School board approves $1.2 million in projects despite budget hit

“We’re so thankful that our county approved that so we could make some much-needed upgrades to things that have been neglected over the past,” he said.

Among the approved projects:

• $526,557.50 will cover the remaining cost of renovations at Blue Ridge Elementary School, which received a School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP) grant last year. The project includes upgrading the stage and concession stand, expanding restroom facilities, adding a covered walkway to connect the gym to the main building, and addressing subflooring and flooring repairs.
• $680,000 will go toward paving and resurfacing the Patrick County High School (PCHS) track with a rubberized surface.
  “The athletic trainer has been compiling data over the last two years, and 50 to 53 percent—one year’s 50, the next year’s 53 percent—of the track athletes have been referred to her and then to further medical treatment for their participation,” which is being attributed to the track surface, Wood said.
  “Students have had stress fractures and things. She has kept a documentation log of those injuries and presented that as a safety concern that we really need to address,” he added.
  He said improving the track could also help student-athletes who receive college scholarships.
• $280,000 is allocated for replacing light poles at the PCHS baseball field.
  “We had the inspection of the light poles at the baseball field, and it has been suggested and recommended we replace those because there are holes in those light poles as well. As you recall, I shared when they took the light poles down at the stadium, several of them broke because they were that weak,” Wood said.
• Fixing drainage issues at the PCHS softball field.
  “This is where it was built on a retention pond, and so the soil compaction—and actually the water—sometimes will swell from underneath and make little humps and mounds out in the outfield and things,” Wood said. “It’s an issue just where they placed it. It needs some drainage and maybe some new topsoil and things like that.”
• $230,000 in end-of-year funds will be used to apply epoxy coating over tile flooring at Patrick Springs Primary School, instead of replacing the tile.
  “In the construction assistant grant, we got 30 percent of that from grant funds. While the company’s here, we’re going to look and see the cost of what it would be,” Wood said, adding that the estimate is based on square footage.

Scott raised concerns about long-term use of one-percent funds.
“If we’re not careful, we’re going to be begging for money to replace a roof. And $680,000—is it a big enough safety concern that we would ask the board of supervisors to give us $80,000 to do this? Is it that bad,” he asked.

Rob Martin, of the Dan River District, said, “We’re the only track around that’s an asphalt track.”

Scott asked what was wrong with asphalt. Wood said there are cracks, which is why it would be repaved.

Martin said he has heard concerns from multiple parents.
“If we didn’t have the one percent, yeah, I’d definitely be wanting to ask. I’ve had numerous parents concerned about it from different districts. Some of the things I’ve heard is the other programs get attention besides the track program,” he said.
Martin also noted that PCHS students run the mile twice a semester in P.E. on the track. “It would also be for the students too,” he added.

Shannon Harrell, of the Blue Ridge District, said she’s also heard from concerned parents and a student about the track’s safety risks.
“I think it’s important for morale and just for students to get to host events. You know with tennis, they weren’t getting to host and now they get to host, and I think that’s important,” she said.

Scott said he supports projects that address safety concerns, like the light poles, but questioned the cost of the track.
“If we’re just wanting to do a rubber track to run on, they run on pavement everywhere. Everywhere you go. I mean, go out here and look—they run down this sidewalk, it’s concrete,” he said. “I just have an issue spending that kind of money on something we could probably fix for a lot less money.”

He added that most other projects funded by the one-percent had some grant support.
“So, this here is 100 percent one-percent money. There’s no grant involved. Then you look over at Blue Ridge School—just about 30 percent of that was a grant,” Scott said.

Budget Update and Insurance Payment

During the meeting, Wood said the school division is expected to lose $667,228 in funding for FY 2025-26. He attributed the loss to the General Assembly’s revised calculation tool.

“I talked to the county administrator (Beth Simms) today and let her know that the ADM (Average Daily Membership) has come in and the amount of local funding that they would have to provide us has decreased by $280,136,” he said.

The division will also lose $387,092 in state funding due to the changes.

Wood said he also discussed insurance payments with Simms.

“When the county and school division used to be combined with insurance and split, there was some deficit from a lack of premium payments,” he said.

In the first year of the split, Wood said the division contributed $150,000 to the county on March 31 as a payment toward its share of the deficit.

“Last year, again March 31 came around, we told the county this is how much less you owe us, and not that I expected or can dictate what they do, however they did not apply any of those statements to the deficit. So, the deficit is still there, and it’s negatively affecting our school’s renewal rates,” he said.

The county still owes $282,269.94 to Jefferson Health Plan, the division’s insurance provider, for run-out claims and premiums.

Wood said he spoke with Simms, “and she was in agreement that instead of us sending them the money back — or in essence them not providing us the money — we’re going to keep the funds and make that payment for the county. Truly it’s funds back to them, but we’re making a payment to Jefferson Health to” fix the “2023 bill that they owe our insurance carrier,” he said.

Since the amount is $2,133.94 above the difference in the Required Local Match (RLM), Wood said he informed Simms that it will be deducted from the division’s next School Resource Officer (SRO)/Grant Writer reimbursement.

“So, we would be at a zero balance of what they should give to meet Required Local Effort and what we’re doing to offset their outstanding bill for our health insurance,” he said.

Martin asked whose decision it was for the county to leave the health insurance agency. Wood said the county chose to separate for insurance purposes.

“We have been very diligent in the school system to pay down that deficit, and definitely by making this contribution through their outstanding bill, we as a school system will no longer have an insurance deficit, which will help our future renewal rates,” Wood said.

By eliminating the insurance deficit, he added, the division will be in a better position to negotiate renewal rates.

Also at the meeting, the board:

*Heard the superintendent’s report.

*Approved the consent agenda.

*Approved the 2025 Federal IDEA Annual Plan/Part B Flow Through Application.

*Adopted the secondary math textbooks as presented.

*Recognized Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) Regional Art contest winner Midori Waycaster.

*Recognized Jr. BETA winners from Hardin Reynolds Memorial School (HRMS).

*Approved the personnel report as amended.