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“She couldn’t interact with her friends.”
The cancer quickly went into remission
and Becky was able to start first grade at
Jamestown Elementary School this fall.
But a few weeks ago, she was taken out
of school again when a broken arm
caused her white blood cell count to drop
precipitously.
However, this time she wouldn’t have
to be cut off from her friends at
Jamestown. Georgetown University Hospital,
where Becky is receiving treatment,
set up a laptop computer in its Pediatric
Oncology department that allows chil
See Webcam, Page 4
That first day of school
for the four students
marked the end of a fiveyear
legal battle in Virginia
to implement the ruling of
the United States Supreme
Court’s ruling in Brown vs.
Board of Education of Topeka
— that the nation’s
policy of maintaining separate
schools for black and
white students was unconstitutional.
It also marked
the beginning of a new day
for an entire generation of
children, and for those that
would follow.
LONG BEFORE he became
the first black chairman
of the Arlington
County Board of Supervisors since the Reconstruction
era following the Civil War and
before he became Chief Judge of the Ar-
Arlington Connection Editor Steven Mauren
703-917-6431 or arlington@connectionnewspapers.com
‘Four Unassuming Foot Soldiers of History’
Arlington celebrates
50 th anniversary of
the integration of the
public school system.
By Aaron Stern
The Connection
Looking back now, 50 years hence,
things are a bit of a blur. Ronnie
Deskins remembers a reporter
taking notes that morning as he
ate the breakfast his mother prepared for
him, then brushed his teeth. Family and
friends all gathered to watch he and his
friends head off to Stratford Junior High,
and Gloria Thompson remembers walking
past rows of armed police officers on her
way past crowds present to witness her take
that walk.
Photo by Herman Farrer Photography
By David Schultz
The Connection
Becky Wilson’s extroverted personality
borders on irrepressible. The
six-year-old Arlington resident is
talkative, outgoing and loves to be the
center of attention.
So when she underwent treatment for
acute lymphoblastic leukemia 18 months
ago, it was especially difficult for her to
spend weeks in the hospital, away from
school and away from friends.
“There were times she felt isolated and
frustrated,” Becky’s mother, Lisa, said.
Other than that, it was a
pretty normal first day of
school.
On Feb. 2, 1959 four 12year-olds
became the first
black students to attend a
previously all-white school
in Arlington County, and
the Arlington County Public
Schools were integrated.
Those four students — Ron
Deskins, Michael Jones,
Gloria Thompson, and
Lance Newman — were
honored at a ceremony at
the H-B Woodlawn Secondary
Program on Monday,
Feb. 23 in a ceremony that
featured three of those four
original students, Gov. Tim
Kaine, Del. Bob Brink and
other local political officials, as well as several
of the Stratford teachers who were
onhand for that historic day.
Becky Wilson, with her mother Lisa (right) and hospital staffer
Linda Kim (left), connects with her classmates via the Internet.
Staying Connected
Six-year-old cancer patient uses Internet
to keep up with her classmates.
William T. Newman,
Chief Judge of the
Arlington Circuit Court.
Photo by Louise Krafft/Connection
By David Schultz
The Connection
Arlington County Manager Ron
Carlee is proposing $23 million in
service cuts and a three-percent
increase in the real estate tax rate to make
up for a multi-million dollar gap in
Arlington’s annual budget.
Gulf Branch Nature Center, the Ellipse
Arts Center and the Arlington Mill Community
Center are among the casualties in
Carlee’s proposed $929.5 million spending
plan for the upcoming fiscal year, which is
1.3 percent lower than last year’s spending
plan.
Carlee described his budget as a “serious
belt-tightening” but one that still maintains
the County’s values. “In a city, you’re either
going forward or sliding backwards,” he
said. “This is a budget that keeps us from
sliding backwards. … [It is] unnecessarily
disruptive to start restructuring who and
what we are.”
THE COUNTY derives the lion’s share of
its revenues from taxes on real estate assessments.
This year, real estate values in
Arlington increased less than one percent
over the previous year, after several years
of double digit increases. This rapid stagnation
in real estate values has forced the
county to downsize.
Carlee is proposing the elimination of 100
positions in county government, 40 of
lington Circuit Court, William Newman was
a third-grader at Drew Elementary School
when Deskins, Jones, Thompson and Lance
Newman broke the color barrier in Arlington
County Public Schools. Before them,
“doors I didn’t know existed were already
being closed to me,” he said as he delivered
the keynote address at Monday’s ceremony.
Unbeknownst to him, his life
changed that day.
“My life and the possibilities it held expanded
exponentially,” he said.
“What a scary thing it must have been for
four seventh graders… to come into a place
where they knew they weren’t welcome,”
said Kaine.
The battle against the U.S. Supreme
Court’s decision in Virginia was called “massive
resistance,” a term coined by U.S. Sen.
Harry Byrd of Virginia, and was a fight that
grew so fierce that Prince Edward County
Public Schools closed down for five years
See Integration, Page 4
How To Cut $23 Million
Carlee’s budget
proposal hits Parks &
Rec, libraries hardest.
Budget Cuts
The following is a partial list of the services that
would be eliminated or reduced under County
Manager Ron Carlee’s proposed budget:
❖ Cancellation of Planet Arlington Music Festival
❖ Closure of Gulf Branch Nature Center
❖ Closure of Ellipse Arts Center
❖ Reduction in park and street tree maintenance
❖ Glencarlyn, Cherrydale and Aurora Highlands
Libraries to operate only three days per week
❖ Charging for after-hours parking at Human
Services Building in Clarendon
❖ Closure of Madison Adult Day Center
❖ Reduction of service on two ART bus routes
❖ Elimination of extra police detail in Clarendon
❖ Reduction of concrete maintenance and repair
❖ Increasing of solid waste collection fee
❖ Elimination of five deputy sheriff positions
❖ Postponement of Arlington Mill Community
Center project
which, he said, are currently filled. Carlee
said he would work with the departments
to see that these 40 employees are either
reassigned or voluntarily severed, but he
could not rule out the possibility of layoffs.
Carlee is also proposing the denial of
scheduled pay raises to county employees,
the “first time in modern history” that this
has been proposed, he said. “I do not like
this budget,” Carlee said. “[But] what makes
me very hopeful is we’ve had the worst real
estate market in known times and Arlington
weathered it better than anyone else.”
To make up for some of the lost revenue,
Carlee is proposing an increase in the real
estate tax rate by 2.7 cents per $100 of assessed
value. Since the average home in
Arlington declined in value over the last
year, this would amount to an increase of
$4.25 per month in the tax bill for an average-priced
home.
However, according to county figures, 35
percent of Arlington homes did not decrease
See Tax Increases, Page 4
Arlington Connection ❖ February 25 - March 3, 2009 ❖ 3