Nelson County School Board Update as of June 18, 2025
During the June 12, 2025 School Board meeting, Superintendent Amanda Hester gave a comprehensive presentation on top accomplishments of various departments of the school division this year. Some of these impressive accomplishments are as follows:
● All ESSER (COVID) funding allocated to NCPS was spent, purchasing much needed materials and equipment for the schools
● Implemented all new state requirements including the new state accreditation metric (School Performance and Support network), new state standards in Reading and Math and new literacy curriculum and assessments
● Implemented a new Absence Management, Sub Placement and Time Tracking platform
● Diverse learners and their families had more opportunities for community events like the Little Feet Meet, Tournament of Champions, family fun fitness night, play dates and developmental screenings
● Provided access to outpatient counseling therapy during the school day for middle and high school students
● Added two behavior support assistants to meet the behavioral needs of elementary students
● Upgraded the NCPS network infrastructure and implemented cybersecurity and Chromebook security training
● Replaced some playground equipment to give more disability access
● The School Safety Team supported division-wide safety initiatives and staff implemented the ZeroEyes and OpenGate Metal Detectors systems
● Maintenance continues to make HVAC advancements and improvements at all schools
● Pupil Transportation trained 10 new drivers and provided in-house CDL training and testing while also reducing the number of routes and trips covered by School staff
● School Nutrition received a grant to receive hands-on training on scratch cooking, culturally diverse menus and locally sourced foods - which received positive feedback from the students when served on the menus. More students participated in breakfast, lunch and after school supper programs this year.
● School Nutrition joined a food purchasing cooperative and were able to decrease both staffing and food expenditures
● RRES had monthly family engagement activities, sustained SOL test achievements despite new standards, and improved K-2 literacy growth
● TRES celebrated all student accomplishments and growth in targeted events and improved student turnout for after school tutoring and summer learning programs
● NMS decreased discipline referrals by 67% and student chronic absenteeism by 13% by improving the school climate with high staff retention and student engagement in clubs and athletics
● NHS implemented a “seat time recovery program” this spring that reduced student chronic absenteeism by over 13% from last year, improved staff retention, sustained success in end-of-course SOLs, and both athletic and academic teams improved
Dr. Hester also described a nationwide problem with bad comments directed to individuals in Instagram accounts which Nelson students have started to participate in. The Sheriff is aware of the issue. With the students home for the summer, School staff have limited ability to control the problem.
Dr. Hester was also very pleased that the ZeroEyes system detected a toy gun before it got into a school. They were able to quickly alert the Sheriff’s department of the non-threat to the school.
The Maintenance Supervisor, Les Campbell, gave an update on the GHS renovation project that is in full swing now that school has let out. The contractors are working on parking lots and most of the building and, even with a number of change orders, the project is staying within budget. Because of some supply chain delays, some areas of the school will still be under construction in the fall (evening hours). There is very limited student and public access to GHS this summer but the parking lot and grounds will be cleared for the community-wide fireworks for the 4th of July celebration.
Dr. Hester told the School Board that the Board of Supervisors delayed approving the School (and County) budget until a meeting on June 25, 2025 (around 4pm?). Members of the Board of Supervisors have discussed the School budget in three continuing meetings after the public hearing on May 13 where there were no public comments about the Schools budget - May 16 (discussed in the May summary report), May 21 (agenda changed to cover another BOS matter), and May 30. The May 30 work session was not video-taped, and no school staff were present to answer questions although a Nelson Times reporter did cover the meeting in a June 4, 2025 article. There were discussions about long-term funding needed for school bus replacement with no disagreements that the four buses ($600,000) in the School Board approved budget was needed. They discussed the new ZeroEyes annual costs and the superintendent’s salary increasing by over 4%. Some did not like the fact that all staff did not receive a 3% salary increase [like the county staff will receive, except dispatchers who will receive an extra 6%]. However, the County Administrator explained that school leadership were trying to strategically correct teacher salary scale issues [something that this writer learned from school administration has been a multi-year effort]. The Board of Supervisors therefore asked for a letter from the Schools detailing who was getting more than a 3% salary increase.
The Schools presented the requested letter to the Board of Supervisors ahead of their June 10, 2025 Board of Supervisors meeting. At the meeting, BOS members stated from the letter that 51 teachers would receive over 3% for a total cost of $85,200 (salaries and benefits) [that would mean an average of about $100/month of salary for these 51 teachers]. The letter was not included in the BOS agenda but this writer was told by School administrative staff that the overall cost of salary improvements for School staff was slightly under 3% because administrative staff only received a 2.61% salary increase. Regardless, Supervisor David Parr felt he did not have time to review the requested letter because of other Board priorities and the Board of Supervisors chose to delay the vote on the budget until June 25, 2025.
During the School Board meeting on June 12, Dr. Hester indicated that School staff have been answering all budget questions as they come up so that the process is as transparent as possible. The School Board ended the budget update discussion by deciding to schedule a School Board meeting after the June 25, 2025 Board of Supervisor meeting (but before the June 30, 2025 deadline) - in case, the budget adopted by the Board of Supervisors does not fully fund the School Board approved budget from March 13, 2025.