There were several heated discussions about school boundaries, the building of new schools, and school funding at Brentsville District School Board representative Gil Trenum's town hall meeting on Monday, Mar. 19 at Marsteller Middle School in Bristow.
The town hall meeting was initially called in response to the lingering debate regarding county educators’ request for raises. Although teachers have now been promised a two percent one-time pay increase, they continue to seek community support for permanent step-increase.
Last night, community members told Trenum that they did support step-increases for Prince William County teachers, saying teachers were the aspect of Prince William County Schools, which they most valued. However, citizens asked for more financial accountability, and the elimination of what they saw as excessive or unnecessary costs, such as the grading of the School Division's mandatory 11th grade research papers.
One Bristow resident said trimming the fat is a matter of public trust, even if it does not make a significant impact on the budget.
Educators also asked Trenum to help support teachers being “bullied” by school administrators. and they felt the administration had “pit parents against teachers.” They cited the PWCS Facebook page, which stated that teachers asking for raises, would put student-centered programs in danger. One teary-eyed teacher told Trenum that she entered the profession because she cares about children, so she does not appreciate the administration portraying her as a threat to those children.
Individuals attending the meeting also voiced their concerns about the building of new schools in the district. Most residents who spoke at the meeting disapproved of the building of the new Nokesville K-8 school, when the Devlin Road elementary school was pushed back a year. Parents, armed with statistics indicating that Bristow elementary schools are overcrowded, asked Trenum to make the Devlin school his priority.
Devlin Road community was projected to grow, they said, while enrollment at Nokesville Elementary is projected to be only six students over capacity next year.
One Nokesville resident supported the need for a new K-8 school.
“I’m from Nokesville, and I have to defend the K-8. You have modern new schools in Bristow. You’re talking walls that stand up, more than two outlets in a room; we don’t have that in Nokesville. We have water pressure so poor, we can’t do dishes in the cafeteria,” she said.
Bristow parents responded that even though their schools were new facilities, many of their children were actually educated in trailers. They also offered support for a renovation solution for the needs of Nokesville Elementary, preferring the quoted $14.4 million cost to the $31-33 million to build the new state-of-the-art facility. Parents also rejected the idea of busing their students to Nokesville to fill empty seats.
Trenum offered his support for both schools, and said he would support an earlier building of the Devlin Road elementary school.
The final issue presented was the boundaries for students attending Stonewall Jackson High School. Bristow residents, zoned for Stonewall, felt they would better served attending Patriot with their peers from Marsteller, rather than being separated from them.
Parents also questions why Patriot would already be beyond capacity in the 2013 school year, when more students could have been zoned for Brentsville, Battlefield or Stonewall.
They were especially unhappy that Stonewall lacked parental support in the form of its Booster Club, as a result, low-income students are often times even priced out of participating in activities altogether.
Trenum listened patiently to all concerns for nearly three hours, and promised he would raise these concerns with the school board.
Brentsville District, Board of County Supervisor Wally Covington was also in attendance. Covington advised residents to lobby their representatives in the state legislature to provide additional funding to Prince William County as Prince William County is a prime generator of sales tax for the Commonwealth.
School Board member, Alison Satterwhite representative of the Gainesville District was present at the meeting. Also present were former 2011 Brentsville District school board candidates Lori Dolieslager and John O’Leary, and Jeanine Lawson who ran for Brentsville District County against Wally Covington that same year.
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