The Connection

When we go to the polls in November, the ballot will include not only our state legislators, but also the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (Chairman and 9 district supervisors) and School Board (12 reps-9 district members and 3 at-large).

I’ve been thinking. What if we rated, or graded, incumbents based on their actual performance? In the case of the Board of Supervisors (BOS), what if we rated them on how well they handled their most important functions. In the case of the BOS, that would be leadership in public education and public safety. Not only do those two functions impact us all, but they are also the two biggest chunks of the Fairfax County budget—an estimated 65 percent of the total.

It is still a little early. There are over five months until election day, Nov. 3. However, at this stage it does not look good for the incumbents. In public education, it is charitable to rank BOS collective performance any better than poor. Why? Because they are at loggerheads with the Superintendent and the School Board, and our schools are in decline. Fairfax teachers’ pay is no longer competitive in the region after several years of freezes. Morale is down and the best teachers are starting to leave. Class sizes are above optimal levels and growing. Summer school is zeroed out. Meanwhile, the Board voted themselves a fat $20,000 pay increase. If it weren’t for some blame for the School Board as well, it in fact would be fair to say the Supervisors are failing our kids. The BOS performance on the public safety side has been worse. The August 2013 police killing of unarmed John Geer was the latest example of the lack of police accountability and was briefly a national scandal. The Fairfax County Police kept the name of the killer and all facts of the case hidden from the public for 18 months until a court ordered the information released. The shooter is still on the job, has not even been charged. The Supervisors have averted their eyes and remained silent the whole time. The Geer killing was the most recent of several questionable killings by FCPD officers in recent years. Only a national epidemic of police violence with race overtones kept Fairfax County off the front pages.

In April, Chairman Bulova acted to create a Commission to review “Police Practices.” The Commission has broad representation and looks promising. But, it is oversized (36), with a large police contingent, and is due to complete its work just a month before the election. Thus, reforms, including independent investigation and oversight of police, are unlikely until after the elections--when the pressure is off. It may be that only change can bring reform.

The School Board might receive an interim grade of C-, only because they made good progress in setting later school start times for teens after a decade of foot dragging, and recently broadened anti-discrimination protections for students. These commendable actions only partially offset their dismal failure to recognize and support teachers, and their absolute chutzpa in granting themselves a 65 percent pay increase for next year shortly after stiffing teachers once again!

If the election were held today, this voter would have to pause before voting for incumbents on the Board of Supervisors. For the School Board, I might flip a coin or leave the block empty. If the incumbent is one of the five who voted for their pay raise, the challenger likely gets my vote. Incumbents still have five months to improve and maybe do some extra credit work before they can stand up to credible challengers.