It’s Time For the PWC BOCS to Lead
by pwceducationreform
In 2006 voters authorized Prince William County to issue $11 million in bonds to make improvements to park facilities in the county. Among the improvements residents wanted was an expansion of the swimming lanes at the Chinn Center. The expansion never happened, nor did any of the other promised improvements. The county reportedly issued the bonds in 2011, though no one I’ve asked seems to have any clue what the bonds were actually used for.
We’re 7 years past 2006 and our indoor swimming facilities are even more inadequate than they were then. School age children routinely swim at 4:30 in the morning to get practice in before school starts. Swimming lessons fill up within days of being announced. Pool space in the evening for recreation is next to impossible to find. Clubs and swim teams have to put 6 – 8 swimmers or more in a lane at a time for practice because the lanes simply aren’t available.
We needed additional swimming facilities in 2006 and we need them even more now. Unfortunately the county’s plan for filling that need is to do nothing. Not one Supervisor has adding additional swimming facilities on their list of priorities. Not a single one.
As the recession has drug on longer than anyone expected, funding for our schools hasn’t increased enough to provide for school operations. To balance the budget the school division has cut programs and increased class sizes to the state maximum. PWCS has the largest class sizes in the state. My son’s math class has 35 students in it with one teacher. Many classrooms have 38 – 40 students in them with one teacher. The state recommends one compliance officer per 1,000 special
