School Board Votes to Bolster School Security, Hire More Ressie Jeffries Teachers

Christopher Ballenger (above) highlighted several forthcoming issues for School Board consideration.

The Warren County School Board, on Wednesday, November 14, unanimously approved a motion to hire two more teachers for Ressie Jeffries Elementary School and voted to require law enforcement experience for an incoming school security officer.

School Board Chair Kristen Pence, Vice Chair Ralph Rinaldi, and members Andrea Lo, Antoinette Funk, and Melanie Salins were present for the 5-0 votes.

“As our ELL [English Language Learner] population continues to increase, there is a need for an additional teacher to help meet their needs,” Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) Personnel Director Jody Lee said when presenting the teacher hiring item. “We have also experienced an increase in elementary numbers that have pushed class size limits at Ressie Jeffries.”

Lee pointed out that three teachers were added to the budget, but larger numbers in lower grades required staff to be adjusted at Ressie Jeffries this year, so the two positions will help address the increased numbers of both sets of students, he said.

In another action item presented by Lee, he said that while the district’s current school security officer job description requires a bachelor’s degree candidate, WCPS staff wanted to modify that description to recruit a more experienced applicant with a law enforcement background. 

The person will assist at both WCPS high schools in monitoring the flow of students entering and exiting the schools, as well as general student monitoring during the school day, and facilitate security measures both in the building and surrounding school grounds, Lee explained.

The unanimously approved job description now reads: “KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, EDUCATION, AND ABILITIES — Candidate must (1) be a graduate of an accredited college or university or (2) possess a high school diploma with previous law enforcement, corrections, or security experience. Candidates must be at least 21 years of age and must be able to obtain a School Safety Officer Certification through the Department of Criminal Justice Services within 90 days.”

In other action, the School Board voted unanimously to allow WCPS Superintendent Christopher Ballenger to lecture for compensation at universities and colleges as long as it does not interfere with his contracted duties for the school district. “I’m interested in taking on speaking engagements, lectures, etc.,” said Ballenger. “I would not do these activities during the school day.”

Lastly, the board also approved the school district’s adoption and purchase of McGraw-Hill Environmental Science hardcopy textbooks and online subscriptions for a five-year term at a cost of $20,052.86.

Work Session presentations

Erin Fisher, executive director of Anti-Trafficking International, shared information with the School Board on the organization’s grades 6-10 curriculum on human trafficking, abuse, and exploitation. 

“Human trafficking is quickly growing and overtaking the drug trafficking trade,” Fisher said, adding that “rural counties have a high vulnerability rate due to the increased fentanyl and opioid epidemic.”

In fact, the Front Royal, Va., and Warren County area is not immune to human trafficking, she said, due to easy access to Interstate 66 and Interstate 81.

“Traffickers are way ahead of the game compared to most parents,” said Fisher (above). “It’s a real issue that parents are starting to deal with.”

Anti-Trafficking International offers a program that Fisher said is cost-effective, sustainable, customizable, and time-sensitive. The program is designed to increase parents’ and students’ knowledge, awareness, and prevention of human trafficking.

The program aims to give students the skills to know what to look for in an effort to spur a cultural shift about the issue, she said, similar to the goals of the D.A.R.E. [Drug Abuse Resistance Education] program. 

For instance, program participants learn about what dangers to be aware of based on actual case examples and in-person testimonies. The program also incorporates a lot of classroom discussion to help students work through scenarios and support each other in understanding the issue and associated dangers.

At the same time, Fisher said discussions focus on consent, choice, hope, respect, and the responsibility of being part of the community. Segments also naturally fall within the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) to give students a foundation of knowledge, she said. 

Presented as an informational item to the School Board, Ballenger added that the program could be supplemental to some Family Life courses aligned with SOLs, and would cost roughly $5,000 for three years.

Richard Novak (above, standing), club director of the Front Royal Rotary Club, and Michael Williams (above right, blue sweatshirt) of the Warren County Rotary Club said during the meeting that both clubs would fund the program if the School Board found the cost to be prohibitive. 

“Human trafficking is so broad,” Novak said. “We need to give our kids some ammunition and knowledge to fight it and prevent it before it happens. We think it’s that important.”

“Don’t let money be the issue,” added Williams, owner of MDUB Chauffeur Services LLC. “We’ll take care of that.”

Pence thanked the clubs’ representatives for their generous offers. The board is likely to see the item presented later for action.

In another Work Session presentation, Chuck Haines, WCPS secondary truancy prevention officer, and WCPS Assistant Superintendent for Administration George “Buck” Smith discussed moving the secondary truancy prevention officer from a 10-month contract to a 12-month contract in order to fulfill the summertime needs of truancy. 

“There is a lot of work that has to go into these cases, including gaining information from service providers, discussing issues with parents, and responding to the assigned defense attorneys, Guardian ad Litems, and the prosecuting attorney,” said Smith. 

Once a petition is filed, he explained, the Code of Virginia requires that adjudication take place within 120 days. That means that petitions filed in March, April, and potentially May, therefore, require trials that are held over the summer. And Haines has to attend those trials.

So, as WCPS works to improve how it handles truancy and chronic absenteeism, it would be helpful to extend the contract for Haines’ position, they said. 

“We have seen a significant increase in truancy cases, along with the struggles of getting students back in school since the pandemic,” Haines said.

Ballenger added that WCPS may also need an additional attendance officer. The item will be presented to the board for action during one of its meetings in December, he said.