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The Solid Waste division of the Department of Public Works operates the county's landfill. [Courtesy of DPW]
Many of Prince William County's supervisors seemed wary of changing the county landfill's hours and days of operation in the Board's March 4 meeting.

As part of the fiscal year 2026 budget process, the Department of Public Works (DPW) requested the landfill change its hours to 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and open on Sundays. Currently, the landfill is open 69 hours per week Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Khattab Shammout, the DPW director, said he heard many Board members call on him to consider reopening the landfill on Sundays when he was first appointed. Shammout said he was concerned with maintaining the facility's current hours and adding an extra day of work.

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Welcome to a new Potomac Local News series, "Meet Prince William."

We've started this series so Prince William County residents can get to know the important people working behind the scenes to make the county run smoothly and efficiently. This is an opportunity to learn from experts on the county.

We'll be continuing this series with other leaders; please let us know who you'd like to know more about in the comments! Potomac Local has asked each leader the same questions in bold, and their respective answers will be found below.

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Osbourn High School. [Courtesy of Homes.com]
A total of 30% of Osbourn High School's students are chronically absent, showing slight improvement in absenteeism rates in the 2024-2025 school year.

The Manassas City Public Schools (MCPS) Board received an update on chronic absenteeism in the district on Feb. 25 from Jennifer Cassata, MCPS' executive director of accountability and finance.

Cassata said addressing absenteeism takes a village, and the district has just that. MCPS has employed a hierarchical structure of those accountable for students, including counselors, teachers, attendance officers, administrative associates and principals.

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A rendering of the new Jennie Dean Elementary School, memorializing the namesake of the school in the lobby. [Courtesy of Manassas City Public Schools]
Manassas City Public Schools recently unveiled the interior plans for the new Jennie Dean Elementary School that incorporate history and curriculum into the design.

"We have intentionally designed some of the interior to not only focus on our learning but also honor the legacy of Jennie Dean," Deputy Superintendent Craig Gfeller said at the School Board's Feb. 25 meeting. "... I want to thank our partner, the Manassas Museum, who has been a real partner to us in gathering artifacts to be able to authentically honor the legacy of Jennie Dean."

As of January, construction began on the new school site with safety barriers and signage being installed. Due to inclement weather, the construction crew had to work around cold temperatures and wet conditions, the progress report stated.

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[alleksana via Pexels]
March will be a busy and "lucky" month around Prince William County and Manassas with several budget meetings and activities scheduled. Take a look at some highlighted events and meetings.

Tuesday (March 4)

Wednesday (March 5)

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Manassas City Council members praised the Manassas City Police Department (MCPD) at its recent meeting for its resilience from leadership changes and efforts to reduce crime.

The body's Feb. 24 meeting featured an MCPD annual report on 2024. The former interim police chief, Trey Lawler, gave the presentation alongside Doug Keen, the former interim city manager who stepped down from his position as MCPD chief to fill the role in November 2023.

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Manassas City Public Schools is funded mostly by state aid. [Courtesy of MCPS]
At Tuesday night's fiscal year 2026 budget presentation, Manassas City Public Schools (MCPS) staff proposed the district cut funding to intervention services to balance the budget for next year.

Taft Kelly, MCPS' director of finance, said with proposed staff salary increases of 5.5% — or $5.2 million — and the revenue coming to the district only increasing by $4.7 million, tough decisions had to be made.

"The math ... is not really 'mathing' that well," Kelly said.

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Manassas City receives most of its funding from local property taxes. [Courtesy of Manassas City]
On Monday night, Police Chief — and former interim city manager — Douglas Keen presented the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget to Manassas City Council, proposing a nearly 8% increase in the average resident's tax bill.

Keen said the total budget for FY26 was $327.8 million, a 1.7% decrease from the adopted budget in fiscal year 2025, which was $333.6 million.

"This decrease is due to the large use of one-time funds for capital projects in the previous year, primarily the purchase of Marstellar [Middle School] and the Manassas Shopping Center," Keen said.

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Happy Friday, Manassas! Welcome to another City Council preview, this time for the Feb. 24 regular meeting. This week’s meeting will be held at the City Hall Council Chambers at 9027 Center St.

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