It's time to face reality:  Fairfax County Public Schools currently faces a budget shortfall of $120 million next year.

But instead of listening to warnings from their prime funding source (the Board of Supervisors) and even just reading the business section of The Washington Post that warned of a real estate decline (and therefore a decline in property tax revenues), the Board majority created new programs and expanded old one - including those without any metrics demonstrating effectiveness.  This creates an embedded expense that is difficult to escape in future years.

The problem is, I have a long memory:  The year before I was first elected as a District School Board member in 1995, the School Board did the same thing - and the result was that, in the middle of the year, they were doing everything they could to cut expenses - pulling back cleaning supplies, copy paper, light bulbs . even toilet paper.

There are several things we can do. 

First, of course, we need to advocate for a fairer share of state and federal funding.  But beyond advocating, we don't have much control over that in tough economic times.

Second, I suggest we create a permanent citizens advisory committee on the budget, composed of qualified citizens who understand large private and public sector budgets, as well as education issues.  The committee should review the budget on a regular basis and make long-term policy recommendations to the School Board.

The last such budget committee was in 2003 - but it was banned from examining instructional costs, despite the fact that instruction was 93 percent of the budget.  Several members resigned in frustration, because they knew that a committee that starts with 93 percent of its mission taken off the table is not a serious committee.

Third, I have a lot of faith in our employees - they know waste when they see it.  I support creating a hotline that would allow employees to anonymously report fiscal waste in the school system, and creating a mechanism for following up on those reports.

Fourth, we need to understand that people teach students, and teachers remain the most vital asset we have.  We need to do everything we can to protect that asset and ensure that our compensation packages - including both salary and benefits - are competitive and reflect the market we operate in.  If budget cuts have to come, our quality employees should be the last to suffer.

Finally, we need to start listening.  When the economic indicators point downward, that is NOT the time to expand programs.