Metz Middle School Principal Gary Morris provided the Manassas City Council with an update about students at its campus.
The first-year principal highlighted the school’s intellectual disabilities program, which allows students to volunteer in the community. Students in the program regularly volunteer at Grace Methodist Church in Manassas.
Morris did not say how many children were in the program or when it was founded. A school division spokeswoman did not return our request for comment.
Morris also highlighted the school’s performing arts programs, with students participating in the all-city choral and band programs.
Morris’ update was part of a regular briefing the city’s school board delivers to the city council.
More than 1,100 students are enrolled at Metz Middle School, 9950 Wellington Road.
The City of Manassas School Board seeks rising juniors and seniors interested in becoming Student representatives for the School Board. Students must apply online before April 17, 2023.
The Board will select two students to serve a year-long term and be a voice for all Manassas City Public School students.
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During a Manassas City Council meeting on Monday, March 27, we learned Councilman Tom Osina pulled his proposal to fund the city schools categorically.
Osina issued the proposal, threatening to withhold funding from the city's public schools if it did not come forward with plans to rebuild the 60-year-old elementary school, at 9061 Dean Lane, by July 2024.
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Pressure is mounting on the Manassas City School Board to build a replacement for the 64-year-old Jennie Dean Elementary School. Manassas City Councilman Mark Wolfe said the governing body increased taxes on homeowners for years to provide the school building with about $60 million needed.
Today, construction on the school has yet to begin, and the school division has shifted its focus and wants to purchase 8700 Centreville Road, the largest office building in the city, to house its central office, as well as serve as a landlord to existing office tenants like Apple Federal Credit Union.
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The Manassas School Board will meet on Tuesday, March 14, to discuss the replacement of Jennie Dean Elementary School.
The school replacement has been a point of contention between the city council, which raised taxes to fund a new school several years ago only to find construction has yet to begin.
City council members made their frustrations known during a joint meeting in late 2022 and again this year when considering adjusting the school board’s budget to allow it to purchase the city’s largest office building at 8700 Centreville Road.
A proposal from one council member threatens that if the city council adjusts the school division budget and doesn’t present a clear plan to build a new Jennie Dean Elementary School, the city will enact control over the school division’s budget.
School boards in Virginia do not have the power to levy taxes.
The city council is expected to vote on the measure on March 27.
Meanwhile, the Manassas City School Board will meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Jennie Dean Elementary school, 9601 Prince William Street in Manassas. The meeintg is open to the public, and you can watch a meeting live stream.
The school was opened in the late 1950s.
Manassas City Public Schools will hold a job fair on March 25.
With about 7,000 students, the city school division will hire for multiple positions across all grade levels.
The job fair will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 25. There is no set location for the job fair.
The starting salary for a full-time teacher is $52,135.
Interested applicants should register for the job fair using this link.
A school division spokeswoman tells us:
We’re interviewing for SY 23 – 24. We are hiring from pre-K to 12th grade. Historically, we’ve hired 80 – 100 new teachers to begin the school year. Other positions that are most needed are speech-language pathologists and school psychologists.
.@McpsHr is looking for teachers to join MCPS! Full-time and part-time positions are available. If you are interested, register for the upcoming job fair at https://t.co/xfGAZtwUSb and you will be contacted regarding your appointment.
We look forward to meeting with you! pic.twitter.com/TZvvSpSY1L
— ManassasCitySchools (@mymcpsva) February 22, 2023
The Manassas City Council took no action on the proposed purchase of the largest office building in the city during its meeting Monday, February 27, 2023.
The Manassas City School Board is asking the city council to allow it to spend nearly $11 million on the largest office building in Manassas.
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Manassas City Public Schools will activate a series of new metal detectors at Osbourn High School, the city's only high school, Monday, March 6.
Manassas will become the first school division in our region to install and activate metal detectors in schools. The school division installed Evolv Express Lane scanners, commonly used at sporting events and concerts.
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The Manassas City School Board is asking the city council to allow it to spend nearly $11 million on the largest office building in Manassas.
With the purchase, the city council threatens the school board to categorically fund the school division in future years if it doesn’t start constructing a new Jennie Dean Elementary School before July 2025. Historically, the city council — which funds the school system due to the school board’s lack of taxing authority — has given a lump sum of cash to pay for school operations, no questions asked.
A new Jennie Dean Elementary School has been a sticking point between the school board and city council, which voted to raise taxes to fund the new school put on the back burner. In contrast, the school division focused on other projects like the purchase of 8700 Centreville Road.
This year, the city council transferred $139 million to the school division, about 55 cents on every dollar the city collected. The school transfer is the largest allocation in the budget.
Last year, the city council entertained purchasing 8700 Centreville Road, which houses Apple Federal Credit Union and several other businesses. The public school division leases a portion of the building to house its administrative office.
The city council held public hearings on the matter in September and October. Few people spoke during the public hearing.
The school said it will use the 56,000-square-foot building that opened 24 years ago, to house its central office, and use the additional space for future programs at the school division headquarters, like career and technical education and daycare, explained school board members.
On Monday, the city council’s proposal would require the schools to house the city’s social services offices and a customer service center for the city’s utility office, where residents may pay utility bills. A new customer service center is now housed in a former DMV at Godwin Drive, and Gateway Boulevard does not have a window for utility payments.
The school board ditched a plan to occupy the old police station on Wellington Road — a structure the city already owns — and complained the building is too small for its needs. It’s unclear what will happen to the old police station now that the department is relocated to a new public safety center on Grant Avenue.
The school division would become a landlord for the existing businesses inside the building until the business leases expire. In November 2023, PLN was there when city council members met the school board with a lukewarm reception when it pitched the idea.
You can read more about the potential transaction here in city documents. The Manassas City Council will take up the matter on its Monday, February 27 meeting, starting at 5:30 p.m. at Jennie Dean Elementary School, 9601 Prince William Street in Manassas.
More than 7,500 students attend Manassas City Public Schools.
