School Board

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Spends Big on Travel — Arlington spends more on travel per household than any other large American city, according to a report on Bundle.com. The average Arlington household spent $3,534 on travel last year, according to the report. That’s more than twice the national average. Arlington is also tops for combined travel and leisure spending, which includes entertainment, cable and satellite expenses, spending an average of $5,615 per household per year.

Feds Search Home of Alleged Arlington Office Thief — Authorities may be close to bringing charges against a woman thought to be responsible for thefts of purses and wallets from secured government offices. The Washington Examiner reports that investigators believe the woman stole items from a senior official at the U.S. Marshals Service headquarters in Arlington, an employee at the U.S. State Department in Arlington, and a Pentagon employee in Arlington.

School Board Race Isn’t Much of One So Far — School board member Sally Baird is facing two challengers in her bid for reelection this year. But so far the race isn’t exactly the barnburner of campaigns past. Baird has raised a paltry $3,653 so far, and one of her opponents, Miriam Gennari, has filed papers indicating that she doesn’t plan on raising significant cash, according to the Sun Gazette.

Flickr pool photo by Amberture.

Planetarium Fundraising Underway, But Goals Are Daunting

By ARLnow.com

It’s been a busy first 25 days for the Friends of Arlington’s David M. Brown Planetarium. The group, established to help save the planetarium from a slated closure by the school system, has applied for status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, launched a website, joined Twitter, and has raised $2,500 from 40 donors.

Not bad for a grassroots community organization. But in order to meet the first fundraising goal set by superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy, the group will have to raise another $158,620 over the next 100 days. In order to meet the final goal, the group will need to raise another $400,000 over the next year.

The daunting goal is more than the group thinks it needs to raise to upgrade the 40-year-old planetarium. School officials have included a $162,000 dome replacement in the cost — an expense the group disagrees with. Instead of squabbling over the dome, however, organizer Raphael Perrino says the group has decided to focus on raising money.

It’s not clear what will happen if the group doesn’t meet its fundraising goals. School board chairman Sally Baird told the Sun Gazette last month that “no board action has been taken in regard to the specific fund-raising targets, nor whether those targets are absolute.”

Both parties are expected to formulate a Memorandum of Understanding, which would address the the dome issue and other specifics, at an unspecified later date.

The Friends of the Planetarium will be meeting Wednesday night to discuss the group’s progress and to formulate a fundraising strategy. The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in room 108 of the Langston-Brown Community Center (2121 N. Culpepper Street). Pizza will be served.

While the Friends wait for their 501(c)(3) status to be approved, supporters are being asked to donate to the cause through the Arlington Community Foundation, which has set up a “planetarium fund.” All donations to the fund are tax deductible.

New Wakefield High School Principal Named

By ARLnow.com

Dr. Christian Willmore has been appointed as Wakefield High School’s new principal.

Willmore is a recent graduate of University of Virginia’s Doctor of Education program. He began his career with Arlington Public Schools in 1995 and has served as assistant principal at Wakefield since 2002.

Willmore is fluent in Spanish and has taught abroad.

“Chris has been a fixture in the Wakefield community for eight years, and during the interview process, Wakefield students noted that Chris knows them, cares for them and wants them to succeed in the classroom,” superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy said in a statement.

The school system’s press release, which includes three additional leadership announcements, after the jump.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Flags In at Arlington National Cemetery — Service members from each branch of the armed forces placed decorative flags in front of Arlington National Cemetery’s quarter million graves yesterday. “Flags In” has been a Memorial Day weekend tradition at the cemetery since 1948. See more photos here.

Remembering Arlington’s Forgotten Baseball Phenom — He was considered one of the greats of his day, although he was never voted into Cooperstown. George Hartley McQuinn, born in 1910, was a six-time All-Star who spent 12 years playing professional ball. In his rookie season, McQuinn went on a 34-game hitting streak. Take that, Ryan Zimmerman. Plus, McQuinn was an Arlington resident who opened a sporting goods store in Clarendon after he retired from the game. He would have turned 100 on Saturday. Read more about him here.

School Board Member Has Breast Cancer — Arlington School Board Vice Chairman Libby Garvey announced last night that she had a lumpectomy on May 17. She was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this month, following a mammogram. Garvey will continue receiving follow-up treatments over the next several months and is expected to make a full recovery.

Photo courtesy Arlington National Cemetery.

School Budget Passed, Planetarium Saved

By ARLnow.com

By a 5-0 vote, the Arlington school board passed a $442 million FY 2011 budget Thursday night which reduced spending but restored some items that had been on the chopping block.

Notably, funding for the David M. Brown Planetarium was partially restored. Originally set to be closed and converted into classroom space for Washington-Lee High School, the planetarium will now be staffed part-time.

Instead of serving K-5 students five days a week, starting this fall the planetarium will serve K-2 students two days a week. There will also be some flexibility to hire a an hourly worker to open the planetarium on weekends.

The Friends of the Planetarium, a group that sprung up to protest the planetarium’s proposed closure and amassed more than 3,250 Facebook fans, will now begin the process of raising more than $300,000 for necessary upgrades to the 40-year-old facility. That process is expected to take 12-18 months.

“It’s a long road ahead, but we have an inspired group of people who aren’t about to quit,” group organizer Raphael Perrino said. “We kept the planetarium open… now it’s time to upgrade it and keep it open for many generations to come.”

In another development, board members grilled school security officials over a proposed new security system.

An entry security system for visitors, which would require people to present an ID to get a visitor’s pass during class hours, was blasted by board member Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez, who said it could scare immigrant parents away.

“This is not Arizona!” Dr. Violand-Sanchez exclaimed, referring to the state’s controversial new immigration laws. Other board members expressed concern about the system limiting parent access to schools.

Superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy defended the plan, which also calls for the installation of video cameras and a card access system by December 2010.

“I want to clarify that our schools will be welcoming places for all parents,” Dr. Murphy said.

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Good News for Brainiacs, Jocks at School Board Meeting

By ARLnow.com

Planetarium supporters were out in force at Thursday night’s school board meeting.

About two dozen sign-holding, banner-unfurling and speech-making residents came to ask the board to keep the David M. Brown Planetarium open.

During his budget presentation, superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy acknowledged the “Save the Planetarium” movement, which has attracted nearly 3,000 fans on Facebook.

“There seems to be strong support for retaining this program,” Dr. Murphy said.

One proposal that Dr. Murphy suggested he was open to was a private endowment, to be created by planetarium supporters.

“The door is open and the collaboration is ongoing,” Dr. Murphy said, hinting at the possibility that the planetarium could remain open for another 12 to 18 months to “see if there is a community groundswell with a commitment of resources.” In other words, supporters would have up to a year and a half to raise sufficient funds for a planetarium endowment.

If that was encouraging news for the planetarium brainiacs, Dr. Murphy also delivered good news for the jocks (we use both terms in jest, of course). A proposed sports participation fee, which would have charged student athletes $50 per high school sport or $25 per middle school sport, has been withdrawn from consideration.

Dr. Murphy said the school system has identified a substantial source of “one-time money” that will allow the board to roll back certain proposed cuts.

While about half the audience at the board meeting consisted of planetarium supporters, another vocal group made up most of the other half. At least a half dozen people, many of them students, made speeches urging the board not to trim instructional time at the Arlington Mill High School Continuation Program. The program lets working students in their late teens and early twenties — especially immigrants — complete their high school education on a flexible schedule.

“Save the Planetarium” Petition Reaches 700 Signatures

By ARLnow.com

The “Save the David M. Brown Planetarium” online petition has tallied its 700th signature. The petition received 100 signatures yesterday, including that of former planetarium director Steve Smith, according to petition organizer Raphael Perrino.

Meanwhile, the Save the Planetarium Facebook page now has more than 2,900 fans.

On Monday, Perrino presented the petition to school board member Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez. “The meeting went very well,” Perrino said.

The fate of the planetarium is expected to be discussed at tomorrow’s 7:30 p.m. school board meeting. Perrino hopes to have between 20 and 40 people on hand for a rally.

Not everybody wants to see the planetarium remain open, however. In the budget recommendations it approved yesterday, the Arlington County Civic Federation voted in favor of shuttering the planetarium, as superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy has proposed.

Zee Germans Invade Zee County Tax Hearing

By ARLnow.com

A group of German students from Arlington’s sister city of Aachen, Germany has managed to fluster members of two Arlington governing bodies nearly simultaneously.

The group of nearly two dozen students attended last night’s county board tax rate hearing. They were acknowledged by board chairman Jay Fisette at the beginning of the session. Fisette assumed they were going to stick around to watch American democracy in action. Instead, seven minutes into the hearing, they all suddenly got up and left en masse, which caused some board members fits of laughter (see video below).

Meanwhile, at the school board meeting (which, for some reason, was held at the same time as the county board hearing), board members were told at length about the exchange students and the host parents and the sister city program. But when the puzzled-looking presenter asked if there were any Aachen students in the audience, apparently expecting at least a few to be there, the Germans were nowhere to be found.

New Hope for the Arlington Planetarium

By ARLnow.com

Acknowledging the “loud voice” of thousands of concerned community members, Arlington Public Schools superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy said the school system is looking at “partnerships” as a possible way to keep the David M. Brown Planetarium open.

Dr. Murphy made the comments at Thursday night’s school board meeting. He did not elaborate on what sort of partnerships might be possible.

“I think that a lot of the noise we’ve been making online has helped to do this,” said an elated Raphael Perrino, who has been helping to lead the charge with comments on the popular “Save the Arlington VA Planetarium” Facebook page and with an online petition that has garnered more than 220 signatures.

One of the signatures on the petition is purportedly from Mike Leinbach, NASA’s space shuttle launch director and a colleague of David M. Brown, who perished in the 2003 Columbia disaster.

“Dave’s commitment to exploration and education was unsurpassed by anyone, and naming the planetarium for him is a perfect tribute,” Leinbach wrote. “I sincerely hope the county decides to keep the planetarium open.”

Among the speakers at the board meeting was Alice Monet, Arlington parent and astronomer at the Naval Observatory.

“It would be a really sad waste of a very valuable educational resource,” Monet said of the proposed closing.

A final decision of the planetarium’s fate will likely be made by April 24, the date set for the final adoption of the school system budget.

Thousands Rally on Facebook to Save Planetarium

By ARLnow.com

The David M. Brown Planetarium on North Quincy Street has hosted countless school children and at least one wedding over its 40 years.

Since Arlington Public Schools announced its plan to permanently close the planetarium one month ago, the family of the late Columbia astronaut David Brown, for whom the planetarium is now named, has spoken out against the closure.

And now a “Save the Arlington VA Planetarium” Facebook page has amassed nearly 2,500 fans.

Planetarium fans are expected to make their voices heard at a school board meeting scheduled for 7:30 tonight. It’s being held at the board room of the Arlington Education Center at 1426 North Quincy Street.

Arlington Schools Release Snow Make-Up Schedule

By ARLnow.com

After missing a week of classes due to Snowmageddon and Snoverkill, Arlington public school students will have to make up for it by giving up a couple of previously-scheduled off-days and early release days.

“Of course I was hoping school would extend into August so I could save on summer camp fees,” Robert Cannon said on his bArlington blog.

More from Arlington Public Schools.

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