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repeatedly stated, “Justify our plans with facts and I’ll vote for it!” The justifying facts were not forthcoming and neither was my vote or that of anyone else.
But now we are promised justifying facts. That was a month ago and I’ve not seen them yet in your newspaper although this whole project is said to be critical and urgent. The School Board has a “hard sell” as it fully regliz^. Maybe the following partial* data' outline will help the board to focus its attention on the items which need to be covered to be convincing and persuasive:
1. School Enrollment:
a) The number of high school students for each of the past 10 years (to indicate the historical trend).
b) The number of students in each of the elementary grades this year, including kindergarten (to indicate the expected future high school enrollment).
c) The Superintendent’s reductio ad absurdum argument that the high school expansion project “has nothing to do with enrollment” is public relations in reverse! It undermines the school district’s credibility. No one in this county believes it, not even the School Board members. Fairfax County, operating in the same state and under the same mandates and standards as we, gives actual increased school population as the sole reason for its multi-million dollar school construction plan for which a bond issue will be voted up or down next month.
2. An updated price tag for the project:
The superintendent’s figures indicate that the proposed Literary Fund Loan will be for $1,431,040. If updated cost figures exceed this amount (probable), whence comes the difference? The county’s General Fund? A new and larger loan application? A reduced building project? The supervisors and the taxpayers should know in advance how the board proposes to handle this sticky
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