For the second month in a row, a proposal by the Mathews Family YMCA to offer a preschool/day care program for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds on school property dominated public discussion during Tuesday’s meeting of the Mathews County School Board.
The proposal, which was introduced by the Y at the school board’s October meeting, has received both support and criticism in the following weeks. Those in favor have pointed out the deep need for such a service to the county’s young families and a boost to students being able to read on grade level by the third grade. Those in opposition have said that it goes beyond the school board’s mission to provide K-12 instruction as well as concerns over liability and if the county might be asked to pick up the bill in the event the YMCA ever stepped away from the program.
At the board’s November meeting, the majority of public comments favored the proposal, including those from county supervisors Tim Doss and Tom Bowen and Mathews High School principal Dr. Drew Greve.
During Tuesday night’s meeting in Thomas Hunter Middle School’s Brooks Auditorium, 10 speakers—including supervisor Mike Walls—asked the school board to reject the YMCA’s proposal, with four speaking in favor.
As at the November meeting, school board chair Dr. Mari Gibbs opened Tuesday’s public comment period by pointing out that the proposal was not on the night’s agenda as an action item. Later, she said that the Y had submitted a Memorandum of Understanding for its proposal to the school board late last week, although the board had not had sufficient time to review it, along with the school division’s attorney and insurance carrier.
YMCA officials have stated they are seeking only classroom space from the school board for the program. The program would have a target of 14 children in its first year, with the expectation that it would grow from there.
Walls said that he is not opposed to the Y starting a preschool or day care program in Mathews, but is concerned about the program expanding in the school at the same time that the school board and supervisors are beginning to look at capital needs for the division. In November, the two boards held a joint planning session on long-term building needs. The BOS asked the school board to give a recommendation by December 2025.
Walls said he expects the Y program, once started, to expand. “What I don’t want to see is it expanding in our school system,” he said. Worldwide, the YMCA is worth $64 billion, he said, and $164 million in the U.S. “They can absolutely afford to purchase or rent one of our vacant buildings in downtown Mathews,” he said.
“It should not be the school board’s responsibility or position to offer facilities for this type in our public school system,” he said. Walls reiterated that he’s not opposed to this proposal. “I just don’t think it should be housed in our school system,” he said. The two boards, he said, have some tough decisions ahead of them. When the Y program grows to three or four classrooms, he added, it is just going to make it much harder to make those decisions.
Others speaking out against the proposal included Byron Rauch of Diggs, Sue Henshaw, Jack Kirby and Randall Dobson of Cobbs Creek, Jean Howard of Mobjack, Richard Hicks of North, Kay Dyar of Cardinal, Sharon Frye of Port Haywood, as well as two Gloucester residents, Susan Austin and John Mills.
Those speaking out in favor included Judy Salatino and Diane and Stan Grice, who also spoke at the November meeting, as well as Dee Russell of Hudgins.
“No one disputes the need,” Gibbs said, following public comment, who conceded that “this issue is one filled with passion” on both sides. She said the school board’s duty is “clear eyed due diligence” in considering the request. Like Walls, she spoke of concerns of possible impacts this program would have in considering the consolidation of school buildings. “We are accountable to all stakeholders,” she said, balancing all of the needs of parents, students and taxpayers.
Prior to the start of Tuesday’s regular meeting, the school board held its first 2025-2026 budget work session, going over the challenges it faces with declining enrollment, an adjustment in the state funding formula that places a larger burden on Mathews County taxpayers and other concerns. Enrollment currently stands at 760 students, down from a high of 1,298 in the 2003-2004 school year, superintendent of schools Dr. David S. Daniel said. Next year’s budget, he said, would likely be based on an enrollment of 725-730 students.
The board did hear a pair of requests from faculty members Randy Applegate and Michelle Williams about the need for the division to include a separate budget line for consumable products for the schools’ Career and Technical Education programs. These products, such as lumber and other building supplies for carpentry students, or food items for the Family and Consumer Science lab classes, are not routinely covered by grants, leaving the teachers scrambling to find other sources of revenue. Right now, Applegate said he is currently spending about $15,000 at MHS for such items, while Williams said it runs about $2,000 to $2,500 for her FCS classes.
Following a closed session, the board took a number of personnel actions, accepting the resignations of Mathews Elementary teachers Victoria Huskey and Cheryl Ligon and MHS teacher Jerry Ligon, the appointment of THMS teacher assistant Tara Cosby, and the appointment of the following intramural basketball volunteer coaches: John Lewis, Kendi Havener, Benjamin Williams, Mark Denkinger, Robert Ambrose, Tara Cosby, Brittany LeTannier, Kimberly Harper and Joshua Thomas.