dr. jack dale. he's going to be here. and we'll be talking to him about what today means to him because this is his first day of school as fairfax county superintendent. a lot of questions to ask him coming up at 6:30. >> kristin fisher live in norton, virginia this morning. >>> today is the first day of school for prince george's county's new school superintendent dr. alvin crawly. he will lead the school system through the end of the school year. he spent 16 years working as an administrator in arlington county schools. he will replace dr. william heit who left prince george's county for philadelphia. >>> it is 6:04. in campaign 2012, the democratic national convention begins tonight in charlotte, north carolina. first lady michele obama will deliver his speech tonight. maryland governor martin o'malley will also speak in prime time. as susan mcginnis reports, a misstep by the maryland governor has thrown democrats off message. >> reporter: the stage has been built, the party platform released and

dr. jack dale, head of fairfax county public schools, today is his last first day of school as superintendent. he's moving on at the end of the school year and he has no doubt what the biggest challenge will be for his successor. >> we're running out of space here in fairfax. it will be a challenge in the next five, ten years. >> reporter: in lorton, kristin fisher, 9news now. >>> the first day of school was met with anger from some parents of arlington county school students. the school district has canceled bus sches at 12 stops -- service at 12 stops. we caught up with some parents who kids attend the elementary school. >> carlin springs is a busy road. the route is long and it's -- this is a difficult street to walk along, especially when you're talking about very little children. >> school officials say the streamlined bus service is more efficient and safer for students. >> reporter: coming up on 9news -- >>> coming up on 9news now, the book detailing the killing of osama bin laden will be on store shelves today. and the man who wrote that book is facing some trouble from the pentagon.

dr. jack dale. >>> the 2012 democratic national convention also gets under way today.in charlotte. san antonio mayor will deliver the keynote address tonight and michele obama will wrap up the evening. >> the answer to the question posed every four years has thrown the democrats off message. susan mcginnis has more from charlotte. >> reporter: the stage has been built. the party platform released and democrats are ready to kick off their 2012 convention. >> this has been such a historic time. i couldn't imagine not coming. >> reporter: but as the festivities begin, republicans won't let go of the question, are americans better off than they were four years ago. >> they can't tell you you're better off. >> reporter: the obama team opened the door to the attacks when some, including maryland governor martin o'malley had trouble answering the question. >> can you honestly say that people are better off today than they were four years ago? >> no, but that's not the question of this election. >> reporter: republicans pounced saying that's proof president obama's policies ar

dr. jack dale, head of fairfax county public schools, today is his last first day of school as superintendent. he's moving on at the end of the school year and no doubt what the biggest challenge will be for his successor. >> we're running out of space. it will be a challenge. >> kristin fisher, 9news now. >> major growth there. the first day of school was met with anger from parents of arlington county school students. the school district canceled bus service at 12 stops. we caught up with parents who now have to walk with their kids to campbell elementary school. they are not pleased with the decision to cancel the buses. >> it is a very big safety concern. the route is long and this is a difficult street to walk along. especially when you are talking about little children. >> school officials insist the new streamline bus service is more efficient and safer for students. >> pentagon is now thinking about taking legal action against a former navy seal who wrote his account of the osama bin laden raid and put it out in the book. there's word the entire command of the seal team that carried o

dr. dale. >> reporter: it was superintendent jack dale's last day of school in fairfax county. he'll retire next year. figuring out how to deal with growth and the overcrowding it's caused in some schools will be a continued challenge. more than 181,000 students are expected this fall. and the district has added 15,000 kids in just the last five years. south county middle is one of two new buildings along with mason crest elementary. but dale says more will be needed. >> we're probably having to open anywhere from one to two a year, would be my guess. but we only have a couple in the hopper right now. >> reporter: that means more and more portable classrooms are popping up. 100 have been added this fall alone. coming up on news 4 at 6:00, i'll take you to a school where one-third of the students, all the second and third graders, are now learning outside of the original school walls. in portable units and trailers. in fairfax county, julie carey, news 4. >>> the biggest loser shakes up the trainers again. >> making it safe for drivers along wisconsin avenue. >>> i'm liz crensha