Minutes 02/25/2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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February 25. 2010 At a Special Meeting of the City Council and the School Board on Thursday, February 25, 2010, there were present: Mayor James W. Holley III, Vice Mayor William E. Moody, Jr., Charles B. Whitehurst, Sr., Marlene W. Randall, Elizabeth M. Psimas, Douglas L. Smith. Mayor Holley called the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance. 1 0 - 92 Adoption of a resolution by the City Council and School Board of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia urging the support of the General Assembly of Virginia for funding of education in the Commonwealth. Motion by Mr. Moody, and seconded by Mr. Whitehrust, to adopt the following resolution, and was adopted by the following vote: "JOINT RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE SCHOOL BOARD OF THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA URGING SUPPORT BY THE VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR ADEQUATE FUNDING OF EDUCATION IN THE COMMONWEAL TH. WHEREAS, the City of Portsmouth believes that education is the foundation of its social, political, and economic well-being; and WHEREAS, the success of students in Portsmouth is vital to the economic well- being of the City as a whole; and I, political, and economic well-being; and WHEREAS, public education has been the City's top-stated priority for years; and WHEREAS, the City of Portsmouth has invested considerable funds, effort, and support in its schools over the past five years; and WHEREAS, the Portsmouth City School Division has made considerable strides toward improving the quality of education in Portsmouth's public schools - achieving accreditation of all of its schools in the 2008-09 school year; and WHEREAS, the Portsmouth City School Division still faces the difficult task of providing an education for its diverse student body of over 14,000 students, many of whom come from at-risk families; and WHEREAS, under the budgets proposed by the Governor and the House of Delegates, the Portsmouth City School Division will face a shortfall for the 2010-11 academic year that will require deep cuts in schools across the division in many areas, including teachers, support staff, classroom equipment, and school buses; and WHEREAS, these potentially steep cuts for the 2010-11 academic year and beyond have caused serious concern among City parents, students, and leaders; and WHEREAS, the Portsmouth City School Division depends heavily on the more than $90 million normally appropriated to it by the Virginia General Assembly; and WHEREAS, the budgets that have been proposed by the Governor and House of Delegates would reduce funding to Portsmouth city public schools by over $18 million; and WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City of Portsmouth, and the Portsmouth City School Division all play important roles in the education of our children.