Support for education should be a priority
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Pamela Kincheloe
Published: June 16, 2008
Education has never been more important to Virginia. A quality education provides opportunity and keeps young people on the path to a bright future. It is, and always has been, the most powerful engine
for upward mobility in our nation. The commonwealth, as a whole, also benefits because a highly educated workforce draws economic investment Virginians understand this and agree with the analysis. In
poll after poll they rate the education of the state’s children to be one of their top priorities.
But there is a serious disconnect between what people want and what some delegates are doing in Richmond. House Budget Item 140 #52h would have cut Virginia’s support of public education by $175
million a year. Del. Jackson Miller (and others) voted in favor of this huge cut. This type of voting places ideology above the needs of our children. Fortunately it did not pass.
If this budget item had passed, the jurisdictions of Manassas, Manassas Park and Prince William County would have lost a combined total of more than $23 million. Just imagine the impact on all
localities in a state that already ranks 33rd in the nation in terms of state per-pupil support for education.
In order to make up this deficit, local annual taxes would have been raised an average of $50 on a $250,000 home. So Jackson Miller’s vote would have resulted in your local taxes GOING UP!
Don’t be fooled. Jackson Miller is not a friend of education. Smiling, shaking hands with people and SAYING that he supports education is contradicted by his actions.
Popularity and image management cannot be allowed to distract the public’s attention from the lack of genuine and substantial support for education.
PAMELA KINCHELOE
Manassas
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( raywilliams ) on June 19, 2008 at 5:18 pm
barnun nails two issues. Lottery money was a bait and switch. Saw that coming.
Vocational Ed would also be well received. As you regular posters know, I am always under attack by Chris Cobra for stating my workers earn up to $25. per hour - more than Chris earns. How? Because customers will pay for skills they do not have. Anyone can shag shopping carts from the parking lot like Chris but not many can do what my guys do well.
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Posted by ( jVA ) on June 17, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I agree, barnun. I wish I had taken some autoshop classes in high school! Schools aren’t doing kids any favors by dissuading them from a career as a mechanic.
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Posted by ( barnun ) on June 17, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I’ve stated this opinion before, but I think PWC should build a central vocational school ( shop classes ) for the kids that do not intend to spend 90k to get a business degree in hopes of getting a 32k a year job. The kids could go half day and the school should offer vocational career curriculums, such as hvac, auto mechanics, machine shops, welding, cosmetology etc. I know the schools have faded out shop classes in favor of cisco, auto cad etc and those are good classes as well but this mind set leaves out half the kids and let me tell ya, a good mechanic makes a good living. Call to have your house AC serviced right now and see what you pay.
If PWC had one central facility for this school, it would keep classes full and costs down while offering much higher quality classes.
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Posted by ( barnun ) on June 17, 2008 at 3:00 pm
jva, recently there was discussion of building a new elementary school in nokesville. The community over all was against it. the locals didn’t want it because it would have changed their small school that has always done so well, into a big school. the rest of PWC didn’t want it because they didn’t want to see money spent on a “country” school. So many people will jump into a topic like this one and rave about spending money on schools but then when it comes up, they shoot it down. I have to ask though. I thought the big sell on the VA lottery was to use all the lottery money to add to school funding. once it passed, they took away tax donated money and spent that elsewhere, keeping the school budgets close to the same. for the state to now take away additional money, wouldn’t they be pulling out some of the lottery money as well ?
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Posted by ( jVA ) on June 17, 2008 at 12:53 pm
BHappy, I agree to a certain extent with what you’re saying. Throwing money at schools doesn’t necessarily make them better. And I agree that I would like to see money spent on administration kept to a bare minimum.
However, I think spending more on teachers, specifically quality teachers who reach certain goals would be a worthwhile use of money. Building schools to keep class sizes small is a worthwhile use of funds. Money for computers maybe? I’m sure there are more.
I don’t know about this “indoctrination into a statist society” stuff you’re talking about. Sounds like somebody’s been listening to too much Limbaugh.
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Posted by ( BHappy ) on June 17, 2008 at 9:52 am
Actually I support the budget cuts. There is a certain group out there that seems to feel that throwing more money at schools creates a “superior” system. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The quality of education in Virginia, particularly in Northern Virginia, has been eroded to the point where it is well behind other nations, in spite of having a very generous high spending quota per student.
How much of that spending goes to a bloated and ineffectual administration, and/or frivolous projects like the position of “Diversity coordinator”. PWC schools had a reputation for excellence before it was decided that a quality education depended on indoctrination of young children into the politically correct world view of those who believe in a statist society,versus worrying about whether math, science and literacy curricula are keeping up with the needs of an increasingly technological workplace and world.
So, Johnny can’t read, let alone do advanced mathematics, but hey!, he’ll know when Che’s birthday is. Gotta set some priorities!
When we were transferred to Canada and my children enrolled in middle and junior high school, they were so far behind their classmates they had to be enrolled in remedial education.
It’s time parents had a very hard look at what is going on in our schools. Are they to be indoctrination centers, or places of learning and knowledge? It seems that the trend is towards the former, not the latter.
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Posted by ( RonCharest ) on June 17, 2008 at 8:27 am
Once again, we see that elections have consequences. Del. Miller is doing what we should expect any Republican to do - cut educations funding so our public schools deteriorate.
As the public schools deteriorate as measured by federally-mandated testing, the Republican’s “No Child Left Behind” penalties kick in and the school is defunded in favor of private “charter schools.“
Wealthy families get enough in vouchers to afford to send their kids to the charter schools, and poorer families get to keep their kids in a public school that is starved for resources.
Once again I ask: Why should anyone be surprised when Republicans take care of wealthy people and (Big Republican Party Donor) corporations at the expense of the poor and middle-class families? It’s what they do.
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