Schools will be telling staff this week plans for next year staff levels. At a school in FCPS, three staff have been told that they are on the Destaff list. Anticipated increase in class size and fewer budget dollars. Will the contract for these teachers be honored through June, or will destaffing take place sooner?

Re: FCPS War on Fairfax County: 6.7% Increase Rejected By Board of Supervisors
Posted by: BePsychUout ()
Date: March 03, 2016 10:15PM

Meanwhile, it appears the plan for the Board of Supervisors and the School Board majorities is to punt the issue to next spring as usual; this approach has given us tax increases in excess of 16% over the last three years combined and we appear headed down the same path. It's frustrating....

Interesting observation: In FY2001, FCPS spent $240 million in benefits. In FY2015, they spent $680 million. While every other budget category has roughly doubled since FY2001, benefits have tripled, while inflation has been 37%.

2000-2015 Inflation: +37% (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Christ we pay enough tax for schools in FFX county.

Why I don't know because the kids barely go to school. Lucky if the kids attend a full week of school.

Destaffing happens every year. This isn't unique to this year or this budget plan, thought the tightening purse strings may bump a few more people out of their buildings. Regardless, a destaffed person simply gets placed in an open position in a different building. They are not out of a job. They work in their current building until the end of this school year, and start the next one somewhere else.



Destaffing in FCPS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Schools will be telling staff this week plans for
> next year staff levels. At a school in FCPS,
> three staff have been told that they are on the
> Destaff list. Anticipated increase in class size
> and fewer budget dollars. Will the contract for
> these teachers be honored through June, or will
> destaffing take place sooner?

Thank you for your reply.,




-------------------------------------------------------
> Destaffing happens every year. This isn't unique
> to this year or this budget plan, thought the
> tightening purse strings may bump a few more
> people out of their buildings. Regardless, a
> destaffed person simply gets placed in an open
> position in a different building. They are not
> out of a job. They work in their current building
> until the end of this school year, and start the
> next one somewhere else.
>
>
>
> Destaffing in FCPS Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Schools will be telling staff this week plans
> for
> > next year staff levels. At a school in FCPS,
> > three staff have been told that they are on the
> > Destaff list. Anticipated increase in class
> size
> > and fewer budget dollars. Will the contract
> for
> > these teachers be honored through June, or will
> > destaffing take place sooner?

The right-wing wants to kill public schools everywhere. Our kids should either be home-schooled or taught the same degraded nonsense in fundie-sponsored pseudo-schools that are outside the reach of state and local school authorities. The similarities to fundie Muslim notions about education are unmistakable.

Will Flip Flippen be hired to give any commmencement addresses, and, if so, will he be paid the same $10,000 fee Fred Czerwonka authorized for him?

Staffing of Special Education - INCREASE of 25 teacher and 54 instructional assistant positions - 79 in total
Enrollment of SE students projected up 165 FY17

Staffing of General Education DECREASE of 80 teacher and 56 instructional assistant positions - 157 in total
Enrollment of GE students projected up 548 FY17

Reference pg. 132 of Budget

Budget reports that percentage of Seniors “met FCPS’ expectations” (Budget pg. 158)
declined from 78% (‘09-‘10) to 71% (’13-’14)

FCPS has the wrong spending priorities...

bull-o-VA ? they aren't destaffing illegals they are taking more in

they are only spreading rumors hoping any denizens (citizens of USA and va) who are dumb enough to beleive that mexican trash from Texas.

any who leave will be replaced by illegals with green cards. dumb enough to beleive them and not SUE THEM, dumb enough to be replaced by a green card

your teacher didn't teach you "musical chairs" when you were young ? did you get out of 1st grade and really understand the lessons and why they are popular lessons ?

JDD Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> FCPS has the wrong spending priorities...

This is what many rational opponents of the FCPS School Board and Administration have been saying for some time. Unfortunately it is hard to be heard over the "What about the children" rants of the administration apologists, the anti-tax nuts who'd be content to see the system gutted, and trolls like our bull-o-va friend.

JDD Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Staffing of Special Education - INCREASE of 25
> teacher and 54 instructional assistant positions
> - 79 in total
> Enrollment of SE students projected up 165
> FY17
>
> Staffing of General Education DECREASE of 80
> teacher and 56 instructional assistant positions -
> 157 in total
> Enrollment of GE students projected up 548
> FY17
>
> Reference pg. 132 of Budget
>
> Budget reports that percentage of Seniors “met
> FCPS’ expectations” (Budget pg. 158)
> declined from 78% (‘09-‘10) to 71%
> (’13-’14)
>
> FCPS has the wrong spending priorities...


I remember a time when nobody wanted their kid to have anything to do with anything labeled 'Special Ed.'

Now every little flower with any trivial indication of normal short attention span must be individually nurtured.

Once it gets some momentum behind it stuff like this becomes self-driving and very difficult to reverse. Parents want more attention for their kids. To the extent that they give a shit at all, the kids get an easier, more coddling path. There's a whole industry of teachers, specialists, admins, consultants and vendors who line up behind to push it.

My own kid went from being an elementary classroom teacher to being a reading specialist for 'special ed' kids. She makes about 30% more money, only has to deal with about 30 kids/week on an individual basis or in small group settings for about an hour at a time vs having to deal with a classroom full of them all day. Gets more control over her own schedule. Doesn't have to deal with parents on any regular basis, etc.. etc. Teachers like it since she takes those kids off of their hands for a while. Admin likes it since she helps keep those test scores up and they get more staff and funding. Vendors like it since they're selling seminars, methods, and materials. Easy to see the appeal from that side and how the money-push works.

Assistant Principals earn approx $ 120,000.
Staffing coaches earn between $96,000 and $101,000.

Why aren't some of these positions being eliminated?

WF9Nk

ES LEVEL coaches for both math and reading will not be funded in next year's budget. They can switch over to classroom teachers or transfer.




-------------------------------------------------------
> Assistant Principals earn approx $ 120,000.
> Staffing coaches earn between $96,000 and
> $101,000.
>
> Why aren't some of these positions being
> eliminated?


Staffing of Special Education - INCREASE of 25 teacher and 54 instructional assistant positions - 79 in total
Enrollment of SE students projected up 165 FY17

Staffing of General Education DECREASE of 80 teacher and 56 instructional assistant positions - 157 in total
Enrollment of GE students projected up 548 FY17

Reference pg. 132 of Budget

Budget reports that percentage of Seniors “met FCPS’ expectations” (Budget pg. 158)
declined from 78% (‘09-‘10) to 71% (’13-’14)

FCPS has the wrong spending priorities...

Cuba has been excellent schools. Can FCPS pay school children to transfer to Cuba?

For Future Votes. They wanted the overcrowding. They pay Union Dues to perpetuate the Education Profession..WITH OVERPAID GATEHOUSE DO NOTHINGS. They Should get what they deserve.. Nothing and some pink slips..

It's them again... Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The right-wing wants to kill public schools
> everywhere. Our kids should either be
> home-schooled or taught the same degraded nonsense
> in fundie-sponsored pseudo-schools that are
> outside the reach of state and local school
> authorities. The similarities to fundie Muslim
> notions about education are unmistakable.
Attachments:

Not every teacher gets destaffed--those of us on a one year contract get "let go." Let go means we need to complete a new application and interview for jobs again. We are not guaranteed a job for the next school year. Luckily, being let go also means we ditch fcps and apply to Arlington, Falls Church, and Loudon.

In my school alone, two teachers were "let go" while a couple more were destaffed.

Bill N. and XkxWn, as a newbie to this "debate" / "war" it is a bit imposing to try to engage in rational, data based discussion with respect for different views... but if not now - when? There are real consequences to allowing FCPS to reduce spending on the 90% of kids deemed "General Ed"; by 5% in real terms (i.e. inflation adj) since 2009, while spending and staffing on Special Ed is ramped up. I'm not against spending on Special Ed but we have to discuss, debate and measure how effective it is to spend heavily on SE while reducing spend on GE. The reputation of FCPS will suffer if the parents of the 90% are unhappy - then the companies hear about the concerns and decide to go elsewhere and our business tax receipts drop and residential taxes are raised to compensate and retirees move out and we have no community left. That's not hyperbole - it's just the way things work if responsible, caring people don't engage.

Let's hope the 90% can be organized to defend their interests and demand a more accountable, cost-conscious and effective government/administration at the Board of Supervisors and the School Board...

PE4My Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Christ we pay enough tax for schools in FFX
> county.
>
> Why I don't know because the kids barely go to
> school. Lucky if the kids attend a full week of
> school.


Regardless if they attend a full week or not they still attend the required amount of education time mandated by federal law.

JDD Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bill N. and XkxWn, as a newbie to this "debate" /
> "war" it is a bit imposing to try to engage in
> rational, data based discussion with respect for
> different views... but if not now - when? There
> are real consequences to allowing FCPS to reduce
> spending on the 90% of kids deemed "General Ed";
> by 5% in real terms (i.e. inflation adj) since
> 2009, while spending and staffing on Special Ed is
> ramped up. I'm not against spending on Special Ed
> but we have to discuss, debate and measure how
> effective it is to spend heavily on SE while
> reducing spend on GE. The reputation of FCPS will
> suffer if the parents of the 90% are unhappy -
> then the companies hear about the concerns and
> decide to go elsewhere and our business tax
> receipts drop and residential taxes are raised to
> compensate and retirees move out and we have no
> community left. That's not hyperbole - it's just
> the way things work if responsible, caring people
> don't engage.
>
> Let's hope the 90% can be organized to defend
> their interests and demand a more accountable,
> cost-conscious and effective
> government/administration at the Board of
> Supervisors and the School Board...


Won't happen. The 90% are too disorganized.

The 5% special ed are very well organized.

The 5% illegals have special interests on their side.

The 90% lose.

Teachers are overpaid.

Also, there are too many administrators, who don't teach anything, receiving a salary for doing nothing.

JDD Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bill N. and XkxWn, as a newbie to this "debate" /
> "war" it is a bit imposing to try to engage in
> rational, data based discussion with respect for
> different views... but if not now - when? There
> are real consequences to allowing FCPS to reduce
> spending on the 90% of kids deemed "General Ed";
> by 5% in real terms (i.e. inflation adj) since
> 2009, while spending and staffing on Special Ed is
> ramped up. I'm not against spending on Special Ed
> but we have to discuss, debate and measure how
> effective it is to spend heavily on SE while
> reducing spend on GE. The reputation of FCPS will
> suffer if the parents of the 90% are unhappy -
> then the companies hear about the concerns and
> decide to go elsewhere and our business tax
> receipts drop and residential taxes are raised to
> compensate and retirees move out and we have no
> community left. That's not hyperbole - it's just
> the way things work if responsible, caring people
> don't engage.
>
> Let's hope the 90% can be organized to defend
> their interests and demand a more accountable,
> cost-conscious and effective
> government/administration at the Board of
> Supervisors and the School Board...

Special ed is federally mandated, so the school system is constrained by the requirements of the program. They do have some discretion in who gets services but - contrary to popular belief - it can be a very difficult, expensive process to get qualified for special ed. It wouldn't surprise me if there is an over abundance of kids certified as having ADHD (this is a very profitable business with many players); however, most of the special ed categories reflect significant physical and mental health disabilities.

Your first mistake JDD is assuming that General Ed constitutes 90% of the FCPS population. Once you remove the IEP & 504s, the Gifted & TJ crowd. and large blocks of the Free & Reduced and ESL population you end up with far less than 90%. In many of the schools the population of true General Ed students is well under 50%.

Bill N and Not So Fast,
From p. 152 of the FY17 Proposed Budget, students receiving L2 (full day) and preschool Special Education services are reported as 16,232 or 8.7% of the 187,211 students projected. There are many ways to identify Special Education but the Budget identifies "Students without special education services" as 161,292 or 86.2%

The proposed increase in spending on Special Education is $24.4M. The projected increase in students receiving special education services is 165. I suggest that there is a lot of room to reduce this proposed spend. I've noted before that general education student enrollment is projected to increase by 548 students but 136 teacher and instructional assistant positions will be cut (along with 21 other positions attributed to General Education students).

Something is going on here. Montgomery County reports 10.7% of its student population receives special education services compared to 13.8% in FCPS. Prince William County reports spending between $1,000 and $3,000 more per pupil for special education while FCPS reports spending almost $13,000 more on average. So FCPS spends nearly twice as much for a SE student as a GE student (and that includes all the L1 students who get the "inexpensive" services).

We need to promote a culture of cost control, accountability, reporting and do benchmarking against our regional peers and do longitudinal studies to determine the efficacy of spending on SE. The legal requirement for SE has been addressed in a case (O.S. vs FCPS Board - decided in Oct 2015) at the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals which found "that standard remains the same as it has been for decades: a school provides a FAPE (free and appropriate public education as required by Federal Law) so long as a child receives some educational benefit, meaning a benefit that is more than minimal or trivial, from special instruction and services."

The appropriate level of spend is determined by community values, determined in a discussion/debate by elected officials and informed citizens and parents. But at some point the spending on SE will impact on the education of the majority (86%) as I've addressed before. I don't know what the right level is but I argue we need to have the discussion/debate and we need more information, respect and less vitriol and ignorant ranting.

Just sickens me that I am paying for these illegal Hispanic/Gooks/Muslims out of my tax dollars. FCPS have been destroyed by these newbies to our country.
It's rare that I see a white kid walk down the street after school is out. Most are going to private schools.
It is disgusting what has happened to our school system and in general FAIRFAX Cc.

I have a lot of questions for our local politicians and will be demanding answers.

Pearson - Questar Assessment Inc. was awarded a $44 million in 2015 to prepare standard testing. This is a cost per state.

I'm sure that Virginia pays at least $44 Millon for licenses.


Bah Hum Bug

It is exhausting to have to continue to subsidize the new arrivals.
Puts a strain on our tax dollars. Cost of living, increase in real estate taxes.

Not alone the police activity with the Hoduran Butt grabber, the Hispanic butt knifer, and now the Hispanic Dumpster rapist.

I am beginning to sound Like Trump. There are lovely people that have recently arrived to the US.

However, I'm tired of the kids that fall asleep during the day, are hungry, so very needy of attention, etc.

In Virginia, students need 990 hours to complete one year.

That is why we have extra snow days and early release days!


>
>
> Regardless if they attend a full week or not they
> still attend the required amount of education time
> mandated by federal law.

Looking at the proposed FCPS FY17 budget (which - at almost 300 pages and a ton of redundancy - isn't easy), a few things stand out (although I don't pretend to really understand this stuff)...

- The report notes that the number of ESOL (17.3%) and reduced lunch kids (28%- yikes!) has grown faster than the number of special ed kids (13.8%). It also notes that free/reduced lunch kids are eligible for special treatment in other ways and that school staffing is in part based on these numbers.
- The 'cost per service' for ESOL increased 9.9% from FY16.
- It costs twice as much per pupil for a special ed student (24k) versus a general ed student (12k).
- There has been a 119% increase in ten years in services provided to a particular group of special ed students - Category B (mostly autism and 'noncategorical') Level 2 (special services provided for 50%+ of the school day - very resource intensive). Category B Level 2 kids represent 8.7% of the student population. There is a 3% expected growth in the number of students using these services over FY16. I'd be interested in knowing who the large number of 'noncategorical' students are (i.e., what are their disabilities).

Not exactly a new thought, but the ridiculous number of free and reduced lunch kids in one of the wealthiest counties in the nation has got to represent a good degree of fraud, especially since there is no verification of income. Food is probably the least of it; additional staffing from this has got to be pretty expensive. There must be a way to crack down on this.

Almost one-fifth of our kids require ESOL services. That has got to be incredibly expensive.

The number of kids needing intensive special ed services is growing, as are the costs to educate them. Not especially surprising given the explosive growth of autism (although it would be interesting to see what percent of these kids are considered to be 'on the spectrum'). I also wish I could find a definition of 'noncategorical' special ed kids.

Your mistake JDD is that you are taking a too narrow view of what constitutes a learning disabled student. The figures you are citing are for students who are receiving services through the schools during the current school year. They do not reflect the total number of students with IEPs and 504s, and they don't reflect those who received services in the past. When you are talking about re-allocating expenditures away from special services and towards things which would provide a benefit for "typical" students, you need to understand you are taking on a much larger percentage of the student body and their parents. That means all students with IEPs and 504s and not just those who are currently receiving services. That means all students with limited English and not just those who are currently receiving ESL services. That means students in the various gifted programs. And it means the families of those who have students in these programs or who hope to in the future. THAT IS ONE BIG WINDMILL YOU ARE TILTING AT.

I read years ago that Fairfax was spending far more on learning disabled students than the law requires. I have no idea if that was actually true then or if it is still true now. I do know you need to be careful when looking at those numbers to find out what they include. In redistricting battles I participated in we found the county could come up with different numbers for the same criteria depending on what argument they wanted to make.

Some Observations & Bill N.

Thanks for your comments and observations. I'm not familiar with the designation of "non-categorical" - where is that referenced in the Budget?

As to the designation of Special Needs - my understanding is that it includes any student who receives a "service" whether under an IEP or 504. ESL services are not included. FRPM are also not included.

The question of fraud in FRPM has occurred to me as well but I discounted it. Eligibility for FRPM is determined by family income (free for those with incomes up to 130% of the poverty level - approximately $24k/family of 4, and reduced price for those with family incomes up to 180% of the poverty level - approximately $43k/family of 4. I have not investigated the process of confirming income in applying for the benefit.

The American Community Survey 2014 Profile for Fairfax County (compiled by the County in Sept 2015) reports 7.8% of households with income and benefits less than $25k. But households with income & benefits under $50K constitute 17.8% of the households in the County. Assuming that each of these households has more than one child in the school system and the 28% number could be reasonable.

Yes, I may be riding Rocinante... But I think I still have the capacity to look at data and Budgets and ask pertinent questions. At what level of spending on SEd are we discriminating against the GEd? I don't know but I argue it is worth a discussion/debate. And I know from long experience that shining a light can result in better performance.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions. If you have further interest to participate in a quixotic endeavor to raise these issues with the powers that be - let me know and we can discuss in another venue.

Some Observations - your questions sparked some research...

"Noncategorical" means a condition of developmental delay which impairs a
child’s functioning and which has a high predictability of impairing normal
developmental performance. “Impaired functioning” means that a difference
exists between the child’s expected level of development and his/her current level
of functioning.

Autism (Level 2 - requiring services for >50% of a day): in 2008 in FCPS, 1,059 students of 3,858 total received L2 services for autism, or 27%. In FY16, 1976 students of 5,847 total received L2 services for autism or 34%. Noncategorical identification has grown only slightly, from 19% in FY08 to 20% in FY16.

To Bill N. - the question of legal "minimum" is addressed in an earlier post. The federal law (IDEA) has been interpreted to require only more than "de minimus" benefit to the SE student. Overlaying that are requirements from the State of VA. But these are not especially onerous given that every other jurisdiction in the State complies while spending a fraction of what FCPS spends. I suggest that it could be productive to gather and analyze this data. Of course, there is the level of spending that is consistent with community values - this is evidently far higher than the legal minimums.

JDD Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Some Observations & Bill N.
>
> Thanks for your comments and observations. I'm
> not familiar with the designation of
> "non-categorical" - where is that referenced in
> the Budget?
>
> As to the designation of Special Needs - my
> understanding is that it includes any student who
> receives a "service" whether under an IEP or 504.
> ESL services are not included. FRPM are also not
> included.
>
> The question of fraud in FRPM has occurred to me
> as well but I discounted it. Eligibility for FRPM
> is determined by family income (free for those
> with incomes up to 130% of the poverty level -
> approximately $24k/family of 4, and reduced price
> for those with family incomes up to 180% of the
> poverty level - approximately $43k/family of 4. I
> have not investigated the process of confirming
> income in applying for the benefit.
>
> The American Community Survey 2014 Profile for
> Fairfax County (compiled by the County in Sept
> 2015) reports 7.8% of households with income and
> benefits less than $25k. But households with
> income & benefits under $50K constitute 17.8% of
> the households in the County. Assuming that each
> of these households has more than one child in the
> school system and the 28% number could be
> reasonable.
>
> Yes, I may be riding Rocinante... But I think I
> still have the capacity to look at data and
> Budgets and ask pertinent questions. At what
> level of spending on SEd are we discriminating
> against the GEd? I don't know but I argue it is
> worth a discussion/debate. And I know from long
> experience that shining a light can result in
> better performance.
>
> Thanks for your comments and suggestions. If you
> have further interest to participate in a quixotic
> endeavor to raise these issues with the powers
> that be - let me know and we can discuss in
> another venue.

It is my understanding from a number of threads on FFXU that there is no verification of income for free and reduced lunch services. Apparently, that has resulted in rampant fraud - which, understandably, irritates taxpayers. However, I havent looked into it and can't verify that this is true.

217 teachers will becdestaffed.

All reading and math coaches will be moved into classroom teaching jobs.

Stop the AAP business and quit busses children here and there. That would help.

ADHD doesn't automatically call for an IEP.

Pull back funds off meeting my kid's special ed needs and the money spent in court will be a lot more than delivering appropriate services. Special Education is not the place to seek cost cutting measures is what I'm saying.

Teachers are leaving FCPS not because of the salaries... In certain parts of the county the work morale is terrible. It will never change as the people at the top will continue to allow for teachers to be treated like criminals.

Teacher job satisfaction is at an all-time low in Fairfax.

jbind33 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Teachers are leaving FCPS not because of the
> salaries... In certain parts of the county the
> work morale is terrible.

and if you ask why work morale is terrible, your number 1 answer will be low salaries!!

The management style is what creates low morale and severely damages employee motivation.

I worked in a school each year 20-30 teachers leave for other jobs. Its not all about the money.

It is tough to remain motivated in such an environment, where employees are not valued.

Management isn’t listening or is partially listening sometimes; the dialog between managers and employees can be poor. Think about that. When you sense someone in a position of power over your job and paycheck doesn’t trust you or doesn’t respect your opinion, how does that make you feel? Certainly not great and potentially seeking another position.

Frustrated Teacher Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It is tough to remain motivated in such an
> environment, where employees are not valued.
>
> Management isn’t listening or is partially
> listening sometimes; the dialog between managers
> and employees can be poor. Think about that. When
> you sense someone in a position of power over your
> job and paycheck doesn’t trust you or doesn’t
> respect your opinion, how does that make you feel?
> Certainly not great and potentially seeking
> another position.

if you sense yoru manager doesn't trust you, why not confront and discuss the situation? Someone has to initiate the dialog for communication to happen. The manager may not have any issues with you thus no reason to communicate and it is all in your imagination. I find most managers will let you know if they have issues, at the very least you will find out when your evaluation date comes.

The ESL students should be grouped into central locations. They would benefit from additional services and multiple ESL teachers would not be needed at each school. The savings would be tremendous!

There should be checks on FRL - I don't believe 28% is real.

What is FRL?

The ESL students should be grouped into central locations. They would benefit from additional services and multiple ESL teachers would not be needed at each school. The savings would be tremendous!

There should be checks on FRL - I don't believe 28% is real.

Teachers have many responsibilities when it comes to educating children. They must determine what the children know, what they need to know, and the best way to teach the information based on how children learn. They must also do what is in the best interest of each child to help them succeed academically. But sadly, a few principal don't understand that logic and the county lost some good teachers.

There was a teacher last year who spoke out against polices that he believe were harmful to his students & he submitted evidence. He was active in fighting to make sure policies were not detrimental to students with disabilities. The principal didn't like the teacher's decision to advocate and in return he has lost his job. There are many teachers in the county afraid to speak up because Principals have the power to destroy careers even if it is wrong.

No one can trust the Equity and Employee Relations office because it is designed to support administrators in their wrongdoing. Many teachers are forced to sign non-liability agreements to avoid lawsuits.