Daniel Keever News Today

The revisions would put the school division in compliance with the 2023 Model Policies released by the Virginia Department of Education over the summer.

Demand from Virginia school divisions for better building security is on the rise following increases in school shootings over the past several years, including a high-profile case at a Newport

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Stephanie Bourgeois, senior director of student services, provided a strategic plan update on security and safety to the school board on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the board discussed a plan to restructure school hours for the 2023-24 school year to allow for more efficient use of resources and to more closely align with the science of adolescent sleep needs.

In the past month, the Williamsburg-James City County School Board has been met with continued vitriol as parents and teachers make cases for and against mandatory mask-wearing — a debate that has divided nearly everyone including the board.

The board will hold a special-called meeting 5:30 p.m. Friday, at the James Blair Middle School gymnasium, 101 Longhill Road, in which it will make its decision. There will be no public comment period but, the meeting is open to the public.

“If masks are not required we will not have the staff or substitutes to sustain in-person learning and most likely, out of sheer necessity, will have to shift to virtual learning,” Herron said.

“The scenario coming back from winter break has been a key reminder that COVID is out there and that it is currently very transmittable,” Keever said. “I will say over the course of the last week, our primary focus was on cataloging the positive cases.”

The currently proposed plan include the design, engineering and construction costs of two pre-K buildings and the proposed costs of a later elementary school.