GCSB Meeting 1/17

All -

The School Board meeting held Tues 1/17 featured a 2 hour public
discussion period that I felt was very effective and informative.
About a dozen speakers addressed the Board with questions and
comments related to the budget. Although there are still many
issues and concerns, the School Board and the administration
staff are working very hard on this budget.

At the end of the session, the board members invited more
questions / comments via email or telephone.

If you were not able to attend the meeting or watch the live webcast,
you can find an audio recording at:

http://blogs.glnd.k12.va.us/teachers/schoolboard/

Please review it if you have time, and if the questions/discussions
spark any comments questions that you would like to pose to the board,
please contact your district representative:

http://www.glnd.k12.va.us/index/schoolboard/

If you prefer, you can send me questions comments, and I can forward
them as well.

Marc Maier - GEPA Chairman

A message to the public from the GCPS School Board:

A message to the public from the GCPS School Board:

Re: January 17 School Board meeting – Budget Working Session

Please join the GCPS School Board (SB) on Tuesday, January 17 at 7:00pm at
Goochland High School for a special Budget Working Session. In addition to
a small amount of regular business, the main focus of this meeting will be
on the developing budget. There will be a presentation of the next iteration
of the budget and then there will be a Budget Working Session which will
provide an opportunity for a two-way discussion with the public regarding
the budget.

To our knowledge, this is the first “budget conversation” of its kind and we
are excited about the opportunity to engage with the public in this manner to
understand their key concerns, hear their ideas, and have the opportunity
to respond.

The format of this Budget Working Session is designed to provide an opportunity
for everyone to participate but to limit the length of the meeting to a
reasonable time, and is as follows:
* Speakers do not need to sign up in advance but will be asked to
state their name, address and District;
* Speakers will address their comments and/or questions to the Chair.
* Speakers are limited to 5 minutes at the podium to share their views
and/or ask questions – this includes the time for Administration and
SB members to respond;
* Speakers may have the opportunity to speak again after all interested
parties have had a turn at the podium (essentially, going to the back
of the line before speaking again);
* This portion of the meeting will not exceed 2 hours.

If we run out of time and there is a clear desire for additional conversation
beyond the two hours allotted, we will consider how to accomplish that. We want
to make sure everyone has an opportunity to speak but are also mindful that
budget conversations could last hours, days, weeks, etc. without limit.

We hope that you will attend and make your voice heard. Thank you, in advance,
for your valuable input.

GEPA Buget Committee Forming

With the upcoming school budget cycle the new School Board is about to undertake, the GEPA board feels that the best action to help the community stay involved and active is to form the GEPA Budget Committee. This committee will focus on the school system budget process to help GEPA make sure the next budget reflects the best interest our children. The new GEPA Budget Committee will be headed by the previous GEPA chairman Penny Palen. Anyone is interested in joining that committee should please contact her directly.


Marc Maier -- GEPA Chairman

School Board Meeting 11/22

Just a reminder that there will be a School Board meeting Tues 11/22, 6:30 PM at GHS.

The agenda has not been posted at the GCPS site yet, we'll add a link once it has.

Marc Maier -- GEPA Chairman

GEPA Candidate Questionnaire Replies

The GEPA Candidate Questionnaire Replies have started coming back in.

They are being posted in a topic on the forum site:


GEPA Candidate Questionnaire Replies

The replies from the candidates will be posted in the order that they are received.


Marc Maier -- GEPA Chairman

GEPA Candidate Forum Location

We want to clarify the location for the GEPA Candidate forum scheduled for 4 PM on Sunday, October 23rd. Is it as the Goochland Recreation Center on Sandy Hook Road (Route 522) which is also the District 2 Sandy Hook polling location. The address is:

Goochland Recreation Center
2415 Sandy Hook Road
Goochland VA 23063

Marc Maier -- GEPA Chair

GEPA Candidates Forum - October 23, 4PM

All -- The GEPA board is pleased to announce the GEPA Goochland County Candidates forum is planned for Sunday October 23rd, 4-6 PM, at the Goochland Recreation Center.

We are honored that Mr. Wayne Dementi has agreed to act as the moderator for the event. Invitations are going out to all county candidates.

Please spread the word, and plan to attend with your questions for the candidates. We will start advertising the forum this week, but can use all the help we can get via word of mouth.


On a side note, the candidates questionnaire was emailed to all Goochland County School Board candidates on Monday evening. We will post the replies to the blog site as they arrive. Thanks to all that submitted questions.

Marc Maier -- GEPA Chairman