Rockingham County Schools board pauses new Splash kindergarten enrollment at South End

The Rockingham County Schools Board of Education voted unanimously Jan. 27 to pause new kindergarten enrollment at the Splash program site serving the South End attendance area for the 2025–26 school year while allowing current students to finish and keeping Bethany and Stoneville Splash sites open.

District staff presented three options for Splash kindergarten expansion: start a new Splash site at Monroe Elementary, pause new enrollment for a year to allow public outreach and review of the Cropper demographic report, or continue only with Bethany and Stoneville. Lisa Miller, a district staff member presenting the memo, said the district had received 17 applications last year from the region and that starting a new site would add a per-site program fee of about $42,000 at this year’s rate.

"We have a decision point memo to share with you regarding new enrollment for a kindergarten class," Miller said. "One option would be to begin a Splash program at Monroe Elementary for 2025–26. One con is a program fee per site — this year's rate would add about $42,000." Miller also described a local cost estimate: after staffing and the program fee, the district would need to cover about $135,000 locally on current assumptions.

Several board members raised concerns about equity and promotion in the Reedsville/Riesel area, saying the district has not adequately publicized choice programs and that starting a site at a new location could shift resources from areas the board previously promised to support. Board member Philip Butler said he favored keeping programs in Reedsville-area schools and ramping up outreach. Board member Rachel (Miss) Austin said she preferred pausing for a year while the district refines recruitment and public information efforts.

Kimberly McMichael, participating by videoconference, moved to pause new Splash kindergarten enrollment for the Reedsville/South End attendance area for 2025–26 while continuing Bethany and Stoneville, allowing current kindergarteners at South End to finish and directing staff to reevaluate after the Cropper demographic report and after further outreach. The motion was seconded and passed on a unanimous voice vote.

The board did not set an enrollment cap or specify a new timeline beyond reassessing the item after the district’s demographic study. Staff said they would continue to accept information from families interested in Splash at Monroe and would forward inquiries to program staff.

District staff and several board members said the pause is intended to buy time for a more thorough public information campaign, to examine the Cropper utilization projections and to avoid incurring duplicate program fees if a new site opened while seats remained for current cohorts at existing sites.

The board’s action was procedural — pausing new enrollment, not closing the South End site to students already enrolled — and staff said they will return with implementation details and outreach plans as the Cropper report is incorporated into site-level planning.