Letters to the Editor: May 10 – 16, 2018
Misleading Headline Pits Council vs. School Board
Editor,
Your headline in the April 26 issue declaring, “F.C. Schools Win 3% COLA in Final Council 7-0 Vote for FY2019 Budget” is both misleading and divisive. It’s misleading because the City Council did not vote on teacher COLAs. It agreed to transfer the full request of the School Board. It is up to the School Board to decide how to allocate those funds. If the City Council had decided to transfer less than 2.8 percent, the School Board could still have figured out how to give the teachers a 3 percent COLA. It is divisive because it perpetuates the false narrative that come budget time, there are winners and losers, rather than the truth, which is that all City Council members and School Board members are on the same side. All members want what is best for the future of our city and for our students.
Why must you repeatedly pit the City Council against the School Board? City Council members who question the size of the School Board’s request or who seek to better understand how funds are spent are not “anti-schools” and should not be portrayed or perceived as such. All of our public servants deserve better.
Beth Hahn
Falls Church
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