WILLIAMSBURG — The Williamsburg-James City County School board decided on a process to evaluate the possible renaming of the James Blair Middle School, as well as the budget for next school year, at its Feb. 18 meeting.
The committee, as established, will look into and gather input from the community regarding the possibility of a name change. The committee is not tasked with renaming the school at this time.
Several members of the community attended the meeting to speak both for and against changing the name.
“A name does not cause an environment to be equal or unequal, oppressive or non-oppressive, a name is just a name. On the other hand, school culture can cause feelings of inequality or oppression. I would like to believe the culture in our schools is welcoming and non-discriminatory, no matter what the school name is,” said Susan France during the public comment period. “Board and staff time is better spent determining how to improve the abysmal math and English skills of our students, no matter what race they are. That is what would benefit them more than planting an idea that the name of a school or any building has some power over who they are or what they can achieve.”
“From a financial standpoint in a division where a point of contention is teacher pay, we don’t have the extra funds required to cover all of the administrative costs related to a name change,” she added.
Camille Batts, a junior at William & Mary representing CCLI (Committee for Contextualization of Campus Landmarks and Iconography), said, “To consider renaming James Blair is to pave the way for James Blair Middle School students — present, past, and future — to feel welcome. For black students to attend a school named after a man who perpetuated and institutionalized enslavement, whose ideals were then utilized to resist integration, is completely unacceptable. Names hold immense power and there are ways to use this power to memorialize figures who represent the values and morals we hope to instill in the community. What we strive for.”
“These figures should be figures that we can look up to and James Blair, a man who enslaved other people, is not someone we should look up to. I’m glad to be here today and I’m glad this step is being taken. I hope today a step can be taken in the right direction and we can start down the road to intentional and impactful naming practices,” she continued.
A motion was made to approve the previously agreed committee composition and timeline, however, a dialog was then opened by member Randy Riffle to discuss adjusting the composition to include more board members on the committee. Member Michael Hosang also suggested the possibility of opening the committee up to community members across the district rather than just those connected to James Blair.
“The rationale [behind the committee], was obviously, community members from all over Williamsburg and James City County can continue voicing their opinion as they have been through emails, letters, public comment — the idea of the committee was to help the school board ascertain the real impact on the James Blair community, the school itself that would be undergoing a name change, and how that would impact staff, student, and families,” said School Board Chair Sarah Ortego.
A motion to amend the motion was made by Riffle to approve the proposed committee’s role and timeline with the addition of another school board member to the committee’s composition. That motion passed unanimously.
Another amendment motion made by Hosang that would have added two to three non-James Blair-related residents who would apply for the committee in the same way as other interested members failed.
The final motion to pass the newly amended committee proposal passed with a 5-1 vote, with Hosang the only member to vote against.
Committee Composition:
- Current JBMS students (2-3)
- Current JBMS staff (2-3)
- Current JBMS parents/ guardians (2-3)
- School Board member (2)
- Residents of JBMS attendance zone (2-3)
- JBMS administrator (1)
- Assistant Superintendent for School Leadership — Secondary (1)
The committee’s timeline and purpose to recommend for or against the name change will remain as proposed during the Feb. 4 school board meeting. Committee members will be identified through Engage with Us and by invitation.
FY2026 Budget
The board then began discussions regarding the FY2026 budget. The Superintendent’s Proposed Budget sees all staff receiving a minimum salary increase of 3%, with minimum pay at WJCC Schools starting at $15.50 an hour. It would also see a unified pay scale where all employees will be brought up to the minimum of consultant Bolton Partners’ recommended pay scale and additional implementation will focus on increased compensation for current grades 5-16.
Bus drivers would maintain a $3 pay increase, contract and stipend adjustments, new teacher pay, and an increased 15% health insurance and WJCC/employee 70%/30% cost share as well as general adjustments to staff and support staff.
Additional funds Needed (Potential request from localities) totals $13,949,500 in the proposed budget.
A Public Hearing will be held on the Superintendent’s Proposed Budget on March 4 at the school board meeting.
“I really wish people would watch a previous episode of the school board speaking [in public comment],” Riffle said during his comment time. “We have a process in how we rename our schools, we outlined that in the last episode, and we talked about how you need to be passed away for 10 years, so suggesting names of people who have not done that does not fit the requirement.”
“We also heard people suggest that our scores are abysmal or we are not focused on education, that’s not true. We have clear data in our presentations the past year, even our CTE scores that suggest that our school division is on the rise and things have been improving. So I suggest people take the time to really look into what they’re saying and not just going off of what they hear. This is the place where we do our job and where people do their jobs every day. That is something I will defend as a board member and I think many people on this dias would do the same,” he continued.
The next board meeting will be held on March 4 at 4:30 p.m. in Annex Room 300 at the school board central office. For more information about the school board and upcoming meetings, please visit the official website.
