It’s Time for Bold Reform, Says Chairman Steve Knotts

Fairfax GOP Chairman Steve Knotts is blasting the “troubling and severe” learning losses now confronting the county’s government-run schools. “The latest Standards of Learning (SOL) results confirmed what anyone with common sense already knew: Fairfax County Public Schools utterly failed to meet the needs of students over these last two academic years,” Knotts said today. “Across the board, the district’s learning losses are both troubling and severe.”

The chairman’s statement comes on the heels of new data from the Virginia Department of Education, revealing significant learning losses in reading, math and science among students enrolled in Fairfax County Public Schools. From 2018-19 to 2020-21, reading proficiency rates among district students declined 8 points, from 81 to 73. Proficiency in math plummeted 25 points from 86 to 61. Science proficiency fell 19 points, from 84 to 65.

“County families must not forget: it was school board Democrats who needlessly kept students locked out of ‘public’ schools — well after Catholic schools and others in our county reopened safely,” Knotts said. “Now the predictable results are in. County families deserved — and still deserve — a lot better from our school board. This November, send the board a loud message by voting Republican for a change!”

Earlier this week, Virginia GOP gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin unveiled his Day One Game Plan, noting that “Virginia’s students have fallen behind because of extended school closings, lower school standards, and political agendas.” Youngkin’s “Day One” action items for K-12 education include the following:

• Keeping Schools Open Safely Five Days a Week
• Restoring High Expectations & Getting Every Student College or Career Ready
• Ridding Political Agendas from the Classroom by Banning Critical Race Theory
• Rebuilding Crumbling Schools, Raising Teacher Pay, & Investing in Special Education Programs
• Creating at least 20 New Innovation Charter Schools across the K-12 Spectrum to Provide Choice

“While Democrats remain beholden to government-sector unions, Republicans are offering bold ideas to restore educational excellence,” Knotts said today. “Democrats seem to have forgotten the government — including our school board — is meant to work for us, not the other way around.”

The Fairfax GOP is the Republican Party of Virginia’s largest political unit. Follow us on Twitter: @FairfaxGOP.