When officials decided to start school three weeks before Labor Day, there were some concerns students riding buses to and from school would be sweating due to a lack of air conditioning.

Some cafeteria workers inside the schools also labor without air conditioning. It’s a problem, after all, as temperatures in mid-August can sweltering.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

It’s the start of budget season, and Stafford County Schools is talking about its needs.

Division Superintendent Dr. Scott Kizner presented his annual budget plan to the School Board. It calls for a $57 million increase in spending over the previous year. This would be used to pay for new counselors, English and foreign language teachers at middle schools, as well as school maintenance.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

The Stafford Education Foundation will host its first annual gala to benefit county schools.

Organizers Cathy Yablonski, Stafford Hosptial Administrator, and Emily Beyers, a Stafford County school spokeswoman, briefed the county School Board on the event.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

The sixth and newest high school in Stafford County will most likely be located in the Hartwood District.

The county School Board on January 14 approved a plan to limit a countywide search for a new plot of land on which the new school will be built to the southwest corner of the county.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

Newly unsealed documents show the Stafford County School Board’s legal counsel advised against passing protections for transgender students.

It did it anyway, after more than 400 people filled the Board Chambers and, after six hours of public testimony at a Sept. 10, 2019 meeting. The most polarizing additions to the school division’s existing policy that came with the decision now provided protections for “sexual orientation” of students, staff, and faculty, and addressed “gender identity” in the updated policy.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

In a 4-3 vote, the Stafford School Board voted to waive their attorney-client privilege and make the attorney’s opinion on the on its hotly debated transgender non-discrimination policy open to the public.

Until now, that opinion has been sealed from public view.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

A recycling program at the R-Board Regional Landfill in Stafford County acts as an alternative to dropping items off at businesses, such as big-box retailers that may charge recycling fees.

•  “The advantage for people is not only that we get it [e-waste] out of the landfill, but it also helps us raise money to help out the community,” program manager Fred Canon said.
• Best Buy offers can recycle many smaller electronics for free, but they charge $25 to take monitors and TVs.

The program uses proceeds from electronic recycling to donate to several organizations.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

Climate change has gotten the attention of elected leaders in Prince William County’s largest town. 

• “The costs of addressing this climate emergency are far less than the costs of not addressing the climate crisis; and solving the crisis will take significant public investment, education, commitment, and resolve,” Councilwoman Cydny Neville said in an email to Potomac Local.

• Neville proposed the resolution declaring the town climate crisis, and now, after the Town Council approved it,  it’s up to the Town Manager to come up with ways the town government can fight climate change.
• He did not return a request for comment for this story.

Sustainable measures have already been employed by Dumfries to combat such problems. 

• In a September resolution, the town council called for the research and implementation of sustainable practices. It is unclear what specific changes the town will implement to reduce carbon emissions and combat the climate crisis. 
• The Town is also supportive of an amendment that increases the amount of renewable energy that residents can buy from an outside developer and use. This third-party power purchase agreement would use solar power to offset energy bills for customers leading to greater savings overall. 

Additionally, Neville proposed a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Financing Program.

• Essentially, this program would make green energy more accessible and affordable for businesses. 
• There will be a public hearing on Dec. 3 for the program at the town hall that will start shortly after 7 p.m.

Here’s the state of the climate crisis that has lead Dumfries to declare an emergency.

• There is a scientific consensus that climate change is a real and urgent threat.
• Scientists say increased carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases have led to an overall increase in global temperatures.
• Global warming has caused an increase in heat waves/fires, led to the melting of glaciers, and brought about rising sea levels, they add.

High school teachers received a full day of training on LGBT+ Equity and Inclusion at North Stafford.

• “Stafford County has a focus on equity and a holistic learning environment where all students can thrive,” Director of Equity and Accountability Roxana McCarthy said.
• Middle school and elementary school teachers received a similar training on Nov. 5.

The training was designed to help teachers understand LGBT students, and be better equipped to address bullying problems.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.

As part of a biannual listening tour, Stafford County residents may ask questions of school officials about issues that matter to them. 

• Sessions are held in North Stafford and in the southern portion of the county each year. 
• Stafford High School hosted the Listening Tour on Thursday, October 24 night for the first time. 
• About 30 people attended the Q&A session and attendance was on the lower side as past listening tours have ranged from 10 to 175 people. 

There were questions about the county’s population and its projected effects on school growth were the topics of several questions, and confusion about the county’s soon-to-be-built sixth high, and 18th elementary schools.

This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.