The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Orange School Board Exits VA School Board; Did Orange Co School Board Make Right Move?

Episode Date: May 24, 2024

The I Love CVille Show headlines: Orange School Board Exits VA School Board Did Orange Co School Board Make Right Move? Other School Boards Follow Orange Co Lead? CVille & AlbCo Teachers Getting 3% Raise Teacher Raises Not Keeping Up Cost Of Living New Charges At Spring Valley Orchard Most Affordable Thing To Do With Families Championship Weekend: UVA Lacrosse Red Hot Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air The I Love CVille Show airs live Monday – Friday from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The I Love CVille Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible, Rumble and iLoveCVille.com.

Thank you. think judah can flip to when he's ready that really shows a lot of ways the heartbeat of central virginia i still think the heartbeat of central virginia is is downtown judah the eight blocks out of the downtown mall yeah it could be what else would you say you want a two-shot yeah no what would you say is the heartbeat of central virginia i mean the university of virginia comment is a bit we is the heartbeat of Central Virginia? I mean, the University of Virginia comment is a bit... We understand the importance of the University of Virginia here. You've got the courthouses, you've got the police station, you've got the hedge funds, you've got the downtown mall,

you've got the hotels, the family offices, the law firms. You've got the movers and shakers. Has it seen better days? Yeah. But it's still the energy. Yeah, I mean, I guess as far as things go, you might as well call it the downtown area. I mean, you've got to think. Today's headlines, guys, a lot to cover.

We'll give some love to Otto Turkish Street Food on Water Street, partner of the program. Otto Turkish Street Food, fresh food made daily. I think Jude is putting some of that food on screen. Locally owned and operated Auto Turkish Street Food is a suggestion for you for this weekend when you're thinking lunch or dinner. Folks, and if you want to weave me back in on a one-shot so the viewers and listeners can take a look at the headlines we're going to cover today.

Albemarle County and Charlottesville City teachers are getting a 3% raise. I'm going to ask you this question. What profession right now is more challenging and more thankless than being a teacher? You're under the microscope constantly. This 3% raise doesn't even come close to keeping up with inflation and cost of living, especially in a market like central Virginia, especially in cities or in jurisdictions like Charlottesville and Atmore. Remember, they did get a 2% raise in January. So it's not, you know, it's a little better than it seems. What was the last time they got a raise before that?

Nobody knows. People know. I'm joking. I didn't get that joke, sorry. People know. Been years. Yeah. We're going to talk about that on today's program.

I also want to talk about the new charges at Spring Valley Orchard. We will get to that today. One of the viewers and listeners suggested we discuss this. A pass needed now to go orchard picking at Spring Valley. I'm not going to try to throw shade on the orchard. Maybe they're doing this just to survive. But the pass to go picking a fruit at this orchard is required for individuals two years old and up. Yeah.

The orchard concept. And you also have to pay for the basket. And also have to pay for the basket of fruit. So you've got to pay five just for being there. Per person. Yeah. And then you're paying for the fruit. This has passes that are $5 per person, ages 2 plus, and can be reserved online.

Passes for each week are available starting on Monday or Tuesday. The orchard will assess the fields over the weekend to ensure a good picking experience for the week ahead. Passes are not required for spaces outside of the Cherry Orchard. They offer free parking and a free picnic area and access to the retail market. The comments in this thread on the website, there's multiple posts about this, are quite heated.

And they're from families who are highlighting that they can't afford these rates. Many associating this with greed. The orchard probably saying, And they're from families who are highlighting that they can't afford these rates. Many associating this with greed. The Orchard probably saying, look, this is what we can do. Their sister orchard, Carter Mountain Orchard, Spring Valley says, unfortunately, the cost of providing this experience has increased exponentially. We have not raised our prices to our customers in three years. However, our costs,

most notably in labor and supplies, have skyrocketed. It's the quintessential crossroads between the small business trying to keep rates affordable. Remember a few weeks ago, Little John's was coming out with sandwiches that were $14, $15, $16, $17, and everyone was up at arms because they compared the price of what Little John's sandwiches used to be when they were open before the pandemic. I mean, even post-pandemic, you've got to know that $17 is astronomical for a sandwich. Is it, though?

I would say. Is $17 astronomical for a sandwich when your starting wage for your labor is $15? This is what people... You can't have your cake and eat it too, and I'm not talking you specifically. I know. The Michael Paynes of the world,

city council of Charlottesville, has been demanding a $15 minimum living wage, and $15 is not living wage, at the University of Virginia. You got groups of people in the area that are insisting that wages for folks in food and beverage and other frontline like orchards have to be increased. And then when the wages are increased, and then the cost of that service or the cost of those goods or the cost of that food goes up because the small business has more wage expense on its line, on its financials,

then people are like, hey, what the hell is going on? That's the business owner being greedy. Can't have your cake and eat it too. We're in a tough position everywhere. 3% raises for teachers we'll talk about. We'll talk about championship weekend for the UVA lacrosse team and a lot more. Let's get to the lead story due to set the table. Orange County School Board.

This is a story that I think if once we start talking about it is going to get regional attention. I would not be surprised if you see this in the Richmond Times Dispatch, the Washington Post, and I think the Daily Progress after this show is going to make a big to-do about this. The Virginia School Board Association just lost a member, and that member is very close to here, the Orange County School Board, in a shocking 3-2 vote due to Wickhour. A May 20th agenda item has now pretty impactful. The show is yours. No doubt. item has now pretty impactful. The show is yours. No doubt.

I mean, they decided that the organization working out of Richmond, the Albemarle County, I mean, the Virginia School Board Association, is too far left-leaning and doesn't represent them well anymore. And so they decided to cut ties. And I think you touched on how it went down. It seemed like a surprise to most of the people involved. Some of the people are not happy about it, but you're right. I think there are probably some areas

that will take a look at this and start deciding whether or not they also want to divest themselves. By areas, he means other school boards. This was a backroom arrangement. It was an agenda item talking on this school board meeting on May 20th about the Virginia School Board Association. However, the board, those that voted no, we don't want to divest

or we don't want to distance herself or exit the Virginia School Board Association. They were unaware that a vote would be taken that day because the vote was not listed as an action item. So here's what happened. Five members on the Orange County School Board, three of them with a shared goal of leaving the Virginia School Board Association. May or may not, pow-wowed beforehand, decided that they were going to leave this organization. The item was listed on the agenda. One of the school board members said, all right, let's take a vote for it right now. Three of them voted yes, two of them voted no. And right now in Orange County,

Virginia, the Orange County School Board is no longer a member of the Virginia School Board Association, an association that charges $12,000 a year. And this association, this membership provides the Orange County School Board legal services, training for the school district, and lobbies for the Orange County School Board at the General Assembly. I don't think the training for the school district is as important, nor do I right now think the lobbying

at the General Assembly in the short term is that important. The legal services, I think, are monumentally important. Should someone choose to sue the Orange County School Board, the Orange County School, public school district is going to have

significantly more legal exposure and potentially more costs associated with said lawsuit. Yep, that's fair. But you also have to think about it from, I guess you'd say an actuarial standpoint. How often have they been sued?

School boards get sued all the time. I know that. How often has the Orange County School Board been sued? I don't have that answer. That's a fair question. But we do know school boards get sued all the time. Yeah, that's fair. And hopefully they'll be proactive in saving money in case

something like that does happen. But let's say five years go by and they aren't sued. They just save themselves, what, $60,000? $60,000. And make sure the lower thirds are on screen for the viewers and listeners. $60,000 over the course of a five-year period for a school district is peanuts. That's fair. $60,000 over the course of five years for one school district is one and a half teacher salaries over the course of 12 months. And I'm in the business, I'm of the mindset of hedging risk. The decisions I try to make in life hedge risk. $12,000, the membership requirement to be a part of the Virginia School Board Association, is peanuts for what they are providing.

Now, some can say the bigger picture is this. They are leaving the Virginia School Board Association because they don't like the politics and the far left-leaning nature of the Virginia School Board Association. And those politics and the far left-leaning nature of the Virginia School Board Association could be associated with the books that are kept in libraries, could be associated with parent and teacher communication when it comes to students of the LGBTQ group, could be associated with parent rights in general, could be associated with trans students in sports, could be associated with school resource officers or youth resource officers, police in school. Whether to bring them back or not.

Right? I mean, hell, Madison County, and I wouldn't be surprised if Madison County follows Orange's suit. Madison County and Orange are right next to each other. Madison County School Board just voted what when it came to winter break? They wanted to change the name, I believe. I believe you have it right in front of your computer, don't you? No. Madison County School Board changed winter break to Christmas break.

Madison and Orange adjacent to each other. Does Louisa follow suit? Orange is saying it's leaving the Virginia School Board Association because our politics and our ideology do not it's leaving the Virginia School Board Association because our politics and our ideology do not reflect that of the Virginia School Board Association. Disassociating is a step in the right direction to depoliticizing the school district, according to Quinter. How many other school systems and school boards will do the following? That's a good question. And how will Orange County parents respond when this was in a surprise vote fashion?

Some of them are already unhappy. Put it in perspective. They quote one parent who thinks it's a horrible decision. She agrees with you. They will open the school board up to a lot more lawsuits that will, as a result, cost the school system money and negatively affect her child's education and the school's ability to hire and retain good teachers. So, you know, the parents are divided over this as well. I think you see a ripple effect on this having other school boards maybe follow suit. And I will offer this word of caution for Orange County.

Any lawsuit that materializes against the Orange County School Board, $12,000 in legal fees is nothing. You have attorneys alone charging $395, $495, $595 an hour. Yeah. You're talking $12,000, let's use a conservative, $395 an hour hourly rate. And that's low right now for a good attorney, $395 an hour hourly rate. And that's low right now for a good attorney, $395 an hour.

You're talking 30 hours at $395. 30 times $395 is $11,850. That's the risk you have with this move.

This does not seem to be a good hedge. The upside of distancing yourself from a Virginia School Board association because of its politics, I understand that, but the downside one lawsuit far supersedes the risk. I wonder how far their

legal services go. I think what you're trying to say is, how much value does the Virginia School Board Association legal services actually provide? Yeah. I think that's what you're saying. Is there actual value proposition there,

is what you're saying? Yeah. Is it worth far more than the $12,000, or is there a cutoff? It'd be interesting to find out. Comments coming in right here. First, we'll go to number one in the family deep throat. Love when he watches the show.

He says, the Virginia School Board Association is not going to be defending a school board from a major lawsuit. They provide very basic consultation from one employee based on what they say on their website. Most school divisions are going to have proper insurance that covers typical lawsuits. He says the VSBA employs a full-time attorney who provides legal information

and limited consultation for school board members and superintendents in divisions, which are members of the VSBA Legal Assistance Fund. The point you're making. Yeah, that's good information. The point you're making right there. He says most school divisions have their own internal counsel. Albemarle County certainly does. He's good information. The point you're making right there. He says most school divisions have their own internal counsel. Albemarle County certainly does. He's exactly right.

The Albemarle County attorney during a school board meeting is sitting on the dais. I've been to Albemarle County school board meetings. You have the attorney right there during the meeting. And oftentimes the attorney is referenced or looked to for guidance during the meeting. Yeah. Will you see other school boards distance themselves from the virginia school board association save themselves some money but 12 000 and make a statement about the uh that's what it is politics that's it the statement

and which ones do you see it doing it if the next one happened? I mean, you've pointed out good reasons for what Madison and one or two others. I'm less knowledgeable about the counties and which way they vote and swing. Vanessa Parkhill, she says, I respect the Orange County School Board for their decision. It should be good for the majority of families in their system because it is easier for the average citizen to engage directly with their locally elected board versus some larger organization in Richmond or D.C. She says elections matter.

She said, I'm sad that an individual school system should need to be so concerned with lawsuits. I mentioned both these comments live on air. Vanessa, thank you for watching it's the litigious nature of the American population you drive into McDonald's you get a cup of coffee the coffee is served to you entirely too hot you spill it on your lap

and your first thought is to sue McDonald's I've heard that she actually had a affair because it was scorching hot. Yeah, it wasn't just a spiteful money grab. She spilled coffee on her lap. She was hospitalized because of it. The coffee was hot.

Hot enough to require surgery. I get that. If you took coffee from a coffee pot at your house, you made coffee, you took coffee from a coffee pot at your house, you took that coffee out of the coffee pot and you poured it on your inner thighs, it's going to burn your inner thighs. Right? Most likely. I don going to burn your inner thighs. Right? Most likely. I don't know that it would be... The coffee that comes out of my coffee pot is pretty scorching.

I don't drink coffee, so... Still, I think the problem was they had known about the problem. They were... That's the issue. They were over and again making the coffee way too hot. And the thing is, when you get coffee at a drive-in window, you most likely are going to want to drink it right away.

And having to wait for it to go from scorching, literally hospitalizing someone hot to something that's actually palatable. I mean, and the fact that she was seriously injured. It's got to play a part. Okay. I respect that side. a part okay I respect that sign thank you I respect that I thought the same thing when we first heard that

we don't have to go down the road of this scorching hot McDonald's coffee lawsuit I respect that though let's follow the story closely I think this is a story worth following I would not be surprised if you see this covered locally in the newspaper and getting some regional attention in the Washington Post and the Richmond Times Dispatch, especially if other school boards follow suit

with Orange. Next headline, my friend Judah Wittkower. Is it the 3% raises for students, for teachers, for a lower third? Yeah. That is it. They're finally getting a 3% raise, and this is on top of a 2% raise in January. So, you know, all I can say is teachers are way undervalued, and they deserve every little bit that we can give them. Okay. I like that take.

I think that was a smart take. That's my take there. You go years without giving teachers raises. Yes, you give them two in January. Yes, you give them three now. But, I mean, you've got teachers that are making less money than waiters and servers.

Yeah. Teachers making less money than serversers and servers. Teachers making less money than servers. There are some servers that make a lot of money, but the average server is making what a teacher makes. Okay.

Think about that. A bartender at a popular restaurant is making more than that. And the money is instant. Yeah, and a lot of times under the table. And you don't have to worry about little Johnny knocking you out. Right. Or little Johnny and little Susie bumping uglies in the bathroom.

Or walking through a cloud of Chivas smoke. Or kids that just don't care. Make your job miserable. Fail them up. Social promotion? I don't know. I was reading something recently where teachers were just flabbergasted. There are students that seems like they have...

This is Kurt's book? No, I think this was somewhere else that I was reading some comments from some teachers and hearing about the fact that some students just don't care. They just keep getting passed on to the next grade because the teachers aren't allowed to hold anyone back. So it's gotten to the point where some of these students just come into class and do whatever they want because they don't want to keep them back

and hurt the kids behind them. Get them through the system and get them out. It's called social promotion. Deep Throat says you do need to adjust for the fact that teachers have much better benefits than servers. That being said, teachers are vastly underpaid around here. That's a good point. There's some

servers around here, and to Deep Throat's point, the benefits are good. There are now servers at certain restaurants around here that are getting health care. It's not every restaurant, though, to his point. Right. 3%.

Give them more. I hope the teachers at Albar and Charlottesville and across the board are hearing me saying this. But that goes to what we were talking about. If you pay the McDonald's worker $18 an hour, of course the Big Mac's going to become $20. The Big Mac meal's going to be $20. I'm not talking about that. Or it goes to, if you pay the teachers more, it's going to cause the average citizens' taxes to go up to cover the teacher wages that are going up. It's the same thing. You want the guy who makes your Big Mac to make $20 an hour? Well, get ready for your Big Mac

meal with your soda and your fries to cost you $22. And to Judah's point, you want your teacher to make $75,000, $80,000 a year? Okay. The taxes on your rooftop and the taxes on your vehicles and the taxes on where you buy stuff are going to go up as a result. That's the point you're trying to make. Somewhat, yeah. I am fine with teachers getting more money. I am too. I think what's more important is taking a look at where some of the other money is being spent, not necessarily by Charlottesville or Albemarle County, but any school area. You know, a lot of the tax money, well, tax money goes to a variety of different places. And how much of that is necessary?

And how much of that could be, you know, could be moved towards paying teachers back? I concur. And I would add to that, find new sources of revenue. Tell Youngkin to legalize, completely legalize marijuana, and utilize some of the taxes from that to go to public schools. Skill games. Lottery. Lottery did that.

That's what the lottery did. Find a new source of tax revenue. Yeah. Next headline, my friend. New charges at Spring Valley Orchard. We kind of went over that. What do you make of this? I mean... This is their post. Their post is,

things are looking a little different this year. To help manage crowds and ensure plenty of pickings for all, we're asking visitors ages two and up to reserve orchard passes to pick cherries. Of course, the orchard passes cost money. They're half day. Half day passes, $5 plus for, orchard passes cost money. They're half day. Half day passes $5 plus for a two-year-old. That is two-year-old. Pretty wild. I, I have to figure, I have to think there must

be a reason behind that. I mean, is there some, some service that they're providing, uh, that, uh, that two-year-olds are... I don't know. It's called a revenue stream. Yeah, but... It's called a profit center. Okay, but there has to be a reason they decided on the age of two. Because two-year-olds can walk and grab things,

and those under two are babies, and they don't have the muscular development to walk and pick things off plants. But you're paying for the bushel or the basket or whatever they call it. This comment's come in. The orchard keeps commenting that you can buy pre-picked. Let me read the entire comment. This is the entire comment.

We used to pick cherries every year and it already was not cheap. Now they are charging $5 per person, $2 and up. And you have to have a minimum of one bucket per every two people starting at $18 a pop. You have to have a minimum of one bucket. You have to have a minimum of one bucket per every two people starting at $18 a pop. She says, that means for my family of five, it is a minimum of $79 to even be on the property. And we used to buy the extra treats like ice cream and stuff at their retail stand. She says, check out the comments on the Facebook post, people are not happy, and asked, how does this affect tourism dollars? There are multiple people in the comment section say they are driving hours just to pick the cherries. And she adds this, the orchard keeps

commenting that you can buy pre-picked. I would argue that is totally missing the point. I go picking strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, peaches, et cetera, with my kids for the experience and memories. I vividly remember when my grandmother taking me to pick peaches and setting me high up in the trees so she can make her pick peaches to give as Christmas gifts. This is about memories, not buying pre-picked. My family right now is with another family neighbor picking strawberries as we speak. My wife and our two sons, another mother and her two kids making memories. I'm torn on this. I'm torn on this because I see it from the eyes of the business

and Spring Valley is the sister orchard to Carter's Mountain. I'm torn on this because they're trying to manage their fruit and by having people purchase passes, they're trying to manage their fruit. And by having people purchase passes, they're able to tell ahead of time how many people are at their orchard to make sure that there's plenty of fruit to pick. The last thing you want to do is show up and you don't have anything to pick. How many of you go onto a Christmas tree farm? I went to Foxfire Christmas tree farm this past Christmas. And Foxfire Christmas tree farm got so popular that there are very few healthy, full Christmas trees left to cut down. So you go there, you drive all this way to Buckingham County, and you're left somewhat disappointed because there's no

Christmas trees to cut. And the little choice that you have, they're not healthy looking or not very full, and you're still paying the price of a full tree. You leave dispirited. You could go to an orchard and say, there's not fruit to pick, and you live dispirited. I also understand that the orchard has labor, and it's paying the labor more money. It has supplies. It has equipment. All their line items have gotten more expensive. We have 24 tenants, a lot of them in the building that we're in right now. For tenants that have been in the building for a good period of time, I choose to hold their rent, freeze their rent, not raise it to 5% every year because that can add up for someone that's a small business owner, like a therapist that rents from us. And I hold their rent. I freeze their rent. All my other line items go up. Everything associated with the building goes up. But I do it as a show of good faith with the thinking that the tenant's going to stay longer in their space. And most of them do. They're appreciative. And Spring Valley has said we haven't raised prices in a few years. And all our items, all our cost of goods, all our

labor, all our equipment has gotten more expensive. Now we're having to adjust and catch up to the market. And we need to charge people passes for two-year-olds and up. And they are getting lambasted on social media. There's no wrong person, wrong group here. Yeah. That's true. They're just people trying to survive. The customers are just trying to survive. They're just trying to pay their bills and they're surprised that it's now more expensive for them to have this experience, which they want to share with their family and friends and kids.

Did they raise the basket price, too? I would imagine they did. I mean, if they weren't charging passes before, it seems like they would be making an awful lot of extra money off those passes. $79 for a family of five to pick cherries is a lot. Yeah. Three buckets and three orchard passes is $100. They're calling that the best deal.

I mean, how many cherries is that? It's a lot of cherries. Who needs that many cherries? I don't know. Do you need that many cherries? How many old fashions are they drinking? No doubt. Get those kids started early, right? You got a take on this. Do you feel for the orchard? The Afton base spring Valley orchard? Yeah. I mean, this is the same thing that's happening everywhere. It's the in affordability of everything. And nobody seems to have an answer

to it. The inflation is continuing to go up and everybody's costs are going up and nobody's got money to spend. And it's... And folks are angry and bitter. With good reason. And Little John's is the fall guy. Spring Valley Orchard is the fall guy. The McDonald's menu is the fall guy. Yeah. The restaurant that charges the gratuity for takeout is the fall guy.

Everyone's just trying to survive and not die the death of a thousand cuts. Yeah. That's it right there. Snapshot. Is the last headline lacrosse? I think so. The Virginia lacrosse team is playing in championship weekend.

We've also got most affordable thing to do with families. What is the most affordable thing to do with your family right now? Put that lower third on there. What is the most affordable thing to do with your kids right now? It's obviously not cherry picking. Shooter. I mean, it's the truth.

79 per family of five to pick cherries. Most affordable thing to do in this town with your kids is what? Go to the park? The splash pad? Walk up and down the downtown mall? Yeah, walking to the downtown mall is free. Go to the public library? Yeah, that's free too.

And it's air conditioned. They know. What? Folks know. That the library is air conditioned? conditioned. They know. What? Folks know. That the library is air conditioned? Yes. Oh, yeah. Virginia lacrosse, lower third.

They got Maryland on the docket Saturday, 2.30 p.m. Maryland Terrapins. They already beat Maryland in March. They beat Maryland in March 14-10. Virginia's had a very rocky road with its lacrosse team, but it is two games away from winning a national championship and has a Maryland team that it very well could beat. Notre Dame is on the other side of the bracket. Notre Dame has beaten Virginia twice, and Notre Dame is the best lacrosse team in men's lacrosse this year. They're a juggernaut,

but if Virginia beats Maryland, anything can happen on championship in the championship. And when you're watching this lacrosse game, if you watch lacrosse, I do, I've certainly watched it in the postseason, watch Connor Schellenberg. Number one, you're looking at the best lacrosse player in Virginia lacrosse history, a St. Ann's Belfield product. 230, Maryland Terrapins, NCAA semifinal. That's the show. He's Judah Wickhauer. My name is Jerry Miller.

Thank you kindly for joining us on the I Love Civo show. So long, everybody. Thank you.