October 14, 2015 

 
Delegate Ken Plum's 
Virginia E-News


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Commentary  

Time to Catch Up on School Funding  
Delegate Kenneth R. "Ken" Plum 
 
According to the General Assembly's own watch-dogs, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), Virginia's local school divisions shoulder the highest share of total K-12 spending in the Southeast region. The finding is hardly news to school superintendents, school boards, and local governments as the recession took its toll on the economy and tax revenues at all levels, student enrollment increased and the state share of education spending declined. In FY2014, the average Virginia school division spent seven percent less to educate each student than it did in FY2005, according to JLARC. Also not news to teachers is the JLARC finding that "divisions reduced per-student spending on instruction through a combination of employing fewer teachers per student, limiting teacher salary growth, and requiring teachers to pay a higher percentage of health insurance and retirement benefit costs." Parents also are keenly aware that their children are sitting in classrooms with many more students.
 
Fairfax County Board Chairman Sharon Bulova captured the details of the declining state revenue for K-12 education in a letter to the Governor recently. She wrote that "though the Commonwealth's budget shortfall was the 20th largest in the nation, the state funding cut to localities was third highest among the states. In fact, since FY2009, structural budget cuts to K-12 have cost localities more than $1.7 billion per biennium statewide. State K-12 funding in FY2016 remains below the FY2009 level." She observed that "a state that is in the top ten in income should not be in the bottom ten for state education funding, but that is where Virginia finds itself at present."
 
A recent report based on a survey by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents found that 92 percent of school districts in the Commonwealth have cut staff, eliminating more than 10,000 jobs, more than half of which have been teaching positions. Increased class sizes have been reported in 71 percent of school districts. Programs such as fine arts, foreign language, physical education and career and technical education have been reduced at more than half of school districts, and nearly a third of districts have reduced extra-curricular activities such as academic clubs, student clubs, and athletics. As the president of the Association said, "School divisions simply don't have the finances or human resources to make the changes we want and need in order to prepare our students effectively for higher education and careers."
 
An analysis of the JLARC report by the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis concluded that "supporting our schools at a level far below what it takes to meet growing needs, we put our children and our future workforce in a precarious position. Continuing to pretend that teachers and schools can do more with less, year after year, is not sustainable. It's time to rebuild the damage done to education funding during the recession and invest in our children."
 
Governor McAuliffe has said that he will be giving priority to education funding in the budget that he is preparing for the next biennium. The 2016 session of the General Assembly must adopt the same priority.


Virginia Report on Comcast Channel 28
  
Tune in to Ken's weekly television program, Virginia Report, on Reston Comcast Channel 28 for public service programming (Verizon Channel 1981). Ken interviews state and local leaders who are making news by making a difference.

TONIGHT- Wednesday, October 14 at 10:30 p.m., Delegate Plum talks with Ernest Spycher of Serving Together   

Tuesday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, October 21 at 10:30 p.m., Delegate Plum talks with Wendell Byrd of Readers Are Leaders
 
Virginia Report is also available for viewing online at https://vimeo.com/album/1650266.


Bulletin Board
 
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Calendar of Events  
  
Tonight: Wednesday, October 14, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m., Reston - League of Women Voters program on "The 2011 Virginia redistricting: the continuing saga." Reston Community Center, Hunters Woods, 2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston. Free, open to the public. The League invites members and the public to learn and discuss the latest legal and political actions and possible effects on the Virginia legislative district lines drawn following the 2010 Census. Could they affect this year's elections? Call 703-471-6364 for more information. Background papers at www.lwv-fairfax.org.

Thursday through Sunday, October 15 to 18, Fall on the Farm at Frying Pan Park. Download a flyer here.

Saturday, October 17, 9:00 a.m. to noon, the Boofie Team's Annual Electronics Recycling Event, at Long and Foster, 1831 Wiehle Avenue, Reston. Recycling company, Turtle Wings, will accept your old electronics (until the truck is full) so they don't end up in a landfill. Call 703-860-8025 for details.
 

Saturday, October 17, 5:00 to 8:30 p.m., Soiree in the Stacks, A Library Jubilee!, at Woodrow Wilson Library, 6101 Knollwood Drive, Falls Church. With 100% of proceeds invested into Fairfax County Public Library, some of the programs supported by A Library Jubilee! include Changing Lives Through Literature, giving first time juvenile offenders an alternative to formal court action, and Ready to Read Early Literacy Outreach, bringing interactive reading experiences to preschool students. More information is at www.fairfaxlibraryfoundation.org.

Sunday, October 18, 2:00 p.m., 12th Annual Community Walk to Help the Homeless, at the Embry Rucker Community Shelter. Register at www.cornerstonesva.org/events.

Wednesday, October 21, 8:00 to 10:00 a.m., Legislative Forum on Regional Transportation, at the Plaza at Reston Station, hosted by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. Costs and full details are at Regional Transportation Forum. 

Saturday, October 24, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., WOW (Walk Our Way), hosted by the Virginia Department for the Blind & Vision Impaired (DBVI), at the Westfield High School in Chantilly. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a ¼ mile walk using vision simulators, canes, and human guides to experience mobility as a vision-impaired individual. Download a flyer here. 

Sunday October 25, 3:00 p.m., Shepherd's Center of Oakton-Vienna (SCOV) hosts world-class performer, Mack Dryden, for a single stand-up comedy performance at a new venue for this SCOV annual fundraising event, Oakton High School, 2900 Sutton Road, Vienna. For tickets visit scov.org/fundraiser or call SCOV at 703-281-0538. Tickets are $25 in advance; $30 at the door. 
 
Monday through Wednesday, October 26 to 28, The Brady Campaign and American Public Health Association's National Summit, at the Dupont Circle Hotel, 1500 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC. Details and registration are at Brady & APHA National Summit. 
 
Monday, October 26, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) will host a public information meeting on the Soapstone Connector Project at South Lakes High School, 11400 South Lakes Drive, Reston. Staff will be on hand to discuss the project and answer questions. The Soapstone Connector Project aims to provide a direct connection between Sunset Hills Road and Sunrise Valley Drive crossing over the Dulles Toll Road. For more information on the project, visit 
Soapstone Connector or call FCDOT at 703-877-5600, TTY 711. 

Tuesday, October 27, Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP) regional meeting, at Northern Virginia Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax, 2709 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton. For more information, contact VADP at 434-960-7779 or office@vadp.org.

Saturday, November 14, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Congressman Gerry Connolly's Open Season Workshop for Federal Employees and Retirees, at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. Representatives of various health plans, OPM, and Medicare will be available to discuss their programs with participants. Call 703-256-3071 for more information.

Sunday, November 15, 4:00 p.m., Salute to Pavarotti, Reston Community Orchestra opens its 28th season with a tribute to the opera legend. This family-friendly concert features pianist-tenor Carlos Alberto Ibay. Reston Community Center Hunters Woods, 2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston. Free Admission. Please bring canned goods for Thanksgiving Food Drive. For more information, call 571-449-7095 or visit www.restoncommunityorchestra.org. 
 

36th District 

Reston, Virginia
 
In This Issue
Commentary..."Time to Catch Up on School Funding"
"Virginia Report"
Bulletin Board
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Delegate Kenneth R. "Ken" Plum
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