By Isabel Lewis, contributor
As school districts across Virginia await a finalized state budget, school boards like Harrisonburg’s are moving ahead as best they can with drafts of budgets that must receive final approval before June 30.
Harrisonburg’s school board plans to devote its May 19 meeting at Thomas Harrison Middle School to discussing next year’s budget even though Harrisonburg City Director of Finance Daniel Kirwan said this week that he does not expect a finished budget until June.
The General Assembly hit an impasse on the state’s budget and adjourned in March without passing one. Offering tax incentives for companies to build data centers has become a major point of conflict, and legislators failed to come to an agreement last month during the start of a special session.
Superintendent Michael Richards drafted a place-holder budget while the city waits for the General Assembly in Richmond. However, many school board members did not feel comfortable passing that draft because it didn’t include a higher raise for instructional assistants. Giving instructional assistants more pay depends on how much money the district receives from the state.
The superintendent’s proposed budget includes a 3% raise for instructional assistants, which is the same raise which all employees at HCPS are set to have in the 2026-27 school year.
But school board members were unanimous in their support for a bigger raise for instructional assistants, such as a 12% pay increase.
Earlier this year, the school board agreed to receive $500,000 less from the city of Harrisonburg, but Kohen said he’d rather see that be used for instructional assistants than some of the projects the city council has suggested, which he views as “less important.” He cited proposed renovations to improve the outside of the historic Harrison House.
“There’s nothing wrong with aesthetics, but in my mind, aesthetics are less important than funding the school district.” Kohen said.
The school board will revisit the superintendent’s proposed budget during their work session at Thomas Harrison Middle School that starts at 5:30 p.m. on May 19.
District leaders recognize mental health teams, counselors and nurses
School board members attended Tuesday’s meeting adorned in matching mental health awareness pins to recognize Mental Health Awareness Month.
“This year’s theme reminds us that ‘a good day doesn’t have to mean perfect, happy or productive, it can simply mean calm, manageable or steady,” Richards said. “You help students discover and define what a good day looks like for them, and you honor that it may change over time.”
Each school has a mental health team in addition to counselors. Some of the roles included in this team are school counselors, behavior specialists and mental health professionals.
The board also celebrated teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week, which runs this week. Chair Tim Howley said that the board values and appreciates teachers, saying that they are the experts, and that the board tries to empower them to do what they do best.
Additionally, the board celebrated Nurses Week. All Harrisonburg City Schools have a full-time nurse on staff.
“Anybody who has a kid knows having that nurse in the building is just so important,” Howley said.
Dance group STEPPAS performs
The City Chambers were filled with clapping and stomping on Tuesday night as Skyline Middles group, “SKMS STEPPAS” took the stage.
STEPPAS has traveled throughout the state for competitions and performed for the Virginia School Boards Association on Monday at Rocktown High School.
Stepping is a type of dance which uses the body as an instrument, using synchronized and layered sounds such as claps, stomps and spoken word to create a musical and visual experience. Stepping can appear similar to cheerleading, but it derives from historically African American sororities and fraternities.
The team’s coach, DaNae Peterson, started out with step in college in her sorority.
“To me, STEPPA’s is more than just performing, but a chance to really pour into the community that I love so much,” Peterson said.
For students, this is a powerful way for them to connect with one another across all age groups, she said.
STEPPAS was funded by the World’s My Classroom grant, created to allow HCPS educators the opportunity to create an innovative or unique educational program. The program is also partnered with JMU’s Black fraternities and sororities to make the program possible.
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