A couple of noteworthy items are on the agenda for the two Waynesboro School Board meetings that are on the schedule for next week.
The School Board, at its regularly scheduled meeting for the month of October, which is set for the second Tuesday of the month, so, this one being on Tuesday, Oct. 13, will go into closed session at 4:30 p.m. to discuss unspecified “personnel matters.”
The second meeting of the week, a special called meeting set for Thursday, Oct. 15, at 3:30 p.m., is entirely built around a closed session for “discussion with Virginia School Boards Association for the consideration of perspective candidates for employment, assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, and appointees for the position of Superintendent.”
It would be fair to assume that the 4:30 p.m. closed session on Tuesday involves the superintendent search as well.
Also on Tuesday, the Board has a closed session on the agenda, after the public meeting, which begins at 6 p.m., to “discuss personnel matters, consultation with legal counsel and plans related to protecting public safety.”
That’s all we know – again, we have to assume, and here, we can assume there could be a nexus to the Sept. 2 shooting at Westwood Hills Elementary School.
The other item of note on the Oct. 13 agenda that got my attention is under the title “Superintendent’s Report,” related to the 2027-2028 budget calendar.
Given that the current superintendent, Jeffrey Cassell, is stepping down at the end of the calendar year – which is why the School Board is hot and heavy into its search for candidates to replace him – the schedule spells out the difficulties facing the school system relative to the budget for next year.
School Board members have said they want to have a new superintendent hired by the end of this month to ensure as seamless a transition as possible relative to the budget for the 2027-2028 fiscal year.
Well, so, here’s what we know about the timeline for developing the 2027-2028 budget, from a copy of the “Budget Development Calendar” that is included in the online packet for the Oct. 13 meeting:
October 2026
- Review budget calendar
- Identify preliminary needs and budget priorities
November 2026
- Budget instructions forwarded to budget managers
- Adopt budget priorities
- Adopt budget calendar
December 2026
- Review budget managers’ requests
- Review governor’s state budget proposal
- Develop revenue projections for local and federal funds
January 2027
- Budget public hearing and work session: Jan. 12, 5:30 p.m.
- Preliminary budget information presented to School Board
February 2027
- Superintendent’s budget presentation: Feb. 9
Having a new superintendent on the job on Jan. 1 means whoever this new person is will be on the job 11 days before the first public hearing on the budget.
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Chris Graham
