Journal Blog

Dahlgren bikers celebrate National Ride Your Motorcycle to Work Day

Dahlgren, Va.  --  Employees at the Dahlgren Navy Base and its tenant commands celebrated  the 17th Annual National Ride to Work Day on July 16.

The annual event was an outgrowth of a May 1992 article in the former Road Rider magazine, now titled Motorcycle Consumer News. When columnist Bob Carpenter commented on having an annual ride to work day Aerostitch RiderWear promptly produced a T-Shirt imprinted with the words “Work to Ride, Ride to Work.” The first Ride to Work Day event was held on July 22, 1992. 

The informal grass roots movement continued to grow. Then in 2000 a formal  organization was formed  to help organize and promote Ride To Work Day. The all volunteer organization is a 501 c4 nonprofit and the first ride conducted under their efforts was the third Wednesday in July 2001.

But from that simple T-Shirt  mantra, the event has grown into an international event with participants in North and South America, Europe, and the South Pacific.  Twelve countries  participated in 2008.

The event is held at that same time each year.  Complete details can be found at http://www.ridetowork.org/

Watch for a series of upcoming articles in the Dahlgren Source focusing on alternate methods of commuting.

Your economy - finding ways to cut gasoline usage

We received this press release and thought it would be of interest. July 16 was "Ride to Work" day. Our reporter Marty van Duyne is working on stories about how rising gas prices are changing the ways local commuters get to work.

Increased Motorcycle Use Tied to Soaring Gas Prices

Allstate Survey Finds People Riding Their Harleys to Work

Fairfax, VA (Grassroots Newswire)- As more Virginians hop on their motorcycles today in honor of the annual "Ride to Work" day, a survey by Allstate finds that even more motorcyclists are driving their bikes to work to escape the high cost of fuel.

According to the Allstate survey, 63 percent of respondents name "the fuel economy" as a top reason why they are riding their motorcycles to work more frequently.

The data came from an online survey of 500 male bikers nationwide, weighted to represent the total population and commissioned by the Northbrook, Illinois based insurer earlier this year.

"Not only is a motorcycle a pleasurable way to travel, it is extremely fuel efficient and less expensive to operate than a car," said Gordon Combs, an Allstate agent in Fredericksburg and motorcycle advocate, one of 600 Allstate agents nationwide who ride motorcycles.   Combs is a member of the Battlefield Wings   Goldwing Road Riders Association which conducts charitable rides.

The Allstate survey found that seven in 10 bikers ride at least once a week, including almost 45 percent of the participants who ride several times a week.

Their greatest concern when they are on the road was other drivers of cars (82%), road conditions (55%) traffic (42%) and trucks (30%).

In a related survey by Allstate also found that its insurance business among individuals who own motor scooters has also increased tremendously over the past several years.   Although no specific data was available whether that rise was due to the cost of gas, officials concede the mileage scooters get—especially in urban areas—make them a coveted mode of transportation.

Among other findings in the Allstate biker survey:

31% consider themselves "weekend warriors"

17% said they were a "Sport Bike Enthusiast"

12% consider themselves as "Stressed Out Exec"

11% consider themselves as "Hardcore Biker

Davis case makes Lawyers Blog

The ongoing case against the King George School Board is getting some attention in other places than The Journal. The Virginia Lawyers Weekly blog site  has two posts regarding the suit. One refers to the court challenge. The other refers to The Journal's article on legal bills from the School Board's attorney and raises the question whether "local government attorneys will now make it a point to request vaguely-worded
descriptions of legal work from outside counsel, to avoid a public parsing of the bills to speculate on what advice was given when by lawyers."

Biking to School

Everything old is new. I was in Portland for a few days and we enjoyed using the light rail and riding the street cars. My father used to talk about riding the street car in Richmond - yeah, was that back in the dark ages?

Now Gov. Kaine is bringing back the idea of riding your bike to school.

~

Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced more than $1 million in Safe Routes to School funding to 13 school systems, local governments and not-for-profit groups across the Commonwealth to make bicycling and walking to school safer and more appealing to students.

“Walking and biking to school offers a host of benefits to students, communities and the environment,” said Governor Kaine. “We want to encourage alternative means of transportation for Virginians of all ages, and these grants will help ensure that our children can get to school safely by foot or bike.”

The Safe Routes to School program is designed for localities, schools and not-for-profit groups seeking to improve walking and bicycling opportunities for kindergarten through eighth grade students. Funds can be used for promotion, education and law enforcement activities. Local governments are also eligible to apply for funding to improve infrastructure in the vicinity of schools.

~

Sounds like a good idea to me. I used to ride my bike to school through high school. In elementary school we walked to school. (I can remember my big sister got in to SO much trouble when she left me sitting on the steps of the elementary school while she walked home.) We didn't have school buses; you made your own way to school.

And in case you are thinking this was some small town, we lived in the Northside of Richmond, so we had traffic and busy streets to cross.

Those of us who grew up on the 60's and 70's will remember that one year Pres. Carter decided we would stay on Daylight Savings Time through the winter. I rode to school in the dark with a bicycle light that was powered by the spinning wheels on my bike. The sun did not come up until we were already in to the first period class. Oh, and I did this without a bike helmet. I wasn't trying to be reckless and self-destructive - if there were bike helmets available, I didn't know about them.

Somehow we survived walking and biking to school through the streets of Richmond.

I actually thought my neighborhood was okay, though my high school was another matter. So I was taken aback when a few years ago one of my employees said his car had broken down in a not-so-nice area of Richmond. "Where was that" I asked. "Chamberlayne Ave.", he replied. That was where I went to high school.

Maybe it is not practical to send kids off to school on bikes in a lot of areas of King George, but it would work for some neighborhoods. And drivers are just going to have to get used to sharing the roads with bikes and scooters and other means of transportation, now that the cost of gas has gotten ridiculous.

Are we in a recession?

Editor’s Note: Those who have been long-time readers of The Journal may remember that David Kerr at one time wrote a regular column about the economy. But he was busy with his job on Capitol Hill, and let’s face it - times were good, so writing about the economy probably was not that exciting. Well, now the economy has gotten exciting. (A little too exciting!) So we asked David to put back on his economist hat and start writing again about the topic that is on the minds of many. So here is the first of what we are sure will be several articles about the national and local economy. ~

By David S. Kerr

A recession is defined as two quarters, back to back, when the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the wrap up of all the consumption and investment, everything that goes into our economy, contracts.  So far, that hasn’t happened yet.  The first quarter of 2008 showed a one percent rate of growth.  This isn’t anything to get excited about, but it did surprise a number of economists, many of whom were expecting the growth rate to go negative.  That, if it does happen, and it probably will, will likely come later in the year.

Americans have been through recessions before.  But, what makes the current economic situation so disconcerting isn’t so much the question of whether we’re headed towards a recession or not, but rather, that several disruptions to the economy are occurring at once.  Two, the mortgage crisis and the increase in oil prices, are the most dramatic.

The mortgage crisis is still playing out.  Foreclosure rates have soared, large banks have taken massive write offs, housing prices are down, and the housing industry, always a powerhouse in the American economy, has slowed dramatically.   Foreclosures continue, and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two government chartered companies most responsible for supplying the nation’s  mortgage money (their combined portfolio is nearly $5 trillion), are in serious trouble and may shortly be coming to Uncle Sam asking for a bailout.

However, that’s just part of what’s going on.   

The mortgage crisis may have a deep impact on national economic growth, and hurts several important sectors in our economy, but alone it probably wouldn’t be enough to drive us into recession.   To do that, and what may tip the balance, is the impact of oil prices. 

A year ago, a barrel of oil, now sized at 42 gallons, and not what many of us were taught, 55 gallons (they changed the standard several years ago), costs $70.  Today that’s doubled.  The price at the pump was $2.90 at this time last year, and now, at my corner Exxon is $4.04.  Diesel fuel, which powers trucks and trains, critical to moving goods, is running closer to $5.00. 

While Congress may be blaming this on speculation – it’s always easy to blame Wall Street and futures traders – there is a lot more going on than a little investment hedging.  Unlike the 1973 or 1979 oil shortages, which occurred simply because OPEC turned off the tap, we now have a major supply and demand problem.  It’s economics 101 as pundits like to say.  India and China, which 30 years ago, weren’t players on the world oil market, are now buying crude oil at a tremendous rate.  This increase in demand from emerging nations, along with our own insatiable appetite, is bidding up the price.

The immediate impact has been a reduction in driving, the near collapse of the SUV market, with the loss of thousand of jobs and a significant increase in the cost of the once easily affordable American aviation system.  However, that’s just part of the effect.  Energy prices across the board, from utilities (Dominion Power for example has been forced to significantly increase its charges) to the price of home heating oil, are up sharply.

However, what many of us don’t realize is just how much the cost of oil impacts the price of everything we consume.  For example, the staple of any American kitchen, eggs, as innocuous a product as I can think of, involves significant energy costs.  From the electricity used to process and package them, and don’t forget the packing material itself, to the trucks needed to haul them, there is a petroleum product is involved.  The result has been a steady increase in their cost.  The same is true for a host of other staples, to include bread, meats, and milk. 

These two major disruptions in our once bubbling economy result in a reduction in our consumption of goods and services.  When we don’t consume as much this means that sales go down, inventories increase and eventually, our economy contracts.  That means the loss of income and jobs.

However, perhaps staving off this dark picture, temporarily at least, is the value of the American dollar.   It’s at an all time low overseas, and while that may not be good if you’re visiting Europe, it’s great if you’re selling American goods in foreign markets.  It means overseas purchasers, because of our weak dollar, can buy more American products.  In other words, our goods have gotten more competitive in foreign markets and that’s keeping a lot of people here in the U.S. working.

However, while most of this isn’t that reassuring, what with several bits of bad news hitting at once, the good news is that none of this is probably fatal.  The U.S. economy is massive in size and this means it can take a lot of hits.  This downturn may last a bit longer, and will likely force some long term changes in our economy, but over the years we have proven to be remarkably flexible in adapting to change, developing new markets and applying new technologies.  Just as we’re likely to do this time.

Now that David Kerr has told us about the economy, maybe you want to chime in about your economy. What are you doing to save money? What does the state of national economy mean for your home?

Here’s a couple of options:
1. Send us a letter to the editor.
2. Go to our website and register for our PotomacChat message board. We don’t want to chat about every topic on the world, just those of local interest, and the economy is of local interest.
3. Post a comment on this blog.

We'd like to hear from you!

Independence Day weekend traffic on Route 301

High gas prices have not done away with the holiday weekend traffic backups on Rt. 301 in King George.

King George residents know to watch out for summer weekend traffic on Route 301 near the Harry Nice Bridge over the Potomac River.
Here the traffic is beginning to back up early in the afternoon of Sunday, July 6.

By evening on Sunday the traffic was backed up to what some refer to as "the rollercoaster", the section of Rt. 301 south of Windsor Drive and north of Washington Mill Road.

Cap-and-Trade: The Debate Matters

The following opinion piece by Al Weed of Public Policy Virginia was submitted by that organization. We are not sure it would make it in to The Journal, but thought it might be of interest to readers.

The Senate debate on the Lieberman-Warner bill to reduce carbon emissions was the first serious national recognition of the challenge of climate change.  Al Gore’s Nobel Prize notwithstanding, until an effort to change our energy culture through public policy is made, the US is not even in the game.  It is a sad statement on the readiness of our political leadership that the debate so quickly collapsed.

Sure, this is a bad bill that would have led us down a dead end, delaying a useful national – and global – response for years.  This is time we do not have.  Some have said, however, that this debate could have been a dress rehearsal for serious legislation in the next Congress.  Perhaps we can use elements of the shortened debate to shape truly effective public policy.

With one exception, the best answer to all the objections to cap-and-trade is “revenue neutral carbon fees.”  That exception is that the amount of carbon emitted in the US can be specifically quantified by the emission allowances envisioned in the bill.  Carbon fees probably cannot be tuned so finely.

Corporate executives, academics, economists and investors all agree that carbon fees levied at the source – mine head for coal or well head/ port of entry for petroleum – will be a more effective and equitable way to reduce carbon emissions by raising the cost of all fossil based energy.  It is only politicians, as recently remarked by George Will, who are afraid to have the inevitable rise in energy costs attributed to their taxes.

So, let’s use the debate to enlist public support for policies that will lower carbon emissions, provide long term investment security for renewable energy, and give the US a political and moral basis on which to build a claim to leadership in the global warming battle.

We’ve heard the arguments for cap-and trade: they are the only thing that is politically feasible; at least we are doing something; it worked with other airborne pollutants; and, they’re doing it in Europe.  Carbon taxes are, well, taxes aren’t they?

Suppose we look on carbon taxes not as taxes per se, but as tipping fees.  That is, as the cost of disposing the waste generated from fossil based energy production.  This carbon cost, as a greenhouse gas, we can no longer pass on to future generations.

So now, when objections to the provisions of cap-and-trade are raised, we can answer “carbon tipping fees.”

Cap and trade, so the debate goes, will create a big bureaucracy, with government trying to pick winners and losers.  Carbon tipping fees will permeate throughout our entire economy, letting the free market determine the winners and losers.

The Lieberman-Warner Bill will cost an excessive amount, and result in severe harm to certain segments of society.  Additionally, special interests will bring big bucks to bear on legislators to favor their supporters, either with loopholes or funding.  Carbon tipping fees can be structured to be revenue neutral and fund transitory relief for the pain of high energy costs created for impacted groups, much as food stamps help folks get over high food prices.  Rural dwellers, for example, with no mass transit to rely on, may need subsidies for a period of time.

Cap-and-trade, as a way to reduce carbon emissions, is extremely vulnerable to a down turn in energy costs.  If oil prices drop to $40/barrel who cares that a carbon allowance costs $20 per ton?  Think that can’t happen?  What happens when Iraqi oil comes back on line and world-wide energy costs have created a demand dampening recession?  Carbon tipping fees, however, can be structured to provide a steady increase in energy prices that will ensure a floor under costs that will make the long-term investments in renewable energy a gamble worth taking.

Cap-and-trade’s biggest weakness is that it fails to deal with the global problem of carbon emissions.  Sure, some technical advice would have been provided in the Third World, but pollution from India and China will likely continue unabated as long as they have free access to world markets for their exports.  Moreover, a serious decline in the use of fossil based fuel in the US and Western Europe will only make coal and oil cheaper for other countries, leading to even more overall carbon emissions.  A carbon tipping fee, however, can be added to every imported product based on its carbon component, ensuring that no industry selling to carbon controlling nations gets an advantage.  The revenue from these tipping tariffs, if you will, can be used to provide catch up technology to other nations.

Be sure that there are and will be many other objections raised to the Lieberman-Warner Bill.  As they come up, think “carbon tipping fees” and maybe in the next Congress we will see a willingness to embrace sensible legislation.

Al Weed is the Chairman of Public Policy Virginia.  His e-mail is aweed@ppvir.org.

School Board member Payne Kilbourn provided this information as part of his presentation on overcoming the local press at the School Board meeting on June 11.


King George County School Board Goals for 2006-2007

Accreditation

Continue to improve student achievement, maintain school accreditation and meet the No Child Left Behind AYP, Benchmarks.

Students
Maintain standards for academics, conduct and attendance while meeting the varied needs of all students.

Staff
Recruit, hire and retain a highly qualified staff.

Emphasize the importance of financial accountability, the value of seeking creative means to acquire additional revenue to support public funds and the necessity of finding ways to increase productivity without requiring additional funds.

Community
Assist families new to King George County Public Schools with their transition to the area and continue to enhance public opinion about King George County Public Schools.

Growth
Plan for the anticipated growth in the school division and the realignment of schools.

Planning for the Fiscal Year 10 Budget Cycle

Prepared by:  Payne Kilbourn
King George County School Board Representative
9 June 2008

Background.

     This is my second budget cycle as a member of the board.  Despite in depth review of the school’s needs and a well crafted budget presentation and supporting documents, particularly this last cycle, this board has been unsuccessful in convincing the community and the Board of Supervisors that more funding is required.  I feel this is predicated on a general lack of trust and faith, on the part of a significant number of county residents, in the school administration and the school board.  In short, our budget recommendations won’t get the job done.

Proposal.

     We are blessed with a large number of local residents who have skills, knowledge and experience in running businesses and organizations, and who are willing to volunteer their time to our schools and the community.

     I propose that we engage the community to independently evaluate the school division and to conduct a baseline assessment of school needs that can then be programmed to arrive at a fresh, baseline budget.

     This is supported by existing School policy.  The applicable policy sections are provided separately.  The two that are most appropriate are ACA, Community Involvement in Decision Making, which states, “The board shall involve citizens both as individual and as groups to act as advisors and resource people.”  ABD, Comprehensive Evaluation, offers areas of evaluation that can form the basis of areas for community advisory committees.

     This is a significant undertaking, and committee reports will need to be completed by mid-November of this year to support preparation of the FY10 proposed budget.

     Prior to the committees beginning their work, the school board should update its statement of School Board Goals.

Proposed Committees

1.  General.

     Large committees bring depth, but are ponderous.  Therefore, I recommend committees of 3.  Members should be county residents.  Each should have:
     (1) A parent with a child that has graduated from that school or from the school system.
     (2) A person who does not have children or a person with children who did not attend county schools (grandparents with children in schools are acceptable).
     (3) A person with business or organization management or executive experience.

     Each committee should have two advisors.  One, a teacher, and two, a principal or administrator.

2.  Committees.

     a.  Elementary Curriculum and Instructional Programs.
     b.  Middle School Curriculum and Instructional Programs.
     c.  High School Curriculum and Instruction Programs.
     d.  Special Education Curriculum and Instructional Programs.
     e.  School Personnel (teachers, principals and administrators).
     f.  Buildings, Equipment and Transportation.
     g.  Business Operations and Finances.
     h.  Operations of the School Board.

3.  Committee Tasks.

     a.  Curriculum and Instructional Programs.

    (1) Review and assess existing programs and support levels.
    (2) Identify additional programs and support levels.
    (3) Identify best practices and programs.

     b.  School Personnel (teachers, principals and administrators).
    (1) Assess existing teacher and staffing levels and turnover.
    (2) Identify excesses or shortfalls.
    (3) Evaluate compensation levels (salaries and benefits).

     c.  Buildings, Equipment and Transportation.

    (1) Inspect existing buildings and equipment and identify needs.
    (2) Evaluate the building and equipment operations and maintenance program.
    (3) Evaluate transportation requirements.
    (4) Recommend bus trip travel times and bus safety.

     d.  Business Operations and Finances.

    (1)  Audit current budgeting and accounting practices.
    (2)  Investigate and report on budget execution efficiency.
    (3)  Evaluate school cafeteria business operations.

     e.  Operations of the School Board.

    (1)  Audit School Board compliance with policy and statutory requirements.
    (2)  Recommend practices for improving oversight and management.
    (3)  Evaluate public relations and information distribution.

4.  Schedule.

    July 9:  Discuss Proposal.
                 Begin Soliciting Community Support.
    July 23: Approve Proposal.
                 Issue revised Board Goals.
    August 18: Seat Committees
    August, September, October:  Committees in Session
    November 12: Committees present reports.

Download selected_policies.pdf

Skip Davis weighs in on Paulsen's response

Skip Davis responds to the email exhange between Heath and Nancy Taylor and School Board Chairman Dennis Paulsen:

Heath and Nancy,

Let's put what the Chairman is saying into context. Paulsen claims the underlying reason for the litigation is accountability. He’s right. Accountability by the School Board and its administrators is nonexistent.
Paulsen claims the newly implemented Discipline committee was created with Virginia State School Boards Association guidelines, using other regional school models. He knows the other school models he was given and told to present were not current. Where did he get that data? Was it a trusted source? Did he know it was outdated when he presented it to the board? Does he still have complete confidence in the competence of his source?

Paulsen states their new discipline committee did nothing wrong. Huh? No School Board members were present at the committee hearing and they claim they have not reviewed the recording. How is he able to determine the committee followed procedure and did nothing wrong when a fourth grader can point out the policy violations on the available documents? Has Mr. Paulsen actually read SB policy or is he just repeating what he has been instructed to say?

Paulsen goes on to say how these policies were developed to bring a sense of order and stability to the school campus. Please!  If he was so concerned about stability or safety, he would have helped to adopt a policy that would reduce the number of fights in our schools. Check out YouTube. Our kids are able to have sex in the halls and bathrooms. Check out Myspace, Facebook, YouTube or just ask your kids.

What about the fact classrooms have been left unattended for entire blocks? I assume this is a safety hazard. Even when a class has a substitute, some students end up sending a kid to the hospital for stitches because instead of being taught, they are allowed to throw office supplies around the room until a child’s face is slashed?  I think that kid had to wake the sub to get a pass to the nurse. I wonder when she let them type her “statement” about what happened so they could get rid of the kid who threw the tape. Actually they could do the typing while she was at the hospital getting her face stitched up. They don’t need her to sign it. I guess she’s lucky the administration didn’t find her wandering the halls bleeding profusely without a hall pass, or they would have to type up another statement. Oh goodness.

Does Mr Paulsen know, at any time during a school day, anyone can walk into the school unnoticed?   Students are able to come and go as they please, and the administration can't figure out who is in school, who is not in school or who was late. Drive by anytime of the day and you will see kids wandering around in the parking lot, sitting in their cars or walking down the street. These are not bad kids, they are unsupervised kids.

Note: 2 of the administrators at KGHS have a Masters Degree in Supervision. We should be able to have some confidence in their ability to supervise. Thankfully Mr. Paulsen has complete confidence so we can all relax.

FYI Chairman Paulsen

The judge did not rule on the legality of the committee, he commented on the legality of it, and he also granted the injunction saving the other rulings for the case when it could be heard in full on its merits. He stated the injunction ruling by definition could very well determine the outcome of the entire case. Interesting how the pertinent information is always left out when the School Board makes public comments.

Newsflash:

The School board is not made up of 5 volunteers as Chairman Paulsen states. THEY ARE ELECTED OFFICIALS. They are accountable to the taxpayers.  The Administrators are not volunteers either, we pay them.

The School Board is supposed to supervise their administrators; it is what we elected them to do.

Simply put, the School Board is the boss and the Administration answers to them, not the other way around. The School Board needs to define and lay out their expectations for the Administration, then inspect what they expect. If the Administration fails to meet or exceed expectations, they should be removed and replaced. They have plenty of policies in place to throw out our kids. Surely they have a Code of Conduct for their employees. I would think misleading the board, not producing requested documents, violating school board policy, mismanaging money or presenting flawed illegal policies for approval would be referenced in this code. Maybe the citizens could form a 3 member committee, type up some statements, hold a hearing and clean house.

Finally Mr. Paulsen,  if you are going to keep repeating yourself, making statements to the press, copying your opinions in writing to Phyllis Cook and the Board of Supervisors regurgitating someone else’s excuses, please check your spelling. You are setting a bad example for our students and I’m sure the people directing your words would be embarrassed to see all their words mangled and misspelled. The rest of us just aren’t buying it.

Regards,
Skip Davis

Subject: Re: Return to reason and due process

The following is an email from Heath and Nancy Taylor to School Board Chairman Dennis Paulsen and his response:

Dennis,

As Chairman, you have the responsibility to move this board forward in
a positive direction.

One of the most important attributes of a functional organization is
to hold itself accountable for its actions, acknowledge mistakes,
learn from them, and move forward.  To move forward, the organization
must make those impacted by these actions whole to the maximum extent
possible.  In this case, the organization is an elected body and must
address those concerns of the citizens of King George,  who have
entrusted the board with governing and guiding education in King
George.

The Special Meeting of the School Board tonight provides the
opportunity for the King George County Schools to move in a positive
direction, rather than continue in this quagmire of a closed process
and arbitrary actions, where avoiding openness, covering mistakes,
omissions of fact, partial truths, accountability to no one, are the
norm, have a return to a transparency in all dealings and clarity of
purpose.

So Dennis, please consider the opportunity that one of the paths you
choose to take tonight holds for the future of our county schools in
setting a new direction.

Regards,

Nancy and Heath Taylor

Subject: Re: Return to reason and due process

Heath and Nancy,

I apologize for taking so long to get back to you, I have been out of town
on business for the past two weeks. The current litigation is still ongoing,
so I can't openly discuss the case specifics at this point.

I appreciated your input on the recent turn of events involving the
litigation against the Superintendant and School Board. It is interesting
that you brought up accountability, because I feel accountability is the
very underlying reason that we are in this litigation now. I can assure you
that this School Board's integrity and accountability is firmly intact and I
feel that we are addressing the concerns of all citizens of this county.
Everyone should be held accountable for one's actions. When a student is
found to violate the Student Code of Conduct, then the student has to be
held accountable and receive the appropriate punishment for that violation.
They read and sign the Code of Conduct at the beginning of each year,
holding themselves accountable to follow the rules and regualtions of that
Code or face the penalties for violation. That Code was developed to bring a
sense of order and stability to the school campus, and provide for a safe
environment for all of our children. If we were not to hold the students
accountable for their actions in accordance with the Code, then we would
have kaos in our schools.

The recent court injunction decision was based on the interruptation of
Virginia Law with regards to how the newly implemented Discipline Committee
was created, and was not decided by their execution of our policies and
procedures or whether due process was violated. The Discipline Committe was
created to the Virgina State School Boards Association guidelines and using
other regional school models. The Discipline Committe did nothing wrong in
executing the policies and procedures established by the School Board. As
with any new process or procedure, there is always room for improvement and
this School Board will continue to improve upon all of our policies and
procedures on a regular basis, as we have done for all of the years that I
have served the community as a member of the King George County School
Board.

Closed sessions, especially when dealing with litigation, are a necessary
part of the School Board meeting process and not a way to avoid openness. We
also meet in closed session to address personnel issues for the protection
of personal privacy. We follow the Virginai State School Law rules and
regulations of closed meetings to the letter. I take exception to your
statement that we are responsible for arbitrary actions, covering mistakes,
and ommisions of fact. Telling me that we are providing partial truths is
the same as saying we are all lying to the community. I would like to know
why you perceive the Board to be operating in this manner?

As I said before, we hold ourselves accountable to all the people King
George County. This board is made up of five King George citizens who have
volunteered their time to serve their community. There are no hidden agendas
on this team of professionals. This is a very positive and dynamic school
board, with a diverse range of opinions, thoughts and ideas. We treat each
other with respect and professional courtesy. I am very excited to be a part
of this team because i really feel that we will be able to make many
positive contributions to our county schools. Make no mistake, our purpose
as a board is crystal clear.

Thannks again for your input and don't hesitate to call me if have any
questions or concerns. Please know that my above comments are reflecting my
own opinions and thoughts and I am not speaking for the King George Count
School Board.

R,
Dennis Paulsen