School Board OKs New Teacher Slot, Video Camera Guidelines, 2 Assistant Track Coaches

WCPS Assistant Superintendent of Administration George “Buck” Smith (left at podium) and WCPS Personnel Director Jody Lee (right at podium) on Wednesday night each presented action agenda items to the Warren County School Board (from left at dais) Andrea Lo, Antoinette Funk, Kristen Pence, Ralph Rinaldi, and Melanie Salins.

The Warren County School Board, on Wednesday, November 1, voted unanimously to approve an additional elementary school teacher position, two new high school assistant coaches, and the policy that Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) will follow if and when video camera surveillance is used in any classroom.

School Board Chair Kristen Pence, Vice Chair Ralph Rinaldi, and board members Antoinette Funk, Andrea Lo, and Melanie Salins were present to vote.

The board members adopted Policy JOAA Classroom Video Surveillance to assist school administrators in determining when video footage may be shared with others, including parents or guardians, law enforcement, and other third parties, according to the policy draft, which was read for the third and final time on Wednesday.

“This policy itself is not one that mandates a camera in the classroom,” WCPS Assistant Superintendent of Administration George “Buck” Smith told the board. “However, if there’s one in the room, this is the perimeter of which we follow.”

Smith said that in order to protect the safety and security of students, employees, and authorized visitors in certain school division classrooms, the School Board may require video camera surveillance in all or selected classrooms.

The adopted four-page policy outlines nine different areas: 

1. Type of monitoring to be done with the video cameras; 
2. Where monitoring can occur;
3. Length of time that recordings should be stored;
4. Custodian of the video footage;
5. When videos can be viewed,
6. Who can review the video;  
7. Protection of student identities;
8. When Social Services and/or law enforcement may access the video footage and
9. Definitions of incident, self-contained special education classroom, and classroom.

For example, WCPS may utilize video cameras during the instructional day in all or designated classrooms, the draft policy states, and each camera shall be capable of monitoring all areas of a classroom and any attached room and recording audio from those areas. 

However, the policy draft states that no video camera required by the policy shall monitor a restroom or other area in the classroom where a student changes clothes, except for incidental monitoring of a minor portion of a restroom or other area where students change clothes because of the layout of the classroom. 

WCPS will provide written notice of the placement of cameras each year to the parent or guardian of a student who is placed in the classroom and the school employees assigned to any classroom, says the draft.

Additionally, a video recording under this policy cannot be released or viewed by anyone except the school principal, other school administration designee, or division superintendent. If there is a camera, the school principal will be able to view no less than 15 minutes of the video of each pre-kindergarten or self-contained special education classroom at the school no less than once every quarter. The school principal will only view footage in other monitored classrooms when there is a complaint or incident that would necessitate the video footage being reviewed, according to the policy draft.

The school division is not allowed to use video recorded under this policy for teacher evaluations or any purpose other than the promotion and protection of the health, well-being, and safety of students, the draft says.

More votes

In other action, the board voted 5-0 to approve two additional Winter Track assistant coaches, one at each high school, and to approve an additional teacher at Hilda J. Barbour (HJB) Elementary School. 

WCPS Personnel Director Jody Lee told School Board members that Warren County High School and Skyline High School athletic directors have expressed the continued need for more assistant coaches.

“The number of student-athletes participating in our track and field programs continues to rise,” Lee said. “This would allow our coaching staff to individualize their coaching techniques with each event and the student-athletes competing in them.”

Likewise, WCPS Superintendent Christopher Ballenger said that increased class sizes at HJB Elementary School have made it necessary to hire an additional teacher to qualify for state class size reduction funding. The cost and financing for the approved teacher slot is estimated at $55,000, which is prorated for the remainder of the year. A new teacher is expected to be hired by December 1.

Among other action items, the School Board moved that the superintendent be authorized to request that the Warren County Board of Supervisors (BOS) increase the School Board’s fiscal year 2023-2024 Operating Fund Budget by $1,114,509, which would be broken out into the following expenditure categories: 61000 – Instruction $820,479; 62000 Administration, Attendance and Health $22,217; 63000 – Pupil Transportation $18,728; 64000 – Operation and Maintenance $241,850; and 68000 – Technology $11,235.

The board said that contingent upon BOS approval of the additional appropriation, several additional positions be approved: one maintenance supervisor position, two elementary art teachers, and four security officers. 

Also contingent upon BOS approval of the additional appropriation, the proposed fiscal year 2024 Amended Salary Scales reflecting an additional two percent increase to be effective January 1, 2024 also be approved.

“Just to clarify, we’re not asking for more money,” said Funk. “We are just asking for an appropriation for the new money that’s coming to us from the state.” 

“That’s correct,” said Ballenger. “We’re going to make that very clear [to BOS]. We will not be asking our locality for any additional money. This is all state revenue that is coming in, and so the increase in appropriations is strictly due to state revenue.”

Specifically, he explained, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on September 6 convened a special session of the 2023 General Assembly, which adopted a budget (HB 6001/SB 6001) that amends the fiscal year 2024 Direct Aid distributions to school divisions compared to the Chapter 769 budget adopted at the 2023 regular session in February. 

WCPS will receive $2,550,988 in additional funding from the newly adopted budget. The additional funding is broken down into three categories. The two percent compensation supplement funding totals $282,112 with additional revenue due to an increase in funded Standards of Quality (SOQs) support positions amounting to $555,450 and All In Per Pupil Funding totaling $1,713,426. 

It is proposed that $1,436,479 of the additional All In Per Pupil funding be carried over to fiscal year 2025 to retain Student Support Coaches for another year, said Ballenger, with the remainder of the additional All In Per Pupil Funding ($276,947) to be used in fiscal year 2024 to purchase materials to support the goals of the Virginia Literacy Act.

The $282,112 two percent compensation funding, along with $166,380 of the increase in funded SOQ support positions funding, will be used to provide the additional two percent increase. The remainder of the increase in funded SOQ support positions ($389,070) will be used to create the additional WCPS positions.

Happy highlights

During a presentation by board members of the Warren County Educational Endowment, a $50,000 check was given to the School Board, reflecting the total amount of grant monies awarded this fall by the endowment. 

“For many years, the Warren County Educational Endowment has been a vital partner that has provided grant funding to teachers for innovative learning opportunities for our students,” said Ballenger. “This year, they awarded 10 grants to the Warren County Public School system totaling $50,694.”

Warren County Educational Endowment Board Director Mary Anne Biggs (above) helped present the check to the School Board.

During another part of the board’s meeting, Ballenger presented attendance awards to A.S. Rhodes Elementary School, Skyline Middle School, and Ressie Jeffries Elementary School. 

During the school reports segment of the School Board’s meeting, the board members heard presentations from school staff at Warren County Middle School, E. Wilson Morrison Elementary School, Leslie Fox Keyser Elementary School, Warren County High School, and Skyline High School. 

Ballenger introduced staff from the schools, who spotlighted specific programs, educational supports, clubs, projects, field trips, community work, teachers, and students, among others. 

“It’s really nice and refreshing to hear some of the positives that we have going on in Warren County Public Schools because they are the majority of the positives that we have going on here,” said Pence. 

“It’s really nice to see when these children come up, especially the elementary kids; they just kind of warm your heart, you know?” agreed Rinaldi. “Usually, with us, we hear all the bad news, and it’s great to sit up here and see the good news. And there is a lot of good news happening in Warren County Public Schools.”

Click here to watch the School Board’s meeting of November 1, 2023.