Manassas needs a new Jennie Dean Elementary School; City Council and School Board at odds on funding it
MANASSAS — Jennie Dean Elementary School is 82 years old and not getting any younger.
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Schools
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PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — Willie Deutsch will seek re-election to the Prince William County School Board as its Coles District member. Though School Board races are non-partisan, the incumbent is the first Republican to announce their candidacy for the seat.
All the seats for the school board are up for reelection on November 5, 2019. Deutsch was elected to the school board in 2015, his first time elected to public office.
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STAFFORD — Teachers and school faculty could see a five percent increase in their yearly salaries if a new proposal is included in the School Board’s budget.
The Stafford Education Association proposed an across-the-board increase for all employees during a budget committee meeting with the School Board held in early November.
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People are talking about the disparity between the old and new school buildings.
In eastern Prince William County and near Manassas, the county school division has aging middle and high schools that opened more than 40 years ago. In the county’s western subdivisions, the schools are newer.
STAFFORD — Residents filled 70 minutes of citizen comment time at the School Board meeting on Tuesday. They spoke about the proposed Gender Identity and Expression policy drafted by Stafford Public Schools Superintendent Scott Kizner regarding transgender students.
It’s in response to an incident in October when a Stafford County middle school when a transgender student was reportedly unable to take refuge in locker rooms during an active shooter safety drill. While the drafted policy is in part a follow-up to this issue, transgender policies have been discussed in Stafford in recent years.
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MANASSAS — City leaders failed to pass a new funding agreement for schools.
The proposal would have continued an annual 2.65 percent funding increase each year over the next three years resulting in:
Here’s today’s OPM status.
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STAFFORD — Stafford County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Kizner has followed through with a promise to draft a policy that will allow transgender students to use the locker and bathrooms of their choice.
The policy will allow transgender students to use the locker rooms that correspond with their self-identified gender identity. They’ll need a confirmation letter from either a parent, health care provider, school staff member familiar with the student or other family members or friends to do so, according to the new policy.
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HAYMARKET — With the Haymarket Town Council’s 5-1 decision to rezone 9.94 acres from business commercial to “Residential Moderate Density” land use designation, schools in the Gainesville District will become increasingly more crowded.
“We don’t run the schools,” said Haymarket Vice Mayor Susan Edwards just before voting in support of a rezoning request that would allow 79 new townhomes to be built in Haymarket.
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PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — On the heels of the announcement that Amazon will be locating its new HQ2 in Arlington, George Mason University announced that their Science and Technology Campus will double in size over the next five years.
“The university has grown considerably in recent years, adding approximately 1000 additional students year over year. Today, our student body includes over 37,000 individuals. Enrollment is projected to grow to 43,000 students by 2024. Student enrollment in STEM programs is growing faster than most. Our SciTech campus facilities are essential to meet the needs of this growing student body,” Dr. Deborah Crawford, George Mason’s vice president for research said in an email.