2020 graduation plans under way; School Board Oks more reno costs

Graduation plans for the Class of 2020 are ongoing by Warren County Public Schools (WCPS), as are renovation costs for A.S. Rhodes Elementary School.

The Warren County School Board during its May 20 regular meeting unanimously voted to approve and provide authorization for the interim superintendent to sign an upgrade agreement with the Front Royal Electric Co. totaling $17,859.54 for labor, overhead, equipment, and materials. The work will be performed by the Town of Front Royal’s Department of Energy Services.

The renovation design for A.S. Rhodes Elementary School included the upgraded electrical service, which will support the new HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and other related building systems, according to WCPS Maintenance Director Greg Livesay.

WCPS Maintenance Director Greg Livesay bring Board up-to-date on renovations at A.S. Rhodes Elementary School. Photos and video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

“This requires a larger transformer, additional utility pole and the necessary underground primary conductors and wiring between the utility pole and transformer,” explained Livesay, who attended the meeting remotely. “This work can only be accomplished by the utility provider, Front Royal Electric” and was not included in the original base bid.

Fork District School Board member Catherine Bower motioned to approve the request while Happy Creek District School Board member James Wells seconded the motion, with School Board members Kristin Pence (South River District) and Ralph Rinaldi (Shenandoah District), who attended remotely, and Chairman Arnold Williams, Jr. (North River District) also voting to approve the item.

Livesay said that the estimated installation for the new services are expected to occur in early June, which would allow the electrical subcontractor to maintain its schedule for providing the new electrical.

During the work session portion of the School Board’s meeting, WCPS Interim Superintendent Melody Sheppard provided an update on commencement discussions regarding the Class of 2020, which to date has been unable to hold traditional celebrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Melody Sheppard discusses graduation options with the Board.

Sheppard reported that a May 12 survey was sent to all high school seniors at both Skyline High School and Warren County High School detailing two types of graduation ceremonies being considered for the Class of 2020. According to Sheppard, the two choices were:

1. Individual Graduation Ceremony, which would be held during the first part of June and would allow a scheduled time for each senior to graduate. Each senior would wear a cap and gown and parents would be invited to attend. Seniors would walk across the stage and accept their diplomas and pose for photos. A video compilation of the individual graduation ceremonies then would be distributed to all seniors.

2. Traditional Graduation Ceremony with a contingency plan that would take place during the first weekend in August. The ceremony would be held in the football stadium at each high school. The graduates would sit in chairs spaced 6-feet apart on the field. Each graduating senior would be allowed to invite four people, who would sit in groups on both the home and visitor bleachers in each high school stadium. There would be plans in place to ensure social distancing. Part of the contingency plan would be that if a traditional graduation ceremony could not be held due to the number of people allowed in one place, WCPS would hold individual graduation ceremonies during the first part of August.

The survey, which ended on May 17, asked the high school seniors to weigh-in on which ceremony they preferred, Sheppard said, noting that almost 50 percent of them chose option #2.

Sheppard said she meets on Thursday with the Graduation Committee to continue discussing the plan and related safety protocols. The Warren County Sheriff’s Office also would be involved with the outdoor graduation ceremonies to help with crowd control, she said.

In other action items, the Warren County School Board unanimously approved a resolution regarding its need to hold closed meetings for interviewing WCPS superintendent candidates.
Section 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia allows public bodies to announce such closed meetings at a prior open meeting. Such announcements are good for 15 days. The School Board intends to start interviewing candidates later this month.

The School Board also unanimously approved additional teacher and instructional assistant positions to support the increase in Virginia Preschool Initiative slots awarded by the Virginia Department of Education.

“This will allow us to serve 130 students versus the 92 we are now able to serve,” said WCPS Special Services Director Michael Hirsch. “This will generate $114,000, which will cover the cost of the teacher and instructional assistant salaries and benefits at a total of $94,491.”

Additionally, the School Board unanimously voted to approve the donation of a 2003 International School bus (unit #64) to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.

Bus #64 is well past its service life and was removed from the fleet, WCPS Transportation Director Aaron Mitchell told School Board members on Wednesday night. “The floor needs to be replaced and the cost to replace it makes it no longer financially viable to keep it in the fleet,” he said, adding that the air conditioning units also need to be replaced.

The vehicle has been parked and was set for disposal when WCPS found out that the sheriff’s office needed a vehicle that could be transformed into an incident command unit, Mitchell explained, noting that the sheriff’s office would be responsible for the cost of converting the bus.

The School Board’s next meeting will be held on June 3. To view the entire School Board May 20 meeting, watch the Royal Examiner video below.