The Shadow
LOW MOOR, VA (VR) – The Alleghany Highlands Public School Board met in July to approve the 2026–2027 school calendar, adopt a resolution recognizing Attendance Awareness Month, approve a new fiscal year budget with pay raises for staff, and hear an update on a district music program that expanded its reach into local elementary schools this past year.
The board opened the meeting with an instructional spotlight on a school strings program piloted last year at Callaghan Elementary through a partnership with the Garth Newell Music Center and the Alleghany Foundation. Violin instructor Madison Barnett, a Covington High School graduate, told board members that roughly 30 beginner-level students took part in free after-school group classes last year, with the division covering the cost of instrument rentals. Barnett said the in-school pilot program at Callaghan Elementary and Boys Home School reached students who couldn’t attend after-school sessions because of transportation or scheduling conflicts with other activities. She said the program will expand this fall to Jeter Watson Elementary, with additional schools, including Mountain View and Sharon elementary schools, joining in the spring semester.
On personnel and governance matters, the board reappointed Dr. Shannon Fuhrman as deputy clerk to the school board following the retirement of longtime clerk Fred Vaughn and approved Superintendent designees Dwayne Ross and Shannon Fuhrman to handle division business in the superintendent’s absence. The board also approved its representatives to the Jackson River Governor’s School Board, naming Nicole Clemons to replace outgoing member Mrs. Morgan, with Mr. Umstead continuing to serve as the alternate, and reappointed members to the division’s budget and policy committees.
The board approved the 2026–2027 school calendar, which sets convocation day for Aug. 5 and the first day of school for Aug. 12, along with holiday and work-session dates throughout the year. Board members also adopted a resolution designating September as Attendance Awareness Month, citing the link between regular attendance and academic achievement, graduation rates, and long-term student success.
In a required action tied to federal nutrition guidelines, the board approved an increase in adult meal prices for the coming school year, raising lunch to $5.20 and breakfast to $2.95, in line with a U.S. Department of Agriculture mandate intended to keep school nutrition funds separate from other spending.
The board held a divided discussion on the future home of Cougar baseball after varsity coach Ryan Kessinger and Assistant Athletic Director Will Fields proposed that Alleghany baseball be played at the high school. The board tabled the discussion until its August meeting.
On transportation, a division official outlined plans to use “minibus routes”—abbreviated routes that stick to main roads during inclement weather or other situations that make normal routes difficult to operate safely. A representative said the approach, combined with efforts to hire additional drivers, is intended to keep buses running safely without overloading vehicles during driver shortages. Families would be notified through the division’s bus-tracking app.
The board also reviewed its school resource officer and jail memoranda of understanding, which are required to be updated every two years and are modeled on standards established by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. Officials said the documents include division-specific language on when officers’ body cameras must be activated and will be posted online for public review ahead of a required update in September.
On the financial side, the board received its final 2025–2026 fund balance report, which showed higher-than-expected revenue driven in part by unfilled staff positions and reimbursements that exceeded projections. Officials said the surplus resulted in payments back to the City of Covington and Alleghany County, with a formal request for capital project funding expected to go before both governing bodies this fall.
Board members also approved a revised 2026–2027 budget that includes a 3% salary increase, plus a step increase for eligible employees, funded in part by higher-than-anticipated state revenue, even as the division’s average daily membership, which determines state funding, dropped by 45 students.
Board members also noted a dispute over how much of an increase the city and county must contribute under the division’s joint funding agreement. One representative cited contract language requiring the localities to match the previous year’s funding plus the most recent Consumer Price Index increase, which he said was 4.2%—above the 3.8% increase the county has already approved.
In other business, the board approved a consent agenda that included the June meeting minutes, year-end bill payments, and student travel for regional band and choral competitions. Members also heard an informational report noting a downward trend in student discipline incidents compared with the previous year.
