April 6 – 12, 2017
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d ed 1991 • Vol. X X V I I N o. 7
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week F.C. Crossing Guard Honored for 50 Years
For the past 50 years, commuters have passed through Falls Church on their way to Washington, D.C. And for the past 50 years, Janet Haines made sure each one of them came to a halt at the intersection of Broad and Spring Streets in the Little City. See page 8
The Healthy Little City
The 2017 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps released last week shows the City of Falls Church near the top of the state in both health factors and outcomes. The Little City ranked first in the state in terms of health factors and sixth in health outcomes.
School Funding Issues Dominate As F.C. Budget Decision Nears Reserve Fund for New High School, Added Ops Costs at Issue
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
See page 10
David Brooks: Let’s Win on Opioids
If we lived in a normal country our president would use the current moment to try to get a win — to try to pass something that would help people, demonstrate that Washington can function and rebuild his brand. See page 14
Mason Boys Soccer Top Warren Co., Strasburg After a tough loss to Mount Vernon High School last week, George Mason High School’s boys soccer team responded with two much-needed victories. See Sports, page 18
DR. PETER NOONAN (center) is flanked by Falls Church School Board chair Lawrence Webb (left) and board member John Lawrence while enjoying a rousing round of applause at tonight’s formal vote and signing on at the City schools’ ninth superintendent. (Photo: News-Press)
Dr. Peter Noonan Named New F.C. Schools’ Superintendent
by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Index Editorial..................6 Letters....................6 News & Notes.12–13 Comment........ 14–17 Calendar........20–21 Food & Dining......23
Business News....24 Classified Ads......27 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ..........29 Critter Corner.......30
The Falls Church School Board met briefly Tuesday night for what amounted to a ceremonial unanimous vote to formally hire Dr. Peter Noonan, current superintendent of the Fairfax City school system, as the ninth superintendent of the Falls Church City Schools. The vote was taken in the Mary Ellen Henderson cafetorium with more than 60 invited guests
who stayed after the vote for a reception in Noonan’s honor. He will begin his duties on May 15, the same day he will depart his Fairfax City job. Noonan is currently superintendent of the City of Fairfax Schools, a position he’s held since 2012. He began his career as a special education teacher in New Mexico where he was named Teacher of the Year in 1993. Prior to joining the City of Fairfax Schools, Noonan served
for 11 years in the Fairfax County Public Schools division beginning in 2001 as assistant principal at Langley High School, principal at Lanier Middle School and Centreville High School, as assistant superintendent for the county’s Cluster VII schools, and as assistant superintendent for the Instructional Services Department overseeing academic programs for the Fairfax County system’s 180,000 students.
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As the deadline looms for the adoption of the next fiscal year’s budget for the City of Falls Church and its schools, all the attention is focused on the places where proposed expenses are going to require up to a four-cent increase in the real estate tax rate. The two places where this is coming from are both school-related, and defined by the national reputation of the school system’s excellence on the one hand, leading to its becoming the fastest growing school district in Virginia, on the other. One cent of the tax rate increase (over the current $1.315 per $100 of assessed valuation) proposed in City Manager Wyatt Shields’ recommended budget is for growthdriven school operational costs, and another three cents (one cent being worth $400,000) to build a reserve fund to help with the cost of a new high school that voters will be asked to approve in November. The cost of that new high school has yet to be determined, as two special committees are now actively working out the parameters of the desired school plant itself, and how much economic development on school property can be expected to mitigate that cost for taxpayers. The wisdom of Shields’ recommendation for the three-cent, or $1.2 million, add to the tax rate for the school construction reserve is being being hotly contested among the seven member Falls Church City Council. So is the ask by the School Board for a penny ($400,000) more for its Fiscal Year
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