The following is a public service announcement for Goochland Elementary School parents, compliments of the GES PTA:
Did you know that Goochland County Schools are facing a $2.9 million proposed budget cut for next year? While that may not seem like much to a larger school district, here in Goochland, a $2.9 million shortfall makes up 15% of the county's entire portion of the school budget!
All programs in the schools that are not mandated are at risk of being either scaled back dramatically or eliminated altogether. A 15% budget reduction will have direct impact on every singly student, in every single classroom! If the Board of Supervisors proceeds with its recommended $2.9 million cut to schools, we are faced with the possibility of:
Less teachers and staff
More students per class
Less extra-curricular activities
A reduction in Encore staff
Lack of professional development for teachers and staff
Limited funding for necessary supplies (when supplies are already limited)
Possible elimination of programs such as athletics, arts, gifted education and summer school
Dramatic changes in transportation
...just to name a few!
And once these positions, programs and services are gone, it will take an extremely long time to bring them back!
If you realize how the above implications will have a direct impact on your child's education, please make it known to your County Supervisor that you do not support this budget cut! A $2.9 million budget cut will rip apart what our school system has diligently built up over the past decade! Please let YOUR VOICE be heard to make it known that the school can not sustain this type of reduction in funding.
A Board of Supervisors meeting will be held tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. in the board room at the County Administration Building (the old high school at 522/6). Please show up if at all possible! You don't have to speak if you prefer not to, but just being there as a presence makes a HUGE difference!
In the mean time, please call, write or email your county Supervisor. See links provided below. We must make sure they know how parents feel about their proposed budget cuts. The School Board's budget must be finalized and sent to the Supervisors in January, but by then, it will be too late to speak up. Let your views be known right now!
If you have questions or need more information, visit the links below or call GCPS Central Office at 556-5316. Thank you for advocating for the children in Goochland County!
Best regards,
Elizabeth Dowdy
GES PTA President
Board of Supervisors Contact info
Board of Supervisors 2009 meeting schedule
Agenda for BOS meeting on Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Goochland Gazette contact info
Central Virginian contact info
Standards of Quality for Schools
