matically probative of the issue at the heart of this voting

matically probative of the issue at the heart of this voting rights suit,” according to court papers.

The ACLU claims Warrenton’s at-large elections of Town Council members discriminate against blacks. It wants the town to divide into wards.

New school supported

Several southern Fauquier residents told the School Board they would gladly pay higher taxes for a new high school in their area.

At the second of three public hearings on school building needs, more than 130 people turned out at Cedar Lee Junior High School in Bealeton. Most of the speakers were concerned about crowded conditions at Fauquier High School — the county’s only senior high school, with an enrollment of 1,700 — and local elementaries.

A Washington, D. C., consulting group, which stated that Fauquier’s schools are operating at 99 percent capacity, recommended a new senior high school in southern Fauquier and two new elementary schools to cope with enrollment growth.

The School Board conducted three open meetings to gauge community response to the $26 million proposals, which would cost the real estate tax rate to jump from 63 cents per $100 assessed value to an estimated 83 cents. Most of the speakers have supported the new buildings.

Last gasp for funds?

Berryville may have received the last construction grant for wastewater treatment facilities in the state of Virginia.

On Monday, the State Water Control Board voted to fund the $671,000 grant previously promised to the town, but frozen because of federal budget cuts.

Several years ago, Berryville was placed fourth on the list of eligible projects, in part because the federal Environmental Protection Agency had misplaced the town’s plans and failed to approve them within a reasonable time. But only the first three sewer projects got grant money last fall.