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The largest, non-partisan, volunteer child advocacy organization in Fairfax County, dedicated to the education, health, and well-being of every child. Every Child, One Voice.
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Fairfax County Council of PTAs
Advocacy Update |
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Upcoming Events/Activities
January 8 - FCCPTA Advocacy Update Call - 8:00PM
January 11 - FCPS release FY2019 proposed budget
January 29-31
- Fairfax County School Board public hearings - FY2019 proposed budget
February 8
-
School Board adopts FCPS FY2019 advertised budget
February 20
- Fairfax County release FY2019 advertised countywide (proposed) budget
February 27
- Joint Board of Supervisors and School Board Meeting
March 6
- Board of Supervisors advertises tax rate
April 3
- School Board presents FCPS FY2019 adopted budget to Board of Supervisors
April 10-12 - Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Public Hearings - FY2019 advertised budget
May 1
- Board of Supervisors adopts FY 2019 budget and tax rate, including budget transfer to FCPS
May 10 - School Board FY2019 county approved budget presented as new business
May 15-16 - School Board public hearings - FY2019 county approved budget
May 24 - School Board adopts FY2019 county approved budget
July 1 - FY2019 Begins
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December 2017/January 2018
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Quick Advocacy Tips
Spread important PTA and FCPS info to families
Develop/maintain relationships with your elected officials at all levels through email, social media, and in-person meetings throughout the year
Keep your elected officials at all levels posted as to your school events/activities throughout the year and invite them to attend
Attend and testify during Fairfax County School Board and Board of Supervisors meetings
Engage media through op-eds, letters-to-the-editor, and television interviews
Participate in FCCPTA, NOVA District PTA, Virginia PTA, and National PTA events and activities to become more effective leaders and advocates
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| FCCPTA officers, Brendan Mulvaney and Tony Shivers, with State Senator Jennifer Wexton in Richmond |
GET TO KNOW YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS: THEY WORK FOR YOU!
One of the keys to being a strong and successful advocate for your students and schools is developing and maintaining strong relationships with your elected officials on the Fairfax County School Board, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Virginia General Assembly, and U.S. Congress.
Elected officials heavily rely on their constituents to know what is going on in the communities, districts, counties, and states they represent to gather anecdotes, data, and evidence in order to act on behalf of their constituents, whether it is to introduce legislation, vote on legislation, develop policies, or address specific issues. It is incumbent upon us as constituents to do our part in this process. This is what makes our representative democracy the best form of government on the planet!
Also, it is not enough to complain when a bad decision is made by our elected officials. We must proactively work with our elected officials throughout the year, each and every year, to help them make informed policy and budgetary decisions. After all, they all work for you....
Don't know your elected officials? Below is all the information you need to know.
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Happy New Year! I hope you and your family had a wonderful, safe, and healthy holiday season and that good blessings continue for you and your family in 2018!
So, FCCPTA ended 2017 on a high note and created great momentum heading into 2018 concerning its advocacy. FCCPTA held its first
Advocacy Day event for its members on December 4, 2017 which was well attended by members and local elected officials. In fact, the custodial crew at the Gatehouse Administration Center (where the event was held) had to kick attendees out because they stayed after the event ended. Attendees were engaged in great conversations with each other and with their elected officials about important issues like teacher compensation, FY2019 budget, 2018-2019 school calendar, and educational equity.
Now that the new year has begun, key events for PTA members are coming up to maintain that advocacy momentum at the state and national levels. The early bird deadline for the
Virginia PTA Annual Meeting/Advocacy Conference and PTA Day at the General Assembly is TODAY, January 5! A new year means new venue, new date, new session for the General Assembly, and new delegates in the State House. This a great opportunity for you to build relationships with your state elected officials and keep education a priority for your Commonwealth!
The National PTA scheduled its 2018 annual
legislative conference for its members in the Washington, DC area for March 13-15. Again, this is a great opportunity for you to build relationships with
your U.S. Representatives and Senators, engage them on your issues, and keep them accountable for their work on Capitol Hill concerning education.
Advocacy is at the core of the PTA. The PTA is celebrating 120 years of advocacy successes, including helping to establish universal kindergarten programs, hot and healthy school lunch programs, and arts in education. But there is much more to do, including fighting for educational equity, high-quality special education, smaller class sizes, competitive teacher compensation. We need you in this fight with us!
Quick reminder to think outside the box concerning your membership goals and membership engagement in advocacy. Leverage technology and social media to accomplish your objectives. Facebook LIVE, instagram, and video newsletters are just some innovative ideas to build your membership and keep them engaged. Anyone can join their local school PTA and/or any other PTA across the nation if they are interested in keeping their community and nation vibrant and globally competitive with strong public schools. It is also about keeping local communities strong with strong schools and keeping those property values up!
It is great time to be part of the PTA! Thank you for all you do for your students, schools, teachers, and community. You make a difference! I look forward to seeing you again or meeting you in 2018!
Cheers,
Vice President of Advocacy
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Early Bird Registration Deadline Ends January 5!
There are a lot of firsts for Virginia PTA's signature event for its members, including new date, new venue, and a renewed focus to leverage the full weight and power of Virginia PTA's 250,000+ membership to ensure all Virginia students graduate high school ready for the global economy, whether that is college, military, postsecondary training, or career. A high-quality public education means great teachers in every classroom who are compensated competitively, small class sizes, quality resources in every classroom, safe and healthy school environments, hot and healthy school lunches, access to student supports such as tutoring, counselors, and nurses.
It starts by learning about what goes on at the Virginia General Assembly, meeting and building relationships with your state elected officials, and sharing your stories about what is going on with your students, your school, and your community.
Hope to see you on January 27-29 at the Virginia Crossings Hotel and Conference Center in Glen Allen and at the Virginia Capitol and General Assembly Building!
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Fighting for Students and Schools Scheduled for March 13-15 on Capitol Hill
This is a great opportunity to meet, engage, and build relationships with your U.S. Representatives and Senators on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC and learn about the issues that affect your students, teachers, school, and community. You will meet PTA members from all across the country and from Europe and be able to share your stories and learn from your fellow peers about what issues they work on and are concerned about.
Here is a brief
Facebook LIVE event to get all the details you need to know about the March event.
Look forward to seeing you in March!
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Next FCCPTA Advocacy Update Call Scheduled for Monday, January 8
FCCPTA has scheduled monthly conference calls (during the first Mondays of each month for 30 minutes each) for Fairfax County PTA members to learn about PTA network advocacy initiatives and events at all levels that they can participate in for the benefit of their students and schools. PTA members will also receive FCPS updates and countywide updates concerning education. PTA members will also have a chance to share intelligence with other members and ask questions about effective advocacy.
The next call is scheduled for
Monday, January 8 from 8:00PM - 8:30PM.
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Your School System Update
2018-2019 School Year Calendar
The Fairfax County School Board adopted the
2018-2019 school year calendar,
which starts school for students on Tuesday, August 28, 2018, and ends the school year on Thursday, June 13, 2019.
The calendar provides a three-day break for Thanksgiving-November 21-23, 2018. Winter break for students is scheduled from December 24, 2018, through January 4, 2019, and spring break is scheduled for the week of April 15-19, 2019. Instructional personnel are required to begin work on Friday, August 17, 2018 with the flexibility to work remotely on that date. A total of seven teacher workdays, four school planning days, and three staff development days are included in the 2018-19 calendar.
Proposed FY2019-23 Capital Facilities Program
FCPS released its proposed fiscal year 2019-23 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), reflecting a five-year requirement of $814 million, or roughly $163 million per year, for new schools and additions, capacity enhancements, and renovations to address current and anticipated enrollment increases. Included in the new CIP are proposals for three new elementary schools and one new high school. Funds approved in the 2017 School Bond Referendum and previous referenda will address approximately $472 million of the five-year requirement, leaving a balance of $342 million unfunded.
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Fairfax County Public Schools to Release Proposed FY2019 Budget on January 11
According to a
FY 2019 County and Schools Fiscal Forecast delivered before a joint meeting of the Fairfax County School Board and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in November 2017, the County has a projected budgetary shortfall of $56 million and FCPS has a projected shortfall of $43 million.
FCPS projects a student enrollment increase of 700+ students for the 2018-2019 school year. The
number of teacher vacancies at the beginning of the school year decreased from approximately 170 last school year to 99 for the current school year. Budget challenges continue to be e
mployee compensation and keeping pace with increased expenditures due to FCPS' increase in expenditures resulting from student enrollment and demographic changes, strategic plan investments to include student programming, and critical capital and infrastructure requirements.
FCPS priorities continue to be ensuring all students achieve Portrait of a Graduate Outcomes, closing achievement gaps, starting the school year with a qualified teacher in every classroom, and ensuring teacher pay reaches the market average.
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Fairfax County to Release Proposed FY2019 Countywide Budget on February 20
Please note that the
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has the "power of the purse." The
Fairfax County School Board does not have the authority to raise revenue for the school system. It is important for PTA members to target their advocacy efforts towards the Board of Supervisors as well as the School Board.
FCCPTA encourages PTA members to reach out and build relationships with
their supervisors (chairman and district supervisor) as well as sign up to speak before the full Board. Share your story about how the county budget affects your students, teachers, school, and community.
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Virginia General Assembly Convenes 2018 60-Day Budget Session on January 10
Current Governor Terry McAuliffe released his proposed FY2019-2020 biennial budget that provides
more than $516 million in additional funds for public education that focuses on teacher and principal recruitment/retention efforts, fully funding the Standards of Quality for schools, and additional support for at-risk students. The proposed budget also extends funding to end childhood hunger affecting students at all school levels.
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