Problems in Fairfax County Public Schools include:

• A 10-year backlog in capital projects (buildings, renovations, repairs, etc.)
• Long waits for construction of modular units for additions and trailer replacements
• Overcrowded schools, resulting in:
• Overburdened cafeterias - lunch times that begin before 10:00 AM and end near 2:00 PM
• Overburdened gymnasiums, playground and athletic facilities - abbreviated PE classes and recesses to maximize "throughput" of students, at a time when children's fitness and obesity are major concerns
• Overburdened libraries - abbreviated library sessions trying to squeeze everyone in, when we're focusing on "No Child Left Behind"
• Unsafe "temporary" (read: semi-permanent) trailers at too many schools, for too many years, which were evacuated out of safety concerns during recent periods of high winds.

Does this sound like the school system from one of the wealthiest and best-educated counties in the nation?

Unfortunately, it is.

Our tax bills and the county's tax revenues continue to increase, but we still have trouble appropriately funding our schools. Why? Because the Board of Supervisors has not been a good steward of our money. They continue to approve development projects without ensuring that the necessary supporting infrastructure, including school facilities, roads, and parks, are is in place prior to project completion (schools, roads, parks…).

The Board of Supervisors recently accepted proffers of only $570 per condo to help pay for school improvements when they approved 1,400 luxury, high-rise condos around the Tysons Corner shopping center.

What would the developer have proffered for public schools if it had sought rezoning to build the expensive condos in other parts of Virginia? In Prince William County, the developer would have been asked to contribute $5033 for each condo to the public schools; in Spotsylvania County, $2789; in Stafford County, $7,797. In Loudoun the developer would have paid somewhere between $8,870.70 and $10,088.80 for every condo.

Charlie will work to make sure that no new development is approved without appropriate funding for our schools.

Washington Post, "Winds Cancel Flights, Classes" by Nick Miroff and Philip Rucker, Tuesday, April 17, 2007; Page B01; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/16/AR2007041600351.html

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