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Saller challenges incumbent Belman for Stafford School Board’s Falmouth seat Date published: 11/3/2005
By MELISSA NIX
As growth in Stafford County continues to head south, Falmouth District students are feeling the squeeze. Southern Stafford has fewer and more crowded schools than the northern part of the county, where the population has long been concentrated. The two men vying for the Falmouth District seat on the School Board approach the issue differently. Incumbent Robert Belman would like to continue to explore public–private partnerships and other creative, yet fiscally conservative ways to build new schools. Challenger Bruce Saller is calling for an end to “risky schemes”—a reference to the public–private partnership the county entered into to build three recent schools. School officials voted to terminate the contract before the third school, Conway Elementary, was completed.
Robert Belman The incumbent has represented Falmouth since 2001. In a written statement announcing his candidacy, Belman pledged to “ease the burden on our homeowners, in dealing with the growth and influx of children that are coming to our schools,” and “to work cooperatively with the [Stafford] Board of Supervisors. If re-elected, Belman wants to expand partnerships between schools and businesses. He also said he wants to research ways to reduce school-construction costs. He has been a strong supporter of public–private partnerships to build schools. Belman mentioned that a recent value engineering study discovered ways to shave $675,000 off the district’s current middle-school design prototype. He also pledged to keep employees’ salaries competitive and “to bring about fiscal responsibility.” “I have always and will continue to work in the best interest of not only students and employees of the school division, but also taxpayers. Our decisions affect every taxpayer regardless of having children in the schools or not,” he said. Belman is credited with bringing Adopt-a-Classroom to Stafford schools during his board tenure. The nonprofit organization matches up $500 donors with classroom teachers and their students. The money is used to buy classroom supplies. He also launched “Breakfast Buddies,” a mentorship program in which an adult eats breakfast with a child once or twice a month. “There are a lot of things we can do to help our children without throwing dollar signs at them,” he said.
Read more stories about Stafford Date published: 11/3/2005
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