RA Slates Community Meeting —Â As a follow-up to the recently held district meetings, Reston Association will host a community-wide meeting for residents at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 28 at Reston Association headquarters (12001 Sunrise Valley Drive). Feedback from the four prior meetings will be discussed. [Reston Association]
Open At-Large Seat on School Board — A special election will be held Tuesday, Aug. 29, to fill a vacancy on the Fairfax County School Board. The At-Large seat, vacated by Jeannette Hough last month, has a remaining term through Jan. 1, 2020. The filing deadline for prospective candidates is Friday, June 30. [Fairfax County Office of Elections]
Update in Substitute Teacher Solicitation Case — John Torre, public information officer for Fairfax County Public Schools, told Reston Now that a man charged earlier this week with soliciting a young girl for sex worked as a substitute teacher for FCPS for four days at two schools, and he is no longer a FCPS employee. The alleged solicitation did not involve any FCPS students, Torre added. [Reston Now]
More money for teacher salary increases and less state-mandated testing are among the Fairfax County School Board’s legislative priorities for 2017, members announced Wednesday.
Each year, the school board pinpoints a number of important education issues it plans to advocate for in regards to state legislation. For 2017, officials said that they are honing in on a few key issues that they want to focus on when advocating for Fairfax County families with school-age children.
When it comes to funding, school board members said they would like Virginia to allocate previously promised money for teacher salary increases — funding that was taken away earlier this year due to state budget shortfalls.
“Reinstating state funding for teacher salary increases would bring an additional $12 million over the biennium in state funds back to Fairfax,” said school board member Ryan McElveen, who serves as the county’s state legislative liaison.
One of the larger positions the school board plans to take in 2017 is that local school boards should receive more flexibility and autonomy when it comes to designing instructional programs, including how many tests students have to take each year.
School board members said they plan to advocate for what they call “multiple paths to graduation.” Specifically, they said they would like to provide students with more opportunities “to explore their career interests” in preparation for secondary education.
School board members also said they plan to advocate for fewer state-mandated tests and evaluations required of students, to ensure “a balanced assessment system that helps to inform instruction.”
The Fairfax County School Board’s full report on its 2017 legislative priorities is here.
Oak Hill consultant Mark Wilkinson is one of two candidates running for the Fairfax County Public Schools Hunter Mill school board seat. Reston Now is running Q-and-As with both candidates. Incumbent Pat Hynes’ responses were published earlier this week.
The two candidates will participate in a forum in Reston on Oct. 24. The election is Nov. 3.
Reston Now:Â Why do you want to serve on the school board?
MW: First and foremost, I’m a dad of a recent graduate of FCPS, and concerned, as all of us are, that our Fairfax County school system risks losing its status as a world-class system. And in my over 20 years residing in Fairfax County, I’ve seen some very disturbing trends in large class sizes, mismanagement of the FCPS budget, and a “we know best” attitude from the School Board.
My desire to serve on the FCPS School Board stems from my desire to give something back to the Fairfax County community, put our children first, and use my 35 years budget experience to turn around the FCPS budget. I want to re-establish the community’s trust in the School Board as advocates for our children.
RN:Â What makes you uniquely qualified to serve the school board?
MW: I’m not a politician, yet it doesn’t take a politician to see that this school board needs financial expertise and strong leadership to fix its $75-100M budget deficit. Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is the 10th largest school system in the United States, and it requires strong leadership and people who know how to manage government programs, and who understand policy, budgets, strategy, and contracts. These are the key activities of a school board member.
I have 35 years as a public servant doing just that – managing budgets five times the size of FCPS’s budget, establishing policy, setting strategic direction that crossed multiple federal agencies. I will demand accountability and transparency, and ask the hard questions that are necessary to ensure that FCPS does not lose its status as a world-class school system.
RN:Â What are the three biggest concerns you have about FCPS?
MW: My plan is simple — reduce class size, fix the budget, increase teacher compensation, and close the achievement gap — which will improve the lives of ALL FCPS children. And as an independent and non-partisan advocate for our children, teachers, and the taxpayers of Fairfax County, I will do what is right for all children of Fairfax County — to improve their education, their quality of life, their future.
We need to improve student/teacher ratios because part of being responsive to the needs of children is a lower student-to-teacher ratio in overcrowded classrooms. The more interaction a teacher has with each student, the better the student will comprehend and retain what is taught. Unfortunately, over 50 percent of our Hunter Mill District elementary schools have had the largest class sizes in the county for the past several years.
The current FCPS School Board’s failure, to date, to remedy our children’s class size disparity — despite an overwhelming need to do so — is an issue I intend to address. Many current school board members distort the facts by talking about decreasing the classes across the entire FCPS when only 20 percent of the schools need reduction. Hunter Mill schools happen to be in that situation. Read More
Pat Hynes, first elected to the Fairfax County School Board in 2011, is running for re-election to the Hunter Mill seat on the board.
Reston Now sent questionnaires to Hynes and her opponent, Mark Wilkinson. Wilkinson’s has not yet been returned. The two candidates will participate in a forum in Reston on Oct. 24. The election is Nov. 3.
RN:Â Why do you want to serve on the school board?
PH: I am very grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to represent the Hunter Mill District on the school board for the past four years. My experience as the mother of two FCPS graduates, an FCPS teacher, a lawyer, and a community leader have served me well on the board and, I hope, have served the community well.
The current board has accomplished a good deal, including: later high school start times; full-day elementary Mondays; elementary class size caps; student-centered discipline reform; improvements in literacy and special education instruction; a comprehensive independent efficiency audit; and the hiring of the first-ever auditor general who reports directly to the school board.
Under this board’s direction, FCPS has taken a leadership role in the state and national conversation about better assessments, moving away from the high-stakes test score chase that has for too long dominated classroom instruction.
We have continuing challenges, however, including persistent achievement gaps, class sizes that are still too high in some schools, growing needs for space, and teacher pay that is not keeping pace in the region. Thanks to the efforts of the current board and Superintendent Karen Garza, I see progress on those and other challenges, and I hope the people of Hunter Mill will give me the opportunity to continue this important work.
RN:Â Â What makes you uniquely qualified to serve the school board?
PH: As the only member of the current 12-member school board who has worked as a teacher in FCPS, I am uniquely suited to understand the interests of our employees. My colleagues on the board are very supportive of teachers, which I appreciate, but my time in the classroom gives me the experience to anticipate concerns and ask relevant questions. Having taught in both Vienna and Reston, I also have a network of local teachers and school-based administrators who know that I value their opinions and understand their needs.
A Hunter Mill District forum on Tuesday will include candidates for Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair, as well as the group of candidates running for At-Large school board seats.
The event is at 7 p.m. at James Madison High Schools, 2500 James Madison Dr., Vienna.
The event will feature a meet-and-greet, as well as a question-and-answer session.
Read more about the candidates by clicking on their names below.
In the Board of Supervisors Chair race, incumbent Sharon Bulova (D), is being challenged by Arthur G. Purves (R),and Glenda Gail Parker (I).
The At-Large School Board candidates are:
Ryan L. McElveen (Incumbent)
Ilryong Moon (Incumbent)
Theodore J. “Ted” Velkoff (Incumbent)
This event is sponsored by: the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area, the American Association of University Women of Virginia, the Fairfax County Council of Parent Teacher Associations, the Voice of Vietnamese Americans, and the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
A similar event with Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (running unopposed) and Hunter Mill School Board candidates Pat Hynes (incumbent) and Mark Wilkinson will take place at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods Oct. 24 at 2 p.m.
In Reston’s only contested race this fall, Fairfax County School Board’s Hunter Mill representative Pat Hynes will face challenger Mark Wilkinson, an Oak Hill tech consultant.
The entire FCPS school board is up for re-election in the Nov. 3 race. There are nine candidates running for three At-Large seats.
The League of Women Voters is sponsoring a Hunter Mill Candidates Forum on Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. at Reston Community Center Hunters Woods.
Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, who is running unopposed for re-election, will also be at the event.
Hynes, of Reston, is a former lawyer and teacher who has served on the board since 2012. She is the current board chair.
“Maintaining Fairfax County Public Schools’ world-class reputation in the twenty-first century demands visionary leadership,” Hynes says on her website. “This community expects its schools to be the best. We are preparing our students for careers that do not yet exist. What we know for sure is that our graduates will have to be flexible, creative problem-solvers who collaborate well and have strong communication skills. We must continue to build a culture that innovates from the classroom, supports our world class educators and sets high expectations for every student.”
Wilkinson says on his website he is concerned about FCPS’ budget, class sizes, and other issues.
“I believe that the children of Fairfax County must come first with any decisions made by the school establishment, particularly the School Board,” says Wilkinson. “I am well suited to be an independent and non-partisan advocate for children and sound education.
“As a parent, I know that no one knows a child and his/her needs as well as a parent. I have been troubled by the appearance, the current Board has given, that it has a disregard for parent knowledge and involvement. There is no room for a “we know best” attitude from the School Board.”
Photos: Pat Hynes (left) and Mark Wilkinson (right).
Pat Hynes, Hunter Mill representative to the Fairfax County School Board, was elected by chair of the board on Thursday.
Hynes was elected by the board for a one-year term. Sandy Evens (Mason District) was selected vice chair.
“I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve in this capacity,” said Hynes. “I enjoy working with [FCPS Superintendent Karen] Garza and my fellow board members.”
Hynes said challenges for the upcoming year include the budget (Garza has predicted a $100 million shortfall for 2016-17Â unless cuts are made), school system’s strategic plan and the rollout of later high school start times.
Hynes, of Reston, was elected to the School Board in November 2011 and served as its vice chair in 2012. She is a former attorney who became a teacher, working in FCPS schools in Vienna and Reston 2002-11. She has worked as a teacher’s assistant in Loudoun County since being elected to the FCPS Board, but will take a leave of absence to focus on her new role as chair, she said.
She formerly served on the Superintendent’s Business and Community Advisory Committee and was a founding member of the Vienna Teen Center Foundation.
Hynes also served as PTA president at Louise Archer Elementary School and as president of the Malcolm-Windover Heights Civic Association and F.B. Meekins Cooperative Preschool.
Hynes earned her juris doctor degree from Vanderbilt University and her bachelor’s in economics from the University of Virginia.
Hynes Evans, who was elected to the School Board in March 2010, is the former chair of the School Board’s School Health Advisory Committee and served on the Board’s Transportation Task Force. She is a member of the steering committee of the Northern Virginia Healthy Kids Coalition; founding member of the Fairfax Education Coalition; and co-founder of Start Later for Excellence in Education Proposal (SLEEP).
Evans served as the legislation committee chair of the Fairfax County Council of PTAs and as president of the Sleepy Hollow Elementary School PTA. She is a former staff writer for the Washington Post. Evans earned her bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Maryland-College Park.
Pat Hynes, the Hunter Mill representative to the Fairfax County School Board, will kick off her re-election campaign on Saturday.
Hynes will host at event at the Walker Nature Education Center, 11450 Glade Dr., at 3:30 p.m.
All 12Â members of the FCPS School Board will be up for re-election this fall. Ten of the 12 members will be running again.
So far, Hynes is running unopposed.
Hynes was elected to her first term in 2011, replacing Stuart Gibson, who did not seek re-election. Gibson had held the spot since the elected school board was created in 1995.
Hynes holds a BA in Economics from the University of Virginia and a law degree from Vanderbilt University. She is a former lawyer and FCPS teacher.
In other school board news, the board on Monday approved a raise for members from $20,000 Â to $32,000 annually. Virginia law states school boards can vote to increase salaries only every four years, before an election. The board last approved salary increases in 2007, from $12,000 to $20,000.
Pat Hynes/file photo
