I was at a recent LWVMCVA (League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, VA) program where education was the central theme. There was a technical problem that caused a delay and during that time one simple question was asked … “What are the 3 biggest challenges facing Montgomery County Schools?”. The responses (more than...
Education
Do citizens living in Towns pay double taxes?
I have heard citizens of the Town of Christiansburg say, more than a few times, that they don’t like paying double taxes. A lot of people perceive that they are paying double taxes simply because they live in a Town and have to pay both County and Town taxes.
Talking About Education? If You Aren’t Maybe You Should Be!
What do you think the role of Federal Government should be in K-12 Public Education? What are the “Common Core Standards”? What affect could changes in the role of Federal Government have on our local schools?
Unfunded Federal Education “Mandates”?
Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard a lot of rants about “unfunded federal education mandates”. After a bit of looking around, what I found was not all that surprising. A clear and concise summary can be found at the U.S. Dept. of Education in one of their archived reports: “No Child...
The 10th Amendment and Education
The 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on December 15, 1791. The goal of this Amendment was to make it such that all powers NOT specifically granted to the federal government or prohibited by the Constitution are reserved for the states (or the people) to control. This Amendment was applied to...
Weldon Cooper Center School-Age Population Data
The Weldon Cooper Centers School-Age (5-19) Population Estimates for Virginia’s Incorporated Towns shows that: Blacksburg has a school-age population of 3,556 which is 27.01% of the County total of 13,164. Christiansburg has school-age population of 3,781 which is 28.72% of the County total of 13,164. Montgomery Count’s school-age population is 13,164. (Subtract Blacksburg and...
Weldon Cooper Centers Building Permits Data for 2010
I’ve heard so much about the deadly lull in development/building in Christiansburg and how hard hit our economy has been that I thought it warranted looking at some of the numbers. http://www.coopercenter.org/demographics/building-permits The Weldon Cooper Center keeps track of building permits data for Virginia jurisdictions and the data I found for 2010 was quite...
Priority Based Budgeting – Christiansburg Takes on the Challenge!
As many of you will remember, Mayor Ballengee noted a few months ago that he anticipated a 5 cent real estate tax increase would be necessary in order to handle next years budget. Christiansburg Mayor acknowledges 5 cent real estate tax needed. In order to try to keep that prediction from becoming reality, Acting...
Basic Recipe for a School
Let me begin by saying that it is my opinion that both Riner and Blacksburg should get new schools. Riner because they have been patiently waiting with some upgrades/repairs being withheld due to the plan to build a new school, and Blacksburg for the obvious reason that I don’t believe many people will trust...
The Election is Over & Now the Work Begins
Thanks to all who made this Election Day a wonderful one. Voter Turnout while no where near where it should be, was still very, very good for this area. It shows that more people are interested in their government. Congratulations to all the candidates, whether winners or losers by the numbers. You were each...
