An update on the high school project and setting goals for the board are on the agenda for Monday evening’s Halifax County School Board meeting.
The meeting is set for 6 p.m. in the Mary Bethune Office Complex public meeting room. Those unable to attend the meeting in person can view it on YouTube. The link will be posted to the Halifax County Public Schools’ Facebook page.
Vincent Maresca of Skanska, project manager for the Halifax County High School construction project, will give an update on the project. Contractors Howard Shockey & Sons told school trustees at a Wednesday evening work session they plan to break ground at the site of the new high school around the end of the month. The contractors also gave the board a guaranteed maximum price for the site package for the high school project during the work session.
At the Wednesday work session, the school board also had a preliminary discussion of goals and decided to alter several of its previously established goals. The board is anticipated to make a decision on the goals at Monday’s meeting.
The first goal agreed upon by the board is “Develop college and career-ready citizens by promoting current and new student pathways.”
The second agreed-upon goal is “Continue to emphasize student learning and full accreditation for all schools.” School trustees had some discussion about whether or not to keep accreditation in that goal since all schools in the HCPS system now are fully accredited. However, the trustees decided to keep accreditation as part of the goal after Superintendent Dr. Amy Huskin told them the state school board decided in March to no longer give schools a waiver for attendance as a factor in determining their accreditation this school year. Absenteeism had not been a factor in determining Virginia schools’ accreditation status during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are showing tremendous academic growth, but absenteeism is a serious problem,” Huskin shared with the trustees during the work session. She said schools could lose their accreditation status if their absenteeism is too high.
Dr. Jeanie Hawks, HCPS’ director of instructional technology/division testing, noted that some schools in the HCPS district would not have been accredited last year due to absenteeism without the waiver that was in place. ED-8 Trustee Walter Potts stated his view that HCPS should inform parents of the potential consequences of schools losing their accreditation status because of absenteeism.
The third school board goal the trustees agreed upon during the work session is “Develop, implement and follow a maintenance schedule for all schools.”
The fourth goal is “Continue to be competitive with compensation and benefits for all employees in the school system.”
The fifth goal is “Promote the HCPS brand through community engagement.”
Goal six is “Maintain a safe and supportive learning environment for staff and students.”
Goal seven is “Continue to enhance education technology and explore emerging technologies.”
The final goal agreed upon by the board is “Continue to ensure financial integrity.”
In other business at Monday’s meeting, the board will make a decision on the last two days of the school year and set a late June special school board meeting.
Some recognitions also are on the agenda: FCCLA and Business Honor Roll – Hitachi Energy, Comfort Systems USA and Dollar General.
Miranda Baines is a staff writer for The Gazette-Virginian. Contact her at mbaines@gazettevirginian.com.
