Students, parents press school board on counseling resources and redistricting impacts

Two public commenters urged the Washington County School Board to address student support and to reconsider aspects of proposed redistricting.

Chase Walfort, a student at Abingdon High School, spoke on behalf of many students calling for stronger guidance counseling. He said counselors should provide clearer, consistent assistance with course selection, graduation requirements, college and career planning and dual-enrollment decisions, and asked the board to review caseloads, training and resource levels to improve advising.

Whitney Pennington, a local attorney and parent, urged the board to explore less disruptive alternatives to redistricting for budget and class-size reasons. She questioned assumptions about families using proposed bus transportation and warned that reassigning children could cause emotional harm and operational headaches if implemented without careful grandfathering and long-term planning. "I would ask this board to to think about their other means that are least restrictive and less harmful and disruptive to the students who are already in the school district they're supposed to be in," she said.

Superintendent Doctor Parrish and board members replied that stakeholder concerns had been heard during the revision process and noted the board had adjusted some transportation-zone recommendations as a result. The superintendent also emphasized that students who attend a school because of IEP requirements will retain required placements and transportation as part of implementation planning. No formal board action resulted directly from these two public comments during the meeting, but both were acknowledged and incorporated into staff follow-up.