With schools representing 62 percent of Fluvanna County's budget, not counting buildings and capital improvements, no other expenditure affects taxpayers' wallets more.

That makes school fiscal issues a top concern for taxpayers, according to the Fluvanna Taxpayers Association, which will host a forum for School Board candidates on Tuesday, October 20, at 7 p.m. at the Fluvanna Library on Rt. 53. The forum is open to the public. The discussion will follow a “Jim Lehrer/PBS-style” format with questions to the candidates posed by a journalist moderator, Fluvanna resident Dennis Holder.

The five School Board candidates include: Doug Johnson, Cunningham District; Vivian Leach, Rivanna District; Brian Phillips, Rivanna District; Rennie “R.J.” Searcy, Cunningham District; and Camilla Washington, Columbia District.

FTA hosted a companion forum featuring Supervisor candidates before a packed audience on Sept. 29. The forum was prominently covered by area newspapers and TV stations. The five candidates revealed their positions on issues ranging from tax increases and oversight of the School Board budget to Supervisors' communications with taxpayers and zero-based budgeting.

Citizens are urged to submit questions for the School Board forum. The best questions sent in - based on taxpayer relevance, timeliness and topical variety - will be selected and put to candidates. Send questions to the FTA Questions Committee, c/o elizabethfranklin@earthlink.net, or mail to “FTA School Forum,” 1779 Dogwood Rd., Kents Store, VA 23084.

“There's a price tag to education -- and a value equation,” said Elizabeth Franklin, FTA chairperson. “Helping voters evaluate taxpayer issues and size up candidates on those issues is a logical extension of FTA's role as the leading advocate for Fluvanna taxpayers.”

Franklin emphasized that FTA is a nonpartisan organization that does not advocate for or against candidates or political parties.

“No one in FTA who is running for office or working on behalf of a local candidate will be privy to the questions, involved in their selection or included in strategic forum planning,” she said.

The Fluvanna Taxpayers Association is an organization focused on the impact of County policies and decisions on citizens' tax bills. For more information about FTA, go to www.fluvannataxpayers.org.