Watch the School Board meeting:
Rappahannock County School Board Meeting, Jan. 16, 2024
Rappahannock County Public Schools (RCPS) is set to receive a substantial increase in state aid — funding that the School Board and school administration has lobbied for in recent years.
The School Board reviewed Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed fiscal year 2025 budget at its Tuesday meeting. According to the budget proposal, the district will receive a $1.5 million increase in supplemental basic aid, an adjusted amount of state aid districts receive based on a county’s adjusted gross income, retail sales and property values.
Superintendent Shannon Grimsley said the inclusion of the funding in the state budget proposal nearly guarantees the school will receive the aid increase next year, and it would take an enactment of an amendment in the state house or senate to remove it.
Board Chair Wes Mills clarified that the aid would only be secured for the biennium and would be in jeopardy again in two years when the budget is reevaluated.
Sign up for Rapp News Daily, a free newsletter delivered to your email inbox every morning.
Grimsley and the School Board have been working with Del. Michael Webert (R-Fauquier) on an item in House Bill 1400 that would guarantee $1 million in supplemental basic aid for RCPS in perpetuity, removing a cap placed on the aid amount in 2007.
Grimsley said whoever the governor is at the time the next budget is drafted would be using the 2025 budget as a baseline.
“The budget bill supersedes anything in General Assembly language, and once it’s in there it’s harder to take out,” Grimsley said. “This is a very good place to start.”
The proposed budget also includes an increase of more than $300,000 for the district’s projected growth in enrollment and the removal of a $171,776 food and hygiene tax supplement. COVID-19 relief dollars will no longer be expended from the state.
New tutoring resources
RCPS Academic Services Coordinator Karen Ellis
RCPS Academic Services Coordinator Karen Ellis briefed the school board at Tuesday’s meeting.
Karen Ellis, academic services coordinator, said that through the Virginia Department of Education, RCPS received access to new tutoring softwares focused on reading and math skills and comprehension to combat learning loss.
Zearn, a tutoring software focused on math, and Lexia and Ignite, focused on reading, have been used during and after school. Ellis said each software has some level of personalization based on a student’s level of knowledge and comprehension.
Officers of School Board
The board reelected Wes Mills as chairman and Larry Grove as vice-chairman. Bynum was reappointed as the Headwaters’ representative, and newly-elected member Missy McCool was appointed as an alternate representative. McCool declined the position of alternate Policy Committee representative, and Mills took the position with Grove as the main representative.
Sign up for Rapp News Daily, a free newsletter delivered to your email inbox every morning.
Foothills logo – horizontal
Foothills Forum is an independent, community-supported nonprofit tackling the need for in-depth research and reporting on Rappahannock County issues.
The group has an agreement with Rappahannock Media, owner of the Rappahannock News, to present this series and other award-winning reporting projects. More at foothillsforum.org.
