Manassas
The Manassas City Public Schools Education Foundation closed its FY 25-26 year with a bank balance of $167,899.05 and reported increased scholarship awards and the return of educator grants during a presentation to the Manassas City School Board.
Executive Director Carol Hartt delivered the update, introduced by Director of Public Communications and Community Relations Almeta Radford. Foundation board president Jimmy Conroy was unable to attend.
The Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office dropped the remaining charges against Latoya Crabbe on Friday, ending the prosecution in the October 2024 shooting death of her estranged husband, Curtis Crabbe.
In a statement released this afternoon, the office said prosecutors and investigators from the Manassas City Police Department recently accessed a previously unexamined five-hour audio recording recovered from a digital device seized during the investigation. The recording captured conversations and events immediately leading up to the shooting.
The National Park Service announced Thursday it will transfer the remains of a young Union soldier recovered at Manassas National Battlefield Park to the Office of Army Cemeteries for interment at Arlington National Cemetery. The nearly complete burial of the soldier, estimated to be 16 to 19 years old, was uncovered in March 2024 during archaeological work at a Civil War field hospital site linked to the Second Battle of Manassas in August 1862.
Archaeologists also found a historic rubber pocket comb with the remains and four surgically amputated limbs from other wounded soldiers treated there. Supporting documentation for the transfer is available for public review on the National Park Service Planning, Environment and Public Comment website from Aug. 13 through Sept. 4, 2026.
The ARTfactory in Historic Downtown Manassas, partnering with The Black Art Today Foundation, will present “Beyond the Frame,” an exhibition of work by Levi Robinson and Dion J. Pollard, from Aug. 15 through Sept. 19, 2026. An opening reception runs Saturday, Aug. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m., with RSVP available online. The free show examines Black identity, cultural memory, resilience and the narratives that extend past a canvas’s edges, according to a press release from the ARTfactory. Exhibition programming is sponsored by Micron, which operates a major manufacturing facility in Manassas.
Robinson layers history, mythology and contemporary culture through painting, collage and mixed media inspired by jazz and hip-hop traditions, while Pollard (who creates as DionJa’Y) uses vibrant color, texture and mixed media to highlight joy, family, spirituality and perseverance. The gallery is at 9419 Battle Street and is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.; admission is free. The press release does not list regular contact details beyond the reception RSVP, confirm whether the artists will appear after opening night, or note any related talks or programs.
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Update
On Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, after Potomac Local published a video report on this story, School Board Member Dayna-Marie Miles provided the following statement:
The Manassas City School Board on Monday reviewed a revised FY 2028 budget development calendar that eliminates an early work session and advances key deadlines to allow more meaningful discussion and better preparation for a joint presentation with the city.
Director of Finance Taft Kelly presented the draft calendar during the board’s regular meeting. He explained two primary process changes from prior years.
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The Manassas City School Board introduced five new administrative leaders during its regular meeting as the division prepares for the 2026-27 school year, beginning August 12, 2026.
Montell Brown will serve as principal of Baldwin Intermediate School. He joins MCPS from Fairfax County Public Schools, where he was an assistant principal, and brings leadership experience across elementary, middle, and high school settings.
More than 200 community members, including School Board members, City Council, division and city leaders, current and former students and staff, and partners, gathered Tuesday for the official ribbon-cutting and unveiling of the new Jennie Dean Elementary School in Manassas.
The roughly $56 million facility at 9601 Prince William Street, designed for about 900 students in prekindergarten through fourth grade, will welcome its first classes Aug. 12 after years of planning and construction that stayed on time and on budget.