Now that we have a formal proposal for the new Pulaski County Middle School, I thought it was time to explain some of the numbers and try to address some of the common questions I’ve heard about the school. First, it’s important to understand the financing arrangement that the School Board has recommended to the […]
“This isn’t the Taj Mahal”
Opinion written by Melissa McNair-King, guest contributor to VPK. Last night, the Pulaski County School Board presented its plans for a new, consolidated Pulaski County Middle School. It is a beautiful plan, with tremendous upgrades compared to the current Pulaski Middle and Dublin Middle Schools. The proposed school will offer up-to-date accessibility and safety measures. […]
How we will win the middle school and beyond, Part II
(Part I here.) After a frustrating Board of Supervisors meeting last night and weeks of discouraging news about Pulaski County’s much-needed new middle school, you might be feeling disheartened. But we can do hard things! Let’s come together on July 3rd to learn organizing skills and create a plan for how we will get a new […]
How much does that cost? Land Use Taxation in Pulaski County
When talking about taxes in Pulaski County, especially about raising taxes, I am often told “the farmers won’t go for that.” As a counterpoint, I was also told that farmers get a discounted tax rate and thus won’t be affected by any increase in property taxes. While I cannot know for sure what every farmer […]
How much does that cost? Land Use Taxation in Pulaski County
When talking about taxes in Pulaski County, especially about raising taxes, I am often told “the farmers won’t go for that.” As a counterpoint, I was also told that farmers get a discounted tax rate and thus won’t be affected by any increase in property taxes. While I cannot know for sure what every farmer […]
How Much Does that Cost? Digging into the Pulaski County Budget
As we all debate the cost and necessity of a new middle school, one topic dominates the conversation- tax increase. So I went to look at the Pulaski County Budget, to find out what exactly we’re spending money on and perused the 2015-2016 (latest available) Budget Expenditure Summary. One thing stuck out at me while […]
Crowdsourcing ideas for community use of new middle school
The new consolidated middle school will get a lot of usage from 8-3:30 Mondays through Fridays during the school year. And the gyms will be heavily used by rec league basketball teams during rec basketball season. But what about the evenings and weekends? What about the summer? In my recent article, I proposed that we […]
How we will win the middle school battle and beyond
When I first read comments from a certain Board of Supervisors member last week, I, like many others, was angry. But over the weekend, I began to see this middle school fight as a welcome opportunity to build and strengthen relationships across the entire county not just because it’s the right thing to do, but […]
Delegate Time- What’s Nick been up to?
As the recent legislative session in the Virginia House of Delegates recently came to a close I wanted to take a look at what my Delegate, Nick Rush, had accomplished in the recent legislative session. You can find what bills have been proposed, and whether they have been enacted here. I was hoping to find […]
Pulaski Explainer: Local Effects of the ACA Repeal
One of the challenges communities like Pulaski face is getting people, especially young people, to consider moving to and staying here. One of the biggest challenges for people seeking to move here, I can tell you from personal experience, is finding affordable healthcare. When I left my job in New York, our family’s monthly COBRA […]