Prince William Times 03/27/19

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A GUSTY DRAW The Battlefield and Patriot boys soccer teams tied 1-1. PAGE 9

March 27, 2019 | Vol. 18, No. 13 | 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.

School board’s $1.5B budget raises pay for teachers, itself By Jill Palermo

Times Staff Writer

The Prince William County School Board unanimously approved a $1.5 billion budget for next school year that boosts teacher and

staff salaries by about 4.8 percent – the largest raise in a decade—adds about 100 new positions, including 46 new school counselors, and awards school board members a raise for the first time in 19 years. The budget reflects an overall in-

crease in operating-fund revenue of about 4.9 percent, or about $51.1 million. That includes an increase of about 4.9 percent -- or $28.4 million -- in local funding from Prince William County and a 5-percent boost in state funding, from $534.5 million to $560.9 million.

Before taking a final vote, the board praised Walts for his spending priorities, which included teacher and staff salaries, special education, student mental health, career and technical education and pre-K education See SCHOOL BOARD, page 4

PHOTO BY DELIA ENGSTROM

History teller

Charles J. Colgan High School students Reid Robinson and Garrett Williams listen as WW II veteran Phil Louer, 95, of Haymarket, tells of his experiences with the 78th Infantry Division in the Battle of the Bulge. Louer was one of several local veterans students interviewed for the American Folklife Center’s Veterans History Project. The recordings will be filed with the Library of Congress. More on page 11.

County cuts glass, some plastics from recycling Officials: Market forces behind the changes By Jill Palermo

Time Staff Writer

Prince William officials have announced big changes in the county’s recycling rules. Residents are being told to keep both glass and certain kinds of plastic out of their curbside recycling containers. Although clean glass can still be recycled, private haulers that pick up recyclables in Prince William County haven’t been doing so for about two years, said Tom Smith, director of the county’s solid waste division. The reasons are two-fold: Single-stream sorting facilities that process the recycling can’t keep the

glass clean enough to be recycled. Also, there are no glass-recycling facilities in Virginia, and hauling it out of state to either Pennsylvania or North Carolina is too expensive. “At one point in time, [glass collected in Prince William] was being recycled but there’s just not a market for it,” Smith said last week. “Within the last two years, they just gave up on it and started putting it in the landfill.” The ban on softer plastic containers, those labeled 3 through 7, is the result of contamination restrictions and other rules imposed by China, India and other countries that buy See RECYCLING, page 4 INSIDE Calendar.............................................13 Classified............................................16 Library................................................12 Obituaries...........................................15

PHOTO BY DELIA ENGSTROM

Crews pick up the contents of curbside recycling bins on a recent Monday morning in Montclair. Glass and plastics 3-7 are being eliminated from local curbside recycling programs. Opinion.................................................6 Puzzle Page..........................................8 Real Estate..........................................14 Sports...................................................9

86 WARRENTON, VA


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