Comments from Brian Wheeler to

Albemarle County Board of Supervisors on 2000-2001 Budget

March 8, 2000

My name is Brian Wheeler. I am the parent of a second grader at Murray Elementary. I am like a lot of parents you are going to hear from tonight. I am frustrated that this County has not better supported our children. When it came time for my daughter to enter school, my wife and I assumed the public schools here in the neighborhoods of the University and Thomas Jefferson, would be as great as their surroundings.

While Murray has exceptional staff, what I found in September was that my 7 year old was going to have a class of 27 students and that the rigid staffing and budget formulas meant no relief was in sight, not just this year, but likely every year she would be attending Murray.

Thus I've spent the past 5 months educating myself and others about this budget process. I've learned there is a history of class size problems and scarcity of resources in our elementary schools. I've learned the SOLs are forcing our administrators to focus on making sure ALL students meet a minimum standard at the expense of those students who might be able to set new standards, if they had the resources.

I agree with the School Board's funding request and believe you should support it in full. It does not go as far as it should in many areas, but it is a big step in the right direction. 

Some speakers tonight will be skeptical about the Slabaugh report. I say "Open your eyes." Look at the job market around us. Anyone who reads the paper knows of the challenges we are going to face in recruiting, retention and retirement. As the Chief Information Officer at SNL Securities on the Downtown Mall, I have first-hand experience with the tight labor market and the challenge of trying to convince UVa students to stay in Charlottesville to start their careers.

Others speakers may tell you our teachers are already making a lot more than they realize, when you add in benefits, summer vacations and the like, and that we just need to market our jobs better. I say "Listen to our teachers." The teachers know how little they make compared to other college-educated professionals. They can compare base salary rates in this County with other localities and what they see is the harsh reality that we are lagging behind. 

Still others may complain that the School Board's "unbalanced" request was a shameful action. I say "Look at our children." In the face of serious problems that require millions more in revenue, the School Board would have been reckless had they not submitted to you a needs-based budget.

At the February public hearing one citizen suggested the School Board pursue all of us who were willing to pay more in taxes to support the schools. I don't think that observer was willing to pay more in taxes, but I presented Chairman Charles Ward with a check for $75.00 that night.


Tonight I must admit to the Board of Supervisors, "I made a mistake." That check was not big enough! We need more than $75 a year from a family like mine to pay for better schools, but by my calculations, not much more. A 5 cent tax increase would cost the average homeowner only $88 a year and would contribute almost $2 million dollars to the school system. Mr. Chairman here is the balance I owe on my share of a tax increase¹, a check in the amount of $32 dollars and 10 cents. I urge you to support the School's budget request and to raise our taxes back to their 1987 levels to pay for it.

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¹ Note: I calculated my additional tax payment based on a $0.77 assessment on my home valued at $214,200.  Since I had already paid the County $1,649.34 in taxes for 1999, the additional tax due, based on a proposed tax increase of $0.05, would be $107.10 for my family.  I paid the School Board $75 of that amount on February 2, 2000 and the Board of Supervisors the balance of $32.10 at this public hearing.