You can call them Learning Cottages or Modular Learning Centers, but if you call the new Middle School Mod Pod “trailers,” Superintendent Donna Power said jokingly, she will kick you out!

Power, beaming with pride, addressed a large crowd of teachers, parents, school board members and a few students at the dedication ceremony held on Monday.

Middle schools students walked into the new school on Jan. 3 with open, trusting arms according to Power, who has fielded questions from middle school students asking if the 100 year old building that was shut down due to damage will still be their school. Power tells them, “It will always be your school!” Power warns parents that the future is uncertain for the old building but assures them the school board and staff are doing everything they can to see if it can be restored to its former glory by working with FEMA and historical experts.

Power said building mandates and time constraints were challenging, but the teachers worked during their Christmas vacation to ready the building for students returning from break, adding that the Town of Colonial Beach including the Mayor, Council and Town Manager Val Foulds, have

The Colonial Beach School Board learned at the January meeting, when Superintendent Donna Power presented the first draft budget of the upcoming 2012–2013 school year, that the school may be facing a possible $292,823 budget shortfall due to stimulus money ending or declining.

Total projected revenue for the next school year is estimated at $6,963,122 and expenditures are projected at $7,255,945.

Revenues have dropped due to federal grant and stimulus American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds either reaching their end date or phasing out. Because many programs funded by these moneys are

Despite the high cost of operating a school bus, the Colonial Beach school system has only spent a little over a third of its transportation budget for the first half of the 2011-12 school year.

Richard Tunstall, Director of Transportation and Operations for Colonial Beach Schools, reported at the Dec. 14 meeting that the school has spent only $130,538 out of its yearly budget of $371,345.

Safety inspections for each school bus takes a hefty portion of the transportation budget. The Department of Education requires buses be inspected every 30 days and every 180 days at a cost $45 each inspection. Buses must also be inspected through the Virginia Department of Transportation every year at a cost of $51 each.

Gas and oil consumption runs pretty high, with buses ranging anywhere from 6 – 9 mpg, reports Tunstall, and the school is currently paying $3.63 per gallon for diesel.

“Oil is running about $16.99 per gallon,” Tunstall said, and the school is using anywhere from 5 – 8 gallons per vehicle.

The Colonial Beach Business District Revitalization Management Team (Block Grant Committee) met on Dec 12 to review the Revitalization Plan’s last chapter on implementation and reviewed cost estimates for various proposed projects to utilize sought after revitalization grant money.

If approved the Business District Revitalization Grant could net the town up to

For the second meeting in a row Colonial Beach Town Council accepted one of its member's resignations, both of whom served on the Budget Committee.

At the November meeting, Council announced the resignation of Karen Payne chair of the Budget Committee.

At the December meeting, no sooner did Council reconvene from closed session to announce Payne's replacement; Tim Curtin, but Council added to their agenda a resolution to accept Ronald

School Board Chairman, Tim Trivett, addressed citizen concerns regarding school spending at the meeting on Nov. 9. Trivett assured citizens that the school is looking at all options in relation to resolving the recent damage to the middle school and finding permanent placement for middle school students.

Sparking citizen concerns was the recent meeting with representatives of Moseley Architects, who briefly outlined the cost of housing all students Pre K-12 on one campus, either in one building or several. Trivett

Tim Trivett spoke out at Thursday’s Town Council Meeting as a private citizen airing concerns regarding activity by unnamed members of the Colonial Beach Rescue Squad. Holding leadership responsible, he raised concerns that vehicles with emergency tags were being driven at high speeds through town streets with no regard for public safety.
“For too long now, there have been a couple of vehicles that have emergency tags on them that’ve been flying up our streets, Bancroft and all into the town for emergencies and not showing any regard.” Trivett questioned whether the council would be liable for accidents resulting from a member responding to a call.
Trivett implied that some of these incidents were unwarranted, saying, “We have people that are untrained running to the scenes, to medical emergencies, it’s even after some of these scenes have already been secured and you have medical personnel there.”
Trivett also addressed the personal use of rescue squad saying, “these vehicles are being used for personal use, on a regular basis, on a daily basis!”