Teachers, PTA representatives and parents were out in force during the Wednesday, Feb. 28, public hearing to urge the Board of Supervisors to fully fund the schools budget. One by one they came to the podium and requested, encouraged and even begged the board to support the budget proposed by the School Board.
"The cost of education, like everything else, is going up," Debra Velasco, a teacher at Farmwell Station Middle School, said. "Some prices are not negotiable. Quality public education is the cornerstone on which a healthy democracy rests."
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Kirby Bowers presented a $1.38 billion budget to the Supervisors Feb. 13, allotting $887.5 million for the school system, $438 million for county expenditures, $46.7 million for fire and rescue services and $8.2 million for the Comprehensive Services Act for At-Risk Youth.
Bowers' proposed budget included $532.5 million for the schools operating budget, approximately $16 million less than originally requested. It was the proposed cut that many parents took exception to during the budget public hearing.
"Bowers' $16 million cut to school budget would save county taxpayers less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks," Cheryl Bacak, president of Mercer Middle School's PTA, said.
Fellow Mercer Middle School PTA member Jeff Carnes said he was concerned that cuts to the school budget would result in Loudoun schools falling behind other jurisdictions.
"This is not something that is easy to catch up on," he said.
MANY TEACHERS AND school staff members spoke to the board about the difficulty they have working in the county they love. Wesley Rogers, a teacher at Farmwell Station Middle School, said he has found himself at a crossroads in his career.
"I am going to be leaving Loudoun County Public Schools at end of the year because my wife and I can no longer afford to live in the county," he said. "I feel I must choose between what I love, which is my chosen profession as a teacher, and starting a family with my wife. Many of my colleagues are in the exact same position I am."
Parents said they supported increasing the salaries of teachers, in order to ensure their children would get the same quality education in future years that they have now.
"My children have teachers and an administration that go the proverbial extra mile for them," John Warner, a Mill Run Elementary School parent, said. "Cuts in the proposed school budget could affect a number of those strengths."
A number of the speakers said they would be willing to pay more taxes, if it meant fully funding the proposed school budget.
"You can't have the resources without the support of people's personal property taxes," Michele Copeland, a librarian at Potowmack Elementary School, said. "I want to see Loudoun County maintain the high quality of its schools."
ALTHOUGH SCHOOLS dominated most of the conversation at the public hearing, several residents did speak out in support of other programs, including the Inmed Partnership for Children, the Gum Spring Library and Loudoun ARC.
Loudoun ARC president Eleanor Voldish asked that the board support the funding of a case manager position for the program.
"There are 44 children on our waiting list," she said. "This position will support 30 of them. The availability of a case manager will relieve some of the stress experienced by families."
The cost of supplying the Gum Spring Library was underestimated in last year's capital improvement plan by more than $3 million and some supporters came before the board to ask that the Supervisors adjust the allotted money to reflect the correct estimate.
"With the opening of this library we will be closer to meet the state library standards that were adopted by this board," Karen Montgomery, of Friends of the Gum Spring Library, said. "Delaying the completion is not fiscally responsible as it will cost the county more to complete construction later and we will have to close the library for an 18-month period."
The Board of Supervisors will hold several budget work session throughout March, beginning with a joint session with the School Board March 8.