http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/parking-lots-an-example-of-fairfax-schools-economic-gap/2013/11/16/0362fc2e-3c21-11e3-b6a9-da62c264f40e_story.html?hpid=z2

Before we start increasing the taxes for schools we ought to take a look at how much money is being spent through channels like this. . . especially after learning about the embezzlement at Poe

They cater some pretty fancy luncheons with your parking money.....

There is a lot of wasted parking pass money at the school level. Goes for a lot of parties and stuff.

This seems like a sad story. Schools in poorer districts get less income from parking passes. Yet, those in richer areas have more students driving and get more fees. What kind of bleeding-heart schmuck wrote this piece? It must have been a slow news week for them to have to reach for an article like this.

When I was in high school, there were no fees. Then again, many of us never had our own cars either.

I don't want to hear crying about not having enough money when you are spending parking pass money on restaurants instead of students. Poor people can't afford cars that sit in a high school parking lot all day. That is just the way it goes.

"When I was in high school, there were no fees. Then again, many of us never had our own cars either."


Welcome to 2013. The economic inequality is being played out everywhere---schools are not exempt---especially in a big county like Fairfax. I, for one, am all for getting rid of ALL fees---which is how it used to be. Public school should not have fees even if people can afford them. There are people in the lower middle income range who are not quite poor enough to get the fees rescinded, but who are stressed by these fees.The whole fee thing is very regressive for those families who are just above the FRM cutoff. It's a shame that all this fee stuff ever got started because it seems like we are stuck with it and it's getting worse.

As for parking, there should be no fee. Instead, the parking spots should be given out on the basis of number of credits completed and GPA. More credits and higher GPA gets you a parking space if you need one. This might help test scores more than many of the ideas out there right now.

I like the idea of linking parking to GPA.
People who don't quite meet FRM can also plead their case with the school system.
The fees are designed to be a breakeven deal. They cover actual costs for individualized supplies.


Has anybody figured out what happens to the portion of the fees that are retained by Central?

We had fees when I was in school back in the Dark Ages.

who's monitoring how the money gets spent?

The idea of allocating the parking options based on GPA and credits taken would be a good move.


Who's monitoring how the funds get spent? Well, the school system - principal, other top administrators, etc. What could go wrong? :D


I remember having to pay $5.00 a quarter to park at NOVA in the mid-80s. That was a lot of coin back then. Many would park their cars 2 or 3 blocks away from the Annandale campus and walk to the campus. Now? Not sure how much it is. Probably $100+ and they're o the semester system, and not the quarter system anymore. Yes, I'm ancient.

from the inside Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They cater some pretty fancy luncheons with your
> parking money.....


Oh, please, it's $10K at most per school. If you don't think someone who has risen to the level of principal cannot be trusted to spend $10K wisely, you are part of the black helicopter crowd. Article says copy machines and text books. Get real.

get over it. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> from the inside Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > They cater some pretty fancy luncheons with
> your
> > parking money.....
>
>
> Oh, please, it's $10K at most per school. If you
> don't think someone who has risen to the level of
> principal cannot be trusted to spend $10K wisely,
> you are part of the black helicopter crowd.
> Article says copy machines and text books. Get
> real.


Riiiiight. . . because no principals in FCPS ever embezzle or misappropriate funds for relatives

The wealthy parents already pay more in taxes that support the poor kids. Why should they pay more to park?

The quote from Nardos King is at best disingenouous since the school received some sort of technology grant and the school used it to buy all administrators iPads!

Why are parking permits subsidized?

Schools don't provide buses anymore?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2013 08:39AM by exffx.

And where, oh where, are the likes of Karen Garza, Patty Reed, Ted Velkoff when you need them?

Why isn't Ed "Man of the Hour" Long all over this?

Have Tammy Kaufax and Ryan McElveen gone over to the dark side?

The parking slush fund probably has more than enough money to pay for these damned turf fields, and here we come to find out it is going for all sorts of personal expenses.

Where's Eric Holder when you need him?

It's the same stupid assholes putting up the same stupid nonsense rant as always. Get a new act, dweebs!

MV Observer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The quote from Nardos King is at best
> disingenouous since the school received some sort
> of technology grant and the school used it to buy
> all administrators iPads!


iPad's are not educational tools. Yes my kid can browse the internet on it, but some of the sites that FCPS uses for online texts are written in Flash, which isn't even supported on the iPad.

The online text books are a joke in that you cannot print from many of them. What kind of selection process get textbooks that only work with an internet connection. I'm about as wired as I can be but there are times when my kid could use a hard copy to study from - on the bus, in the car, waiting for a sibling at practice.

An acre of land costs about $750K in FFX. Another 100K to pave it every 10 years. Another 5K per year to light it, patrol it, insure it, plow it, sand it, clean up fallen trees, etc.

All in, let's say $1M for 20 years of parking lot (which is probably low), or 50K per year. An acre can park about 100 cars. Why aren't parking passes $500 each?

Same thing with sports. Any professionally coached club sport around here will costs between $500 - $1000/season. And that's to pay contractors to work as coaches, not full up FCPS employees with benefits and pensions, using the superior facilities found at schools. Why aren't school sports charging closer to $1000/season versus $100?

Neither parking nor sports are central to the education mission. They are nice to have's, and the parents of the students consuming them should pay the full cost.

Rich Teens Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Who's monitoring how the funds get spent? Well,
> the school system - principal, other top
> administrators, etc. What could go wrong? :D

No one is to be trusted it seems. FCPS is trying to eliminate booster clubs and organizations because they can't be trusted with the money. And apparently, FCPS can't be trusted either.

Another self-serving TEA-bot who wants out of every jointly-funded project he can think of. Comes complete with a factory-installed bogus math accessory. It just gets laughable after a while.

If you have enough money to pay for gas and insurance, you shouldn't be on subsidized meal plans.

Driving to school is a luxury, not a necessity. Take the free bus. Reallocate the gas money you're saving towards your college education. That way your family's poverty can end at your generation and stop free loading off of tax payers.

The parking pass slush fund is part of an account that is made up of a lot of different things and controlled at the individual school level. I believe it is called the Education Contingent Account, only it also pays for Meals at Maggiano's, pizza parties, Dunkin Donuts, staff spirit wear, and lots of other really fun stuff. Some of these schools are running through $30,000 -$40,000 a year. :>/. !@#$%^&.

I drove to high school when I was in FCPS. It was a luxury but also saved wasted time. Plus encouraged me to participate in after school activities.

Instead of standing around wasting time at the top of my street waiting for a bus for 20 minutes I was already at school. The car was shared between 4 in my family. Two students attending high school at the same time.

I did a lot of after school activities so it also nice to be able to not have to schedule around the late bus times. If I wanted to stay later and work on a project I could.

slush fund amateur Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The parking pass slush fund is part of an account
> that is made up of a lot of different things and
> controlled at the individual school level. I
> believe it is called the Education Contingent
> Account, only it also pays for Meals at
> Maggiano's, pizza parties, Dunkin Donuts, staff
> spirit wear, and lots of other really fun stuff.
> Some of these schools are running through $30,000
> -$40,000 a year. :>/. !@#$%^&.

Absolutely, and in many cases it is the upper administration only of the school that enjoys the many forays.

It isn't just parking revenues that go to wealthier schools.

Sports clubs. Some schools offer sports that others do not; and students from those that do not cannot join clubs at other schools. So if you have wealthy parents, willing to fund a fairly expensive sport at one school, then all students at that school have the opportunity to explore that sport. But if the parents at another school are all working two jobs, not making much money, just don't have time to organize, then the students lose too. VHSL and FCPS rules need to change so that students can join sports clubs at other schools, until their own school has its own organization.

I've been to a lot of the Langley pyramid schools - feels like stepping back in time. Most have not been renovated since they were built in the 60's/70's. It's really amazing to see the WaPo focus on 13K in difference between two schools.

The real and amazing difference is staffing. For virtually the same number of students (Langley has 30 more than MV), MV has a staff of 234 and Langley has a staff of 179. That's 30% higher staffing in MV than Langley.

But it's much more fun to talk about about parking, isn't it?

inequity Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So if you have
> wealthy parents, willing to fund a fairly
> expensive sport at one school, then all students
> at that school have the opportunity to explore
> that sport. But if the parents at another school
> are all working two jobs, not making much money,
> just don't have time to organize, then the
> students lose too.

Congratulations, you have figured out it sucks to be poor.

I have paid for parking for two kids. They were both very involved in after school activities, the late bus schedule doesn't correlate with the activities schedules, and I didn't like the idea of attractive young girls wandering around in the dark along side streets all by themselves to get to their cars or get to school. I felt the safety issue was paramount. I thought a dollar a day was worth it. This was not a luxury. Our family schedules were all over the place and it meant my children could get themselves home or to work much easier, and also get an extra half hour of sleep in the morning, since they didn't have to wait at the bus stop, have an extended bus ride, and had a reserved spot.

Everything isn't going to be equal in life, even at public school. Yes, your life can be affected by your Zip code and lots of other things. Deal with it. My kids drove used and hand-me-down cars while their peers were driving new Beamers. They went to Prom in a minivan or Dad's car instead of a limo and were perfectly happy to do that. And, they also had clean driving records and good grades, while some of the other kids wrecked a couple of fancy cars and/or barely passed high school. They were raised to understand life isn't handed to them on a silver platter. We are in a high-end Zip code, but had other priorities and watched the money very carefully.

The high school principals are indeed spending the parking pass money and other stuff on everything but stuff for education. Unless you consider 20 boxes of donuts, etc. to be educational. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being used for entertainment purposes. There aren't too many copy machines, textbooks, and extra staff being purchased with that money. the article is not accurate. but, you only know what you are told. some of it is going to student purposes, but not much.

It is a basic unsupervised slush fund bilking taxpayers and diverting money away from kids. Party on! is right.

contact your school board person and ask for an explanation.

You have to wonder about the Post. FCPS has a 5% budget shortfall and are of course talking about cutting every goody they can to fire up the various constituencies. Nothing like waving the bloody shirt of cuts to language immersion, right?

So the Post runs an article about a 10K difference between schools on parking fees?

Is anyone goiing to mention the simple fact that the schools now employ a full time person whoc spends time (on FCPS payroll) each day driving thru the parking lot in a golf cart checking for the parking permits?

Doe they really net anything after this person's salary/benefits, etc???

What the hell is going on here? Why are taxpayer dollars going to major donut runs and entertainment? Shut the damn slush fund down and make these people pay back the county for their good times on the public dollar.

Look at how well Annandale writes when begging for turf money:

http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/forum/read/2/1363355.html

Good bye, Karen Garza.

I work for the school system and yes this is a slush fund used for lots of parties, entertainment, etc. I am glad somebody finally brought this up.

I won't name the high school but at one school the principal would buy staff (teachers) lunch at Panera, Panda Express, etc. The custodians got KFC.

Not making this up.

racist attitudes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I won't name the high school but at one school the
> principal would buy staff (teachers) lunch at
> Panera, Panda Express, etc. The custodians got
> KFC.
>
> Not making this up.


Perhaps that's what the custodians asked for?

In the know34 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I work for the school system and yes this is a
> slush fund used for lots of parties,
> entertainment, etc. I am glad somebody finally
> brought this up.

I don't know why everyone has such heartburn about this. So maybe $20 of the annual parking pass cost goes to activities that improve school morale. If you can afford the car and the pass, you can afford the $20. Especially around here. And no, I don't work for the school system.

Jealousy. You are all just jealous you didn't do the same thing. Quit yer bitchin'

I think $10,000-$25,000 a year is a lot. Ruth's Chris? Huh?

I think most taxpayers would rather see public money spent on things other than catered lunches, fancy restaurants, donuts, ice cream, etc.

How about some learning materials, classroom extras, etc.

Is the School Board turning a blind eye on this? I have had quite enough of hearing about government workers taking the plastic and charging it up to the taxpayer, just in your face arrogance. I think it is called embezzlement.

racist attitudes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I won't name the high school but at one school the
> principal would buy staff (teachers) lunch at
> Panera, Panda Express, etc. The custodians got
> KFC.
>
> Not making this up.


At the school I worked at, this would happen more than just a few times over the course of the year. Basically that money is for whatever the principal wants to use it for. It would be shocking to see those bills for entertaining a couple hundred employees. Yet there are no raises for anyone. Very unethical.

racist attitudes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I won't name the high school but at one school the
> principal would buy staff (teachers) lunch at
> Panera, Panda Express, etc. The custodians got
> KFC.
>
> Not making this up.


At the school I worked at, this would happen more than just a few times over the course of the year. Basically that money is for whatever the principal wants to use it for. It would be shocking to see those bills for entertaining a couple hundred employees. Yet there are no raises for anyone. Very unethical.

What the Hell is going on here? Are they doing this because they aren't getting raises? I wish I could dip into other people's money, too, whenever I want to cheer up and am not happy about no raises.

I haven't had a raise in years. I am told to just suck it up. I get maybe one meal a year from my employer. My salary is supposed to pay for my meals, and I eat leftovers. I would be fired for misusing a government or corporate credit card. Aren't there any limits on what can be spent for morale builders? Feeding 200 people doesn't ever come cheap. Several times a year? I would estimate at least $1500-$2000 each time. How many high schools are there? 20 or 25? Doesn't anybody hold the principals accountable for this? What are the expectations and the limits for the use of this fund?

Whoever isn't upset about this must not be paying any taxes. Probably those same people who are getting the free parking, free meals, want taxpayers to buy a car for them, etc.

Party on? What a bunch of crap.

somebody pull the records from the schools and put it out there. How about that newspaper guy? Sounds like a story to me.

Teachers aren't getting any of this money--at the ritzy schools ptsa and boosters pay for stuff like that--its all gravy for admin and their pet projects.

We need to look into his dealings with the FCPS before we fully pay his retirement.

We need a full audit.

Since when does a group of 200 government workers buy lunch for the whole gang several times a year and bill the taxpayers for it? I can't believe this.

somebody tipped me off that when your kid loses a textbook the fine you pay goes into this cesspool fund, also. so, when you pay $150 for that lost book, the principal actually gets to go to Da Domenico with their pals courtesy of you? I thought that the fine was going to replace the book.


Silly me.

who IS watching the bank? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What the Hell is going on here? Are they doing
> this because they aren't getting raises? I wish I
> could dip into other people's money, too, whenever
> I want to cheer up and am not happy about no
> raises.
>
> I haven't had a raise in years. I am told to just
> suck it up. I get maybe one meal a year from my
> employer. My salary is supposed to pay for my
> meals, and I eat leftovers. I would be fired for
> misusing a government or corporate credit card.
> Aren't there any limits on what can be spent for
> morale builders? Feeding 200 people doesn't ever
> come cheap. Several times a year? I would estimate
> at least $1500-$2000 each time. How many high
> schools are there? 20 or 25? Doesn't anybody hold
> the principals accountable for this? What are the
> expectations and the limits for the use of this
> fund?
>
> Whoever isn't upset about this must not be paying
> any taxes. Probably those same people who are
> getting the free parking, free meals, want
> taxpayers to buy a car for them, etc.
>
> Party on? What a bunch of crap.
>
> somebody pull the records from the schools and put
> it out there. How about that newspaper guy? Sounds
> like a story to me.


Let the Times have at it. I think the Post encourages this kind of stuff.

I call tell you that they're getting touchy in school board land. An email to a board member got a terse reply from the Garza herself.

What's next?

touchy touchy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I call tell you that they're getting touchy in
> school board land. An email to a board member got
> a terse reply from the Garza herself.
>
> What's next?



Is this good or bad? She works for them. That shows it is getting through the system. What was the email about? The Slush Fund, hopefully? What did it say? Post it. Were you asking about the next party? You should be invited if you are paying for it, the way I look at it.

Just heard from a reliable source that when you pay a rental fee to use to a school property for private purposes, it also goes into this slush fund.

I am sure the weekend church services would love to hear that. Your collection plate proceeds at work "providing for students".

You know those communications towers on school grounds, the ones the greenies say are going to give their kids cancer?

Money from those goes into the slush fund, also.

Maybe guess that means better reception when you call in your order.

I was told that the County rented the atrium at Meadowlark Gardens this summer for a principals catered meeting. I guess all the school auditoriums and cafeterias were booked that day. What does it cost to rent that venue?

what??????????? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just heard from a reliable source that when you
> pay a rental fee to use to a school property for
> private purposes, it also goes into this slush
> fund.
>
> I am sure the weekend church services would love
> to hear that. Your collection plate proceeds at
> work "providing for students".


Well, they do have to pay for custodians to be there, but doubt what you have to pay is what the custodian gets.

Well Ms Garza? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was told that the County rented the atrium at
> Meadowlark Gardens this summer for a principals
> catered meeting. I guess all the school
> auditoriums and cafeterias were booked that day.
> What does it cost to rent that venue?

This goes to the image that the cental admin presents. Even though it's a small %age of the budget, they ought to eliminate all the travel, conferences, retreats, etc that principals and administrators go to, just as a good faith gesture that they are serious about cutting anything that does not contribute directly to the classroom.

Well Ms Garza? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was told that the County rented the atrium at
> Meadowlark Gardens this summer for a principals
> catered meeting. I guess all the school
> auditoriums and cafeterias were booked that day.
> What does it cost to rent that venue?

Website says $680 for 8 hours. Plus catering, of course. No brown baggers for that, I am sure.

MV Fan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well Ms Garza? Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I was told that the County rented the atrium at
> > Meadowlark Gardens this summer for a
> principals
> > catered meeting. I guess all the school
> > auditoriums and cafeterias were booked that
> day.
> > What does it cost to rent that venue?
>
> This goes to the image that the cental admin
> presents. Even though it's a small %age of the
> budget, they ought to eliminate all the travel,
> conferences, retreats, etc that principals and
> administrators go to, just as a good faith gesture
> that they are serious about cutting anything that
> does not contribute directly to the classroom.



You can ask for the records. You paid for it.

What is going on here? My spouse has worked a government job for over 30 years. I am tallying up 8,000 Lean Pockets, apples, and paper lunch bags. Because there is not supposed to be any Free Lunch in government work.

Next thing we will hear about will be line dancing seminars like at the IRS.

Email Garza about this-you'll get a terse reply. I guess she thought that if she expanded sports and laid down turf, no one would care about stuff like this.

At large school board members Ryan McElveen and Ilryong Moon aren't answering emails on this topic. Providence member Patty Reed forwarded the email to her to Garza's office.

This is clearly a touchy topic.

Whoever the new Attorney General turns out to be, he needs to take a look at this and maybe lock a few people up…

racist attitudes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I won't name the high school but at one school the
> principal would buy staff (teachers) lunch at
> Panera, Panda Express, etc. The custodians got
> KFC.
>
> Not making this up.

So are you saying that when you are misapplying public dollars you are supposed to treat everybody equally? Are you saying the people stealing the public's money are not focused enough on Equal Opportunity? Are they supposed to be? Would this be OK if they were channeling the Maggiano's into the custodial staff? Do the custodians feel slighted? Perhaps there should be some guidance in how to do this so that nobody feels left out or slighted. I feel their pain.

"Any money stolen from Fairfax County taxpayers that directly benefits staff shall be applied equally to all socioeconomic and pay band levels."

Hmmm.

Post the terse reply.
Has anybody pulled any records?

curious one Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Post the terse reply.
> Has anybody pulled any records?

FOIA (or whatever they call it in VA) all of the email. It is a public record. I'll bet they're getting a ton of it.

I think a bunch of people need to FOIA the accounts at the high schools. The emails would be interesting, also, but until the accounts in question are made public, we don't know for sure. Validate the information first.

Just ask to see the account(s) where the parking pass and lost book fines go. That oughta do it. Don't know about the communications towers, but you can try throwing that in there, also. Hell, why not.

Anybody interested??????????????????????????????????????

ask and you shall receive.....

At one school, they took in $19,815. They had to give FCPS $16677 and they kept $2943.

They blew it on the following:

3 jackets for security personnel $831
K-9 police-a drug sweep $1120

couldn't follow the rest-I think a page is missing.

At this same school I reviewed the athletic ledger. What I found most odd was a beginning balance of MINUS $28,163.64 from the previous year.

Not sure how that happens.

Most of the revenue listed comes from gate receipts and a "gold card fundraiser". The revenue is $196k-significantly larger slush fund than the parking receipts from above.

Expenses include:

AR-JON Portable toilets
umpire.ref fees
tournament fees
athletic trainer equipment
fertilizer for fields $4065
football helmet reconditioning $4681
jackets for admins $1857

Good for you. Pull all the high schools for a couple of years and see what gives. A drug sweep is always a good idea. A worthy cause.

Do you have the right accounts? What is the name of the account?

I've seen an EC account showing $25,000 from one year on restaurants. No kidding.
Somebody I know got a couple of them. Here's another one. Maggiano's $2300, Cheesecake Factory $300, lots more. Holy Toledo. I am SO jealous.

WAY TO GO HERE YOU GO Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Good for you. Pull all the high schools for a
> couple of years and see what gives. A drug sweep
> is always a good idea. A worthy cause.
>
> Do you have the right accounts? What is the name
> of the account?


Not sure how many different accounts the schools have, I only have parking fees and athletics.

I am sure there are others.

I do not get how a school runs up a $30k deficit. Who covers them?

ok, found another one-this one is called Educational Contingency/General Rev Exp account.

much much more interesting....

credits were $19500 from the following:

vendor payments?? not sure?? vending machines??
entry for parking-school profit?? not sure how that works?

expenditures are many...

Famous Daves Admin Team $290
teacher donuts $155
Waffles work day-Paradise ice cream $618.75
teacher appreciation gifts-post its? $1172
retirement-irish crystal $623
faculty breakfast silver diner $1097

total expenditures=$12500

I am going to generalize on this.
Educational Contingency General Rev/Exp (covers about 8 months)

Income $19,000 including a $4000 transfer from somewhere to "cover the deficit"(that doesn't sound too good-I guess they were spending more than they had), about $700 in building rental, $1700 in retained tuition, $8400 for parking, another $4000 deposit labeled purchases(?).

Total Expenses about $18,000. Including- $190 to Chef Express, $160 at dunkin donuts, Lost dog café five purchases totaling $600, Maggiano's $2300, Books a Million $2300 (whew-finally), Cheesecake Factory $3300, Café Rio $160, Jason's Deli two visits totally $400, multiple coffees/holiday parties running $300 each, lots of flowers, $2200 in jackets and vests, $150 at Subway, $70 at Chipotle, lots and lots and lots and lots of snacks. At and T mobility about $1400, HSPA dues and breakfast totaling $275, faculty lunch $546, $260 on flashlights and lunch bags,

the Books a Million and maybe some pens look to be about the only student related stuff.

I have a few others I will take a look at.

Cheesecake Factory $300. NOT $3300.


I have a masterpiece in the works. Stay tuned.
Educational contingency is the way to go, for sure.
I think every high school needs a look, and for a couple of years.

correction Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cheesecake Factory $300. NOT $3300.
>
>
> I have a masterpiece in the works. Stay tuned.
> Educational contingency is the way to go, for
> sure.
> I think every high school needs a look, and for a
> couple of years.


keep em coming but specify the schools if you can

OK 2.5 years of information here for one high school.

Educational Contingency Account 2.5 years

These are very rough numbers. Did this over my Costco coffee this morning. Gotta save up to pay my taxes!!!!!


Income-$109,000 Expenditures $105,000

Income Summary-

Vending machine profits $25,000
Parking Fees retained $35,000
Building rental $19,000
Monopole income $7800
Lost textbooks $1700
retained tuition $3200

There WERE some reimbursements totaling about $11,000 for some staff luncheons and things, plus an assist for holiday luncheon in the amount of $2700. Source not clear.

Expenditures-

College Board $400 (nice move, there)
$4000 for football uniforms

Staff clothing $18,000
Staff luncheons $17,000 including several running $2000-$2700
Smoothies $700
Staff movie event $352
Ice Cream $500
flowers $360
Candy $1200
Carnival cups $1500
Things Remembered and crystal/clocks/rocker $2200
Restaurants 200 entries totaling about $24,000
Grocery stores- 50 entries totaling about $3200, some as much as $100-$300

Restaurant Honorable Mentions-

Santini's- 41 entries totaling $4700 ranging as much as $200-$500
Corner Bakery- over $2000 $200-$300+ purchases
Artie's-about $3000 including a $500 deal and several $200-$300
Italian Gourmet-well over $1000
Morton's of Reston-single purchase of $587
George's in LaJolla $350 single purchase
27 Bistro in Richmond $111
Honey Baked Ham $800 single purchase
Capital Grill $750 single purchase
Four Sisters-hundreds
Jackson's- $125
Ozzie's- $300
Anita's- $350, $256, $200
Einstein's, Dunkin, Panera, Popeyes, Domino's, Amphora, Dogfish, Sweetwater, Uncle Julio's, Bottoms up Pizza, Silverado, Luciano's, Chevy's, Famous Dave's, etc. etc.

My recommendation is for a team to pull 2-3 years on every high school.

I know the School Board and the Superintendents are aware of this.

I want an explanation. I doubt I will ever get one.

fasten your seatbelts, folks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OK 2.5 years of information here for one high
> school.
>
> Educational Contingency Account 2.5 years
>
> These are very rough numbers. Did this over my
> Costco coffee this morning. Gotta save up to pay
> my taxes!!!!!
>
>
> Income-$109,000 Expenditures $105,000
>
> Income Summary-
>
> Vending machine profits $25,000
> Parking Fees retained $35,000
> Building rental $19,000
> Monopole income $7800
> Lost textbooks $1700
> retained tuition $3200
>
> There WERE some reimbursements totaling about
> $11,000 for some staff luncheons and things, plus
> an assist for holiday luncheon in the amount of
> $2700. Source not clear.
>
> Expenditures-
>
> College Board $400 (nice move, there)
> $4000 for football uniforms
>
> Staff clothing $18,000
> Staff luncheons $17,000 including several running
> $2000-$2700
> Smoothies $700
> Staff movie event $352
> Ice Cream $500
> flowers $360
> Candy $1200
> Carnival cups $1500
> Things Remembered and crystal/clocks/rocker $2200
> Restaurants 200 entries totaling about $24,000
> Grocery stores- 50 entries totaling about $3200,
> some as much as $100-$300
>
> Restaurant Honorable Mentions-
>
> Santini's- 41 entries totaling $4700 ranging as
> much as $200-$500
> Corner Bakery- over $2000 $200-$300+ purchases
> Artie's-about $3000 including a $500 deal and
> several $200-$300
> Italian Gourmet-well over $1000
> Morton's of Reston-single purchase of $587
> George's in LaJolla $350 single purchase
> 27 Bistro in Richmond $111
> Honey Baked Ham $800 single purchase
> Capital Grill $750 single purchase
> Four Sisters-hundreds
> Jackson's- $125
> Ozzie's- $300
> Anita's- $350, $256, $200
> Einstein's, Dunkin, Panera, Popeyes, Domino's,
> Amphora, Dogfish, Sweetwater, Uncle Julio's,
> Bottoms up Pizza, Silverado, Luciano's, Chevy's,
> Famous Dave's, etc. etc.
>
> My recommendation is for a team to pull 2-3 years
> on every high school.
>
> I know the School Board and the Superintendents
> are aware of this.
>
> I want an explanation. I doubt I will ever get
> one.


Maybe the Post or one of the TV channels can

If I recall correctly, these principals promised that the surveillance cameras would be paid for from these accounts.

Anyone see that?

These cameras cost like $80k. Huh.

$80k times 25 high schools and schools wonder why there is no money in the maintenance budget to pay for needed repairs.

I guess they lied. What a shocker.

Doesn't sound like there is much left over for cameras or students. Guess they can do their own teacher appreciation luncheon this year. They don't need parents to help out with that, obviously.

Why so much for the cameras? Here they go! Throw a few of these $60 bad boys around and hook them up (they're wireless it will be easy) and they're covered!!! I use these in my home! They should be MORE THAN GOOD enough picture quality for school classes, hallways, etc!!!!

http://dx.com/p/standalone-ip-wireless-wifi-lan-camera-with-night-vision-and-pan-tilt-motors-26358

Methinks the Post, times, or patch should look into this- I understand coworkers deserve a pizza every now and then or even some popeyes is ok, but cheesecake factory???? On my and my kid's dime?????

Cheesecake Factory is pretty small stuff, looking at this.

I don't think the cameras are the problem. It looks like the company credit
card is the problem.

Maybe they need to install the cameras in the front office to figure out what is going on with the credit cards.

LOOK Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cheesecake Factory is pretty small stuff, looking
> at this.

Isn't Tippys good enough for these overpaid baby sitters? News flash McDonalds has a dollar menu.

I have total respect for the teaching staff and how hard everybody works. I don't like them referred to as overpaid babysitters. They put in a huge amount of time in the evenings and on the weekends. They have done a wonderful job with my kids over the years.

However, I think Sgt Rock brings up a very good point. The dollar menu is a very viable option. So is packing lunch. Or keeping some granola bars in your office.

Has anybody identified who this school is? Looking at the restaurants, I have a pretty good idea. Amphora, Famous Dave's, Italian Gourmet, Luciano's, Santini's all look to be in the Vienna/Oakton area. Maybe the person who analyzed this doesn't want to identify the school. Some of these restaurants are in the Merrifield area close to HQ.

My guess is there are a lot of people who desperately need to also use the school gym equipment to work all this off. I know I would.

Somebody needs to pull some records and put it out there and demand some answers. Are you sure this person isn't making this up? This is nuts.

If Karen Garza can't clean this up, and fast, she should resign.

The same applies to Ed Long, who claims "no stone remained unturned" when it came to the recent budget.

This is corruption and incompetence, plain and simple. Fairfax residents won't stand for it.

OK this looks pretty convincing. I don't know how anybody can spend this kind of money. Particularly taxpayer dollars.

I thought there were rules about feeding and entertaining government workers using public dollars.

Somebody who knows how to do this get some records on Madison. They are really close to some of these restaurants.

I don't understand this. I thought the big problem in FCPS was the corrupt band boosters that are being shut down by FCPS?

Maybe the vending machine profits will go down because they are taking all the good stuff out of the vending machines due to the food police.

newgatedenizen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't understand this. I thought the big
> problem in FCPS was the corrupt band boosters that
> are being shut down by FCPS?

You have a new thread on this! Speak your mind.

If anybody pulls records, start with the wealthier schools.

Wow! Looking at the breakdown of restaurants I selected the following:

> Morton's of Reston-single purchase of $587
> George's in LaJolla $350 single purchase
> 27 Bistro in Richmond $111
> Honey Baked Ham $800 single purchase
> Capital Grill $750 single purchase

Clearly this wasn't spent on teachers' luncheons or teacher appreicateion. Looks like the admin staff had nice lunches or dinners. Well maybe the $800 Honey Baked Ham purchase was for a staff luncheon but you have to wonder.

But, the Single purchase at Mortons' and Capital Grill, I'd want to see who benefited from that. When I expense a meal like that I have to include who it was for, when and what the purpose was. And...the charge at George's In LaJolla is in San Diego as far as I can tell from Google. Sounds to me like the principal and other staff were treating themselves to some lavish meals.

Are there future costs? The surveillance systems come with a 3-year parts and labor warranty and thereafter are covered under a preventive maintenance and repair contract currently funded centrally. As the number of cameras increase in FCPS, these contract costs are expected to rise. Additionally, once a school receives their initial permission to implement interior video cameras, the principal may consider adding additional ones in the future, if circumstances warrant an expansion.

What is the funding source? Principals should provide information on the identified funding that may include non-instructional school based funds, any available proffer funds and, if applicable, any intention to seek bond funding for infrastructure components that have an appropriate life expectancy. Once permission is granted to proceed, bond funding requests may be made to the office of safety and security.

The Fairfax Times says cafeteria cameras alone would cost about $8,000 and an estimated $885,000 to install in every school. Butler says South Lakes would pay for the cameras using rent money generated from the mono poles, also known as cell phone towers, near the football field.

I want cameras in all the schools first. Turf can wait.

Somebody needs to pull records on this account from all the high schools and look at this. You sound like a good candidate. Do you know how to FOIA?

It was George's at the Cove in La Jolla, which is indeed north of San Diego. And yes, somebody should be demanding some answers. I know some travel expenses are paid out of this account.

This account information was shared with at least a dozen people. Without exception, there were a lot of eyebrows raised and some heated remarks. These are not fabricated numbers.

Refining the process is in order. How long has this been going on? There should be five years of records available. They have to be held for five years following the summer audit, so really there should be six.

insider123 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If anybody pulls records, start with the wealthier
> schools.


We don't have wealthier schools, just schools that serve wealthier areas. The 'wealthier' schools get shit from FCPS - take a walk through the Langley pyramid schools one day. FCPS depends upon the parents to complete the funding of school through PTA and boosters while paying 100% of the tab in the poor areas.

Until the schools explain these abuses, there should be no money for turf, any "turf money" should be used for educational purposes in the meantime. If turf is so important, let them raise more money for it.

Famous Dave's 136-43, amphora 50-115-81-104-33-31-33-51, lucianos' 82-55-215, Lakeside Inn 139, Sweetwater 73-91, Anita's 357-195-382, Starbuck's 41, Jackson's 125, Silverado 120, Tequila Grande 75, Rio Grande 126, Ozzies Corner Italian 313, Dogfish 137-46, Uncle julios 78, faculty/staff breakfast and function 324-175-197-236...........................................!?

What do these numbers mean?

It is called partying on the taxpayer dollar.

2 1/2 years Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It is called partying on the taxpayer dollar.


Its really called theft

Are those amount spent, or some code for accounts?