W-JCC schools get no promises on more $
It's Feb. 7, time for our week in review. W-JCC schools made their case for more money to the leaders of James City County and Williamsburg Friday, but got no promises.
Friday, Feb. 6:
James City County and Williamsburg officials praised the school board Friday for its work on improving student performance, but expressed some concern about the additional $1.9 million the board is asking from them for the next fiscal year.
The Williamsburg-James City County School Board met Friday morning with the county board of supervisors and Williamsburg City Council to outline how the schools are working to improve student reading scores, along with details of their proposed budget of more than $201 million.
School officials noted the request is based on the state funding approved by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin. If the legislature approves more money, that might lower the increase being sought from local taxpayers.
The largest chunk of the budget increase – more than $10 million -- would pay for increased salaries, which Superintendent Daniel Keever said would make the schools’ compensation competitive with nearby school systems.
It also included several programs parents have been pushing: $225,000 to add Lacrosse as an interscholastic sport and $415,000 to set up a Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program.
Keever gave an update on the work the schools have done to bring city students’ test results up to the level of their county counterparts:
Creating individual reading plans for more than 1,900 elementary and middle school students
Reaching out to families whose children need reading help, and establishing a web page that offers families tips, in English and Spanish, on helping their children
Hiring a consultant to study the city/county student performance gap, with a report due next month.
Williamsburg mayor Douglas G. Pons complimented Keever on the schools’ progress, but said the additional money was a big ask on top of the 14% increase in the city’s budget contribution next year.
“We would hope that we could...but things are tight,” Pons said. James City County pays for nearly 90% of the local school contribution because it has the majority of students in the system.
James City Board Chair John J. McGlennon told Keever that the community strongly supports the school system, but “being able to demonstrate that those investments are making a difference (in) improving the quality of education would be important.
School Board Chair Andrea M. Donnor noted the school website provides a dashboard where citizens can track the school’s progress toward improving student results, adding taxpayers needed to understand that results don’t come immediately because education is a long-term effort.
McGlennon responded he understood education spending would not pay off immediately, but “all of us struggle with the idea of how we communicate with our constituencies” about how their money is spent.
Third grade reading pass rates in the W-JCC school system have dropped from 71% in 2022 to 67% last year.
Other headlines this week:
Monday, Feb. 2:
Williamsburg paid $121K to settle development cancellation
Williamsburg agreed to pay a local developer $121,838.78 to cancel a contract selling city land on Strawberry Plains Road for a proposed townhouse development after losing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
Tuesday, Feb. 3:
What Mississippi schools might teach us
We don’t normally cover out-of-town news, much less out of state. But as local schools prepare to ask for another budget increase Friday, we thought the academic success Mississippi is seeing with a back-to-basics approach might be of interest.
Wednesday, Feb. 4:
BASF land still in play for industry in southern James City County
BASF property has generated inquiries, but no sale of more than 600 acres in southern James City County has yet materialized, though the county continues to market it for industrial use.
Thursday, Feb. 5:
Emergency shelters worked overtime to help homeless during ice storm and cold
Last week’s ice storm and bitter cold was particularly hard on homeless people and the group that shelters them in our area.
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Why do we need consultants to tell us how to close the gap in students' achievement? We have professional, well trained teachers. Sounds like abdication of responsibility. If the scores don't improve, they can blame the consultant. Quit wasting money and our children's time. Mississippi shows it can be done quickly without an expensive program or consultants.