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Falmouth School Board race a spirited one

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.

Robert Belman Sr., 48, Republican running as an independent Occupation: Realtor, Century 21 TEAM Real Estate Education: National Business College, degree in business administration Address: Deacon Road Offices held: Falmouth District representative, School Board Date of birth: Feb. 11, 1957 Place of birth: Fredericksburg Family: Wife, Larolyn; three children, ages 10 to 17 Community activities: Member, Fredericksburg United Methodist Church; Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge 4; Edward H. Cann Daylight Lodge 1752; Fredericksburg Elks Lodge 875; Adopt-a-Classroom program Platform: “I will work to bring about fiscal responsibility and accountability in a school division whose budget now exceeds a quarter-of-a-billion dollars and make sure all our students—regardless of educational level—have the tools necessary to compete in school and life.” Why voters should choose Belman: “I will continue to work with our Board of Supervisors to ensure that new schools are constructed to keep up with growth, that our budget needs are funded and that we are accountable to the taxpayers for every dollar we spend.” Bruce Saller, 52, independent Occupation: Electrical engineer, Dahlgren naval base Education: Lehigh University, bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering Address: Collingwood Drive Offices held: None Date of birth: Oct. 21, 1953 Place of birth: Paterson, N.J. Family: Wife, Catherine; two children, 21 and 18 Community activities: St. Vincent de Paul Society; Knights of Columbus; Cub Scouts; boy’s basketball coach; treasurer and board member of Pleasant Valley Swim Club; treasurer and board member of Clearview Heights Civic Association; treasurer and board member of Stafford High School Athletic Boosters Platform: “I will provide a great education for our children in the face of significant enrollment growth. We need to hire the best available teachers, and ensure their compensation and benefits are competitive with neighboring counties. We need to build cost-efficient schools, and plan them so that existing schools do not become overcrowded.” Why voters should choose Saller: “I will bring independent, fiscally responsible, team-building leadership to the School Board and eliminate crowded schools, risky schemes, upset school employees and wasted taxpayer money.”

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Date published: 11/3/2005