By Kristina Schnack Kotlus
Schools and Education Reporter
Prince William County, Va. –– Some Prince William County Schools will be starting and ending their day at a different time next year. Prince William County uses a three-tier approach when busing children to school which allows drivers to serve multiple routes.
The town plans to have its newly redesigned website up and running by July.
The new site will allow residents to pay their taxes and to purchase special permits, offer more information about the town’s government, town ordinances and will offer a newly redesigned calendar of events that will list happenings inside the town and around the area.
Prince William County, Va. –– In an ongoing effort to keep parents involved and informed in their child’s education, Prince William County Schools will be switching to Parent Portal, an online interface for parents.
Previously, PWCS has used EduLink, which was essentially a product that interfaced between SchoolFusion, which hosts individual county school’s websites.
Woodbridge, Va. –– Following concussion-related deaths and students who committed suicide last year, a new policy affecting student athletes in Prince William County will begin in September.
Prince William County Public Schools announced Monday beginning with the 2011-12 school year, all athletes and their parents or guardians will be required to attend a concussion education session before being allowed to participate in sports try-outs.
The plan, which transformed the Dumfries Magisterial District to the Potomac District, was passed by the county’s Board of Supervisors in April. Afterward, it was forwarded by law to the U.S. Department of Justice for final approval.
“The approval of the County’s redistricting plan is the culmination of a process that involved the entire community. The Board heard input from the Human Rights Commission, the NAACP, various community groups and many individuals, said Prince William Board Chairman Corey A. Stewart. “Clearly this Board worked diligently to make certain we had district lines that were fair and equitable to the demographics and population of Prince William County, and the Department of Justice agreed.”
Virginia State Police along with other agencies are cracking down on those who violate the HOV laws as part of a stepped up enforcement effort, Capital HOV Awareness Day.
Police will be out in force during both the morning and evening rush hours driving the length of the lanes as well as sitting along the highway trying to spot violators, said Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.
It comes as a large area of storms is moving east from the Charlottesville area into the Potomac Communities.
Temperatures have been hovering the in the high 80s and low 90s today, with periods of bright sunshine, making conditions ripe for scattered thunderstorms.
Dumfries, Va. –– The torch that heralds the beginning of Virginia’s Special Olympics Summer Games passed through the Potomac Communities.
Woodbridge, Va. –– A line of severe thunderstorms moved through the Potomac Communities late Thursday night bringing reports of ping pong-ball size hail in Woodbridge.
Much of the area was placed under a severe thunderstorm warning by the National Weather Service shortly after 11 p.m. The slow-moving storms brought heavy rain, high winds and dangerous lightning.
Town officials Tuesday night approved its fiscal year 2012 operating budget, which is $382,000 higher than the previous year’s budget, according to town documents.
The budget increase comes as property values in the town have declined, but Dumfries Town Manager Kimberley Alexander said the budget is higher this year because officials injected monies into the budget that had been in reserve.
