Partnership with George Mason University should strengthen Manassas schools, says candidate
The four candidates for Manassas City Council gathered at Town Hall to speak at a candidate forum to speak about issues important to the voters, including taxes, education and economic development.
Taxes
Among the topics discussed, taxes were a major forerunner that the candidates spoke on. For Ken Elston (D), a teacher and administrator for George Mason University, taxes are a necessary component to keeping the City of Manassas running.
“There are only a few levers that government has with which they can get anything done,” Elston said. In addition, Elston also addressed his concern about the city’s rainy day fund levels and Manassas’ bond rating. “We certainly know that we want to do the things we need to do, and that will take a forward looking City Council,” Elston commented.
For Patricia Richie-Folks (D), a former business owner turned advertising account executive, the answer to handling the city’s taxes lies within expanding the tax base through economic development. “We need to focus on becoming more business friendly,” Richie-Folks said, continuing, “We want services. We want amenities – which we deserve, because we are making an investment in this city. I believe that we should continue to focus on economic development growth, to increase the tax base, and by prioritizing services of what the residents want.”
Incumbent Councilman Marc Aveni (R) expressed his discomfort with the idea of continuing to raise taxes on families in Manassas. “We really only have two choices – we raise taxes, or we cut programs. The Council has generally preferred to raise taxes…We can’t just keep going to taxpayers like ATMS – in my opinion – and say, ‘You need to pay more, you need to pay more’” commented Aveni.
Former Councilwoman and businesswoman Sheryl Bass (R ) felt that it was important to reach out to the community to get their take on the services they’re paying for with their tax dollars. “There’s a fine balance. It’s not just raising and it’s not just lowering and looking at programs. It’s exhausting work and it’s work [where] we have to be out in the community to talk and see where people would like their services maintained, improved and such,” Bass said.
Schools
Education was another major topic during the forum, as each candidate pointed to strengths and weakness in the city’s current public education system. Several candidates praised the current Superintendent and stated that their needs to be a positive focus on Manassas schools.
“The main thing we can do is build up our schools, not tear them down. We need to tell a positive story. Sure, there are challenges, there are problems, but there are so many more positive stories out there that we need to communicate,” Bass said, going on to speak about the new Baldwin school which aims to alleviate present overcrowding in city schools.
Richie-Folks spoke on one of the challenges that the school system is currently facing; the influx of students who speak English as a second language into the community. “We do have challenges in our school system. We have ESOL students, that is a challenge to our schools, which we have to develop the programs in order to move education along for these students. We can’t turn any students away, and I believe the community’s involved in that,” said Richie-Folks.
One thing that helps the school system in Manassas to stand out is the partnership with George Mason University. “We have a unique situation here in the City of Manassas. We have an embedded university – George Mason University. It is a situation that should really allow us…a public-private institution. It is a potential model for real creative education innovation. And we have a constitutional responsibility as a City Council, to financially support the School Board,” Elston said.
Economic Development
As a way to fund the city’s efforts and continue it’s growth, all of the candidates agreed that economic development was an essential component, with much of this development surrounding tourism to the area, and an increased volume of businesses in the area.
“We have an economic development director, who started in August. I think absolutely, economic development is critical to this city. If you think of what we have in this ten square mile city, there’s kind of the ‘Big Six’; we have our schools…we have a VRE and train station…we have an Old Town…we have a hospital… we have an airport and we have a beautiful lake, Lake Manassas. We have six or seven items that make us truly unique in Northern Virginia,” Aveni said.
“I want our city to be a destination,” Bass stated, calling for the development of a strategic plan in order to map out the city’s economic development goals for the coming years.
Two incumbent councilmen, Vice-Mayor Andrew Harrover and J. Stephen Randolph are not seeking reelection. The election is now 15 days away and will be held on Nov. 4.
The forum was sponsored by the Manassas City Public School Education Foundation, Historic Manassas and the Old Town Business Association.
