School Board Approves Legislative Priorities for 2013

The Prince William County School Board voted unanimously (7 yes, 1 absent) to approve its priorities for the 2013 Legislative session at its Wednesday evening meeting.

The School Board seeks to prepare these priorities to communicate the critical needs of the School Division for the Legislative session that is scheduled convene on Jan. 9, 2013.

"I think it's a reasonable and obtainable package; we have had great success working with every member of the Prince William delegation," said Chairman At-Large Milt Johns. "It seems that where schools are concerned, there are no partisan divides."

According a draft of the Legislative Priorities, the School Division seeks:

• Continue funding for the Standards of Quality (SOQ) at appropriate levels (including realistic, adequate funding for support personnel and restoration of the inflation factor on non-personnel expenditures) and/or suspension of SOQ mandates.
• Continued funding for the Commonwealth’s share of annual teacher salary increases, and Cost-Of-Competing Allocation (COCA) for Region 4 school divisions for both teachers and support staff at the percentage levels provided prior to FY2013.
• Continued, annual funding to PWCS to coordinate the statewide implementation of VA STAR, which provides free, refurbished computers to students and schools in need of technology.
• Provide the necessary funding to pay for the additional days, should the 200-day teacher contract that was part of proposed 2012 legislation become a reality.

The School Board also outlined what issues or mandates it would support or oppose in the Legislature. These include opposing any returning proposed 2012 legislation that might have a negative economic impact on Prince William County schools and support for bills that would give local school divisions more

flexibility to implement policies.