3/2 Board of Supervisors meetings

At today's 3 PM BoS meeting, the board voted to advertise a 57 cent tax rate. They also voted to advertise the School Board's proposed budget with a caveat that there may be some re-categorization of the money within it.

By voting to *advertise* these things, they open the process for public consideration and comment, culminating with the March 30th public hearing on the budget. They may ultimately decide to approve any tax rate at 57 cents or less, and they may make changes to the SB allocations by category.

During the 7 PM BoS public hearing, Ms. Dickson indicated that she expected to receive within a week a revised School budget with changes to the categorizations.

The fact that the BoS and Ms. Dickson are talking openly about a need for re-categorizations within the school budget shows that (1) they ARE hearing us and (2) the door is cracked open for change.

Is it VITAL that we make a show of force at the March 9th School Board meeting and continue to drive home the need for re-categorization of positions and for cuts within areas of waste and inefficiencies (i.e. non-instructional, non-teachers). We MUST continue to shout from the rooftops that cuts to teaching positions are UNACCEPTABLE.

Likewise we MUST make a show of force at the March 30th Board of Supervisors public hearing to reinforce these points and the need to ensure our core educational standards stay intact within the county.

Stay tuned . . . you will hear more about the upcoming hearings and how you can help.