Early Childhood Academy approved for old Harrowgate Elementary
Several teachers questioned and criticized the school board during a Nov. 10 meeting that followed Chesterfield County Public Schools bringing some students in grades 6 through 12 back to buildings Nov. 9.
“Many staff members are leaving, and they should be,” teacher Todd Gasparello said. “I am staying to fight because I’m younger. I am tired. There are no subs. Bus drivers rarely get a break to use the [restroom]after several hours of driving. I’m tired because administrators are now becoming substitute teachers.”
Nick Oyler, coordinator of student health services, explained that the district was in the “yellow,” or moderate risk, category overall. The number of cases per 100,000 was 201.7 (red) on Nov. 10, but it was 195.1 (yellow) on Nov. 9, he said. However, the district’s positivity rate was 6.1 percent, which was in the yellow category. “Our positivity rate has remained fairly stable,” he said.
Secondary indicators were red, yellow, yellow and green, respectively, but yellow overall.
The red category for cases was mentioned by several school district employees during public comment.
“We’ve been forced into a sea of ‘toxic positivity,’” Matoaca High Spanish teacher Christine Melendez said. “The classrooms most affected by the conditions at Bellwood Elementary are largely made up of English language learners,” she said. In closing, Melendez asked Matoaca board member Ryan Harter, “When will you remember your commitment to the entire community, not just those who have the most money, are the loudest or the whitest?”
Emma Clark, a teacher at Falling Creek Middle School, said that school’s ZIP code had a 15-percent coronavirus test positivity rate, which she said was one of the highest in the state.
Citing a survey of more than 900 school district employees, Clark said 74 percent said they felt unsafe or unprepared to go to school on Nov. 9.
Clark said Bellwood Elementary doesn’t have a fully-functioning air conditioning system. Two out of three students in that school who were diagnosed with COVID-19 attended classrooms that didn’t have a working AC unit, she said.
“You have lost our trust,” she said to the school board.
Meg Clark, Emma’s mother, said teachers are at their breaking point. “We know and you know you made the wrong decision” to return the fourth and final cohort to school buildings Nov. 9, she said. “The county has lost many good teachers,” she said.
Katie Sponsler said she quit her job so she could homeschool her 5-year-old student, who has autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Sponsler, who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat against Del. Kirk Cox (R) in the 2017 general election, asked the school board to “course correct or improve conditions” in schools. Sponsler said she represented Virginia Public Education Partners, an organization consisting of students, parents and school support staff that is based in Chesterfield.
Midlothian board member Kathryn Haines asked what process the district would use if COVID-19 data keeps rising. Dale board member Debbie Bailey noted that Superintendent Merv Daugherty has the authority to close an individual school. Daugherty said he would work with the county health department going forward and ask for an emergency school board meeting “if we would need to close the system.”
“We have to trust our local health department,” he said.
Early Childhood Academy
The school board unanimously approved creation of an Early Childhood Academy at the old Harrowgate Elementary School. The board reallocated $3.9 million in construction funds to make the building ready to open in the fall of 2021. An additional $100,500 was approved for operational expenses for the rest of the current school year.
By identifying a service location, the county will free up operational space within existing schools for anticipated student growth, a board document states. The academy would serve pre-kindergarten students from 12 elementary schools: Bellwood, Bensley, Beulah, Curtis, Ecoff, Enon, Gates, Harrowgate, Marguerite Christian, Salem Church, Elizabeth Scott and Wells.
“I’m super excited about this center,” Bailey said.
Daugherty noted that there has been a 46-percent enrollment increase in early childhood programs over a five-year period. Although there is funding through the Virginia Preschool Initiative to increase enrollment, the school district has been unable to meet the demand for pre-kindergarten services due to a lack of space in existing schools and has not been able to accept approximately $3.5 million available from the state.
Superintendent’s contract
As part of the consent agenda, the board approved a new four-year contract with Daugherty. He was hired at $230,000 on Nov. 1, 2018 and received a $6,900 increase July 1, 2019. “He requested no additional compensation,” Bailey said. “If staff and teachers get no raise, he wouldn’t ask for one either,” she said. “We should all feel very blessed and lucky for [having him],” she said. “You’ve been just a steady leader…” The new contract runs from Dec. 1, 2020 through June 30, 2024.
Employee bonuses
The board voted unanimously to allocate $16.9 million in reserve funding. This includes: $8.2 million for a 2-percent bonus for school staff; $6.2 million for security cameras at elementary and middle schools; $1.9 million for debt reserve; and $563,570 for building repairs. Employees must be active on Dec. 1 to get the bonus on Dec. 18, which will be at least $500 but no more than $2,000, depending on salary. In the Village News coverage area, the schools that will get cameras include Carver and Elizabeth Davis middle schools and the following elementary schools: Bellwood, Ecoff, Falling Creek, Hopkins Road, and Marguerite Christian.
The school board’s next meeting is Dec. 8. The work session starts at 4 p.m. and the business meeting at 6:30.
