James City County votes to terminate joint school agreement with Williamsburg
The James City County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to terminate its joint school agreement with Williamsburg, effective at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
The vote came after the Williamsburg City Council voted last month to proceed with a feasibility study that “would consider and explore the possibility of forming an independent city of Williamsburg public school division,” City Manager Andrew Trivette said at the time. The study results were expected to be ready in the fall.
But the James City County Board of Supervisors decided to act Tuesday “to ensure the County has as much time as possible to prepare for the implications of a system split brought on by the action of the City of Williamsburg in June,” according to a news release issued by the county Tuesday evening.
“Depending on the city’s feasibility study conclusions, the county could have been left with as little as 13 months to plan for potentially displaced students and administrative logistics,” the news release said. “Terminating the contract now gives the county two years to prepare and meet its obligation to protect the education, health, welfare and safety of county students.”
The joint school system was established in 1955, according to an op-ed submitted to the Virginia Gazette Tuesday from Michael Hipple, chairman of the James City County Board of Supervisors. Currently, the joint school division enrolls about 11,000 students, with 10,000 from James City County and about 1,000 from Williamsburg. Thirteen of the division’s schools, as well as the bus operations center, are located in the county. Three schools are within Williamsburg city limits.
Williamsburg Mayor Doug Pons said the news left him “at a loss.”
In his op-ed, Hipple said the board was “particularly caught off guard” by the city’s resolution on June 8 because the city had not mentioned a potential study during the most recent contract discussions.
But according to Pons, he, Vice Mayor Pat Dent and Trivette met with members of the Board of Supervisors and school board to inform them about the decision to do a feasibility study a few days prior to the June 8 council meeting.
“We shared with them that we weren’t holding back for any other reasons other than we understood the nature of the conversation and how we wanted to come out with a narrative that tried to explain that this was only a feasibility study,” Pons said. “We understood that (members of the school community) would be very concerned, and we didn’t want the rumors to be out there in advance of us being able to put our communications out there.
“It wasn’t to surprise them and certainly it was less of a surprise than what we got today from the county.”
Pons reassured city residents that Williamsburg will “continue to put our best foot forward and we will work to ensure that the students in the city will receive the best education possible.
“That’s always been our goal and we will continue to carry that tradition forward,” he said. “I would hope that the parents and the students would know that and expect that we’re going to make every effort to provide them the best education in the commonwealth of Virginia.”
The county board said it “remains willing to negotiate with the city for a new contract if both parties determine it is in the best interest of all students to remain under a joint system.”
The press release also stated that “any potential change in school operations is expected to preserve employment opportunities for all current teachers and staff.”
In an email sent out to the school community on Tuesday, Superintendent Olwen Herron said that “while many unknowns exist,” the division would continue to do good work.
“We have done and will continue to do great work in service to our students and the community,” Herron said.
Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com
Sian Wilkerson, 757-342-6616, sian.wilkerson@pilotonline.com
