Author: Scott McCaffrey

Halls Hill native recalls making history with Civil Rights-era lawsuit over voting in Arlington

By Scott McCaffrey

As a 23-year-old voter in still-segregated 1960s Virginia, Portia Haskins was convinced she had followed all the rules in order to cast a ballot in Arlington.

Election officials disagreed, saying she had failed to pay the appropriate poll tax still required in the Old Dominion, maintained in part to disenfranchise Black voters.

Haskins took the county, and state, to court. She won, with her case ultimately being folded into the landmark 1966 Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Haskins was an unusual legal combatant, committed to seeking unity.

“I’m the type of person who wants to bring everyone together,” the Halls Hill native said at a weekend presentation sponsored by the county library system and hosted by the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington.

After her efforts to vote were rejected at the local level, Haskins enlisted support from the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to challenge the ruling. She traveled several times to the U.S. District Court in Richmond, then watched as the case and others like it moved to the Supreme Court.

Her reaction at the final outcome? “I was so happy,” she said.

The 6-3 ruling in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections effectively outlawed requiring poll taxes for state elections in those few states, like Virginia, that retained them. The poll-tax requirement for federal elections had been eliminated with ratification of the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1964.

Lessons from the struggle are still valuable today, said Haskins, now 83.

“Everybody has to come together and fight” when they see injustice, she said. “You have to get together.”

Historical photo of Portia Haskins (via Black Heritage Museum of Arlington)

Haskins is among the Arlingtonians profiled in the “From Barriers to Ballots,” an exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Several versions of the exhibition are on display across Northern Virginia, with one at Central Library running through Nov. 4.

The Arlington Historical Society partnered on the exhibition, and was excited about the Haskins presentation, former president David Pearson said.

“She is someone we really wanted to learn about,” he said, pointing to a renewed effort to “really get out the stories of the complete history of Arlington.”

Haskins has been a member of Mount Salvation Baptist Church near the Glebewood neighborhood since 1951, and in the community she has promoted “the spirit of community and empowerment,” said Scott Taylor, president of the Black Heritage Museum.

Haskins lamented that much of the history of the civil-rights movement is being lost in the public consciousness.

“We went through a lot, but people today don’t know,” she said. Young people in particular, she said, “don’t care because they don’t know.”

Her request to today’s youth? “Let everybody know how you feel” and use the ballot box to create change.

“Voting is important. That’s what everybody really needs to do,” Haskins said.

Arlington pedestrian and bicycle panels push back against changes in roles

By Scott McCaffrey
A long row of Capital Bikeshare bicycles in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Some members of two Arlington advisory bodies are unhappy with changes being imposed on their groups’ responsibilities.

A joint meeting of the Bicycle Advisory Committee and Pedestrian Advisory Committee last week offered a chance for the groups reporting to County Manager Mark Schwartz to lay out the new ground rules that Schwartz has requested. But the general sentiment on those advisory groups was that the  changes could be costly to transportation planning in the long run.

Among the switches: The panels will no longer receive briefings or be asked to weigh in on specific projects. Instead, they will be asked to send representatives to and monitor the broader community-engagement efforts for those projects.

That proposal drew particular flak from members of the Bicycle Advisory Committee.

“It doesn’t sound like there’s any specific desire or system [by county leaders] to get advice from us other than ‘hey, go participate in the public process,'” said BAC member Mike Hanna.

“We’re not the general public. We’re the committee that was specifically appointed by the county manager to provide this kind of advice,” Hanna said.

Dana Bres, vice chair of the BAC, said forcing that group’s participation into the general community-engagement effort makes little sense.

“My gripe, for lack of a better term, with the engagement process is, it’s at some level trivial,” Bres said. “The public says ‘you should do something here’ and then you go from there to an almost full-fledged project” without needed vetting in between.

The result? “We end up getting something that is three-quarters done that doesn’t work,” Bres said.

Cynthia Palmer, who chairs the BAC, said eliminating the advisory panels from a significant review role results in “a resource that is not being used.”

“Sometimes a five-minute conversation with our committees … can save you resources and money and everything else,” Palmer said.

BAC member Gillian Burgess argued that it would go against the groups’ charters to follow county staff’s request to serve more as advocates for transportation planning and funding.

“We don’t advocate. We don’t advise anyone else. We advise the county manager,” she said. “He has been very clear he does not want the advisory committees going outside of him. It’s 100% clear. That’s what the charter is.”

Trying to calm the waters were Hui Wang, the newly promoted chief deputy director of the Department of Environmental Services, and Valerie Mosley, bureau chief of transportation planning and capital projects.

“I get the sentiment. I totally get it. You want us to be more intentionally seeking your advice,” Wang said.

She suggested the possibility of reaching a middle ground.

“We’re going to go back and think through what additional things, what intentional communication, we can do so you feel your opinion is not being thrown in a black hole,” Wang said.

The process changes being sought would bring transportation planning into line with a six-step public-engagement process enacted by county leaders in 2018.

Wang said it was necessary to “make sure we are going through the proper process for every project.”

“It does come at a cost,” she said. “The cost is while we are doing all that engagement and trying to capture the larger community, we do not have the same amount of attention and specific conversation with the committees and commissions. It really comes down to resources and how to use them the best way.”

Under the six-step engagement process, “we are trying to reach everyone we can who has an interest and wants their voice to be heard,” Mosley said.

Eric Goodman, acting chair of the Pedestrian Advisory Committee, said there could be a middle ground.

One step would be for planning staff to provide the committees with direct notification when new community-engagement processes start up. That way, the bodies could designate a member or members to keep track of them.

As for the litany of concerns raised at the meeting? Wang said staff had heard them “loud and clear,” but are not the ones with final authority to address them.

At his meeting with the pedestrian and bicycle groups in the spring, Schwartz suggested combining the two bodies, but has not moved forward on that.

The county manager’s concerns about the Bicycle Advisory Committee date back years. In 2018, Schwartz removed a number of its members and installed a new chair to make the group “more fully representative” of the biking community.

New report: Many Arlingtonians increasingly priced out of county’s housing market

By Scott McCaffrey

No racial or ethnic group in Arlington comes close to earning enough household income to afford median priced single-family homes in Arlington, and some groups struggle to afford median-priced condominiums, according to new data.

Even the county’s white population, which has by far the largest median household income, is “nowhere near” being able to afford median priced single-family housing, said Keith Waters of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University.

He was speaking at the Oct. 9 meeting of the county’s Housing Commission, laying out a somewhat bleak affordability picture while saying Arlington still has done better than some communities in addressing housing shortages.

Based on Center for Regional Analysis data, the minimum household income needed to purchase a median priced home in the current market is:

  • $332,876 for single-family homes
  • $252,347 for townhouses
  • $132,224 for condominiums

Median household income in the county by race/ethnicity currently stands at:

  • $173,878 for white households
  • $154,556 for mixed-race households
  • $125,870 for Asian households
  • $105,275 for Hispanic households
  • $89,570 for Black households

From a statistical standpoint, “none of the median household income of any racial group can afford the median single-family home [and] none of the racial groups can afford the median townhome,” Waters said.

Though sobering, the information was welcomed by Housing Commission chair Kellen MacBeth.

“It’s helpful to know what the landscape is looking like,” he said.

Arlington, regional household income levels (via George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis)

The scenarios assume a 20% down payment, typical taxes and insurance costs, and residents spending no more than 30% of gross income on housing. The calculations don’t take into account the ability of some homeowners to roll over past housing profits into their next home.

Much of the data also precede this year’s federal-government and contractor layoffs. So far, the Arlington housing market has seen only modest impacts, with the per-square-foot cost of recent home sales declining but still at $500. Even with declines over the past year, that figure remains among the highest in the region.

The average sales price of single-family attached homes in the county recently surpassed $1.8 million, in part because of general housing inflation and in part due to older, smaller homes being torn down and replaced with larger properties available to those with the means to purchase them.

The Mason analysis suggests Arlington’s total households will grow 17% to more than 155,000 by 2025. The bulk of that growth will be in the rental segment, with the percentage of rental properties growing from 59% of total properties now to 64% in a quarter-century’s time.

While Arlington has limited land area for significant increases in single-family homes, the growth in multifamily housing stock has been “incredibly steady” in recent years, MacBeth said.

But Jason Schwartz, another commission member, said more needs to be done to broaden options across the economic spectrum.

“It’s just incredibly frustrating,” he said of challenges related to constructing more housing.

Schwartz brought up another issue — that of seniors aging in place in the homes they have owned for years.

With children grown, they are now “one- or two-[person] households that are in a three-, four- or even five-bedroom [home] — more bedrooms than people,” he said.

Schwartz said he wasn’t advocating for removing those property owners against their wishes.

“Obviously we’re not going to say, hey, we’re going to kick you out of your home to a studio or one-bedroom [apartment] if you’re a senior,” he said.

But Schwartz did seem to suggest making residents aware of their options when situations like those arise.

“We need to make it so we’re [taking] a balanced approach,” he said.

 

Arlington’s sister city in Germany sends record number of fifth graders this year

By Scott McCaffrey

A record number of fifth graders from Germany have come to Arlington this year through the county’s sister city program.

Students, parents and civic leaders from the city of Aachen arrived in the United States on Oct. 8 and will stay through Oct. 16. They are being hosted by Arlington families representing 16 public and four private schools, in a quarter-century collaboration sponsored by the Arlington Sister City Association.

“There have been so many people who have rallied for this program,” said Emily Lyons, who is coordinating the visit.

She spoke during a welcome breakfast held on Saturday at Alice West Fleet Elementary School. It was part of a lengthy list of activities planned for the German families during their week-long stay.

They, in turn, will welcome their Arlington families to their city next spring.

“I’m happy to receive you all in Aachen,” said the city’s mayor-elect, Michael Ziemons, who was part of the contingent.

Speaking with County Board members Susan Cunningham and JD Spain, Sr., at the breakfast, Ziemons noted that he had met County Board Chair Takis Karantonis just the past week. Karantonis was in Aachen as part of a separate Sister Cities exchange.

“He explained to me all the systems you have here,” said the incoming mayor, who will preside over a city council of 58 members compared to Arlington’s five County Board members.

Ziemons said that Aachen’s location at the crossroads of Europe makes it a multicultural community.

“This is what makes our town special,” he said, promoting student exchanges as one way to further “warm, warm friendships.”

The exchange program has an upper limit of 50 students per year. Lyons said organizers believe this is the first time that number has been reached.

Many of the German families are fluent in English. To aid in communication and as a courtesy to their guests, some Arlington youth received rudimentary German-language instruction prior to the start of the exchange.

Aachen’s history stretches back more than 1,200 years. In 800, the German ruler who is remembered in history as Charlemagne — “Charles the Great” — was crowned in Aachen Cathedral on his way to creating one of Europe’s earliest superpowers.

At its peak, what came to be known as the Holy Roman Empire included all of present-day France, Germany and Italy plus parts of modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain and Switzerland. It would last, in various forms, for more than 1,000 years, with Aachen remaining its historical center.

The cathedral has survived and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site today. Its 1.3 million annual visitors have the opportunity to view the throne where Charlemagne’s coronation took place.

Cunningham noted that her family participated in the exchange in 2018. Plans for doing it a second time with her younger daughter were not possible due to the impact of Covid, which derailed in-person exchanges for several years.

“I’m glad to see you all back at full capacity,” she said. “Have a great time.”

Spain said that he and his family had lived in Stuttgart, Germany, during military service in the 1990s.

“I have a really fond affinity for all things German,” he told the crowd. “Let’s keep this going.”

Lyons noted that bonds created with student exchanges can last a lifetime. She participated in a similar event in high school, and “I’m still friends with people I met,” she said.

The Aachen students joined host families at the Yorktown High School homecoming football game and were slated to tour Nats Stadium. They also will spend tomorrow (Wednesday) at their host schools.

While the fifth-graders are visiting, a group of Aachen high-school students is spending two weeks in the county as part of another Sister Cities exchange.

With about 260,000 residents, Aachen is Germany’s westernmost and 27th largest city, and is slightly more populous than Arlington. Located on its country’s western border, the city is adjacent to both Belgium and the Netherlands.

Aachen is one of Arlington’s five Sister City relationships, along with Reims, France; Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine; San Miguel, El Salvador; and Coyoacán, Mexico. The Coyoacán relationship currently is in emeritus status, but efforts are being made to bring it back to life.

APS promises more transparency in choosing next year’s health insurance provider

By Scott McCaffrey
AEA members protest the Kaiser contract termination during the Thursday, Oct. 12 School Board meeting (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Arlington school leaders have announced their timeline for negotiating new health-insurance agreements next year, hoping to avoid catching employees by surprise this time.

This time, school leaders are committed to “make sure everybody’s crystal clear” on the process, School Board member Mary Kadera said.

The current APS health-care contract with CareFirst runs through December 2026. Based on employee complaints about a poorly communicated switch in providers in late 2023, Superintendent Francisco Durán and staff began laying the groundwork for the upcoming process last year.

“We will continue to be transparent and keep everyone informed,” Durán said in outlining plans at a School Board meeting on Thursday.

A day earlier, the school system had issued a request for proposals from prospective health-insurance carriers. Responses are due by the end of November.

A joint task force composed of school officials and representatives from the Arlington Education Association (AEA) will then vet the submissions. They will be aided by a consultant hired by the school system.

Negotiations with health insurers will begin in the spring, with employees notified of final decisions no later than June. Impacted personnel will then have time to make coverage choices before the new insurance plans go into effect in January 2027.

Durán said it was possible the school system could go with a single provider, or split up the contract.

“It could be one, could be two, could be three,” he said.

Timeline for new health-insurance contract (via Arlington Public Schools)

AEA President June Prakash said her fingers are crossed for a good result coming out of the more transparent process.

“My hope is that employees will have a variety of comprehensive and affordable plans to choose from,” she told ARLnow.

AEA members and other school employees were caught by surprise by the switch from existing providers Kaiser Permanente and Cigna to CareFirst, announced in 2023. Concerns linger about whether the changes were in the best interests of the workforce.

“It was a major inconvenience for everyone to have to switch plans, and many employees had to terminate longstanding relationships with physicians,” Prakash said. “There are still concerns among employees about the healthcare rates, lack of availability of specialists and high medication costs.”

Kaiser Permanente had provided health-care coverage to Arlington school employees for more than three decades. For reasons that remain cloudy, the organization did not bid on the 2024-26 contract during 2023.

An internal audit conducted by the school system and released in May 2024 said turnover of key APS staff contributed to challenges during the contract-negotiation process. It also cited a lack of record-keeping within the school system’s Selection Advisory Committee, making it difficult to determine what actually transpired.

In the end, auditor Alice Blount-Fenney said Kaiser Permanente officials acknowledged they did not think the first request for proposal put out in 2023 applied to them, and somehow overlooked a second one that was sent out. The audit determined school officials had done nothing wrong by not following up to alert the health-care provider of the oversight.

“Vendors assume responsibility for any procurement related requests and responses. It is not ethically appropriate for APS to interfere with these decisions,” the audit concluded.

The school system’s cost of of medical and dental health-care premiums totaled $42.22 million in fiscal year 2025 and is expected to increase 1.6% to $49.91 million throughout FY 2026, school officials told ARLnow.

Candidates go one-on-one with Arlington voters in political ‘speed-dating’

By Scott McCaffrey

The political equivalent of speed dating drew candidates and voters to Walter Reed Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 11.

Contenders for local and legislative offices sat down with the electorate in small groups during the annual get-to-know-you session, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Arlington and Alexandria City.

Pamela Berg, president of the organization, said the event is designed as an alternative to more formal political forums.

“You actually get to sit down and talk with the candidates,” she said. “It’s one of the best ways to see what local democracy looks like.”

The rules were simple: Candidates sat at separate tables and stayed put during the two-and-a-half-hour event. Every 10 minutes, voters would move from table to table and candidate to candidate, until they had made a complete circuit.

“Keep it friendly and respectful — we want everyone to get to know each other and have a good time,” said Anna Weber, who helped coordinate the event.

On hand for the exercise in democracy were:

  • County Board: Republican Bob Cambridge and independents Jeramy Olmack and Audrey Clement
  • School Board: Monique “Moe” Bryant and James “Vell” Rives
  • 1st District House of Delegates: Incumbent Democrat Patrick Hope and Republican William “Bill” Moher III
  • 2nd District House of Delegates: Republican Wendy Sigley
  • 3rd District House of Delegates: Incumbent Democrat Alfonso Lopez

Unable to take part were Democratic County Board incumbent Takis Karantonis and independent Carlos Del Castro “D.C” Pretelt, 2nd District Democratic Del. Adele McClure and School Board candidate Major Mike Webb.

Issues discussed ran the gamut, but much of the time was spent on reacting to the Trump administration moves against the federal workforce and its impact on the regional economy.

The event was held in collaboration with partners including AKA Chi Zeta Omega, the American Association of University Women and the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations.

“It takes an entire community to achieve our shared goals,” Weber said.

Arlington GOP has record-breaking fundraising quarter: The Arlington County Republican Committee reported a record-breaking quarterly fundraising effort.

Party chair Matthew Hurtt said the GOP raised nearly $23,000 in the third quarter. That’s up 33% from the previous record of just over $17,000 in the third quarter of 2023.

Hurtt said the funds are being used to mail out campaign materials and support other voter engagement initiatives.

Republicans acknowledge that the Arlington County Democratic Committee wields significantly more resources, but Hurtt said that his party putting money toward elections is an important step forward.

“Changing the status quo in Arlington takes time, commitment to a multi-year strategy, and ongoing, coordinated effort across multiple channels — reaching new voters, recruiting good candidates, raising significant resources and capitalizing on opportunities to share our message,” he said.

NAACP to host forum on ranked-choice voting: The Arlington NAACP’s next monthly meeting will be focused on the intricacies of ranked-choice voting.

That format will be used for the County Board race, which has five candidates vying for one seat. All other races will be run under winner-take-all formats.

The NAACP event will take place online on Monday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.

“Arlington voters need to understand how to properly mark ranked choice ballots so every vote can be counted,” NAACP officials said. “This isn’t just a lesson — it’s your chance to get informed, ask questions, and see how understanding the system gives you real influence in your community.”

Office-to-residential conversion, new tenant-relocation guidelines on County Board agenda

By Scott McCaffrey

Approval of another office-to-residential conversion, amendments to tenant-relocation guidelines and possible changes to towing rates will highlight this month’s County Board meeting.

A public hearing on just one item will be held before adoption during this Saturday’s meeting. All 33 other items slated for action that day are on the Board’s consent agenda, but individual items could be pulled off public hearings on the recessed meeting of Tuesday, Oct. 21.

Items on the agenda include:

Latest office-to-residential conversion slated for approval: Board members are expected to approve a developer’s plan to convert the 13-story office building at 4100 Fairfax Drive to residential use.

The plan calls for 296 residential units while retaining ground-floor retail uses, including Bronson Bier Hall, and the building’s five-level underground garage.

County staff support the change in use. The Planning Commission voted 11-0 to recommend approving the application.

The building is located one block east of the Ballston Metro station. It was constructed in 2000 as part of a redevelopment plan for the block bounded by Fairfax Drive, 9th Street N., N. Stafford Street and N. Randolph Street.

The office building and an adjacent apartment building were completed, but an office building planned for the IHOP restaurant site on the parcel has yet to move forward.

New tenant-relocation guidelines set for approval: Board members are also expected to update tenant-relocation guidelines.

The proposal would change the amount of payment that displaced tenants receive, and add more information to be collected from tenants. Another change provides more flexibility for the county’s Tenant-Landlord Commission in overseeing the relocation process.

The Tenant-Landlord Commission, which has vetted proposed changes over the past year, supports the package.

Developers planning new projects are not required, but are strongly encouraged, to follow the local guidelines. In addition, projects involving federal funds are required to follow the Uniform Relocation Act to support those displaced.

The last version of the guidelines was approved in 2018.

Advertisement for changes to towing rates: Board members are slated to advertise, for a future public hearing, changes to allowable towing rates for vehicles removed for allegedly trespassing on private property.

Information on specifics of the proposal had not been placed on the agenda in advance of this article. A public hearing will precede setting the date for future consideration at the Oct. 18 meeting.

Income levels revised for free ambulance service: Board members are slated to increase the income levels that would qualify someone for free Arlington County Fire Department ambulance service.

County officials began charging for ambulance transport in 1999, and shortly after implementation, a maximum household income of $25,000 was set for a waiver of fees. That figure has not changed since.

Under the policy change, fees in future would not be charged to households earning less than the federal Section 8 median income, and would be adjusted as that figure changes. Maximum income levels would range from $34,450 for a single-person household to $64,900 for a household of eight or more individuals.

Ambulance-transport fees typically are not applicable to those with private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, as those programs reimburse the county government on a contract basis.

Funding set for N. Sycamore Street stormwater improvements: Board members are slated to award a contract worth up to $1.41 million for stormwater-infrastructure improvements at N. Sycamore Street and Langston Blvd.

The project would include installation of a parallel storm pipe and associated manholes next to an existing sewer line.

The existing and new sewer lines would convey runoff from approximately 170 acres in the upstream portion of the Crossman Run watershed to the south side of Langston Blvd.

The contract is slated to be awarded to Milani Construction LLC.

New fire agreement with Falls Church to be signed: Board members are expected to ratify an updated contract with the Falls Church city government and Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department.

The upgraded agreement would impact the terms of Arlington’s fire and ambulance services within the 2.2-square-mile city. It will run through 2030 with the option to renew through 2035.

Arlington officials expect the new agreement to bring in approximately $500,000 in additional annual revenue.

Arlington has staffed a fire station in Falls Church since the department’s establishment in 1940. The current station, located on the border of the jurisdictions in East Falls Church, serves residents of both localities.

Private school’s use permit to be renewed: Board members are expected to renew the use permit for the Sycamore School at 1550 Wilson Blvd for three years.

A year ago, Board members had authorized the school to operate with a maximum of 140 middle- and high-school students, an upper limit that will be continued.

After approval, the site plan no longer would require Board review, but would receive a staff review after the three-year term expires.

The school occupies the third floor of a Rosslyn office building.

Green Valley farmers market use permit to be renewed: Board members are expected to renew, for a year, the use permit for the Friday open-air farmers market at John Robinson Jr. Town Square in Green Valley.

The market debuted in April, with its 2025 season slated to run through early November. Staff identified no problems needing Board discussion prior to approval of the extension.

The market is operated by Community Association of Resources, Education, Enrichment & Economics (CARE) Inc.

Legislative priorities for 2026 General Assembly session to be revealed: At the Board’s recessed meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 21, staff will present the draft 2026 General Assembly legislative package.

There also will be a chance for the public to comment on the package, although typically the annual legislative documents draw little community feedback.

Crime Solvers celebrates K9 teams at Arlington sheriff’s office and police department

By Scott McCaffrey

Some public-safety heroes walk on two legs while others walk on four, Sheriff Jose Quiroz noted as Arlington County Crime Solvers saluted the 13 K9 teams serving with local agencies.

Each of the dogs and their handlers at the Arlington County Police Department and Arlington County Sheriff’s Office have received specialized training to meet a range of challenges in an urban environment. As such, they are collectively deserving of the “Officer of the Year” award, Crime Solvers president Andres Tobar said.

The sheriff’s office is home to three K9 teams: Cpl. Matthew Camardi and Logan; Cpl. Kevin McCabe and Weaver; and Cpl. Ewelina Zajkowski and Hope.

Logan and Weaver have received specialized training related to explosives, electronics and drug detection. Hope is the office’s wellness ambassador, helping to reduce stress and promote mental well-being among staff, detainees and the community.

“Safety is not only about enforcement — it’s about compassion,” Quiroz said at the luncheon, held at Busboys & Poets in Shirlington.

The police department has 10 K9 teams, four of which focus on explosives detection and six of which patrol units that have been cross-trained in either firearms or narcotics detection.

Their efforts help to enhance law-enforcement capabilities, Penn said.

Local police K9 teams go through 16 months of training followed by four weeks of specialized detection training. They continue to receive regular updated training throughout their careers, Penn said.

ACPD provides training not only for dogs in Arlington, but for those destined for roles in other jurisdictions, such as Loudoun County.

The Oct. 9 luncheon marked the end of Tobar’s 15-year tenure as president of Crime Solvers. He took over from former Arlington Chamber of Commerce president Rich Doud.

“We wish him some well-deserved rest and relaxation,” said Dulce Carrillo of Arlington Public Schools, who emceed the program.

While no successor has been named, Tobar said there were a number of qualified individuals serving on the organization’s board.

“I’m delighted with the talent that has stepped up,” he said.

Arlington County Crime Solvers offers the public an opportunity to provide anonymous information about criminal activity at (866) 411-TIPS or online. The organization also works to bridge any divides between public safety and the community.

Tobar serves as executive director of the Shirlington Employment and Education Center (SEEC), and has worked to build bridges between the immigrant community and law enforcement.

Andres Tobar is honored by Police Chief Andy Penn and Sheriff Jose Quiroz (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Collaborations such as those are needed now more than ever, he said.

“We’re in some very tough times now. People are hurting,” Tobar said. “But we will persevere and we will do it by focusing on things we can control.”

Penn and Quiroz jointly presented Tobar with a plaque to mark his “steadfast leadership.”

“He is passionate about making a difference,” Penn said.

Also at the luncheon, Veronica Santos was presented with the 2025 Crime Solvers Community Champion Award. Santos is director of external affairs for Comcast’s Beltway Region, and long has been active in the organization.

APS enrollment drops by 1.1%, leading to staffing tweaks at numerous schools

By Scott McCaffrey

A decline in year-over-year student enrollment at Arlington Public Schools has resulted in staffing adjustments at some schools.

The official APS 2025-26 student count of 27,589 is down 311 students — or 1.1% — from a year before, Superintendent Francisco Durán reported to School Board on Thursday.

The figure represents the total number of enrolled students as of Sept. 30, and was submitted to the Virginia Department of Education. By grade level, the data reflects the following fluctuations:

  • Pre-kindergarten enrollment was up 4.9% to 914
  • K-5 enrollment declined 2.6% to 12,270
  • Enrollment in grades 6-8 was up 2% to 6,205
  • Enrollment in grades 9-12 was down 1.8% to 8,200

The lower enrollment allowed the school system to reduce overall staffing by a net 17.5 full-time-equivalent positions for a savings of about $2 million compared to the adopted fiscal 2026 budget plan. Durán’s presentation did not suggest any current staff had to be laid off to accomplish the reductions.

Decisions on staffing changes were made over the summer and during the early weeks of the school year. Durán said his staff looked at class sizes on a “case-by-case, school-by-school” basis in determining where tweaks were needed, and attempted to make sure staffing levels were appropriate without the cuts being draconian.

“We wanted to leave some room” for potential student-population increases during the year, the superintendent said. “We didn’t want it to be too tight.”

While overall enrollment was down, some schools experienced increases, and in those cases, additional staffing was brought in to lower class sizes.

During the discussion, School Board member Miranda Turner praised the nimbleness of the effort, but said she hoped the process would be standardized in future years so the Board and community understand how staffing decisions are being made.

“We’re working on” more standardization, Durán said.

Budget rollout will revert to a two-step process: Having a single budget proposal from both Superintendent Durán and the School Board appears to have been a one-year experiment that is not being repeated.

As a result, the fiscal year 2027 budget process will follow earlier practices, with Durán proposing his budget in late February 2026 and the School Board following with its own budget proposal “a little bit later in the spring,” School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton said at the Oct. 9 School Board meeting.

“We all look forward to working closely together throughout the budget process,” she said.

For the $845 million FY 2026 budget that was adopted in the spring, a single budget combining input from staff and Board members was presented to the public. It represented a change to longstanding practice, which traditionally saw the superintendent propose a staff budget, followed by public input, then the School Board budget proposal with more public input before final adoption.

At the Oct. 9 meeting, Board members also voted 5-0 to provide budget direction to Durán and staff for the upcoming year.

Board members also took a first look at the school system’s proposed 2026 General Assembly priority package, which seeks a variety of budget-related actions in Richmond.

The legislative package will be adopted in coming weeks. The 2026 General Assembly session is slated to start Jan. 14 and run 60 days.

Schools receive state funding for security upgrades: APS will receive $96,349 in funding as part of a $12 million statewide initiative bringing upgrades in school-security equipment to 433 schools across 99 divisions.

Funding was announced Oct. 9 by the Virginia Department of Education.

State criteria give priority to schools most in need of modern security equipment, schools with relatively high numbers of offenses, schools with equipment needs identified by a security audit, and schools in divisions least able to afford security upgrades.

Arlington schools receiving funding are:

  • Abingdon Elementary
  • Alice West Fleet Elementary
  • Arlington Science Focus School
  • Arlington Traditional
  • Barcroft Elementary
  • Barrett Elementary
  • Campbell Elementary
  • Carlin Springs Elementary
  • Escuela Key Elementary
  • Gunston Middle
  • Hoffman-Boston Elementary
  • Innovation Elementary
  • Jamestown Elementary
  • Kenmore Middle
  • Montessori Public School of Arlington
  • Tuckahoe Elementary and Wakefield High

APS staff hope new “adopt-a-school” model will improve local partnerships

By Scott McCaffrey

Arlington Public Schools leaders hope that a new “adopt-a-school” partnership model will increase schools’ formal partnerships with business and civic groups.

Noting that 30% of Arlington’s public schools have no such partnerships, APS staff outlined plans to increase opportunities for volunteerism at a School Board meeting yesterday (Thursday). They focused primarily on relationships with the business community.

Partnerships “benefit above and beyond the work we can do within our four walls,” Superintendent Francisco Durán told School Board members.

“We need support, and we’re getting that support,” he said.

There is always room for improvement, school officials acknowledged.

“The majority of schools … reported they would benefit from dedicated partners to support school facilities needs, beautification and mentoring or after-school programming, particularly for low-income students and families,” school officials learned in a survey of principals presented to School Board members.

About 60% of respondents reported being “very interested” in the adopt-a-school initiative.

Currently, businesses, nonprofits, civic groups, faith-based organizations and institutions of higher learning work with individual schools, sometimes on an ad hoc basis. The new effort aims to formalize the partnership process.

At the School Board meeting, Board member Miranda Turner said she hopes new partnerships and volunteers will also spur creative thinking to “help us take ideas and see if they are worth running with, and then running with them more quickly.”

“We certainly have lots of highly educated people who want to contribute,” she said of the local community.

The adopt-a-school effort is among several proposals coming out of a working group set up by APS in October 2024, addressing concerns that not enough is being done to connect schools with those wanting to offer support.

According to school leadership, some of the concerns raised by members of the working group were:

  • Unclear definitions on how to engage and who to contact
  • Inconsistent screening requirements for volunteers and partners
  • A lack of clarity on how to donate money or supplies
  • The need for a standardized process and agreement forms
  • Needing improvement on school and system-wide needs to guide potential donors/partners
  • The lack of a clear measurement process and rubric for gauging partnerships’ success

Nearly all APS schools — 95% — have successfully recruited volunteers that support students and teachers, according to county data.

A survey of 38 schools found that 89% use volunteers to support events; 68% for beautification and facilities upgrades; 49% for classroom support; and 32% for mentoring and tutoring.

Currently, the school system has more than 11,700 active volunteers in its database, with more than 4,000 volunteer applications approved during the 2024-25 school year. Of those in the database, only about 15% volunteer on a recurring basis, based on sign-ins to the APS volunteer-management software.

“That’s the big gap we are working toward” closing, said Catherine Ashby, the school system’s director of school and community relations.

Ashby said restructuring the school system’s administration of volunteer programs will assist efforts.

“Our team is really excited about this work,” she said.

Volunteers seem eager to help when called upon for specific initiatives. More than 190 signed up in two weeks after the school system announced a new pilot program — called Readers Rise — being launched at Barrett, Long Branch and Hoffman-Boston elementary schools.

At the meeting, School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton praised all volunteer efforts as benefiting the overall learning environment.

“We’re grateful for all of the volunteers and all of the partners and all that goes into enriching student learning,” she said.

Arlington single-family home prices moving ever closer to an average of $2 million

By Scott McCaffrey

Arlington single-family homes continued to march closer to an average $2 million sales price in newly released data.

The average sales price of the 60 single-family detached properties that went to closing in September was $1,813,759 — up a whopping 23.5% year-over-year.

New figures were reported Oct. 10 by Bright MLS, using data from MarketStats by ShowingTime. For the month, single-family detached homes represented 33% of all sales, compared to 38.5% a year ago.

Increases in average single-family sales prices likely are a result of general housing inflation coupled with smaller, aging single-family homes in the county being torn down and replaced by larger ones.

The $2 million average sales price already has been surpassed among Arlington single-family homes with four or more bedrooms, which in September represented about 70% of all single-family homes sold.

In that segment of larger homes, the average sales price of $2,143,893 in September was up 20.2% from $1,784,024 a year before.

Late summer and early spring delivered an opportunity for buyers to get more for their money, if they financed purchases.

“Mortgage rates came down in August and early September, which brought some buyers into the market,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for Bright MLS.

At the same time, the impact of federal government and contractor layoffs and buyouts are causing headwinds likely to be further intensified by impacts of the government shutdown.

The local region “is showing us how sensitive the market is to broader economic and political uncertainty,” Sturtevant said. “In places where the federal government has a strong presence … we’re already seeing the impact of the shutdown and job insecurity.”

Overall for the month, 184 homes went to closing countywide, up from 143 a year before.

The average sales price of all homes sold was $986,422, up 3.6%.

While average prices in the single-family segment were up, they declined in the other two market sectors:

  • The average sales price of attached homes — townhouses, rowhouses and condominiums — was $586,098, down 6.8% from a year ago
  • The average sales price in the condo-only segment was $400,467, down 6.9%

Those declines pushed the month’s median price down 10.7% to $686,388, despite the increase in average sales price. The median is the point at which half of homes sell for more, half for less.

Add up all the transactions, and the total market volume countywide in Arlington was $184.2 million, up 34.1% from a year before.

Prospective buyers have more to choose from, with the number of active listings rising from 313 in September 2024 to 465 in September 2025.

“Sellers are adjusting to a new market reality,” Sturtevant said. “Buyers now have more options and more negotiating power, and price trends are starting to reflect that shift.”

In part because of the higher inventory, the average number of days between listing and ratified contract has ballooned nearly 60%, from 23 a year before to 36 in September, while the sales-price-to-listing-price ratio declined slightly (from 98% to 97%) during the same period.

Arlington home-sellers received an average $500 per square foot in September, down 4% year-over-year. For the month, Arlington’s per-square-foot cost trailed Falls Church at $545 and D.C. at $509, and was tied with Alexandria.

Across the Washington metro area, Bright MLS recorded 3,894 closed sales in September. That was up 4.4% year over year, growth attributed to lower interest rates.

But new pending sales across the region fell 3.3% year-over-year even as mortgage rates stabilized, “a result of many home shoppers hitting pause in the face of the federal budget gridlock and job insecurity,” Sturtevant said.

Home-price growth has essentially stalled across much of the metro area, with the regional median sold price of $600,500 up just 0.3% from a year ago.

Price performance varied widely across the region, with some suburban markets seeing modest growth while urban areas show declines, Bright MLS said.

The median days on market regionally in September was 21, 10 days longer than last year. Inventory has grown 27% year-over-year, largely because of longer times for homes to sell. Showings for the month essentially were flat at 90,805.

Figures represent most, but not all, sales across the market. September 2025 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.

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