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School supporters plead with Mathews supervisors for funding

by Sherry Hamilton

Over 100 residents jammed into the historic courthouse Tuesday night, half of them standing, with most of them there to ask the Mathews Board of Supervisors to increase funding to the schools to make up for anticipated state cuts.

During the supervisors’ first regular evening meeting—there will be six of them this year, on alternating months—speakers pleaded with their representatives not to cut funding for teacher’s aides, the arts, career and technical education, and other areas of education.

"If you can afford to repair Main Street, you can afford to educate our children," said Mathews Education Association president Amy Bohannon-Stewart.

Attorney Tom Bowen said that an increase of $300 per year on a $250,000 home would only equal $25 extra per month, while Chip Kinsey of Port Haywood asked the board to "come up with enough money to maintain the status quo." He said he thought it was important to raise taxes to do this because "if you lose jobs, you lose county residents.

"We can’t be losing more funding," Kinsey added. "If you increase my taxes, I’m O.K. with it."

Lee-Jackson teacher’s aide Tammy Henry said that teacher’s aides were needed there. "We can’t stop educating these kids," she said. "They need that extra one-on-one."

LeeAnn Shields, special education teacher at Mathews High School, said she "didn’t get into teaching for the money.

"In Mathews County Public Schools we believe in something bigger," she said. "We know that when they cross that stage in June, we’ve prepared them for whatever comes."

School board member Ginger Richards lauded the quality of the Mathews school system and its "wonderful teachers."

"It breaks my heart to think of cutting one of them," Richards said.

She said the school system is one of the lowest paid in the state, and that good teachers choose to teach there in spite of that because "it’s a community.

"We need to maintain that for our children, if it takes raising taxes or whatever," she continued.

Joanne Shankle, who described herself as a widow and a retired teacher on a fixed income, affirmed that teachers "come here when they could get higher pay elsewhere," and that the county "should be willing to pony up to maintain the quality of life in Mathews.

"This will attract business to Mathews," she said. "Don’t cut off our nose to spite our face."

Board chair Charles Ingram thanked all the speakers for their comments, saying, "I’m sure the board will take it into consideration."

At the end of the evening, two residents spoke against the idea of raising taxes. Lorraine Hollandsworth said that Mathews County’s educational system has produced many successful professionals and that she’s in favor of "upholding education."

She said she didn’t want to cut school employees’ wages, but that "there are a lot of fringe benefits that can be cut.

"It’s time for the people of Mathews to investigate and see what’s going on," she added.

Speaking after the meeting, Hollandsworth said that the fringe benefit she was speaking of was providing a vehicle for the school superintendent to drive.

In addition, she said, "Why in the County of Mathews do we need a superintendent, an assistant superintendent, three principals, and three assistant principals?"

David Crockett of Gwynn’s Island, said the board should consider the fact that, with a population of about 9,000 in Mathews, there are 1,300 school-age children, and that of the remaining adult population, "one-third are retired people on a fixed and limited income.

"We’re in a recession and everyone has to take a hit," he said.

Finally, Judy Rowe of Gwynn’s Island, said she was also a retired senior citizen, as well as a former educator, a mother, and a grandmother. "We’re all suffering loss," she said. "Everything’s bad."

To address the problem of funding education, she said, "We can’t stop badgering, hammering and pleading with state and federal legislators.

"The stimulus money went to one group of students," Rowe continued. "We need across-the-board funding."

In addition, Rowe said the U.S. Senate is considering a proposal to eliminate unnecessary testing requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act, and residents should let their Congressional representatives know they support the effort to eliminate testing.

YMCA public hearing

The board heard a brief presentation by Mathews Family YMCA branch director Sheila Pillath, who described all the services the organization provides for county residents and asked for a tax exemption for its real and personal properties.

There were no other comments on the matter, and later in the meeting, the board unanimously approved the request.

Broadband

The board adopted a concurrent resolution to form the Middle Peninsula Broadband Authority with three other counties—Gloucester, King William and Essex.

County Administrator Steve Whiteway explained that the counties of Middlesex and King and Queen had been removed from the resolution because King and Queen has its own application and Middlesex is concerned that there might eventually be some cost.

"But we’re planning to move ahead at no cost," said Whiteway.

Other business

In other business, the board:

—Approved refinancing the county’s Series 2001 Lease Revenue Bonds in order to realize a savings of approximately $240,000 on debt service during the next fiscal year;

—Agreed to co-sponsor the Mathews Maritime Foundation’s annual Kids Kayak and Conservation Camps; and,

—Approved a request by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to plant a red maple tree on county property as a tribute to the late John Warren Cooke, former member and speaker of the House of Delegates and county native who died in 2009, described as "a great man who touched so many."