School Board Budget Cuts Start Impacting Fairfax County Athletics - The Washington Post

Cuts to high school and middle school athletic department budgetsapproved in May by the Fairfax County School Board will begin to befelt next week, as schools open and sports seasons get underway.

In May, the board voted to eliminate boys' gymnastics as a varsitysport, to cut all middle and high school intramural activitiesfunding, and to significantly cut back travel costs for athleticteams as part of a $40 million package of system-wide cuts and feeincreases. The cuts will be felt by many students, county athleticdirectors say.

Varsity boys' gymnastics, which was cut because of dwindlingparticipation over the past few years (only about 100 boysparticipated in 2002), could be replaced by gymnastics on a 'clubsport' level. Coaches and judges could volunteer their time, or themoney to pay judges and coaches would have to be raised entirely byprivate fund raising. Transportation would most likely be in the formof carpooling.

Eric Kim, who coached Lake Braddock's gymnastics team to theVirginia AAA Northern Region championship in May, said he doubtsgymnastics will survive as a club sport because of the difficulty offinding quality coaches and judges who will work for little or nopay.

'Do [coaches] want to sacrifice all that time for no pay?' saidKim. 'I don't think so. I sent a letter to the judges who would bewilling to judge for gratis or a discounted rate, so we'll have towait and see.'

Herndon athletic director Bill Hildbold said individual schoolswould get to decide whether the existing gymnastics equipment can beused by club teams, but maintenance on such equipment -- essential ina sport that yields many injuries -- could become a problem since thecounty would not fund it. He also said club gymnastics would face a'space issue' as schools tried to find gymnasium time for meets.

As for intramural sports such as basketball, volleyball, ping-pong, weight training and badminton, the school gym has been open forstudents to participate after school hours until this school year.The county will no longer pay a staff member to supervise open gym.

'I think it will hit hard in September . . . where the kids startcoming to the gym in September and the lights are out. That's whenit's going to impact,' said Fairfax athletic director Pat Laing. 'Youonly have 40 percent of our kids playing [varsity or junior varsity]athletics in a school of 1,800 to 1,900 kids. The other 60 percentcount on open gym time. That's the thing that hurts. Some of them aregoing to be ending up in the malls just walking around.'

A few years ago, Laing said, funding was cut for intramural sportsat the spring budget meeting, but was re-allocated that fall. BrucePatrick, the Coordinator of Student Activities and Athletic Programsfor Fairfax County, said he does not foresee the same thing happeningthis year. Any intramural activities, he said, would have to besupervised by staff on a volunteer basis.

'It comes down to more people volunteering their time,' Hildboldsaid. 'Teachers, administrators . . . people are being asked to domore for less.'

Disability Disputed; Fairfax Officer With War Injury Sues to Keep His Job - The Washington Post

As a young Fairfax County police officer, Erik Tate also held aspot in the Marine Corps Reserves, so when his unit was called toSaudi Arabia in late 1990 for Desert Shield, Tate gave up hispatrolman's uniform for a soldier's.

Three months later, Tate nearly gave up his life when his militarytruck crashed in the Kuwaiti desert and caught fire, killing thedriver who sat next to him. Tate suffered burns over 65 percent ofhis body and lost most of his left leg.

Doctors predicted two years of recovery. But Tate fought back,learned to walk again with an artificial leg and returned to fullduty as a Fairfax police officer in January 1992--about nine monthsafter the accident.

Now, Fairfax County wants Tate off the police force.

Police commanders recently notified him that because of hisinjuries, they are placing him on light duty--a job classificationthat he calls unnecessary and that county policy says he can have foronly one year. If his condition hasn't improved within 12 months,officials say, he can either take a civilian job or be fired.

Fairfax police officials said they have nothing against Tate buthave a policy of not keeping permanently injured officers on thepayroll for 15 or 20 years.

'The purpose of the policy,' which went into effect two years ago,'is to ensure that people in police officer positions are able tofunction as police officers,' said Deputy Chief Richard J. Rappoport.

It was carefully devised, he said, and has nearly wiped outrestricted duty rolls.

Tate, who says no county doctor has ever tested his mobility orquestioned his capacity to perform 'essential job tasks' of a policeofficer on the street, has responded with a lawsuit in U.S. DistrictCourt in Alexandria.

He seeks not only to keep his job but also to get compensatorydamages and legal fees.

'I must've read it about 100 times,' Tate, 34, said of the letterinforming him of his pending dismissal. 'I still read it. I can'tbelieve it's happening to me.'

It isn't the first time the issue has arisen. Two years ago,Fairfax police sent Tate a similar notice. He filed a complaint withthe Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and provided a letterfrom his doctor saying he was fit for full duty.

The department reinstated him, and the EEOC ruled that Fairfax wasin violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Now, the issue has returned. 'You get frustrated, disappointed,'Tate said. 'You think you have closure to something, it opens it backup. And it's not just about Erik Tate now. I have two little ones,'he said, noting that he supports his wife, Shirl, and two boys, ages5 and 18 months.

Rappoport noted that the EEOC opinion did not carry the authorityof a federal court, which enforces discrimination law.

'We're confident that we're in compliance with any federal statutewith regards to employment law,' he said.

Tate's lawyer disagrees. Her client has a high-tech titanium kneeand leg that allows him nearly full mobility.

'They say, without any basis, they don't think he could run,'lawyer Carla M. Siegel said. 'But in fact, he can. He playsbasketball, he goes skiing, he can patrol streets, he can workaccidents. For the department to say, 'We're going to presume youcan't do all these things,' that's a prime example ofdiscrimination.'

Tate was something of a local hero in 1991 when he returned from athree-month stay in a military hospital in Germany. Fellow Fairfaxofficers donated enough paid leave to support Tate for a year.Friends and classmates from South Lakes High School in Reston, wherehe graduated in 1983, organized a benefit basketball game againstmembers of the Washington Redskins, including Gary Clark, Art Monkand Charles Mann.

'At that game,' Tate said, then-Chief John E. Granfield 'said I'dhave a job whenever I'm ready. That was a motivational tool for me.'

The game raised $8,500 for Tate, who in turn pledged to organize asimilar event the next year for Children's Hospital. This time, hewould be playing, he promised.

And he was. 'Scored six points, too,' said Tate, with the enduringbraggadocio of a former three-sport varsity athlete.

But getting to that point was agonizing. He struggled through skingrafts and uncomfortable prosthetics and gradually became mobileagain. In January 1992, he joined the warrant squad, helping trackdown and arrest criminals.

'No problems,' Tate said. With his disability concealed, thebarrel-chested Tate said no one ran from him, 'and I didn't tellpeople, 'I've got one leg, and now I'm going to lock you up.' '

After Tate's first tour of restricted duty and then hisreinstatement, Fairfax police began requiring that their own doctorsexamine officers. The doctors ruled that Tate did not meet thestandards for an active-duty officer, although Tate said they neverlooked at his titanium leg or asked him about his abilities on it.

Fairfax Writes West Final Chapter - Sentinel

Willie West Loses Final Game at Fairfax

Crenshaw fans witnessed the end of an era Tuesday night as Willie West coached his final game for the Cougars.

As the final seconds ticked away players and fans let the tears flow as they said goodbye to the man who has patrolled the sidelines since 1970 and is seen by many as the face of their school.

Fairfax won the second round playoff game 88-65, but their victory took a backseat as the moment belonged to West who addressed the end of his career with a quiet dignity.

'I've enjoyed the competition and I've enjoyed this rollercoaster for 39 years,' he said.

Fairfax coach Harvey Kitani embraced West after the game and shared some brief words of gratitude and appreciation for a man that he calls 'an icon of City basketball.'

'I thanked him for all the years of development, character, and making his guys play as a unit,' said Kitani. 'All those great teams he had, he got them to play hard, play with dignity and pride, play together, play to win. He always had his teams ready to go.'

In the pressure-packed atmosphere of the Fairfax gym, both teams were ready to go from the opening tip. The game started off red- hot as the score was 13-10 in less than three minutes of action. Fairfax pulled ahead and took a 26-21 lead at the end but both teams played solid basketball, making few mistakes and running their offenses to near perfection.

But the Lions proved why they were the #1 seed in City Section as they hit three consecutive three-point baskets to open the second quarter. When Crenshaw cut the lead to eight with five minutes left, Fairfax forward Chace Stanback emphatically slammed home a missed shot that retook their momentum. The Lions then clamped down on defense, limiting Crenshaw to one field goal in the final five minutes and went into halftime with a 49-32 lead.

The lead would grow to 21 in the third quarter before Crenshaw made their move. The Cougars took the lead down to 13 and had a chance to trim the lead even further, but Stanback made a huge block on Crenshaw's next shot attempt and the Cougars turned the ball over on their next two possessions.

It turned out to be their last serious threat as Fairfax extended their lead back to 20 by capitalizing on the turnovers and missed free throws that have been the Achilles' heel for Crenshaw all season. Stanback, who will play for UCLA next season, led the way for Fairfax with 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks

The farewells did not just stop with West. Longtime assistant coach Maurice Duckett, who has been with Crenshaw for 25 years, also coached his final game and expressed the sadness of leaving the bench for the last time.

'I knew we could have played better, but it goes like that sometimes,' said a visibly moved Duckett who said that he will continue to support the program and looks forward to spending more time with his family.

Senior forward Darnell Gant led Crenshaw with 18 points and even though his career will continue at Washington next year, he had a hard time saying goodbye to the coach who told him as a freshman that they would be leaving Crenshaw together.

'I wanted to get him a championship, but it looks like I can't do that now. He's moving on with his life and I gotta move on with mine too,' said Gant.

West will move on to Arizona where he and his wife have a home waiting for them. He will be remembered for 803 wins, 16 City Titles and eight state titles but his true success has come from teaching his players the values of hard work, discipline and to carry one's self with pride and dignity.

He left the court with his head held high and admitted that it will be strange that he won't be on the sidelines next year

'I'm going to miss it no doubt about it,' he said. 'It's going to be different... but the only way for me to get out of it is to leave the city.'

And with those words, Willie West said goodbye to Crenshaw, leaving behind a nearly four-decade legacy that will never be forgotten by those who were a part of it.

[Sidebar]

Wille West retires from Chrenshaw High School

[Author Affiliation]

BY EVAN BARNES

Fairfax County Community Calendar; Community Events - The Washington Post

PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL'S FUTURE, 'Foretelling the Future ofProfessional Baseball,' panel discussion by sports writers FrankCresesi, Paul Dickson, Bill Gilbert, John Holway and James C.Roberts, 7-8:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Spectrum Center,1851 Fountain Dr., Reston. Free. 703-437-9490.

PERSONAL HISTORY CLASS, for people interested in documenting theirlife stories, no previous writing experience required, 9-10:30 a.m.Thursdays, through Feb. 27, Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St.SE, Vienna. $15; preregistration required. 703-255-6360.

FAIRFAX AUCTION TALK, David Quinn of the Auction House of FallsChurch discusses how an auction works, how to bid and more, plus amock auction, a meeting of the Fairfax Antique Arts Association, 7p.m., Oak View School, 5004 Sideburn Rd. Free. 703-323-4803.

POTOMAC SUNSET SAIL, weather permitting, a dory boat ride on thePotomac River, includes discussion of Alexandria history, sponsoredby the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, 6-7:30 p.m. Fridays andWednesdays, Waterfront Park, between Prince and King streets.Suggested donation, $8; reservations required. 703-549-7078.

ALEXANDRIA SENIOR DANCE, music by the Mount Vernon Swing Band,7:30-9:30 p.m., Hollin Hall Senior Center, 1500 Shenandoah Rd.,Alexandria. $4 a person. 703-765-4573.

CAPITOL STEPS IN MCLEAN, political satire performance group, 8p.m. Friday and Saturday, McLean Community Center, Alden Theatre,1234 Ingleside Ave. $30. 202-432-7328 or 703-790-9223.

SENIORS BIKE TRIP, for 50 and older, an 18-mile bike ride alongthe C&O Canal to Harper's Ferry, W. Va., includes van transportation,snacks and lunch, sponsored by the Vienna Parks and RecreationDepartment, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., van departs from the Vienna CommunityCenter, 120 Cherry St. SE. $65; Vienna residents, $55; rental bikes,$20; helmets, $3; preregistration required; space limited. 703-255-6360.

GREAT FALLS PARK DISCOVERY DAY, nature exhibits; ranger programson snakes, vultures, gold-panning and canal tours; live raptorspresented by the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia; music by the MillRun Dulcimer Band; and a campfire program on Native Americans, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Great Falls Park, 9200 Old Dominion Dr., McLean. Freeadmission; $5 a car; reservations accepted for spot at the campfire.703-285-2965.

SPIES OF WASHINGTON TOUR, bus tour of espionage-related sites inNorthern Virginia, Georgetown and other parts of the District, lunchon your own at the International Spy Museum in Washington, sponsoredby the Cold War Museum, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., bus departs from the PentagonCity Metro station. $55. 703-273-2381 or www.coldwar.org.

VIENNA HISTORY WALK, led by Town Council member Maud Robinson,includes the Windover District, the Old Library, the W & OD Cabooseand Church Street buildings, sponsored by the Vienna/Oakton AreaBranch of the American Association of University Women, 10 a.m.-noon, Freeman Store, 131 Church St. NE. Free. 703-938-1581.

RESTON MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL, live music, dance performances,storytelling, arts and crafts, children's games, information boothsand cultural displays from the United States, Australia, Asia, LatinAmerica, Eastern Europe and other parts of the world, co-sponsored bythe Reston Community Center, rain or shine, come dressed in yournative attire, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Lake Anne Plaza, Baron Cameron Avenueand Village Road. Free. 703-476-4500.

MCLEAN PIG ROAST, with music by Fly by Night, sponsored by theMcLean VFW Ladies Auxiliary, 3-10 p.m., McLean VFW Post 8241, 1051Springhill Rd. $15. 703-883-9250.

FAIRFAX ARTS AND CRAFTS, stained glass, drawings, woodworking,dolls, porcelain, calligraphy, jewelry, fused glass, watercolors,quilts, leather work and more, plus door prizes and food for sale, 10a.m.-5 p.m., Robinson High School, 5035 Sideburn Rd., Fairfax. $3; 12and younger, free. 703-426-2100.

ALEXANDRIA WILDFLOWER SALE, fall flowering plants, springephemerals and sun and shade plants, sponsored by the PotowmackChapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., GreenSpring Gardens Park, Alexandria. Free admission. 703-920-1913 or 703-534-8179.

FAIRFAX ART SHOW AND AUCTION, Send a Kid to Camp VA Jaycee benefitevent, featuring works in oils, lithographs, serigraphs, enamels,prints, watercolors and more, plus an hors d'oeuvres reception,sponsored by the Jaycee Mission Inn Foundation for children with AIDSand Camp Virginia Jaycee for mentally retarded children and adults, 2p.m., American Legion Post 177, 3939 Oak St., Fairfax. $10; couples,$15. 703-502-0161.

CLIFTON NATURE PROGRAM, for children accompanied by an adult,'Little Critters,' 1-2:30 p.m., Audubon Naturalist Society, WebbSanctuary, 12829 Chestnut St., Clifton. $8; adults, free;preregistration required. 703-803-8400.

FAIRFAX PIANO CONCERT, Jeffrey Siegel performs Mozart, Haydn andHummel, 7 p.m., George Mason University, Center of the Arts, BraddockRoad and Route 123, Fairfax. $32.50 and $37.50; 12 and younger, half-price. 703-218-6500.

PARENTS WITHOUT PARTNERS, support group for single parents,meeting for prospective members of Fairfax Chapter 715, 3-4 p.m.,Pohick Regional Library, 6450 Sydenstricker Rd., Burke. Free. 703-451-6119 or 703-866-7896.

ANNANDALE CRAFT SALE, 'American Autumn,' pottery, baskets, glass,porcelain, carved wood and more, sponsored by the Artisans UnitedCraft Gallery, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, through Nov. 4,Packard Center, Annandale Community Park, 4022 Hummer Rd. Freeadmission. 703-941-0202.

FAIRFAX COUNTY BOARD MEETING, Board of Supervisors, 9:30 a.m.,Fairfax County Government Center, Board Auditorium, 12000 GovernmentCenter Pkwy. 703-324-3151.

FAIRFAX CITY COUNCIL MEETING, 7 p.m., Fairfax City Hall, 10455Armstrong St. 703-385-7935.

HERNDON ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCE, no partner necessary, all dancestaught by dance leader Barbara Harding, with fiddler Don McFall, 7:45p.m. the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, Harding Hall, 730Jackson St., Herndon. $3. 703-437-3615.

SENIORS SCIENCE COURSE, for 50 and older, 'Science Topics,' eightweeks, subjects range from molecular biology to outer space, 11:30a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesdays, George Mason University, Learning andRetirement Institute, 4210 Roberts Rd., Fairfax. Free;preregistration required. 703-503-3384.

SENIORS PUBLIC ACCESS TV TOUR, a behind-the-scenes view of thecounty public access TV Channel 10, plus information about a six-week program on how to produce a TV show, sponsored by the ViennaParks and Recreation Department, 1:30-2:30 p.m., 2929 Eskridge Rd.,Suite S, Fairfax. Free; preregistration required. 703-255-6360.

-- Compiled by Ria Manglapus

Fairfax Data Show a Third of Black, Latino High Schoolers Lagging - The Washington Post

More than one-third of Fairfax County's black and Hispanichigh school students had a grade-point average lower than C lastyear, according to figures compiled by the district at the requestof a School Board member.

The report showed that 38 percent of African Americans and 37of Hispanics at the county's 23 high schools averaged less than a C,compared with 15 percent of white students and 17 percent of Asianstudents. The figures were for the first three quarters of the1997-98 school year.

School Board Vice Chairman Robert E. Frye Sr. (At Large), whorequested the data, called the statistics for black and Hispanicstudents 'appalling.' He said he was particularly surprised that thetwo high schools with the worst performance by minority students --South Lakes High in Reston and Madison High in Vienna -- are inrelatively affluent areas of the county. At each of those schools,half of black and Latino students had an average lower than C.

Frye, who is African American, said he believes the weakgrades stem from low expectations on the part of the minoritystudents and their parents. 'I want to make sure that the boardprovides the resources to help schools focus on this issue,' hesaid. 'What I'm really afraid of is that this sort of acceptance ofperforming at a marginal level will become the standard at certainschools.'

Both Frye and School Board Chairman Mark H. Emery (At Large)also said that the overall percentage of Fairfax high schoolstudents with a below-C average -- 20.6 percent -- is too high for adistrict with Fairfax's academic expectations.

Officials in several other Washington area districts saidyesterday they had not done a comparable study of their students'grades.

Gerald W. Bracey, an Alexandria educational researcher, saidit is difficult to know what the Fairfax numbers mean in relation toother school systems because grading is subjective and policies varywidely among districts and individual schools. Lower grade-pointaverages at a particular school could mean that its students areperforming poorly, or it could mean that its teachers are toughergraders, Bracey said.

Among Fairfax middle school students, 25 percent of blacks, 20percent of Hispanics, 6 percent of whites and 5 percent of Asianshad an average lower than C, according to the report. The findingsmirror other reports that show lower achievement by black andHispanic students.

Frye asked for the study last year to gauge the potentialimpact of a proposal that would require Fairfax middle and highschool students to carry a C average to participate inextracurricular activities.

The proposal followed recommendations by the Virginia ParentTeacher Association and the Virginia School Boards Association toraise the minimum state requirements, which allow a student to playsports with five D's and two F's -- a 0.7 average.

Fairfax Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech said there is nosimple explanation for the gaps between racial groups. A student'sperformance is influenced by factors such as family income and theamount of support the student receives at home, Domenech said.

'Early identification {of academic problems} is key, becauseby the time they're in high school, it's almost too late,' he said.

Rick Nelson, president of the Fairfax County Federation ofTeachers, said he believes the gap in grade-point averages has moreto do with family income than with race. He also cited decisions bysome principals to promote students despite teachers'recommendations not to.

'The path of least resistance and headaches is to just passthe kid along,' Nelson said. 'Unfortunately it catches up with kidsin high school, and that's what you're seeing in these numbers.'

The School Board has ordered a study on social promotion andasked staff members to develop more remedial programs for studentsat risk of repeating a grade.

Advertising May Pay, Fairfax Officials Say - The Washington Post

The 2,300 students at Westfield High School in Fairfax Countyadvertise the AF in Abercrombie & Fitch on their T-shirts and theswoosh of Nike on their sneakers. They walk by Coke machines to reachtheir classrooms, where a few computers have a small Apple on themonitor.

Corporate America's presence on the Chantilly campus may not endthere.

The region's largest school district -- and the country's 14thlargest -- may deliberately expand the level of corporate sponsorshipacross Fairfax, including advertising or sponsorship on school Websites and in cafeterias, gymnasiums and auditoriums and on athleticfields.

No other school district in the Washington area has such a deeprelationship with the corporate sector.

'Given the revenue shortage we are facing -- we have so many areasof need -- we have to look at all potential sources of revenue,'Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech said.

There could one day be a Dell technology lab or a Reebok biologywing in some of Fairfax's 20 high schools. A report released lastweek by a committee of Fairfax school officials, parents andcommunity leaders recommended hiring a consultant to determine howmuch money schools would get in exchange for naming rights.

But Fairfax's 12 school board members are divided on the issue,and they predict that county residents will be, too. For some, theschoolhouse remains the only place free of corporate intrusion, andthey believe that Fairfax should not be dipping its toes into whatthey characterize as the cesspool of commercialism.

'I don't want children to be bombarded with advertising,' said JanAuerbach, a parent from McLean who was on the fundraising committee.'I just don't want to see it in a public facility.'

But at a time of declining state revenue and increasing schoolbudgets, the school district would be wrong to ignore corporatesupport, said backers of the idea. Like it or not, commercialism isembedded in school culture, with marketers having found their captiveaudience years ago, they said.

'We are naive if we think kids do not understand the power ofmarketing and have the power to reject it,' said Dale Rumberger, theprincipal of Westfield High who also served on the fundraisingcommittee. 'Kids are much, much smarter than we give them creditfor.'

These issues are being hashed out in school districts across thenation, where tight fiscal times make such sales pitches harder toignore. In 1998, a school district in Jefferson County, Colo., soldthe naming rights of its athletic stadium to the local telephonecompany for $2 million over 10 years. But in Seattle, communityprotest forced the school board to abandon a $1 million-a-year planto sell advertising to eliminate a $35 million budget shortfall.

Prince George's County Superintendent Iris T. Metts has encouragedthe district's athletic directors to consider selling advertising andnaming rights to the county's gymnasiums, stadiums and athleticfields as a way to offset a 37 percent cut in athletic budgets. Noaction has been taken.

The Montgomery County School Board is considering a policy thatwould allow corporations -- as well as PTAs and other privateindividuals or groups -- to help pay for capital building expenses.

The current discussions in Fairfax are colliding with anincreasingly grim revenue forecast for next year. School officialsbelieve they will lose at least $36 million in state aid because ofthe sputtering state economy. In addition, school planners project aninflux of 3,000 students next year, which will cost another $28million. This year's Fairfax school budget is $1.4 billion.

At Fairfax's Westfield High School, each of the four outdoorscoreboards carries the flowery script of the Coca-Cola logo. Cellphone companies rent space to attach their towers to the tallathletic-field light posts of eight high schools for an initial$25,000 and a $2,000 monthly fee, said Tom Brady, an assistantsuperintendent.

Outside the technology labs at Thomas Jefferson High School forScience & Technology are small plaques bearing the names of thecompanies that paid for the equipment in each lab.

And vending machines are in every school, though in elementaryschools they usually are limited to teachers' lounges. Profits fromthe machines are split between the school and the district, whichuses the money to cut the price of a reduced lunch.

Marketing on school grounds allows companies to build brandloyalty with customers at a young age. And it enhances a company'sreputation to fund and receive credit for things associated with aquality education -- such as new library books or computers -- inaddition to things associated with sports, like scoreboards.

Curtis Etherly, vice president of public affairs for the Mid-Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Co., based in Columbia, said the companyis careful to let schools and communities take the lead.

'We ask our school customers to determine how that relationshipshould be shaped,' he said. 'We've never looked at putting Coke inthe classroom.'

Fairfax school officials don't know how many corporaterelationships the district has; there is no official tally. And theyacknowledge that district guidelines on advertising in schools arevague and outdated.

That's why the fundraising committee was formed. The schooldistrict found it was receiving an increasing number of proposalsfrom corporations and didn't know how to respond. 'The big questionis, what's it really worth?' said Fairfax Deputy Superintendent AlanE. Leis. 'Is there really enough money to justify it before we startdown this path?'

At a School Board meeting last week to discuss the issue, boardmembers spent about 30 minutes weighing the possibilities before amajority present said a consultant should be hired. But severalmembers expressed doubts.

'My initial reaction to a lot of this is, whoa, let's hold off,'said Cathy Belter (Springfield).

Board Chairman Jane K. Strauss (Dranesville) was equally hesitant.

'I have real reservations about selling advertising anywhere otherthan in the school newspaper,' she said.

But others insisted that it was important to look into it. 'Ithink we ought to at least have a study,' said Chris Braunlich (Lee).

'What was anathema to all of us for years, we're now saying, hey,let's get with the program,' said Dennis Nelson, the principal ofFloris Elementary School in Herndon. 'This is the 21st century. We'repossibly sitting on a gold mine, and we may not know it.'

Nelson, who also served on the fundraising committee, works in a48-year-old building, the oldest in the county that has not beenrenovated yet. He is battling mice and an erratic heating system. Hehas four trailers on his campus this year and will have seven in thenext two years.

'Schools should be holy, schools should be sacred,' Nelson said.'But the bottom line is, where is the money going to come from?'

Westfield High School is under the Dulles International Airportflight path, Rumberger said, and he wants to investigate what itwould cost to advertise on his roof -- which can't be seen by any ofhis students but is in full view of thousands of airline passengersdaily. Rumberger wouldn't estimate how much revenue he couldgenerate, but another school official said that such advertisingcould bring in about $3.5 million over 10 years.

Corporate help for Fairfax schools?; Proposed foundation prompts questions on existing nonprofit group - The Washington Post

Cash-strapped and seeking new sources of revenue, FairfaxCounty's public school system is again reaching out to the privatesector.

The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce unveiled plans Tuesday fora new nonprofit foundation that would allow companies to donatemoney to benefit the county's public schools. Stuart Mendelsohn, thechamber's outgoing chairman and a partner with the law firm Holland& Knight, said during the group's annual luncheon that a 'moreformal announcement' about the foundation would come this summerand that the new nonprofit would fill a 'much-needed' void.

But the new foundation raises questions about the future of thecounty's chief education nonprofit entity, the Fairfax EducationFoundation, which was formed in Falls Church in 1983 by a group ofarea business leaders. Since its creation, the technology-focusedgroup has raised and contributed roughly $23 million in cash andhigh-tech equipment for more than 30 county school projects. Butdonations to the organization have fallen sharply since 2004, whendonors gave nearly $600,000.

The foundation also has been locked in a long-running battle withschools Superintendent Jack D. Dale and Fairfax County School Boardmembers, who say it has done little in recent years to boost theschool system's reduced revenue.

Last year, the foundation received $329,891 in cash and in-kindcontributions, according to financial records on file with thefederal government. Its sole paid employee, Chief Executive James S.Rosebush, was paid $130,000 in salary in 2009, which issimultaneously listed as payment for fundraising performed byRosebush and his Washington firm, GrowthStrategy.

Members of the school board have been especially critical of thefoundation's fundraising efforts, calling them too focused ontechnology initiatives, and of the salary paid to Rosebush, 61, whowas an assistant to President Ronald Reagan and first lady NancyReagan and who started a financial management company more than twodecades ago.

School Board member Judith 'Tessie' Wilson (Braddock) said sheexpected the new education nonprofit organization to 'supplant theold' Fairfax Education Foundation. 'After this most recent budget, Ihad a lot of parents come up and ask me, 'Well, how can I give moneyto keep some of these programs?' ' Wilson said. 'The way the oldstructure worked, it wasn't tapping into many of the corporationsthat wanted to invest in our schools. This gives them a new option.'

Rosebush said that he was 'not aware' of the new nonprofit's formation and that the Fairfax Education Foundation's trustees wouldbe 'discussing and researching how best to move forward.' ButRosebush also said the foundation has pursued contributors on a'project-by-project basis,' pointing to a distance-learning programstarting this year that purchases video-conferencing equipment forclassrooms.

Fairfax's public schools approved a $2.2 billion budget lastmonth that cuts 200 positions, introduces new fees for sports andAdvanced Placement tests, and gets rid of programs that havesupported some of the county's poorest schools. The school system'supcoming budget is about $35 million less than last year's.

'We have worked tirelessly to raise money, and we will continueto work to achieve innovative technology solutions for theclassrooms of Fairfax County,' Rosebush said.

Tensions between the foundation and the school system have beenbrewing for years. In March 2008, Dale asked the foundation torevamp itself and focus on 'cutting-edge opportunities for ourstudents, our teachers and our schools,' according to a memo hewrote to its board. In that letter, Dale also asked for $145,000 infunding for two school programs that had recently lost county andgrant support.

But little was done, Dale said, and he resigned from the FairfaxEducation Foundation's board last year.

kravitzd@washpost.com