School Board, WCPS face evolving academic year

Two speakers during last night’s Warren County School Board meeting reminded board members and Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) staff that the school year 2020-2021 will be unlike any other previously experienced, and they offered recommendations for how to move forward as students start school on Tuesday, September 8.

“Next week, our community and local news media will closely watch WCPS as we start school in a way we never have before. Some would expect us to fail. Some may even hope for it. But most will cheer us on,” said Kim Oakland, president of the Warren County Education Association and a teacher at Ressie Jeffries Elementary School, during the meeting’s community participation segment.

“We will make mistakes and have glitches. But we won’t fail. We will learn from our mistakes and turn those experiences into learning opportunities.” said Kim Oakland, president of the Warren County Education Association 

In fact, said Oakland, that is one of the most important life skills that can be taught to students: to realize that mistakes are not failures but learning opportunities.

Oakland challenged School Board members, WCPS staff, students, parents, and community members to remember the mantra ‘It’s not hard, it’s just new,’ as everyone faces the challenges of this school year during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The second speaker, Front Royal resident David Downes, commended everyone “for the Herculean effort that has gone into completely revamping what we used to know of as school” during the pandemic.

However, Downes said he wanted to discuss another related epidemic: the rise in overdoses that are spiking locally and throughout the United States.

While there are many reasons for the increase, Downes said that one of the tragedies of COVID-19 is reduced socializing for those most in need of role models and peer support. “Their socializing has been turned upside down,” he said told School Board members.

Recently, Downes said a local 16-year-old died due to a drug overdose. “As a parent of twin 13-year-olds, I envision that I will watch them graduate, get married, have kids, and then someday mourn my death. It should not be the other way around,” he said.

Downes asked the School Board to take up consideration around the issue of drug testing for school athletes. He provided members with a packet that contained a copy of the guidelines and protocols issued by the Virginia Department of Education, as well as information on a successful Clark County, Va., a program costing about $25,000 to $30,000 a year that’s been used for about a decade, among other resources for them to review.

“These are the leaders in the school. Other students look up to the athletes; they set the bar,” Downes said. “If they know for a fact they’re not using, it’s what cool kids are doing — as opposed to the opposite.”

 Downes asked the School Board to take up consideration around the issue of drug testing for school athletes.

Downes, who is also a Front Royal attorney, noted that his 33-year background in criminal defense likely makes his request to the School Board seem “extremely ironic,” considering that he has represented hundreds, if not thousands of drug suppliers, dealers, and drug addicts.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that these are children not capable of making responsible decisions,” said Downes, who added that he’s willing to help financially start an effort in Warren County for a student-athlete drug testing program. “It needs to be investigated,” he said.

In other business, the Warren County School Board unanimously approved five action agenda items, with Board Chairman Arnold Williams, Jr., Board Vice Chairwoman Catherine Bower, and members Kristen Pence, Ralph Rinaldi, and James Wells present.

The approved items were July 2020 Virginia School Boards Association Policy Updates, which will be included in the WCPS Policy Manual as recommended by staff; a new lease agreement for a classroom at the Raymond E. Santmyers Youth Center for the Elements Program; to continue using existing attorneys who have moved over to the new law firm of Sands Anderson PC for legal counsel regarding WCPS special education; and an additional instructional assistant position to serve preschool students in the Virginia Preschool Initiative program, as well as a related personnel addendum.

Specifically, the new lease agreement is required because Lord Fairfax Community College can no longer house the Elements Program for the school year 2020-2021 due to the pandemic. The program supports adult learners age 18-22 and focuses on employment readiness, job shadowing, and community-based employment, according to WCPS Special Services Director Michael Hirsch, who told the board that the school district wanted to operate the program at the Santmyers Youth Center on East 8th Street in Front Royal. The youth center serves as the main administrative office of the Warren County Parks and Recreation Department.

“The Parks and Recreation Department has been a valued partner over the years, and we look forward to this new endeavor,” Hirsch said.

Also, during the School Board’s Wednesday night meeting, Dr. Frederick P. Logan, Jr., was officially inducted into the Roy K. Boyles Wall of Recognition. Logan initially was named an inductee during the board’s May 6 meeting and last night formally received recognition and a plaque presented by Board Chairman Williams.

The School Board also received information from Warren County’s financial advisor, Davenport & Company LLC, on the refinancing of two existing bonds. The School Board in August passed a resolution requesting that the Warren County Board of Supervisors apply through the Virginia Public School Authority for bonds to refinance the bonds. The refinancing of the current debt will save roughly $3 million over the life of the bonds, according to the Davenport representative.

The School Board’s next meeting is Wednesday, September 16 at 5 p.m.