Fairfax County is both a curse and a blessing, as students are soon to discover the world outside the opulence.
For the fiscal year of 2012, a $6.1 billion plan was approved for Fairfax County, providing $1.7 billion in disbursements to Fairfax County schools. In this 2012 Adopted Budget, the funds come directly from real estate taxes which Fairfax County is more than able to afford. A recent census provides that as the second wealthiest county in the United States, Fairfax County rakes in an average of $103,000 per household. This is only second to Loudoun County with a whopping average of nearly $120,000.
What this means to you, the affluent offspring of this county, is that when you whine about how the collective “they” need to fix the vending machines that provide you with your daily dose of high-fructose corn syrup, there might be more pressing matters that “they” have to deal with, such as public safety and health and welfare. Concerning public safety, about $412 million goes toward fire and police departments, 911 and other deterrents of danger.
Upon reading, questions you may pose regarding this information are “What do I gain from this?” and the ever-popular “What is the point?” Stop blathering and drill this through your skull. If this budget were not in place, your beloved football fields, tennis courts and yes, vending machines would cease to exist. As a product of the Fairfax County capitalist machine, you need to recognize and appreciate that most of you live in surplus, from the car you drive to the food you eat. Living near the nation’s capital, many take wealth of knowledge for granted, not to mention income. The focus of this argument stems from the utter lack of monetary maturity found throughout the county, as seen through vandalism, petty theft and other classic misdemeanors.
Schools across America are not provided with near as much funding as is Fairfax County. Of this, many residents can vouch; we live in excess and damn well know it. Classroom essentials we deem as basic as the SMART Board, we do not need in order to learn. Impoverished nations around the world still contribute to international business through their own form of learning. Learning should not have to take place only on campus, but in the air surrounding minds working in collaboration. The line in the sand drawn between what is absolutely essential for a child’s education and what is best is determinate on the tax payers and in turn, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Dear reader, take this to heart: this is much bigger than you.
Fairfax County’s Double-Edged Sword
– 10/28/2011Posted in: Opinions
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Thank you for finally outlining this issue for the ignorant, nose-in-the-air snobs that go to Oakton.
This is a very poorly written piece. For starters, what is the actual argument other than Fairfax Country is a rich county? What exactly is ‘much bigger’ than me? What claim are you supporting by quoting budget and income numbers? You jump around, angrily condemning the population of Oakton because we have more than other counties? Clearly SMART Boards are not essential for learning, but I don’t recall any student (or teacher for that matter) demanding them in every class room, I believe that was an administrative decision. Are you suggesting that the county should cut it’s budget and donate money to impoverished nations? If the taxpayers of Fairfax County pay their taxes, why shouldn’t they see the benefits of that money, some of which will come in better schools for their children? It’s clear that this article is more of a thoughtless rant which should not have been okayed by your editors or teacher. I went to Oakton and was not oblivious to the elitist culture that you’re attacking, but I don’t believe your portrayal accurately reflects the overall Oakton student body. There are a lot of nice kids at Oakton and just because many of the kids you are criticizing have the loudest and most visible opinions doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the dominant opinions of the entire population. True journalists are smart enough to avoid stereotyping entire groups of people.