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McDonnell Reverses Kaine School Funding Grab
By Greg L | 8 February 2010 | Virginia Politics, Prince William County | 15 Comments
Delegate Jackson Miller was clearly happy to announce that Governor McDonnell undid the freeze in the LCI funding formula today, ensuring that schools in Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park won’t get unfairly punished in the next biennial budget. Although this doesn’t make budget discussions any easier this year as the decision increases costs for the Commonwealth, at least this undoes Kaine’s attempt to short-change Northern Virginia school districts.
From Jackson Miller’s press release today:
Today, Governor Bob McDonnell announced that he will undo the freeze to the Local Composite Index that former Governor Tim Kaine proposed before he left office. Prince William County, Manassas City, and Manassas Park City Schools would have suffered greatly had he not made this bold move in support of our schools throughout the Commonwealth. I applaud Governor McDonnell for his leadership and thank him on behalf of our community.
And here’s Bob McDonnell’s press release on the subject:
Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that he will support updating the Local Composite Index (LCI), the formula which determines state and local education funding responsibility, in the upcoming budget. The move will mean another proposed change to the introduced budget, which froze the LCI at its current level. The LCI has historically always been adjusted every two years to account for changing local economic conditions. The proposal to freeze the Index was unprecedented, and would have cost certain localities in Northern Virginia $128.3 million in state education funding.
Speaking about his decision, Governor McDonnell stated, “For nearly forty years, the Local Composite Index has been an impartial means by which to determine state and local responsibility for education funding in Virginia. The application of this Index has always been done in an objective manner, using the most recent fiscal data to most fairly apportion state resources. For many school districts, particularly in Northern Virginia, the biennial update of the Index has meant far less funding from the state than that received by school districts in localities experiencing lesser rates of economic growth. Accordingly, I will not support the proposed freeze in the budget introduced by the previous Administration. The Local Composite Index must be applied to all localities, at all times, in the same objective and fair manner by which it has always been utilized.”
McDonnell continued, “The decision to continue to update the Local Composite Index is one that I reached after extensive meetings with my finance staff, legislators, and local government officials. I thank all these individuals for their input and thoughts during the process. Ensuring that we have a fair formula that is implemented without regard to temporary or political considerations is the best means by which to appropriate education funding in the Commonwealth. Every time the Index is readjusted some school systems gain funding, while others receive less. This has occurred for nearly forty years, and local officials understand the routine and objective biennial implementation of the Index.”
In announcing his decision to undo the proposed freeze of the Index, McDonnell also identified specific budget savings to account for the additional state spending required. The update will cost the state $29 million in FY 2011. To cover this increased funding, McDonnell will recommend to the General Assembly the transfer of $13 million from Literary Fund balances; $8 million through the use of available balances in the Health Insurance Fund to reduce state health insurance premiums; $5.2 million will be found in Real ID savings and an available $3 million will be captured in additional Non-General Fund balances. Budget recommendations will continue to be made and communicated to the legislature in the coming days.
The opinions expressed here are solely the views of the author, and not representative of the position of any organization, political party, doughnut shop, knitting guild, or waste recycling facility, but may be correctly attributed to the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. If anything in the above article has offended you, please click here to receive an immediate apology.
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It was the right thing to do. Now Fairfax County needs to terminate (buy out) Dale’s contract and set the school system on a course to reduce administrative staff by 15% per year for the next three (3) years.
Thank god.
PWC needs to get rid of all of the curriculum specialists at the Hill. They are useless. Have a division (e.g., math), staff it with people knowledgeable at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, and then let those people disseminate information and do training. We don’t need dozens of people to go out and “visit” schools.
The last “curriculum specialist” (or whatever you want to call it) to come & visit a teacher friend of mine at the ELEMENTARY level spent all of 20 minutes in the classroom and watched a science lesson. Of course, the curriculum specialist spent her career teaching English at the HIGH SCHOOL level. What a waste of time (and our money!).
TRUE leadership! Thank you Governor McDonnell!
McDonnell initially supported the freeze in the LCI as well. The real leadership came from NoVa’s delegation, including Delegate Miller, who worked to make sure LCI agreement was honored. While we should thank Gov. McDonnell for reconsidering, we should thank our local leaders and state delegates for keeping the pressure on.
Great news Jackson! Twenty-seven million cheers from
PWC and the two cities for Gov. McDonnell and our local
state delegates!
Anonymous said on 8 Feb 2010 at 9:26 pm: “While we should thank Gov. McDonnell for reconsidering, we should thank our local leaders and state delegates for keeping the pressure on.”
The BEST reason to GET OUT and VOTE in LOCAL elections.
I have very little patience with people who ONLY VOTE in NATIONAL elections.
Thank you Jackson!!!
“The Local Composite Index must be applied to all localities,
at all times, in the same objective and fair manner by which
it has always been utilized.”
Gov. Bob McDonnell
Thank You!!
If the state is looking for funds how about the estimated 1.5 billion used to educated the children of illegal aliens?
Current estimates indicate 95,000 children of illegal aliens are enrolled in Virginia schools with around three quarters of them in the Northern Virginia area. If these sanctuary jurisdictions are to continue to receive federal and state funds to assist them in their assault on the people of the Commonwealth then we are indeed doomed.
The continued tolerance of the federal government’s refusal to enforce the law, along with the failure of every state government to force its hand will provide the mechanism for our failure from within.
http://www2.insidenova.com/isn/news/local/article/cost_of_illegal_aliens_in_va._soars/38284/
Citizen12 said on 9 Feb 2010 at 11:12 am: “Current estimates indicate 95,000 children of illegal aliens are enrolled in Virginia…”
Good thing we have laws, AIN’T IT???
I am glad that McDonnell reversed his original decision to support the freeze.
I’m writing to express my concerns regarding Prince William
County Schools Superintendent Stephen L. Walts. In briefly researching
the subject and Prince William County School system as a whole I
realize I’ve probably bit off more than I can chew. I have no
experience or education in these matters and nor am I a parent who has
a child attending Prince William County Schools. Nevertheless, some of
the things I’ve read in the media pertaining to Superintendent Walts
raises red flags. Admittedly, when the Prince William County School
Board hired Walts the Greece New York Central School District was
unaware of the pending EEOC teacher lawsuits against him claiming age
discrimination and the audit which found financial waste and abuses
had not yet been performed. Still, if Prince William County School
Board members had visited Greece and the search had been more public,
it is possible this may have influenced the decision to hire Walts.
A 2009 audit by McGladfry and Pullen found no wrongdoing but I’m just
as concerned with how well the money has been spent. Was a $37.5
million administrative building really necessary when so much money
was needed for education? Should Superintendent Walts be getting the
pay raise he is when teachers salaries are not increased? When many
students are having problems with Math Investigations which has been
dropped by many districts and as of 2008 had cost $2.4 million dollars
in Prince William County Schools could this money have been better
spent elsewhere? Although the present costs of Math Investigations is
publicly unknown it must be near $4 million dollars if not more by
now.
I am concerned Prince William County Schools doesn’t have an internal
auditor. Although I realize this position will cost money it is needed
even though I have my doubts at how well an organization is on
investigating itself. I’m concerned that once Walts was hired the
amount went from $200,000 to $500,000 dollars the superintendent could
spend without school board approval. I understand the shift to site
based management and rising construction costs and the need to not
have construction delays but the school board needs to be a part of
the process when such a large amount of money is involved. The school
board needs to know where the money is going and to approve it. This
is just responsibility and accountability.
Don’t you find it odd that when Walts was hired as superintendent he
brought along with him three former Greece staffers; George Kisha,
Keith Johnson and Keith Imon? All are Associate Superintendents except
for Mr. Kisha who resigned. This is downright favoritism if not
cronyism. Why did the school board allow that? The school board should
have conducted an independent search for Associate Superintendent
positions.
I read about how Prince William County Schools are bursting in class
size and how many more schools would need to be built and how the
building of schools can’t keep up with development. Do you think those
politicians are really concerned in their dealings with developers how
this will impact the Prince William County School system? There are
stop gap measures such as in Bristow, Nokesville, etc.where the BOCS
will approve rezonings but prohibit building permits until the schools
can accommodate the children. The BOCS says it is concerned developers
may get the General Assembly to override their decision. Why then
approve the rezonings in the first place? Logic dictates development
should be slowed so the situation doesn’t arise where class rooms are
bursting in size and where many more additional schools are needed to
ameliorate school overcrowding. But greed trumps logic. Ultimately,
more schools will be built but that won’t matter in the long run.
Eventually, there will be more and more development and Prince William
County Schools will be a big sardine can.
Governor McDonnell has unfroze the Local Composite Index so Prince
William County schools will receive something like $23 million that
wasn’t there before. Still, that isn’t a horribly lot of money when
Prince William County Schools are facing $80 million budget shortfall.
In fairness, Prince William County public schools aren’t the only
school system facing such hard times. Fairfax County public schools
are facing a comparative budget shortfall and due to the weak national
economy there are thousands of school districts which have been
negatively impacted. So I’m not blaming Superintendent Walts for the
budget shortfall but I do think especially now he needs to be careful
how he spends the money and what he cuts or eliminates.
In conclusion, I’m concerned about Superintendent Walts handling of
Prince William County Schools. Although Walts has defended himself and
states the Greece CIP was well within budget when he left and there
are school board documents which prove it an audit nevertheless found
financial waste and abuses. Based on what I’ve read in the media I
don’t believe the findings of that audit are without a basis.
Therefore, it is understandable why Walts would deny any wrongdoing
but I still find his statements denying any wrongdoing to be
dishonest. Assuming that is true how can Prince William County
citizens have trust in his leadership?
I haven’t touched upon Superintendent Walts management style here.
Although the Washington Post articles are dated they paint a picture
of a superintendent who doesn’t listen to grievances and hands them to
others; who canceled monthly meetings with principals; that is elusive
and who isn’t concerned with emotional issues and troubles which come
up with students. I think it will take something new to come up for
the school board to reconsider their faith in Superintendent Walts.
Below is a letter to the editor I submitted. Hopefully, it will get
published but more importantly there will be more scrutiny of
Superintendent Walts.
February 16, 2010
To the Editors:
Regarding Prince William County Schools Superintendent Stephen L.
Walts, scandal is not new to Prince William County
government. It is still reeling from the debacle of the Prince William
County Information Technology Department where three former employees
along with another Virginia man pulled off one of the largest
bid-rigging and embezzlement scandals in county history.
The Prince William County Community Services Board hired Dr. Phillip
E. Dukes as its Executive Director when there was public information
from the news in Cuyahoga County, Ohio documenting Dr. Dukes fiscal
impropriety. Dr. Dukes performance as Executive Director came under
fire and his contract was not renewed.
Although chump change by comparison, even our own previous County
Executive Henry “Bern” Ewert and Deputy County Executive Craig
Gerhart had Prince William County citizens pick up the tab for a
flight and visit to Norway to meet with officials from Aker RGI, an
international conglomerate that [is] building a housing, office and
entertainment complex on the Cherry Hill peninsula near Dumfries. That
was ten years ago and we saw how much Aker RGI cared about that
development. It just wanted the land rezoned so it could be sold and
they could get the money. Its been ten years and those people on the
Prince William County Board of Supervisors sold the Cherry Hill
peninsula down the creek. Nothing has been built; not the marvelous
conference hotel, or the houses, or the entertainment. There is,
however, an unused Jack Nicklaus golf course.
Superintendent Walts was not vetted properly; Prince William County
School Board members did not visit Greece and the search was not as
public as it could have been. Several teachers alleged discrimination
on the basis of age. The EEOC rulings were issued after the Prince
William School Board chose Walts for its new superintendent, but the
agency’s investigations began many months before he was hired. The
group Citizens for Accountability and Reform in Education had concerns
about Greece Superintendent Walts during his time as Superintendent
there. In addition, Walts has shown favoritism (and Prince William
County government didn’t object) in that three former Greece
staffers George Kisha, Keith A. Imon and Keith J. Johnson were hired
as Associate Superintendents. Keisha has since retired. This suggests
importing to some extent Greece style of leadership to Prince William
County Schools.
Walts can spend up to $500,000 dollars without approval of the school
board. Why is this? There have been questions regarding Walts travel
expenses and concerns that $37.5 million was spent building the
Edward L. Kelly Leadership Center when that money
was sorely needed for education. there has been much opposition to
Math Investigations (MI) in the curriculum which replaces traditional
math teaching and how much it has cost. As of 2008 Math Investigations
had cost 2.4 million dollars in a three year period.
Will it be like Greece, NY after Walts has already left we discover
the extent of damage his administration has done?
Sincerely,
Michael Ragland
I made a few false statements in the above post regarding Superintendent Stephen L. Walts. First, Prince William County School Board members and personnel did visit Greece. Prince William County School Board Chairman Lucy Beauchamp and board member Don Richardson visited Greece after Walts was hired. Before Walts was hired a benefits employee and an attorney visited Greece. What valid reason did school board members have in visiting Greece after Walts was hired? Were they merely a transplanted welcoming committee? How much did it cost for Chairman Beauchamp and board member Richardson to visit Greece? I would have thought school board members would have visited Greece first to talk with Greece Central District School Board members, teachers and others and gather information and come back and present that information to the entire Prince William County School Board and make a determination on whether to hire Walts as superintendent. If a determination was made to hire him then the benefits employee and the attorney would visit Greece to iron out the details of his contract. It seems to me Prince William County School Board did things ass backwards in the hiring process of Walts. Again, why would it be necessary for school board Chairman Lucy Beauchamp and board member Don Richardson to visit Greece after Walts had already been hired as Superintendent of Prince William County Schools?
Secondly, I learned the $37.5 million Edward L. Kelly Leadership Center had been approved and construction started on it prior to Walts being hired as superintendent of Prince William County Schools. This was too much money to be spent on a new administrative building when cash was sorely needed for education. I don’t know if the project could have been deferred but Walts certainly made no attempt to defer this project.
Finally, a 2009 audit by McGladfry and Pullen found no wrongdoing on the part of Superintendent Walts. I remain solid, however, that Superintendent is not spending all of the money allocated to him wisely even if an audit did find no wrongdoing. I have decided my letter to the editor regarding him should not be published. I need to have my facts straight and my focus needs to be precise. I welcome any information parents, teachers and others have regarding Superintendent Walts and the school board and district in general.
Governor McDonnell is going to cut K-12 education $730 million dollars. This will mean thousands of teacher layoffs, increased class sizes, etc. Although the LCI has been unfroze and Prince William County Schools will receive an addional $23 million dollars with a budget shortfall of $80 million many programs and services will be cut or eliminated. While the unfreezing of the LCI will mean more money for Prince William County Schools Virginia’s poorer school districts will face even more lack of funding as a result.
Governor McDonnell has pledged no increase in taxes but it has been suggested by some (admittedly mostly Democrats) that this budget crisis could have been cushioned by a roll back of car tax subsidies. Others have suggested increase in income tax, tolls, etc. Given the economy what is more important: absolutely not increasing any taxes under any circumstances or providing for our children’s education? Is there a realistic third alternative?
If you have any ideas please post them here or contact me at MichaelEugeneRagland@gmail.com
Mr. Ragland, FYI Don Richardson paid for his trip to Greece on his own dime.