Waynesboro School Board receives 2025 budget update, pitch for teacher union

Waynesboro School Board’s regular Tuesday meeting brought an update on the 2025 budget, high school renovations and a pitch for a teacher union.

Waynesboro High School ELL teacher Will Blackburn spoke during public comment at Waynesboro School Board’s regular meeting Tuesday night. He said he thinks Waynesboro Schools needs collective bargaining, which is “nothing to be afraid of.”

He encouraged school board members to research the idea “with an open mind.”

Collective bargaining allows school staff and faculty “a seat at the table” when it comes to negotiating employment contracts.

According to Blackburn, employees who are included in decision making “feel a greater sense of responsibility, they feel a greater sense of connectedness to their environment, their administrators, their colleagues, and more importantly, their students.”

“Collective bargaining also benefits the district in the long run by increasing teacher retention,” Blackburn, a member of the
Waynesboro Education Association, said. “When we have collective bargaining, we’re more likely to remain in the district, reducing turnover rates.”

Blackburn said that nearby school districts in Virginia are adopting collective bargaining.

Waynesboro Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff Cassell provided a budget and renovations update for the school board. He added that large capital improvement projects should not be necessary for the school system’s 2024-2025 budget because of numerous recent upgrades at several schools.

The city of Waynesboro will provide approximately 30 percent local funding toward the school system’s budget, which is funding from local tax dollars.

Federal funding for Waynesboro Schools is generally the same year to year.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin is expected to provide his state budget on Wednesday, December 18, 2024. Waynesboro Schools receives more than 50 percent of annual funding from the Commonwealth.

From local, federal and state funding, Waynesboro Schools staff will draft a budget for 2024-2025 to be presented to the school board in January 2025.

A 6:30 p.m. public hearing on the 2024-2025 budget will be held on Tuesday, January 14, 2024. Residents are encouraged to attend and provide comments or concerns.

In an update on renovations at Waynesboro High School, Cassell said the city will appropriate $1 million of surplus funding toward phase III, which will include demolition of the 1970s portion of the school. The 1970s portion cannot be saved because of structural issues.

Architects from RRMM are expected to visit the school in early January 2025 to finalize a conceptual design of a new addition that fits the school’s footprint at 1200 W. Main St., Waynesboro. The school was built in 1936.

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