WCPS superintendent’s salary under fire again; School Board approves new CTE classes

James Harper tells Ms. Bower as School Board Chairwoman I’d learn how to spell the superintendent’s last name. It is Drescher. Photo and video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

FRONT ROYAL — Three new Career and Technical Education (CTE) course offerings on Wednesday received approval from the Warren County School Board, whose members also heard a request for sitting Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) Superintendent Greg Drescher to rescind his recent salary increase.

“Mr. Drescher has been most kind in responding to my requests and I have no doubt that he’s a wonderful person,” local resident James Harper said during the board’s community participation segment of its August 7 regular meeting. “But in my opinion … he’s paid entirely too much money.”

Harper asked any of the School Board members who have received a cost-of-living raise that equaled $12,000 — which was the amount of Drescher’s most-recent raise — to raise their hand.

He waited, looking at each of them.

None raised a hand.

“It’s one thing to give a small raise but to go from $154,000 to $165,837 — plus $8,000 deferred compensation and $3,000 car allowance, plus insurance and paid sick time — you must think the county has planted money trees outside of each school,” said Harper. “This is what makes people upset.”

Harper asked Mr. Drescher “to do the right thing by the county” and give back his cost-of-living raise so that he would be earning his previous yearly salary. “This will still make you the highest-paid person in the county,” Harper told Drescher.

In his opinion, Harper said a superintendent shouldn’t earn more than $150,000 a year, while the assistant superintendent should be paid a yearly salary of roughly $135,000 to $140,000.
Harper also chastised Drescher for belonging to too many outside organizations that likely take Drescher’s time away from his superintendent’s duties, particularly when WCPS has some struggling schools.

Citing Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) accreditation data, Harper said that in school year (SY) 2014-2015, Ressie Jeffries Elementary School received accreditation with a warning. In SY 2015-2016, Harper said the data showed that Ressie Jeffries was partially accredited, as was Skyline High School. Ressie Jeffries again was partially accredited in SY 2016-2017 and then was denied accreditation in SY 2017-2018. That year Skyline High School also received partial accreditation.

Considering such data, Harper commented that Drescher should have enough work to keep him busy at WCPS.

Click here to download letter sent to WCPS and their response.

During the School Board’s action agenda, members unanimously approved three new CTE courses to be offered by WCPS.

Jane Baker, WCPS director of Career and Technical Education, briefed the board members on the course offerings prior to their vote.

“We are growing,” Baker said. “When I started five years ago, we had almost 395 students who came through the door. We now are just shy of 600.”

With additional county funding and extra teachers, Baker said the CTE program has room to expand and therefore staff wants to add:

1.) Welding III, which would offer instruction on the industry’s emerging technologies and how to demonstrate gas tungsten arc welding and shielded metal arc welding. Baker noted that the class would utilize different metals and more refined equipment.

2.) Carpentry III, which would be an advanced class that allows students to gain in-depth knowledge and hands-on skills in construction. Work-based learning methods of instruction for this course would provide students with practical, real-world experience that continues students’ course work in Carpentry I and Carpentry II classes. Baker said students would use newer machinery to learn more modern techniques, and there also would be some cabinet making.

3.) Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems, a specialized course in which students would be taught concepts of robotics and automated manufacturing by creating 3-D designs with computer modeling software. Students also would produce computer-controlled models of their designs. Baker said one of the CTE teachers this summer completed specialized training to teach the class. “We’re very excited about offering it,” she said.

Baker added that VDOE also has granted approval for the CTE course offerings, which will be added to its trade and industrial category of classes. WCPS offers CTE classes across a total of eight areas. In addition to trade and industrial, there are CTE classes in agriculture, business and information technology, career connections (education-related coursework), family and consumer science, health and medical science, marketing, and technology education.

Baker said that virtually all of last year’s graduating WCPS students enrolled in the trade and industrial category of classes — which includes welding, carpentry, electricity and automotive technology — had full-time jobs right after graduation.

“It’s important that everyone knows what we have to offer” by way of CTE classes, said School Board Chairwoman Catherine Bower.