SPORTS: Osbourn Park girls basketball squad wins fifth straight Cedar Run championship. PAGE 12
February 10, 2022 | Vol. 21, No. 6 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | $1.00 Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
The end of the ‘rural crescent’?
TIMES STAFF PHOTO
Prince William County’s rural area, also known as the “rural crescent” is home to several small farms as well as large homes on narrow, 10-acre lots, like these on Hazelwood Drive.
County’s comprehensive plan update proposes big changes for rural areas By Daniel Berti
Times Staff Writer
Prince William County planners have revealed their long-awaited comprehensive plan update – a draft document that, if adopted by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, will provide a blueprint for local land-use decisions for the next two decades. Among the most significant changes outlined in the draft: the elimination of the county’s rural area designation from the map, known to many as the “rural crescent.” For the last 24 years, the county has limited development in the designated rural area to one home per 10 acres and has mostly prohibited connections to the public sewer lines. The area known as the rural crescent comprises about 117,000 acres along the county’s western boundaries. About 80,000 acres are privately owned. The rest are parts of the Manassas National Battlefield Park, the Conway Robinson Memorial State Forest, Prince
Superintendent pitches 7% raises for teachers, staff
Budget boosts overall spending 14% By Daniel Berti
Times Staff Writer
Prince William County schools Superintendent LaTanya McDade is proposing a significant boost in spending for county schools next year that, if enacted, would bring per-pupil spending in the county to its highest level since 2009 when adjusted for inflation. McDade’s proposed budget totals $1.5 billion in spending for fiscal year 2023. That’s an increase of about $173.1 million or Superintendent 14% over the current year budLaTanya McDade get. The spending plan includes $61 million to provide teachers and staff with an average 7% pay raise. The boost includes a step increase and a 4.2% cost of living increase. See BUDGET BOOST, page 5
Va. Senate moves to allow parents to decide on masks By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
PHOTO BY ALFREDO PANAMENO
A donkey in a pasture in a small farm along Aden Road, located in the county’s rural crescent. William Forest Park and Marine Corps Base Quantico. The county’s draft map, released Wednesday, Feb. 2, proposes replacing the privately owned land in the rural area with a new “agricultural and forestry” designation that would double the number of homes that could be built there. As proposed, the new plan could effectively upzone the area to one home per 5 acres. See RURAL, page 4
Local COVID-19 update: State reports 35 more local deaths See Page 2
Virginia’s ongoing debate about masks in public schools – and who should decide whether students and staff must wear them – took a surprising turn Tuesday when the Democratic-controlled state Senate approved a measure giving parents the power to decide whether their children don masks on school property. The move came in an amendment to an existing state law sponsored by state Sen. Chap Petersen, D-34th, of Fairfax County, and was approved in a bipartisan 29-9 vote with 10 Demo-
Human Rights Awards: County honors 7 for their good works See Page 8
88 DULLES, VA
It’s all about people . . . and always will be. www.vnb.com
crats joining the chamber’s 19 Republicans in voting in favor. Three state senators representing parts of Prince William County cast supporting votes, including Democratic Sens. John Bell (13th) and Scott Surovell (36th) and Republican Richard Stuart (28th). Sen. George Barker, D-39th, voted against the amendment, while Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-29th, said in an interview Tuesday he missed the vote because he had to step out of the chamber. Still, McPike said he opposes the amendment as See MASKS, page 2