BUILD SCHOOLS NOW
Dear School Supporters,
The WJC Education Foundation issued this powerful statement (found at the bottom of this message) regarding the proposed new elementary and middle schools. The Foundation's assessment is "spot-on" and if you agree also please take a moment to contact the James City County Board of Supervisors (CLICK HERE TO SEND AN EMAIL TO THE JCC BOARD) to tell them so.
It is imperative to contact the JCC Board NOW because they will be discussing this matter on Tuesday, September 23.
To add a little to the WJCEF's statement, it must be understood that WJC’s class size guidelines are MAXIMUM guidelines: meaning that we don’t want classes in grades K-2 larger than 20 students; or larger than 25 students, grades 3-5. These are sound guidelines informed by research. If some in the community are disappointed that WJC is not “meeting its own standards” then they just don’t get that these class size standards are not ones to meet, but ones NOT TO EXCEED.
Following WJC’s class size guidelines, it makes sense that the formula used to calculate “effective capacity” in K-3 classrooms is 19. Some classrooms might have 20 students; others might have 18 or 19 because children don't often come in groups of exactly 20. In classrooms for students in grades 3-5, 23 students per class is used to determine "effective capacity" because there will be classes with 25 students and maybe some with 21 and many in between. This is how our schools actually work.
Now could we pack more students in each classroom? Sure, but is that what we really WANT to do? Wouldn't it be better to maintain those class size guidelines for the benefit of children, and for the teachers who need more time to be able to interact with them individually?
Some might choose to focus on "design capacity," which would provide a valid number of how many children could potentially fit in a building if they came in groups of exactly 25 or 30 students, and if no regular classrooms had to be used for computer labs, special education, gifted education, or preschool, but to do so would be relatively meaningless exercise because it would not take into account the class size variations and the actual programming taking place in the schools.
Please read the statement below from the WJCEF and contact the JCC Board of Supervisors.
Thank you for supporting our schools.
Mike Ludwick
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FROM MEMBERS OF THE WILLIAMSBURG/JAMES CITY EDUCATION FOUNDATION
With our local elected bodies currently pondering the second phase of funding for construction of two new schools for the Williamsburg-James City County School Division, there has been much public discussion about whether now is an appropriate time to move ahead with the project.
Public discourse on such important topics is always healthy, and the members of the Williamsburg-James City Education Foundation will always welcome it. We become concerned, however, when arguments being put forth and conclusions being reached are based on faulty and/or incomplete research.
As our community’s business leaders, we understand the critical need to maintain the quality of our public schools. We rely on them to provide us well-educated students who, when they graduate, are ready to go on to higher education, or enter our local workforce with the skills they need to succeed.
Recent public discussion in some quarters has led us to believe that some members of the community, while perhaps well-meaning, are looking only at dollar signs,and not our children.We question whether they have actually visited any of our schools recently, with students present, to see for themselves the space crunch that many of our schools are facing, and how it is negatively affecting our childrens’ education.
The time is now to begin building a new elementary school and middle school. We believe there are several compelling reasons to do so that recent reports suggesting the contrary have not taken into consideration:
- It will become immediately obvious to anyone who visits Stonehouse Elementary School, D.J. Montague Elementary School, Norge Elementary School, or Toano Middle School, that these schools are becoming severely overtaxed. They are simply too crowded. Trailers have been set up next to these buildings to accommodate the overabundance of students.
- Save money by putting a few more students in each classroom so you don’t have to build a whole new school, the argument goes. How can we, in good conscience, suggest that to the parents of the children at Stonehouse, Toano, Norge, and D.J. Montague, who are watching their children being moved into trailers with ever-increasing class sizes? Our community has told the W-JCC School Board on numerous occasions to keep student/teacher ratios as low as possible.
- It is true that housing starts and enrollment figures are slowing down with the current economy. But you wouldn’t know it by taking a drive around the upper portion of James City County, where home construction is in evidence everywhere, including one housing project well under way that has 500 homes planned for it. Families with children will move into these homes, and they will need a place to go to school. Not building schools now to accommodate this need is shortsighted, and invites an even bigger fiscal challenge down the road. And, while enrollment figures are slightly below original projections, W-JCC still expects about 150 more students for the 2008-09 school year.
- Using "spot redistricting" in an attempt to alleviate overcrowding would be a monumental and costly effort, as anyone who has participated in this process in the past can attest. To achieve a balance, students would have to be redistricted from one end of the county to the other; the Division’s transportation department does not have the resources to move children these great distances.
- In addition to quality of education issues, there also is a powerful financial reason to act now: the current downturn in the economy, which has brought with it far more favorable costs for construction. The original estimate for the total cost of the two new schools was $88.9 million, based on the bidding climate of about 18 months ago. A revised estimate is now $82 million (nearly 8 percent less), a much more favorable scenario. To further illustrate this, Matoaka Elementary School, if built today, would cost $236.65 per square foot. The current bidding climate would allow the new elementary school to be built at a cost of $209.99 per square foot or $26.66 less per square foot. No one knows what the economy will be like a year from now; but to stand aside and not take advantage of this favorable situation is not fiscally responsible.
- Students seem to have achieved federal standards of learning four years ago with our current facilities – why can’t they now? Because, notwithstanding the fact that our student population has grown since then, the federal government also has raised considerably the federal standards of learning through the "No Child Left Behind" Act.
This means that, while four years ago a score of 70 may have met the federal standard in a certain subject area, that standard is now 77 … and will rise again next year. Our students have performed admirably in recent years, increasing scores on performance tests and validating the vision and management of W-JCC schools.
This Tuesday evening, the James City County Board of Supervisors will consider the issue of whether to help fund the second phase of W-JCC’s two new schools. The WJCEF has unanimously passed a resolution in support of moving ahead with these schools. We encourage all parents, and anyone who cares to maintain the quality of public education in our region, to attend the Supervisors’ meeting to let our public officials know that now is the time for decisive action. As we have shown, dallying for a year or more to "see what happens" is not fiscally – or even morally – responsible.
DAVID BUSH, WJCEF President
Managing Partner, Witt Mares & Co.
And 17 additional Foundation members
ALT ED SAVED!
Dear School Supporters,Last night was a great night for Alternative Education in WJC!
Not opting for any of the variations offered by the school administration,
the WJC School Board voted UNANIMOUSLY to continue the Academy for Life and Learning (ALL) as its local program for long-term suspended and expelled students.
As several former members of the Alt Ed Task Force noted in their letter to the School Board which was presented last night,
"[r]etaining this local program is critical to maintaining parental/guardian/community involvement in the program and the students involvement in the community. It would also utilize full-time teachers instead of only part-time teachers which is an improvement and precisely what we recommended. The program has shown signs of success and should be permitted to continue."Once again, when the local program for suspended and expelled students faced elimination, the community rallied to its defense, and the School Board ultimately supported the program and these students.
Thank you for your present and past support for the ALL program (and vigilance even during the summer!), and we hope you continue to support it in the future.
Now that we've made a difference by saving Alt Ed, please think about making a big difference in the life of an individual child by
becoming a mentor through the
WJC/Big Brothers/Big Sisters school-based program. One hour a week during the school year and a desire to help is all it takes. Call Big Brothers/Big Sisters at 253-0676.
Thank you for support of our schools and all our students.
Mike Ludwick
Responding to Gazette Articles and Editorials
This article was published in the Virginia Gazette.
8/10/08
Dear School Supporters,
Here we go again.
Reading the Virginia Gazette, it is evident that the same arguments that were used to delay the third high school, which ended up costing taxpayers millions, are being rolled out again to delay the next elementary and middle school:
1) student enrollment projections are "faulty",
2) space in existing schools is being used "poorly", and
3) long-term budget planning is "inaccurate".
Let's look at each one by one.
Enrollment Projections
Support for the third high finally converged when the "cohort-survival" method of enrollment projections (which decently projects enrollment for a year or two out) was substituted for a more robust model, done by professional consultants (which utilized the cohort-survival method as well as county housing data, regression-base forecasting methods, land-saturation analysis, migration/change in household composition, and GIS technology), and then actual enrollment matched or exceeded the projections.
(For those who want to see everything taken into consideration in the new enrollment projection methodology, take a look at the 30-page report done in 2007
HERE .) Presumably a new one will be done in fall 2008.
Now, might the projections be a little off due to the slow down in the economy? Perhaps. We'll wait and see what the actual September 30 enrollments look like. But the Gazette reported that the "budget advisors" ARE CONVINCED (by what we don't know because no data is presented) that more public school students will be going to private schools. If anything, as household budgets tighten, one might expect the trend to go in the OPPOSITE direction, with private school children coming INTO public schools, but even that is just conjecture.
It does sound a bit "screwy" (to quote a Gazette editorial) to build schools and not use them, but at least thought is being given to building the schools now to take advantage of the downturn in the market to get a great deal on construction costs, rather than putting off construction. By not using the schools though, we continue house kids outside of school buildings and waste money on trailers.
Use of Space in Schools
Third high and eighth elementary detractors also tried to argue space was used inefficiently in order to delay building. What happened? Not only was instruction taking place in trailers, but also in faculty lounges, closets and other places in which it was never intended.
The division hired a professional school construction firm to examine each school and determine capacity. That data is included in the enrollment projection report (see page 5 of
this document). But now the "budget advisors" are going to do their own report. More power to them. We'll see what they produce and the methodology they use. I hope they remember that any capacity projection has to be tempered with the practical nature of what actually happens in schools. Kids don't come in neat packages or 20 or 25, struggling students and those with special needs require areas for smaller groups, and special programs also need space. So even if a school's enrollment is a bit under "capacity," the school may still be well utilized. And a little breathing room is okay, folks; it also allows for some innovative programming and room for growth.
Outyear Budget Projections
As far as the school division's outyear budget projections, they don't appear to be unreasonable, but the projections are likely on the high side.
The 5% per year salary increase may be optimistic, but it would certainly keep us highly competitive and help us attract and retain the best teachers, principals and other staff.
A fringe benefit increase of 10% a year may be high, but you never know what will happen with health insurance costs or the Virginia Retirement System.
A 10% projected increase in utility costs per year may be high if costs level off. We can only hope.
Other costs are projected to increase 3% year, basically to keep up with inflation, and hopefully inflation stays low.
So the division's budget projections may be a little high, but better to work down from there than the other way around.
All that said, the county is going to have to come to terms with the fact that as school enrollment increases, new schools will be needed (along with all the staff and operating costs that follow), and ultimately they have to be paid for, plain and simple. This community will not have it any other way and we need to keep reminding our elected officials of this.
Thank you for supporting our schools, and all our students.
Mike Ludwick
WJC School Board SAVES Alternative Education--for now
7/11/08
Dear School Supporters,
Thanks in part to your advocacy, the WJC School Board UNANIMOUSLY directed the administration to come up with a plan to keep the Academy for Life and Learning (ALL) program for long-term suspended and expelled students here in WJC.
The School Board deserves credit for making this powerful and unequivocal statement and we trust it will carry over into the administration's effort to come up with an effective plan to serve these students locally.
Your persuasive, passionate and heartfelt communications with the School Board surely made a difference. But we are not out of the woods yet.
We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed as proposals come forward.
Thank you for supporting our schools, and all our students.
Mike Ludwick
Save Alternative Education--AGAIN
6/29/08
Dear School Supporters,
We have another moment of truth for Alternative Education in WJC.
And even though it's summer (and partially because it's summer and some may not be following closely), WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP.
Once again, IN JEOPARDY is the program for suspended and expelled students (formerly CEO, now the Academy for Life and Learning, known as ALL).
At the last School Board meeting, the administration presented a plan to send all suspended and expelled students to Enterprise Academy, an alternative school in Newport News, ELIMINATING the local program for these students.
The School Board is asking for public input and they need to hear from you.
Please take a minute out of your summer to
CLICK HERE to contact the School Board and the Superintendent ASAP and ask them to implement the recommendations of the WJC Alternative Education Task Force and allow the ALL program to continue to serve suspended and expelled students LOCALLY and to do so in a program held during regular school hours with full-time teachers.
This is very likely our last chance to save this program. Once it is gone to Newport News, it is not likely coming back.
In terms of academic achievement, preliminary results for the ALL program are promising. Of the 10 eight grade students in the program, 9 passed their reading SOL exam. Reported levels of parental/guardian and community involvement in the program have been high.
The parental involvement component would be greatly diminished if the program is sent to Newport News.
The WJC community would have diminished connections with the program, and the program's involvement in the WJC community would also diminish, due to the distance from us.
These are key components that relate to the program's success that we would be losing.
Again, please take a moment to contact the School Board and Superintendent and ask them to retain a local program for suspended and expelled students and implement the program as the Alt Ed Task Force recommended.
Thank you for supporting our schools, and all our students.
Mike Ludwick
Proposed Budget Important
5/30/08
This letter was sent to the Daily Press in response to an editoral but it was not published.
Proposed Budgets Important
The editorial "Budget 'cuts'" correctly stated that even though WJC Schools needed to cut $927,000 from its "proposed budget" for next year due to 11th hour actions of the James City County Board of Supervisors, schools were still seeing an overall increase. Even so, not fully funding schools’ proposed budgets does have implications.
While funding to schools may increase from one year to the next, if funding doesn't keep up with enrollment increases or state and federal mandates or inflation (including increasing fuel, retirement or health insurance costs) or competitive teachers’ salaries, schools fall behind.
In particular, teachers’ salaries need to be highly competitive not just to attract and retain the best teachers, but to encourage people to enter the profession. Compensation for teachers in Virginia fall more than 25% below salaries for other occupations that require similar education,
skills and experience, according to a new book, "The Teaching Penalty," even factoring in benefits and different work schedules.
Not all efforts to improve students’ academic skills require additional funds. Pedagogy can be improved using research-based instructional strategies, as WJC continues to employ. But, inevitably, working with children individually, in small groups, and in smaller classes using
instruction technology in order to have greater success reaching students requires additional staff and equipment which requires additional funds.
Occasionally some additional administrative, operational, or clerical staff are necessary, too.
Not funding reasonable proposed budgets is no way to provide the next generation of workers, citizens and leaders with the best education possible.
Mike Ludwick
Founder, Support Schools Now
James City County
JCC Leaves Schools $927K Short; Error in Gazette Article
5/15/08
Dear School Supporters,
JCC SUPERVISORS LEAVE SCHOOLS $927,000 SHORT
Due to the 11th hour funding reductions from the James City County Board of Supervisors on a 3-2 vote (which also, by formula, reduces the city's funding level), WJC Schools will need to cut $927,000 from its proposed budget.
Cutting back on the proposed budget is always difficult, but the JCC Supervisors left the schools no other choice because of their decision to shift the costs of the stormwater plan into the general fund to compete with education dollars. This also has the unfortunate effect of having residential taxpayers bear a greater burden of the stormwater costs, rather than commercial interests.
To address this is disappointing development, the superintendent is proposing to reduce the schools' budget as follows:
* Reduction of Teacher and Staff Salary Increase from 4.5% to 4.25% ($223,000);
* Reduction of Bus Allocation ($250,000)--puts WJC on a 20-year bus replacement cycle;
* Reduction of Technology Allocation ($245,348)--slows the infusion of instructional technology into our schools;
* Elimination of a Multicultural Specialist and Data Manager ($153,629);
* Reduction of Health Insurance Budget ($63,823)--employees will pay the same rates as they do now even though the division saw a decrease in health insurance costs.
You may wish to contact the School Board (
mailto:schoolboardmembers@wjcc.k12.va.us;mike@supportschoolsnow.org) to provide your input on how the schools' budget should be reduced.
RAISES, NO BONUSES!
Thank you again for speaking out for competitive teacher and staff base salary increases and against "bonuses". The supervisors reported receiving hundreds of emails from citizens and school and county employees! The campaign was extremely effective. Your voices were heard!
ERROR IN GAZETTE, CORRECTION ISSUED
The Virginia Gazette misreported WJC's Capital Improvement Plan vs. York's and issued a correction. In fact, WJC's CIP appropriately reflects the growing division we are and is not out of line with York's.WJC's CIP is $140 million, but $93 million of that is related to new construction due to growing enrollment in WJC. That is why WJC's CIP is still 3 times the size of York's CIP which is $48 million (rather than the $11 million the Gazette reported).
And of the $93 million for new construction, $79 million is for WJC's 9th elementary school and 4th middle school. The other $14 million is for the central office/alternative education facility, 4th high school site, and an aquatic center. ($8 million was included for an aquatic center to stimulate conversation, which it has.)
WJC's CIP should be higher than York's because York has not grown like we have in WJC. Not including PreK, York's enrollment dropped from 12,819 in Sept 2005 to 12,678 in Sept 2006, but it did go back up to 12,748 in Sept 2007--still 71 students under 2005 levels. During that same two year period, WJC picked up 317 students.
LOOKING AHEAD
If we thought this year was bad, just wait until next year.
Next year, hitting a budget target the county tries to set will likely be very difficult. Keeping perspective, rarely has the school division's budget of need hit the county's budget target. It did this year only because of the infusion of state dollars, which won't likely happen next year.That means ADVOCACY will probably be EVEN MORE IMPORTANT next year than it was this year in order to get the schools' budget of need funded.
Thank you again for making your voices heard, and thank you for supporting our schools.
Have a great summer!
Mike Ludwick
Support Schools Now
P.S.: If you like what Support Schools Now is doing, help keep it up and running with a contribution of $50, $25, or even $10. Checks to "Supports Schools Now" can be mailed to 3012 Mossy Creek Drive, Williamsburg, VA 23185.
It's not too late to advocate for the WJC Schools' Budget
4/29/08Dear School Supporters,It's not too late to contact county/city elected officials and ask them NOT to reduce the proposed teacher or staff's salary increases and to fully fund the schools’ operating budget (currently the county’s proposed budget leaves a $300,000 shortfall).
In addition, ask them to fully fund the new elementary and middle school so they will be quality schools with the full range of instructional technology.
We must counteract those lobbying the JCC supervisors to leave WJC Schools $2.3 million short of their proposed operating budget, largely on the backs of teachers and staff by reducing their 4.5% salary increase to the 3% increase proposed for county employees. This is the wrong approach when we need to continue to attract and retain the best teachers and teachers’ assistants for our students.
Despite the difficult financial times, we should do our best to PROTECT OUR SCHOOLS. Fortunately, the state is picking up much of the new funds the schools need for operating funds this year, and the county has to provide only a 1.9% increase of its funds.
CLICK HEREto email the JCC Supervisors and Williamsburg City Council ASAP. The JCC Supervisors will be meeting with the School Board and discussing school funding on Wednesday, April 30, so it is very important they hear from you now.
Thank you to all those who already made their voices heard and thank you for supporting our schools!
Mike Ludwick
Protect WJC Teachers' Salary Increases: Time to Advocate
April 20, 2008
Dear School Supporters,
Now is the time for all good citizens to come to the aid of WJC Schools.
If you send
ONLY ONE email this year to your county/city representatives regarding the schools,
THIS IS THE ONE TO SEND!WHY? Because a group of individuals is lobbying the JCC supervisors to leave WJC Schools $2.3 million short of its proposed operating budget.They propose to do this largely on the backs of teachers and staff by reducing their 4.5% salary increase to the 3% increase proposed for county employees. This is the wrong approach when we need to continue to attract and retain the best teachers and teachers’ assistants for our students. The market for these employees is completely different from county employees.
Despite the difficult financial times, we should do our best to
PROTECT OUR SCHOOLS. Fortunately, the state is picking up much of the new funds the schools need for operating funds this year, and the county has to provide only a 1.9% increase of its funds.
Moreover, no one can rightly say the schools aren’t being impacted by the economic downturn. The evidence: There is a $4.1 million shortfall in the proposed capital budget next year for existing school facilities and a $4.5 million shortfall for the new elementary and middle school--potentially impacting our ability to put instructional technology into these schools. Over the five year period, replacements of aging HVAC systems are delayed as are needed school refurbishments.
If you wish to see a comparison of what the schools requested in the capital budget and what is to be funded,
click here.
This group has only a few members, and school supporters like you (with and without children in the schools) are in the thousands.
But if you don’t make your voice heard, these other voices will have the influence, not you.CLICK HERE to email the JCC Supervisors and Williamsburg City Council ASAP. The supervisors will be having their public hearing on Tuesday, April 22, and they need to hear from you now.
Tell them not to reduce the proposed teacher or staff's salary increases and not to reduce the schools’ operating budget beyond the county administrator’s recommendation, which already leaves a $300,000 shortfall. In addition, more funds are needed for the new elementary and middle school to make sure they will be quality schools with the full range of instructional technology.
Thank you for supporting our schools.
Mike Ludwick
An Apology, Election Wrap-Up and a Clarification
November 26, 2007
Dear School Supporters,
Hopefully your Thanksgiving was an enjoyable one. Certainly we can be thankful for our schools, but it will take more than thankfulness to make sure our schools are the best they can be.
We at Support Schools Now are thankful for all your advocacy efforts in the past and hope you will continue to advocate for our schools in the future.
AN APOLOGY
I have apologized to Mike Halpin personally and have apologized to him publicly in a letter to the editor printed in the Virginia Gazette for mentioning an incident involving him in an essay published in the Gazette and transmitted through a Support Schools Now newsletter. I regret bringing him into the fray and have asked for his forgiveness. I consider Halpin a fellow advocate for education and did not intend to harm him, but I did and I apologize.
ELECTION WRAP-UP
The election results brought mixed results for WJC Schools.
Support Schools Now-endorsed candidate, James P. Nickols, won his bid for the School Board seat in Stonehouse! We hope this change will improve the WJC School Board's ability to work collaboratively with the community for the betterment of our schools. Congratulations, Mr. Nickols!
Unfortunately our other endorsed candidate Andy Bradshaw did not fare as well in the Stonehouse supervisor’s race. Bradshaw was an ardent supporter of our schools and we thank him for his service.
Congratulations to Bruce Goodson, Mary Jones and Jim Kennedy who won supervisor elections. We hope that they will be supportive of our schools going forward.
Unfortunately, however, the impact of the election is immediately apparent. It appears that funding for schools will face great pressure for two reasons:
1) a potential move to reassess property values every two years will likely strain the county’s ability to fund necessary increases in the schools’ budget to maintain quality and build new schools, and
2) the potential removal of the storm-water fee means that the $2.8 million per year that fee would have been generated needs to be found somewhere else to maintain the storm-water program. It was reported that the new majority said it would find the money in the general fund. The general fund is the source of the schools’ county funding.
Moving the next date of reassessments from July 2008 to January 2009 will already have a negative impact on the FY09 county budget and will limit the county's ability to fund our schools. These other two potential changes will create even greater challenges.
These developments simply mean that school supporters will need to work harder and more vigilantly to protect our schools. What can you do to help?
First of all, please
CLICK HERE to contact the Board of Supervisors and urge them to study these issues and think very carefully about the impact on schools before taking action on the storm water fee and the reassessment every two years.
Second, you can assist Support Schools Now by sending a check in any amount to: Support Schools Now, 3012 Mossy Creek Drive, Williamsburg, VA 23185. Funds are needed for efforts to resist plans that would negatively impact school funding. (Notably, local radio stations 92.3 "The Tide" and 107.3 WBACH picked up on the SSN Election Edition newsletter and ran a spot describing the contents of our survey. Another potential way to get the word out.)
CLARIFICATION
David Jarman’s recent essay in the Gazette indicated that the budgeted increase for schools is "165% for 2008." It appears the Gazette left out decimal point because the budget for the schools, according to the county budget, increased 16.5%. Costs necessarily increased so rapidly in FY2008 primarily due to the opening of two new schools. In addition, higher per pupil costs in WJC are primarily a factor of higher teachers' salaries, lower staff to student ratios, and broader course offerings than other nearby divisions. All three are in jeopardy with reduced funding.
Thanks to everyone who has written thanking SSN for its information and analysis, and thank you for supporting our schools!
Mike Ludwick
Support Schools Now
