The McKay Messenger

  

Last month, I told you about my plans to visit every school in Lee District before we adopt the budget in April to hear, first hand, about the challenges our principals and teachers face each day. I'm happy to report that I've hit the halfway mark, and I thought this newsletter would be a good place to let you know some of what I've heard.

 

There is no shortage of success stories at each of Lee District's elementary, middle, and high schools, and the dedication that each principal and teacher has for every student is evident as soon as you step inside the building. But everyone I've talked to has identified a few challenges, as well. Many of our schools cite Northern Virginia's high cost of living, increasing teacher workloads, onerous testing, and transportation difficulties as some of their biggest issues.

 

Over the course of the next month, as I finish visiting each Lee District school, I plan to prepare a report highlighting each of their successes and challenges. I will provide much of that information in a future edition of this newsletter. I'd like to thank each principal and teacher for taking the time to meet with me and walk me around their schools. A big thanks also goes out to our Board Chairman Sharon Bulova, School Board Chairman Ilryong Moon, and County Executive Ed Long, who have each joined me at a few locations throughout the past month.

Despite the nearly 30 inches of snow we've had this winter, the widening of Telegraph Road from South Van Dorn to South Kings Highway is still on schedule. The existing roadway detour will stay in its current configuration through early summer. Waterline installation continues on the west side of the project and work on a new, wider, and environmentally-friendly bridge will soon be underway.

 

The Huntley Meadows parking lot is an active construction zone and cannot be used for parking, but spring is around the corner and the parking lot will be vacated and ready for vehicles as soon as weather permits. Our transportation staff is also looking at relocating the bus stop near the park to a safer location for pedestrians. Additionally, crews are planning to pave South Kings Highway once the weather improves. The contractor has told us to expect a late 2014 opening.

 

Our transportation staff also tells me that work on Mulligan Road, which will connect Telegraph Road near Hayfield Secondary School to Route One near Fort Belvoir, is still on schedule. We hope to hold a ribbon cutting and open the road to traffic this summer.

The County Executive released his budget on February 25; on March 4, the Board of Supervisors in a bipartisan vote agreed to advertise a property tax cap of two cents. It's a challenge to fund our residents' needs, especially with growing federal and state service cuts so I reluctantly supported this. I don't want to tie our hands by not providing flexibility to fund critical County services. (While the two-cents is the highest that the tax rate can go, the Board can adopt a lower increase.)

 

Education is our Board's priority and the school transfer will be about 52 percent of the General Fund. We also fund school resource officers, crossing guards, school health aides and nurses, SACC, and FCPS' debt service and dedicate two thirds of our bonding capacity to the schools.

 

The Board of Supervisors is legally required to adopt a balanced budget and there's no getting around our economic circumstances. Many businesses and households have been affected by the federal Fiscal Cliff, Sequestration, the federal government shutdown, and the lingering effects of the Great Recession. Federal and state funding cuts have affected County services and to balance our County budget, we've reduced funding to human services, public safety, parks, libraries, and employee compensation.

 

We're expected to assume costs beyond our residents' ability to pay and we're burdening our taxpayers, who through real estate and personal property taxes, fund close to 80 percent of our General Fund. It's good that our housing market is recovering and that in comparison to other areas of the state, we're financially healthy. It's not good that Fairfax County gets back only 19 cents on every dollar that it sends to Richmond. It's not that we don't pay enough taxes; it's that we don't keep them in Northern Virginia. We're 27 percent of the state's population, generate 40 percent of the state's General Fund and get back only 21 percent.

 

You can find detailed budget information here. Please reach out to me to let me know what's important to you. Additionally, if you'd like to testify at a budget public hearing, you can contact the Office of the Clerk at 703-324-3151 or click here. Public hearings are held in the board auditorium of the Fairfax County Government Center on April 8, 9, and 10. 

As you may know, most of the roads in Fairfax County are maintained by the state. This includes the filling of potholes. If you would like to report one, you can contact the VDOT Customer Service Center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-FOR-ROAD (800-367-7623).

 

You may also report the problem online here.

Thank you for subscribing to my monthly e-newsletter. I hope these updates will keep you in the loop with some of the major events in our District.

If you'd like to learn more about something in the newsletter or have an idea for a future edition, please don't hesitate to contact me or my staff.

  

Did You Know?

 You may use the online  information to:

 

 a) Determine if your  property is described  correctly on DTA records.

 b) Check the comparability  of assessments in your  general area for properties  that have physical features  similar to your own home.

 c) File a residential appeal  online or download hard  copy appeal forms by  clicking here.

 

 Any administrative appeals  must be filed with DTA by  April 4 for review before  the filing  deadline for the  Board of  Equalization  (BOE).

 

 You may also appeal to the  BOE by June 2. Property  owners should file an  appeal with DTA before  filing with the BOE. Contact  the BOE at 703-324-4891.

 As always, my office is  happy to help with any  questions you have.

The Lee District Association will hold its annual budget meeting with me and Lee District School Board Member Tammy Derenak Kaufax on Wednesday, March 26 at 7 pm in the community room of the Franconia Governmental Center.

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