Office Hours on Saturday
Please join me at my first monthly office hours this Saturday, March 5th, from 10 am-noon, at Panera in the Mosaic District (8191 Strawberry Ln, Merrifield, VA 22042).
If you would like to meet but aren’t available on Saturday, please email me with dates and times that work for you to make an individual appointment: dapalchik@fcps.edu.
Please note that tonight’s Region 5 Listening Tour is cancelled and will soon be rescheduled be to a later date.
Budget
I’ve heard from many of you following the joint budget meeting with the Board of Supervisors on Friday. As I mentioned in my public comments at the end of the meeting, Northern Virginia leads the state in tax and revenue growth. Unfortunately, due to our outdated funding formulas, we only receive approximately twenty one cents for every dollar we send to Richmond.
Even if the state decides to increase its education funding, the current system means that we will see a fraction of that increase in Fairfax. The funding formula is not likely to be fixed in the near the future.
Some of our neighboring jurisdictions have taken the initiative to increase their local tax base to invest in education and other services. Arlington County currently spends $5,000 more per pupil than we do in Fairfax County, and a larger percentage of school funding comes from their local tax revenue. We currently spend $1,000 less per pupil than we did in 2008.
While money alone will not ensure excellence, we are losing some of our best teachers to Arlington and other districts with higher salaries. The majority of our funds (almost 90%) go to employee compensation.
Before we begin to ask the state for additional funding, we need to begin by finding the political will to set a tax rate that fully funds our local services, with education as our priority in Fairfax. Every dollar that we raise locally stays in Fairfax, and we don't lose any money to Richmond.
This is the conversation that I’m having with our local supervisors. They will advertise the tax ceiling tomorrow, March 1st. They can then go below that rate, but not above it. According to school and county calculations, the minimum increase needed to fully fund the school and county advertised budgets is between six to seven cents.
Some supervisors have suggested that the schools need to be more attractive to millennial employees and to focus on addressing the achievement gap. I couldn’t agree more. The number one way to attract more millennials is to have more competitive compensation packages, including salary, benefits, and retirement. The best way to address the achievement gap is to attract and retain the best teachers in all of our schools, and to partner with the county in providing additional comprehensive or wrap-around services. As Dr. Garza said, the schools attack the achievement gap every day. We can’t do it alone. It takes all of us working together.
Please have conversations with your neighbors, supervisors, and colleagues. Only together will we begin to shift the conversation. More information on the FY2017 Budget: Click Here.
Also, please join us for the upcoming budget meetings:
March 9 – Providence District Supervisor and School Board Joint Budget Presentation
7:00 pm at the Providence Community Center (3001 Vaden Dr, Fairfax, VA 22031)
March 19 – Presentation and FAQ session on the County Lines of Business
9-11:30 am at the Providence Community Center (3001 Vaden Dr, Fairfax, VA 22031)
April 5 – School Board Budget presentation to the Board of Supervisors
Time TBD at the Fairfax County Government Center, Rooms 9-10
For the full Budget Calendar: http://www.fcps.edu/fs/budget/budgetcalendar.shtml
Last week, I joined Dr. Garza and the FCPS
Leadership Team at Kilmer Middle School to surprise and personally honor social
studies teacher Corey Thornblad as the 2016 FCPS Outstanding Teacher of the
Year. Mrs. Thornblad will be publicly recognized at the FCPS Awards Ceremony in
June. Please view the press release, youtube video and photos of
the announcement.
At our last work session, I joined fellow School Board members to direct the Superintendent to begin the community engagement process on the possible renaming of Stuart High School. We thanked the students who have led the efforts to bring this to the attention of the community and who joined us at the meeting.
CANCELLED: February 29th – 6:30-8:00pm - Superintendent’s Listening Tour – Region 5
Chantilly High School Cafeteria (4201 Stringfellow Road, Chantilly, VA 20151)
This event has been cancelled and will be rescheduled in the near future.
March 1st – Primary Day (Schools Closed) and County Supervisors Advertise Tax Rate
March 9th – 9:30 am- 2:00pm – 24th Annual “Peace” it Together Summit
George Mason Univ. Johnson Center
This summit is for elementary school students and staff members to learn new conflict resolution skills, build self-esteem, and collaborate with students from other county schools.
March 11-13th – Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair
Robinson Secondary School
This year's theme is “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science." Professionals from government agencies and private organizations from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area participate as judges.
March 12 - 10 AM – 2 PM – Culinary Challenge and Wellness Expo
Robinson Secondary School
This year’s Culinary Challenge: leave it to the kids to create a flavorful and healthful breakfast, snack or lunch!
March 13 – 11am - 5pm – NoVa Mini Maker Faire
Langston Hughes MS and South Lakes HS (Reston, Virginia)
Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker Movement.
March 26 – 10:30 am – Nottoway Park Annual Easter Egg Hunt
Nottoway Park (9537 Courthouse Road, Vienna, VA 22181)
Egg Hunt Schedule:1-2 years 10:30 am, 3-4 years 11:00 am, 5-6 years 11:30 am, 7-9 years 12:00 pm. Weather decision will be made at 8:30 a.m. on the day of the event: 703-324-8566. Proceeds donated to Nottoway Park improvements
March 29 – 6:30-8:00pm – Superintendent’s Listening Tour – Region 1 (Rescheduled)
Madison High School Cafeteria (2500 James Madison Dr., Vienna, VA 22181)
Dr. Garza and the Region Assistant Superintendents will provide updates on the latest happenings in Fairfax County schools and listen to ideas, comments, and questions.
April 10 – 9 AM-2:30 PM – NoVA Outside School Environmental Action Showcase George Mason University, Center for the Arts
For the fifth year, NoVA Outside and GMU are hosting the School Environmental Action Showcase (SEAS) on the GMU Fairfax campus. The student teams apply STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts to real, authentic, environmental problems they identify.
June 8th
- FCPS
Honors
George
Mason’s Center for the Arts
The FCPS Honors recognizes excellence in our school system, with
awards for outstanding support employees, principals, teachers and business
partners.
Fairfax County Park Authority’s Invasive
Management Area; Calendar
Would you like to submit events
to be considered for inclusion in future newsletters?
Send
me an email with the date, time, contact information and details: dapalchik@fcps.edu
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