Madame Chairman, Members of the Board, and Dr. Spillane:
Good evening. Tonight I speak as president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance.
Recent public statements by school board members suggest that the
schools' capital improvement budget is underfunded by $56 million per
year for the next ten years.
You can and should fund this shortfall from the school operating
budget. This board's current policy of funding both school renewals and
construction from bonds is not working. Renewals should be funded from
the operating budget and construction from bonds.
Over the past two decades, the school operating budget has grown
much faster than inflation and enrollment. If it had grown at the same
rate as inflation and enrollment, this year's budget would have been
$500 million less.
Much of the increase is justified. However, over the last twenty
years administration has increased 500% faster than enrollment. The
number of guidance counselors, social workers and psychologists has
increased 900% faster than enrollment. If these two groups had grown at
the same rate as enrollment, this year's budget would have been $75
million less. In comparison, the average cost of renewing a high school
is about $26 million.
General education staff has increased 250% faster than enrollment.
Despite these increases, standardized test scores have remained flat
and there has been no reduction in the minority student achievement
gap. While there has been a small increase in SAT scores, the Fairfax
County Public Schools average SAT score is only at the 65th percentile.
The school system's average score on College Board achievement tests is
only at the 50th percentile.
The reason that achievement has not increased with spending is not
due to the increase in student diversity; it is due to lack of
accountability. In 1995, the School Board instructed the administration
to evaluate the cost effectiveness of all instructional programs. For
two years in a row, the school administration has responded with
program budgets that list over sixty programs but which do not evaluate
them.
In the absence of any evaluation from the school administration, I
would suggest some operating budget reductions to free up funds for
capital improvements. In administration, reduce assistant principals,
school clerical staff, central office directors and coordinators, and
technical specialists. Much of the increase in these personnel has been
for teacher professionalization evaluations, school plans and
restructuring, the Department of Information Technology, and the
Department of Instructional Services. These programs and offices have
failed to increase student achievement in the past and have no goal to
increase student achievement in the future. Editorials in several
newspapers have questioned the wisdom of spending $11 million on a new
student information system.
Despite substantial increases in the number of guidance student
behavior is much worse. The school system should ask the state to
rethink the mandate for this program.
As my good friend and critic, Brett Cramer, stated in a recent
letter to the editor, "I am convinced that millions of dollars could be
cut from the FCPS operating budget while improving the quality of
educational delivery." I would only add that some of the savings could
be applied to capital improvements.
Thank you.