Renaming WJCC school division & other sticking points in school contract talks
Happy Thursday, May 8! York County approves budget and tax hikes; WJCC schools want to use up their budget surplus
James Blair Middle School may not be getting a new name anytime soon, but the entire school division that operates it would be renamed if James City County had its way.
School Board member Randy J. Riffle criticized the county’s renaming idea towards the end of a nearly 5-hour school board meeting Tuesday night, where the board appointed a new superintendent and tabled next steps in renaming James Blair.
“I’m challenging my James City County colleagues to move on” and get a deal done, said Riffle, who represents the Berkeley district. “Enough’s enough….we’ve gotta get back to educating kids.”
Williamsburg Watch spoke to several parties involved in the negotiations to obtain more details about the situation.
As part of the talks that have been going on since 2022 between the county and the city of Williamsburg over the joint Williamsburg-James City County school division, the county proposed calling the division James City County - Williamsburg schools.
It also proposed changing the composition of the school board to give Williamsburg fewer members, including an option to lower board membership from seven to six members with only one from the city, compared to two now.
The name, along with disagreements over how to fund the schools, reflect the dramatic change in the localities’ populations in the 50 years since the joint division was formed.
While both localities had fairly small populations in 1955, James City County now has more than five times as many people as Williamsburg and represents nearly 90% of the student population in the schools.
The funding formula used to determine how much each locality pays for operating the schools and making capital improvements has not changed for years. The formula requires the city to pay its per pupil share of operating costs and capital improvements, plus 14%.
The county proposed each locality pay for capital budgets only within its borders and pay a per pupil cost for operating the schools. That formula would add $1.5 million to Williamsburg’s costs.
The city wanted the school board involved in the funding negotiations, while the county believes the funding issue should be decided solely between the elected representatives of the two localities who have authority to tax citizens.
“The city remains committed to finding a compromise that benefits the community and provides the best opportunities for student success,” Williamsburg Mayor Douglas G. Pons said through a spokesperson Wednesday. “The city will not support any proposed provisions that distract or divert from that goal.”
James City County Administrator Scott Stevens said he felt fairly optimistic last fall the two sides were close to an agreement but “it doesn’t feel as close today.”
Both sides said the selection of a new school system superintendent may help the process move along more quickly.
York County approves $8 million tax hike for $291 million budget
York County supervisors approved a $291.6 million budget Tuesday that will raise residents’ taxes by $8 million.
The budget, which goes into effect July 1, raises real estate tax rates for the first time in nine years to 78 cents per $100 in assessed value. Property taxes will revert to where they stood two years ago, to $4 per $100 in value.
York lowered the property tax two years ago when car prices doubled post-Covid. It also lowered real estate taxes three times since 2022 to offset rising real estate valuations.
The supervisors voted 4-1 to adopt the new tax rates and the budget, with District 3 Supervisor Wayne Drewry voting against.
The vote was unanimous to increase garbage collection fees by $2 every other month for all categories except the discounted senior citizen rate, which went up $7.
The Supervisors also unanimously approved increases to filing fees for building permits, subdivision plans and zoning applications.
County Administrator Mark Bellamy has described the budget as a maintenance budget with no new programs. It includes an additional $1 million cash contribution to the schools, a pay raise for county employees, and five new Sheriff’s deputies.
“This is the right decision,” said District 4 Supervisor G. Stephen Roane, Jr. “It’s disappointing” that tax rates went back up, he said, but it was necessary “to continue supporting…. the level of services” residents told him they wanted.
“We’ve had an 8 percent rise in costs over eight years after inflation, that’s remarkable,” District 1 Representative Douglas R. Holroyd said, waving a printout of a Williamsburg Watch analysis showing York has had a slower pace of spending increases than neighboring James City County or Williamsburg since 2017.
The new budget decreases overtime spending and removes a drone replacement for the Sheriff’s office and cuts $300,000 from contributions to the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority, among other adjustments.
Bellamy said York’s 78 cent real estate tax rate will be the third lowest in Hampton Roads, behind the city of Williamsburg at 62 cents and Isle of Wight County at 73 cents.
Roane and District 5 Supervisor Thomas G. Shepperd, Jr. said they were pleased with the opportunities for citizens to engage and question the budget over the five-month process that began last December.
The county held 10 work sessions, town halls and public hearings over that time, as well as a budget retreat.
WJCC schools have $4.3 million surplus — and ideas of how to spend it
Williamsburg-James City County schools expect to finish the year with a budget surplus of $4.3 million, and administrators have ideas for how to spend it in the coming year.
In addition, projected revenue for the new fiscal year starting July 1 could be about a quarter million dollars higher than originally thought, and the schools want to use it for some of the goals they had to cut earlier in the budget process.
At the board’s work session Tuesday, Chief Financial Officer Rene Ewing said the schools are projected to spend $177.7 million of their $181 million budget for the current fiscal year. A big chunk of the savings came from staff vacancies and turnover, which saved them payroll and benefit costs.
The schools also received $1.26 million more than they expected during the year, most of it from state payments and sales tax.
Ewing cautioned these were still preliminary estimates subject to audit but said it should result in a surplus of $4.3 million when the 2025 fiscal year ends June 30.
State law requires school systems to return any budget surplus to the local governments that help fund them. But James City County has said the schools can keep $3 million for next year’s operating and capital expenses, Ewing said. Ewing told the school board the administration recommends asking localities to let schools keep all of the surplus for a healthcare reserve fund.
The 2026 budget that starts July 1 looks to be in better shape as well.
The last version of the 2026 budget approved by the school board was cut from $195 million to $191 million in April, but administrators did not know if they would be able to fully fund even that amout until the state budget was finalized. They have learned Virginia will provide Williamsburg-James City County schools nearly $2.1 million more than the schools projected, leaving a potential $285,000 surplus.
Ewing said the school administration would like to spend that surplus for stipends and other purposes which were cut out during the budgeting process when less revenue was expected.
With the new budget, the schools also have a new superintendent to run them.
During a marathon day of meetings that lasted more than five hours, the school board voted to promote Deputy Superintendent Daniel F. Keever as superintendent, awarding him a contract from June 1, 2025 through June 20, 2028.
To see that contract, and what Keever is being paid, the schools will require you to file a Freedom of Information Act request, which Williamsburg Watch has already done.
The school board selected Keever from a nationwide field of more than 40 applicants who went through multiple interviews, according to a school press release.
Keever “emerged at the top every time,” said School Chair Sarah G. Ortego.
Keever succeeds former Superintendent Olwen Herron, who retired in January after eight years leading the school. At that time Keever, who was deputy superintendent, was named acting superintendent while a replacement was selected.
He joined the Williamsburg-James City County schools in 2020 and was named deputy superintendent in 2023.
Keever’s 30-year career includes experience as a school security officer, instructional specialist, assistant principal and principal. Before coming to the area he was senior executive director for high schools at the Virginia Beach public school system.
Yorktown man arrested for commercial sex trafficking
York-Poquoson Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Yorktown man Wednesday whom they accused of selling sexual services on social media.
Deputies arrested 47-year-old Seneca Gregory at his Yorktown home in the 400 block of Wolf Trap Rd., according to a press release from the department.
Gregory was accused of using various social media apps to advertise a female’s sexual services and arranging to meet with clients.
He was charged with six counts of commercial sex trafficking and placed in the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail, according to the release.
Weekend Fun
MOTHER’S DAY: May 11:
If you’ve waited till the last minute to plan some place to take Mom for her special day, Visit Williamsburg has lots of suggestions here.
Friday, May 9 – Saturday, May 10: 20th Cap2Cap Bike Ride. 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. $35-$100 for adults.
Saturday, May 10:
Yorktown Market Days Vintage Market/Car Show. Riverwalk Landing. 8 a.m.- 12 p.m.
Jamestown Day. Jamestown Settlement.
Sunday, May 11:
2nd Sundays, Williamsburg art & music festival. Free. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
https://2ndsundayswilliamsburg.com/
Oh do names matter now? 👀