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Sun Gazette
VOLUME 82 NO. 41 SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2017
ARLINGTON’S SOURCE FOR HOMETOWN NEWS SINCE 1935
Any Fixes for Mess at Metro?
TAKING THE (NFL) FIELD!
Few Specifics from Politicians at Forum SCOTT McCAFFREY Staff Writer
Players from the 10-under Arlington NFL Flag Football League Raiders were among 23 total from the league who played a scrimmage at FedEx Field during halftime of the recent Washington Redskins vs. Cincinnati Bengals exhibition game. Collectively, the 23 players were from three different Arlington flag teams. PHOTO BY STEVE CHEN
Start-of-School Enrollment Up 2.8% from 2016 Arlington Public Schools opened the new school year with 2.8 percent more students in class than at the same point 12 months before. The first-day-of-school enrollment count of 26,938 recorded Sept. 5 was up from 26,193 a year before, continuing a trend of higher student-body sizes. Superintendent Patrick Murphy reported the first-day-of-school data at the
Kanninen said they viewed the first day of school a success, although Murphy acknowledged the not-unusual first-week problems in getting the intricacies of more than 150 bus routes sorted out. “We’re trying to be very responsive,” Murphy said of getting a handle on transportation snafus. “Please be patient with us.” – A Staff Report
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Sept. 7 School Board meeting, but cautioned it was preliminary. “We’ll see this enrollment fluctuate,” Murphy said, calling the first-day figure “a little bit of a snapshot.” Virginia school districts report official attendance totals to the Virginia Department of Education as of Sept. 30. During the meeting, both Murphy and School Board Chairman Barbara
The challenges inherent in reforming operations and governance of the Metro system were summed up neatly during a Sept. 6 forum featuring the elected leaders of Northern Virginia’s five largest jurisdictions. Asked for a show of hands on whether the number of board members of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority needed to be reduced, the group split – 2.5 to 2.5. “Let me clarify . . .” said Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette (D), whose half-a-hand up caused the unlikely 50/50 split. The moment was a small but telling one during the forum, sponsored by a group of business organizations. Everyone has thoughts about what ails the beleaguered transit agency, but consensus on how to fix it remains elusive. “I can’t sit here and say what it should be,” Fisette said of specific reforms. But, he said, something must be done. “It’s the most significant issue facing the region today. This is the issue of our time. It has to be solved,” said Fisette, who soon won’t be a major player in the effort,