Radford‑led governor’s school proposal submitted to VDOE; MCPS trustees raise governance questions

The Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent and gifted‑program staff told the board that a multi‑division application to create a New River Valley Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities was sent to the Virginia Department of Education in late February.

Helen Fotinos, MCPS administrator for gifted programs, said the planning committee includes staff from Radford University, New River Community College and public‑school personnel from Floyd, Giles, Pulaski, Radford City and Montgomery County. The proposal seeks to offer students intensive arts and humanities instruction beginning in the sophomore year with a mix of high‑school and Radford University coursework; juniors and seniors would be eligible to earn university credits, and the timeline in the application projected a possible start in August 2026.

Under the proposal, students would apply in the fall of their sophomore year; the selection process would require a common application, teacher recommendations, a subject‑area GPA threshold (the application requests a 3.3 in arts or humanities courses), and auditions or portfolio adjudication for arts applicants. Radford would host sophomore‑level classes in a contained campus location such as Kyle Hall; juniors and seniors would take Radford courses and could earn postsecondary credits. The proposal estimated initial capacity of roughly 40 sophomores and subsequent cohorts of about 35 juniors and 35 seniors across participating divisions. Tuition was estimated at $3,850 per student per year (about $77,000 for 20 students), and participating divisions would provide transportation.

Several trustees raised governance concerns during the meeting. Board member Dr. Gentry said the application packet listed the divisions as having "approved" the proposal, but he said the Montgomery County School Board had not formally voted to participate or to provide funding. Superintendent Dr. Bridal said division representatives present during the planning process agreed to "support" the submission and that his office approved moving forward to VDOE; he also said the VDOE review process may return questions. Fotinos said that if VDOE approves the governor’s school, MCPS would return to the board to ask whether the division would participate and to decide how many seats to allocate and how to fund them.

Board members asked for clarification on governance next steps and whether MCPS would post the planning documents. Fotinos and Dr. Bridal said they could publish the application materials and timeline for public review and that final board approval would be required before MCPS commits funds or seats.

Ending

Trustees asked that the administration post the application and timeline and return with a formal recommendation — including financial commitments and a proposed number of seats — for board approval if VDOE indicates the governor’s school meets state requirements.