Parents and teachers urge board to keep Triplett Tech intact, press for new elementary school
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Summary
Multiple public commenters at the Nov. 12 meeting urged the board not to split Triplett Tech across sites and asked the board to prioritize a new elementary school. Speakers cited concerns about diluted student supports, special-education services, staffing shortages, copier reliability and possible asbestos at Sandy Hook Elementary.
Several parents and teachers urged the Shenandoah County School Board on Nov. 12 to keep Triplett Tech as a single campus and to prioritize a new elementary school.
Becca Scott, a criminal-justice instructor at Triplett Tech, said, “Triplett Tech is more than just a school. We are giving students a place where they feel seen, valued, and supported... If we divide our programs, we risk losing that heart, that family environment.” Scott said splitting programs across sites would dilute counseling and administrative support and weaken the school’s culture of cross-program mentoring.
Kate Stroup, the special-education teacher at Triplett Tech, described the instructional impact of splitting programs. “Our students with disabilities thrive at Triplett Tech because they have consistent, coordinated, and one-site support across all programs... Splitting the school breaks that culture apart,” she said, and warned that distributing special-education services across locations would make legally required accommodations and IEP services harder to deliver.
An unidentified resident urged the board to prioritize a new elementary school and raised health and safety concerns after a recent article, asking the division to test for possible asbestos in adhesive under carpets at Sandy Hook Elementary. The speaker also raised concerns about substitute-pay practices, copier reliability and staffing burdens on teachers who absorb split classes.
Parent Kara Mrozek told the board her third-grade child has been without a regular teacher since early October, urged the board to maintain progress on capital-improvement planning, and asked whether the division is considering teacher-retention strategies and pay competitiveness with neighboring counties.
Board members acknowledged the concerns and voted earlier in the meeting to move agenda item 6.2 (capital-improvement planning) to the Jan. 26, 2026 meeting for full-board consideration. The record contains no immediate operational decision to split Triplett Tech at this meeting; commenters asked the board to pursue renovation or a single-site rebuild instead of dispersal.