyguyva - and the quality of the education would be higher as well.

Posted by gieriscm1 (anonymous) on April 16, 2009 at 8:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

How much money per month or per year does high school faculty pay for parking at the respective high schools? And, oh yes, how much do folks at HQ pay for parking? I would expect that along with the hike in student parking fees that school district employees be they faculty or HQ staff will also have a commensurate hike in their parking fees or imposition of commensurate parking fees.

Posted by randyrawson (anonymous) on April 16, 2009 at 9:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"If you would have just voted yes on the food tax,back in November alot of this could have been avoided...and I would have paid less in food tax then I will be, paying $100 for every sport my child wants to play."

Look at how you phrased that - how narcissistic can you possibly get: "*I* would have paid less in food tax than *I* will be paying for *my* child ...*you* are selfish for not wanting to pay for *my* child."

Who cares about what you have to pay for your own kids, in taxes or otherwise? You want your kids to play sports - you pay for it. We taxpayers decided we don't want to pay a tax to subsidize what is YOUR responsibility. I pay for my kid, you pay for yours.

Posted by Justthefacts (anonymous) on April 16, 2009 at 11:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Many of us did vote for the food tax. Look at the taxes county residents have paid over the past 5 years with the growth of Loudoun....it's bad management, poor planning, not enough money to cover the checks we wrote...can't have butter and guns.......

Posted by purplehayes3 (anonymous) on April 16, 2009 at 9:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Funnyguyva:

Creationism is not Science, and you're not a Teacher.

Posted by waxtraxs (anonymous) on April 20, 2009 at 8:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)