Give us money or else. And don't ask about accountability. That's the message from Fairfax County Public Schools to its citizens.
FCPS released its battle plan today, which is long on expensive propaganda and short on facts. High quality videos and calls on citizens to attack their local and state representatives are just some of the targeted efforts intended to swing the battles their way.
Using the battle cry of "Save FCPS," the leaders of our school system will attempt to scare residents with threats of lowered property values (but not corresponding lower taxes) and overcrowded classrooms.
The school board has deployed Superintendent Karen Garza to proclaim this message: I can no longer propose cuts, because by doing so, the implication is that I believe that cuts are appropriate, and they are simply not. A quality education is not a luxury, it is an absolute necessity. Garza will be repeating this message in a series of speeches dubbed a "listening tour."
That means no cost savings to be realized in lower fuel costs, online textbooks and distance learning, buyouts of expensive employees, or plummeting technology prices. Despite predicting no growth in students (difficult to believe) projected costs are significantly up.
See more here:
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/VAEDUFCPS/bulletins/13576dc