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.
All School Board members run as independents, but Belman received the endorsement of the Stafford Republican Party in 2001.
In a position letter posted on his Web site, Belman openly admits to being a Republican, but says he agrees with the policy that party affiliation should not impact School Board decisions.
“As such, I always look at a topic, vote, or problem with an open mind and the best interests of ALL Staffordians at heart,” he wrote.
Belman’s re-election has been endorsed by a host of Republican officials and entities, including U.S. Sen. John Warner, Rep. Jo Ann Davis, gubernatorial nominee Jerry Kilgore and Stafford Supervisor Mark Osborn.
But Belman said he’s not beholden to any political party and has friends in both parties.
“I will always use any contacts I have to advance the interests of our children,” he said.
Belman, 48, is a real-estate agent with three children enrolled in Stafford schools. He is the son of Ferris Belman, a former Stafford supervisor and Fredericksburg city councilman.
Bruce Saller
Bruce Saller said he decided to run for the Falmouth seat when he discovered “how much money the county had wasted on the PPEA [Public–Private Educational Association] for school construction.”
He said he estimated the loss at $10 million to $12 million and claims Belman let his constituents down by rushing into the costly deal.
Saller said he would be a nonpartisan representative for the district and “eliminate crowded schools, risky schemes, upset school employees and wasted taxpayer money.”
“The state established the school board as nonpartisan,” Saller said, “It’s about the interest of the children, not the goals of the Democratic or Republican parties. I think Mr. Belman tries to put a political spin on a lot of the things he does.”
Saller has received endorsements from former Stafford School Board member and Supervisor Becky Reed, and from Janet Kimbrell, who is on the Clearview Heights Civic Association’s board of directors.
Saller said he wants to ensure Stafford children receive an excellent education by hiring excellent teachers. To do that, the county must pay teachers adequately, he said.
Saller said he “would investigate the feasibility of providing a moving assistance package” to further attract strong teachers.
Saller has also pledged to address school crowding and to vigorously lobby the state for more funding.
The county needs to build cost-efficient schools to match the growing school population while maintaining and upgrading older facilities, he said.
“Rocky Run is too crowded, and Stafford High is going to be that way soon,” he said.
Saller said he also wants state officials to fund Stafford schools the same way it does those in Northern Virginia and to pay for additional teaching positions. For example, the state contributes dollars to teaching jobs tied to Standard of Learning exams, but none to arts or transportation positions.
Saller, 52, is an electrical engineer at the Dahlgren naval base in King George County. His two sons graduated from Stafford High.
He has lived in Stafford since 1980, except for 1991–95, when he moved to England to help the Royal Navy on a submarine project as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Saller was treasurer of the Stafford High Athletic Boosters Club for four years, treasurer of Pleasant Valley Swim Club for three years, and has assisted his homeowners association with finances. As part of his job at Dahlgren, he works with construction projects, a knowledge base he said would transfer to his work with the School Board.
Saller lives in Clearview Heights with his wife, Catherine.
To reach MELISSA NIX: 540/374-5418 mnix@freelancestar.com
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.”