Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Teachers’ union issues 'C' to council on school funding; Silver Creek and Pratt’s Run residents press council on development impacts
Summary
During citizens’ comments, the Waynesboro Education Association delivered a progress report grading the council a C on support for public schools and urged opposition to any funding cap; multiple residents from Silver Creek and Pratt's Run voiced concerns about traffic, safety and developer relationships related to recent and proposed housing projects.
At the end of the May 11 meeting, citizens used the council’s public-comment period to press officials on school funding and neighborhood impacts from development.
Laura Bridal, speaking for the Waynesboro Education Association, introduced the union’s "progress report" to the council and said the local educators assigned the council a grade of C for its support of the public schools this year. Bridal said the union appreciated the council’s agreement to fund the renovation of Waynesboro High School but criticized a council proposal to cap revenues available to schools, calling a cap effectively a cut: "A cap is a cut," she said, and urged the council to oppose any funding cap and to clearly and vocally support the schools.
Other citizens who addressed the council raised neighborhood-specific development concerns. Multiple residents from the Silver Creek area and Pratt's Run described existing traffic and pedestrian-safety problems on Lou DeWitt and nearby intersections and warned that additional housing would exacerbate those issues. A Pratt's Run resident and the subdivision association president asked the council to require pedestrian crossings and consider the long-term traffic impacts; one resident recommended that the city require developers to construct sidewalk and crossing infrastructure as part of new projects rather than leaving the work to future taxpayers.
Several speakers urged better process and clearer commitments from developers to work with existing neighborhoods. A Silver Creek resident asked that, if developers will not meaningfully coordinate with Phase 1 residents, the council require a name change for Phase 2 to separate identities and avoid property-value concerns.
Council members listened and acknowledged the concerns; no votes were taken during citizen comments. The remarks underscore continuing local debate over the pace and scale of housing development, infrastructure funding and school-support decisions.
