Local resident James Harper asked Warren County School Board members during their December 4 meeting to reconsider policy that prohibits them from responding to citizens who make public comments at regular meetings. “Miss Bower,” said Harper, referring to School Board Chairwoman Catherine Bower, “it is my hope that you’ll change your opening statement and have a dialogue or discussion with folks who take the time to appear instead of saying, ‘Members will not comment.’”
Prior to each community participation portion of every School Board meeting, the chair reads a statement that says: “Community Participation is a time intended for the public to give input on relevant school issues and not intended to be a question and answer period as this may be the first time the Board has heard this information. Please do not expect individual responses or any comment by the Board at this time but be assured that any concerns will be reviewed. Please print your name on the sheet at the podium, state your name and address, and limit your comments to three minutes.”
Hong cited a report showing an uptick in Warren County sexual assault reporting during this year. “Any number, regardless of what it is, is something we hope to reduce,” he said.
The Laurel Center provides numerous free workshops and classes, including Teenage Prevention Programming that is school- and group-based, said Hong.
Likewise, the center’s Sexual Violence Prevention Program is free and confidential for residents in Warren County, Frederick County, Winchester City, and Clarke County, and includes multiple school-based prevention programs designed for middle and high school students.
In other presentations — including resolutions recognizing the service of retiring School Board members Donna McEathron and C. Douglas Rosen, as well as Drescher — the board also heard from Warren County Administrator Doug Stanley, who as president of the Warren County Educational Endowment announced the group’s award of 10 grants totaling $44,411.74 to several local projects throughout the WCPS system.
Additionally, the School Board voted on several items during its action agenda portion of the meeting.
For instance, board members unanimously approved an additional Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) teacher for the current school year at an estimated cost of $65,423 in salary and benefits.
“As our preschool programs … increase in numbers, the need for an additional ECSE is evident,” WCPS Director of Special Services Michael Hirsch told School Board members. “This additional resource will also allow our Family Engagement coordinator to lighten her caseload and expand family engagement activities.”
According to a report that Hirsch also submitted to the board, the additional teacher will be utilized as a resource teacher to students with disabilities in both classroom and community settings throughout the ECSE programs during morning hours and will provide classroom-based services to newly eligible students in the afternoon in the preschool classroom at Skyline High School.
The high school’s classroom does not currently have students there in the afternoon, so utilizing that space will alleviate the addition of a new physical classroom, according to Hirsch’s report.
Warren County School Board members present and voting at the December 4 meeting included Chairwoman Catherine Bower; Vice Chairman C. Douglas Rosen; and members Donna McEathron, James Wells, and Arnold Williams Jr.
Watch the entire Warren County School Board meeting in the exclusive Royal Examiner video.
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