The proposal of a $40 million new middle school and an $8 million new central office are not the only significant things to happen this year in the Williamsburg-James City County School district. There’s been much more for the school division’s community to consider. Read on for an overview of news from WJCC in 2013.
January
- Increases in employee compensation in Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools were discussed as a high priority in the coming fiscal year when school board members and administrators met to discuss the division’s strategic plan.
February
- Both WJCC Superintendent Steven Constantino and York County School Division Superintendent Eric Williams came out against a new state plan to assign schools an A through F grade in place of the accreditation system, using the argument — among others — it insulted the intelligence of the public.
- The division’s CFO, Scott Burkbuchler, announced he would leave WJCC to become superintendent of Essex County Schools.
- The second dialogue between school leaders, parents, teachers and community members was hosted at Jamestown High, during which time recurring themes emerged: concerns over Standards of Learning tests, growing class sizes, budget cuts and diminishing special education resources.
- Constantino’s proposed budget went before the school board showing $1.2 million in cuts with expenditures going up $4.5 million with $2.4 million in proposed salary increases.
March and April
- After a proposal from Constantino to cut the adult GED and LPN programs from the budget, the school board received public feedback asking for the division to retain them for another year.
- The WJCC administration added modified adult GED and LPN programs back into the budget, and subsequently approved and passed the budget to the James City County Board of Supervisors for consideration.
- A committee of 17 people began exploring options to build a fourth middle school in the division after growing class sizes showed a need for the building.
April
- A look at a state bill regarding bullying and cyberbullying showed WJCC schools had already incorporated rules into its code of conduct long before the law passed.
May
- An 18-year-old student was charged after allegedly bringing a knife onto school property after a 3.75-inch blade was found in his backpack.
- Terry Stone, then the director of financial operations for the Hanover County School System, was named WJCC’s new CFO.
June
- Jeff Carroll, then vice principal at Lafayette High, was named the new principal at Warhill High School.
- A 13-year-old James City County boy was arrested after allegedly threatening to bomb Hornsby Middle School over the school’s handheld radio system.
- Superintendent Steven Constantino said the James Blair Middle School property, which is home to the school’s central office, was a likely location for a new and fourth middle school.
July
- It was announced six teachers from Williamsburg-James City County and York County school districts would participate in the Virginia Initiative for Science Teaching and Achievement – a yearlong program at the College of William and Mary.
- Several assistant principals in WJCC shuffled around to different schools within the division, including those at Warhill High, Berkeley Middle and Lafayette High.
- Among more changes in leadership at WJCC, two employees, Nathan Leach and Arletha Dockery, resigned. Leach’s resignation followed his reassignment from Warhill to Lafayette as assistant principal.
August
- Preliminary results of the state-required Standards of Learning tests showed dips in reading, writing and science among students after increased rigor in those areas.
- Through a community comments page, the school division requested public input on whether the board should build a new and fourth middle school or renovate the existing James Blair Middle to fill the need.
September
- Constantino recommended spending in $40 million to build a new and fourth middle school and $8.5 million to build a new central office for the division.
- The school board decided it would bring James City County into the conversation that surrounds a fourth middle school and the usage of the James Blair Middle property.
- Hornsby Middle School went into lockdown after a student found a rifle magazine loaded with bullets in a second floor classroom.
- The Tuition Assistance Program – that pays partial tuition for school teachers to go to school to further professional development – experienced a large cut to reflect budget changes.
October
- It was discovered the collapse of an underground rain-collecting tank was the cause of sinkage found partially underneath the Matoaka Elementary playground.
- With the upcoming election season, school board candidates Joe Fuentes, Melinda Lincoln-Richardson and Jim Kelly answered a Q&A with WYDaily.
- Constantino asked the school board to delay the decision on what to do about building a new middle school, renovating the existing James Blair Middle and finding a home for the central office, pending conversations with the city and county.
November
- A $25,000 temporary fix was approved by the school board to bandage the collapsed rain tank that caused sinkage at the Matoaka Elementary playground.
- A new policy, detailing proper social media use for WJCC employees, was approved by the school board.
- During a discussion about legislative priorities, school board member Heather Cordasco and Chairwoman Ruth Larson came out as split on a new law that creates a state-level school board that takes control of public schools that have been denied accreditation.
December
- Lafayette High’s Band Director Chris Smith resigned his position and took a job as assistant principal of Woodside High in the Newport News Public Schools system.
- A James City County Planning Commission Policy Committee meeting revealed the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools would not pursue a new use for the James Blair Middle School while it looked for a home for its fourth middle school.
- A WJCC bus driver, whose bus caught fire while children were aboard, told her first-hand account of the event to WYDaily.