You can find other job openings in the school division here.

The suggestions include several positions–a transition specialist, a behavior specialist and a part-time clerk of the board. All positions suggested so far would be lost through attrition.

However, School Board members have warned that if they must go ahead with $1 million in cuts targeted to administration, they will have to fire people.

Supervisors have suggested that they want the school division to move instructional coordinators to classroom positions–a change which is reflected in the budget scenarios that the School Board will consider tonight.

But that move, while saving the division $396,000, would not change the bottom line of the administrative costs at all. Instructional coordinator paychecks are not in that category; they are in the instruction category.

The administrative positions include the School Board members, the superintendent, 13 human resources employees and the offices of public information; facilities, planning, design and construction; financial services; purchasing and planning. In all, administration includes 52.9 full-time positions. That category includes attendance, health services, psychological services and educational interpreters. But most of those 81 positions address mandated services.

Other money-saving options on the table include: cutting technology, reducing leave (and substitute teaching costs), moving math coaches into the classroom and having students pay to participate in extracurricular activities.

“At this point now, we’re hitting the bottom of the barrel,” School Board member Dana Reinboldt said. “We’re having to make decisions we would prefer not to make.”

Bridges then left the meeting without comment, but said in a press release that he would spend more time with his family. His wife remained in North Carolina when he came to lead Stafford schools, and the press release said that it was getting harder to be away from his family, which also includes aging parents. Bridges brought his father to the meeting in 2010 when the School Board hired him by unanimous vote.

Bridges was the county’s first black superintendent since the schools were desegregated. He had been a teacher, basketball coach, assistant principal, principal and superintendent before coming to Stafford schools.

In the press release, Bridges said:

 ”I have been fortunate to work with some extraordinary educators during my career, and my professional colleagues in Stafford are amongst the best.  We have outstanding building level administrators leading our schools, and my visits to classrooms across the division have consistently revealed that our teachers are among the best I have seen at their craft.  Our central office staff has a clear understanding of their roles as support agents and capacity builders for our schools.  I am pleased that the academic performance of our students has remained at high levels during my time in the division.”

The School Board will appoint an interim superintendent to lead the schools while members search for another superintendent. This all comes while the board is already in the middle of two lengthy discussions–on the school’s early retirement incentive program and its budget for the next fiscal year. The board will meet Wednesday to talk more about those two issues.

The School Board created a task force of retirees and current employees to develop a substitute program that would be legal. That task force came back with a plan that would include a work component and would ditch the maximum age limit. First estimates suggested the plan would cost $300,000 more than the $1.1 million initially budgeted for the program. Later, they learned that it could cost another $250,000 because the program might need to include participants who aged out of the program earlier and who could sue the school division for age discrimination if not allowed to participate in the revised program.

The School Board has a budget work session scheduled for tomorrow, and members said that they didn’t want to vote on a program that needs more money while considering some severe budget cuts.

The 53-foot tractor trailer contains a number of interactive exhibits, which connect visitors with the personal stories behind the country’s bloodiest war. Displays include a letter from a dying soldier to his father, a hushed conversation between husband and wife about fleeing to safety, an 8-year-old girl’s complaints about rude Yankee soldiers and accounts of the chaos on the battlefields.

The HistoryMobile has been on the road since 2011 and has made more than 70 stops and shown the details of the Civil War to more than 60,000 visitors.

The history on wheels tour will continue into 2015.

The exhibit is an initiative of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission.

Another work session on the budget has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 15 at    6 p.m. in the Executive Session Room of the Alvin York Bandy Administrative Complex.

For details on the Stafford County School Board schedule, contact Cathy Torkos, Clerk of the Board, 540/658-6630.  The Alvin York Bandy Administrative Complex is at 31 Stafford Avenue, Stafford. 

Green also serves as the Student Council Association advisor and is a group facilitator for GirlSmarts.

Green earned her bachelor in fine arts in visual communications from the University of Delaware* and a master’s of education from the University of Mary Washington. Green began teaching at Hampton Oaks in 2006. The Washington Post also recognized Green as The Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher recipient for Stafford County. The award recognizes teachers who work hard to ensure children receive a high-quality education.

Other Stafford annual honors and awards include:

• Daria Groover, Principal of the Year, Hampton Oaks Elementary School
• Bonnie Norton from Moncure Elementary School as Assistant Principal of the Year
• Park Ridge Elementary School’s Chelsea Gutshall as the “First Class Teacher of the Year” (an award for first year teachers)
• Theresa Cox from Rodney Thompson Middle School as Counselor of the Year

Click here for more details on awards and honors at Stafford County Public Schools.

*This information corrects a mistake which said that Green earned a history degree.

Groover, principal of Hampton Oaks Elementary School, joined Stafford County Schools as Hampton Oaks’ principal in 2006 following a distinguished career as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in other school districts in Maryland, California and northern Virginia.

Groover was named Principal of the Year because of her  creativity, innovation and positive, can-do attitude which encouraged staff members to explore their own creativity in innovative ways.

Groover has led Hampton Oaks Elementary to successfully meet all annual measurable objectives during the 2011-2012 school year. She is a district trainer for The Skillful Teacher program and has served as a member of the professional growth system committee revising the teacher evaluation system.

In a nomination letter from teacher Michele Kreisman, Groover was described as “a true leader of our professional learning community. She expects the best for our school and makes the achievement of our students her top priority. She is creative in her problem solving and values the input of the school community in helping achieve the Hampton Oaks mission to meet the needs of every student, everyday in every classroom.”

Groover earned her Bachelor of Music degree in music education and her Masters of Education from Bowie State University. She holds an endorsement in administration and supervision. She began her career in education as a music teacher in Maryland and served as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in Fairfax County before becoming principal of Hampton Oaks Elementary.

The Washington Post has also recognized Groover in their Distinguished Educational Leadership Awards program that acknowledges school principals for their creative and quality instruction and contribution to the improvement of education in the Washington metropolitan area. The Distinguished Educational Leadership Awards were established to spotlight principals who create exceptional educational environments for their students. The Distinguished Educational Leadership Awards winners are honored at a Washington Post reception and are given the opportunity to participate in an off-site seminar focusing on media and crisis communication.

Groover lives in Stafford County with her husband, Byron, and daughter, Hayley.