Morning Briefing
Good Morning Neighbors, $2 Million To Reduce Class Size. Proposed Fairfax schools budget includes reserve to shrink elementary class sizes in McLean GOP Absentee Voting. Absentee voting in the Virginia GOP presidential primary starts today. Neighbor Alert. McLean incorrectly linked to arrests in international piracy indictments.
Fairfax County is the 11th largest school district in the country.
1. Budget totals $2.4 billion, an increase of 9 percent, or $202.3 million, from the FY 2012 Approved Budget. 2. Proposed budget includes 721.3 new positions, most of which are being added because the student population is projected to be 181,608 in FY 2013. 3. A 2 percent market-scale adjustment for all employees, along with a step increase for eligible employees. 4. A pay raise for 1,300 custodians the only group of school employes not paid at market level. 5. This year’s plan returns some programs lost in the past few years, including longer teacher contracts, the expansion of foreign language programs and a small-scale version of summer school. Superintendent Jack Dale presented the budget to the school board Thursday night. Next step…
Morning Report
Hello Neighbors, Fairfax Schools Unveil New Budget. Superintendent asks for $2.4 billion and restores summer school. Prominent McLean Neighbor Joins Governor. Both appear at MLK observance today. What's Open and Closed for MLK Day. 13 Things to Know about Friday the 13th. Are you afraid of today? Tell us in our poll.
Authors of "The Gap-Advantage" to speak, program representatives highlight opportunities.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) School Counseling Services, Dynamy, and Thinking Beyond Borders are teaming up to present a Gap Year Program Fair for high school students who are interesting in learning more about gap year opportunities. The fair will be held at Marshall High School on Wednesday, Jan. 18, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. A gap year is the year after high school graduation when some students undertake non-curricular activities, such as travel or work, before attending college. The evening will begin with a presentation in the auditorium by Rae Nelson and Karl Haigler, authors of "The Gap-Year Advantage". The presentation will be followed by a fair with representatives from 30 to 40 programs offering gap year opportunities. …
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No Change in Trash Collection Schedules
Holiday Schedule for Christmas and New Year's Day for Fairfax County County Government – Courts – Public Schools and School Offices – Library – Fairfax Connector – Fastran – Park Authority – McLean Community Center – Teen and Senior Centers – Community Centers – County Trash and Recycling Collection – For residents receiving Fairfax County collection service for trash and recyclables, there will be no alterations to the county collection schedule due to the holidays. Trash and recyclables should be placed at the curb by 6 a.m. on your regular collection day to ensure that it is collected. Recycling and Disposal Facilities at I-66 and I-95 –
Bill would allow Fairfax to open school before Labor Day
Del. Barbara Comstock (R-McLean, Great Falls, Loudoun) told a McLean Citizens Association committee this week that she's "fairly optimistic" that the Virginia state legislature will finally allow Fairfax to decide when to open its schools. This is really a question of whether Fairfax schools can open before Labor Day. Now the county's schools open the day after Labor Day. “We have a good shot at this this year,” she told the Education Committee at its November meeting. "I do feel that we have some significant leadership support for this." She urged committee members to write their state representatives urging passage of the bill. Ed Saperstein, the committee's chair said, "It would be terrific to get this Virginia law changed!" A …
Morning Briefing
Good Morning Neighbors, McLean Board Considers Halting Downtown Plans. Community Center board explores future of downtown project, $12 million surplus. Fairfax Residents Trust the Schools. Results of county schools' first customer survey. Popular Commuter Tax Break Set to Expire. Attention mass transit commuters. Today is the 48th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald took our youth.
Funds to modernize schools
Fairfax County voters are faced with a $252.75 million dollar decision. Included on the Nov. 8 general election ballot is a school bond referendum to fund Fairfax County Public School's 2012-16 Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The bond referendum includes $5.6 mllion to pay for planning the renovation of Langley High School. This will be the schools first renovation since it was built in the early 1960's. School construction officials are already meeting with teachers and administrators. The students are wondering when someone will talk to them about their ideas. The actual work is scheduled to begin in 2014. Each year Fairfax County Public Schools develops a five-year CIP to address future facility needs, including renovations of …
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Campaign manager for GOP-backed school candidates
The Washington Post wrote two stories centered on McLean school issues last week. In case you missed it, the first one was a front-page profile of McLean neighbor Catherine Lorenze, a GOP strategist. "Her name won’t appear on the ballot. Most voters have no idea who she is. But Catherine Lorenze, a sharp-tongued parent activist and Republican strategist, wields uncommon influence in the race for the Fairfax County School Board," the Post story said. Half of the board’s 12 members are retiring, ensuring high turnover among those who set the direction of one of the country’s largest, highest-performing school systems. "Much of Lorenze’s work is behind the scenes: writing campaign plans, analyzing election records, organizing volunteers. But …
12:03 am on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The comments written under the Post article are particularly revealing, and Lorenze has put a lot of time into trying to answer them and salvage her reputation. But she did what she did, and said what she said, and the result is that the campaigns have become about her instead of how the current administration addressed the community's requests. And that is truly unfortunate. more ›
Parents can use waivers to opt out of 'mandatory' vaccines required for kindergarten and 6th grade.
Some parents of Fairfax County Public School students are opting out of vaccines, according to figures supplied by FCPS. The decision by some not to vaccinate is in line with a new national survey, published this week by Pediatrics, that shows some parents opting out. The study reports that one in 10 parents don't vaccinate within a vaccine schedule recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 13 percent either delayed, skipped or made up their own vaccine schedule. That percentage is higher than the percentage (about 1 percent) for FCPS students. "Since many of the communicable diseases that we have developed vaccinations against still exist, any person who does not receive the recommended vaccines is at risk …
Rob Jackson
10:56 am on Friday, December 2, 2011
This is not just about SOLs. Nationwide testing for AP and IB programs occur in May. FCPS does not control and cannot influence those test times. Our kids are at a disadvantage vis a vis other students around the U.S. whose schools start earlier in the year and who have more instruction time before AP & IB tests. It's time the General Assembly and Senator Saslaw realize the Kings Dominion law … more ›