Our Loudoun Schools

It is unfortunate that the courts have to be invol...

2012-02-12T14:49:15.837-05:00

It is unfortunate that the courts have to be involved when parents, who are quite capable of doing otherwise, take chronic lateness in such a cavalier manner. Students coming late to class are disruptive to any momentum started in a lesson, and parent who allow it to happen on a regular basis are showing disrespect and rudeness to the teachers, the children in the class and the administration of

1. Cost of the 45 NCC acres is 2.2 fair market val...

2012-02-08T21:58:34.692-05:00

1. Cost of the 45 NCC acres is 2.2 fair market value and will not provide a school site. Instead, the school will be built on proffered acreage that is now Lansdowne Sports Park.

2. Safety and security: what is the evacuation plan for 3,000 school kids plus the NCC population and staffs of these three institutions?

3. No transparency. In addition to the HOA board itself, Mr

Mike, please note that A) I am not the author of t...

2012-02-08T20:16:45.208-05:00

Mike, please note that A) I am not the author of this post and B) the new board didn't eliminate or reduce a single one of those salaries that you mentioned.

John - with all due respect, this board is cleanin...

2012-02-08T17:55:57.765-05:00

John - with all due respect, this board is cleaning up the mess left behind from the previous school board. The current board is taking common sense steps and making the hard cost-cutting decisions that should have been made years ago. I 100% support the current board and their cost cutting efforts. I hope they take additional steps to lower LCPS costs and lower my residential tax bill. For

Since there is nearly a year of down time while th...

2012-02-08T17:32:17.024-05:00

Since there is nearly a year of down time while the NCC builds a parking garage, a change of site doesn't have to mean a delay

I have to wonder why no one mentions there might b...

2012-02-06T23:54:27.895-05:00

I have to wonder why no one mentions there might be a valid compensation issue behind this. Any experienced business person worth their salt would recognize that compensation needs to be evaluated as a whole; pay, benefits, and working conditions (such as schedules) must be viewed as a system.

It seems to me perfectly reasonable that medical benefits (and other non-cash compensation)

County taxpayers and current and former school boa...

2012-02-06T23:42:51.509-05:00

County taxpayers and current and former school board members need not worry about inefficiency in busing since the Transportation Department is tapping other revenue sources to compensate for any additional costs incurred by what Mr. Hatrick describes as "prudent use of bus and driver time." Last month, one of the non-athletic high school teams traveled to a tournament at a Fairfax high

Kat & Mike, have you considered that LCPS and ...

2012-02-06T06:49:30.948-05:00

Kat & Mike, have you considered that LCPS and other school systems are in a tight bind when it comes to bus drivers and cafeteria workers. 1) You must have caring, responsible people willing to put up with noisy children and difficult children. 2) These people (in the case of bus drivers) need to get a commercial driver's license. 3) You can't offer them full time work, since there

Nice. And we have middle school kids with 1 - 1 1...

2012-02-02T22:14:24.113-05:00

Nice. And we have middle school kids with 1 - 1 1/2 hour bus rides in most of Western Loudoun (other than Purcellville and Round Hill) because they get to make a 40 minute diversion to Woodgrove to pick up high schoolers because the county can't figure out a way to get middle and high schoolers on separate buses. Easily more than 20 buses from Lovettsville alone and we can't figure out

I can understand when there are 83 speakers signed...

2012-02-02T16:56:22.764-05:00

I can understand when there are 83 speakers signed up Mr. Hornberger would want to speed the proceedings along but it was off-putting.
The decision making process of the Board following the citizen speakers was much more concerning than whether or not people could clap. I'm surprised to learn here that Mr. Hornberger has attended past Board meetings. He apparently missed the budget

Mike, I agree that LCPS is not a jobs program, and...

2012-02-02T11:36:56.375-05:00

Mike, I agree that LCPS is not a jobs program, and that hard working taxpayers have finite resources. LCPS employees are also hard working taxpayers with finite resources.

It's also just a matter of practicality.

Causing societal problems (more poor people without health insurance) creates costs in other ways (unpaid emergency room visits, substitute drivers, overtime,

John = the answer is a resounding "yes",...

2012-02-02T11:15:12.246-05:00

John = the answer is a resounding "yes", cut these benefits and reduce LCPS costs by millions of dollars a year. That taxpayers have finite resourcs. LCPS is not a jobs program. Instead LCPS should be focused on the students, not in solving larger soceity problems at the expense of hard working taxpayers.

I think kat makes a good point that most pe...

2012-02-02T09:12:34.952-05:00

I think kat makes a good point that most people in the US food service industry do not have health insurance. I have two brothers and a step daughter with experience in food service from dish washing up to restaurant ownership, and I don't think any has ever had health insurance through work. Having even more people go without health insurance isn't a good answer to that

I am sitting here trying to wrap my head around an...

2012-02-01T20:42:56.565-05:00

I am sitting here trying to wrap my head around and feel sorry for anyone working 3.5 hours a day or less than 7 hours per day and expecting full time benefits. I work in the medical field under 40 hours per week and do not have the luxury of those "cushy" benefits usually given to full time workers. I have a son with medical issues back from college with no health benefits that we

I have been an educator for LCPS for 6 years. I ha...

2012-02-01T16:34:55.355-05:00

I have been an educator for LCPS for 6 years. I have worked with many outstanding Teacher Assistants and met great bus drivers and cafeteria workers. They are the building blocks and foundation of our schools! They are some of the most sincere, hardest working individuals with more dedication than any other. If anything, they deserve a pay raise, hence currently they are the most under payed

I work for Loudoun County Public Schools as a bus ...

2012-02-01T00:20:35.118-05:00

I work for Loudoun County Public Schools as a bus driver. I am trying to draw attention to the recent school board meeting. The chairman, Mr. Hornberger, has propose that the school board take away our benefits. The hole reason many of us are even here is because of those benefits. I am a single mother of 2 children. I like many other drivers and attendants depend on those benefits. My 2 children

FWIW, last week I clapped joyfully in defiance of ...

2012-01-31T21:09:21.049-05:00

FWIW, last week I clapped joyfully in defiance of the Chair. We all did. What fun.

2000 people losing health care is not a obstacle f...

2012-01-31T21:04:15.405-05:00

2000 people losing health care is not a obstacle for these cowboys.

This is the primary reason I felt it was imperativ...

2012-01-27T11:16:39.930-05:00

This is the primary reason I felt it was imperative that this issue get pushed to the forefront immediately. While I have little issue with the staff knowing about my interactions with the other board members (although I feel that this can hinder certain governance practices), my concern was with the public. I have yet to come in contact with anyone in the general public who was aware that

Now that the lawsuit has been filed (according to ...

2012-01-27T09:23:48.373-05:00

Now that the lawsuit has been filed (according to the Washington Post). What do you think the court will decide? How do you feel that Bob Ohneiser is the lawyer? Doesn't that seem like a huge conflict of interest??

Good point Roger. VHSL is the Virginia High School...

2012-01-27T09:21:50.911-05:00

Good point Roger. VHSL is the Virginia High School League. VHSL Website From the Wikipedia entry: The Virginia High School League (VHSL) is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Unlike similar organizations in many other states, private or religious schools are prohibited from

What is "VHSL"? Please define acronyms w...

2012-01-27T08:40:26.109-05:00
What is "VHSL"? Please define acronyms when first used.

Hmmmm. I wonder if the general public has been awa...

2012-01-24T19:40:27.708-05:00
Hmmmm. I wonder if the general public has been aware that when they send emails to lcsb@lcps.org the message goes to school district employees?

It is terribly ironic that there are cries of tran...

2012-01-20T16:37:22.404-05:00
It is terribly ironic that there are cries of transparency, when that very thing has been lacking as long as Mr. Reed has been on the School Board, as well during Mr. Stevens term. Good heavens, just look at the latest boundary process. The shoe is on the other foot and someone does not like it. Mr. Reed is upset about not having his voice heard and I bet it stings. I am certain Dr. Guzman

"If you want to raise a fuss, then you talk a...

2012-01-15T07:32:20.165-05:00
"If you want to raise a fuss, then you talk about secret meetings and secret emails and Six-Pack. If you want to be more positive, then the six new members were getting up to speed on particular questions in and around their first meeting."

Yes, if I wanted to raise a fuss, I most certainly would talk about secret meetings. Secret meetings are most definitely worth raising a