FEATURED
FXBG Advance
- March 28, 2024
23 views 2 min

Chronic Absenteeism on the Spotsylvania School Board

by ADELE UPHAUSMANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT Spotsylvania School Board members April Gillespie, Berkeley district representative, and Lisa Phelps, Lee Hill district representative, have either been absent or left early from nine out of the 10 meetings the School Board has held so far this year. Both board members left the January 8 organizational meeting early […]

318 POSTS
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FEATURED
FXBG Advance
- March 27, 2024
18 views 13 min

Spotsy Schools’ Maintenance Issues Threaten Buildings, Instruction

A decade’s worth of neglected maintenance and underfunding, paired with rapid growth and unprecedented demographic change, has left Spotsylvania County’s school system crippled, and facing an uncertain future. by Martin DavisEDITOR-IN-CHIEF Down in the bowels of Chancellor Middle School sits a relic from 1987. A roughly six-foot tall metal box with rows of black fuse […]

318 POSTS
Managing Editor and Correspondent ...
FEATURED
FXBG Advance
- March 20, 2024
24 views 7 min

Stafford Residents Ask Supervisors to Fund the School Division

By Adele UphausMANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT Stafford County parent Joshua Mead stood before the Board of Supervisors yesterday evening and suggested that they hold their next work session on the ground in a hallway, instead of seated at a desk in a conference room. “Or maybe you could hold these meetings in a trailer in […]

318 POSTS
Managing Editor and Correspondent ...
FEATURED
FXBG Advance
- March 15, 2024
29 views 6 min

Stafford School Board and Supervisors Working to Reschedule Last Week’s Cancelled Joint Meeting

by Adele UphausMANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT There is no date yet for a rescheduled joint meeting between the Stafford School Board and Board of Supervisors, though the clerks of both boards are discussing options. “Both boards have expressed commitment to making [the rescheduled meeting] happen and recognize the importance of cooperation,” School Board Chair Maureen […]

318 POSTS
Managing Editor and Correspondent ...
FEATURED
FXBG Advance
- March 12, 2024
22 views 2 min

Three Key Priorities for Addressing the Regional Housing Crisis

by Adele UphausMANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT The Fredericksburg Regional Housing Assembly has identified the following three top priorities for addressing the area housing crisis: The Housing Assembly is an advisory group made up of multiple stakeholders—including representatives from the Rappahannock Area Health District, Central Virginia Housing Coalition, the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors, the Rappahannock […]

318 POSTS
Managing Editor and Correspondent ...
FEATURED
FXBG Advance
- March 10, 2024
17 views 11 min

ANALYSIS: FOIA Denial Is a Problem … But Not the Most Concerning

Our local politics are on a path to diminishing the role of the citizen. It’s not too late to turn that around. by Martin DavisEDITOR-IN-CHIEF A series in the Virginia Mercury is drawing attention to the difficulties people are facing receiving documents using the Freedom of Information Act. Called FOIA Friday, it examines cases where […]

251 POSTS
by Martin Davis EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ...
FEATURED
FXBG Advance
- March 7, 2024
27 views 4 min

Stafford Supervisors to Advertise Tax Rate of $0.91.

by Adele UphausMANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT Stafford County Supervisors on Tuesday voted to advertise a real estate tax rate for calendar year 2025 of $0.91 cents per $100 of assessed value. This rate includes a levy of $0.0131 for fire and rescue capital projects. The tax rate is subject to a public hearing on March […]

318 POSTS
Managing Editor and Correspondent ...
FEATURED
FXBG Advance
- February 28, 2024
23 views 3 min

Stafford School Board Approves Budget Amendment

by Adele UphausMANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT The Stafford School Board approved its budget for the upcoming fiscal year two weeks ago, but met again on Tuesday to approve an amendment based on new state revenue projections. The budget of February 13 assumed $23.8 million in new money from the state of Virginia, based on Gov. […]

318 POSTS
Managing Editor and Correspondent ...
FEATURED
FXBG Advance
- February 26, 2024
19 views 10 min

COMMENTARY: Thwarting the Press Isn’t the Solution

Nixon’s resignation is remembered as a great victory for the media. … Even though he lost his battle to remain in power, Nixon’s way of handling the press has prevailed in American politics. Intimidating journalists, avoiding White House reporters, staging events for television—now common presidential practices—were all originally Nixonian tactics. – The Atlantic Monthly, August […]

251 POSTS
by Martin Davis EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ...
FEATURED
FXBG Advance
- February 15, 2024
17 views 4 min

Stafford School Board Approves Budget

Total to be requested from Board of Supervisors later this month is $457.2 million The Stafford School Board on Tuesday approved an operating budget for next fiscal year that will take a step towards improving the salary scale for non-licensed service staff. The board approved by a 6-to-1 vote a $457.2 million budget that includes […]

318 POSTS
Managing Editor and Correspondent ...