The Caroline County School Board is exploring the most effective way to communicate its Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to stakeholders and constituents.
Chris Caldwell, the supervisor of maintenance for the school division, said during a presentation at this week’s board meeting that the school board has not had an opportunity in recent years to present its 10-year facility plan or 5-year CIP to county officials.
Caldwell said in the past, the school division would present the CIP to the county’s planning commission, who would then hold a public hearing and forward recommendations to the board of supervisors.
“Please be aware that the county has changed its process in recent years,” Caldwell told the school board.
The school division invites a group of stakeholders to participate in the CIP process, including parents, residents, business owners, county staff and the board of supervisors. Teachers and students are also involved.
“The last two years we have not had any county administration or any members of the board of supervisors involved in the committee, but we still invite them to join us,” Caldwell said.
The CIP involves any project valued at $50,000 or more that offers new or enhanced services to the school division. The supervisors are responsible for allocating operational and capital improvement funds to the school board.
Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Clay Forehand said he and his colleagues are open to discussing the CIP with the school board during the next budget cycle. However, Forehand said the previous process of going to the planning commission for a public hearing on the CIP was not beneficial because supporters of the school division were able to make their plea for more funds and convince the community of needs in the schools, but with limited funds in the county budget.
“It made it harder for the board [of supervisors] to say ‘no,'” said Forehand, who represents the Madison District. “We stopped doing it. It was basically more support for shooting yourself in the foot.”
School board member Lydell Fortune of the Mattaponi District expressed concern that county officials are unresponsive to requests for joint meetings. He said one invitation went out on June 12 and the school division has yet to receive a response.
“That concern, for me, is heightened with respect to our 10-year facility plan and our ability to work that plan to address our current over-capacity issues and future growth needs and concerns,” Fortune said.
Fortune suggested forming a joint CIP/facilities committee that would include county and school officials and perhaps a representative from the Town of Bowling Green’s administration.
“My concern is that this work that needs to be done as soon as possible in my opinion won’t be done unless there’s a dedicated committee that encompasses members of the board of supervisors, our board and staff,” Fortune said.
While his fellow school board members weren’t totally against the recommendation, they cautioned that inviting too many offiicials to the table might overshadow the voices of the teachers, principals and other staff members who are more intimately involved in the day-to-day operations of the schools.
School Board member JoWanda Rollins-Fells, who represents the Reedy Church District, said she is wary of ideas and strategies coming from the “top down” instead of the “grassroots” level.
“The process we currently have in place values feedback from teachers who are in our buildings and in our classrooms, admins who know what they need and what they see, directors who are charged with doing the walkthroughs,” Rollins-Fells said. “So, I would pause with anything that would have an unintended consequence that board members either on this board or our board of supervisors would supersede the voice of those who are in the trenches and involved in the daily operation.”
Caldwell also provided the school board with an update on the modular classrooms set to be installed at Bowling Green Elementary School to ease overcrowding.
Caldwell said the units are scheduled to be transported from the factory on July 21 and set up on-site July 28. Teacher move-in is scheduled for Aug. 4. However, Caldwell said he was informed of a potential delay that could stall progress a bit. He said there will be a backup plan at BGE if the delay does occur.
“We are actively working on contingency plans to ensure a smooth start to the school year regardless of the modular unit timeline,” Caldwell said.
In other business, Board Chair Calvin Taylor said the group had a productive retreat in Charlottesville earlier this month, where it discussed its strengths and weaknesses. During the retreat, the board completed training and was re-certified as a master board by the Virginia School Board Association.
“I’m very proud our board is still pursuing that,” Taylor said of the master board designation. “It means we are going the extra mile to do what we need to do in order to serve the students of this county.”
