Fairfax County School Board Minutes

August 10, 1967: The Board confirmed its approval of preliminary plans as submitted for the Sydenstricker Elementary School.

December 7, 1967: Sydenstricker Elementary School—duplication of Pine Ridge design. The Board awarded contract for the construction of the Sydenstricker Elementary School to Burroughs & Preston, Inc., low bidder, in the amount of $599,700.

March 28, 1968: Decision on the naming of the Sydenstricker Chapel School was deferred at the request of Board Members.

April 11, 1968: Mrs. Plissner moved that the elementary school presently called Sydenstricker Chapel Elementary School be officially named the Hunt Valley Elementary School.

February 6, 1969: RESOLUTION REQUESTING APPROVAL OF EXISTING SITE AT HUNT VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR PROPOSED ADDITION. WHEREAS, the County School Board of Fairfax County, Virginia, has decided to enlarge Hunt Valley Elementary School to house 990 pupils; and WHEREAS, the site is 12.8949 acres in size, and State Regulation 10,413 requires that the site be 13.90 acres to serve a 990 pupil elementary school; and WHEREAS, the entire site is surrounded by existing or under construction single family development; and WHEREAS, if additional land is acquired, it would necessitate the purchase of individual homes, the cost of which would be prohibitive; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That the State Board of Education be requested to grant the County School Board of Fairfax County an exception to the subject regulation and approve the existing site.

March 13, 1969: Hunt Valley Elementary School Addition. The present plant is located on a 12.89 acre site containing 22 classrooms. Preliminary plans call for adding 11 additional classrooms for a total pupil capacity of 990. This site is very narrow and parking space is quite limited. The principal has requested that a separate office area be designed in the new addition, allowing the administrative staff to decentralize within the building. The Board approved the preliminary plans for Hunt Valley Elementary School.

March 27, 1969: Hunt Valley was one of eight schools proposed to do a self-study in 1969-70 for accreditation in 1971.

October 16, 1969: ...Mrs. Plissner noted that the same situation is almost true at the Hunt Valley School which has a 990 capacity upon completion of the addition. She noted that this school was built for 600 pupil capacity when originally built and that time was wasted in having to go back to the original architect to draw plans for the addition to bring it up to 990 capacity. She noted also that the staff is anticipating an enrollment of 1,244 pupils in this school in the fall of 1970. She also noted that on the previous day the Board of Supervisors had approved the rezoning of two tracts of land across the road from Hunt Valley Elementary Schools which in 1970 will mean that more children will be coming to the schools in this area. She wanted to alert the Board that it has not heard the end of the crisis school situation in the Springfield District and urged the Board to do more long range planning in the area.

October 23, 1969: The School Board awarded the contract for the addition and alterations to Hunt Valley Elementary School to Whitener & Skillman, Inc., in the amount of $526,787.

September 3, 1970: The addition and modernization of Cardinal Forest and Hunt Valley Elementary Schools were substantially completed and released for occupancy.

February 6, 1971: Mr. Davis proposed that the Kings Park, Kings Glen, Burke, and Hunt Valley Elementary Schools all have separate principalships next year. Mrs. Plissner opposed a separate principalship for Burke School pointing out it had only a little over 100 pupils this year and that the Hunt Valley Elementary School has no relief school except Burke; therefore, she felt these two schools should continue to operate as a complex. Mr. Davis agreed and advised the staff would check out the effect of this arrangement on the positions proposed in the budget. (This “complex” arrangement may have been in place as early as 1968 when Barbara Fry was listed as “Lead Principal” for both schools in H.R. records. She was listed as the principal of Burke Elementary from August 1965 to January 30, 1970).

February 11, 1971: The School Board granted the Community Covenant Church continued use of the Hunt Valley Elementary School to June 30, 1971. (This gets renewed in June 1971 to June 30, 1972).

November 18, 1971: Mrs. Plissner cited the example of Hunt Valley Elementary School where children living adjacent to that school were housed in another school at some distance away because of overcrowding at Hunt Valley.

April 18, 1974: The School Board approved boundary adjustments affecting Burke, Hunt Valley, Keene Mill, West Springfield, and Laurel Ridge Elementary Schools.

June 20, 1974: Citizen Participation - Mr. Robert Logan, President, Burke Elementary School PTA, stated that parents of students at Burke School were acutely aware of inadequacies of old schools and would not support the proposed bond referendum without the assurance of immediate funds to alleviate some of the current problems and bring Burke School closer to having those facilities already available at newer schools. Noted that this school had previously been scheduled to be phased out with the opening of Hunt Valley School and again with the opening of Orange Hunt School but was now planned to operate until 1978. It was conceivable that subsequent to 1978, Burke School might still be needed. Submitted a list of suggested improvements and approximate costs totaling some $50,000 which they felt was a minimal share of equity for that school community.

May 12, 1977: Mr. Caussin distributed a memorandum giving information about the location of the new elementary school in the Pohick area. Approximately 600 elementary students residing within walking distance of the Burke Elementary School/proposed Rolling Valley West site would be divided between four schools, i.e., the current Burke Elementary School, the Burke Elementary School kindergarten housed at Hunt Valley Elementary School, the Keene Mill Elementary School, and Orange Hunt Elementary School. The program capacity for the Burke Elementary School was 265 students. Mr. Caussin stated that Hunt Valley and the Orange Hunt Elementary Schools would be hard pressed to provide housing for the students from those two areas much less provide housing for students from the Burke Centre area.

January 30, 1978: Ms. Cathy Belter, President, Hunt Valley Elementary School PTA. The PTA accepted the overall budget and were pleased with the proposed budget for the Hunt Valley Elementary School.

August 24, 1978: Chairman Page called the attention of the Board to the special network program being televised that evening which was the last of a three-part series on the subject "Is Anybody Out There Learning?" Television monitors had been set up in the Board room for the Board to watch a segment of this program that had been filmed in the Hunt Valley Elementary School in Fairfax County.

January 25, 1979: Mr. Lacey stated that Burke Elementary School had not had kindergarten students for some time. These students were attending Hunt Valley Elementary School. The Hunt Valley Elementary School currently had 954 pupils enrolled in a plant with a capacity of 850. The September 1979 membership projection was 980 students. Mr. Lacey proposed to move 17 students living in the Lake Forest area now attending Orange Hunt Elementary School to the Hunt Valley Elementary School. Those students had originally been assigned to Orange Hunt because there was not space at Hunt Valley. Mr. Lacey also proposed that a total of 69 students now attending Hunt Valley be transferred to Rolling Valley West, Burke Elementary, and Keene Mill Elementary Schools.

May 13, 1982: The School Board approved boundary adjustments affecting the attendance areas of Belvedere, Brookfield, Greenbriar West, Hunt Valley, Parklawn, and Rolling Valley Elementary Schools; Hayfield and Irving Intermediate Schools; and Chantilly, Hayfield, Robinson, and West Springfield High Schools.

January 23, 1986: Mrs. Korologos asked if Cherry Run would be the primary beneficiary of the proposed school at Sangster Branch. Dr. Webb replied that Cherry Run would benefit most, but that overcrowding at White Oaks, Orange Hunt, Hunt Valley, and Newington Forest would also be relieved.

May 8, 1986: The School Board awarded the contract for re-roofing/repairs at Annandale Terrace Elementary School to R.D. Bean, Inc., in the amount of $72,885; at Hunt Valley Elementary School to George Construction Co., Inc., in the amount of $184,743; and at Navy Elementary School to J. E. Wood & Sons Co., Inc., in the amount of $105,372.

March 8, 1990: The School Board awarded the contract for construction of classrooms for the SACC Program at Hunt Valley and Oak View Elementary Schools to Golden Construction, Inc., in the amount of $483,950.

May 12, 1994: Mr. Miles went on to congratulate Hunt Valley Elementary School on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, which he had attended the previous week.

September 28, 1995: The School Board awarded the contract for renewal of Hunt Valley Elementary School to Henley Construction Co., Inc. in the amount of $5,343,600.

July 10, 2003: Cathy Belter, Springfield District Commendation: To the Hunt Valley Elementary School community for developing a summer reading program for students.

June 10, 2004: Catherine Belter, Springfield District Commendations: To Hunt Valley Elementary School on its Medieval Fest.

March 4, 2010: The School Board awarded the contracts for the re-roofing projects to Orndorff & Spaid in the amounts of $377,729 for Little Run Elementary School; $449,638 for Forestdale Elementary School; $449,903 for Marshall Road Elementary School; and $714,497 for Hunt Valley Elementary School.

Newspaper Articles

The Connection Newspaper

February 28, 2007: Playing Ball with the Fellas.

August 6, 2007: Local Schools. Hunt Valley Elementary School - Special programs: autism center; homework club; Virginia Young Reader's Summer Reading club, art club, flex program language classes, SCA, Be Smart, Don't Start club.

August 14, 2013: David Fee to Lead Hunt Valley. Easy-going, approachable principal offers inclusive style of leadership.

The Evening Star

January 25, 1969, Weekender Page 2: Action Line. The new Hunt Valley School on Sydenstricker Road in Springfield has been open since September and the 35-mph speed limit and lack of warning signs are dangerous to children. The Fairfax County police have been notified of the problem three times, but nothing has been done to alleviate this problem. – Lt. Col. W. B. C. Response: A State Highway Department engineer, a county police lieutenant, and the school’s principal consulted on the site and concluded that federal and state regulations are met and the children in little danger. Similar complaints should be channeled through the School Board, not the police.

September 24, 1969, Page B-2: Action Line. My wife teaches at Hunt Valley Elementary School in Springfield, Virginia. There is a classroom shortage there and some classes are held in trailers next to the school. That is a difficult teaching assignment at best, but to make it worse, the trailers have no electricity. Here it is almost a month into the school year and there is no lighting and no air-conditioning. On hot days the situation must be unbearable. – G. D. W. Response: Not anymore. The utility company dug holes for the poles and the trailers should be completely wired in two days. Vepco claims it was waiting for written approval to put poles on school property and could do nothing without it. The School Board claims the approval was mailed long ago. Vepco finally accepted oral approval and ordered a crew out to the school grounds. Whatever the cause of the delay, the school’s principal is happy the problem is solved.

The Fairfax Herald

January 30, 1970: Schools Request Loan in Bond Anticipation Notes. The Fairfax County School Board has approved a resolution requesting the County Board of Supervisors to borrow $7.4 million in school bond anticipation notes to carry the system’s top priority building projects ahead to July 1 of this year. The notes are needed to advance work on five projects now underway, including James W. Robinson High-Intermediate School (opening September 1971), Lee Intermediate School (opening February 1971), Kings Park West Elementary (opening September 1970), plus two modernization programs at existing elementary schools, Cardinal Forest and Hunt Valley.

The Northern Virginia Sun

August 20, 1968: Opening For School Is Delayed. Other new elementary schools which will be ready for occupancy in September include: Beech Tree, $597,463: Oak View, $1,018,870; Greenbriar, $1,063,600; Hunt Valley, $559,700; Riverside, $921,600; Wolftrap, $942,500; and Westgate, $572,500.

August 29, 1968: Another School Delays Opening. In addition to these schools, new facilities ready for occupancy when classes begin Tuesday for grades 1 through 12 and Sept. 9 for kindergarten, are Beech Tree Elementary, Hunt Valley Elementary, Riverside Elementary, Westgate Elementary, Wolftrap Elementary and Greenbriar Elementary.

The Washington Post

October 4, 1984, Page VA-01: 8 Young Marathon Readers Go the Distance: Eight Marathon Readers Prove To Be Winners.