School starts Wednesday

By Gracie Hart
Review Staff Writer
Published: August 14, 2008

As the county gears up for another school year, changes are being made to accommodate more students and to ensure that everyone has a good year.
“We expect 5,300 students this year,” said Orange County School Superintendent Dr. William Crawford.  “We have been growing by about 260 students each year, but due to the economy, it has slowed down a bit.”
The county has seen almost 1,000 additional students in the last three years resulting in a need for more teachers, staff and space.
“We added 11 additional positions this year, eight in the classroom and three in support positions,” said Dr. Crawford.
The new additions bring the teacher total to approximately 402 teachers and the staff total to approximately 815-820 staff members.  Virginia Standards of Quality require that there is one counselor for every 500 students within elementary schools.  In previous years, Unionville and Lightfoot Elementary Schools have shared a guidance counselor.  This year, a counselor has been added to each school. 
Many schools are also facing problems resulting from overcrowding.  Locust Grove Elementary and Locust Grove Middle both have mobile units to accommodate additional students.  The middle school has five units which each have two full classrooms in them while the elementary school has six or seven of the same units.  There are mobile units at other schools but those are used for the Head Start program. 
“At some time, attendance zones may need to be shifted and renovations or additions may need to be done,” said Dr. Crawford.  “An assessment is being done to help officials be more informed about [the] growth.”
The assessment should be finished in October and should help county officials prepare for future capital school projects [see adjacent story].  Meanwhile, the bid for the new middle school should be released the week after Aug. 19.
“It will generally be out to bid four or five weeks,” said Dr. Crawford.
In addition to dealing with the growth problems, there are two main initiatives that the school system will be focusing on this year: improved academic performance and running an effective and efficient operation.  Improving academic performance is something that all school administrators and staff strive for each year, Crawford said.
“Our job is to provide students with the tools to be successful,” said Dr. Crawford.  “We will continue to work on this.”
Running an effective and efficient operation is something that the school system must due in order to keep up with the changing economy, he confirmed.
“It looks like there is going to be a 4 percent reduction in state revenue funds so we need to find a way to get the maximum amount of resources with the funds given,” said Dr. Crawford.  “We will definitely have to do more with less.”
Dr. Crawford explained that while the school system had planned on an 8 percent increase in electricity, when the first bill was opened they were surprised to find a 17 percent increase.  If the schools continue to use the same kilowatt hours at the 17 percent increase, that would already leave the school system $163,500 in the hole.
“We have challenges with [having] less revenue and commodities are costing more,” he said.  “We can’t count on gas [prices] staying what they are now.”
More buses were added this year along with changes in the bus routes.  The county has about 104 buses in service with additional buses available in case of break downs [see adjacent story]. 
He also mentioned that the school now has more subtle costs which are adding up.  Paper, supplies and shipping are some of things that are costing more than they have in the past.
Meanwhile, Dr. Crawford prepares for what is expected to be his last year with Orange County Schools.  The school board chose not to renew his contract earlier this summer. 
“I plan on continuing to serve in education for many years to come,” said Dr. Crawford.  “I am still enthused and excited about the possibility to serve a community in this capacity.”
He will leave at the end of the 2008-2009 school year.
The school board will be meeting with the VSBA in a public forum held Aug. 19 at noon in the central office to discuss the search for a new superintendent.