School Officials, "Good Things Come in Threes."

Most people dreaded work Monday, but Manassas Park City Schools officials were energized and enthused, carrying the mood over into that evening's school board meeting.

The meeting room was chalked full of some of the school districts' brightest— members of the Manassas Park High School academic and wrestling teams who were recognized Monday by the school board for their accomplishments in February.

The academic team became the number three school in the state of Virginia Saturday after it successfully competed in the Scholastic Bowl at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.

Just a week or so before Saturday's victory, the Manassas Park wrestling team became the Virginia Group A Champions. 

To top it off  was the recent publishing of a study by the Center of American Progress, which found that Manassas Park has one of the most efficient school districts in the Washington D.C. area.

Word about the study spread quickly through the school district and out into the community Monday after several people saw an article mentioning Manassas Park's lofty ranking in the Washington Post on Sunday, school officials said.

"Mr. Chairman (and) members of the school board, good things come in threes," Manassas Park City Schools Superintendent Dr. Bruce McDade said. "We've had just a string of good news ...We spent our dollars wisely and we continued to produce outstanding academic achievement."

Manassas Park varsity wrestling Coach Michael Wilbourn addressed his team and the school board Monday and spoke about their amazing season and photo finish.

"We started off and these guys just kept on producing and really believed and had a lot of heart this entire year," Wilbourn said.

 Manassas Park academic team Coach Ray Morelli told the board that his team is just that—a team. His students never gave up and continued fighting down to the very end, he said.

School Board Member Appreciation Month.

In addition to recognizing students and coaches, the Manassas Park school board was recognized Monday for their hard work and received certificates in honor of School Board Member Appreciation Month.

 "In addition to working very, very hard, they have a great deal of passion for what we do in our schools," McDade said.

McDade said he was moved by the school board's responsiveness after he sent the members text messages about the wrestling teams' successes.

"Immediately, my phone begins to buzz and hum and light up and they are all responding with notes of congratulations ... they are school board members 24/7 and they were quick to text me to let everybody know how proud they were and to offer their congratulations," McDade said.

Board members and division administrators had the same reaction Saturday when they learned of the academic challenge team's successes, he said. 

Just before presenting each school board member with certificates,McDade spoke a little about each person.

Michael Wine: Chairman of the school board since 2008. Appointed in 2005. Wine's two sons were taught in Manassas Park City Schools.

Brenda Foster: She became vice chairwoman of the school board in 2009, two years after her appointment to the body.   Foster has a daughter who is a student at Manassas Park City Schools.

Rachel Kirkland: Member of the school board since 2008. Kirkland is a teacher and a librarian and has two sons, one attends Manassas Park Elementary and the other attends Cougar Elementary.

Ron Gill: A former teacher who was appointed to the body in 2009. He has one daughter who attends Cougar Elementary.

Tricia Rhodes: Has a son who attends Manassas Park Middle School and a daughter at Manassas Park Elementary school.

Dana Williams: The clerk of the school board.  Williams has a child who attends Manassas Park High School and a son who attends Manassas Park Middle School.

Social Issues

Social issues pertinent to the well being of the students in the school division were also discussed at Monday's meeting.

Manassas Park Special Services Programs Director Jen Braswell-Geller spoke briefly about a school program that had been implemented in response to issues such as bullying and suicides in surrounding counties and municipalities.

Heather Martinsen, a Prince William County Community Services New Horizons therapist, spoke to the body Monday about those issues and explained what the program was doing to assist Manassas Park students. 

Martinsen is in the high school twice a week to help students, staff and parents with any issues they may be facing.

 Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people 10-24 years old, she said.

"There really is no typical person who commits suicide, it affects all of us in  different realms of life," Martinsen said. "Ninety percent of people who commit suicide has some diagnosable mental health disorder."

Many young people have alcohol and substance abuse issues that are masking a mental health disorder, Martinsen said.

Some people communicate their suicidal intent, be it by their actions or just outright verbalizing that they may take their own lives, she said.

School Division Financial Report

The activities center report shows that at seven months into the year, expenditures are at about 44 percent. This does not include regional tuition which is about $130,000 less than what was projected, resulting in a savings, said Krista Kelly, Manassas Park City Schools director of financial services. 

This brings the expenditure total to 46 percent.

"We're doing well on our expenditures, we are saving some. We aren't drastically cutting, Kelly said.

There are a few places where expenditures are over 50 percent, she said. 

One of those places is in the school board expenses where the expenditure is at 71 percent, she said.

This makes sense, as the majority of the money is spent on dues and subscriptions as well as registrations for professional organizations and conferences, she said. 

Expenditures for the division's information technology is at 62 percent. The 200-student enrollment in August pushed the division beyond a four percent increase threshold, she said.  Student data system licenses had to be re-evaluated and there was an increase in cost, Kelly said. 

Transportation is at 63 percent, she said. This solely  because of expenditures in maintenance and repair.

This empathizes the need to get back on the school bus repurchasing cycle, Kelly said. Spare buses and news buses are needed.