The Arlington School Board has approved construction of a new Arlington Career Center building without a guarantee of paying workers a prevailing wage.
Seeking to avoid rebidding the project and causing at least a year of delays, Board members voted 4-0 last night (Thursday) to finalize a $132 million contract that has drawn criticism from Arlington state representatives, labor groups and the local NAACP chapter.
Arlington unions and state representatives are doubling down on calls for more labor protections in the construction of the new Arlington Career Center.
A $132 million construction contract is up for consideration at an Arlington School Board meeting on Thursday. At least a year of delays would likely result if the School Board seeks a prevailing wage agreement for the project, guaranteeing that workers get paid wages comparable to market rates, Arlington Public Schools staff said at a meeting last month.
A parents association is calling for stronger guardrails in programs involving children following an extended day worker’s arrest for allegedly showing porn to kids.
The Arlington County Council of PTAs (CCPTA) said Arlington Public Schools should double down on systems of accountability after the 18-year-old suspect, who worked in an after-school program at Abingdon Elementary School in Fairlington, was arrested on charges of assault and battery and possession of child pornography.
A parent association is asking Arlington Public Schools to change its policy of providing every student with an iPad or MacBook.
Arguing that the devices are bad for children’s mental development and needlessly expensive, Arlington Parents for Education wants the Arlington School Board to roll back funding for them this budget cycle. It is requesting an end to the one-to-one policy for students in pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade, a reduction in devices for 3rd through 5th graders and a transition to PC laptops for grades 6 and up.
Arlington County police are investigating “extensive” graffiti, including a racist word, on the roof of Dorothy Hamm Middle School.
Families were informed of the vandalism via email yesterday.
Arlington Public Schools might definitively put the kibosh on outside birthday treats in the classroom.
A policy update is set to be considered by the School Board later this month, according to the Gazette Leader.
Continued calls for a $2 million investment in Arlington after-school programs dominated a Tuesday meeting on the county budget.
Funding for children with behavioral issues, nature centers and a public library were among numerous other priorities that over 60 speakers expressed at the Arlington County Board meeting.
Arlington’s state legislators are calling on school officials to provide more labor protections for workers building the multimillion-dollar Arlington Career Center.
Sens. Adam Ebbin and Barbara Favola, along with Delegates Patrick Hope, Alfonso Lopez and Adele McClure, sent a letter to the Arlington School Board last month requesting a prevailing wage requirement. This would require workers to receive wages comparable to market rates when constructing the roughly $180 million project at 816 S. Walter Reed Drive.
In case you didn’t know before reading this post, it’s spring break for Arlington Public Schools students.
Maybe you’ve noticed it’s not quite as busy on local roads and you weren’t sure why. Now you know: a combination of school being out and some subset of APS families leaving for a spring vacation.
Arlington Public Schools is pausing for one year the rollout of changes to its Spanish immersion programs at Claremont and Escuela Key elementary schools.
The pause and how it was communicated have upset parents of students most affected by the shift: rising second-graders. In speeches to the School Board, an online petition and interviews, this group of parents is calling on the Arlington School Board and school administrators to reverse course.
(Updated at 11:05 a.m.) Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Francisco Durán has proposed a 2024-2025 budget that he says avoids new expenses in a lean fiscal year compounded by state funding uncertainty.
He presented an $824.7 million budget — which increases the current budget by $12.2 million, or 1.5% — to the Arlington School Board last week.
A mini-baby boom could deliver Arlington Public Schools a slight enrollment bump through 2033, according to the latest 10-year projections.
The report says live births are predicted to increase by 13%, or about 300 babies, through 2028. This modest increase contrasts with a report last year predicting short-term increases followed by declines in the outer years due to declining births.
