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Last week I addressed the House of Delegates to express concern that Gov. McDonnell’s proposed budget short changes the education of our children (http://youtu.be/-VbOv_uJXOU). While the governor is claiming to provide about 500 million new dollars for public education, school boards and superintendents around the Commonwealth are talking about the cuts in programs and teachers…
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The 2012 session of the General Assembly is moving by rapidly. Deadlines for the submission of bills and budget amendments have long passed, and both houses of the Assembly are in full swing. There were both good and bad signs of things to come this past week. On the hopeful side, Democrats and Republicans worked…
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Ellen Schorsch, pianist, piano teacher and writer, will present a multi-media lecture-recital, sponsored by the Shenandoah Valley Art Center, “Music Inspired by Art and Artists” on Sunday, March 11 at 3 p.m.. at the P. Buckley Moss Museum, 150 P. Buckley Moss Drive in Waynesboro. Schorsch’s program will be accompanied by a power point presentation illustrating…
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That’s how I’m describing the budget-wrangling in Richmond that will effectively reduce state spending on K-12 education in Virginia. The moves – forced by Gov. Bob McDonnell’s push on funding for the Virginia Retirement System for public-sector employees – are forcing the hands of local decision-makers. Local government, of course, is where the rubber hits…
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Gov. Bob McDonnell, joined by members of the Governor’s Task Force for Local Government Mandate Review, today announced specific legislation to eliminate burdensome state mandates on localities. Today’s announcement is part of a continuing effort to reduce burdensome state mandates on localities. In September 2011, McDonnell announced the creation of the Governor’s Task Force for…
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With my campaign to unseat the 20-year incumbent and rubber-stamp Republican Bob Goodlatte, we have an opportunity to achieve something of real importance, something that reverberates far beyond our Sixth District in Virginia. Sure, it’s true, as the newspapers like to point out, it’s an uphill fight. Sure, my opponent will far outspend me. Sure,…
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Gov. Bob McDonnell announced on Thursday the second half of his 2012 legislative reform initiatives to address the long-term unfunded liabilities in the Virginia Retirement System. If adopted by the General Assembly, Gov. McDonnell’s recommended actions would inject over $5.8 billion in new money or savings into VRS in the next 21 years. The governor…
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Virginians remain strongly supportive of funding for public schools and oppose test-based teacher pay, according to a new statewide survey conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University. The VCU Commonwealth Education Poll finds six?in-10 Virginians (60 percent) say that Virginia schools do not have enough funds to meet their needs, while 29 percent say schools have enough…
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Joined on Monday by Virginia public school students, teachers, superintendents and parents, Gov. Bob McDonnell unveiled his 2012 legislative and budget actions that support his administration’s ongoing “Opportunity to Learn” K-12 education agenda. The actions, to be introduced in the 2012 General Assembly session, focus on raising standards for schools and teachers, reducing mandates on…
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Gov. Bob McDonnell announced the first Governor’s Challenge in Economics and Personal Finance to promote new economics and personal finance courses for high school students. Beginning with the students entering the ninth grade this year, Virginia high school students must earn a credit in economics and personal finance before they graduate. The Governor’s Challenge is…
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