My name is Arthur Purves. Tonight I address you as president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance. To solve this, the Fairfax County School Board has voted to ask the state legislature for independent taxing authority and a menu of new tax options, including a piggy-back county income tax and a higher sales tax. The Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance opposes, and asks you to oppose, new taxes and the independent taxing authority for school boards. Two decades of tax increases have not made our schools better.
Many buildings are overcrowded and deteriorating.
The county's average SAT score of 1096 is only at the 65th percentile. The county's average score on college board achievement tests is only at the 50th percentile. There has been no improvement in the minority student achievement gap. One wonders if the small increase in SAT scores is due to SAT prep classes rather than higher standards in the classroom. School administrators say that even with increased spending they cannot raise academic achievement because there are more low-income students.