To the Editor:
The ACPS School Board, except for the newly elected members, are incapable of managing its budget of almost $300 million. Our School Board controls 44 percent of the total city budget — a disturbing and frightening thought. The School Board has a pervasive lack of clarity, and no accountability, resulting in gross overspending — literally a financial circus which has been the norm at the School Board for the past 12 years. We need an oversight committee with foresight and fiscal restraint to monitor school board spending and we need it now.
The current $1.5 billion project to rebuild our school system, which was never maintained, has already become a financial nightmare as predicted. The Patrick Henry project will now have bus and truck traffic on a neighborhood street resulting in a double whammy of noise and loss of property value for the neighborhood. The reason for this change — as stated by the School Board — is that it stands to save $1.2 million with the A1 alternative. Listen figures do not lie but the School Board has never saved a cent on any project. Its specialty is to move funds, add and delete and fund a very prominent slush fund. In 2013 they moved money from many sources including school bus maintenance in order to finance the tennis courts. There was never any dialogue or cost analysis on the choices.
In the past the School Board projects have not come in on budget, having overages from 25 to 230 percent which includes T.C.High School at 42 percent over budget, Jefferson Houston at 30 percent, Hammond field at 230 percent, and the infamous tennis courts budgeted at $425,000, add lights for $200,000 total $625,000. The final total when the bill came in was $1.4 million, a 125 percent miss. There is absolutely no precedent for the Patrick Henry to come on budget. There is currently no max price.
Our academics remain shoddy at best — the horrific action of Cora Kelly”s principal to remove 36 underachievers from taking the test so the scores could be artificially elevated is absolutely inexcusable and he deserves more than a slap on the wrist. We need a complete audit of the other schools to determine if this action was pervasive.
Citizens, we are losing the academic race because the School Board is more interested in athletic infrastructure than academics. A $450,000 fee for design of TC stadium takes precedent over hiring more excellent teachers.
In addition the School Board chair discussed a possible 15 cent tax phased in over four years to help balance the deficit in the schools’ budget. Didn’t we just have a 3-plus percent raise in city taxes? Based upon past history, would you give this School Board more money?
To the ACPS School Board, new members excluded, “Turn out the lights, the party's over. Financial guidance and austerity is needed and overdue.”
William Goff
Alexandria