APRIL 10, GET IN THE GAME

4/2/07

Dear School Supporters,

Former all-star shortstop of the Baltimore Orioles, Cal Ripken, was on TV Sunday morning. He talked about a simple lesson he learned from his father: In baseball and in life, don’t sit on the sidelines—GET IN THE GAME.

If you “GET IN THE GAME” for just one day all year to support our schools, APRIL 10, 7pm at the James City County Government complex, Building F, is the day, the time and the place to do it.

THE SCHOOLS NEED $1.75 MILLION to fully fund their operating budget.

What is at stake if the county does not provide these funds?

1) The Center for Educational Opportunities (CEO) will likely be dismantled into a 4.5 hr program, perhaps operating at night. (CEO is WJC’s Alternative Education program primarily for middle and high school students with disciplinary problems--those most at-risk of dropping out.) The community rose up to support this program and now we need to make the case again to the Board of Supervisors.

2) Preschool could not expanded by 45 slots to serve children most at-risk who are not currently in any preschool program. WJC’s preK program (in conjunction with the K-3 program) helps get at-risk children up to par with non at-risk peers by third grade. Investing early can save so many costs later in special education and remedial education, while also decreasing discipline problems because kids often act out if they can't read or don't have the background knowledge to be able to understand what they are being taught.

3) Staff would not be added to help implement the 56 recommendations of the community-wide minority achievement task force to raise academic achievement for all and specifically to help close the unacceptable achievement gap we have with our disadvantaged and minority students.

4) Our Math Coordinator would remain part-time, rather than becoming full-time, and there would be no ½ time Fine Arts Coordinator. These positions were recommended in the independent efficiency audit and most divisions have them. Given the need to assist math teachers increase student achievement in math and the need to coordinate all the many fine arts programs we have in our schools, these positions are reasonable and necessary.

(Additional justification for these items can be found here.)

OR

5) The schools would be forced to cut back in other areas such as reducing teachers’ salary and benefit increases, increasing class sizes, reducing funding for individual schools or non-mandated programs.

If the county is worried that it is giving the schools too much money, tell them not to worry. Any money that is “too much” could be put toward the $890,000 worth of replacement school buses and $300,000 of the over $1 million in requests for replacement equipment (desks, chairs, tables, cabinets, projectors, etc), all of which the school board removed from the budget as “good faith” gestures to the county and city, even though needed.

In the Capital Improvement Plan there is a $14.2 MILLION SHORTFALL mostly because the multipurpose spaces (previously called "auxiliary gyms") were not funded ($7 million), nor was $5.7 million of the technology plan. (The county tried say that by fully funding the 9th elementary and 4th middle schools that it also funded the technology in those schools, but unfortunately no additional money was included for the technology.) Several projects were funded but were moved back a year or two by the county. A few items were moved up. (See this spreadsheet for details.)

So, at a minimum, GET IN THE GAME by sending an email to the Board of Supervisors asking for full funding for our schools. Remind them that this year is a special case because we have two schools opening at the same time, plus new growth. Thus, an usually large increase in funding for schools is necessary.

But the most powerful way to GET IN THE GAME is to show up and speak during the public hearing on the budget (as part of a group or just as taxpaying citizen of James City County or Williamsburg) on April 10 at 7pm at the JCC County Complex, Building F.

Thank you for supporting our schools!

Mike Ludwick