The possibility of setting up its own behind-the-wheel driver education program will be on the agenda for discussion when the Montgomery County School Board meets Tuesday.
The board will meet in conference rooms A and B in the school board office, 750 Imperial St. SE, Christiansburg.
The meeting will begin with a closed session at 5:30 p.m. to discuss student matters and a personnel matter. The regular meeting will begin at 7 p.m.
Currently, 715 students are taking the classroom portion of driver education, according to a presentation the board will receive.
Montgomery County is among the 28% of Virginia school divisions that don’t provide behind-the-wheel instruction, which is provided by private companies, it states. Students must get at least seven hours of driving and seven hours of observing another driver. Typically, one student drives while another observes, with a certified instructor supervising.
County schools have nine fully certified driving instructors, according to the presentation. A local private driving school has told school officials that it is having difficulty hiring behind-the-wheel instructors at $27 per hour, it states.
If county schools moved to in-house behind-the-wheel instruction, they would need to buy or lease vehicles.
One option would offer instruction during the school day, requiring three cars and hiring of three certified instructors. The personnel would cost up to $240,000, while buying the vehicles could cost $75,000. The school division could recoup some costs by charging fees to students.
Another option would offer instruction before or after school and on Saturdays. While there would still potentially be a roughly $75,000 cost for vehicles, the division could hire instructors at $25 per hour for a cost slightly more than $125,000.
A third option would continue to send students to private driving schools, but the division would provide scholarships of $275-$310 apiece to students who struggle to afford the training.
Other notable items on the agenda include:
Approving members of the School Health Advisory Board. Also, the board will receive a presentation on the health board, the schools Mental Health Advisory Committee and the School Safety Audit Committee.
This is notable because at their Oct. 7 meeting, some school board members “expressed questions” about the membership of the safety audit committee and the health advisory board, according to a presentation.
During that meeting, member Ed Gitre asked when the health advisory board most recently made a presentation to the school board. He was told it’s been several years, but the board produces a yearly written report. Gitre also said the current board membership is not as broad as state law recommends.
The law states that it should include parents, students, health professionals, educators and others.
A presentation prepared for the Oct. 21 meeting notes that the health advisory board and the mental health advisory committee have overlap on many meeting agenda items, and that the two boards could be merged.
The proposed health advisory board lineup now includes the director of student services, the supervisor of school nutrition programs, a school nurse, a curriculum specialist, a regional epidemiologist, the regional community services school-based program director and six parents.
As for the school safety panel, Gitre expressed concern about its membership, saying it’s not supposed to be only a liaison between law enforcement and the schools central office.
The committee’s duties include reviewing completed school safety audits and submitting plans for improvement, if needed.
However, approval of the committee’s membership is not on Tuesday’s agenda.
A presentation on elevator upgrades. School buildings include nine elevators that need improvements to allow easier access to the public during sporting events, assemblies, parent-teacher conferences and other events, according to presentation documents.
The proposal would allow a school to control elevators with key access during the school day but let the public use elevators without key access during other school events. The estimated upgrade cost is more than $15,500.
You can find meeting documents here.
