Clarify dual enrollment changes
Power outages and surges at Rappahannock County Public Schools caused by a transformer fire and equipment failures — three times causing disruptions in the school day in the last week — reflect “a big issue” facing the schools, according to Superintendent Shannon Grimsley.
Her comments came during a discussion at Tuesday’s School Board meeting over electrical issues and facility improvements.
Jeff Henry, director of member services and community relations for Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC) attended the meeting to explain the cause of the recent outages, which he said stemmed from failures in a voltage-protection device and automatic shut off that should have shut off power during the surge. Henry said crews would inspect the line from the substation to the school Wednesday and provide a report to prevent future issues.
“I want to say in the last year, year and a half or so, is when we started noticing some of these issues,” Grimsley said. “Just to give you an extent of the damage so far, and that’s not including the last couple days, we’ve put in $130,000 worth of claims from things that have been burnt up. It is a big issue.”
Schools were forced to close early last Friday and Tuesday afternoon due to power failures that affected the water system and prevented toilets from flushing. Both schools had a late start on Wednesday after the boilers started working, according to a RCPS Facebook post.
“Friday, apparently there was a fire somewhere across the road. We came in with partial power. It affected our water treatment, and so we couldn’t keep our water pressure up, and we had to close early, because we have 600 people in that [elementary school], and they have to be able to use the facilities and have potable water,” Robin Bolt, executive director of administrative services, said.
During public comment, incoming School Board member Lynnie Genho asked if there is a policy for dismissing students early and how parents are notified. Grimsley said usually, the schools will give parents at least an hour’s notice that schools will close early, but on Tuesday, they only had 45 minutes.
“Our rule of thumb is try to get an hour’s notice. This time we had 45 minutes. We realized there was probably some delay with the electric [issues],” Grimsley said. “None of the toilets were flushing, and all these little kids with little bladders just had lunch, and you can’t have a place open for much longer than that.”
Damages from the recent power surges include the destruction of a heavy-duty surge protector and a check printing machine that the schools recently replaced.
“These things not only cause disruption in those types of operations, but then when you can’t hold school, it disrupts 1,000 families,” Grimsley said.
Moving forward with other improvements
Despite the setbacks, Bolt said the schools are moving ahead with capital projects, including replacing elementary school doors, repairing septic systems and upgrading fire alarms. The county received a grant for a generator at the elementary school, and the district is seeking funds for a $685,000 roof replacement at the elementary school.
Bolt also gave an update on needed upgrades to both the elementary and high school HVAC systems, with improvements ranked by their level of priority. In total, all of the HVAC improvements would cost an estimated $2.72 million, she said.
Karen Ellis (left) the school district’s academic services coordinator and Jodi Place, RCHS Assistant Principal and CTE Coordinator, present to the board about changes to the dual enrollment system at the high school. (Photo/Luke Christopher)
Dual enrollment changes clarified
School officials clarified recent changes to the schools’ dual enrollment program after new state requirements caused confusion and disruption for some students earlier this school year.
Dual enrollment allows eligible high school students to take college-level courses that count toward both high school and college credit, often at little or no cost to the student.
The updates stem from a statewide mandate requiring that all dual enrollment courses needed to complete certificates that guarantee students’ credits will transfer to Virginia’s public colleges and universities be provided at no cost to students.
“There have been quite a few changes that have come down the pike our way from the governor’s office. A lot of those changes occurred over the summer, but as we started school, there were still some things that were in play with Laurel Ridge [Community College],” Karen Ellis, academic services coordinator for the district, said.
Student liaison Ruth Cossette told the School Board last month that high school students were frustrated with the changing requirements after they had already signed up for courses for the semester.
“Students were informed, mainly by way of parent email, that certain dual enrollment courses would have changes made to them,” Cossette said at the October meeting. “This came with a lot of confusion, for lack of a better word, amongst the seniors and for other students … who were taking [dual enrollment] classes and now have found their plans changed.”
Rappahannock County High School (RCHS) offers most required courses in-house through credentialed teachers. If a course isn’t available locally, Laurel Ridge Community College — which partners with RCHS — provides a designated virtual class free of charge. Students who choose a different course outside that no-cost list, however, must pay tuition.
“If we can offer it, it’s free,” Ellis said. “If we can’t, Laurel Ridge tells us which class will meet the requirement.”
Headwaters interim director announced
Stephanie Ridder, chair of the Headwaters Foundation, announced to the School Board that Amber Montgomery, who has served as the education nonprofit’s executive director since March, recently resigned. She said Cole Johnson, a former director of the organization, will serve in the interim.
“It’s sad news on one hand, and there’s great news on the other, because Cole’s already been director of Headwaters, and is a great fundraiser and community activist, so we’re totally excited about having her,” Ridder said.
