APS chose the latter, and now faces a growing protest from parents whose children are no longer able to take the bus to school due to new busing policies. Many parents affected by the new policies have said that forcing their children to walk 1 to 1.5 miles to school, often across busy roads, puts their safety at risk.
The changes include reorganizing and consolidating bus stops, assigning students to specific bus stops, and requiring students to present an APS-issued pass in order to board the bus.
To determine eligibility for the bus passes, APS used a computer program to calculate each student’s distance from their school. Elementary students less than a mile from their school, and middle and high school students less than a mile and a half from their school, will not be issued bus passes, and will be required to walk, bike or be driven to school.
W-L Softball Field Price Tag Increases — The anticipated cost of a new softball field for Washington-Lee High School has increased from $1 million to $1.3 million, after contractor bids came in above expectations. [Sun Gazette]
APS Students Excel on Math Tests — Arlington students have performed significantly better on state mathematics tests than other Virginia students, across all grade levels. “These results reflect the hard work done in the past year by students to master the new, more challenging mathematics standards,” said Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy. “We credit students and teachers for their abilities to meet the higher expectations set by the new standards.” [Arlington Public Schools]
Fall Sports Registration Begins Tomorrow — Registration for fall sports and classes in Arlington begins tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8:00 a.m. The fall 2012 “Enjoy Arlington!” catalog is available online. [Department of Parks and Recreation]
Arlington Devises Runoff Plan — Arlington has devised a plan for reducing stormwater runoff to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. Stormwater is one of the largest sources of pollutants in the bay. Among other methods, Arlington is planning to reduce runoff by creating more stormwater-retaining greenscapes in public right of ways. [Washington Post]
The change would have extended core class times for subjects like English, math, social studies, science and world languages, but would have reduced the number of classes per day. Longer “block” periods for sixth graders would have been 76 minutes, and would increase to 93 minutes for seventh and eighth graders. Electives like music and arts would have remained at the current, shorter length.
Many parents fought the change, raising concerns with children of that age having to concentrate for such long periods of time, and about eliminating electives.
The Stories Behind the Valor Awards — Wednesday’s Arlington Chamber of Commerce Valor Awards ceremony included some incredible tales of heroism in the line of duty by Arlington’s first responders. In addition to acts of bravery by firefighters and paramedics, there were stories of valor among Arlington’s law enforcement officers, including police officers who prevented a suicidal man from jumping off the Key Bridge in January, an officer who pulled the occupants of a burning, wrecked car to safety, and a Sheriff’s deputy who jumped on the electrified Metro tracks to come to the aid of a man hit by a train near Clarendon. [Sun Gazette]
Shirlington Dog Park Cleanup — Volunteers are being sought for a spring cleaning at the Shirlington Dog Park along Four Mile Run. The cleanup is planned from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 14. [Examiner.com]
As part of its adult education program, APS is hosting the “2012 Arlington Sing-Off Competition” for those 18 and over.
Auditions for the contest are taking place on Friday, May 11 and Thursday, May 17 at 7:00 p.m. The May 11 audition is being held at Washington-Lee High School, while the May 17 audition is being held at Kenmore Middle School. There is a $10 registration fee for all participants.
Faith-Based Advocates Seek More Affordable Housing — A coalition of local churches and community advocates is asking Arlington County to quadruple the amount of tax support it devotes to affordable housing. At a large gathering on Saturday, Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE) also expressed support for Arlington refocusing its affordable housing efforts to benefit those in the lowest income brackets. [Sun Gazette]
New Metrobus Service Coming — To help make up for a forthcoming service change that will mean six additional minutes of waiting time for trains between the Pentagon and Rosslyn, Metro is expanding bus service between Crystal City and Rosslyn. [Dr. Gridlock]
Dr. Murphy listed the residency verification specialist as an “unfunded operational need” during his school budget presentation last month. So far, APS has only employed a part-time residency specialist to complete the “very labor intensive” process of researching the residency of students.
“One of the issues that we often hear from time to time is there are folks that are attending our schools who do not actually reside in our school division,” Dr. Murphy said. “While we’ve had a part-time position dedicated to that on a very small basis, I’m finding the need [for a full-time position] as we look at… the number of students that may be attending our schools that are not residents.”
Va. Budget Standoff — There’s a standoff in Richmond as the 20 Republicans and 20 Democrats in the state Senate remain evenly divided over the state’s two-year budget. Democrats say their opposition stems from the budget’s inadequate funding for public education, transportation and health care. Republicans, meanwhile, are accusing Democrats of obstructionism and “Washingtonian behavior.” The budget needs at least 21 votes to pass. The last vote was 20-19. [Washington Post, Washington Times]
High School Graduation Date Moved — The graduation date for Arlington public high schools is now Wednesday, June 20. The date was switched from the 21st because the graduation venue, DAR Constitution Hall, was not available that day. The last day of school was also moved back a day, to Tuesday, June 19. [Arlington Public Schools]
The career fair will take place on Wednesday from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. in the lower level auditorium of the Arlington Employment Center (2100 Washington Blvd).
Representatives from 22 agencies will be on hand to speak with job candidates. Some of the opportunities include law enforcement, administrative assistants, education, finance and IT.
At $493.8 million, the proposed budget is a 3.9 percent increase over FY 2012. The increase reflects, among other things, a 2 percent increase in the APS salary scales — Dr. Murphy says the increase is a reflection of the “cost of competing” with other Northern Virginia school systems for quality teachers and staff — and 3.9 percent growth in student enrollment.
Student enrollment is projected to jump by 857 students, from 21,841 to 22,698. APS calculates that growing enrollment will cost $1.8 million for the purchase of 16 new relocatable classrooms and $2.2 million in additional staffing costs. Though the overall budget is flat in terms of per-student spending, the official “per pupil” cost — as calculated under a set formula that differs from just looking at the overall budget — will actually increase from $18,047 to $18,400.
