It's about the meals tax, but it's more.

First, the proposed new tax is 4% on top of the existing 6% sales tax for a total of a 10% tax on every meal in the County. You know that.

This would be an additional $100 million in new taxes after the Democratic controlled Board of Supervisors raised our real estate taxes by $100 million, a 6% increase, already this year.

Second, 70% of the new meals tax money is to go for schools because Fairfax County Public Schools need to be "more competitive" in teacher compensation. Yet, last year FCPS filled about 1,000 teaching positions where over 15,000 teachers applied for those positions. Those teachers thought the compensation was very competitive.

Did you also know that retired Fairfax County employees are eligible for two pensions, rather than just one, until a retiree is old enough to receive Social Security benefits? This second pension is virtually unheard of anywhere else in government or the private sector.

The Pro-Tax crowd wants you to believe the state is not providing enough funding for schools. However, Fairfax County Public Schools are receiving a record amount of state tax dollars this year: $632 million. Another $30 million is already added for the budgeted 2017-18 school year and this represents a 29 percent increase in funding over the past five years.

The problem for Fairfax County lies in the Democrat controlled Board of Supervisors and School Board that find it easier to put their hand in your pocket rather than tightening their bloated budgets. In Richmond, Virginia's state budget general fund is actually smaller than it was ten years ago, even with inflation and population growth.

And what about the expected tax revenue windfall of tens of millions of dollars from all the new development in Tysons Corner and the Dulles Corridor? Enough is enough.

We need to go to the polls on November 8th and Vote No to defeat the meals tax referendum. We need to send a strong message to the Board of Supervisors to stop the spending and fix your budgets!

15,000 applicants for 1,000 jobs does not seem like a problem to me.

Pay Good Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 15,000 applicants for 1,000 jobs does not seem
> like a problem to me.

I know some teachers in Fairfax County and they have been well compensated, may not apply to all, I don't know. Is there a source for this comment as I have seen it several times.

First, the proposed new tax is 4% on top of the existing 6% sales tax for a total of a 10% tax on every meal in the County. You know that. (I do. Of course, this goes to a different purpose. Will it cause people to eat out less or order lower cost items or tip less? Not sure.)

This would be an additional $100 million in new taxes after the Democratic controlled Board of Supervisors raised our real estate taxes by $100 million, a 6% increase, already this year. (Yes, it is. Have you seen the state of things, though? You get what you pay for.)

Second, 70% of the new meals tax money is to go for schools because Fairfax County Public Schools need to be "more competitive" in teacher compensation. Yet, last year FCPS filled about 1,000 teaching positions where over 15,000 teachers applied for those positions. Those teachers thought the compensation was very competitive. (That is not a cause. Many people apply to the area because of the quality of the schools. This does not mean they wish to be paid poorly. FCPS is losing good teachers every year. Maybe you are ok with attracting poor candidates. I am not.)

Did you also know that retired Fairfax County employees are eligible for two pensions, rather than just one, until a retiree is old enough to receive Social Security benefits? This second pension is virtually unheard of anywhere else in government or the private sector. (It is also virtually unheard of that a person with that level of education and required on-going training makes as little as they do to begin with. If these end of career perks were not there, we'd have poorer schools and less money, as great schools attract a lot of people and business. By the way, lots of private companies offer seasonal bonuses, stock options, etc.)

The Pro-Tax crowd wants you to believe the state is not providing enough funding for schools. However, Fairfax County Public Schools are receiving a record amount of state tax dollars this year: $632 million. Another $30 million is already added for the budgeted 2017-18 school year and this represents a 29 percent increase in funding over the past five years. (Yawn. Percentages are always the way to mislead someone. Note how this is based on some mistaken belief that the schools, the population, and the needs stay the same each year?)

The problem for Fairfax County lies in the Democrat controlled Board of Supervisors and School Board that find it easier to put their hand in your pocket rather than tightening their bloated budgets. In Richmond, Virginia's state budget general fund is actually smaller than it was ten years ago, even with inflation and population growth. (I love the word bloated. Seriously? There may be overspending in places, but bloated? It is again, quite comical that you are trumpeting the fact the state spends less, as the population and needs increase. What you really want is to pay the same no matter the circumstances, no matter the need. All day long on Bloomberg we hear about companies passing on cost increases to consumers. Some of these increases are based on the circumstance on the ground. I am betting some of these businesses are not run by Democrats.)

And what about the expected tax revenue windfall of tens of millions of dollars from all the new development in Tysons Corner and the Dulles Corridor? Enough is enough. (Dear lord... do you think any of those development dollars will be going to roads, or overpasses, or to build a school? Guess what? When the windfall happens, maybe things will adjust again.)

We need to go to the polls on November 8th and Vote No to defeat the meals tax referendum. We need to send a strong message to the Board of Supervisors to stop the spending and fix your budgets! (I will do the opposite, thanks.)

OP do you have kids in the school system?

Since 2010, the cumulative increase in teachers salaries is 14.84%, 15.90% for general county employees, 18.30% for police, and 21.30% for Fire & Rescue. In comparison, Federal Employee salaries have increased only 7.48%. 90% of federal employees are covered by FERS, a defined contribution plan. Meanwhile, most Teachers and county employees are covered by a defined benefit plan. They are not underpaid and their benefits are overly generous.

I had 2 of my teachers in 11th grade 2 years ago refuse to take late homework or let kids take the test if the got an unexcused absence cause they got less than a 1% raise..one of em left for a 6 figure job. Dunno about overpaid..

Some are compensated well, some aren't. I know of some that are working 2nd jobs to pay the bills.....but then again it's the profession they chose

Sniff, sniff, snivel, waaaa

Boo hoo, snivel, sniff

Waaaaa, snivel, sniff, sniff

Snivel, boo hoo, boo hoo, waaaaaaaa

The real question is whether FCPS needs to raise teacher's salaries in order to retain teachers over the long term or if their pay scale and retirement system needs to be restructured to reflect younger worker's preferences. If you look closely at FCPS documents, the teacher's salary is competitive with other local school systems during years 1-5 which is at the same time the period that creates 2/3 of the system's teacher turnover. This indicates that the starting pay is neither an impediment to hiring teachers nor is it a factor in retaining teachers during a teachers early career years. Once again, the School System is sending out inaccurate information in order to get additional funds. Vote no on the meals tax until such time as the School Board is honest with their constituents and willing to prudently spend the taxes that are entrusted to them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2016 07:53AM by Inquisitive One.

FCPS pays Eric Jensen $9,000/day to consult on neuroscience, music and poverty;

https://fairfaxvotenoonthemealstax.wordpress.com/2016/10/25/vote-no-on-the-meals-tax-meet-dr-eric-jensen-paid-9000day-by-fcps/

Has this investment paid off?

If you think Jensen has earned his fee, vote yes on the meals tax. If you think Jensen (and others like him) are a waste of money, then vote no.

If you think teachers will get a pay raise if the meal tax passes you're an idiot.

Once the tax dollars come in they will go to the same places. Like better salaries and pensions to government center employees.

The school shit is the typical politician bullshit to get it passed.

I got paid more per hour as a FCPS teacher than ANY of job I've ever had. It's a total boondoggle. I just don't get why they complain incessantly.

How many of you keyboard heros have been to a school board meeting, PTSA meeting, coached a team, or volunteered in a school?

Hmmmm, that's what I thought. Spend a day locked up with Fairfax brats and then complain about paying for said babysitting services.

Waaaaaaaaa

Edward Teach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How many of you keyboard heros have been to a
> school board meeting, PTSA meeting, coached a
> team, or volunteered in a school?
>
> Hmmmm, that's what I thought. Spend a day locked
> up with Fairfax brats and then complain about
> paying for said babysitting services.
>
> Waaaaaaaaa

Fuck 'em. Promptly deport all the illegals and their spawn and the picture improves dramatically.

Edward Teach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How many of you keyboard heros have been to a
> school board meeting, PTSA meeting, coached a
> team, or volunteered in a school?
>
> Hmmmm, that's what I thought. Spend a day locked
> up with Fairfax brats and then complain about
> paying for said babysitting services.
>
> Waaaaaaaaa

I've been to school board meetings and corresponded with school board members and FCPS managers. I've been to a couple of PTSA meetings. I volunteered to tutor math.

I got the impression the school board did not care what anyone thought. They were interested in their own agendas, not the kids. More or less the same applied to the PTA. Tutoring math was the worst of all-the book had some errors in it, and the teacher was really a sports coach with very little knowledge of math.

Nonetheless, lots of travel, lots of meals, and I was assured a consultant had reviewed the math book.

No more money for these clowns.

Fools Money Parted Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you think teachers will get a pay raise if the
> meal tax passes you're an idiot.
>
> Once the tax dollars come in they will go to the
> same places. Like better salaries and pensions to
> government center employees.
>


If the school board gives teachers a raise, they lose their leverage for requesting more money from the state and Fairfax Supervisors for at least five years.

For this reason alone, there will be no teacher raise.

I'm a teacher and my pay is fine for what I do, which is as little as possible. I do just enough to stay out of trouble. I don't answer parent e-mails unless ordered to. I beat the kids out of the building at dismissal time and take as little work home as possible. If I don't feel well, I call out.

I've seen many, many young teachers that thought they could make a difference burn out after a few years. Not me, I AM GOING THE DISTANCE and grab the pension. This would not be possible if I gave a shit.

So don't worry about the raise, we'll be fine.

not complaining Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm a teacher and my pay is fine for what I do,
> which is as little as possible. I do just enough
> to stay out of trouble. I don't answer parent
> e-mails unless ordered to. I beat the kids out of
> the building at dismissal time and take as little
> work home as possible. If I don't feel well, I
> call out.
>
> I've seen many, many young teachers that thought
> they could make a difference burn out after a few
> years. Not me, I AM GOING THE DISTANCE and grab
> the pension. This would not be possible if I gave
> a shit.
>
> So don't worry about the raise, we'll be fine.

I’ve known hundreds of teachers over the years and they all care and try their best to the point of tears.
You are obviously a mentally troubled individual telling lies to turn other readers against teachers because your life is miserable and misery loves company.
You need to seek help from a doctor and get medication for your depression and irrational destructive thoughts.

Good luck!

>Did you also know that retired Fairfax County employees are eligible for two pensions, rather than just one, until a retiree is old enough to receive Social Security benefits? This second pension is virtually unheard of anywhere else in government or the private sector.

Between the regular pension and the social security pre benefit county employees make they still don't make the amount of retirement even with the pre SS benefit that feds do because the average rank and file co employee makes far less then a fed in the same job, BTW the SS pre benefit is not as much as the Social Security benefit that most co employees will draw

When are you asking for your pay cut to even it out if the County's is so high

Fairfax County employees pay into their retirement systems either 4 % of salary or 5 % depending on the plan they choose , while the state of Virginia just started a few years ago to do the same , before that the state paid for it all. Feds also choose different plans and have to pay for theirs

Teachers can opt to be in the Fairfax County retirement system or the state of Virginias , or both with limited Fairfax benefits , teachers often choose the states plan so they can move and teach in other areas of Virginia

Everyone in life makes personal choices. Some choose to spend years on welfare and pay nothing into SS or pensions. Some go into their own business and don't make their SS payments or pay the full taxes on themselves and employees as their businesses fail. Some want to make the large dollars and don't care about benefits, some want job security , and some thinking ahead want a retirement check

And there are some who enter business work hard take care of their employees with respect for all raise a family with love and become well off success stories in life because of the help they get from the love they have in their hearts for the lord and savior Jesus Christ, today they don't vote for Democrats anymore either

Its your choice

They are in a different retirement system and they don't get SS either , they have to work before and after police service for any Social Security they will get as a result many police when they retire do not get as much SS as many others. Police pay what the regular county pays into their retirement , PLUS what they would be paying into SS also totaling about 12 % of their salary so they are not getting a free ride, their paying for their benefits too.

Police receive cost of living raises on their full county pensions

Regular county retirees receive the cost of living raises on the regular part of their pensions and NOT on the pre SS benefits, teachers the same

Fairfax needs to be incorporated into "Virginia City" a city of 1.1 million + people not a county with a BOS form of government that's more suited for Lee Co Va then Fairfax. All over Virginia small towns have turned themselves into cities for the tax advantage that cities receive over counties just take a look at the maps

Cities have elected mayors and city councils . The Mayors have more authority then anyone on the BOS now. Someone whos more accountable to the citizens. Cities get the money to repair their own roads from the state so that problems citizens report can be prioritized more effectively. Cities can levy taxes on all kinds of businesses, major ones are hotel motel and food taxes by the vote of the city council and mayors approval and keep far more of their moneys rather then sending it down to Richmond to spend

Of course the perfect match is a balanced government with a elected majority Democrat City Council and a Republican Mayor by the name of DAJAX natch ! Write me in and Ill serve and I wont "Serve Myself" With largesse from the tax payers pockets "What Have You Got To Lose " MIGA Make It Great Again ! "Virginia City" formerly Fairfax County Virginia The largest city in Virginia and the 10th largest in the USA . Bill N City Council Democrat majority leader, will you write in Eesh for Sherriff I know he'll get some votes

MIGA rolls off EZ but in Spanish it means Crumb Ill try harder next time

My 9th grade FCPS Algebra teacher started an affair with me. She was 38 and HOT! My parents found out about it when Summer started. She took off somewhere. My parents moved to DC & sent me to a Catholic School there. I actually got a better education. & no, the priests never molested me or asked to. I still miss that FCPS teacher, though.