Late last week, Lake Anne Development Partners (LADP) announced it was backing out of a massive redevelopment project at Crescent Apartments and the area surrounding Lake Anne Plaza.
LADP’s plans called for more than 1,000 homes, as well as retail stores, office space and a parking garage. The redevelopment, which would have taken more than a decade, was going to move Village Road; widen the entrance to the historic part of Lake Anne Plaza with an enhanced retail boulevard; and add an outdoor amphitheater and parking garage, and boost needed density to improve the retail outlook.
The developer also promised to add more affordable housing in addition to the 181 replacement units at Crescent.
None of that is happening now, though there is a reasonable chance the county, which owns Crescent and selected LADP in a Request for Proposals in 2013, will put the call out to other developers interested in the project. That will take time, which leaves the future of the plan wide open.
What do you think will happen?
Crescent Apartments/file photo
This is an op-ed by Reston resident Irwin Flashman. It does not represent the opinion of Reston Now.
The RA Board is set to vote in its Dec. 17 meeting on two amendments to Board Resolutions which would prohibit the release of the names of persons who vote in Board elections or referenda. The Board has characterized this effort as one to, “protect the confidentiality of members who vote in association elections.” The Board’s press release on the matter really urges members to say, “Yes, protect my confidentiality!”
This so-called issue of “expectation of privacy” is a huge red herring. The existing Resolutions already prohibit the release of the content of the ballot, that is, how someone voted.
The real issue is one of access to the actual voting members of the RA. There are more than 21,000 member households in the RA. In the short campaign period for Board elections, it is impossible for a candidate to knock on the doors of the more than 5,000 households in a district, or even more for a candidate at-large.
Political parties do not attempt to reach all voters in their campaigns. They first go after assuring that their own members likely to vote will, in fact, go to the polls. Then, they urge their own occasional voters to vote. Afterwards, they target the undecideds and others whose vote may be swayed toward their candidates. Yes, there are methods for reaching the entire electorate, but they are not nearly as effective as pressing the flesh and talking with voters.
You can spend significant sums of money on robo calls, or have a mass mailing to 21,000 households at a cost of well over $10,000 per mailing, when you count the cost of stamps, paper, envelopes, design, printing and manpower to put it all together.
This is an opinion column by Del. Ken Plum (D), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
Last week, I made a journey to Norfolk to say a final goodbye to a former colleague in the House of Delegates, Thomas W. Moss, Jr., who passed away. He was more than just a member, however; he was Speaker of the House from 1991 to 2000. His service in the House from 1966 to 2002 spanned a passing of an era in Virginia’s history, and he was an important transition figure.
Speaker Moss was first elected to the House of Delegates as an anti-establishment Democrat. His campaign slogan, “Get Norfolk Out of the Byrd Cage,” reflected the fact that while a Democratic-controlled political machine dominated the state since Reconstruction it was not good for urban areas like Norfolk.
That machine was headed from the 1930s by Governor and then Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr., a tight-fisted conservative who called himself a Democrat but could more appropriately be labeled a Dixiecrat as many white Southerners were known. Byrd vehemently opposed racial desegregation of Virginia’s schools, and his opposition to government spending kept Virginia a backward state for decades.
Mr. Moss was a national Democrat and succeeded in getting himself elected to the House of Delegates where he was in the minority among the more conservative members. Changes in Virginia’s political alignment came about because of the work of leaders like Moss working within the system and federal laws and court decisions influencing the system from the outside.
Getting rid of the poll tax and other restrictive voting laws that kept mostly African Americans from voting, passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and court decisions on redistricting brought about a shift of power where Delegate Moss as a more progressive member became Speaker and the more conservative Democrats switched parties and became Republicans. Eventually this realignment of political allegiance and federally-enforced fairer representation among the regions of the state led to Speaker Moss losing his leadership role in 2000.
He retired from the House after the next term when the new Republican majority drew him into a legislative district with another Democrat. He was elected Treasurer of the City of Norfolk, where he served until January 2014.
Virginia became more progressive during Mr. Moss’s tenure — in the areas of public school spending, investments in higher education, improved mental health and social service programs, and roads. In areas of civil rights, it languished. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) for women was opposed by Mr. Moss until he was challenged by a woman who came close to defeating him in a primary. Virginia still has not passed the ERA.
Talk with anyone who knew him and you are likely to get a funny story about him. His sense of humor was always evident no matter how serious the moment. Sometimes his wisecracks challenged the boundaries of social acceptance. During tense times in the legislature his levity helped move the business along.
Not only did Mr. Moss get Norfolk and Virginia out of the Byrd cage, he helped move the state into a modern era where public education and strong institutions of higher education were valued and transportation and infrastructure were recognized as critical investments. Speaker Moss provided leadership during the passing of an era for which he will be remembered.
Whether his legacy will be built upon or neglected is in part in the hands of those who mourned him last week.
This is an opinion piece by Del. Ken Plum (D), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
In the season of giving, when thoughts turn to what can be done to help friends and neighbors in the community who do not make enough to make ends meet, there are many efforts to help them with a basket of food at the holidays, a food and clothes closet and other well-meaning and important giving programs.
With all the heroic efforts of volunteers, faith communities and nonprofits, such programs can be difficult to sustain and can be uneven in their level of support. They also put proud working people in a position of having to accept a hand-out. There is another solution for Virginia that can make a great deal of difference: let working people keep more of the money they earn.
Since 1975, the federal government has offered an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). It is one of the largest anti-poverty programs in this country. Qualifying individuals and couples who are working but with limited income as defined in tax regulations may qualify for a tax credit and if they do not use all the credit can get a refund. For specific qualifications including income limits, go to www.irs.gov/EITC.
Nationwide, almost 26.7 million persons received more than $65 billion in EITC for the 2014 taxable year. The average EITC was for $2,447. In Virginia, 612,000 persons qualified for an average credit of $2,314.
The federal EITC has been very helpful to working poor Virginians. But the program as currently administered in Virginia goes only part way to helping working people. The federal calculations of EITC are used on the Virginia income tax form and credit is given to the amount of the tax liability. There is no refund of unused credit as with the federal income tax and in many states. I proposed legislation last session and will again in 2016 to make up to 10 percent of the credit refundable.
There is a simple justification for such a change: putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families will stimulate the local economy as this money will be spent to pay for basic household and personal needs and services. It will also make the tax structure fairer for working people.
According to the Commonwealth Institute, the lowest-earning families in Virginia pay 9 percent of their income in state and local taxes while the highest earners pay 5 percent. The 2013 transportation bill included sales tax increases that disproportionately impacted low-income families since they pay a greater share of their incomes in sales taxes than do the wealthy.
Enactment of a refundable state EITC could give a tax break to 296,000 Virginians of as much as $600 for a working family to use to keep food on the table and gas in the car. I hope the Governor will include a refundable EITC in his budget proposal. Your expression of support to the Governor and to your representatives in the General Assembly could lead to the working people of Virginia contributing to growth in the economy by spending money for which they qualify and for which they have needs.
This is an op-ed by Reston resident Jonathan Damm. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
On Thursday, Rep. Gerry Connolly [D-VA 11th] was among 47 Democrats to join House Republicans to vote yes for H.R. 4038 — a bill sponsored by Republicans, which they called: the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015, or the American Safe Act of 2015. I prefer to call it the Anti-Refugee Act. But 137 House Democrats stood firm and voted no.
Until yesterday, I admired Rep. Connolly and respected his body of work. Tragically, this one vote makes it absolutely impossible for me to vote for or support him in the future, notwithstanding his past work on behalf of the 11th District. I feel he has betrayed our fundamental Democratic values by siding with those who devised this hasty legislation on behalf of those more inclined to react out of fear to the terrorism in Paris. But we are better than that. As our national anthem reminds us, we are the home of the brave.
Of course, like most citizens, I expect the federal government to take reasonable steps to protect us against the very real threats that exist in the world. But voting to add a layer of unnecessary delay and burden to the process for refugees entering our country was completely unnecessary. Read More
This is an opinion column by Del. Ken Plum (D), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not represent the opinion of Reston Now.
A recent newspaper headline proclaimed that “Audit finds waste, inefficiencies in Virginia’s Medicaid program.” As often is the case, the real story is beyond the headline.
The audit described in the story is the 62nd audit
of Virginia’s Medicaid program since 2002. This one was conducted by the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission (JLARC) of the General Assembly. The audit was mandated by the Republican majority of the General Assembly, who oppose the expansion of Medicaid for the working poor. As JLARC explained the context of the audit: “Medicaid eligibility determination in Virginia is undergoing significant changes, including new policies for most Medicaid applicants and a new information system used for all applicants.”
Is it any wonder that under such circumstances there would be some audit findings related to verification of eligibility?
In looking at the details of the report, the biggest problem with eligibility determination occurs where the caseload is highest. In Loudoun County, for example, an eligibility worker is responsible for 1,221 cases; in Chesterfield County near Richmond each eligibility worker is responsible for 1,230 cases. It should be no surprise that with such limited staffing and a changing system there would be delays and errors.
Measured against federal standards, Virginia’s error rate of 0.5 percent in approving Medicaid eligibility was far lower than the national average of 3.3 percent in 2012. Even with the changing standards, the current rate at 2.7 percent is less than the national average.
In 2014, 1.2 million Virginians received Medicaid benefits. Only certain categories of Virginians are eligible for Medicaid. They must fall into one of five primary eligibility categories — children under age 19, parents or legal guardians of a dependent child, pregnant women, persons aged 65 or older, or disabled or blind –and they must have income below the appropriate percentage of the federal poverty level for their eligibility category. Over half of those enrolled in 2014 were children and nearly half of the $7.9 billion in payments went to those who are disabled or blind.
As the JLARC report found, “the eligibility determination process is complex and involves multiple federal, state, and local agencies.” While the goal may be to have no errors, the level of performance in Virginia is much better than the national average and is quite remarkable considering the kind of change the program is currently undergoing. The JLARC report concluded that “the state may have spent between $21 million and $38 million on individuals no longer eligible,” or less than 0.5 percent at a maximum.
No estimate is offered for the cost to the recommended remedies, but certainly they will exceed the cost of the perceived problem — fraud and waste. In addition to costs, the proposed solution opens up a myriad of large data bases on personal finances, real estate holdings, and employment that the General Assembly may not wish to make available to state agencies. The report has no mention of the amount the state will recover; nor does it mention in the case of fraud that the Attorney General’s Medicaid fraud unit was found in 2013 to be the best in the country.
Opponents of closing the coverage gap for an estimated 400,000 working Virginians will no doubt nitpick the latest report and use it as an excuse for not taking action. Such a misuse of information will be felt by the neediest of Virginians.
This is an op-ed by Connie Hartke, President of Rescue Reston. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
One year ago, we received notice that those who would turn our planned community into “Potterville” were back and ready to set a hearing date with the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals. We imagine they thought this community would be too busy with holidays to take much notice.
We proved them wrong! In 12 months we accomplished the following:
- raised funds for legal representation
- held a press conference
- held a rally with over 300 supporters
- held a smaller rally in front of the Reston Northwestern Mutual office, where supporters, including Supervisor Cathy Hudgins and Del. Ken Plum, spelled out “NO.”
- had over 500 supporters attend the Jan. 21 BZA hearing
- held our First Annual Golf Tournament and Nature Hike — at Reston National Golf Course
- elevated this land use battle to national attention
- received a victory in Fairfax County Circuit Court. On Friday, Nov. 6, when the judge told the owner-investors of RNGC that they must follow established County zoning procedures in any effort to convert this tract of land to other uses.
We did it! This community pulled together, including teamwork between our local county government, Reston Association and this grassroots organization, Rescue Reston.
This victory is not the end by any means. We will find out in the next few weeks whether the owner-investors will appeal that decision to the Virginia Supreme Court, but even without an appeal we expect them to continue their battle against us through other avenues.
Rescue Reston has received thanks from so many. Would you buy us the electronic version of a cup of coffee? With so many of you contributing, even the smallest donation will add up and we need your contribution no matter where you live–someday your community may need the legal precedent that is being set in Reston and Fairfax County.
You can find ways to contribute on our web site, www.rescuereston.org, or write a check today to Rescue Reston, 2198 Golf Course Dr, Reston, VA 20191. We even have a shopping link for Amazon – see the fundraisers tab.
Show your appreciation the one way that really makes a difference: a donation to ensure we can maintain legal strength and backing to preserve designated open space at Reston National Golf Course, a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program Golf Course.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Photo: Rescue Reston supporters spelling out “NO” in front of Reston National Golf Course owner Northwestern Mutual offices/file photo
This is an opinion column by Del. Ken Plum, who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
Experts on communications in political campaigns advise that a message needs to be expressed in a matter of seconds — not minutes — if it is to be effective. The best political message should be able to be printed on a bumper sticker.
In a world of complexities and over-loaded communications channels, only the simply-stated message stands a chance of getting through to voters.
Simple messages about complex issues can be misleading and can lead to bad policies. About a million dollars was spent in the most recent cycle to convince voters that certain candidates were part of a plan to put $17 tolls on I-66.
In this instance, voters saw through the falsehoods and re-elected Delegate Kathleen Murphy and elected Jennifer Boysko to the House of Delegates. Republican incumbents who jumped on “no $17 tolls” won re-election, but all incumbents in both parties were re-elected.
The damage done with this campaign message is that it is likely to take off the table a reasonable alternative that could be considered to relieve the massive traffic congestion on I-66. The fact of the matter is that there are $17 tolls on the express lanes on I-95, but they are only imposed as they were proposed for I-66 as part of traffic demand management to keep people off the roads during the worst of the congestion.
What the plan would have done was to allow single-occupant vehicles on I-66 during the morning commute time for a lesser toll that would reduce congestion on other streets and generate funds for improvements in the corridor. The proposal was developed by VDOT and had been discussed extensively with the community.
To listen to the campaign rhetoric one could be led to believe that Democratic candidates had proposed it and every driver would have to pay it. Interestingly, those who ran on the no tolls issue did not offer any alternatives for relieving traffic congestion.
This, of course, is not the first time that simple messages have been used to confuse and mislead voters in Virginia elections. Unfortunately, some of the messages of the past have won elections but with disastrous policy outcomes.
The clever “no car tax” slogan won the governorship for Jim Gilmore many years ago, but the policy impact of the state paying part of the local taxes for persons with the biggest cars cost the state nearly a billion dollars every year since that campaign. The car tax got too high in some suburban communities that faced the expenses of growing school populations and other services, but under the Dillon Rule they had no other options for raising revenue.
The Gilmore proposal had the policy effect of taking from the poor and giving to the rich. The state’s share of school funding went down because of the gimmick to end the car tax. It was a simple message to a complex problem that led to unfortunate results.
The campaign to “end parole” that got George Allen elected has led to jails and prisons being overcrowded with persons who should have alternatives to incarceration. Somehow “use tolling to ease traffic,” “reform the tax structure,” or “reform parole” did not have the same ring to them as the bumper-sticker messages that win elections but can lead to unfortunate consequences.
Fairfax County Public Schools students traditionally go to school on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
While it is a federal holiday, for years FCPS has been packaging November days off as a semester break/Election Day/teachers-conference two-day event the first few days of November.
The tradeoff is school on the national holiday.
While many schools have Veterans Day activities on Nov. 11 — for many years, Reston’s Sunrise Valley Elementary, for example, has invited Veterans to speak at a morning assembly. But not all do, and the day is just business as usual.
Should there be school on Veterans Day? Or should it be a chance to reflect and honor on what veterans have done for the United States?
Take our poll and tell us in the comments.
This is an opinion column by Del, Ken Plum (D), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not represent Reston Now.
A chicken-or-egg kind of debate has been going on in Virginia recently as a result of a report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC). The agency is charged by law with the responsibility of providing an annual report on the growth of state spending over the last 10 years while identifying the largest- and fastest-growing programs and functions in the budget.
The most recent report was for the period FY 2006 through FY 2015. Among its other findings was the fact that the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) has overtaken the Department of Education (DOE) as having the largest appropriation of any state agency. The appropriation for DMAS represents 18 percent of the total state budget with DOE being 15 percent, Virginia Department of Transportation at 10 percent, and all the other agencies of state government at under 10 percent each.
The largest program increase in total appropriations from FY 2006 to FY 2015 was in the area of medical program services (Medicaid) from $4,672.8 million to $8,148.6, an increase of 74 percent. Some opponents of an expansion of Medicaid have focused on this number as being a reason to not expand Medicaid for presumably it would cost too much.
Fortunately, the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis has done some research that puts the increase in context. As the Institute points out, “the growth occurred largely during the worst and most prolonged economic recession since the Great Depression and then a sluggish recovery made worse by federal sequestration.
Most recently, Virginia ranked 48th nationally in economic growth. When you lose your job, you lose your health coverage if you were lucky enough to have it in the first place. At the same time, the number of Virginians 65 years and older grew more than three times as much as the overall population resulting in a 30 percent increase in enrollment.”
Beyond these external factors affecting Medicaid costs, state legislators added more than 4,300 waiver slots over the past 10 years for long-term care services for people who are intellectually and developmentally disabled.
These waivers that are critical to the individuals and families who need them are among the most expensive of medical services. An intellectual disability waiver costs about $71,000 per person per year, and a developmental disability waiver costs nearly $33,000 per person per year. The Institute found that last year alone the waivers added $285 million to the budget. Waivers are not limited to persons of low incomes as the rest of Medicaid programs are.
Is it then the chicken or the egg that came first? Did the availability of medical services run up the cost of Medicaid or was it the growing population of older persons and the extension of services to the most needy that added to the cost? In either case, does it not make sense to use 100 percent federal dollars to meet the needs of the working poor and save the 350 million state dollars that are currently appropriated for the indigent? People who need health care come first making an expansion of Medicaid essential.
This is an opinion piece by Del. Ken Plum (D), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
I know it is a safe assumption that readers of this column are regular voters. There is no need for me to carry on about the importance of voting, outcomes matter, etc. You get it, but it is a bit shocking and disappointing to realize the small percentage of people who do.
If history provides any indication, the election next Tuesday, Nov. 3, will attract just 30 percent or less of registered voters. In this election cycle four years ago, 28.61 percent of registered voters actually went to the polls.
In 2007 the percentage was 30.2. Only in presidential election years do substantial majorities of registered voters get to the polls — 72 percent in 2012 and 75 percent in 2008. Of course, none of these numbers take into account those who do not bother to register to vote.
Those of us who are active voters can help others in the process. There are 19 different reasons for which an absentee ballot can be cast before the election. Check out the details at Fairfax County Absentee Voting and refer others to this site that also includes information on electronic applications for an absentee ballot. The deadline for a mail-in absentee ballot to be received by the Office of Elections is Election Day, Nov. 3, by 7 p.m.
Of course, it is important to know for whom one is voting. I mailed a voter guide to my constituents a couple of weeks ago including my recommendations on candidates, and most recently I mailed a postcard with the Reston Team of myself, Senator Janet Howell, Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, and School Board member Pat Hynes asking for support and listing our recommendations for other offices on the ballot. Send me an email at [email protected] if you have any questions.
The Connection newspaper will print candidate profiles, and the League of Women Voters has information supplied by candidates.
Once again, some of the campaigns have taken on an unfortunate tone. I do not remember television ads in the Washington media market ever being used at all in House of Delegate races because of their expense, but this year there is an effort to mislead voters into believing that Del. Kathleen Murphy in McLean and candidate Jennifer Boysko in Herndon support $17 tolls, which they have made clear they do not support nor do I know anyone who supports $17 tolls.
Equally as concerning is a campaign being run by the Traditional Values Coalition against at-large School Board members Ryan McElveen, Ilryong Moon, and Ted Velkoff, whom I as a retired educator feel have been doing an excellent job. The Traditional Values Coalition is an anti-LGBT group identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group.
Thank you for your participation in the electoral process. Take a few minutes to talk with your friends and neighbors about voting on Nov. 3. Election outcomes do matter.
This is an opinion column by Del. Ken Plum (D), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
Every decade after the federal census, state legislatures are responsible for drawing the boundaries of the House of Representatives and the House of Delegates and State Senate districts. By Supreme Court decisions districts are to be equal in population (slight deviations allowed) and are to provide equal protection of the law for all persons.
Even with these limitations, drawing legislative district lines is a division of power as well as population. Going back to Elbridge Gerry in 1812, redistricting has been recognized as a political exercise as well as legislative responsibility when one of the districts proposed looked like a salamander, hence the term gerrymandering.
Virginia’s redistricting in 2011 provided the Republican majority in the House and Senate an opportunity to expand their numbers but also left many people feeling that they were not treated fairly. A challenge to the congressional districts resulted in a federal court finding the districts violated the rights of minorities, especially in the 3rd Congressional district that packed African Americans in a district extending from Richmond to Norfolk, albeit rather narrow in some places.
While such a district virtually ensured the election of an African American congressman, Bobby Scott, it at the same time may have limited African Americans to a single district. When the General Assembly was unable or unwilling to redraw the lines, the federal courts took the responsibility with an expert consultant who is expected to complete the task by the end of October.
Presently, there are several lawsuits that are challenging the House of Delegates districts on the same arguments used against the Congressional districts. It is likely that these districts will be thrown out as well, and I and the other delegates elected in these districts on Nov. 3, 2015, would have to run again in 2016 and to get back on schedule again in 2017.
This is the same series of events that happened over unconstitutional districts in 1981, 1982, and 1983. Once again it is unlikely that the House of Delegates will be able to redraw the lines that might result in unseating incumbents, and the court will need to do the job for the House.
Drawing district lines is the greatest conflict of interest that legislators face. The natural tendency is self-preservation and to hold onto power. That is why I introduced legislation in 1982 to establish a nonpartisan redistricting commission in Virginia, the first such proposed in the Commonwealth. It has never passed, but the most recent challenges in the state on this issue as well as an increasing number of states that are going to commissions may propel it forward. OneVirginia2021 is a group actively working to make it happen in Virginia.
I recently attended a conference, Redistricting Reform: Mapping Our Future, sponsored by Common Cause and the George Washington University School of Law. I was impressed with the amount of research and study that has been done on the process and the methodologies that have been developed to measure partisan gerrymandering.
Under the current system, there are only 38 of 100 House and 23 of 40 Senate seats challenged in the current elections because districts are gerrymandered to determine the outcome. There is adequate information available for Virginia to do a fairer, less partisan job of drawing the lines.
Offloading. Trains out of service. Delays. Complaints about the Wiehle-Reston East Kiss-and-Ride.
Just another morning on Metro these days. Fifteen months after the Silver Line opened in Reston, it seems many daily commuters have joined the chorus all over the DC area bemoaning the many rail service issues.
There has been no shortage of headlines lately about problems with the Metrorail system, not to mention real-time tweets of frustration during rush hour. A Metro riders union has also recently formed.
Metro says it’s trying to catch up, but even the maintenance is causing problems. This weekend alone, “reconstruction of the Metrorail system” will result in “service adjustments” on every line other than the Green Line. The Orange, Silver, Blue, Yellow and Red lines will all see 24 minute lags between trains.
Metro acknowledged last week that service breakdowns may be responsible for steadily decreasing ridership.
The rail system also announced Thursday it has formed Amplify, a “customer community” where riders can share opinions and help shape the direction of Metro, WMATA said in a statement.
Are you sticking with Metro or are you driving to work more often this year as a result of less reliable service? Take our poll and tell us your thoughts in the comments.
Photo: August Metro offloading at Arlington Cemetery/Credit: Katie Watson via Twitter
This is an opinion column by Del. Ken Plum (D), who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
According to the General Assembly’s own watchdogs, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), Virginia’s local school divisions shoulder the highest share of total K-12 spending in the Southeast region.
The finding is hardly news to school superintendents, school boards, and local governments as the recession took its toll on the economy and tax revenues at all levels, student enrollment increased and the state share of education spending declined.
In FY2014, the average Virginia school division spent 7 percent less to educate each student than it did in FY2005, according to JLARC. Also not news to teachers is the JLARC finding that “divisions reduced per-student spending on instruction through a combination of employing fewer teachers per student, limiting teacher salary growth, and requiring teachers to pay a higher percentage of health insurance and retirement benefit costs.” Parents also are keenly aware that their children are sitting in classrooms with many more students.
Fairfax County Board Chairman Sharon Bulova captured the details of the declining state revenue for K-12 education in a letter to the Governor recently. She wrote that “though the Commonwealth’s budget shortfall was the 20th largest in the nation, the state funding cut to localities was third highest among the states. In fact, since FY2009, structural budget cuts to K-12 have cost localities more than $1.7 billion per biennium statewide. State K-12 funding in FY2016 remains below the FY2009 level.”
She observed that “a state that is in the top ten in income should not be in the bottom ten for state education funding, but that is where Virginia finds itself at present.”
A recent report based on a survey by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents found that 92 percent of school districts in the Commonwealth have cut staff, eliminating more than 10,000 jobs, more than half of which have been teaching positions. Increased class sizes have been reported in 71 percent of school districts. Programs such as fine arts, foreign language, physical education and career and technical education have been reduced at more than half of school districts, and nearly a third of districts have reduced extra-curricular activities such as academic clubs, student clubs, and athletics.
As the president of the Association said, “School divisions simply don’t have the finances or human resources to make the changes we want and need in order to prepare our students effectively for higher education and careers.”
An analysis of the JLARC report by the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis concluded that “supporting our schools at a level far below what it takes to meet growing needs, we put our children and our future workforce in a precarious position. Continuing to pretend that teachers and schools can do more with less, year after year, is not sustainable. It’s time to rebuild the damage done to education funding during the recession and invest in our children.”
Governor McAuliffe has said that he will be giving priority to education funding in the budget that he is preparing for the next biennium. The 2016 session of the General Assembly must adopt the same priority.
This is an opinion column by Del. Ken Plum. who represents Reston in Virginia’s House of Delegates. It does not reflect the opinion of Reston Now.
It is not easy to admit that you are not up to a challenge that hundreds of your constituents face each day, but that’s what happened to me last week.
ProgressVA sponsored the “Live the Wage Challenge” asking elected officials, community leaders, advocates, and everyday citizens to walk in the shoes of a minimum wage worker by living on a minimum wage budget for one week. The point of the activity was to help others understand what life is like for low-wage workers and why raising the wage is important to working families and to the economy.
Directions for the simulation provided each participant with a weekly budget of $77, which represents the weekly wages of a full-time worker making the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour (minus average taxes and average housing expenses).
Even that budget is generous for the Northern Virginia region, where housing expenses alone would wipe out the entire paycheck. For the activity, I needed only to figure out how to pay for my meals, groceries, transportation, and recreational spending. The rules were very generous in not requiring me to cover the expenses of family members or work travel. The rules however did require me to eat only those items of groceries or eating out paid for within the budget. I was required to record my expenses to see how I made it through the week.
The fact of the matter is that I did not make it through the first day. It was clear to me from the beginning that I was not going to be able to make ends meet. Yet people in my community and throughout Virginia have to face these challenges every day. The simulation included a day when a child in your household gets sick. What do you do? You cannot stay home for you need to work every day to get the income. You cannot afford a baby sitter or a visit to a medical clinic.
I have been conscious of the plight of low-income people, but this activity brought home to me once again how tough life is for some people. Several years ago, I was paired with a woman living in subsidized housing along with her young daughter who had multiple handicaps. I tried to live on the budget of public assistance that she had. I failed that challenge as well. And I grew up in a home with limited income. I admire the resourcefulness of persons in these situations and their ability to live without many of the things we consider basic.
Last legislative session, I introduced a bill to raise the minimum wage in Virginia. It was supported by interfaith, religious, and labor groups. It was unfortunately opposed by business groups including the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and much to my disappointment the Fairfax and Reston Chambers of Commerce. I will introduce the bill again in 2016.
For those who have opposed the bill in the past, I hope you will go to #LiveTheWageVA and tell me and others how you would meet the challenge!
