It was a town hall meeting, without all the shouting.
But that doesn’t mean passions aren’t running high over the proposed cuts in the Fairfax County School Budget.
Dozens of county residents showed up at George C. Marshall High School, mainly to listen and learn about the county budget process, made more contentious this year because of proposed deep cuts in education.
“Part of it is to explain the budget process, because we are in the middle of a process,” said school board member Patty Reed.
Programs like freshman sports, elementary foreign languages, and summer school could either be ended or scaled back.
Earlier this month, the county board of education submitted a budget that added 24 million dollars over what the superintendent had proposed, lessening the impact on some of those areas, though the flip side could mean higher taxes, and cuts elsewhere, like libraries, and public safety, cuts not likely to pass muster with members of the county board of supervisors.
But at least one parent of a Fairfax County Student said she would come down on the side of higher taxes if asked to make a choice. Dina Karom’s daughter attends Woodson High School in the county and she said part of the reason she moved to Fairfax County was because of the reputation of the schools.
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The school board’s request eventually goes before The County Board of Supervisors.
They’re responsible for establishing the county’s tax rate. Money from taxes provides most of the school system’s funding.
