Ruth Larson, chair of the James City County board of supervisors, wants the county and Williamsburg to work out a new schools contract before the next school year.
“I’m hoping we can get this wrapped up fairly quickly,” she said. “I think we’re closer than we are further apart.”
Williamsburg city council members declined to comment on a new joint service agreement for Williamsburg-James City County schools while negotiations are ongoing.
Williamsburg officials in an October release stated that city council “looks forward to working with the James City County Board of Supervisors and the Williamsburg-James City County School Board in the weeks ahead to craft a new contract for a joint school system that ensures the best possible educational opportunities and outcomes for all city and county students.”
Williamsburg first announced it was exploring the possibility of splitting from the division in June 2023. James City County then voted in July to terminate the joint agreement for the division at its conclusion in 2025.
What followed was more than a year of conversation and study into what it would take to decouple the city and county’s schools. Both localities were looking at many millions of dollars in additional costs and a complicated legal and accounting process without precedent.
After a request from James City County, Williamsburg in October issued a statement that the city wanted to work out a new agreement rather than leave the nearly 70-year-old joint school division.
“I feel like we’re moving in a positive direction,” Larson said. “There was a lot of angst among students and everyone involved with the school system … and so to bring that temperature down, I think, is a relief.”
While the two localities work to reforge the joint service agreement that governs WJCC, Williamsburg officials want the next iteration of the agreement to be “modernized” and to address “deficiencies in the current structure” that the city identified while exploring a break-up.
Williamsburg has pushed to see academic achievement gaps between county and city students improved.
Larson said she couldn’t speculate as to what the contract negotiations will look like, but agreed with the importance of updating the language of the joint service agreement to reflect modern needs.
Negotiations will take place in the school liaison committee, which has both city and county representation. Agreements reached there will have to return for city council and board of supervisors approval to be binding.
“I am very optimistic about moving forward in a joint system,” Larson said. “I think we have more in agreement than we have in disagreement.”
NOTE: Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools is a member of the Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association, which holds WHRO's broadcast license.
