School Board OKs another A.S. Rhodes renovation contract, reviews proposed budget

The Warren County School Board on Wednesday approved another contract for the ongoing renovations at A.S. Rhodes Elementary School and reviewed updated information from Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) staff on the district’s proposed budget for the upcoming school year.

Front Royal-based Syntax Communications Inc. was awarded an $88,550 contract by the School Board to handle the renovation of the school’s network infrastructure.

WCPS Technology Director Timothy Grant explains the changes to the network during construction. Photos and video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

Due to the overall new construction at A.S. Rhodes Elementary School, the data closet must be moved to a new location and new cabling has to be installed in the renovated areas, explained WCPS Technology Director Timothy Grant, who said the temporary classrooms at the school also will require network connectivity during construction.

“This will require installation of cabling in the temporary classrooms that then has to be removed after construction is completed,” Grant said, adding that when the permanent wiring is installed it will support the school’s telephones, Wi-Fi and intercoms.

Warren County School Board Vice Chairwoman Catherine Bower motioned to accept the recommendation that the contract be awarded to Syntax Communications, with a second from School Board member Kristen Pence. The motion carried with a unanimous vote from School Board Chairman Arnold Williams Jr., James Wells, Ralph Rinaldi, Bower, and Pence.

Funding to cover the $88,550 cost of the project will come from construction funds, Grant said, while the services and materials will be purchased through the school division’s IT contract with the Town of Front Royal.

In other action during the Board’s regular meeting on March 4, members also unanimously approved entering into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Lord Fairfax Community College and Northern Shenandoah Valley Adult Education to continue a partnership that provides GED classes to Warren County residents and citizens from surrounding counties.

The MOU for the 2020-2023 grant period requires that WCPS provide not less than a 15-percent local match of the federal funding allocated for the county, as well as the allocation of classroom space and technology resources. The local match for the first year is $9,510.80, said Jane Baker, principal for WCPS Career and Technical Education who also sits on the Shenandoah Valley Adult Education Board.

The grant sequencing will last for three years, taking effect July 1, the day after the current grant expires at the end of June, she said.

Lastly, the Warren County School Board unanimously voted to accept “with gratitude,” a $500 donation to the Skyline High School band and a $500 donation to the Warren County High School band from Gordmans, where the drum lines from both schools played last weekend during the new department store’s grand opening in Front Royal.

Following its regular meeting, the School Board members went into a work session where they received updated WCPS staff reports related to the school district’s proposed 2020-2021 operating budget.

George “Bucky” Smith, WCPS director of personnel, announced that the school district’s medical insurance rates.

George “Bucky” Smith, WCPS director of personnel, announced that the school district’s medical insurance provider, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, will decrease employee health insurance rates by 6.7 percent for the next school year.

That’s an even larger decrease than the initial 5.9 percent decrease that Smith discussed during a previous School Board meeting and will allow WCPS to pass on the decrease to those WCPS employees participating in the health insurance plan.

Smith said WCPS also is considering adding another tier to the health insurance plans it offers to employees, as well.

The district’s objective with proposing to increase salary scales and provide solid benefits at reasonable costs to employees is to make Warren County, Va., more competitive so that it can retain skilled staff, he said.

“We’re trying to mirror the places where we’re losing people,” Smith said, pointing specifically to Frederick County, Va. “All of these things can be very impactful,” he said.

The Virginia General Assembly is set to adjourn on Saturday, March 7, according to WCPS Finance Director Robert Ballentine, who said lawmakers then will make school budget information available, allowing the state’s school districts to finalize their local budgets.

“It will be really nice to know where they stand,” Ballentine said.

WCPS Interim Superintendent Melody Sheppard told School Board members that staff will present them with the finalized state budget, as well as final WCPS budget recommendations, during the Board’s March 11 meeting, which will be held at 5 p.m. at the School Board Office.