The very latest Fauquier County politics and government news ... in brief

Friday, May. 11 | 8:05 AM

Southeastern’s school symposium stresses healthy choices

A cluster of blue, yellow and green balloons and a rainbow of handwritten signs dot the driveway of Southeastern Alternative School near Midland. “When was the last time you exercised?” reads one poster. “Did you skip breakfast?” asks another. “What kind of healthy choice have you made today?” states a third. Indeed. The placards served as an introduction and as guideposts to Southeastern’s third annual symposium, which this year asked the bigger question: “How do my choices and the choices of those around me affect my overall health?” – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Thursday, May. 3 | 11:59 AM

No pay hike for Lewis in new fiscal year

Everybody on the school system payroll, except for Superintendent Jonathan Lewis, will get a raise in July. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Monday, Apr. 30 | 1:15 PM

Miller elementary school wins Recycling Challenge

For the second straight year, Grace Miller Elementary School near Bealeton has won the county’s Recycling Challenge sponsored by Trex Co. Inc. Like last year, it got a park bench made of 100 percent recycled material for recycling 49,841 bags. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Friday, Apr. 27 | 9:22 AM

Search under way for permanent Brumfield principal

James G. Brumfield Elementary School probably will get a permanent principal in June. Donna Jackson has served as acting principal for the past year, the fourth person to head the Warrenton school since it opened in 2000. Jackson got the position last summer after Joshua Myers, who had been chosen to become the school’s new principal, was arrested in June on child pornography-related charges. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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Friday, Apr. 27 | 9:20 AM

Alternative calendar proposal means earlier return to school

Under an alternative school calendar proposal, Fauquier County students would return to the classroom three weeks before Labor Day. They now crack the books two weeks before the holiday. School system spokeswoman Karen Parkinson outlined the proposal during the school board meeting on Monday, noting that key instruction benefits call for students to take end-of-first-term exams and SOL tests before, rather than after, the winter break. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Wednesday, Apr. 18 | 8:53 AM

School board meets Thursday on budget cuts

The Fauquier school board will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday at Auburn Middle School on Riley Road near New Baltimore to further consider deep cuts to Superintendent Jonathan Lewis's $130.2 million, fiscal 2013 budget proposal. The board last week discussed a list of potential reductions, recommended by Lewis, that included eliminating 21 teaching positions, freshman sports and middle school sports. Middle school sports would be replaced with an intramural sports program, which would be less expensive and result in greater student participation, according to the superintendent. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Wednesday, Apr. 18 | 8:33 AM

Dementia program seeks to expand efforts

So far the program that has served about 90 area people with dementia and their families. But Connections Project Manager Jane G. Dalton wants to double that effort in the next few months. “It’s been a heartwarming experience for the home visitors as well as the families,” Dalton said of Connections, which provides free, in-home help to families in Fauquier, Culpeper, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock counties. “We would like to have twice as many families sign up.” – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Wednesday, Apr. 18 | 8:32 AM

Earthfest slated for Saturday

The 18th annual Earthfest, which will feature live bands and food and beverages for purchase, will be from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday at C.M. Crockett Park at 10066 Rogues Road near Midland. Admission to the event commemorating Earth Day is $2 per person. Parking for out-of-county vehicles is $6. Lawn chairs and blankets are welcome. In case of inclement weather, the rain date will be on Sunday. For more information, call the county parks and recreation department at (540) 408‐1565 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Wednesday, Apr. 18 | 8:30 AM

Middle school soccer program meets fundraising goal

It took a recent bake sale and silent auction to push past the $2,700 fundraising goal for the spring middle school soccer season. The March 31 event at the soccer fields at the Warrenton Aquatic Recreation Facility (WARF) generated about $1,000, said Denise Schefer, the mother of a Warrenton Middle School soccer player and key organizer in a parent-driven campaign to save the program this year. “It was a successful day,” said Schefer, who lives near Warrenton. “We still have more (money) coming in, hopefully a couple hundred more.” – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Wednesday, Apr. 4 | 8:54 AM

New Baltimore woman organizes local Potomac Watershed cleanup

Ashlea Smith hopes that her “little effort” will inspire others to rid their communities of litter. On April 14, Smith, who lives near New Baltimore, and perhaps 20 or more neighbors will participate in the 24th annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup, a massive regional event sponsored by the Alice Ferguson Foundation, based in Accokeek, Md. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Tuesday, Mar. 27 | 3:07 PM

Supervisors to ‘flat-fund’ school system

As expected, the Fauquier supervisors agreed Tuesday afternoon to give the school system no new local money for fiscal 2013. The supervisors expect to adopt the county budget, which includes the school system’s allocation, at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Warren Green Building at 10 Hotel St., Warrenton. Superintendent Jonathan Lewis’s $130.2 million budget proposal called for $5.1 million in new local money. Without it, the school board must make deep cuts to his plan, which includes a 3 percent pay raise for most school workers. Such an increase would cost about $3 million. The supervisors’ budget actions will leave $1.1 million in unspent revenue, which will be set aside for possible future use. Center District Supervisor Chris Granger alone wanted to give that money to the school system to help cover its retirement and increased healthcare obligations. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Friday, Mar. 23 | 8:27 AM

Funding uncertainty leaves school budget up in the air

Because of uncertainty about local and state funding, the county school budget remains in limbo. Superintendent Jonathan Lewis’s proposed $130.2 million budget depends on $5.1 million in new county money. But the school system would be lucky to receive any increase in local money for fiscal 2013. On Tuesday, Fauquier’s supervisors held what likely was their second to last work session on the budget. During the meeting they approved a number of new positions, (mostly for public safety agencies, see related story) costing about $1.6 million. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Friday, Mar. 23 | 8:22 AM

‘Safe Routes to School’ path would link Cedar Lee Middle and community

Steve Parker walked along Schoolhouse Road in Bealeton under a light drizzle Wednesday, rhapsodizing about a planned walking and biking path that would link Cedar Lee Middle School with area neighborhoods. “We’ve got to make this a more pedestrian friendly community,” said Parker, the middle school principal. “It’s been a dream since I got here.” Parker, an avid runner bike rider, became Cedar Lee’s principal in 2007. It appears his dream will come true in about two years, thanks to a $500,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation the county will receive to develop a “Safe Routes to School” program. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Friday, Mar. 16 | 7:47 AM

Frustration runs high at Coleman PTO budget ‘town hall’ meeting

Melanie Burch urged the two supervisors and the two school board members to focus on education issues, not personal or political differences. The “majority” of residents “don’t care about this pissing match,” Burch, 42, a Scott District parent of three public school students, said Wednesday night during meeting at Coleman Elementary School on the proposed fiscal 2013 school budget. “Let’s put aside differences. Tonight is a new night. Let’s move forward.” – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Friday, Mar. 16 | 7:45 AM

Middle school soccer program closes in on season-salvaging fundraising goal

Middle school soccer program closes in on season-salvaging fundraising goal Parents of middle school soccer players seem well on their raising the $2,700 needed to cover the spring season’s funding gap. As of Wednesday, parents had collected $1,700 from more than 30 families, four businesses and a local service organization, said Denise Schefer, who has helped lead the effort. “And there are more checks on the way,” said Schefer, whose daughter plays soccer and attends Warrenton Middle School. “We’re very confident we should be able to reach the goal. We should be able to reach it in the next month or so.” – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Friday, Mar. 16 | 7:40 AM

Educators, parents dominate county budget hearing

Teachers and parents turned out in force Thursday night at the county board of supervisors’ public hearing at Fauquier High School. In all 51 people spoke during the two-hour hearing, with the vast majority backing Superintendent Jonathan Lewis’s $130.2 million spending plan, which calls for $5.1 million in new county money and a 3 percent pay raise for most school workers. School and county government employees haven’t received a salary increase since 2008. County Administrator Paul McCulla’s $255 million budget proposal would give the school system $2.6 million in new revenue. But board of supervisors Chairman R. Holder Trumbo Jr. (Scott District) last week informed school board members that four of five supervisors appeared prepared to give the school system no increase in local funding for fiscal 2013, which begins July 1. The supervisors also repeatedly have said they have no intention of raising the real estate tax rate, which stands at 97 cents per $100 assessed value, to fund the budget. Asked after the hearing whether he remained committed to “flat-funding” the school system, Trumbo said: “I’m still trying to figure out what we can do.” Said Vice Chairman Chester Stribling (Lee District): “I’m still at flat-funding. I’m willing to go over the school budget with my school board member (Sheryl Wolfe) and see if she can convince me” otherwise. Before adopting a budget, the supervisors will hold work sessions on March 20 and March 27 and possibly another on March 28, if needed. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Monday, Mar. 12 | 3:51 PM

School budget hearing set for tonight

Fauquier’s school board will hold a public hearing tonight on Superintendent Jonathan Lewis’s fiscal 2013 budget proposal. The 7 p.m. hearing will be held in Warrenton Middle School at 244 Waterloo St. Lewis’s $130.2 million spending plan would require almost $5.1 million in new money from the county. It also calls for a 3 percent raise for most school workers. But County Administrator Paul McCulla’s proposed fiscal 2013 budget includes $2.6 million in new revenue for schools, which would require the school board to cut the superintendent’s budget plan. The county board of supervisors will hold a public hearing on the county budget at 7 p.m. Thursday at Fauquier High School, 705 Waterloo Road, Warrenton. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)