WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Parents and community members gathered at James Blair Middle School on Tuesday night to learn more about a potential new school division.
Currently, the City of Williamsburg operates a joint system with James City County but city leaders are mulling over the possibility of forming its own school division.
The input session comes just weeks after a study looked at what it would take for Williamsburg to run a school system apart from James City County.
13News Now spoke to one staff member at Williamsburg-James City County Schools (WJCC) who wished to remain anonymous. She said she has many unanswered questions about the potential split.
“I pay taxes, are my taxes going to go up? I work in the school district, am I going to have a job? Are the kids' needs going to be met as well as it is in a larger school system,” the woman said.
The recent study shows Williamsburg students score lower than their James City County classmates in federal exams for math, reading and science. James City County parent Quinn Emmett told 13News Now he isn’t sure a new division is the answer to the problem.
“Be a little more creative and open-minded about how we help them than just walking away from something that’s imperfect but works," Emmett said.
“There’s always been some indication that the students of the city aren’t performing at their full potential," said Williamsburg Mayor Doug Pons.
Pons said he hasn’t determined if he’s for or against the separate school division yet. However, he’s all for looking into the possibility.
“I think some of the next steps will be, how do we address those challenges, meet the expectations of the community, whether that’s in a joint system or an independent system," the mayor said.
Mayor Pons said if the city were to move forward with the plan, the potential new district wouldn’t start for a few years.
If you missed tonight's input session, you can give your feedback through an online survey.