Wascally Wule of Law Revisited

MoonHowler

The previous former thread by this name just met with an unfortunate accident. The short version is, I started the thread in the kitchen and finished it in the living room. I was in the kitchen, saw the half started thread and clicked delete, not realizing it would take the entire thread down since it was only one sentence.

Live and learn. It apparently is gone, never to come back.

Basically, it was the following, from the Richmond Times Dispatch:

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s office says records that would document the time, resources and meetings involved in its lawsuit against federal health-care legislation either don’t exist or are classified as confidential “working papers” of the agency.

Stephen R. McCullough, senior appellate counsel for Cuccinelli, was responding to a request under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act filed by Democratic Party officials and several media outlets, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

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Governor McDonnell’s Favorite President

MoonHowler

Geroge Washington is Governor Bob McDonnell’s favorite president.  He spoke of him in his acceptance speech and quoted him during his inagural  speech.  Strange that McDonnell would chose Washington who was a federalist.  Jeff Shapiro of the Richmond Times Dispatch has an interesting take on McDonnell’s hero.

How is McDonnell’s choice of Washington as a favorite president inconsistent with McDonnell’s own principles? Is it possible to admire someone who politically disagrees with us? Or can we evaluate a person in the times they lived, using those standards, rather than our own?

Cuccinelli Refuses to Release Murderer Soering Without a Court Order

MoonHowler

This may be the one and only time I agree with the AG.  Someone must have taken leave of their senses. 

Jens Soering
Jens Soering

Jens Soering was convicted of  the 1985 murder of Bedford couple Derek and Nancy Haysom in their Bedford County home.  Soering’s girlfriend Elizabeth Haysom is currently in prison for her role in the murder of her parents.  Soering, a German citizen, is currently serving 2 life sentences.   Background information from the Roanoke Times:

RICHMOND — Gov. Tim Kaine has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to approve the transfer of Jens Soering — who is serving two life sentences for the 1985 murders of a Bedford County couple — to a prison in his native Germany.

Kaine, who leaves office Saturday, approved the transfer request by Soering’s attorney this week after earlier denying a clemency petition from the former University of Virginia honor student. Soering, the son of a retired German diplomat, received consecutive life sentences for the stabbing deaths of his girlfriend’s parents in their Boonsboro home. The case attracted international media attention and Soering has maintained his innocence nearly a quarter century after the murders.

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VA Government: Steal and Spend Economy

MoonHowler
Virginia Legislature
Virginia Legislature

 

 

First they raided the state employee and teacher pension fund to the tune of $630 million dollars. Now it seems they will finish the job off by robbing the jurisdictions. State lawmakers call this the new ‘hand in the cookie jar’ technique of acquiring money  the ‘reversion program.’  The ‘reversion program is being used to help compensate for the budget shortfall.

To come up with the money, the localities are giving the choice of writing a check or cutting services in  programs they receive state funding for. The plan was originally instituted in FY 2009. According to the Washington Examiner:

The “reversion” program — as state lawmakers call it — originally was excluded from the coming year’s budget, but lawmakers decided to incorporate and expand the policy. As a result, counties and cities will have to return $60 million to the state during each of the next two years.

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Lyndon Larouche Thugs at the DMV

MoonHowler

Weren’t those people removed from setting up camp on DMV property or was that just wish fulfillment in my dreams?

Mr. Howler had to go to DMV the other day. He has put it off and put it off because going there is akin to refined torture for him.  He prefers a root canal without anesthesia.  He came home spitting mad.  He had had a close encounter with Larouche-ites. And I had to listen to him, for hours, grousing.

They were by the front door of DMV so you could not get in without interacting with them.  They approached him because he was wearing team attire, typical lead-in to establish conversation.   They had their usual pictures of Obama with a Hitler mustache and other ant-Obama paraphernalia attacking  the president of the United States.  They were on a tear about ‘change,’ health care, and anything else they could associate Obama.

Mr. Howler told them to have a nice day to dismiss them and their response was that it would be when THEY got Obama out of office and gave him a knowing look.

People shouldn’t have to go through that in order to do business with the Division of Motor Vehicles, regardless of what state they live in.  Who let these clowns back on DNV property?  Weren’t they legally prevented from being there, sort of like the [Moonies] Hare Krishna were finally thrown out of airports?

When was the Larouche cult allowed back on DMV property?  Were they banned or  were they just on break?  Is their leader still in jail or is he a free man?  I would like to be able to conduct state business without dealing with thugs and cult members. Who knows the scoop on the Lyndon Larouchers?

And no, I won’t apologize for calling them thugs and clowns.  They have blighted state property for too many years.  They have become poster children for those descriptors.

Maddow: Whose Afraid of Virginia?

MoonHowler

So far the new Republican regime is off to a rocky start. It seems that  the Moderate McDonnell was really a cultural warrior.  I wish that hadn’t happen.  I was trying to support him.

Unfortunately, Marshall-gate has captured national attention.  He has tried to explain his words but having failed at that, he is now blaming  Capital News Service for misinterpreting his comments.

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:

After first blaming himself, Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, now is accusing a student-run media service of misinterpreting comments he made last week that suggested that disabled children were a form of punishment for women who had abortions.

In a floor speech today, the General Assembly’s most prominent abortion foe said he used a poor choice of words but never made the comment the Capital News Service said he made.

CNS is run by students at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Urging a prohibition against state funding of the pro-choice Planned Parenthood, Marshall told a news conference last week that “the number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children.”

He continued: “In the Old Testament the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.”

In its opening paragraph, CNS reported Marshall “says disabled children are God’s punishment to women who have aborted their first pregnancy.”

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Lowlights of the Governor’s Budget Recommendations

MoonHowler

The Governor’s budget recommendations were released today.  According to Governor McDonnell:

“All the cuts give me heartburn,” McDonnell said at a news conference. “All of them were difficult because I know that behind every cut there is a Virginian . . . that might be affected.”

Some of the lowlights from the governor’s cuts are as follows:

  • $730 million in reductions to k-12 education
  • Up to 10 unpaid furlough days for state workers
  • Freezing enrollment in a health insurance program for low income children and pregnant women
  • Increased employment contribution to the state pension program.
  • Eliminate funding for the state school breakfast program for low income children.

Some of the highlights include 

On the other side of the employees’ proposed unpaid days off, McDonnell wants to give them a 3 percent Christmas bonus in December 2011.

He also wants to eliminate former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s proposal under which state employees would be required to contribute 1 percent of their salaries to their retirement plans in fiscal 2011 and 2 percent in fiscal 2012.

Details haven’t been worked out and there are definitely other programs on the chopping block.  The General Assembly now has to get down to business. According to House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem in the Richmond Times Dispatch:

McDonnell’s recommendations were welcome.
 
“We all are going to have a lot of tough decisions,” Griffith said. “Ours may not be the same tough decisions the governor makes, but we’re all trying to get to the best budget we can get with the money we have and all ideas are.”
 

Griffith also agreed with the governor about unfreezing the LCI formula. according to the Roanoke Times.

House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, defended McDonnell’s decision to lift a proposed freeze on adjusting the state’s local composite index school funding formula. The composite index measures a locality’s ability to pay for its public schools, and Kaine had proposed delaying an adjustment to the formula in his December budget. Lifting the freeze will steer more money to Northern Virginia at the expense of other localities, but Griffith said the governor is right to propose the change.

“If we start saying when it benefits another region of the state that we don’t like it, then in a couple of years they may do away with it and we’ll be getting the short end of the stick,” Griffith said. “It’s helped us for 30 years. It hurts us this year. But I suspect it will help us for 30 years in the future, and messing with it and playing games with it in a single year is foolish.”

Much will unfold over the next week or so as far as budget cuts.  Most of us will be unhappy over something.  People will attempt to defend their own turfs.  In most cases it won’t always be possible.  However, these are tough times and we knew it was coming.  Feel free to add to the list in this thread as we find out more proposals by the governor or the General Assembly.

Virginia’s immaculate reductions

MoonHowler

Editorial posted in its entirety 2/17/10:

Editorial from the Washington Post:

EVEN BEFORE Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell took office a month ago, he made clear that he would force cuts of almost $2 billion from the state’s two-year, $30 billion operating budget. That’s on top of $2 billion-plus in cuts already proposed in the spending plan submitted by his predecessor, Timothy M. Kaine, shortly before he left office — to say nothing of the billions more Mr. Kaine had already lopped from the budget. Mr. McDonnell, who ran for election on a platform opposing higher taxes, was within his rights; having preached the Republican gospel of smaller government as a candidate, he has something close to carte blanche to cut the budget.

But with crunch time approaching, Virginians have heard next to nothing from the governor about how to shrink an already badly depleted budget. And having dodged tough questions in last fall’s campaign about how to spare public education and core services, Mr. McDonnell is now attempting to outsource the political pain to the state legislature.

Past Virginia governors, faced with having to make cuts, proposed budget amendments and took the political responsibility. By contrast, Mr. McDonnell, after weeks of consultations with top lawmakers in Richmond, has made only private recommendations to make heavy cuts that would involve closing schools across the state, firing state employees and slashing health and social service programs.

The governor’s approach has left even Republican lawmakers seething. “I just wish he’d be clear with us and with the public right now and send down amendments that say exactly what he wants us to do,” an unnamed veteran GOP lawmaker told the Associated Press. “That’s how you lead.”

So far, Mr. McDonnell has proposed more government spending than reductions. He wants to pump up programs geared toward job creation, which is fine with us, and charge the state $29 million in the course of shifting more education funds to Northern Virginia from downstate: also fine. No doubt, it’s more pleasant to tell taxpayers how their dollars will benefit the commonwealth than to let them in on the news that services and schools will be gutted.

We’d ask the same question about his much-vaunted transportation plan. The governor said he would raise hundreds of millions of dollars to build roads by selling off state-run liquor stores. But at his urging, a bill in the legislature to do just that was killed last week. The probable reason? Profits from such liquor stores go directly into the state’s coffers, to the tune of about $100 million a year. Mr. McDonnell, having promised to tackle Virginia’s transportation funding crisis in his first year in office, still has time. What Virginians have yet to see are viable ideas that will yield cash for a transportation budget whose construction funds are just about gone.

The governor has taken the reins at a difficult juncture. He faces agonizing decisions. To his credit, he has appointed moderate, pragmatically oriented cabinet secretaries to help make those calls. There is no reason to expect the deliberations on budget-cutting or transportation to be quick and easy. But having ruled out new taxes to preserve schools and services, we wish he would level with Virginians about the pain, and shortfalls, to come — and take some responsibility for them.

If Republicans legislators are irriated, what about the Democrats and the rest of us. When is McDonnell going to shed some sunshine on what type of budget cuts he is going to make. Maybe he will find that it isn’t as easy from the Governor’s Mansion as it was from the campaign trail. Why is he not forthcoming with budget information? These are issues Virginians need to know and talk about.

The Post is to be commended on its catchy editorial title.

UPDATE: The Governor has released his budget.  You may view it in the Roanoke Times.  Click the blue.

Governor’s Office

HB 53 Too Many Xfile Episodes?

MoonHowler

 

Several friends sent me a copy of the daily koz article on Virginia HB 53 accompanied by peals of laughter.  I am fairly skeptical about Koz and immediately looked for another source.  I mean this bill looked like the Xfiles joined Armageddon.  Unfortunately, the Washington Post pretty much reported the same story. 

The Virginia House of Delegates voted Wednesday on HB 53.  It is a bill that makes it illegal for anyone to put a microchip in your body without your permission.  The bill passed the House of Delegates.  The bill is mainly aimed at employers, insurance companies and government. To most people, having a bill that sounds like the Xfiles is a bit unusual:

According to the Washington Post, quoting from the bill’s sponsor:

Del. Mark L. Cole (R-Fredericksburg), the bill’s sponsor, said that privacy issues are the chief concern behind his attempt to criminalize the involuntary implantation of microchips. But he also said he shared concerns that the devices could someday be used as the “mark of the beast” described in the Book of Revelation.

“My understanding — I’m not a theologian — but there’s a prophecy in the Bible that says you’ll have to receive a mark, or you can neither buy nor sell things in end times,” Cole said. “Some people think these computer chips might be that mark.”

Cole said that the growing use of microchips could allow employers, insurers or the government to track people against their will and that implanting a foreign object into a human being could also have adverse health effects.

“I just think you should have the right to control your own body,” Cole said.

The religious overtones have cast the debate into a realm that has made even some supporters uneasy and caused opponents to mock the bill for legislating the apocalypse.

In the interest of respecting diversity, I am not coming to comment other than to ask, why is our House of Delegates dealing with  this type of legislation?  Have there been threats of  body snatching?   Aare we going to make it illegal to do the alien abduction thing?   If it is religious, doesn’t that belong in church?  Is our state legislature losing it or what? 

Mulder and Scully, here I come!

I will respect diversity…I will respect diversity….I will respect diversity…..

12 Hand Guns a Year Limit in Danger of Repeal

MoonHowler

Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R-Woodbridge) has introduced a bill that would repeal the 1 handgun a month law that has been in effect in Virginia since the days of Governor Doug Wilder.  HB 49 has made it out of committee and stands a good chance of being passed.  The Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee voted 15-6 Friday to advance Del. Scott Lingamfelter’s bill.

Why do we have such a law limiting the number of handguns we can purchase?  In a nut shell, Virginia was a gun running state.  Prior to 1993, when the 1 hand gun a month law went into effect, Virginia was the  # 1  gun-running  state.  Scofflaws would come to Virginia, buy up a load of guns, and return home to sell them illegally.  New York had a particular problem with Virginia guns.  Since the law was passed, Virginia has been #6 in gun running. 

According to CBOnline:

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Virginia’s ban on buying more than one handgun a month would be repealed under a bill that passed a House committee on Friday.

The Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee voted 15-6 to advance Del. Scott Lingamfelter’s bill to a vote in the GOP-controlled House, where it is likely to pass.

Supporters say lawmakers have carved so many exemptions into the law that it was no longer effective. Since the legislation was passed in 1993, legislators have exempted the state’s 214,000 concealed carry permit holders, all law enforcement and corrections workers, those whose guns were stolen within a month of purchase and other groups from the ban. It does not apply to rifles or shotguns.

“It may have had a purpose in 1993 when it was passed, but if did, the rationale for this statute has been neutered by all the exemptions that now exist,” Lingamfelter said.

Opponents argued the prohibition had helped move Virginia from being the nation’s No. 1 supplier of guns used in the commission of crimes to No. 6. Repealing it, they said, would make it easier for criminals to get guns through so-called straw purchases. In a straw purchase, someone who can pass the required federal background check buys the gun for someone who is a felon, mentally ill or for some other reason is barred from buying guns.

“If a person can walk out with a box full of Glocks, they’re going to walk out to the street and sell them,” said Andrew Goddard, who has lobbied against gun rights bills since his son was shot four times at Virginia Tech in 2007 but survived.

There seems to be room for compromise here.  Many of us who are gun owners don’t mind being limited to buying 1 a month.  Perhaps changing the law to 2 hand guns a month might help.  If a person needs to buy more guns than currently are allowed, there are many ways around the problem.  Virginians need to be looking carefully at how to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, especially after the massacre at Virginia Tech, rather than repealing all laws.  We are going to wrong direction.  

It appears that the legislators in this Northern Virginian region  all support the wild west mentality of buying as many guns as one wants.  Hopefully down-state realizes that this law in Virginia not only protects Virginians but also the rest of the country.  Being #6 isn’t great but it beats being #1.

The State of the County, Blizzardly Speaking

MoonHowler
The NASA Earth Observatory has taken true-color satellite photos of Snowmageddon, everyone’s favorite Beltway-crippling massive weekend snowstorm.
The NASA Earth Observatory has taken true-color satellite photos of Snowmageddon, everyone’s favorite Beltway-crippling massive weekend snowstorm.

From this morning:

Here we go again.  We are in the middle of a blizzard where 10 inches of new snow is expected to drop on Prince William County today.  So far, about 4 inches have fallen.  The snow has been heavy at times but nothing blinding.  But it isn’t over.  The emergency blurb from N & M that arrived moments ago  says we are under a blizzard warning and to expect blinding snow and high winds. 

That was all earlier today.  It looks like we dodged the proverbial bullet.  Areas north of us were not nearly so lucky.

The weather is costing the municipalities a fortune!

According to the Manssas News & Messenger:

Prince William County, Va.—It’s too soon to figure how much money Prince William taxpayers are spending on snow removal and related storm activities, but supervisors were told Tuesday to expect costs to be “extensive,” according to the county’s emergency services manager.

The bright spot is that the county executive’s recent declaration of a state of emergency makes the community eligible for pursuit and receipt of federal disaster dollars.

“We’ll follow the [Federal Emergency Management Agency] guidelines for reimbursements and go after every dollar we can,” said Patrick Collins, the county’s emergency services man-ager, in a last-minute presentation to supervisors during a 2 p.m. board meeting on Tuesday.

It’s been record-setting levels of snow that Prince William has experienced—and another 10-to-20-inches is on the way by Wednesday evening, according to weather reports.

“According to the totals we’ve seen, with another 10 inches, this will be the snowiest winter in 111 years,” said County Executive Melissa Peacor. “So we’re facing that proverbial 100-year storm.”

Some places in the county reported 30 inches of snow this past weekend, Collins said. Power outages, meanwhile, have hit thousands. But as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, service had been restored to all but 523 NOVEC customers and 107 Dominion customers, Collins said.

Those without electric service may contact Dominion at 888-667-3000 and NOVEC at 888-335-0500.

Virginia’s Department of Transportation has all but depleted its stores of salt, Collins said, and most county Public Works clean-up trucks were now relying solely on sand to help clear the roads.

How does the state run out of salt.  Totally amazing.  Is it possible to get more?  We are still at the beginning of February and there could be a lot more el Nino left.   Should we take bets that there is no more moisture left in the atmosphere?

The snowiest winter in 111 years is quite an accomplishment.  What did people do back then in 1899?  Were they better equipped in some ways than we are today?  Were people better prepared then?  When we lose our comfort zones, are we more miserable?

On a lighter note, the dude on Squawk on the Street just said he was in the heart of Snowmageddon 2010. (Reagan National)

LCI to be Unfrozen by Governor McDonnell

MoonHowler

Good news!  I just received the following from Delegate Jackson  Miller:

  
Today, Governor Bob McDonnell announced that he will undo the freeze to the Local Composite Index that former Governor Tim Kaine proposed before he left office.  Prince William County, Manassas City, and Manassas Park City Schools would have suffered greatly had he not made this bold move in support of our schools throughout the Commonwealth.  I applaud Governor McDonnell for his leadership and thank him on behalf of our community. 
Below is the press release from the Governor’s office: 
 

 

 

Governor McDonnell to Undo Proposed Freeze of Local Composite Index

-Introduced Budget Froze LCI for First Time –

Governor Identifies Savings to Allow for Annual Update to Index

 

RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that he will support updating the Local Composite Index (LCI), the formula which determines state and local education funding responsibility, in the upcoming budget.  The move will mean another proposed change to the introduced budget, which froze the LCI at its current level. The LCI has historically always been adjusted every two years to account for changing local economic conditions. The proposal to freeze the Index was unprecedented, and would have cost certain localities in Northern Virginia $128.3 million in state education funding.

Speaking about his decision, Governor McDonnell stated, “For nearly forty years, the Local Composite Index has been an impartial means by which to determine state and local responsibility for education funding in Virginia. The application of this Index has always been done in an objective manner, using the most recent fiscal data to most fairly apportion state resources. For many school districts, particularly in Northern Virginia, the biennial update of the Index has meant far less funding from the state than that received by school districts in localities experiencing lesser rates of economic growth. Accordingly, I will not support the proposed freeze in the budget introduced by the previous Administration. The Local Composite Index must be applied to all localities, at all times, in the same objective and fair manner by which it has always been utilized.”

McDonnell continued, “The decision to continue to update the Local Composite Index is one that I reached after extensive meetings with my finance staff, legislators, and local government officials. I thank all these individuals for their input and thoughts during the process. Ensuring that we have a fair formula that is implemented without regard to temporary or political considerations is the best means by which to appropriate education funding in the Commonwealth. Every time the Index is readjusted some school systems gain funding, while others receive less. This has occurred for nearly forty years, and local officials understand the routine and objective biennial implementation of the Index.”

In announcing his decision to undo the proposed freeze of the Index, McDonnell also identified specific budget savings to account for the additional state spending required. The update will cost the state $29 million in FY 2011. To cover this increased funding, McDonnell will recommend to the General Assembly the transfer of $13 million from Literary Fund balances; $8 million through the use of available balances in the Health Insurance Fund to reduce state health insurance premiums; $5.2 million will be found in Real ID savings and an available $3 million will be captured in additional Non-General Fund balances.  Budget recommendations will continue to be made and communicated to the legislature in the coming days.

 

A big thank you to Jackson Miller for the notification.  He knew some of us here were clamoring  for Governor McDonnell to remove the freeze.  Also a big thank you to Poor Richard for raising the level of concern here on this blog. 

Good-bye to Gridiron Great William ‘Bullet Bill’ Dudley

MoonHowler

William ‘Bullet Bill’ Dudley (far left, carrying the ball) has often been called the University of Virginia’s greatest football player and the greatest football player to come out of the State of Virginia.  He died Thursday, at the age of 88 in Lynchburg. 

 Dudley grew up in Bluefield, Virginia and played for Graham  High School.  He went to UVA at age 16 on a scholarship and soon became a star (see Times Dispatch).  After UVA, he was drafted in the 1942 NFL draft as first pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers.  WWII interrupted his football career but following the war, he returned to Pittsburgh for 9 NFL seasons.

Bill Dudley went in to the insurance business in Lynchburg.  He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1966.  He also served in the General Assembly for 4 terms and was known as being  outspoken and direct.  Bill Dudley suffered  a stroke at the end of January and died at home February 4, 2010, in the arms of his wife, Libba.  Bradley and Libba celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary in July.

Certainly Bullet Bill Dudley will be remembered at some point during the Super Bowl tomorrow.  He was a native Virginian and one we can all be proud of.  This picture and more information about Dudley can be found in the Richmond Times Dispatch.   

This picture is especially important to me.  Imagine looking at it and seeing Old # 66 along side Bullet Bill Dudley.  # 66 is quarterback Walt Smith, who was my dad.  Old football players never die, they just fade away….

Good Old Song

That Good Old Song of Wahoowa,
We’ll sing it o’er and o’er.
It cheers our heart and warms the blood
To hear them shout and roar.
We come from old Virginia,
Where all is bright and gay.
Let’s all join hands and give a yell
For dear old UVa.

What though the tide of years may roll
And drift us far apart,
For Alma Mater still there’ll be
A place in ev’ry heart.
In college days we’ll sing her praise,
And so, when far away,
In memory we still shall be
At the dear old UVa.    

(tune Auld Lang Syne)

Further reading about Bullet Bill Dudley

Richmond Times Dispatch

Bill Dudley Wikipedia

Kaine and McDonnell Axe NoVA Schools

MoonHowler

 

For several decades, Virginia has used a  formula called the  local composite index (LCI) to  ensure that very poor localities had the funds to operate their school systems and that all children in Virginia had a shot at an equal education.  Basically the formula directs revenues  from wealthier areas into poorer districts.  Because situations change, the LCI is calculated yearly. 

From Del. Dave Albo’s website:

School funding in the Commonwealth of Virginia is determined by the Local Composite Index, or LCI.  The LCI is a result of a Supreme Court of Virginia ruling which stated that the Virginia Constitution requires all children to receive, to the extent practicable, and equivalent education.  Thus, the Court ruled that some funding formula must be used to direct money to areas that can’t afford to educate children. (The Court did not say what the formula has to be only that some redistribution must occur). Consequently, the purpose of the LCI is to ensure less affluent localities are able to provide for their students. The LCI is a figure that determines how much a school system must pay for its own basic education. (“Basic Education” is a set of minimum standards. For example, math must be taught, but band does not.)  The LCI, has a cap of .8000 (a locality must pay 80% of its own basic education) but has no minimum. Only 27 out of 136 schools are required to pay more than 50% of their basic education (e.g. have above a .5000 LCI).

The LCI is calculated through a complicated formula. The formula attempts to determine which school systems can afford to may more of their own basic education, and which systems cannot afford to pay. In determining who can pay, a formula has been developed which considers a bunch of different variables.

So what’s the problem? The LCI is changed yearly because conditions change. Governor Kaine placed a freeze until 2012 on recalculating LCI. Governor McDonnell is considering upholding this freeze. Northern Virginians are having a fit because it was hit harder than the rest of the state by foreclosures and a deflated housing market. They will lose millions on the old plan:

According to the Dixie Pig blog (Delegate Scott Surovell’s blog) the Northern Virginia School losses from not adjusting the formula this year  are as in the millions.  According to Delegate Surovell:

McDonnell’s office confirmed Friday that he would uphold the freeze implemented by Kaine. The outgoing governor proposed freezing the index until the 2012 fiscal year. He theorized that this would protect 97 school divisions that would lose money if the formula were re-calculated. McDonnell Freezes School Funding Formula, The Virginia Gazette (Jan. 25, 2010).

Yesterday, Governor McDonnell who campaigned on the idea that he was from Mt. Vernon and understood Northern Virginia’s needs confirmed that he is going to affirm this policy decision, not just for one year but at least until 2012.

This decision is a breach of the state’s responsibility to Northern Virginia’s children. Here are the top six affected jurisdictions according to the numbers I was given yesterday.

Fairfax County $61 Million
Loudoun County $34 Million
Prince William County $22 Million
Stafford County $4.5 Million
Fauquier County $4.3 Million
Manassas City $3.1 Million
TOTAL $128 Million
 

 

 

 

 

 Northern Virginians are furious as well they should be.  They will have to make up the deficits and jurisdictions are already strapped.  It appears that we have been sold out by 2 governors.  So much for either Kaine or McDonnell being education governors.  And regardless of where he is from, Governor McDonnell obviously does not understand the educational problems of his own county.  According to Del. Surovell in an update, the new total is a $144 million dollar shortfall.  I hope Prince William and City of Manassas are prepared for 40 kids per class.  That number definitely is not considered ‘best practice.’ 

Northern Virginians should contact their delegate and senator immediately to require the  LCI formula to be recalulated as it is supposed to be.  This issue is definitely bipartisan.  Democrats and Republicans all have kids. So do Independents. 

A big thanks to Poor Richard for bringing  the Local Composite Index freeze to my attention and for providing background information.

[Ed. Note:  The LCI is calculated every TWO years rather than one as stated above.]

Washington Post Editorial: Governor McDonnell

MoonHowler

Today’s Washington Post Editorial pointed out many positive attributes of Governor McDonnell, who was sworn in today at noon in Richmond at the State Capitol. It is a worthwhile read so therefore will be reprinted in its entirety.

GOV. ROBERT F. MCDONNELL — he sheds the hyphenated “-elect” at noon Saturday — has struck many of the right chords in the run-up to his inauguration as Virginia’s 71st governor. His performance during the transition, at once wary of partisan triumphalism and mindful of the state’s grave challenges, has been as focused, disciplined and effective as his successful electoral campaign last fall. That has set the stage for him to lead a state that, despite solid past management and a wealth of natural advantages, is reeling from a national economic downturn.

A key to Mr. McDonnell’s success in setting a constructive tone so far has been his cabinet appointments. In electing to retain Rick Brown, who has been Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s finance secretary, the incoming governor has opted for stability and continuity in the area of state government that needs it most. And in tapping former Prince William County Board chairman Sean Connaughton as his transportation secretary, he has picked a proven, able and pragmatic administrator to focus on Virginia’s most urgent problem: its badly overwhelmed transportation network. It remains to be seen whether Mr. McDonnell, who pledged to address the transportation crisis in his first year in office, will, in fact, deliver a critically needed plan to generate fresh and dependable new funding to build roads and bridges.

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