W-JCC schools trim budget request
Also today: couple charged with murder in home invasion death...York County ducks fowl decision...Williamsburg moves on 198-house development and opens curtain on controversial park idea.
It’s still going to be a big ask, but the Williamsburg-James City County schools shaved a few million dollars off the double-digit budget increase they are seeking from local taxpayers.
They may be able to ask for even less if Gov. Glenn Youngkin agrees to the additional school funding approved by the General Assembly in its recently concluded session, the school board was told Tuesday night.
“We’re stuck between those two realities, what is needed and what is there, and so we have to do our part,” School Board Chair Sarah G. Ortego said. “Everyone has to make tough decisions.”
Ortego also announced that the school board will meet candidates for the school superintendent post behind closed doors at an undisclosed location within the next 15 days. The school board contracted with a search firm to find a replacement for Olwen Herron, who retired in January.
Schools originally asked Williamsburg and James City County to increase their contribution by 13% -- more than $13.9 million -- for the 2026 fiscal year that begins in July. The local contribution, which covers 62 percent of the schools’ proposed $197.1 million budget, would go up to $121.7 million.
The county pays 90% of the local contribution because it has the lion’s share of students in the joint school system.
But the school staff increased their estimate for sales tax and special education revenue by $600,000, cut five bus drivers from their hiring plans, and found $1.5 million in savings from a new Anthem health insurance plan for employees.
Rene Ewing, the schools’ chief financial officer, said they would now be asking the localities for a 10.7% increase, a drop of $2.5 million to $11.49 million. If the governor approves the additional school funding voted by legislators, the local contribution can be cut another $1.97 million, she said.
Although overall school enrollment has remained flat at around 11,300 students, 35% of the students are now classified as economically disadvantaged and need additional services, Acting Superintendent Daniel F. Keever told a joint meeting with the James City County Board of Supervisors and the Williamsburg City Council last week. Foreign language students have also increased to 9% of the school population, he said.
Schools also need to raise teacher pay scales to bring them more in line with what other area schools pay, Keever said.
The school board is slated to vote on the budget March 25 at a meeting to be held at 4 p.m. in room 300 of the school board annex.
Couple charged with murder in home invasion death of 67-year-old
Prosecutors charged a James City County couple with murder and abduction in the death of a 67-year-old man during a January home invasion.
Police said the Williamsburg/James City County Commonwealth’s Attorney charged Harley James McClure Hutchens, 29, and Amber Nicole Johnson, 28, in the death of Jose Medellin on January 31.
Officers responding to a report of an assault at a home in the 9400 block of Diascund Reservoir Road at 2:04 that afternoon found an injured woman outside the home who was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
After securing the perimeter, police entered the house 22 minutes later and found Medellin unconscious inside. Police said they attempted to revive him until rescue and fire units from James City and York counties arrived to treat him, but he was pronounced dead around 3 p.m.
Investigators said they were able to connect the incident to a second robbery and assault that took place the night before in the same area.
Hutchens and Johnson are being held without bond at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail and are scheduled for a court appearance May 2.
York ducks bird decision until April 15
Without ruffling any feathers, York County supervisors agreed to table until April 15 a final decision on allowing ducks to be kept alongside chickens in residential areas.
County staff, who support the change, asked the supervisors at their meeting Tuesday to delay the decision so that a special use request that is currently in the pipeline can be finalized.
They proposed changing the county ordinance to remove ducks from the list of prohibited fowl that may be kept in residential areas zoned for single family use.
Chickens and ducks would be limited to lots with detached single family homes. One bird is permitted for every 2,500 square feet of yard, with a maximum of 16 permitted regardless of lot size, Senior Planner Jeanne Sgroi said. She said roosters require special permission.
Sgroi said bird coops must be at least 10 feet from the property line and at least 25 feet from any home not owned by the applicant, although that restriction may be appealed.
The current process for getting that change requires a special use permit, which must be approved by supervisors. Staff is recommending the issue be treated as a variance, which would go to the board of zoning appeals instead.
But because one family currently has a request in the pipeline, the supervisors went along with the staff’s recommendation to wait until their matter is resolved.
Sgroi told the supervisors that keeping ducks has grown in popularity, and that they do not generate significantly more noise or odor than chickens.
To date, 143 families have received permission to keep chickens in their yards, she said.
Williamsburg gets plan for 198 new homes off Quarterpath Road
Williamsburg’s planning commission approved the next step in the development of 198 single family homes in a project that has been stalled for 20 years.
The city council originally approved a conceptual plan for a mixed housing development in April of 2005 for a development on property owned at the time by Riverside Health Association. The land is east of Quarterpath Road and north of Tutter’s Neck Road.
The original concept, which was never developed, would have built a total of 470 homes – 95 single family detached houses, 95 townhouses and 280 condominiums.
A development plan submitted for D.R. Horton proposes to build 198 detached single family homes at 771 Quarterpath Road in a development named Redoubt Ridge at Quarterpath.
Horton, the nation’s largest homebuilder, is already developing homes in James City County at Ford’s Colony and Liberty Ridge off Centerville Road. Horton is also working on approval to build 970 more homes in a mixed-use development on surplus land near Eastern State Hospital.
Because the city had already approved the Quarterpath concept, there would be no need for a new public hearing unless the planning commission decided the concept’s character had changed dramatically.
Tevya W. Griffin, the city’s director of planning codes and compliance, said she did not believe the development plan changed the general character of the original proposal, and would result in less housing density and traffic.
The commission agreed Wednesday, voting unanimously to allow the development plan to move through the site plan review process without new approval from city council.
Williamsburg opens up on controversial park idea
After a public demonstration and citizen complaints at various city meetings about being kept in the dark, the city of Williamsburg has finally posted public information about its ideas for a children’s park downtown.
“The children’s park is in the conceptual phase, meaning it is simply an idea in the evaluation stages,” city spokeswoman Nicole Trifone told us. “City Council has not yet approved the project, its design, its location, or financing. Nor is the downtown children’s park concept ready for a decision by City Council.”
City council members discussed borrowing $6.5 million to build a park at their budget retreat last month, and Trifone said the Fiscal Year 2026 budget “may include a financing plan for the project to allow for evaluation and further consideration, just like any other potential capital project. “
The city’s web page on the project said that while the Peacock Hill site at the corner of North Henry and Prince George streets was identified as a suitable location for the park, the city does not own the land and has no agreement to purchase it from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
The city says the proposed park would occupy only about 20% of the land.
The concept would include climbing centers, including one designed as a mini replica of the Powder Magazine, an artistic fountain, interactive play garden, a carousel and public restrooms.
The design concept we show here was critiqued by two city residents at the planning commission’s meeting Wednesday, with one saying it was “exactly what you would see on the Virginia Beach oceanfront. But this is completely incongruent with what is supposed to be the most tasteful area of our town.”
Weekend Fun
Moments In Our Grasp: Physical Theatre And Dance By Aura Curiatlas And Human Landscape Dance. March 21 & 22. 8 p.m. Phi Beta Kappa Hall Studio Theater. $16.
Family and dog-friendly activities at Fido Fest at Jamestown Beach Event Park. March 22, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. $5 per car.
Wine & Art Exhibition, Williamsburg Winery. Noon to 5 p.m.
Yorktown Winter Market at Riverwalk Landing. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.Free.
Passings
Dr. Jerome S. Daniel, DDS, 76, March 7.
Reginald Bird Beane, 98, March 15.
Linda Weikert Gustagson, 78, March 16.
We don't need more housing until we have the proper infrastructure in place to accommodate an influx of residents. Where is the affordable housing being built, have yet to see