Last night, the Woodbridge Board of Education had its monthly meeting, which included the presentation of the proposed 2010/2011 budget. The meeting started off with a ‘non-meeting’ where I believe legal issues that the board needs to consider were presented. When the regular meeting started they moved directly into an extended executive session which the agenda listed as to ‘Review Personnel Staffing Issues’.

Although many people had read the proposed budget ahead of time, as well as discussed it at other opportunities, after the executive session Dr. Stella spent time explaining some of the factors going into the budget. Gavel to gavel coverage of the Board of Education meeting will be available on the Woodbridge Government Access Channel as well as on DVD from the public library. A brief clip, recorded with my Nokia N900 is included here.

Various options for further reductions in the budget were discussed including additional reductions in the number of teachers, seeking to end the agreement with the Wintergreen Magnet School or reducing the GASB funding. The reduction of GASB funding would be a short term, and perhaps short sighted effort to deal with the budget. Attempting to end the agreement with the Wintergreen Magnet School would perhaps be even more short sighted because it appears to be a highly efficient way of not only meeting particular needs of certain students, but also fulfilling various school district obligations. The current budget calls for one less teacher and one less teaching assistant. There was a good discussion about the pros and cons of additional cuts to staff.

When it came time for reviewing the administration’s monthly financial reports, again, some members of the board abstained from voting. This has been going on for a few months, and I believe it is irresponsible. With that, I presented a public comment at the end of the meeting. Below, you will find my remarks as prepared for delivery. I tempered them a little bit given the good discussion that had been had about the budget.