The Virginian-Pilot reports:

The City Council is taking $8.8 million in school reserves for its own budget but will try not do the same next year, according to an agreement reached in a Monday meeting.

This was an agreement that came out of what were called “negotiations”? Really? Looks to me as Mayor Sessoms flipped the School Board the bird, said he was taking the money, and that there’s nothing the board could do about it.

Of course, the Chair of the School Board, is out there leading the troops in defense of school funding, and is still railing against the action of the City Council; right?

Wrong.

Here’s what Dan Edwards, Chair of the School Board, had to say following the agreement:

Edwards said the City Council has fully funded the school division for next year, a point he thinks might be lost on protesters.

“It’s very important for those that are protesting to know that they have supported the school in the past and they are supporting the schools next year, and we are reasonably hopeful that they will continue to do so beyond,” he said. (Virginian-Pilot)

Far from standing his ground and saying this is wrong, Edwards is actually using the same talking point that Mayor Sessoms and Vice-Mayor Jones used in their joint statement. This is disappointing.

I understand that the School Board is legally powerless on this issue, but to discount the intentions of those who are turning up to support the schools when y0u’re the Chair of the School Board? Does Edwards have any backbone?

As far as I know, a rally jointly organized by the Virginia Beach Education Association and the Virginia Beach Council of PTA’s will still be held in front of City Hall and many of those at the rally will be attending the meeting and will be speaking against these cuts. Unlike Dan Edwards, the citizens are still willing to tell Mayor Sessoms and City Council that what they’re doing is wrong, and their action places the quality of our schools in danger.

UPDATE: Received confirmation that the rally is still on!!

Related posts:

1. City Council Looking to cut $8.8 Million from Schools
2. Mayor Sessoms and Vice-Mayor Jones Need to Go
3. Virginia Beach City Council ponders taxes, fees
4. Sessoms and Jones Defend Taking Money from Schools
5. The Virginian-Pilot endorses Brian White for City Council