A new solar array was just unveiled on the roof of a Fredericksburg homeless shelter, the culmination of a two-year project.

This 115.2-kilowatt system will help power 75% of the energy needs at the Thurman Brisben Center, at 471 Central Road in Fredericksburg, adding up to $1,400 in monthly savings. 

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Prince William Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven L. Walts suspended his Twitter account on Thursday afternoon after news that the School Board hired an outside attorney to look into his interactions with students on the social media platform.

Walts used Twitter to communicate with students in a manner that defies the school division’s established electronic communication policies that ban employees from accessing student’s personal accounts and using cell phones and other personal forms of electronic communication to communicate with students. 

In his statement, Walts claims that he is a victim of a “partisan and personal attack.” 

“As part of their attacks, they have chosen to smear and slander me for purely political purposes,” Walts said in his Twitter statement. 

This account is temporarily suspended by the owner.

— Steve Walts (@SuperPWCS) May 8, 2020

The complaint against Walts’ was filed by Guy Morgan in a Freedom of Information Act request, said Prince William County Public Schools spokeswoman Diana Gulotta. 

Morgan lives in Gainesville and is the owner of Ovoka Farm in neighboring Fauquier County. He has no children who attend schools in Prince William County.

“Other parents have the right to know that their daughters are being messaged by Dr. Walts at night,” said Morgan. 

A Potomac Local News investigation found Walts regularly used Twitter to send messages to students during late evening and overnight hours, as well as during times when classes are session.

Morgan is an associate of former Prince William School Board Chairman At-large Ryan Sawyers, who resigned abruptly without explanation in March 2018. 

A few weeks earlier, Sawyers suspended his campaign for Virginia’s 1st Congressional seat held by Robert Wittman (R). That suspension came one week after Sawyers called for Walts to resign his position over a minor car accident Walts was in while driving a car owned by the school division.

Sawyers and Morgan were also the defendants in a joint-defamation lawsuit against Patriot High School Principal Micheal Bishop, who accused the two men of conspiring to get him fired, according to documents from the Prince William County Circuit Court. 

Sawyers took to Twitter yesterday to comment on Walts’ interactions with students. 

“This is just repeatedly awful judgment and is unacceptable from the highest-paid superintendent in Virginia,” stated Sawyers on Twitter. 

This is just repeatedly awful judgment and is unacceptable from the highest paid superintendent in Virginia.

— Ryan Sawyers (@RyanSawyers) May 7, 2020

Morgan, who claims he has never met Walts, said that the School Board received his first Freedom of Information Act on February 10, in which he requested to see Walts’ Twitter direct messages. He was then told to narrow his scope, as there were over 10,000 messages, and he subsequently received records of Walt’s communications with 10 Twitter accounts.

He later filed a formal complaint with the Prince William County School Board on March 7 in regards to Walts’ Twitter interactions with students. He says he’s filed between four and six records orders regarding Walts and his Twitter communications, with no intent to pursue legal action. 

The suspension of Walts’ Twitter account has led to protests on twitter with students circulating #freesteve. Over the years, he’s developed a likable personality on Twitter, sharing videos of him singing and playing the piano to announce school weather closures with his more than 30,000 followers.

Walts’ current salary is $330,752. He was hired as superintendent in 2005 with a starting salary of $215,000. 

The Prince William County School Board hired an outside law firm to review Superintendent Steven L. Walt’s Twitter communications with students.

“The School Board is aware of the allegations recently asserted against the Divison Superintendent. In response to the filing of these complaints, early last month the School Board retained an independent outside firm to conduct an external review of Dr. Walts’ official twitter account to determine the validity of the allegations and provide the Board with a confidential report,” a statement read from Diana Gulotta, Director of Communication Services.

Potomac Local News has learned the private law firm was retained to review Walts’ Twitter account in early March. It is expected to make a recommendation to the full School Board on how to address Walt’s behavior on the social media platform.

Walts did not respond to an interview request for this story.

He has developed a strong presence on Twitter with over 30,000 followers. In recent years, he’s developed a likable personality on Twitter, sharing videos of himself playing piano while announcing school closures in cases of inclement weather. 

He is known for posting videos of him singing when there are school closures and is highly praised by students who commonly refer to Walts as “the GOAT” and “King.”

Walts frequently will interact with students in the comments of his posts, responding to them and liking their responses. Many interactions have occurred after 11 p.m.

Prince William County Public Schools Policy 503.02-1 provides guidance and regulations for school district employees’ electronic communications with students. Walts, as superintendent, is a hired employee of the school board. 

“Except as provided herein, employees shall not communicate with students using cell phone and other personal electronic forms of communication, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Snapchat, and texting,” the policy states. 

Additionally, the policy outlines that employees should not “access” students’ personal social media accounts.

Of the 944 Twitter users Walts follows, at least 80 of the accounts are the personal accounts of students. 

In an independent review, Potomac Local News classified accounts as “student accounts” only if it has the user’s school information in the bio or if the user explicitly tweeted about their high school, so the 80 accounts is a very conservative estimate. 

Many students have tweeted at Walts directly asking him to follow their accounts, like the tweets below. 

Walts has been the Superintendent of Prince William County Public Schools for 15 years.

Over time, he has become one of the highest-paid public school superintendents in Virginia, raking in a $430,752 salary with benefits, according to Bristow Beat. He just received a pay raise last year.

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved their $320 million budget for Fiscal Year 2021. 

With the Real Estate tax rate of  97 cents per $100 of assessed property value -- known as the equalized tax rate that was adopted on April 21 -- the main focus of Tuesday's budget meeting was to identify cuts and reductions to the budget. The equalized rate means property owners won't see a hike in their Real Estate tax bills. 

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The Stafford School Board has decided to approve and roll out three new construction projects at their latest meeting on April 28. 

Repairing the outer walls at North Stafford High School

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The Stafford County Board of Supervisors had a budget work session on April 28 to hammer down a close-to-final draft of the Fiscal Year 2021 budget.

Cuts are key in the budget with the equalized .97-cent tax Real Estate rate that the Board of Supervisors approved last week. It's an equalized rate that, essentially, keeps tax bills flat, so residents won't pay more in Real Estate taxes than they did in 2020.

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Free WiFi is now available in all school parking lots in Stafford County. 

Lime green signage in all the school parking lots mark where these outdoor WiFi hotspots are available. 

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They sat in silence for three minutes — no one willing to make a motion. 

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors on during its Tuesday, April 21 meeting had to make a decision on a tax rate in order to ensure the Real Estate tax bills would go out 30 days before the deadline on June 5. 

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Residents will get a chance to comment on Stafford County’s proposed property tax increase at a live broadcasted public hearing on April 21 at 7 p.m. 

At this meeting, the Board of Supervisors will adopt a budget for the Fiscal Year 2021, which begins July 1. 

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