Rebecca Berlin joins county school board
Rebecca Berlin is the newest member of the Albemarle County School Board.
On December 15, the board unanimously voted to appoint Berlin to the White Hall Magisterial District seat. Berlin replaced longtime board member David Oberg, who represented the district for seven years. In October, Oberg announced he was resigning, citing personal circumstances. His departure took effect December 31.
Berlin has served as an early childhood special education teacher, an inclusion teacher, an autism specialist, and a school administrator in both public and private schools. She earned a doctorate in research, policy, and administration from the University of Virginia, and authored a chapter of Child Care Justice: Transforming the System of Care for Young Children, which was published last year.
On the board, Berlin plans to prioritize closing opportunity and achievement gaps, expanding mental health support for students and staff, strengthening teacher recruitment and development, providing schools with the resources they need, and ensuring the school division meets the needs of the county’s continuous population growth and development.
“I know the pandemic has received a great deal of attention in explaining why the gaps in assessment test scores among students have widened. The fact is, however, that these gaps were present prior to the pandemic,” Berlin told the school board during her December 1 interview. “Our math, reading, and science scores are among the lowest in the state—we know we can do better than that.”
Berlin’s term will expire at the end of this year.
City budget surplus
The City of Charlottesville ended 2022 with a $22.9 million budget surplus, thanks to unexpected economic growth. The city’s sales, lodging, meals, personal property, and several other taxes performed “significantly better” than expected, according to City Council’s January 3 meeting packet. Vacancies within multiple city departments—combined with delays in reopening certain facilities—also led to less spending on salaries and benefits than budgeted.
City staff has proposed $11.5 million of the surplus go towards multiple FY23 budget expenses, such as software, two additional buses, and school reconfiguration. In addition, $4.7 million would cover acting City Manager Michael Rogers’ recommendations, including offering pay raises, upgrading the city’s management financial system, making improvements to Meadowcreek Golf Course at Pen Park, and supporting the Pathways Fund. The remaining money would be put into the Capital Improvement Contingency Fund for “unforeseen costs or needs.”
City Council was expected to vote on the budget appropriations during its January 3 meeting.
In brief
Plastic bag-less
Don’t forget your reusable bags—Charlottesville and Albemarle County’s plastic bag taxes are now in effect. The 5 cent per bag tax applies to grocery stores, convenience stores, and pharmacies.
(More) city turnover
Charlottesville city attorney Lisa Robertson has stepped down—the latest in a long line of city leadership departures since 2017. According to acting City Manager Michael Rogers’ January report, senior deputy city attorney Allyson Davies will fill in for Robertson, who became the city attorney in 2021. The city aims to hire a new head attorney within three months.
Police car crash
On December 31, Albemarle County police arrested 24-year-old Cristhian Lopez Gaviria after he reportedly rammed his car into an ACPD patrol car and forced another car off the road. At around 2am, police responded to the 2200 block of Old Lynchburg Road for a “suspected DUI that had fled from a neighboring law enforcement jurisdiction,” and “located the suspected vehicle off the side of the road [and] attempted a traffic stop,” reads a press release. Gaviria reportedly hit the patrol cars while fleeing the scene, and crashed his car off the road a short distance away. Officers chased Gaviria on foot before arresting and charging him with felony hit and run and a DUI, among other crimes.
$3k bonus
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has extended a $3,000 sign-on bonus for the county police and fire departments until November 2023, after the bonus cut the number of vacancies in half and reduced turnover in both departments last year, reports NBC29.
