President's Message
February could be my favorite month, well, maybe second favorite next to December. February has Groundhog’s Day, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, my birthday; it is Black History Month and this year, the Olympics begin. However, it is also the month where the Superintendent of Prince William County Schools unveils his budget.
Seeing red will likely not involve a Valentine; it will be the shock of the impact of the 80 million dollar shortfall for school funding. Besides a loss of revenue at the local level, due to a decline in real estate assessments, we can expect less money coming from the Commonwealth’s coffers. Last year’s stimulus money saved jobs. This year, less money will be available from that source, and difficult decisions will need to be made by our Superintendent and the School Board.
What can you do? You can show up at the public hearing on the Superintendent’s budget on Monday, February 8, 2010, at 7:00pm at Stonewall Jackson High School. You can attend the School Board meetings and Board of County Supervisor meetings as details of the budget and advertised tax rate are debated. Most of all, contact your Representatives in the General Assembly and let them know of your concerns for the future of public education if the Commonwealth’s promise to Virginia’s children to “ensure that an educational program of high quality is …continually maintained” is broken with poor budget decisions.
It is also imperative to tell them not to touch your VRS!
Richard G. Salmon, Professor at Virginia Tech, has testified, "In my nearly fifty years in public education, both K-12 and higher education, I cannot remember a fiscal crisis as extensive as the one we are currently facing. The magnitude of the fiscal disaster, if the General Assembly and Governor do not take steps to ease the loss of state revenue, will harm public schools to such an extent that several generations will be repairing the damage. Such large numbers have been cited, that for most people, the numbers become incomprehensible, and these reductions are not one-time reductions but are cumulative."
These are serious times. Be an Association Activist and do all you can to protect public education funding and the promise of a quality education for the children you teach. You can go to the VEA website at www.veanea.org for information on how you can contact your representatives; it is easy to do. Our collective action could make a difference!
By Bonnie Klakowicz
PWEA President