By Calvin Pynn, contributor
Harrisonburg City School Board members declared Thursday night that they were digging in and will not reduce their say in governing Massanutten Technical Center, which the city oversees along with the county’s school board.
The Harrisonburg board voted unanimously to reject a proposal from the Rockingham County School Board that would give the county system more voting power on the technical and career school’s executive board. The conflict has developed over recent weeks as the county school board has argued that their larger financial contribution and student enrollment should grant that system a majority in decision-making for the jointly-operated vocational school.
The city school board, on the other hand, wants to maintain equal representation in governing the board.
Superintendent Michael Richards said in addition to that oversight sharing arrangement being a constant over the near 56-year relationship between the two school divisions, it’s state law.
“It needs to be a 50/50 vote. If there are six school divisions in a regional school, each of those divisions has the same number of votes,” Richards said. “So, it’s not just a tradition or a nicety, it’s a legal need.”
Under the current operating agreement for the technical school, five members from each board (with one member of the city board members abstaining if all six board members are present) can vote. The county school board proposed changing the governance so that four county school board members and one city board member would vote on decisions related to the technical school.
Board member Andy Kohen echoed the need to govern Massanutten Technical Center in accordance with the state’s legal requirements.
“I can’t see any reason why we would do something that is contrary to this law, it’s that simple,” Kohen said.
The county board also proposed a revised cap on enrollment that would allow 80% of Massanutten Technical Center’s capacity for Rockingham County students and the remaining 20% for Harrisonburg students. Any unused seats for one district would go to students from the other division. Board member Matthew Snyder said the proposed reduction of seats would be unfair to Harrisonburg students.
“I don’t think we should inhibit kids from being able to attend just because we’re a smaller school [division],” Snyder said.
Board member Kaylene Seigle said despite the county system’s claim that Massanutten Technical Center is not used as much by the city, the interest in career and technical education among Harrisonburg students is growing. The most recent enrollment numbers show that Harrisonburg students make up 23.5% of the school’s enrollment, according to a fact sheet shared by city school staff.
“Our numbers are increasing, the interest is there,” Seigle said.
A news release from the county school district in March claimed that it covers 80% of MTC’s operating costs, while the city district only covers 20%. Richards said he wanted to set the record straight during Thursday night’s meeting and said according to the current operating agreement, the city pays closer to 29% of the operating costs.
He said the number was finalized when the city and county boards voted to pass their operating budget for Massanutten Technical Center at their last executive meeting.
“It’s a mystery to me as to how the press release two days later ended up being different from the actual numbers in a budget that had been voted on two days earlier,” Richards said. “I don’t assign any malicious intent, but I want the numbers to be accurate when the public gets them.”
The proposal from the county board also suggested leadership changes for the technical school’s executive board. The agreement requires the county superintendant serve in the executive role and the city superintendant serve in a clerical role, but the proposal states that the county would take both roles.
The city board members also voted unanimously to propose their own changes for Massanutten Technical Center’s executive board, which runs counter to the county school system’s proposal. They are as follows:
– Four members voting from each board, designated by each board using its own method.
– Enrollment capacity based on total high school enrollments, all unused seats go to the other division.
– No change in board leadership from current agreement.
– Chair and vice chair for Massanutten Technical Center’s executive board alternate each year without ever being both members from the same board.
In light of the dispute between the school divisions over the technical center’s leadership, city school board chair Emma Phillips lamented the rift forming between the city and county school divisions.
“I think people know how hard I’ve been working to try and fix this relationship, and I feel like a lot of trust was broken, and the partnership feels broken in a way,” Phillips said. “Not necessarily beyond repair, but it’s just disappointing to see something that worked so well for so long just come to a grinding halt over a crisis that doesn’t really exist.”
Richards also sought to reassure parents and students that, even if the two school divisions are unable to come to an agreement, that the city school district will still find a way to provide career and technical education for Harrisonburg students.
“If, for some reason, the relationship dissolves, we will take care of our students,” Richards said. “We see no reason why this should be dissolved, but if it were to, I do promise our students and our families that we would put something together that would be fantastic for our students. But why do that when you have a fantastic program already?”
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected from an earlier version that stated a county board member and a city board member serve as superintendent and clerk of the executive board. Those roles are held by the county school superintendent and the city school superintendent, respectively. The budget vote has also been corrected; it was taken by the MTC Executive Board at its last regular meeting.
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