INSIDE
‘SuperStops’ now to cost less, but controversy continues – Page 22
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SCHOOL BOARD CONTENDERS MAKE THEIR CASE TO VOTERS
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LOCAL TEAMS WIN GAMES
SHERIFF TO RUN FOR NEW TERM
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SunGazette
VOLUME 79 NO. 25
RE/MAX Distinctive
ARLINGTON’S SOURCE FOR HOMETOWN NEWS SINCE 1935
MAY 15, 2014
Debt Ceiling Could Stymie Plans for Growth Superintendent Asks for New Schools in Effort to Stay Ahead of Student Population SCOTT McCAFFREY Staff Writer
In unveiling his proposed 10-year capitalspending program to School Board members and the community last week, Superintendent Patrick Murphy acknowledged that while the school system would have the money to ad-
dress the needs of rising enrollment, it may not have it in enough time to avoid getting swamped by the growth. “The real concern here is around the debt service,” Murphy said to kick off a 40-minute staff presentation May 8, outlining how school officials hope to address enrollment that has been rising for years and is expected
to keep growing to the tune of 700 additional students per year. Murphy’s biggest concern? “The availability of funding when the need for seats hits,” he told School Board members. School officials are constrained by the County Board to spending no more than 10 percent of their annual budget on principal
Reading Connection Event Sets a New Record A Staff Report
Having achieved its goal of raising $100,000 through a recent benefit, The Reading Connection is now looking to the future. The organization, founded in 1989 by
Words” gala April 4 in the District of Columbia. WRC-TV’s Doreen Gentlzer served as master of ceremonies for the event, which brought out some of the founders and original supporters of the
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Above left, Courtney Kissell, Lani Gleaves, Martha Reese, Beth Reese and Eileen Hanning were among the boosters of the Reading Connection who participated in the organization’s recent 10th-anniversary celebration. Above, master of ceremonies Doreen Gentzler, right, is shown with event volunteer Emma Baker at the celebration.
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three reading teachers from Arlington, has expanded through the years to serve Fairfax County and Alexandria, and now plans to inaugurate its Read-Aloud Program into Maryland. To assist with the effort, the organization held its 10th annual “Of Wine and
and interest payments for debt; any more and the county’s sacrosanct AAA bond ratings could be jeopardized. A building spree over the past 15 years has at times pushed the school system perilously close to that limit, although the school district