An Apology, Election Wrap-Up and a Clarification

November 26, 2007

Dear School Supporters,

Hopefully your Thanksgiving was an enjoyable one. Certainly we can be thankful for our schools, but it will take more than thankfulness to make sure our schools are the best they can be.
We at Support Schools Now are thankful for all your advocacy efforts in the past and hope you will continue to advocate for our schools in the future.

AN APOLOGY

I have apologized to Mike Halpin personally and have apologized to him publicly in a letter to the editor printed in the Virginia Gazette for mentioning an incident involving him in an essay published in the Gazette and transmitted through a Support Schools Now newsletter. I regret bringing him into the fray and have asked for his forgiveness. I consider Halpin a fellow advocate for education and did not intend to harm him, but I did and I apologize.

ELECTION WRAP-UP

The election results brought mixed results for WJC Schools.

Support Schools Now-endorsed candidate, James P. Nickols, won his bid for the School Board seat in Stonehouse! We hope this change will improve the WJC School Board's ability to work collaboratively with the community for the betterment of our schools. Congratulations, Mr. Nickols!

Unfortunately our other endorsed candidate Andy Bradshaw did not fare as well in the Stonehouse supervisor’s race. Bradshaw was an ardent supporter of our schools and we thank him for his service.

Congratulations to Bruce Goodson, Mary Jones and Jim Kennedy who won supervisor elections. We hope that they will be supportive of our schools going forward.

Unfortunately, however, the impact of the election is immediately apparent. It appears that funding for schools will face great pressure for two reasons:

1) a potential move to reassess property values every two years will likely strain the county’s ability to fund necessary increases in the schools’ budget to maintain quality and build new schools, and

2) the potential removal of the storm-water fee means that the $2.8 million per year that fee would have been generated needs to be found somewhere else to maintain the storm-water program. It was reported that the new majority said it would find the money in the general fund. The general fund is the source of the schools’ county funding.

Moving the next date of reassessments from July 2008 to January 2009 will already have a negative impact on the FY09 county budget and will limit the county's ability to fund our schools. These other two potential changes will create even greater challenges.

These developments simply mean that school supporters will need to work harder and more vigilantly to protect our schools. What can you do to help?

First of all, please CLICK HERE to contact the Board of Supervisors and urge them to study these issues and think very carefully about the impact on schools before taking action on the storm water fee and the reassessment every two years.

Second, you can assist Support Schools Now by sending a check in any amount to: Support Schools Now, 3012 Mossy Creek Drive, Williamsburg, VA 23185. Funds are needed for efforts to resist plans that would negatively impact school funding. (Notably, local radio stations 92.3 "The Tide" and 107.3 WBACH picked up on the SSN Election Edition newsletter and ran a spot describing the contents of our survey. Another potential way to get the word out.)

CLARIFICATION

David Jarman’s recent essay in the Gazette indicated that the budgeted increase for schools is "165% for 2008." It appears the Gazette left out decimal point because the budget for the schools, according to the county budget, increased 16.5%. Costs necessarily increased so rapidly in FY2008 primarily due to the opening of two new schools. In addition, higher per pupil costs in WJC are primarily a factor of higher teachers' salaries, lower staff to student ratios, and broader course offerings than other nearby divisions. All three are in jeopardy with reduced funding.

Thanks to everyone who has written thanking SSN for its information and analysis, and thank you for supporting our schools!

Mike Ludwick
Support Schools Now