By Angela H. Hill

At its January 12 meeting, Patrick County School Board members elected to keep Blue Ridge District representative Ronnie N. Terry as the board’s chairman.

Replacing Dan River District representative Kandy Marshall Burnett as vice chairperson will be J.D. Morse, Smith River District. As such, Morse will also serve as the voting delegate for the Virginia School Boards Association.

All other appointments for 2017 remain as they were in 2016:

Clerk: Sara Leigh D. Collins
Deputy Clerk: William D. Sroufe, Superintendent
Gifted Committee: Kandy Marshall Burnett
School Health Advisory Committee: Annie H. Hylton, Peters Creek District
Career-Technical Advisory Committee/Builders Association: Kandy Marshall Burnett
Employee Insurance Committee: Michelle H. Day, Mayo River District
Parks and Recreation Committee: Ronnie N. Terry
Special Education Advisory Committee: Annie H. Hylton
Building Committee: J.D. Morse and Ronnie N. Terry
Liaison Committee: Ronnie N. Terry, Kandy Marshall Burnett, William D. Sroufe
Budget Committee: Dean Gilbert, Katrina Hylton, Ronnie N. Terry, Kandy Marshall Burnett, Sandra Clement, Principal, William D. Sroufe
VSBA Voting Delegate: Ronnie N. Terry and J.D. Morse

At the meeting, board members also reaffirmed and adopted the Virginia School Board’s Code of Conduct, a document outlining standards of integrity, engagement, communication, ethics, and professional development for school board members.
School board members then discussed who will attend this year’s Virginia School Boards Association Capital Conference in Richmond January 23 and 24. The two-day conference provides an overview of the governor’s budget, commentary on current politics, and VSBA’s legislative priorities.
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe has been invited to address conference attendees, as has Virginia Secretary of Education Dietra Trent and Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Steve Staples. Conference topics include a review of the governor’s budget, a federal legislative update, a legislative issues briefing, and an address from noted political analyst Bob Holsworth.
Patrick County Schools’ Assistant Superintendent Cyndi Williams and Hardin Reynolds Memorial School Principal Kurt Renegar will attend the capital conference. Superintendent Sroufe may also attend.
“This conference is important because when we talk to legislators, we can share specific examples from our county on how our legislators can help us improve opportunities for our students,” Williams said. “Our job is to advocate for our school division, for our students, and for our staff.”
Board members also discussed the VSBA Hot Topic Conference, slated for March 15 in Wytheville. This conference focuses on teacher shortages, recruitment and retention; reductions in the workforce; and school-board support in risk management. Hylton may attend that conference.
Board members then approved the 2017-2018 Program of Studies for Patrick County High School. The program for the next academic year will include several new classes: computer programming, software modeling and simulation technology, introduction to plant systems (agriculture), small animal care, agricultural production management, and agricultural fabrication and emerging technologies.
In addition to the new classes, the cooperative education opportunities through PCHS’s Career & Technical Education division have been expanded, Williams added. The Cooperative Education program combines Career & Technical classroom instruction with directly related paid employment.
During the 2017-2018 academic year, students may co-op in agriculture education, business and information technology, career connections, family and consumer sciences, health and medical sciences, marketing, and trade and industrial education.
Before going into their standard closed session in which board members discuss disciplinary matters and employment, they reviewed the school system’s monthly capital improvement list.
Locker installation at Blue Ridge Elementary, Hardin Reynolds Memorial School, Stuart Elementary and Woolwine Elementary is 90 percent complete. Installation of a scoreboard at the Patrick County High School girls’ softball field is 90 percent complete. Surface material provision for playgrounds is 100 percent complete.
Work is currently being scheduled involving window tinting under a 2016 security grant; and there is ongoing discussion about whether and how to enclose the bridge to the gym at Meadows of Dan Elementary School.
Upcoming items under consideration for maintenance and capital improvement projects include a locker-room renovation at Patrick County High School, an update for three restrooms at the high school’s career/technical center, and repaving the parking lots of all county schools.