Everyone wants more income in high tax Fairfax. Maybe, the County's priorities are the problem. I don't want to weigh in on whether teacher's salaries are to low, but let's say they are too low. Maybe, the solution is put education at a higher priorty and quit spending on other things. The answer cannot be to just keep increasing taxes. The answer needs to be that the County needs to stop thinking theirs no bottom to the pockets of taxpayers and to set priorities. If we can't afford one more Park or one more sidewalk, so be it. The pocketbooks of taxpayers count too because they pay the bills. And, guess what, taxpayers aren't getting those raises either, just ask a Federal government worker who has had a salary freeze for over 2 years along with increased health costs and pension contributions, or my next door neighbor who has not had a raise in 6 years and who works for one of the largest corporations in the Country! They and many other workers are going backwards.

The FY 2014 Proposed Budget asks for $6.5 million in added time for teachers without a single minute of additional time in school for the elementary school students. The last time that some teachers had longer contract hours, the students in their schools had full day Mondays. If additional teacher contract hours are now added without any additional time for students, it will be harder than ever to try to achieve full day Mondays in the future.

There are many different ways of ending the Monday early dismissals while providing alternative planning time for the teachers. Over the past 24 years there have been several reasonable proposals to end early dismissals in all schools. proposals ranged in cost from $5.6 million to $8.8 million. Some critics blasted these plans as too cheap and not good enough for Fairfax County. Many of these same critics also said the school system could not afford these allegedly inadequate proposals anyway. A narrow majority of school board members voted against these plans on the grounds that the budget was too tight. A fourth proposal would have cost between $11 and $13 million if implemented in all elementary schools. The school board shelved this task force proposal without even voting on the issue.

Now it would be unfair to provide additional contract time for teachers without providing the elementary school students with an adequate amount of time in school each week. The Monday early dismissal policy should be eliminated.

I accidentally omitted mentioning one proposal for full day Mondays that would have cost $3.6 million when implemented in all elementary schools.

Fairfax County in order to keep teachers, fire fighters, police, nurses etc. residing in the county devised the concept of workforce (affordable) housing for people in these income ranges. Several projects were built with that in mind and it turns out these workforce professionals actually prefer something other than the county experts panacea for affordable housing. Most choose and continue to do so by having a better home farther away with long commutes thus increasing sprawl and traffic gridlock. Most of these necessary professionals I believe would rather live closer to their place of work in the type of homes they have chosen and can afford farther away. Their pay is such that they can't afford such places in Fairfax County. These same professionals face the same increased health costs and pension contribution mandates as do most working taxpayers. Compensation for workers continues to go backwards but salary for CEO's and top corporate officials continue to rise. These disparities are well documented and were part of the appeal to voters in the recent Presidential election to elect candidates promising to stop the gutting of the middle class by further cutting wages and collective bargaining rights. In my view it is criminal to not pay a living wage to essential community workers and to then create housing communities at values that essentially favors one economic class over another. Who are the creators and perpetrators of class warfare in such cases as this?

We could, and should, pay our teachers, firemen, police and other vital county workers more. It's a rethinking of priorities. For example, in the FCPS, do we really need to offer only a fraction of our students full immersion language programs? No. Can we raise Title I class sizes which range from 17-24 students with a teacher and an aide by at least 1-2 more students? Yes. Could we have a superintendent who doesn't sign million dollar, on-line math textbook contracts without consulting the school board first? Yes. More money is needed in the county coffers but we can also rethink education priorities and decision-making from within. Our teachers and students deserve this.

I think Kathy Keith poses the kinds of questions that cry out for public consideration and debate. What is the purpose of foreign language instruction? Preparing our children for travel or careers requiring a language other than English? Fostering awareness and sensitivity to world cultures? Enhancement of overall learning that is supported via music, foreign language, and other instruction? All of the above?

Until that kind of discussion & decision making is engaged honestly between school board and parents, it will be increasingly difficult to put forward budgets that the community can support. And once the discussion is complete and goal is agreed to by elected officials and citizens, together, there needs to be a long-range plan for implementing the appropriate programs to meet them. Our students, teachers and our community deserves this.

Alexandria pays 10,000 dollars more than FCPS.

Voters need to realize that every time our politicians want to raise taxes, they cry about teachers, policemen, firefighters, and librarians. If the average voter knew what other factors go in to the county budget, they'd realize there is no economizing going on, and the Boards are simply using fear-mongering to ask for more and more and more.

Kathy Keith discusses "all those people in Gatehouse" and their role in sustaining the perceived need for the Monday early dismissal policy. This reminds me of some excellent points made by Washington Post columnist Judy Mann in 1989. She supported Superintendent Robert R. Spillane’s proposal to abandon the county’s outdated practice of closing elementary schools two hours early on Monday afternoons. She quoted Sam Sava, executive director of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, who said that school systems exist to meet the needs of children, and not “to maintain bureaucracies."
Mann reported,
"Sava does not underestimate the importance of planning periods, but he points out that other school systems use 'substitutes or aides that provide teachers free time for planning purposes rather than closing school.' Most area school systems do not routinely close for this."

Until the School Board starts asking tough questions and using a little common sense, nothing will change. "Staff" advises and guides most of the members, and staff does not want to give up their empires. Sadly, some of Gatehouse is identified as "school based" when they rarely get to the schools.
FCPS desperately needs an outside audit--but staff convinced the board that it wasn't necessary.
Dale continues to ask for more money from BOS. Teachers deserve more pay--and the money is there, but there is so much waste in unnecessary programs that I would never support more money for FCPS.

There are a whole lot of people living in apartments who are paying more than 50% of their incomes on rent. New construction is typically a McMansion or a luxury apartment/condo. Teachers in Ffx. County are well paid and are now contributing more money toward their lavish benefits/pensions which is good. Why should public employee wages keep increasing when private employee wages are stagnant? It costs too much to live in Ffx. County because the overpaid Federal employees can afford to pay high prices for houses so home prices don't fall as in the rest of the country. This drives up housing prices for the rest of us. Someone who wants to live within their means must either live way out and commute or live in older housing in older communities that have mostly been taken over by hispanics. This latter option is not chosen because non-hispanics would prefer their children to be raised among English speakers and they won't accept "bad" schools or "bad" neighborhoods. This isn't just a problem for teachers, this is a problem for a huge portion of county citizens who can't afford to live in a "good" neighborhood. But of course you can't talk about the problem openly because you will be accused of being a racist conservative.
The cost of living keeps increasing and wages are stagnant. Raises for teachers at this time only add to our tax burden as Ron said. There is no shortage of teachers who would love to work here, especially in this economy.

Jody,
I'm just curious: What do you consider to be "lavish benefits/pensions"? I'm not saying you're incorrect, but what would be an example?

Teachers in Fairfax County deserve a Board of Supervisors that believes in enforcing the law. Does anyone honestly believe we are doing our teachers a service by allowing illegal immigrants (not ALL immigrants - I said ILLEGAL) into our county, overcrowding homes that were never intended to hold more than five or six people?

Martin, I agree with you. The Oak Marr golf facility is a case in point. Annandale seems to have been left behind by the powers that be.

Martin, from my point of view, If I am living in a neighborhood that resembles a United Nations assembly, I consider that to be a "bad" neighborhood. If I didn't have children that I wanted to grow up as Americans, absorbing American values and culture, I wouldn't care as much who else lived in our neighborhoods. This is still a good place to live if you have a lot of money and no school-age children. We have a very high crime rate compared to the rest of the county, most of our local schools are now about 2/3 minority, and the county has even bought up low end apartments to keep the poorest of the poor here along Rt. 1. Maybe we are spending more money for police or social workers whereas other neighborhoods get money for other uses.

Save your tears and the liberal,multicultural love-fest. In just twenty years, our locale is practically unrecognizable thanks to an invasion of hispanic law-breakers and a short-sighted 1960's immigration law that threw open the doors to legal immigration. Your choice to embrace this change is either a result of 1) liberal brainwashing, 2) resigning yourselves to a reality you realize you are helpless to change, or 3) you don't like America or Americans and are eager to change it beyond recognition. Talia, all those people you celebrate didn't come illegally, didn't insist on keeping their language, and they were eager to melt into our melting pot. In overwhelming numbers, no one will melt, they will replace. Why do you want to give your country away? Why do you favor people from other countries over your fellow citizens who just want some sanity in our immigration policies. Immigration should happen legally and in numbers that can be absorbed into our culture.

Diversity is a fact of life in most of Fairfax now. But how can you have a "United States" when people won't assimilate, won't learn the language, and keep referring to where one came from as "my country" ?

From the link above entitled-- "Enrollment Drives 2.5B Schools Budget":
"Since 2009, the number of English for Speaker of Other Languages (ESOL) students has grown 42.3 percent; the number of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals has increased by nearly 36 percent."
We are losing tax base and gaining costs. Could we have built a new science & technology school with the money we have to spend each year on new classroom space and ESOL teachers? Could we have used that money to work on closing the achievement gap for our black students? I believe the quality of life is declining in our area and I think my point of view is just as valid as yours. No need to be so condescending and start a pity party for me.

All are united in their hate of the arrogant fake Jack Dale who has surrounded himself with yes men while hurting students, teachers, and taxpayers.

The students were hurt with increased class sizes, less technology integration, and a testing inundation that emphasized memorization and teaching to the test over teaching the students how to think for themselves.

Teachers have been hurt by Jack Dale as they start at $45,000 per year hoping for a $1,400 step increase a year only to see a 1% $450 raise while having to see class sizes increase. Teachers have seen the county prioritize "instructional coach" positions, foreign language immersion programs, newer technology, eliminating AP test fees and eliminating athletic fees over paying teachers steps they look forward to in order to live more comfortable lifestyles. FCPS has a turnover rate of 16%, which Enables FCPS to hire new "cheap"starting teachers

The taxpayers have been hurt by seeing the Fairfax Board of Supervisors subsidize "low income " housing and then act stunned that 16 percent of students don't speak English as their first language, and 27 percent of the students qualify for a free or reduced lunch. Coupling this with a weak "illegal alien" stance in schools, unlike PW county, has seen the FCPS enrollment increase and forced county employees like social workers, librarians , and taxpayers to hate "greedy" teachers

I agree with you, Jody. The BOS should be pro-active about the problems of boarding houses (not reactive by only responding to complaints). Only by effectively managing the immigration process could Fairfax begin to rein in the massive costs to the education system. When you go to the Mason District "Town Halls" in this neck of the woods, you can see first-hand just how broken the system really is.

Jody, I understand you feel that salaries ranging from $45-82k are lavish. You do realize that teachers contribute to retirement and healthcare plans, right? Family healthcare coverage premiums are more than $400 a month. Fair, but not lavish. The school board only covers $100 a month of a retiree's healthcare plan. A retiree pays over $500 a month for an individual and almost $1,500 for a family plan.

Most people probably silently agree with Jody. They prove it with their feet by moving to places like Reston, Herndon, McLean or even out to Loudoun (which is hot right now). Those that can't afford to do so are left behind.

The real problem of being poor in America today is not so much a lack of food, but the inability to move away from other poor people. The powers that be seem to have determined that Mason District is the where the poor will be gathered.

The topic of this column is FCPS and teacher pay.
There is no question that the economy and immigration are taking a toll on the budget of the school system. The problem at hand is how best for FPCS to spend its money.
There are those who think raising taxes is the answer. I disagree--the economy is also affecting homeowners. Perhaps, I would be more willing to contribute more if I felt the money were being wisely spent--but it is not.
Like it or not, we must educate the children who are here. No one benefits if we exclude these kids. Whether they stay here or not, they are here NOW and we must ensure that they are educated.
Teachers do deserve more pay--but the fact is that beginning teachers are not being paid more poorly than many other new college graduates these days. Kids just out of college are waiting tables and working minimum wage in many cases--or not working at all. I was a teacher for many years and I know that there is a lot of stress and overtime--but many other jobs have that as well. The fact is that most teachers work a 194 day contract--that translates to less than 40 weeks per year. Twelve weeks off is generous. I know that teachers go to school, etc.-but so do many others.
I still contend that if FCPS would cut some of the fluff at Gatehouse and cut back on teachers who don't teach, that it could better pay its teachers. It also needs to look at programs like FLES and special programs which require transportation,

The first school I attended in rural south Sacramento, California was integrated. That was 1953. White, Hispanic, Chinese, Japanese, and African-American kids. When I moved to Salt Lake City when I was nine, there were only a few African-American families in the whole town, but our schools were integrated with lots of Hispanic, Chinese and Japanese kids. Due to the policy of the federal government to strip Native American kids of their languages and cultures, there were also many Native American kids who had been taken from their families and put into foster homes. They also attended our schools. Polynesians, too. I grew up with lots of color and cultural texture.

I remember being very happy in the multicultural schools in both states. Integrated schools seemed normal to me, having had no other experience. I don't remember anybody fuming that the schools had to be lily-white to be American. And now such statements strike me as quite un-American.

I am also noticing in the past few years that white Americans in Fairfax county are suddenly having larger families. I imagine that has caught county school officials completely by surprise and has added to enrollments.

Personally, I'd like to see teacher salaries increased. If the county is short of money for teachers, they should consider defunding the Lorton Workhouse Art Center. That would be about a million a year right there. I guess it's all a matter of priorities.

Kathy Kaplan

To Jody: I did not intend to be condescending or start a pity party for you and I should not have said I felt sorry for you. That was rude and I apologize. I disagree with your attitude toward immigrants but agree that policies need to change.
To Kathy Keith: you are right that the topic is teachers salaries, and I shouldn't have gone off track.

@ Martin Tillett

Yes, it is more than just Mason District. I should have stated that Mason is *one* of the areas where the poor will be gathered.

As for the pay day loans, pawns shops and other such businesses, I recently saw a study on the very lucrative "poverty industry" that thrives many poor communities across the nation. It is very real and very powerful

I did get off on a tangent. My point was that we have ample low/moderate priced housing in our area and plenty of opportunity to live within our means-- but only if one is willing to live in older neighborhoods or neighborhoods of smaller homes that are now largely populated by recent immigrants. The teacher cited above who stated that he couldn't make it in Fairfax County on his teacher's salary is: 1) obviously stating that he has a living standard that he refuses to fall below, and 2) highlights a shortage of lower cost housing because the rich federal employees and contractors in this area keep home prices high and lower cost neighborhoods are now considered undesirable by many people-- (not politically correct- but accurate). I think this was the issue that the "work-force" housing initiative was supposed to address- but didn't. This is not the time to raise teacher salaries. I'm glad they now must contribute more to their pensions, but we pay for most of it. I believe the county's benefits/pension/job security are more than enough to attract/retain teachers.

Yes, the topic is teacher pay but, you see, that topic is also related to the problem of overcrowding in schools. The standard liberal logic is to accept overcrowded schools as a given, and then figure out how to pay for more teachers. The conservative approach begins by asking how we can mangage the influx and thereby keep costs down. Perhaps the BOS should start thinking of the citizens more as customers and less as cows.

The only reason the topic is teacher pay, however, is that our county can't manage our tax money in a fiscally responsible manner, so they run out. Then, in order to gouge us for more, instead of dropping programs (maybe that benefit fewer people than the staff to run it) or bureaucracy, they inform us that teachers, firefighters, police, or libraries are going to be cut. They try to guilt us into coughing up more.

Just once, I'd like to see an entire BOS really work on cutting costs.