The Waynesboro School Board is fast-tracking a superintendent hire before November's election — locking in a four-year commitment before voters can replace the very board members making the pick.
This is how bureaucrats shut parents out. Two of five board seats are up for election on Nov. 3, but the current board's timeline would have a new superintendent named by late October or early November, meaning incoming members inherit a decision they had zero voice in.
Current superintendent Jeffrey Cassell announced last month he'll retire effective Dec. 31. Virginia law gives the board 180 days from that vacancy date — meaning they have until June 30, 2027, to install a replacement. There is no legal reason to rush. The board is choosing to.
Board chair Amber Lipscomb isn't seeking re-election. Ward C member Debra Freeman faces challenger Kelvin Washington. That guarantees at least one new face, possibly two, on the five-member body — none of whom will get a say in hiring the person who'll run Waynesboro's schools for the next four years.
The track record these members are racing to cement is dismal. According to the Virginia Department of Education, every school in Waynesboro — four elementary schools, the middle school, and the high school — receives failing grades. Despite that, this same board handed Cassell a four-year contract extension just two years ago.
Augusta Free Press reports the board intends to hire from within — which would promote the same leadership that presided over across-the-board failure. The outlet framed the timeline bluntly: "Why the rush job?" noting that the current board "wants to expedite the process, for some reason."
Virginia law makes removing elected officials deliberately difficult — petition drives, a judge's involvement, and a system that, as Augusta Free Press noted, tends to side with "the people vs. the system." The deck is stacked.
The board has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 6 p.m. at Waynesboro High School and posted an online survey open through Friday, Aug. 21. Whether they'll actually heed what parents say — given the haste — remains an open question.
The board has until mid-2027 to make this hire. It's choosing to do it before the election. The question for Waynesboro parents is whether two board seats are enough to break a pattern — or whether the fix is already in before the first ballot is cast.
