In 2011 Loudoun county voters elected Republicans to fill all nine positions on the Board of Supervisors. They were elected because voters believed that we had been Taxed Enough Already. Loudoun had the highest property tax rate from the Mason-Dixon line to the Gulf of Mexico. This board has been true to their word and lowered taxes every year. What began as a property tax rate of $1.30 per $100 of assessed value in 2011 has been lowered each year to the present rate of $1.205 with the current budget proposing another reduction to $1.15. While that wouldn’t lower our rate to the current rate in Fairfax, which is on the increase, it is another step in the right direction.
In 2011 voters also elected 6 Republicans to the Loudoun School Board. They too promised to be good stewards of our money and to help lower our taxes. As candidates they were committed to reigning in the enormous school budget and Superintendent Edgar Hatrick’s bloated bureaucracy. Those Republicans are:
At-Large – Thomas Reed
Algonkian District – Debbie Rose
Blue Ridge District – Jill Turgeon
Broad Run District – Kevin Kuesters
Dulles District – Jeff Morse
Leesburg District – William Fox
Currently these 6 members of the Loudoun School board are NOT behaving as fiscal conservatives who care about the taxpayers. They have voted to support Dr. Hatrick’s budget that would include a 13% increase in the schools’ budget, a total INCREASE of $108 million! The Board of Supervisors has proposed giving the schools an 8% increase in their operating budget, a total of $70 million dollars. This increase is to fund an estimated 2,375 new students and the opening of 3 new schools. The actual amount needed to fund these increases is only $32 million. The Board of Supervisors is proposing a budget that includes TWICE what the school system needs to accommodate the three new schools and the 2,375 new students, and yet that isn’t good enough for our School Board! (My opinion is they should give the schools $32 Million, not $70 million.) An increase of $70 million would fully fund raises for all teachers and administrators, as well continued payments of their benefits package, and a reduction in all class sizes. Yet that is still not good enough for the School Board and Hatrick.
The School Board agreed to cut Dr. Hatrick’s demands by only $2 million, while handing to the Board of Supervisors a demand for additional funding in Fiscal Year 15 of $108 Million for a mere 2,375 new students! Where is the School Board’s fiscal responsibility? Surely they could find additional cuts in the schools’ budget of nearly $1 BILLION! (Start with the administrators. Cut at least half of them and no parent or child will notice the difference.)
At the proposed new tax rate of $1.15 the county cannot meet the demand of the School Board for an additional increase of $108 million to their annual budget. The proposed $1.15 tax rate is the “equalization rate” which would mean no tax increases for the average Loudoun County home owner despite the rise in assessments. However, this rate will not be possible if the Board of Supervisors meets the demands of the School Board. Do you want a tax increase so that the schools can have an increased budget of more than three times what they need to accommodate new schools and new students?
Teacher’s unions from Loudoun County, as well as Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia, have organized to put pressure on the Loudoun Board of Supervisors to give into the full demands of the School Board. They are scaring every parent with dire predictions of what will happen to their children if the demands of the schools are not met. To meet those outrageous demands, every home owner in Loudoun county will face a tax increase. How is that fair, or responsible? I am appalled at the lack of fiscal responsibility on this School Board. Every one of them voted for this outrageous school budget! I am shocked that Republicans on the School Board would be so irresponsible with our money.
If you are concerned about these demands from the School Board, demands that will result in a tax increase, please contact the Board of Supervisors. You can email through the link or email all of them at bos@loudoun.gov. They have received thousands of emails from teachers and their unions as well as frightened parents. If you don’t want an increase in your taxes, please contact the board. Even better, please consider speaking directly to the Board of Supervisors at their public hearing on March 1st, between 9:00 am and noon in the LCPS Administration building, 21000 Education Court, Ashburn, VA. The unions will be out in full force so please speak up for the taxpayers at this important hearing.
3 comments
First of all, I would like to say that I appreciate the viewpoints that have been shared, but am somewhat disappointed that, given the level of frustration that I am hearing from the LCRC, not a single member of the Committee has approached me to inquire about the proposed School Board budget (other than those on the BoS). While I can certainly appreciate that there will be those who will disagree with proposals (either from the School Board, BoS, or other local
leaders), I think it is unequivocally unfair to designate those of us on the
school board who have worked so hard to make fiscally responsible decisions as “no longer Conservative.” Do you really think that all six of us who were endorsed by the LCRC have ALL jumped ship…all at the same time??? (No Kool-Aid stained mouth here…)
With all due respect, I am not sure where the figure of 32 million as the “actual amount” to fund the new student increase came from. If I may, I’d like to provide a few facts (which can be found either in our FY15 Proposed Budget, or on the Budget Presentation document, both on the LCPS website) regarding our proposal:
Mandated expenditures:
·
1M for the conversion of 1% of VRS (retirement) expenses to employees (This is the additional tax that LCPS must pay on the salary conversion.)
9.3M for the rate increase for VRS
6.3M in health insurance premium increases (thanks to the ACA)
AND…if we are to accommodate the new students and actually open the THREE new schools we have the following expenditures:
33.6M for additional positions to accommodate growth
4.3M to staff the three new schools (all open at or near capacity)
County-Wide System (Oracle/ERP)- This system was “paid for” and in place prior to our election and is being implemented by both County and School staff:
1.3M in staffing requirements REQUIRED
This adds up to 55.8M…JUST to cover mandated expenses and account for additional staffing to address student growth.
After the budget presentation, several Supervisors spoke up
to express their priorities and desires for the new school budget. Compensation increases, lowering class sizes, providing additional services to our neediest of students, upgrades to our technology infrastructure…These were ALL items mentioned by individual Supervisors as important components that they supported in our budget. None of these items are included in the above figure. Here is the breakdown for these additional components:
29M compensation increase (avg. 3.4% increase)
13M technology upgrades (2.3M network and
service enhancement, 7.2M to refresh old computers, 1M new instruction
software, 2.2M new technology initiatives)
7.1M decrease class sizes (30% reduction of elementary
classes having 25 or more students)
0.9M Full Day Kindergarten for schools serving
significant levels of at-risk students
Grand Total of Mandated Expenses and Expressed Desires of (some) BoS- 105.8M
Total Budget- 106.1M
So, now that you have the numbers, I need to share some other thoughts. The School Board did NOT just cut 2 million from Dr. Hatrick’s budget.
We actually cut about 10 million before adding in what we felt was the most important and responsible use of tax dollars. Instead of spending money on administrative personnel, we focused on hiring more teachers to address the overcrowding in classrooms. We reduced the number of new bus purchases, scaled down our technology investment to cover the basic needs, and offered an alternative compensation plan that focused on providing competitive salaries to our teachers, rather than spending excessive amounts compensating the upper level administration.
I did not agree on every part of this budget. I approved the final proposal, but there were sections in which I vehemently disagreed. In fact, there were a number of board members who disagreed on varying parts of the budget. I do not support some of the technology initiatives. I also do not support the aggressive salary scale as proposed. I think a 2 or 3 year phase-in is more
appropriate and responsible. I also think that additional cuts in transportation can be made.
Two years ago, in our first budget cycle with the current board, we had to absorb 48 million dollars in liabilities that had been “kicked down the road” for many years by past leaders, both at the local and state level. It was time for us to pay up. And pay up we did. We will continue to have this 48 million dollar liability (underfunded VRS and OPEB) each and every year. We HAVE BEEN cutting elsewhere to be able to cover this liability; however it may not have been noticed because the budget amount had not changed much. We have
committed to ensure that this type of irresponsible behavior will not happen
again. We need to pay our liabilities as they are incurred. We are doing just
that.
We have made significant changes to the health care plan, saving taxpayers 8M annually. We have redefined benefit eligibility, restricted non-school-based staffing, decreased transportation costs, and implemented OPEB reform…all for a savings of over 160 million dollars.
I have not asked for increases to the tax rate, nor (to my knowledge) have any of the Republican endorsed board members stated this request. This current budget can, for the most part, be funded by a stable tax rate…not an increase. Will the tax BILL go up? Yes. Is this because of the School Board budget? No. It
is due to our robust economy that is resulting in an increase in the value of
our investments…our home values.
Please do not state that the school board budget is responsible for increasing taxes. This is simply not true.
If the Board of Supervisors decides that a decrease in the tax rate is what they and the residents want, so that the tax bill of the residents is decreased, then that is their prerogative. I applaud the efforts of the Supervisors in being responsible stewards of my tax money. As a School Board representative, I only want the same acknowledgement that I take my job seriously and am doing all I can to balance the fiscal responsibility to the tax payer AND the educational
responsibility of funding an effective and successful school system.
Our board has not been the only board that has had to make some tough decisions and define priorities for investments. I seem to recall a recent vote among Loudoun leaders that was of huge economic consequence, but had the support of enough board members because they felt the need for the so-approved improvements for the community was essential. It’s all about defining priorities. It is not an easy job and I am not about to tell the Supervisors what their priorities should be. I understand that they have a job to do. I hope that all can understand that the School Board, likewise, has a job to do as well. We have presented our budget. The BoS will determine our allocation. We will make adjustments accordingly.
I have always and will always stand by my convictions as a Conservative
Republican. I respect the opinions and views of others and recognize that even as fellow Conservatives, we may not always see eye to eye. I appreciate this
opportunity to share my views and invite and questions or comments. My email is jillturgeon@aol.com
You did not cut $10 million from Hatrick’s budget, you cut $10 million from his proposed INCREASE in his budget, or about 10% from the INCREASE, not from the budget.
Cut all administrators by half, in Hatrick’s huge building, and in every school. Put everyone on a 10th month contract, including psychologists and social workers. Stop paying people to sit around empty schools in the summer. Get rid of 90% of the ‘curriculum specialists’ or whatever they’re now called. No one will notice, or care.
Tell the public how many real teachers we have in every school, and how many administrators and ‘others’. Even the School Board will be surprised at how few employees in this system actually stand in front of children and teach. Get rid of at least half of those who are not teachers. Ten years ago Fairfax county had 25,000 employees. Only 7,500 of them were teachers. That meant more than 3 support people for every teacher in the classroom! No business would ever have three support people for every worker! It’s absurd. I bet you would find very similar numbers in Loudoun, if we could see them. There’s a reason why Dr. Hatrict won’t tell the school board how many teachers we have and how many support personnel.
Since the budget for the schools is 70% of the total Loudoun county budget, if we have a tax increase it will be because of the schools and the ridiculously bloated bureaucracy that Hatrick oversees.
I appreciate the desire to hold the line or reduce taxes. I would only urge that you take into account all of the facts and attempt to understand what the school board is requesting. I would be happy to sit down with with anyone who is interested with a copy of the budget and we can discuss what the school board is trying to accomplish, and why. In the end, its your money, and your school system. You should absolutely lobby your elected leaders, including me, to make decisions accordingly.
I can tell you that you will never hear from me that the sky is falling or that LCPS will collapse on itself if you don’t “fully fund the budget.” There are some very specific things that we are trying to accomplish this year, based on overwhelming community input, and those things happen to be very expensive. If we can’t afford to address those issues, then we’ll either have to put off fixing those problems for another year, or cut other services so that we can address the issues this year. In any event, its not going to be the end of the world. I may not like the result, employees may not like the result, and there’s a possibility that many of you may not like the result. But life will go on.
My email address and telephone number are posted on the LCPS website if anyone would like to discuss this further offline.