Williamsburg-James City County school administrators presented the budget for 2014 to its funding partners in a joint work session Wednesday, prompting questions about the future of career and technical education in the division.
The WJCC School Board, Williamsburg City Council and James City County Board of Supervisors met for their annual joint work session in the Williamsburg Community Building.
The members sat in groups, at one point having group sessions to discuss concerns. Each group selected one question to present to Superintendent Steve Constantino. Many of their questions were about how WJCC is preparing students for careers, especially students who will not be attending four-year colleges.
In his proposed budget released in February, Constantino suggested eliminating the division’s adult education programs, which include adult GED courses and the Lafayette School of Nursing, which trains both WJCC students and adults to become licensed practical nurses (LPNs).
After hearing concerns from both board members and the community, Constantino altered his proposal to reduce, but not eliminate, adult GED offerings and fund the program completely through federal grant money. Under the revised proposal, WJCC would save around $298,000 through cuts to the adult GED and LPN programs. The division is currently researching ways it can help first-year LPN students either transfer into other area nursing programs or be refunded the costs of their tuition.
Supervisor Jim Icenhour said the cuts to adult education programs can create challenges for local governments. “The strain on your resources creates a concern for those of us in local government. I know you have to focus on your core mission, which is K-12, but when people age out of schools, those problems don’t go away for us,” he said. “We are not graduating those people into the workforce withl skills that they need and that is a problem for us at the local government level.”
Constantino noted the division will not be making any cuts to the high school or Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail GED programs. He went on to say he’s heard an estimated 4,000 people in the Williamsburg area do not possess a high school degree or GED. “The school system will never be able to meet that need,” he said. “We have to talk about some kind of community collaboration if we want to expand that number [of people served].”
In recent years, every school division in the country has started thinking about ways to emphasize the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and math), in order to prepare students for the industries with potential for growth.
Last year, Constantino told the gathered local leaders that he envisioned WJCC’s future fourth middle school could possibly be a “STEAM” school, focused on incorporating science, technology, engineering, arts and math. In the meantime, Constantino said it won’t be enough to have engineering courses offered in high school. He recently visited an elementary school out of the area that had incorporated lessons on engineering into kindergarten classrooms. He wants to see WJCC find ways to bring more STEM lessons into regular classes.
The division is already working to increase the use of technology in classrooms. Constantino said the ultimate goal is to have a digital device for every student, but first, WJCC needs to boost its own technology infrastructure to allow students to bring their own devices.
In addition, WJCC is exploring blended learning options, which combine traditional classroom time with online learning. Next year’s high school freshmen will be required to complete one virtual learning experience before graduation; WJCC plans to make its economics and personal finance course fulfill that requirement for all students.
Councilman Doug Pons asked for reassurance that students who aren’t college-bound will emerge from high school with career skills. Constantino emphasized the division’s stake in New Horizons Regional Education Center, which features a Career and Technical Education Center, along with the Center for Apprenticeship and Adult Training.
Although Constantino said more WJCC students are attending classes at New Horizons, its distance has posed a challenge. New Horizons has four locations on the Peninsula, but none are in the Williamsburg area; many career and technical courses are offered at the school’s Butler Farm campus in Hampton.
At the WJCC School Board’s March 5 meeting, Executive Director Joe Johnson said New Horizons is reviewing ways to move more of those classes to the Newport News campus, which would make the commute easier for WJCC students. School Board member Joe Fuentes said the division might consider increasing WJCC’s investment in New Horizons to help build or expand the Woodside Lane campus, and then the funding partners could share the overhead costs. Mayor Clyde Haulman suggested making that discussion a priority for next year’s joint meeting.
During the two-hour session, the administration also outlined the $116 million budget, which includes a request of $3.3 million in additional funding from the city and county. Constantino provided an update of the process to solve the need for permanent administrative space and a fourth middle school, a topic that dominated last year’s work session.
In the fall, the administration conducted a space needs study to determine how much office space would be needed to accommodate the administrative staff, classrooms and meeting areas. They estimate they’ll need 44,386 square feet. Currently, an appointed committee of administrators, teachers, parents and community members is examining what’s needed for a fourth middle school. That committee is expected to present options to the superintendent by May and the School Board will approve a plan in August or early fall.
