Beverly George, 71, a retired Fairfax County teacher, voted for the bonds yesterday at Mosby Woods Elementary School. "It's very important that the schools have the money just to keep up with what they have," George said.
For decades, Fairfax has been building new schools to keep up with its own population boom. But Fairfax's population has topped 1 million -- about four times Loudoun's -- and the school population has leveled off. Fairfax officials say their new focus is on renovating older schools.
Of the $246.3 million in Fairfax school bonds, $32.8 million is for new construction, including $19 million for an elementary school on Coppermine Road; $35 million is for projects such as technology networks, security and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and $177.1 million is for a range of costly renovations.
The renovation of Edison High School in the Alexandria section of Fairfax, for instance, is expected to total $63 million. The biggest-ticket item on the Loudoun school bond list was $63.5 million, to build and equip the new Western Loudoun Area High School.
Lawhorne said his "top priority" is going to be improving relations with the Alexandria Police Department, adding that he wants the sheriff's office to be more involved in emergency preparedness. The flubbed response to Hurricane Katrina demonstrates the dangers of a lack of coordination, he said. "New Orleans reminds us of how important it is for all the agencies to work together."
The race for Alexandria sheriff blurred party lines. Dunning, a Democrat who has been sheriff since 1985, endorsed Cleveland, saying he did not consider the sheriff's job a partisan office. Mayor William D. Euille (D) and S. Randolph Sengel, the city's top prosecutor, both endorsed Lawhorne.
The sheriff's office has more than 200 employees and manages the city jail, which has held numerous high-profile detainees in recent years, including terrorism suspects and New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who was detained for 85 days on contempt charges in the CIA leak investigation.
Each of the candidates said during the campaign that he was better equipped to work with young people and prevent gang violence.
Richard Freshwater, 50, a financial planner, said he voted for Lawhorne because "his experience is going to make him a good sheriff." He said he found it particularly significant that Lawhorne has been the police liaison with T.C. Williams High School. "It is good to know that people in that position will keep up with schools," he said.
In Arlington, Fendley, a longtime State Department officer, said he would work with his colleagues to expand foreign language programs at the elementary school level. "That's when kids are most able to master languages," he said, adding that he hopes to see programs in Chinese and Arabic.
