In a brief gathering Tuesday evening, members of the Mathews County School Board and Board of Supervisors sat down to discuss a wide range of issues, from the upcoming HVAC project at Thomas Hunter Middle School to an overall picture of the 2023-2024 budget process, and even the possibility of Mathews High School students one day having the option to take part in a Junior ROTC program.

Tuesday’s goal setting meeting was intentionally brief, since supervisors had to leave the 6 p.m. meeting in the MHS media center in order to take part in a pair of public hearings at a joint BOS/planning commission meeting at 7 in the historic courthouse, leaving only 45 minutes for presentations and discussion.

The first 15 minutes were devoted to a presentation by engineers Chad Nixon and Richard Polo of Inversity Consulting Engineers, who brought the two boards up to speed on a project to improve heating and air conditioning at the county’s middle school. At present, the school’s corridors and...