By Bridget Manley, publisher
The county and city school boards on Monday officially began the process of untangling their 60-year-long partnership to operate Massanutten Technical Center in what marked the first time the two districts’ leaders had met together since Harrisonburg’s school board withdrew from the arrangement last year.
The tension between the two boards was noticeably lower than it had been over the past year, as they fought over control of seats on the career and technical school’s executive board. Despite rumblings earlier in the day that the meeting could become testy, the two boards seemed jovial, at times sharing laughter over procedural questions.
Last March, Rockingham County Public Schools announced its intention to request more seats on the executive board, which is composed of members of both school boards and has equal voting power, given the split in funding between the county and city.
That set off a months-long battle between the two systems, with the city school board ultimately voting last August to dissolve the partnership at the end of the 2026-2027 school year.
All members of both school boards were present for the meeting.
The meeting began with a departure from tradition. The two boards quickly moved to keep county board member Jackie Lohr as the chair, with city board member Andy Kohen continuing as vice-chair.
In the past, the MTC board voted to have the vice-chair next in line serve as chair and then selected a new vice-chair. At the first executive board meeting last year, Sara Horst — the county board’s chair — and her fellow members, Hollie Cave and Ashley Burgoyne, opposed Kohen’s nomination, foreshadowing the trouble to come.
Monday’s decision to keep Lohr as the chair seemed to immediately ease tensions, and the meeting continued amicably from there.
Horst asked that more details be decided regarding how the two school systems would appraise the school’s vast inventory. Both school systems will need to hire their own appraisers to decide how much the equipment and real estate is worth, according to the district’s joint agreement.
The county district will pay the city the fair market value of the city’s 20% interest in capital improvements.
The county schools would make those payments to the city school district over seven years without interest, or, instead of cash payments, RCPS could “sell seats” back to HCPS at a set per-seat price until the debt is paid.
Both boards decided that it would be better to begin the process sooner rather than later and tasked school superintendents with finding appraisers with expertise in this specialized appraisal work.
Horst asked that a deadline of October be set to have both appraisals finished.
During board member comments, both RCPS and HCPS board members expressed their gratitude for the civility during the night’s meeting.
County board member Hollie Cave commended both boards for working together, noting that she was pleased to have a meeting that went smoothly.
City board member Emma Phillips said the city schools didn’t leave the agreement as a result of the administration, teachers or students at Massanutten Technical Center. She praised the “life-changing” opportunities the school provides students.
Horst thanked the city district for its dedication to MTC over the years.
Tim Howley, the city schools’ board chair, said that although it’s not where they imagined they would be at this time last year, he values MTC and hopes that the city school district can be “good neighbors” with the county schools. He said he had “really good conversations” with Lohr and Horst during the day and hopes to collaborate in the future.
Kohen said that he has been amazed at the changes at MTC, and he was proud of the progress over the years at the school.
“I’m pleased also at the civility that has been evidenced tonight at this meeting,” Kohen said. “I wasn’t sure, to be perfectly honest, that it was going to be there, but I am thrilled that it was there.”
City schools board member Kristen Loflin echoed Kohen’s remarks, saying she appreciated the “calm, cool, collected meeting.”
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