UNITY REED STAR TYLEIK WILLIAMS PICKS BUCKEYES: Sports, Pages 12-13
September 2, 2020 | Vol. 19, No. 36 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | 50¢ Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Teachers push for all-virtual instruction
TIMES STAFF PHOTOS/JILL PALERMO
About 50 teachers rallied in front of the Edward L. Kelly Leadership Center Aug. 26 to express their objections to teaching students in person at the start of the school year.
School board says 1,600 special ed students will begin in-person By Jill Palermo
Time Staff Writer
The Prince William Education Association, the county’s teachers’ union, says it will continue to push for an all-virtual start for the new school year despite the current plan to offer in-person instruction to about 1,600 special education students when the new year begins Sept. 8. About 50 teachers rallied outside the Edward L. Kelly building on Aug. 26 and are planning to return to the school board meeting this Wednesday, Sept. 2, to urge the board to reverse course and allow all teachers and students to work virtually for the first quarter, said PWEA President Maggie Hansford. “Our request remains the same,” Hansford said. “We want the school board to start the year with all students online and then slowly bring students in when it’s reasonable.” The vast majority of the county’s 91,000 school children and 6,000 teachers will start the school year virtually through the first quarter. When the quarter ends Nov. 1, the school board plans to switch to a 50% hybrid plan that would give
“We want the school board to start the year with all students online and then slowly bring students in when it’s reasonable.” MAGGIE HANSFORD, PWEA president
students the choice of attending school in person up to two days a week. About 1,600 “level two” special education students – defined as those who receive most of their instruction in self-contained classrooms – as well as some English language learners are set to return for in-person instruction four days a week starting on Tuesday, Sept. 8, and continuing through the school year. The number is a reduction from the nearly 2,000 announced during Aug. 19 school board meeting. Superintendent Steven Walts gave no explanation for the change. See ALL-VIRTUAL, page 2
Support Community Journalism! Visit: piedmontjournalism.org INSIDE Classifieds...........................................17 Lifestyle..............................................11 Obituaries...........................................15 Opinion.................................................9
Fight against proposed asphalt plant gains steam By Daniel Berti
Times Staff Writer
A new asphalt plant proposed for a densely populated area outside Manassas is sparking intense opposition from residents in nearby neighborhoods. On Aug. 22, more than 50 people took to the streets to protest over concerns that the plant will increase dump truck traffic, noise and pollution in the area. Many said they already endure health conditions such as asthma and soot-stained houses because of an existing asphalt plant nearby and don’t want the new plant to make those problems worse. See ASPHALT, page 4
TIMES STAFF PHOTO/ DANIEL BERTI
Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chair Ann Wheeler speaks to Manassas area residents opposed to a new asphalt plant proposed outside their neighborhoods.
Judge to rule on release of Walts’ Twitter messages By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
When Prince William County Schools Superintendent Steven Walts suspended his Twitter account in May, he made a video in which he said the account did not belong to him personally but rather was an “official account” managed by the school division’s communi- Steven Walts cation office. “No correspondence conducted through this account was private, and it is subject to the Freedom of Information Act,” Walts added in the video statement, which he posted May 7 to his now-suspended Twitter account. The fact Walts granted other school division employees access to his Twitter account was at the center of a Aug. 27 court hearing about whether the messages are subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act. See WALTS, page 6
Public Safety.........................................6 Puzzle Page..........................................8 Real Estate..........................................14 Sports.................................................12
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