Community Corner

FCPS Board Votes To Review Discipline Policy, Holds Budget Information Session

Vienna families rally together for cystic fibrosis benefit

The Fairfax County Public School Board which could result in changes to what critics argue is a zero-tolerance policy against student misconduct.  

FCPS discipline policies have come under scrutiny since the Jan. 20 suicide of , a 15-year-old Woodson High student. Stuban's parents connect his suicide with his , claiming their son was not treated "fairly and reasonably" and directly connected his suicide to the county's "inhumane, impersonal, overly harsh and draconian" discipline policies.

The move was announced during a public forum, which also addressed less controversial issues such as the smoking policy on school property and a facilities planning advisory council, prior to a regularly scheduled school board meeting. Dozens of concerned parents were in attendance - including Stuban's father - but had no ability to ask questions or make comments in that forum.

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The issue of a was added to the agenda after the publication of a front-page story in Sunday’s Washington Post detailing what many felt was an overly harsh response to Stuban’s offense of purchasing a legal, synthetic compound called JWH-0118, which is banned in Fairfax County Public Schools.

Superintendent Jack Dale responded to the situation in a Monday letter to the Stuban family, which urged them to focus their efforts on the state's policy.

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at their regular quarterly meeting on Wednesday night.

The first part of the review will take place at the board's regularly scheduled work session on March 14.

News

The Fairfax County School Board invited taxpayers to a forum Saturday to hear details of its for fiscal year 2012, a proposal that features a $50 million pay raise for teachers. Three-fourths of the school board budget comes from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, which is facing a $54 million shortfall of its own.TThe board received $1.61 billion from the county last year. his year, the school board asked for $48.8 million more, for a total of about $1.66 billion, a 3 percent increase. But when County Executive Anthony H. Griffin unveiled the county's proposed 2012 budget of $6.1 billion Tuesday, he indicated the county's transfer would remain the same as fiscal year 2011, with a $2.8 million increase in the transfer for school debt service.

Just more than half of the county's budget funds the 196 elementary, middle, high and alternative schools in Fairfax County. Most Virginia school systems receive only half of their funding from their county, according to the schools' website. Griffin's proposal included no pay raises for county employees, whose salaries — like those of the county's teachers — have been frozen for two years. The raises were a big selling point of the budget

The Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended the Board of Supervisors deny at its meeting Wednesday — the sixth time it has done so in nearly three years. James W. Jackson, the owner of Horizon Child Development Inc., has attempted to build another branch of his Lord Fairfax Academy since he first purchased the 1.29 acre property in 2007, he said. His first application for a child care center was in 2008.

The Transportation Safety Commission voted Tuesday night to, a response to commissioner Leonard Ignatowski’s request to lift the parking ban completely. The recommendation will go before Vienna’s Town Council for final approval before it takes effect.

On Feb. 16, citing “the continued difficult economy and changing book-selling environment,” Borders Group announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  At the same time they announced the closing of 200 stores, including their Tysons Corner location. It will close in April. Writer Mike Conway, who worked for 11 years as the store, two as general manager,

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Arts/Community

Matthew Weiner looks like an athlete — at 6 feet tall, he’s strong and healthy, a member of Madison High School’s title-winning crew team, and an aspiring Eagle Scout. But what most don't see when he leaves the gym is his daily battle with cystic fibrosis, a genetic lung disease. Families that deal with CF rallied together on Saturday to host an annual fundraiser that brings in hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation each year.

Nick Jonas surprised Vienna with a performance at Jammin' Java on Wednesday. The 18-year-old singer was in the area for a Thursday performance at the White House. Fans lined up as early as 2:30 p.m. Two hundred of them made it through the door — two hundred more were turned away.

Think Vienna's home inventory is good? Take a closer look. Though numbers are high, digging into data reveals many of those homes aren't actually available, our real estate expert says.

Our tasty tidbit chef gave us a new twist on an old soup favorite with his meatless Italian Wedding Soup. (Spoiler: It uses shrimp).

In this week's Moms Talk, parents and readers discussed choosing private versus public schools for their children, and also how to choose advanced or special education programs.

Cecily Ward and Tom Stone teamed with viola player Ethan Filner and cellist Jennifer Kloetzel in San Francisco to form the Cypress String Quartet more than 15 years ago. On Friday night, which featured traditional chamber music as well as spoken word and video.

Vienna resident Jennifer Riebling, a student at Flint Hill School, competed this weekend in competition at Falls Church High School.

This week's Whiz Kid is Katherine Grasso, a Madison High School student who just signed to play soccer at William and Mary this fall.

Once the Fairfax County Police aviation is dispatched to an emergency, one of the two Bell 407 helicopters can be airborne in two minutes. From their base in Fairfax, they can get to the furthest edge of the county in seven minutes--tops. The department has had a team like this since 1982 --

Looking for a day trip that will help you get in a workout too? Travel columnist John Goyer takes us on a hike up Old Rag,

Vienna resident Jennifer Riebling, a student at Flint Hill School, competed this weekend in Miss Northern Virginia's Outstanding Teen competition at Falls Church High School.

Schools/Sports

Violinist Marta Soderberg Howard told the young performers that surrounded her on Saturday afternoon that she, along with the other three judges, had all been in their position before: feet tapping, fists clenching, stomachs turning at the thought of getting up on stage and being critiqued on their ability to perform. But a love of music is what brought 14 young performers from across Fairfax County, age 7 to 18, to the Vienna Host Lion Club's James A Bland Music Scholarship Competition this weekend-- the first of three rounds that lead to the state final competition, where top performers earn a total of $18,000 in scholarships. Click here to

Vienna's Emily Hertzler, Emma Andrews, Laura Feibelman, Lydia Carlson and Olivia Staton . The performance was in part an ode to group founder Judy Lapple, who died unexpectedly in her sleep last August. (Click link to watch a video of the performance)

Madison High School Girls 4x200-Meter Relay Team took first place in their event at the Northern Region competition last weekend, as the boys relay team in the same event set a school record.

Fairfax County Public Schools operated with on Tuesday thanks to overnight snowfall.

The Warhawks’ in the first round of the Northern Region tournament pitted them against powerhouse and rival Oakton High School on Wednesday night. The Warhawks held an early lead,


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