Recap of 25 February Civic Association Meeting
Approximately twenty people attended the Civic Association meeting on Tuesday evening 25 February 2014 at Firehouse 9.
The agenda included:
We heard a presentation from Monique O’Grady, Arlington Public Schools (APS) parent and civic activist on the ongoing re-evaluation of the Arlington School Board’s commitment to a new elementary school in South Arlington. In 2012, Arlington voters approved a $42.6m school bond. Per APS’s fact sheet on the bond (seen here [PDF]), the funds were to be used to build additions to three North Arlington elementary schools and one new elementary school each in North and South Arlington. Now that all four North Arlington projects are completed or underway, the school board has suggested reprioritizing funds to finance needed middle school upgrades, leaving South Arlington without the promised new elementary school. Ms O’Grady has been active in leading the effort to work creatively with the board to both fulfill the commitment to South Arlington and to address the middle school needs. A copy of Ms O’Grady’s presentation may be found here [PDF].
In addition, Ms O’Grady has supplied a timeline of events and methods for those who wish to express their views on the situation:
- 21 Febr: Twitter Town Hall at 12p for elementary and middle school options. Tweet to @APSVirginia. (Transcript [PDF]).
- 22 Febr: Community Conversations with ambassadors regarding elementary and middle school options. Held at Jefferson, Kenmore, Williamsburg, Gunston, and Swanson from 10a to noon.
- 26 Febr: Community Meeting #1 for update, feedback of middle and high school options at Gunston M S Theater 1 from 7 to 9p. Simultaneous Spanish translation services will be provided.
- 28 Febr: Twitter Town Hall at 12p for middle and high school options. Tweet to @APSVirginia.
- 1 Mar: Community Conversations with ambassadors regarding middle and high school options. Held at HB Woodlawn, Washington-Lee, Yorktown, the Career Center and Claremont from 10a to noon.
You may also write the school board at school.board<at>apsva.us and the county board at countyboard<at>arlingtonva.us. Folks can also get more information at www.apsva.us/moreseats.
You can also view the now-closed change.org petition to fund the South Arlington elementary school here.
Our annual election of officers.
Officers elected for the 2014-2015 term were:
- Adam Henderson, President
- Tony Brooks, Vice-President
- Annette Pigott, Secretary
- Al Fox, Treasurer
Email contact information for Civic Association officers may be found on the Contact page of this website.
The next Civic Association meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening 22 April 2014.
