Letter to the Editor:


As three elected officials who believe in educational excellence for
all, we must respond to the idea that FCPS's needs-based funding to
help our poorer schools means they “make out like bandits.” ("GOP
Strategist Shapes Fairfax Schools Race," p. A1)

While we appreciate advocates who want to hold our school system
accountable, any effort to roll back our needs-based funding formula
is wrong-headed.

Our schools with large numbers of at-risk students are provided enough
resources to give them a fair and equal shot at academic success.
Students who come to us from impoverished backgrounds, with language
barriers, who may not even get a full meal other than the one they get
at school, who often don’t have computer access or even a quiet spot
to do homework need and deserve extra support to reach them and teach
them.

This is a sacred trust of any public school system and ultimately
benefits all of us who want an educated community.

Class sizes may indeed have become too high in some places. If so, we
need to look for solutions that don’t set one part of the county, or
one part of our population, against the other. The answer certainly
isn’t to take from the poor to give to the wealthy.


Del. Kaye Kory, (Va-38th) 703-354-3591
Tina Hone, Fairfax County School Board member (at-large) 703-573-8040
Sandy Evans, Fairfax County School Board member (Mason District) 703-538-2783