I understand your point, and think there are more measurements to be used than spending per pupil. If you’ve read my blogs you’ll know that I am a product of parochial schools k-college so I know that spending does not corrolate to sucess. (or the ability to spell ) However, in the public system I believe more funding contributes greatly to a better run system considering the obstacles placed in their way that are not found at the private schools.

Congratulations on your engagement - being a teacher these days is a heck of a committement. I wish your fiance well.

Then there is the financial piece. If you read that article would you consider moving your family or your business to PWC? This is one of those situation that you can’t spin. Facts are facts.

Mando,

Look at DC. I don’t think it should ever be used as an example of what money does or does not do in a school system. That entire government is so screwed up. I can’t even talk about it. It leaves me speechless.

I’m confused. My point was DC throws more money at their school system per student then just about any other school system in the nation yet they have one of the WORST school systems in the nation.

Also, I’m engaged to teacher.

So I do hear the other side of it. I know they need more money. But for every $1 I spend in taxes for education, I wonder how much of that trickles down to actually educate. I hear of some pretty assinine spending and of some pretty assinine policies.

Tell that to a teacher. Also, forget DC - we just lost to PG County as well. Money correlates to the quality of the education in the public system it does not correlate in a private system.

“”"Prince William ranks LAST in the Washington Metro area in per pupil spending (and we’re last by a pretty big margin). That should not be an issue of pride.”"”

And Washington DC ranks FIRST in the Washington Metro area in per pupil spending.

More money spent doesn’t necessarily correlate to better education.

What are you smoking? Why would you post something like that?

IGNORE BUTTON ACITVATED.

I assume you did not watch the video ‘Stupid in America’. Without the NEA, we may have a chance!

The following was Bill was PASSED and is now IN FORCE in California and other states are following suit. Parents, are you paying attention?

2007 Senate Bill 777 which prohibits all classes, school activities, textbooks, and teachers from instruction that “reflects or promotes bias against homosexuals, transgenders, and bisexuals in public schools (including Kindergarten).
Sentate Bill 777 (already passed) also bans anything in public schools that could be interpreted as negative toward homosexuals and bisexuality.
This bill also “bans anything in public schools that could be interpreted as negative toward homosexuality and bisexuality. This bill bans “any text, reference or interpretation portraying marriage as only between man and a woman.”
Books removing the words Mom and Dad will apparently go to press in January. Boys who feel they are girls, or girls who feel they are boys, will be allowed to use any restroom or locker rooms they choose. (Do you see any potential problems with this?)
Homecoming queens may be male and homecoming kings can be female, because it is hate speech to say that a King must be a guy and a Queen must be a girl. It is a bias against homosexuality and therefore hate speech.
This Bill is supported by the NEA (National Education Association).
So while this bill has been passed in California (and I believe some other states have or are following suit), it may soon be passed Nationwide.
This bill also bans ALL MATERIAL declaring that people are born male or female. (YES! This bill passed!)
Assembly Bill 394 was passed stating that teachers and parents with conservative, traditional lifestyles and beliefs who voice their opinions on these issues will be candidates for “Anti-harrassment” training. You cannot tell your child’s teacher that you prefer your child to be taught that a mother and father are what constitutes parents. You may be reported and required to attend Anti-harrassment training.
Assembly Bill 14 Prohibits funding for any program not supporting a range of sexual practices, including state funded social services operated by churches, daycare, preschool, food and housing programs, job programs, senior services and hospitals. So the programs MUST state that they support homosexuality or their funding from the state of California will be pulled. Any textbooks stating the words MOM and DAD must be pulled out of schools because it is biased against the gay lifestyle and shows gender. This is a done deal in California. Not proposed. Done. Passed. Think it won’t come to this state? Think again. Beginning in the fall of 2008 school text books will NOT reflect the words MOM and DAD even in grades as low as Kindergarten. California is the largest purchaser of textbooks, so the companies who publish these text books is taking the words out of ALL the textbooks… even YOUR child’s textbooks. No longer will history books state something along the lines of “The men of Valley Forge…” but instead “The people of Valley Forge…” You cannot say “He rode his bike to school,” but instead “It rode its bike to school.”
Sports, locker rooms and bathrooms must now be all gender neutral.
The point is this…. if your child goes to Public School, you NEED to stay on top of what is going on in this country and don’t just ASSUME that your values and beliefs are going to be supported. You need to know not only WHAT is being taught, but what is NOT being taught.
While we may not hate alternate lifestyles, we may not want to support these types of changes in our eduational system. Yet, it has happened already in California and some other states are following suit. Do you really want to be referred to as “it”? There will be no more Mr. and Mrs. titles.
This bill cannot be over ruled by the President because it was a state bill. It could have been over ruled by the Governor (Schwartzenneger) but he signed it into law.
If parents are not paying attention to these bills being passed, eventually it will hit enough states to be passed into Federal law and then it will be next to impossible to overturn.
So… heads up. Pay attention. Know what is headed to our public schools. Because even if you homeshool, your taxes are paying for these changes.

You do know that PWCS has administrative costs that are 66% of the national average, right? You also realize that while the Kelly Building looks expensive on paper, PWCS is now the second largest school district in Virginia (behind Fairfax) and that right now a large portion of the school’s annual budget goes towards renting office space around the county because the facilities at Independent Hill are inadequate. You have been to Independent Hill to see the decrepit trailers that pass for professional office space, right? You do know that some of the best and most promising PWCS teachers are leaving the county when they are just hitting their prime as teachers because surrounding jurisdictions offer better pay and working conditions, right?

It’s really easy to say money isn’t the answer, we should force belt tightening and cutting administrative expenses. Well, that’s already happened. We have a growing school system that is on the crux of some really big problems if our School Board and BOCS don’t get their heads out of their, well, posteriors, and realize that talk and rhetoric don’t prepare our children for the future. Declining school infrastructure, overcrowding, teacher recruitment, and overall neglect in the name of “fiscal responsibility” is a crock. Do you really think we’ll be able to attract new businesses to the area if our schools suck (here’s a hint, good schools are among the top reasons companies locate their businesses in a certain community–they want to be able to attract the best workforce). While I will be the last to argue that money will fix everything, there certainly needs to be a recognition that smart spending is an investment, not a sunk cost. Prince William ranks LAST in the Washington Metro area in per pupil spending (and we’re last by a pretty big margin). That should not be an issue of pride.

The front doors are always open unless a school is on lockdown. There are also big huge signs at most doors saying you must report in to the office which is where most schools have you sign in. Additionally, there are security cameras all over the place. I don’t expect you would have gotten very far if you had gone some place other than the front office.

Security from Central Office also does stealth security checks.

For the past several years all IDs have been turned over and held by front office personnel while the person is in the building. I have never noticed anyone being particularly nervous about it. Perhaps I have never been there when illegals were, but given the neighborhood school, I find that hard to believe. *I* would be nervous, like you suggest.

I agree with you on both points. Actually PWCS has had pretty tight security since fairly soon after 9/11. This software and procedure is just an added layer of protection.

You asked….does PWC want to police the schools for illegal immigrants or from criminals who endanger children in other ways? The obvious answer is the later. I don’t want the school system involved in illegal indentification. It isn’t their job and alienates those they are supposed to be delivering a service too (whether we agree with illegals receiving the service or not). Schools have too much to do as it is, without getting involved in confirmation of immigration status. Thank you for bringing this point up.

HIGHER TAXES

Or, how about re-prioritizing spending? That works. How about the federal government getting out of the business of local education and tending to the job it is supposed to do, like securing our borders. That works much better for me than paying higher taxes.

If the Christmas remark was made to me, I don’t recall bringing it up. You won’t see me at work on December 25. Christmas is a legal holiday and I don’t trumpet my religious beliefs so everyone except my friends will just have to guess if I celebrate Christmas or not.