Parents Mobilize for Foreign Language Program at Tuckahoe Elementary

The likelihood of the Arlington School Board funding such an expansion is unlikely, given budget constraints.

A group of Tuckahoe Elementary School parents is mobilizing in hopes of bringing foreign language instruction to their school. The parents, who have gathered nearly 100 names on an online petition, are making the case that students who move from Tuckahoe to Swanson Middle School are suddenly surrounded by classmates who have had years of instruction. The inequity drives their argument. "Foreign languages is a core subject in schools. You would never teach any other core subject the way that the world languages get taught now — half get math and half don't, half get English and half don't," said Einar Olsen, who has a second- and fifth-grader at Tuckahoe. "It's a pretty poor situation. It's sort of an educational malpractice situation, …

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Tax Increases: Arlington Residents Divided on How Big Hike Should Be

Residents speak out about tax increases, fee increases for transit service for the disabled and elderly.

Only a fraction of people showed up at the Arlington County Board public hearing on its proposed tax rate Thursday night compared to a similar hearing earlier this week on budget priorities that drew hundreds. But those who did could easily be divided into three camps: One group that would like to see the county board raise taxes by 5 percent, the most it legally can this year; one group that would prefer to see the tax rate go up commensurate with inflation; and a third group that simply doesn't want fares to increase for a county program that provides transit services for the elderly and disabled. The county board has given itself the authority to raise taxes by as much as 5 cents per $100 assessed value, which translates to about $356 …

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Arlington Budget Hearing: 'Let's Not Fairfax Arlington'

Streetcar versus housing and food assistance funding, other issues come up at Tuesday night's public hearing.

Affordable housing. Programs for people with intellectual disabilities. County child care regulations. Traffic calming. Invasive plants. Senior center parking fees. Between what's in Arlington County's proposed $1.1 billion budget and what's not, residents had a lot to talk about Tuesday night. A few hundred people showed up and more than 100 of them spoke at a public hearing — delivering well over three hours of testimony before the Arlington County Board. At times, there was an undercurrent of frustration, perhaps best summed up well past 10 p.m. by frequent board critic Robert Atikins. Atkins cited needs — some with relatively minor costs associated with them — for child care, nurses, housing and food assistance and said any one of them…

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Arlington County Budget: Salaries, Tax Rates Likely to Increase

Compensation — including salaries, benefits and retirement — are among major costs factored into Arlington County's proposed $1.1 billion budget.

Good workers cost money. It's a fact of life that most successful organizations in Northern Virginia have accepted, if not embraced. In Arlington County, compensation is projected to account for about 56 percent of county operating expenses for the next spending cycle, which begins July 1. Compensation is more than take-home pay; it also includes tax dollars the county spends on retirement, health insurance, worker's compensation and other areas — including about $2.5 million on commuting and transportation costs. But salaries account for the lion's share of compensation. As the Arlington County Board hashes out its $1.1 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, compensation is one of the priority areas officials have under the …

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Cuts to Gifted Services, Teen Parenting Programs Draw Criticism

Superintendent's proposed budget cuts about 62 positions.

Potential cuts to programs for gifted students and teen parents in the public school system drew 30 people out to speak before the Arlington School Board on Thursday night. Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Pat Murphy's $520.4 million proposed budget cuts about 62 positions from the school system, including gifted services teachers at all three high schools and more than 14 positions from the teen parenting program. The cuts are among nearly $8 million in reductions Murphy has proposed to balance the school's spending plan for next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The majority of Thursday night's speakers were teachers, parents and students who extolled the benefits of having a gifted services teacher at Wakefield, Washington-Lee or…

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Arlington County Real Estate Taxes Could Increase by As Much As 5 Percent

Board set the tax increase ceiling Saturday for 2013-14 budget. If the max increase is adopted, the average Arlington homeowner would pay $356 in taxes annually.

The Arlington County Board on Saturday voted 4-0 to advertise a 5-cent tax increase ceiling for the spending cycle that begins July 1. That means elected officials, as they shape the fiscal 2014 budget over the next few months, can opt to raise real estate property tax up to 5 cents per $100 assessed value, but no more than that. A 5-cent tax increase would cost the average Arlington homeowner an additional $356 annually. In other words, the owner of a $524,700 home would owe $7,082 in taxes and fees for the year. The ceiling agreed upon Saturday was noticeably higher than the 3.2-cent tax increase Arlington County Manager Barbara Donnellan recommended in her proposed $1.1 billion budget last week. Donnellan's budget would cost the average…

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Proposed Arlington Budget Includes Tax Hike, Job Cuts

Uncertainty over federal sequestration complicating local budget process.

The average Arlington homeowner would pay about $262 more each year in taxes and fees under the 2013-14 budget County Manager Barbara Donnellan proposed Wednesday. The spending plan also would eliminate about 46 county staff positions, about half of them already vacant, affect several county programs and force the Artisphere to justify its operating expense. And the entire proposed $1.1 billion general fund budget is overshadowed by what might happen with federal sequestration. Crystal City already has the highest vacancy rate the county has seen, Donnellan said, thanks in large part to Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC. And now, the threat of sequestration is causing more companies to move out. "If people aren't upping their leases …

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Clarendon Cycles

Investing in a Better Future

Two very different approaches to investing in better communities have been on display this week.

Transportation. Budgets. I’ve already lost half my readers, I expect. And really, I can’t blame them. It can be mind-numbingly dull stuff. Yet transportation budgets affect your everyday life greatly.  The ways we commute to work, get dinner with friends or head out to the gym – all happen on streets, public transportation and paths that resulted from choices made in transportation budgeting. While budget decisions are made at every level of government, the federal transportation budget plays the biggest role of all. Unfortunately, the process for setting the next federal transportation budget has become more about scoring cheap political points than facilitating the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. Sure, petty politics …

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Arlington Board OKs Tax Hike, Employee Raises

County's $1 billion budget also bolsters tax support for affordable housing programs and restores library hours cut during recession.

The Arlington County Board on Saturday unanimously approved a $1 billion budget that includes a 1.3 cent real estate tax increase. The budget also bolsters taxpayer investments in four key areas identified by board members — affordable housing, libraries, capital maintenance and employee compensation. It also funds new facilities like a planned year-round homeless shelter, Long Bridge Park, the Mary Marshall Assisted Living Residence and developments at Penrose Square. The tax hike will cost the average Arlington County homeowner an extra $160 annually. The average assessed value of a home in Arlington is about $520,000. Trash and recycling fees will be reduced by $32 per household. "We are fortunate here in Arlington that our financial …

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