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$61 million in schools

funding could be restored

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) announced Monday he is asking the General Assembly to proceed with the scheduled update of the local composite index, a tool used to determine how much state education funding localities receive.

Normally, the index is updated every two years as part of the state's biennial budget cycle. But former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) had proposed freezing the index at current levels, a move that would save the state $29 million and prevent 97 school districts from losing state aid.

Fairfax County will gain an additional $61 million in state education funds if the General Assembly does not freeze the index. A total of 40 jurisdictions, including most of Northern Virginia, will be positively affected by the rebenchmarking.

Northern Virginia's elected officials and education advocates have been fighting hard to undo Kaine's proposal. Fairfax County parents wrote letters and held rallies to convince McDonnell to undo the proposed freeze.

"For nearly 40 years, the local composite index has been an impartial means by which to determine state and local responsibility for education funding in Virginia. The application of this index has always been done in an objective manner, using the most recent fiscal data to most fairly apportion state resources," McDonnell said in a statement on his proposal to undo the freeze. "The local composite index must be applied to all localities, at all times, in the same objective and fair manner by which it has always been utilized."

Dulles airport saw

fewer travelers in 2009

Washington Dulles International Airport saw a 2.8 percent decrease in travelers in 2009. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates Dulles and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, released year-end travel statistics last week.

Regan National saw a 2.5 percent decline in passenger traffic.

Despite the slight decline, Washington's airports fared better than the national average. Nationally, passenger traffic was down about 6 percent last year, as compared with 2008, according to the Air Transport Association.

Dulles served 23.2 million passengers in 2009. While domestic air travel declined, the number of international passengers flying into and out of Dulles basically held steady, increasing by 0.2 percent last year.

The airport has been working on a multiyear expansion project to accommodate the growth it was experiencing before the recession. Last year, it opened a new security screening area; last month, it launched the AeroTrain service to transport passengers within the airport.

George Mason pursues

campus in Korea

George Mason University is seeking state authority to open a branch campus in South Korea. The university's Board of Visitors would create and oversee a corporation that would operate the satellite campus in the city of Inchon, according to the state legislation.

"It's an exciting project, with the campus right next to the main airport, within a two-hour flight of about a third of the population in the world," university Provost Peter N. Stearns said in a release.

All of the expenses would be covered by tuition costs, according to the financial impact statement prepared for the Virginia General Assembly.

According to state Sen. J. Chapman Petersen (D-Dist. 34), who is carrying the bill authorizing the expansion, this legislation would help establish a partnership that would create a long-term alliance between GMU and South Korea.

"Given the number of Korean students in Fairfax County and our proximity to the nation's capital, GMU is in the ideal position to mount this project," Petersen said.

Petersen's bill emerged from the Senate Committee on Education and Health last week on a unanimous vote and is awaiting a vote by the full Senate.

The Fairfax County government also formalized a relationship with South Korea last year. Its "sister jurisdiction" is Songpa-gu, a district in southeastern Seoul.

County employees honored

Fairfax County librarian Nancy Klein received the 2009 Don Smith EAC Award at the Jan. 26 Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting. The county's Employee Advisory Council presents the award annually to honor employees who "have contributed in an outstanding manner to the well-being of fellow employees."

Klein, who served as president of the Fairfax County Public Library Employee Association last year, was recognized for guiding library employees throughout the fiscal 2010 budget process. The library budget was cut 15 percent in the current budget year and hundreds of full- and part-time positions were eliminated.

Marjorie Braxton, administrative assistant for the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, received an honorable mention for the Don Smith award. Braxton was nominated for making employees at her facility "feel a part of the work family" and for boosting morale, according to a county news release.