The Oct. 11 Chesterfield County Public Schools board meeting was full of public comment, with multiple parents complaining about various issues.
Michael Karabinos said there were 16 teacher separations listed as part of the consent agenda. He noted that his daughter’s third-grade teacher left during the school year last year for a job with Capital One.
“Teachers are afraid to speak their mind in forums like this,” he said, and encouraged the school district to allow collective bargaining.
Dominique Chatters said there is a disproportionate number of vacancies in the Dale District.
Anne Taydus said that the district’s Head Start and pre-school program is 100-percent federally funded and as such lacks local control. Taydus said that because of the federal control, students as young as 2 are masked and all staff must be vaccinated for COVID-19.
Christine Melendez, president of the Chesterfield Education Association, said the communication in the district “has fostered an environment of fear and disunity.”
Matoaca board member Ryan Harter said some local groups were encouraging students to leave class during instructional time to protest, which disrupts the educational environment. He asked that they protest before or after school instead.
Sophie Jones, a junior at James River High School, noted that Virginia is one of only 14 states that doesn’t allow a student to be a member of the school board.
Several Spanish-speaking teachers who were part of a parents committee complained through an interpreter about the lack of teachers and staff at Meadowbrook High School and a Falling Creek school.
Marilou Batista asked that the school district hire more staff. She noted that her child reported that a student had a knife in school and some students were smoking and fighting.
Monica Perez said the district needs more bus drivers because parents sometimes have to wait 35 to 40 minutes with or for their students.
Maria Castro said students were leaving school and congregating at area fast food restaurants and gas stations, and parents weren’t notified by the school that the students left. She personally encountered students at businesses during the school day, she said. Castro asked that more material from the school be written in Spanish. Castro said there are a lot of newcomers to the area who don’t speak English and only speak Spanish.
Edras Zacarias said students at Meadowbrook High School are congregating in the hallways and other areas during class periods. In addition, there is an issue with students entering and exiting through various doors, and he was concerned about security.
In response to the shortage of bus drivers, Superintendent Merv Daugherty said, “There is going to be a shortage no matter what we do.” He said the district had 454 drivers who were transporting 55,646 students. He said the district needed 34 to 63 more drivers.
Daugherty noted that it takes four weeks for a candidate to complete the hiring process.
The district was training 27 new drivers, and 11 conditional offers had been made. However, he noted that there is a competition for the workforce. “The market is upside down,” he said.
“We are staffed in our buildings,” he said, adding that 97 percent of classes have a certified teacher with others working toward certification. The career switcher program is being utilized in regard to the latter, he said.
Harter asked for more communication in regard to the timing of buses. A staffer said that it’s a difficult issue for the area transportation office and noted that an app uses cell phone data, which may be lacking in rural areas.
In regard to the teacher shortage, Daugherty said he was thinking “outside the box,” and wants the district to utilize a foreign exchange program for teachers next year.
Some cast aspersion on Daugherty, but Dale District board member Debbie Bailey defended him near the end of the 3-hour meeting. “He has more integrity than any person I’ve ever worked with,” the longtime former teacher said.
“We cannot find math teachers,” she added, noting the district was forced to use the most expensive method, which involves paying a remote math teacher and using a staffer to monitor the classroom. “There’s no other solution” right now, she said.
Noting the upcoming bond referendum for schools, she asked that any savings be used to build an elementary in the Dale District if the bond issue passes.
Bailey said she regrets that another Dale elementary school wasn’t included in the bond, but noted there is a “tremendous need” on the west side of the county for new schools.
In regard to complaints about some books in school libraries, Bailey said the board “is not in the book-banning realm,” but noted there is a policy in place whereby one can object to a book by filling out a form. “Go through the process,” she said.
Ultraviolet germicidal radiation
In action items, the board unanimously voted to pay Colonial Webb $1.72 million to implement ultraviolet germicidal radiation at 12 area schools that had the lowest indoor air quality ratings two years ago. Scott A. Carson, director of construction, said the project would begin in the winter months with a target completion date next February.
The money comes from federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, funds, which is part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The schools involved include: Bellwood, Bon Air, Chalkley, Falling Creek, Gates, Gordon, Grange Hall, Hening, Swift Creek and Watkins elementaries, Mataoca Middle and Carver College and Career Academy.
Two bids were received, according to a board document, and the lowest responsive bidder was chosen.
The board’s next meeting is Nov. 7.
