The Waynesboro School Board approved a contract with Kjellstrom and Lee Construction of Fishersville as construction manager for the next phase of renovations at Waynesboro High School.
The construction company’s bid is $3,980,305 for renovations including demolition of the 1970s wing, construction of a new wing of classrooms, a new gymnasium, and improvements to baseball and football facilities.
Waynesboro Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff Cassell said nine companies submitted bids, he and staff interviewed three last week and Kjellstrom and Lee was chosen for its experience with occupied spaces.
“They had an outstanding proposal,” Cassell said of the company which just finished the University Rec Center building renovations at JMU while students occupied the building.
Waynesboro High students will continue to occupy the building and attend classes during renovations.
Kjellstrom and Lee has renovated various buildings at colleges in Virginia, including renovations of two dorms at the University of Mary Washington, Hartman Hall College of Business at JMU and the Engineering Research Building at VCU.
Kjellstrom and Lee will use the building across from the high school, a former automotive dealership, for its construction management offices and parking for as many as 120 employees on any given day of renovations at the high school.
In a 2026 budget update at the school board’s regular meeting Tuesday night, Cassell said that Waynesboro Schools awaits a final budget from Virginia, which may or may not come with the Virginia General Assembly reconvening on May 2, 2025.
Cassell said Gov. Glenn Youngkin line item vetoed removal of funding for support staff for public schools. Cassell said the funding became frozen by the state during the Great Recession.
“And, that had not been fully restored, which impacted the funding that we got from the state for support staff positions.”
However, the General Assembly removed the support staff cap and added $595,000 of funding. The ratio of support staff per 1,000 public school students used to be 27.5 persons, but Youngkin lowered the ratio to 25.2. The General Assembly did not accept the governor’s proposal as the budget was passed.
While Waynesboro Schools remains unsure how the support staff funding will affect its budget for 2026, Cassell said the school system could lose as much as $380,000 of the $595,000.
“That could be a fairly substantial reduction in state funding,” Cassell said.
The situation with Virginia’s budget creates a tough situation for public schools, including Waynesboro, as they begin to create contracts and hire new staff for the 2025-2026 school year. After the state approves a final budget, the Virginia Department of Education will send funding numbers to all schools.
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Rebecca Barnabi
