[BroadusWood] Urgent: Board of Supervisors Needs to Hear from You!

[Hawkins Dale]

Dear Broadus Wood Parents:

What follows is a copy of an urgent letter that was forwarded to the
Broadus Wood PTO from Dawn Greco, our parent representative to the
Albemarle County School Board. Please read it, and then take time to
email or call members of the Board of Supervisors to let them know that
it is crucial to our school and our students that the Board fully fund
the education budget. Thank you!

Many thanks to those who could join us for the Board of Supervisors
(BOS) public hearing last Wednesday evening, March 7th.  We had a great
turnout of school supporters regarding the budget.  I am well aware of
your many scheduling conflicts, from sick family members, to Cub Scouts,
to church obligations, so thank you for your efforts to convince the BOS
to fully fund our education budget.

Unfortunately, the other side also had a great turnout.  It was a packed
house for the public hearing.  Between 6:20pm and 8:55pm, 25 individuals
spoke in support of fully funding education, and 19 individuals spoke in
support of tax cuts.

I write now to request your support, once again.  There is a buzz that
the BOS may consider a tax cut between 2 and 7 cents.  And, it is
anticipated the BOS will make a //decision regarding a tax cut by next
Monday, March 19th//.   ** So, time is of the essence ! **

** It is crucial that we generate as much contact to the BOS as possible
within the next four days !  **

As parents, grandparents, teachers...  anyone who has a relationship
with the county school system - our message is simple --- PLEASE  FULLY
FUND  THE  SCHOOL  BOARD'S  PROPOSED  BUDGET.

We estimate that every penny the BOS cuts in the tax rate, will result
in a $960,000 reduction in the School Board's proposed budget.  And, any
cut over the 2 cent amount may result in reductions to our current
school budgets.   All taxpayers benefit from a well funded "world class"
education system, and we need to let the BOS hear from us !  If the BOS
cuts the tax rate, the school system will be forced to reevaluate their
budget -- it is likely that people and programs within our education
system will be impacted.

The Parent Council is asking several things of you:

A.   Send out the SOS message to your PTO and ask parents to email,
telephone and write the BOS in support of the School Board's proposed
budget _before _this Thursday, March 15th.

B.  Attend the BOS regularly scheduled meeting this Wednesday, March
14th.  We will have the opportunity to speak to the BOS during their
regular "public comment" period between 6-7pm on Wednesday.  We need to
let the BOS hear from us to support education funding !

C.  Attend the April 4th BOS public hearing in support of education
funding.


The BOS may be contacted by:


Ken Boyd (Chairman) kboyd at albemarle.org

David Wyant, dwyant at albemarle.org, 434/823-5818

David Slutzky, dslutzky at albemarle.org, 434/989-5888

Sally Thomas, sthomas at albemarle.org, 434-295-1819

Dennis Rooker, dsrooker at earthlink.net, 434/977-7424

Lindsay Dorrier, riverstreet4444 at yahoo.com, 434-286-9399

Please take a moment to email and/or call the BOS members.  They have
heard from so many citizens in support of tax cuts, that we (the
education community) really need to let them hear from us!  They need to
know their tax cuts will negatively impact our students' educational
opportunities, ultimately impacting our entire community.

Please try to generate at least 10 emails and/or letters from your
school and/or PTO leadership.  I cannot emphasize strongly enough that
the BOS needs to hear from us _NOW_.

Contact me if you need additional information.  Thank you for your
continued support and leadership !



"Mary Huffard" Kegley Scott
Parent Council Executive Committee

maryhuffard at yahoo.com

293-8587