Support funding for our public schools
The next Board of Supervisors Public Hearing about the budget is Wednesday, March 5th at 6:00pm at Lane Auditorium in the County Office Building on McIntire Road.
Dr. Pam Moran, the Superintendant of the Albemarle Schools, writes about the latest financial numbers for the schools, which are dependent on the tax rate set by the county for its funding.
Needless to say, these latest reductions, on top of the reductions already made this year, and last year, are dramatic and will impact students at every level. If you cannot attend the BOS meeting tomorrow night, please consider sending the Board an email indicating your support for fully funding the proposed school budget at bos@albemarle.org. (Even if you have sent one before!) As Supervisor David Slutsky stated, it is the difference in cost equal to a pizza and a drink every month for each family.
If you do not weigh in, you can be sure that others who do not want to pay for good schools will be heard. Tax opponents will argue that modest increases in student numbers warrant smaller increases in the budget. These arguments fail to account for increases in fuel costs, ESOL students, and the salaries of good teachers. C-ville Weekly reports this week that the "Albemarle Truth in Taxation Alliance" (ATTA), is "drawing its focus on the Board of Supervisors and the tax rate they feel is still too high."
Want to learn more? To fully understand the County's budget problems, you should check out this article from the Daily Progress showing a little known fact: 10 cents of the county's tax rate goes to the City of Charlottesville under an old agreement ending Charlottesville's ability to annex county land. This effectively makes the County tax rate 58 cents, one of the lowest assessments for any Virginia county of its size.
Finally, you should check out the Daily Progress's article from Sunday's paper on the school funding crisis, showing how dramatically ESOL students have increased for the district, and how school bus costs have increased to $2.40 per gallon from 95 cents per gallon in 2002.
Please send the Board an email indicating your support for fully funding the proposed school budget at bos@albemarle.org. Send this to others who share our concern for the schools. We need every voice!