Comments on: COMMENTARY Rezoning Can Help Schools Desperate for Funds

By: Stuart Bell

Stuart Bell — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 15:19:33 +0000

Those teachers knew what they were going to be paid before they accepted the job.

By: J.T. Elliott

J.T. Elliott — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 18:32:37 +0000

The letter above isn’t about zoning—it’s about a failing school district. My taxes pay more dollars per kid than most other counties in Virginia. If the teachers don’t get paid enough, and a high school wall is falling down, and the kids have trouble passing the state tests, where is all my tax money going?

As an elected school board member, the writer should know that if new zoning brings in chicken houses and manure burners, house values will go down, tax dollars will go down and anybody who can afford big houses and higher taxes will go away. How does that make more money for schools?

The school problem isn’t zoning. The problem is a pretty well funded school system that needs to get its financial house in order.

By: Betsy Mapp

Betsy Mapp — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 13:06:28 +0000

Nearly all of my objections are due to one paragraph in Mr. Parks’ article. He says
previous boards concentrated on building courthouse and jail, etc. and ignored the needs of the children. Let’s not forget the two new elementary schools. The county is still paying for them, I think.
However, he goes on to say that the parsimonious board used a Band-Aid approach on repairs at the high school. I must point out that, if regular maintenance had been properly done by the School Board employees, (regular grading of soils for proper drainage, roof maintenance, brick repointing as needed, etc.) there would be no problem now. I have monitored the School system’s dilatory building maintenance for years now. There is plenty of room for improvement.