Ashburn resident Kevin Kuesters announced his candidacy for the Broad Run District seat on the Loudoun County School Board.
 Kevin Kuesters |
According to a prepared statement, Kuesters, a Certified Public Accountant, has lived in Ashburn for more than 20 years. He has a wife, Piper, and three children.
“I’m running for the school board because, as a CPA, I look at the school system as the 800 pound gorilla weighing down the county budget. The FY 2012 LCPS operating budget is $767 million, the annual debt service for school construction is $118 million while $103 million is approved for new school construction. That’s $988 million to pay for Loudoun County schools for one year,” Kuesters said in the release.
“You don’t need my financial background to see that close to a billion dollars to run a school system is a lot of money. The school board has a responsibility to parents to provide the best education possible and to taxpayers to provide that education in the most cost effective manner. The school board mandate is not either-or, but both. Public servants are called upon to be stewards of the public trust and the public treasury.”
For more on Kuesters, visit kevinservesloudoun.com.
Q: What are the major issues facing Loudoun County Schools?
A: One issue would be the relationship between the School Board and Board of Supervisors. By FY 2019, LCPS enrollment is projected to reach 91,754 students. We are currently at 60,096 students.
With that type of growth, especially in eastern Loudoun, it is essential for both boards to work together and develop long-term strategies to increase revenues and cut costs for all county services, including the school system.
It is also important for us to focus on our priorities and really find what the core of our school system is and focus on that.
By working together, each board’s resources can be combined and we will be better off for it.
Budget. As a CPA, I have found out you really can’t micro-manage a budget. You can try, but this is a corporation, it’s almost a billion dollar entity, so you should treat it that way. The board is supposed to set the direction, it is not supposed to manage the school system. That’s why you hire a superintendent and deans. For you to come in and say we need to go look at all the schools and see what they are spending money on, maybe you’re better off focusing on the core mission as opposed to things that are nice to have.
My main concern is giving the kids the tools needed to succeed in college or for a career.
Locating and building schools. The School Board needs to consider new approaches to school construction, such as larger capacity schools, dual-use facilities and new land acquisition strategies among other possibilities.
Q: What were your thoughts on the surplus and how it was spent?
A: The board should be setting direction, not necessarily micromanaging. I also think there should be incentive for principals, teachers and administrators in which if they come in under budget, give them an incentive to do so and let them use some of the money.
Why not tell the principals, if you come in $20,000 under budget , you get to keep $5,000 and the rest comes back. You also have to make sure you are holding them accountable to achieve whatever they are supposed to be achieving.
It is not really fair for me to say after the fact, you should or shouldn’t have spent the money on the whiteboards and those other items, that’s water under the bridge.
Q: What are your strengths?
A: I am not a professional politician, but I am a professional, so I know how to act respectfully.
I have very strong opinions, but if someone comes along with a good idea that I agree with, I will change my mind. I am willing to listen and change my mind.
My experience in the federal government creating strategic plans and developing performance measurement will also be beneficial.
Jana Wagoner contributed to this report.
@Kevin Kuesters. No need to respond to all criticisms on this news forum’s commentaries. As you can see, many just spew the first thing that pops into their minds… usually triggered by baseless assumptions. You know, like the outsourcing-pet-peeve whiner. And yes, it’s peeve and not peave.
As far as your comment on the school board having a responsibility to parents AS WELL AS taxpayers? I think it’s a welcome change to hear someone prioritize the taxpayer for once. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard school board members, staffers and even the Superintendent trumpet the “Doing it for the children” theme when justifying some of their wasteful expenditures. It’s as if they think they can shut any critics down with that phrase alone.
Well, I’m all about the proper education of our children but not with a blank check. Someone has to step up and actually keep watch on the way the LCPS handles surpluses as well as the way they acquire building sites.
Oh, and Alby, you have once again managed to “elementarize” your arguments. It’s is not how many resident dwelling they approve. It is “how” they approve them. This county has had the worse habit of not taking in the necessary proffers for funding road improvements, infrastructure or schools. I don’t think they’ve ever told someone like Cangiano that he can subdivide and build whatever he wants so long as he sets aside some acreage to for a school. Just think about it. Who stands to gain the most from school construction? The home/condo/apartment builders that would be adjacent to said schools.
Instead, the county allows builders to do as they wish. THEN, the LCPS comes in and offers those builders anywhere from 30-60% over market value for a piece of land next to their developments. It doesn’t matter that the land may be 5 miles from the nearest water/sewage source. WTF?!!!!!
“My friend of 17 years who lives in Sterling and built this website appreciates your compliment.”
Oh snap!
A CPA would do us good on the School Board…obviuosly the school system has no idea how much money they waste each year.
Alby,
You are right…the school board has to accommodate all kids in Loudoun County, but has no control over how many kids there are in the county. But the school board does have control over the school system and the responsibility to provide a quality education at a fair price. I agree with your premise, but I believe the solution lies with both boards.
Hate it when candidates outsource,
I infer from your comments that you believe I paid a big name company to build my website because it looks professionally done. My friend of 17 years who lives in Sterling and built this website appreciates your compliment. The other friend I would have used is just as good and lives in Ashburn; he runs candidate Shawn Williams’ site.
He could have at least picked a local company to do his web site. Kind of a nitpicking pet peave—I know. But if you are running for a Loudoun County position at least use Loudoun County resources.
The solution to the School Budget isn’t found in budget number crunching. The solution begins and ends with County Planning Commission and Zoning Board. As long as we allow for increased development, the county’s population will grow and those new residents will have children. This in-turn increases LCPS’s population and requires more schools to be built, teachers hired, school buses to be purchased, etc…
If we want a real solution to the school budget, it won’t be found in the people who run school board. The solution will be found in how many new homes we approve and/or home density numbers that we approve.
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