Say school leaders exaggerated funding needs
Fairfax County supervisors Tuesday ripped into schools officials, calling some of their recent decisions “utterly irresponsible” and “untrustworthy,” continuing a testy back-and-forth between the groups that hasn’t stopped despite positive budget developments.
Improvements in state funding and eased obligations to its retirement system allowed schools officials to restore many of the programs, such as music and foreign language, that mobilized parents in droves against an apparent downfall for arguably the state’s most heralded education system.
However, some supervisors contend that school leaders exaggerated the peril of their funding needs, sending some parents into a frenzy and leading them to make unrealistic budget demands with the county facing a $257 million budget shortfall.
During recent public hearings, parents and students pleaded — some even sang a budget jingle — asking that supervisors save popular programs by giving the schools more money and raising property taxes by as much as they were legally allowed.
But many of the programs already had been restored, leading some supervisors to question if schools officials were intentionally misleading parents.
“There is a lack of trust in what we’re hearing from the school system,” said Supervisor Pat Herrity, R-Springfield. “The parents just parroted the false information school leaders were feeding them.”
Democrat Supervisor Penelope Gross added, “I am concerned that throwing more money at the school system will not change the disconnect I see between the school board, this board and the community.”
The most recent conflict centers on schools officials dropping popular programs that cater to low-income students. They say the move will allow them more flexibility in meeting the needs of impoverished students rather than dumping money only into schools eligible for the funding.
Democratic Supervisors Catherine Hudgins and Gerald Hyland had threatened to vote against the budget, which would have created a voting deadlock, over the matter.
School board member Jane Strauss defended the move to supervisors Tuesday, and in an interview, acknowledged the frustrations of the past few months.
“We try to be very respectful,” Strauss said of the relationship with supervisors. “But when the money is tight, it’s very hard. We need everybody to step back and take a deep breath.”
Supervisors adopted a $3.3 billion general fund budget Tuesday, of which more than half is slated for the school system.
