In March of 2020 the stock market plummeted nearly 8,000 points and by April unemployment hit 15%. That same month, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors responded by increasing the average residential tax bill by almost $200 per family.
In April of 2021, with the economy still on its back and inflation creeping in, Prince William County residents got socked by their elected body with another hit to their wallet of over $300 on average.
Dr. Lucretia Brown was the first high-profile hire by Dr. LaTanya McDade, who took over as Prince William schools superintendent after Dr. Stephen Walts retired a year ago. Before coming to our area, Brown was the Deputy Superintendent of Equity, Accountability, and School Improvement for Allentown School District in Pennsylvania.
Now at Virginia’s second-largest school district, she’s made few public appearances and has yet to address the county School Board. In light of the recent focus on critically responsive teaching, a statewide gubernatorial election that put Critical Race Theory under a microscope, and a string of School Board meetings with parents demanding a more significant role in their children’s public-school education, it’s fair to say many of us are curious about her, and what she plans to do in her new role.
A fellow commissioner asked me following the aborted March 31 meeting of the Racial and Social Justice Commission (RSJC) the following question: “What do you [Mac Haddow] want to allow the Commission to make progress?”
I understand the frustration because I share it – albeit for vastly different reasons.
Data centers present a unique and exciting opportunity to enhance the lives of every single citizen of Prince William County by growing our commercial tax base, improving our schools, fixing our roadways and infrastructure, and increasing funding for first responders.
I have children in our school system, I drive our roads every day, I support local law enforcement and fire and rescue, I pay property taxes, and all of these endeavors are costing more and more money every year. We all know that we cannot just sit back while our student/teacher ratio keeps climbing. Our roads get more crowded, and our first responders continue to be stretched thin.
Firstly, the 25% increase in reported larcenies could be influenced by a lack of means to satisfy basic needs. The continuation of the coronavirus pandemic must lead to job loss, which could be a potential explanation for the rise.
Additionally, an individual’s lack of motivation to pursue other means of income, influence by peers or familial ties, or earlier life choices, like felonies, limiting workplace opportunities are other potential causes for the rise.
The Stafford County Public School’s current redistricting plans to move the Park Ridge community out of Park Ridge Elementary is a direct consequence of the poorly planned new development of Embrey Mill. A development that is not even done adding to the load of our districts.
Why should the longstanding, established community of Park Ridge (the obvious namesake of the school) be punished?
By Michael Halstead, Hartwood
During the 2021 Stafford County School Board election, a sitting board member released personal information regarding a minor child, violating the minor’s privacy and putting the minor’s safety at risk.
The mandate is not supported by science, not supported by the majority of parents, the kids absolutely hate it, and the teachers are put in a bad position. We can go in most any establishment without facing a mask mandate.
As soon as our kids get out of school the masks come off, they play sports and other games together, and the masks do not go back on until they walk through the school doors the next day. What’s wrong with this picture?
If we have learned one thing over the last two years of a pandemic, it’s that what is classified as “science” is always changing as we learn more. And that’s okay. I would hope that as a society we would learn from our experiences and continuously balance all potential threats to our children and not just let one aspect of our lives rule over everything else.
But that seems to be exactly what has happened with the continued mask mandates being foisted upon our children in the Prince William County School system.
In her May 27 Data Center-Market Viability Review forwarded to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, Christina Winn, Executive Director, Economic Development, asserted, “Of the approximately 8,700 acres of land within the Data Center Opportunity Zone, there is approximately 600-1,100 acres Economic Development would consider market viable,” and “Of those parcels, there are only two sites that would meet the 100-acres scenario of a data center requirement.”
While the report notes that the most common requests are for 30-40 acres, it appears the 100 acres used as the basis is built on only the most recent requests from data-center operators.
