Full-day kindergarten among priorities

WINCHESTER — The Frederick County School Board Tuesday outlined priorities for its comprehensive plan and upcoming budget.

According to the list of comprehensive plan priorities, officials will continue to implement a full-day kindergarten program so it can be in place by the fall of 2014, maintain high academic goals for students, seek to improve kindergarten through 12th grade pupil-teacher ratios, design and renovate buildings to be energy efficient and secure, promote two-way communication between itself and the Board of Supervisors on points of common interest and expand alternative education program offerings to meet the needs of all learners.

Budget priorities for fiscal year 2014 are to address salary scales for employees and restore replacement cycles for technology, transportation and operations so they don’t become outdated.

On Dec. 4, there will be an open forum for citizens, parents or staff wishing to voice their opinion on other areas of need in the school division.

The board also:

Approved adding, contingent on funding, a one-credit course titled Introduction to Health and Medical Sciences to the division’s program of studies. The course will be offered to 10th- through 12th-graders and would inform them about health care careers and skills.

Valley Health has proposed helping pay for staffing and equipment, but it has not been determined how much of the expenses it would pick up.

According to Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Peter Vernimb, hospital and school officials are “working to establish a funding plan.”

Implementing the class would involve paying for 1¹⁄₂ full-time equivalent teachers at a cost of about $90,000.

Approved a new 8-by-20-foot LED baseball scoreboard for Sherando High School.

It would replace a 25-year-old 4-by-10-foot incandescent bulb board and cost from $5,000 to $10,000, to be paid for by the Sherando Warrior Club.

 

Present at the meeting were Chairman Stuart Wolk, Vice-Chairman Benjamin Waterman, John Lamanna, Jody Wall, Michael Lake, Jim Harmon and Peggy Clark.

 

— Contact Rebecca Layne at rlayne@winchesterstar.com