The School Board is moving forward with the Pre-School program that it had originally budgeted for in its FY2008 budget before the Board of Supervisors sought to play politics and in essence used a make-shift line item veto-like manuever to remove the 750k from the budget of the School Board that was to go towards this program.
Credit goes to the School Board because instead of playing politics themselves and get into a drawn out duel with the BOS over its unprecedented vote over its budget means they determined that they ineed wanted the program and they are making it happen. Now I suppose there are those among the BOS that will say that this is how government should work, but please. The BOS is giving our SChool Board around 43% of the overall county budget which is under as a % of most of our neighboors and still managed to reduce it a further 750K by seeking to eliminate the pre-school program for at-risk children.
The School Board will not fill 18 new teacher positions and 12 bus driver positions in order to make sure that they can offer the pre-school program in the Fall opposed by the BOS. While not having thiose new teachers does present some concern, I imagine that the School Board felt these were positions that their budget could do without.
Seven area schools will be able to take advantage of the Virginia Intiative pre-school program; Bensley, Beulah, Davis, Falling Creek,Providence, Reams, and Harrowgate.
Registration for the program is JUne 8, 2007 at particpating schools. Their are many programs at play here invloving TitleI and Headstart as well as Virginia Preschool Intiative. To be eligible each child must:
be 4 years old by Sept. 30, 2007
live in the school district of a particpating school
demonstrate need; at or below poverty line status
Title I will operate at Bellwood, Chalkley,Ettrick, and Falling Creek
Headstart will operate at Bellwood, Bensley,chalkley,Ettrick, falling Creek,Harrowgate, and Hopkins and have its own set of requirements for participation. All pre-school related forms are available at each participating school.
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3 comments:
The School Board is tasked with looking ater the best interests of all of our childrens education while the Board of Supervisors is merely looking out after the elite in the county who care less about the poor. If they did the would mandate an affordable housing program for the County that would not put single families or young families in renatl properties because the average pricetag is now 287,000 for new homes.
How these Board members could vote down funds for even one child who would benefit from these programs is simply beyond me. I work with children and regardless of economic status there are 3 and 4 year olds who need more than their working parents can do in terms of preparing them for school. As a teacher I will remember that vote on election day
Keep in mind my fiends that 112 children is the equivalent of 1/3 of the enrollment of your average elementary school. It is a significant number no matter how people like Sowder and Humphrey on the Board attempt to minimize it.
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