School Board OKs new pending budget, new principals, new security cameras

The Warren County School Board on Wednesday, May 3, unanimously green-lighted the appointment of two new elementary school teachers for Warren County Public Schools (WCPS), as well as the superintendent’s proposed fiscal year 2024 operating budget for the school district and new security equipment for two Warren County schools.

Present at the meeting were School Board Chair Kristen Pence, Vice Chair Ralph Rinaldi, and members Andrea Lo, Antoinette Funk, and Melanie Salins, who voted 5-0 in two separate action items to accept the appointments of both principals.

Prior to the board’s vote, WCPS Superintendent Christopher Ballenger introduced and recommended Jennifer Knox as the principal at E. Wilson Morrison (EWM) Elementary School and Jessica Vacca as the principal at Leslie Fox Keyser (LFK) Elementary School. Both begin their new positions on July 1.

“I’m excited to get started,” said Knox, who has been an educator for 13 years and moved to Front Royal from Las Vegas two years ago with her family.

Vacca, who began her career in 2007 as a first-grade teacher at EWM Elementary School, has also worked at A.S. Rhodes Elementary School, Hilda J. Barbour Elementary School, and LFK Elementary School. At LFK, Vacca served as the assistant principal and, since November, has taken on the role of interim principal.

“I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for your decision to entrust in me the position of principal at [LFK],” Vacca said. “I fully believe in the school division and its mission.”

Shane Goodwin (above) is leaving WCPS for a new position with Frederick County Public Schools.

In other personnel news, Shane Goodwin is leaving WCPS as the school district’s Personnel Director during what is currently a tough teacher hiring and retention time for many school districts across the country, including Warren County.

Goodwin, who has been acknowledged for diligently trying to recruit, hire and retain WCPS staff before, during, and after the pandemic, has been named Frederick County Public Schools’ new Assistant Superintendent for Administration. He will begin his new role effective June 1.

“I just wanted to stand before you tonight and say thank you for so many things,” Goodwin told board members during the meeting’s community participation portion. “And thank you for putting kids first and for believing in me and for the opportunity.

“And while I look forward to new things, I’m really thankful for the older ones,” he added.

“Shane is leaving us, so that puts us in a real bind,” said Board Vice Chair Rinaldi during his report.

WCPS has had several other leadership staff changes recently. This school year, for instance, Jane Baker retired as director of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and principal at the Blue Ridge Technical Center; Greg Livesay retired as WCPS Maintenance Director; and Michael Hirsch retired as the head of Special Services. And Alan Fox, in 2022, retired as WCPS Assistant Superintendent for Instruction.

Proposed FY2024 budget
The School Board on Wednesday unanimously approved the superintendent’s proposed fiscal year (FY) 2024 operating budget for WCPS. Ballenger said the budget may change depending upon what happens with state funding action by the Virginia General Assembly.

The WCPS proposed FY2024 budget totals $72,524,746, which is an increase over last year’s budget and is based on a student enrollment of 4,998.

Of the total operating budget, $61,536,521 will cover FY2024 salaries and benefits, while $10,988,225 will cover line item non-labor costs.

Several revenue sources will cover these costs: State revenue of $38,093,115; $28,650,000 in local revenue; $4,980,387 from federal revenue — a decrease of $974,490 over approved FY2023 federal funds that totaled $5,954,877; roughly $500,000 from miscellaneous revenue sources, such as an energy bond rebate and county vehicle maintenance funds; and a $300,000 transfer from the Health Care Fund, according to Ballenger.

In an email to the Royal Examiner earlier today, School Board Chair Pence said members likely won’t know the final state budget until the end of June.

“I am supportive of our FY 2024 budget,” wrote Pence. “WCPS did not see an increase in funding from the FY22 to FY23 budget. While the FY24 operating budget does show an approximate $930k increase, the budget subcommittee, administrators, and entire School Board worked diligently to develop a budget that truly addresses the needs of our students.”

Pence also said that she appreciated the collaborative effort the School Board had during joint budget meetings with the Warren County Board of Supervisors (BOS). “Even with the $600k calculation template error from the state and rising costs of fuel and other necessities to run the division, we were still able to address the specific needs of our schools and include staff raises,” she wrote.

During his presentation, Ballenger expanded upon her comments by explaining that state revenue for WCPS will be reduced due to a $668,000 state aid calculation error. “So, we still have that in effect right now,” he said, “and that does give us an increase of about $1.2 million from state revenue.”

In addition to the state’s costly calculation error, Ballenger said the cost to hire substitute teachers is another of several drivers for the increased budget.

“We’ve had to put some money into the substitute budget,” he said. “As you are aware, the number of absences that we’ve had with staffing means we are probably going to be pushing a million dollars in substitutes this year. It’s pretty high. We’re hoping that we can get that cost down on our subs.”

Other budget drivers include higher fuel costs, the need for more school personnel, and teacher raises. The superintendent said some of the proposed cost-cutting includes an almost $600,000 cut to the non-labor budget; and putting some required positions on hold, such as a maintenance supervisor, an HVAC position, and a transportation mechanic.

“Those are positions that we cannot go multiple years without,” said Ballenger. “We need those positions.”

Included on the capital side of the budget are renovations at LFK Elementary School, where onsite construction started in December 2022. The completion date is set for August 2024. Funding for the LFK project totals $15,316,390, according to Ballenger’s presentation slides, which also include capital improvements for EWM Elementary School and Hilda J. Barbour Elementary School.

“My [budget] presentation is based on the current needs of the school division,” Ballenger said. “This budget is not complete as we are awaiting final numbers from the state that could have an impact on this budget. We will continue to review and refine it.”

More approvals
The School Board also voted unanimously to approve several other action agenda items, including:

Two quotes totaling $28,875 from MTS Equipment of Winchester, Va., to perform the proposed serving line improvements at both Skyline High School and Warren County High School, where the WCPS Food Service Department is working on efficiency in food service lines in the cafeterias, according to WCPS Assistant Superintendent of Administration George “Buck” Smith.

“Currently, we have air curtain reach-in coolers, which are used for display of our fruits and vegetables, but the coolers are largely inefficient and past their useful lives,” Smith told the board. “The new project will cost less in the long-term than replacing all of the existing coolers as they fail. And this will also be an effort to improve the overall aesthetic and increase our team’s ability to be more efficient when it comes to filling up the servery area.”

The project will add refrigerated drop-in serving wells to each serving line, improving the speed of service, and will be more visually appealing to students, he added.

Calendar changes. Juneteenth is now a division-wide holiday this school year and next year. The federal holiday is celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. The School Board also approved May 23, 2023, as the last day of school for students and May 24, 2023, as a professional work day.

New security cameras for A.S. Rhodes Elementary School and Skyline Middle School will be purchased from Herndon, Va.-based ePlus Inc. in the amount of $22,010.25, which will be covered by a 2022-2023 Virginia Security Grant. WCPS Technology Director Tim Grant said new cameras will replace what isn’t currently working. “They’ll definitely be getting an upgrade on these,” Grant said.

The 2023-2024 Local Perkins CTE funding plan was presented by Jane Baker from the Blue Ridge Technical Center (above at the podium). The local plan provides Warren County with funding to purchase materials and equipment, support professional development, and support members of identified special populations engaged in career and technical student organizations.

The funding enables students to be workforce-ready, Baker said, adding that the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has deemed the plan as “substantially approvable” in its present form, though final numbers are not yet available from VDOE.

“However, it is expected that the funding will be similar to the numbers presented in this document,” said Baker, noting that the numbers are reflective of last year’s allotment.

Specifically, Perkins funding provides WCPS funds to support CTE programs and is not to supplant but to enhance local funding, Baker said.

To watch the School Board’s May 3 meeting in its entirety, go to: https://www.wcpsva.org/schoolboardmeetings.