John believes the community’s most important obligation to our youth is to provide them with the opportunity to earn a first class education. He was a strong advocate of the successful effort to bring full day kindergarten to all elementary schools in Fairfax County. We have some of the best schools in the nation and John will continue to work to keep them great and to make them even better.
-
Full Day Kindergarten. The educational value of full day kindergarten has been demonstrated and kindergarten in a first class school system should be a full day program. John believes that it was inequitable that over 100 schools in Fairfax County had full day kindergarten while 36 did not. He worked with parent advocates and School Board members to identify funding options to expand full day kindergarten and he was vocal in demanding that the School Board expand full day kindergarten to all schools in the county. As a result of a cooperative effort, full day kindergarten for all Fairfax schools has been approved.
-
Investing in the Classroom. John believes that the best way to ensure our children receive a great education is to make sure they are taught by highly qualified and committed teachers in classrooms that are not over crowded. As Vice-chairman of the Board of Supervisors Budget Committee, John will continue to ensure that our schools are adequately funded. He will also continue to advocate for the importance of investing in the classroom and making teachers and class size the highest priorities in the School budget.
-
Investing in School facilities. Even the most dedicated teachers will be limited in what they can accomplish with too many students in a classroom and school facilities that are inadequate. John has supported the Board of Supervisors commitment to maintain the existing school bond funding level so that the Schools can continue to advance long overdue projects to renovate and expand existing school facilities.
-
Supporting an independent auditor to assist the School Board. The Board of Supervisors has an independent auditor who reports directly to the Board of Supervisors. The Board’s auditor has saved millions of taxpayer dollars and has made numerous recommendations that resulted in more efficient delivery of county services. As Chairman of the Board’s Audit Committee, John strongly supports creating a similar position that would report directly to the School Board.
-
Making developers pay their fair share. Developers of new residential projects in Fairfax County should pay their fair share to support our schools. Long time County residents should not be expected to pay for school facilities that are needed to serve new developments. As major new development comes to Tysons Corner and along the Dulles Corridor, John will work to make sure developers pay their fair share to Fairfax County for schools and other infrastructure.
|
