Tag: school board
School board approves budget that raises employee pay but cuts teaching positions
The Fairfax County School Board has approved a $2.8 billion budget for FY 2018 that raises employee pay but includes more than $50 million in cuts. The budget raises class sizes, resulting in fewer positions. The budget includes $44 million for an average step increase of 2.5 percent for eligible employees and an additional $26.6 … Continued
School news: Science stars
Third-graders at Belvedere Elementary School organized a seed sale as part of a unit on economics. An occasional series highlighting programs and activities at schools in the Annandale/Mason District area. The information and photos here are from Fairfax County Public Schools and individual schools. Science Olympiad – Luther Jackson Middle School came in third overall, beating … Continued
School board increases elementary class sizes
By Jeffrey Longo The Fairfax County School Board has approved a measure increasing minimum elementary school class sizes from 17 to 18 students, school board chair Sandy Evans (Mason) told the audience at a School Budget Town Hall on April 3. Increasing the elementary class size formula floor by one student would save $4.7 million. … Continued
Growth in public school enrollment slowing down
A modular unit is proposed to relieve overcrowding at Glasgow Middle School. The soaring enrollment growth in Fairfax County Public Schools in recent years is slowing down, reports the Capital Improvement Program for 2018-22 approved by the school board Jan. 26. Since the 2008-09 school year, FCPS has seen an average increase of 2,400 students … Continued
Volunteers sought for Stuart name change committee
The display case at Stuart High School. Fairfax County Interim Superintendent Steve Lockard sent a memo to the Stuart community earlier this month encouraging people to volunteer for an ad hoc committee on changing the name of JEB Stuart High School. The School Board on July 28 has passed a resolution to establish the committee … Continued
Process for exploring Stuart name change delayed
Stuart High School Opponents of changing the name of JEB Stuart High School are spreading misleading information about the cost of a consultant to facilitate a working group authorized by the Fairfax County School Board to develop recommendations on a name change. The school board passed a resolution July 29 calling for the establishment of … Continued
Steven Lockard to serve as FCPS interim superintendent
Lockard The Fairfax County School Board has selected Steven Lockard, deputy superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools, to serve as interim superintendent. Superintendent Karen Garza announced her resignation on Sept. 19. Lockard will assume the duties of superintendent when Garza leaves on Dec. 16. Garza, who has led FCPS since June 2013, has accepted a … Continued
Working group proposed to study Stuart High School name change
School board member Sandy Evans (Mason) plans to ask the board to create a working group to consider changing the name of JEB Stuart High School and report back with a recommendation by July 2017. “After reading historical documents and arguments on both sides, considering all the community input to date, and discussing this with … Continued
Community engagement process under way on renaming Stuart HS
At student rally urging a name change for Stuart High School. The Fairfax County School Board has begun the process to consider whether the community wants to change the name of JEB Stuart High School. Over the past year or so, current and past Stuart students and local residents have been urging the school to … Continued
The Fairfax County budget: 10 things you need to know
The slogan for school funding advocates. (1) The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and School Board are engaged in a contentious conflict about how much of a funding increase should go to the public school system. The budget proposed by Deputy County Executive Ed Long proposes transferring $1.88 billion to FCPS for operating expenses, an … Continued
Supervisors, school board clash over budget
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on March 1 agreed to advertise a tax rate of $1.13, an increase of 4 cents from the current rate of $1.09 per $100 of assessed value. That rate will be the ceiling for the fiscal year 2017 budget. When the board marks up the advertised budget on April … Continued
School overcrowding not a problem any more? Enrollment growth slows
Modular units, like these classrooms at Glen Forest Elementary School, don’t count when determining whether a school is overcrowded. For the last couple of years, there were lots of complaints about how nearly all the schools in the Annandale/Mason District area were overcrowded and getting worse. Now, it doesn’t seem to be such a problem … Continued
Stuart community members urge school board to change school’s name
Stuart High School students who support a name change for the school held a rally in November in front of Stuart. The name of JEB Stuart High School should be changed because “along with the name, comes a history of racism, inequality, and oppression,” Stuart senior Lidia Amanuel told the Fairfax County school board Dec. … Continued
School board is considering a new policy on changing school names
Stuart logo The Fairfax County School Board will vote on a resolution Dec. 17 to change its policy on school names. It doesn’t refer to efforts to rename JEB Stuart High School – or any other school building – but it does clear the way for those who want to pursue that change. The current … Continued
Mason voters re-elect Penny Gross to Board of Supervisors
Mollie Loeffler addresses supporters. Mason District voters elected Penny Gross to a sixth term on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Nov. 3 with 57.2 percent of the vote. Mollie Loeffler, a community activist running as an independent, got 42.2 percent of the vote. Loeffler won in four precincts: Barcroft (60.9 percent), Ravenwood (57.5 percent), … Continued