By Charlotte Matherly, contributor
A meeting of the Rockingham County School Board devolved into board members speaking over each other as chair Sara Horst led a move to condemn member Matt Cross’s recent social media posts.
Horst read a statement from what she said was a consensus of the school board expressing “strong disapproval” of Cross for posting of two videos over the weekend of a fight between students that he identified as attending Harrisonburg City Public Schools.
“When your school division is ran by a woke school board, and superintendent, you end up with schools where students and teachers are NOT safe,” he wrote on Facebook. The videos, he said at the meeting, were sent to him by a Harrisonburg student. His post went on to describe a teacher and administrator that Cross said were punched.
Horst said his posts included employee information and “harmful content” involving nearby local students.
“Such actions are unacceptable, unprofessional and inconsistent with the standards of conduct expected of a member of a school board,” Horst said. “As elected officials, we are entrusted with maintaining the privacy, dignity and trust of our employees, students and community members. The behavior displayed through these posts represents a serious lapse in judgment and a violation of that trust.”
In a social media statement, Harrisonburg City Public Schools called the post “irresponsible, reckless, and harmful to the students involved.” The district is exploring its legal options.
Cross, though, said he has no regrets.
“When it comes to protecting children, I’ll protect them,” he said. “I don’t care if they’re Rockingham County or Harrisonburg City.”
Cross said his posts are his own and don’t speak on behalf of the Rockingham County School Board, even on his school board page.
Cross, who is up for reelection this year, accused Horst of being “very political” and campaigning against him in the upcoming elections.
“I owe you no allegiance,” Horst responded, saying that her responsibilities as board chair don’t include campaigning for her fellow board members.
This isn’t the first time Cross’s social media activity has stirred controversy in the county. During his initial campaign for school board, he was accused of doxxing local teachers and parents, deleting threads that showed him in a negative light and posting misinformation.
Immediately following the exchange, the board entered a nonpublic session for multiple reasons — among them were two unusual causes, including legal consultation surrounding probable litigation and “received demand,” plus “board governance and grievance procedure.”
Redistricting
Horst also chided Cross and board member Hollie Cave for sharing information about ongoing discussions about redistricting, including information that might have come from the board’s closed sessions.
With a decision weighing on the school board over whether to shuffle district lines and redistribute students among elementary schools or to build a new elementary school, some school board members have received backlash for the board’s consideration of redistricting.
Board member Hollie Cave said the county’s population growth, while not bad, will add pressure to local schools. With its ultimate decision, the board will have to balance a financial burden on taxpayers for a new school with the emotional impacts that redistricting can have on students and their families.
“We completely and totally understand the repercussions of redistricting,” Cave said, noting that some people on social media had accused her and Cross of intentionally wanting to inflict harm on kids by redrawing district lines. “We know what it does to kids, we know what it does to families, and we agree with you. It’s not desirable.”
Cave said she’d be open to building a new school “when and if it is absolutely necessary,” but the board has not yet taken a vote.
“I’m bothered that the community thinks that we would redistrict with no thoughts about anything or that we would build a school with no thoughts,” Cave said. “We’ve actually put deep thoughts into this over the past 12 months.”
One parent, Lauren Pierce, told school board members during public comment that she opposes redistricting. She said she moved to the school district just a few months ago into a house on one of the streets that could be shifted into a different school’s area and said she wasn’t aware a new school or redistricting were on the table.
“I bought a house in this school district, in a particular school [area], after looking at that five-year plan and after looking at the last redistricting, and I can’t believe that a mere four months later, I might be moved – and my child, more importantly, might be moved – to an entirely different school,” Pierce said.
New field trip policy approved
The county school board passed a long-awaited new field trip policy, adopting one that will require two chaperones on out-of-state and overnight trips but not one of each biological sex, as originally proposed.
The policy will go into effect come 2026, with Superintendent Larry Shifflett saying the delay will provide a time cushion for the district to create and disseminate trainings and complete background checks of chaperones. The policy also requires the names of chaperones to be disclosed to parents on permission slips.
School board members had leaned toward this version of the policy update at their last meeting but held off to finalize it.
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