Fairfax Budget has small tax hike, avoids major school cuts

By Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 16, 2010

Fairfax County homeowners' property tax rate will rise, but not as much as initially thought, and its public schools will have to make do with slightly less under a budget agreement to be unveiled Friday that relies on better-than-expected state aid and the reinstatement of a local car registration fee.

Although the board's majority has agreed to trim funding to county schools by $16 million, or about 1 percent of its contribution in the last budget, county and schools officials say Fairfax County Public Schools should have sufficient money to avoid drastic cuts in its programs or boosting class size.

But for the second consecutive year, the Board of Supervisors' final draft budget calls for $90 million in cuts. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, the budget draft includes cuts that will eliminate about 176 positions through layoffs and attrition, force libraries to shorten hours, and reduce other services.

Last year, the county also eliminated positions, which resulted in reassignments to unfilled slots and layoffs of about seven salaried employees. And, the county imposed a one-day furlough on all employees except those in the schools.

At a time when governments throughout the region are imposing furloughs and layoffs because of the economic downturn, a majority of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors have reached a consensus on closing a $257.2 million gap in fiscal 2011 through a mix of higher taxes, fees, the consolidation of certain agencies and the elimination of some services.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon S. Bulova (D), who heads the budget committee, said the average homeowner will save $40 a year on property tax bills. Her draft, which was assembled after one-on-one meetings with supervisors and dozens of community forums, will be presented at a workshop Friday. The final markup is Tuesday.


"If you are a homeowner struggling to pay your mortgage, we have not increased your mortgage payment," Bulova said. "We have attempted to keep people in their homes."

Supervisor Pat S. Herrity (R-Springfield), who is not part of the consensus group, the draft fell short in trying to reduce the taxpayers' burden.

"I don't think we should be socking our residents with taxes," Herrity said by telephone while campaigning in a Republican primary for the nomination to challenge Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Fairfax). "Taxes have doubled between 2000 and 2007. We need tax relief."

The board, which had formally indicated it might raise property taxes as much as 12 cents, instead would raise taxes five cents to $1.09 per $100 of assessed value. Because residential property assessments have fallen by 5.56 percent, the average homeowner, whose assessment is about $413,305, would pay $40 less.

But that same homeowner would also pay more to register vehicles. The re-imposition of the car registration fee represents the return of the so-called "decal tax" but without the actual decal that drivers used to affix to windshields to prove that the tax was paid. Under the draft budget, motorists would pay $33 per vehicle, raising $27 million. The fee was eliminated under Connolly when he was the board's chairman.

In addition to the car registration fee and the property tax, other levies will rise. A tax designed to protect the Chesapeake Bay by upgrading storm-water drainage systems will add an additional half a cent to property tax bills. Sewer taxes would also rise 17 percent, costing the average homeowner about $90 more a year.

Bulova said the higher taxes and the car registration fee will spare cuts to popular services. At community forums, people repeatedly said they would prefer to pay more in taxes to maintain the quality of the county's schools and other services, she said.

Among the threatened cuts that have been restored in the final draft are police officers assigned to middle schools; several mental health and social service programs; and connector bus service, such as the RIBS line in the Reston area and the REX line on the Richmond Highway.

The county was able to restore some anticipated cuts because of a decision earlier this year by Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) and the General Assembly to unfreeze a school funding formula, known as the Local Composite Index. That action returned $61 million to Fairfax County. State officials also spared schools from deeper cuts by reducing contributions to the state retirement account. But the savings will have to be repaid, starting in fiscal 2013. That's why county and school officials will set aside about $45 million in reserve.

Staff writer Michael Alison Chandler contributed to this report.

RN Dining for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store

RN Dining for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store

Residents to supervisors: save services

Residents to supervisors: save services

McDonnell urges Assembly not to allow local government employee pension shift

McDonnell urges Assembly not to allow local government employee pension shift: "Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) is slowly releasing more information about amendments to the state's two-year budget that he will recommend to the General Assembly. He announced this afternoon that he will ask the General Assembly to revoke authority it had planned to extend to local governments to shift part of employee retirement payments to the employee. The state has long required that local governments pay the 5 percent payroll contribution to pension plans for teachers, police officers and sheriff's deputies, matching the state's practice for its employees. The General Assembly this year had agreed to allow local governments to shift some of those costs to their employees. The shift could have saved money for localities that elected to exercise the new option but would have hit their employees, many of whom are facing pay freezes and furloughs.

Meager Gains on NAEP Reading Assessments

Meager Gains on NAEP Reading Assessments: "

Dear Deborah,

In my book I argue that No Child Left Behind was a failed strategy. We both know the reasons why. It narrowed the curriculum; it introduced a culture of testing and test prepping into the nation's schools; it represented an unprecedented extension of federal control into the nation's schools; it required teaching to what are admittedly inadequate tests; it demanded an unrealistic goal of 100 percent proficiency for all children in all groups; it encouraged states to inflate their scores; it promoted cheating and gaming the system; and it harmed public education because no state was able to reach the law's utopian goal.

I further argued, based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data from 2003 onward, that NCLB did not even produce significantly higher test scores. The gains in math and in 4th grade reading were significant, but not as large as the gains recorded prior to implementation of NCLB. If so much time and money was invested in these subjects, why did the rate of improvement slow down?

Now the NAEP reading scores for 2009 are out, and the news for NCLB is bad. Reading scores in 4th grade were unchanged since 2007 and up by 1 point in 8th grade. The report says in large type that the 1-point increase from 2007 to 2009 is significant, but the graph shows that student scores for this grade are exactly the same as they were in 1998. The scale score in 1998 was 264. The scale score in 2009 was 264. These are the NCLB babies. This is the generation that has been tested every year since 3rd grade. Their scores are no higher today than their counterparts in 1998...

Allergies can affect kids' grades

Allergies can affect kids' grades: "School nurses are sending home notes to parents that they are seeing more children with symptoms of allergies. For many students, they are more than just an irritant. Allergies can affect how well they do at school. Researchers in the United Kingdom did a study published in 2007that showed that seasonal allergic rhinitis--a common allergy--affected performance on national exams of 1,834 students aged 15 to 17.

I-66 Town Hall Meeting on April 19

I-66 Town Hall Meeting on April 19

Fairfax County Public Schools 5th Annual Special Education Conference Sessions Materials

http://www.fcps.edu/dss/conference/materials/

The Perils of Plastic

The Perils of Plastic

Marshall Road PTA Meeting Agenda

Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 7:00-8:30 pm

MR Cafeteria

 

1. Call Meeting to Order
   
2. President's Report -- Shelly Koshuta
   
   1. Acknowledgements: Barbara Rousseau for International Night, Kristen Gray, Dining for Dollars, Susan Hotsenpiller and Gina Womack for tracking legislation, Missy and Brian Walsh for the spirit wear program
      
   2. Upcoming: April: Earth Day, Spring Sprint, Family Fun Night and Book Fair, May: Teacher Appreciation Week; May 7^th, faculty basketball game vs. Eagle View ES; Scream Free Parenting Workshop following May PTA meeting at 7:30 May 11^th; SOLs May 17-June4
      
   3. Announcements:
      
      1. May 11^th PTA meeting: 1/2 hour for elections and other business and a parent education workshop from 7:30-9:00 called: Scream Free Parenting.
         
      2. Thoreau Play
         April 22, 23, and 24, Oklahoma!
         
      3. Book Fair Hours / Volunteer Sign Up 
         
         
      4. Donation to the Fissell Foundation
         
3. March Minutes -- Laura Schultz
   
4. Principal's Report -- Jen Heiges
   
5. Treasurer's Report / Notes -- Susan Vouvalis
   
6. Committee Chair Reports
   
   1. Family Fun Night and Silent Auction Update – Nellie Hatch
      
   2. Earth Day Events – Carol Scruggs
      
   3. EduKit Update – Lauren Saadat
      
   4. Teacher Appreciation Week Information – Kathryn Reimer / Dena Carter
      
   5. Spirit Wear -- Missy Walsh
      
   6. Legislation -- Susan Hotsenpiller / www.marshallroadpta.org/legislation.html
      
7. New Business
   
   1. Bylaws Change for 2 Treasurers – Susan Vouvalis
      
   2. Moving line items to support Partners in Print Reading Program – Susan Vouvalis
      
   3. Dedicated Fundraising Discussion: Track, Teacher Wish Lists, Technology, other – put on agenda for Spring Roundtable Session to discuss in-depth
      

                   
   

8. Unfinished Business
   
   1. Nominating Committee presents the proposed PTA slate -- Becky Kong, Beth Eachus and Rita Monner
      
   2. PTA Survey for 2010 (2009 survey is linked) – Beth Eachus
      
   3. Pay online service discussion. godaddy.com, eScrip, joomla, costco, paypal, and pay4stuff online
      
   4. Committee Chair / Volunteer Opportunities (see list – pass around)
      
      1. Spring PTA Roundtable Session: Steering Committee needed, Tuesday, June 1, 7-9pm.
         
      2. Cultural Arts Committee –Volunteers Needed
         
      3. Directory Committee – Volunteers welcomed
         
      4. Box Tops Manager
         
      5. Many Others!
         

   
    

9. 8:30pm: Closing Announcements and Adjournment
   

 

Next Meeting Tuesday, May 11, 2010, Cafeteria, 7-7:30 – Scream Free Parenting: 7:30-9:00pm, MR Cafeteria