Mathews Elementary School.
That is the new name for the school that had been called Lee-Jackson Elementary before the Mathews County School Board voted last summer to remove the names of the two Confederate generals from the building.
School board members voted unanimously to approve the new name during Tuesday night’s meeting, which was held in the Harry M. Ward Auditorium at Mathews High School.
In approving Mathews Elementary, the school board went against the recommendation of an ad hoc committee that had been tasked with coming up with a replacement name for Lee-Jackson. The School Name Advisory Committee had put forward the name Bay Haven Elementary as its preferred choice.
But that choice did not have popular support. A community survey conducted after the Aug. 18, 2020 decision to remove the name overwhelmingly favored Mathews Elementary. Out of a total of 294 responses, Mathews Elementary was the top choice of 182, with only eight selecting one of several bay theme names.
When the matter was brought up as an action item Tuesday, the original motion included the committee’s recommended name, Bay Haven. However, that motion was met with silence. Vice chairman Jeanice Sadler then offered a substitute motion in favor of Mathews Elementary.
The crowd in the auditorium responded with a round of applause. “I think anything else would be insulting,” Sadler said of choosing any name other than the community’s choice of Mathews Elementary.
“We’ve heard you,” school board member Linda Hodges said. “This is the time to defer to you as a community.” Hodges thanked the committee for its work.
Desmond Smith served as the school board’s member on that committee and explained his reason for favoring Bay Haven. He said that a main part of his campaign when he ran for school board was creating a safe environment for students where they could learn and thrive. The name Bay Haven suggested such a safe place, he said.
“We wanted to try to explore creative names,” he said, adding that he was not opposed to Mathews Elementary.
“Yes, you may keep your mascot, the Tigers,” school board chairman John Priest said after the vote, addressing his comments to Mathews Elementary School staff in attendance.
School board members had initially planned to make the decision on the new name at its December meeting. That was put off during the budget process while the possible consolidation of the elementary and middle schools was being considered.
Budget approved
Concerning the budget, the school board voted 5-0 to adopt the amended 2021-2022 operating budget. Based on an enrollment of 875 students, the $16.94 million budget includes a step increase for all employees, $158,580 to cover an estimated 4 percent increase in health insurance costs, and the addition of a full-time technology support staff position.
The budget also included a preschool teacher, aide and $75,000 in start-up funds for materials and supplies to participate in the Virginia Preschool Initiative Program. The program, which will be partially funded by the Virginia Department of Education, is expected to serve seven 4-year-olds in its first year.
Following the vote on the budget, the school board approved the Virginia Preschool Initiative application by a 4-1 margin with Sadler opposed. Sadler opposed the measure, saying those resources would be better used to focus on improving the education of students currently in the school division.
“This is a great start,” Hodges said of the move, thanking division superintendent Nancy Welch for seeing this through. A longtime advocate for early intervention, Hodges said that this program will help the division have all students read on grade level by the third grade.
This, she said, will also help in breaking the chain of generational poverty. “The only way people can leave poverty is if they get an education,” she said. Hodges said she expects this to help with raising the division’s graduation rate.
The school board also approved a retroactive step increase (roughly equivalent to 1 percent on the salary scale) for the current school year. This, being done in concert with the step increase for 2021-2022, will help the division unlock state funding for a raise. The step increase will be given to all employees as a separate check in June.
Following a closed meeting, the school board approved a number of personnel actions. Resignations were accepted from Thomas Hunter Middle School teachers Lana Mecca and Carl Kelly and elementary school music teacher Patrick Billups.
The following professional staff appointments were made for 2021-2022: MHS school counselor Shannon Duff, THMS health/physical education teacher Kayla Tobin, MHS history teacher Patricia Wood, THMS special education teacher James Cook and THMS math teacher Nancy Palkovics.
Professional staff appointment omitted from the April 20 appointment list included Mathews Elementary teacher Terrie Cook, THMS eighth grade teacher Amy Bohannon-Stewart and THMS art teacher Henry Banks.
Graduations
During informational reports, Welch reviewed graduation plans for all three county schools. The fourth grade promotion for Mathews Elementary will be held as a drive-through event at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 3 at the school’s bus loop. The eighth grade celebration for Thomas Hunter Middle School will be held at 11:30 a.m. the same day on the THMS track. The Mathews High School graduation will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 5 in the Harry M. Ward Auditorium.
The next school board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15 in the MHS auditorium. An end-of-year special meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 29, followed by the school board’s summer retreat. The meeting and retreat will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the MHS media center.