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School Board considers solar panels at Rappahannock County High School

by | Nov 15, 2023

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RCHS Principal Carlos Seward recognized Band Director Kalia Page and the Rappahannock County Marching Band at Tuesday's board meeting. Page and Drum Major Elijah Lowe updated the board on the band's successful competition season.
RCHS Principal Carlos Seward recognized Band Director Kalia Page and the Rappahannock County Marching Band at Tuesday's board meeting. Page and Drum Major Elijah Lowe updated the board on the band's successful competition season.

Watch Tuesday’s School Board meeting:

Rappahannock County School Board Meeting, Nov. 14, 2023

The Rappahannock County School Board heard updates Tuesday on proposed installation of solar panels at the high school, as well as the Future Educators Academy and the band program’s success this marching season. 

Solar panel update

Dr. Robin Bolt, Rappahannock’s public schools’ executive director of administrative services, and Loren Swartzendruber, a senior associate at Secure Solar Futures, a solar company, gave an update at the board’s monthly meeting on the proposed installation of solar panels on the high school roof. 

Bolt presented data on the amount of money that could be saved on electricity if panels were installed, and detailed a proposed agreement with Secure Solar Futures. For the first 25 years, RCPS would pay for the power produced by the panels, and after that, the school system would have the option to purchase the panels or have them removed.

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If the school system buys the panels, Bolt’s calculations estimate the school would save more than $1 million across a 35-year span. 

The next step is for an engineer to certify that the structure can handle the weight of the panels. The board postponed a vote to approve a structural inspection until next month’s meeting to allow time for it and legal counsel to review the contract.

Future Educators program nears state approval

Academic Services Coordinator Karen Ellis updated the board on the Future Educators Academy, a four-county partnership with Germanna Community College, which if approved by the Virginia Board of Education on Wednesday would give Rappahannock County students an opportunity to fast-track a career in education. 

Rising juniors would be able to apply to the two-year, 60-credit-hour program which if approved, is set to begin next fall. Participating students would earn an associate’s degree in education and immediately be accepted into Bachelor’s of Education programs at James Madison University or the University of Mary Washington.

Marching band recognized

carlos seward marching band

RCHS Principal Carlos Seward recognized Band Director Kalia Page and the Rappahannock County Marching Band at Tuesday’s board meeting. Page and Drum Major Elijah Lowe updated the board on the band’s successful competition season.

RCHS principal Carlos Seward recognized the marching band’s achievements this season. Band Director Kalia Page detailed the band’s successful season, stating that it placed at every competition it competed in this year, including fifth place in their division at the Parade of Champions at JMU, a competition that hosts schools from across the East Coast, and first in all six categories in the division and second place overall at its last competition at Powhatan High School. 

Author

  • Ireland Hayes

    Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.

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By Ireland Hayes

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Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.