Yesterday I posted an article claiming that the school division intended to build pools in the next 3 high schools it builds. The article, 6 pools in 3 schools, generated some degree of controversy. Two school board members, Mr Trenum and Chairman Johns, addressed the allegations from that article in their board comments last night.
Several months ago I addressed the PWC School Board about their plans to build a pool in the 12th high school. I asked how the annual cost of the pool could be justified when our classes are jammed to the gills, our schools are overcrowded, and our teachers are underpaid. Over the past several months I’ve acknowledged that there is a need for addition year round indoor pool facilities in our county – that the facilities at Chinn, Dale City, and The Freedom Center are simply inadequate for a community of our size. As I’ve explained multiple times to anyone willing to listen, I’m not opposed to a pool in the school, just to having the school division manage and pay for it. To me, pools, and the programs in them like Mom and Me swimming classes or aquatic aerobics, are the responsibility of the Park Authority and not the school division.
I’ve changed my mind.
I don’t think the school division should build pools in the 12th, 13th, and 14th high schools, no mater who manages them or pays for them.
For the past year I’ve been providing reports on what is discussed at school board meetings. At the start of each meeting the school board certifies in open session that nothing was discussed in closed session that ought to have been discussed in public session. Several people have asked about this recently, so I wanted to explain this a bit. My source for this explanation is the Digital Media Law Project’s page on Open Meeting Laws in Virginia.
School Board Report for May 1, 2013.
UPDATE: Please be advised that comments are not verbatim.
School Board Report for April 17, 2013.
Ms Jessie (Occoquan District) and Dr Otiaigbe (Coles District) were absent. All other members were present.
School Board Report for April 3, 2013.
Several items are on the Agenda for the Wednesday, April 3, 2013 School Board meeting that may be of interest to folks.
School Board Report for March 20, 2013. This report includes notes from the budget mark-up and work session that was not televised.
School board members Gil Trenum, Alyson Satterwhite, Lisa Bell and Steve Keen recently shook the foundations of the school division by having the audacity to form citizen budget committees to review and evaluate the school division’s budget. The school division is so offended by the thought that mere citizens are asking questions about their budget that they have refused to answer any questions provided by the committees. Questions have to be sent through Gil Trenum and Lisa Bell, the “budget liaisons” from the school board to the school division, to be answered.
School Board Report for March 13, 2013. This was the meeting that was rescheduled from March 6, 2013 due to school closures for snow.
