Children in Arlington's Headstart program will have some new classrooms after the County Board approved $3.875 million Saturday to give the program a new, permanent home.
The new space will be at the George Mason Center, allowing Headstart to consolidate two of its classes now being held in separate buildings. The program, run by the Arlington Community Action Program, a non-profit service group, serves 293 children out of four locations throughout the county. Headstart has operated in Arlington for 40 years without its own building. Board Chairwoman Barbara Favola said the measure will help ACAP do more for Arlington.
"Consolidating its operations at the renovated George Mason Center will enable ACAP to focus on its core mission of providing services to the broad spectrum of our community, she said. "This is a wonderful accomplishment."
Cynthia M. Martin, ACAP's executive director, said the plan is "a dream come true." No date was determined for when Headstart will officially take over the building.
IN OTHER BUSINESS, the board approved funding to create a design for a proposed Sept. 11 memorial. The planned site for the memorial is along Arlington Boulevard between Washington Boulevard and 10th Street. The memorial will consist of 184 trees, one for each victim of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon. Favola said the board will host several public forums aimed at "fine tuning" the plan. The design is expected to be complete within 6 to 8 months.
The board also approved $1.27 million in neighborhood conservation bond for 10 priority neighborhood community projects and $2.8 million for renovations to expand the Department of Human Services' Fenwick Center. Another $571,860 was approved to renovate the tennis courts, basketball court and picnic shelters in Fort Scott Park.