The Washington County Board of Education (“Board”) announces the new school year will also be the start to a new public meeting format in order to enhance transparency, promote greater public engagement, and increase efficiency and effectiveness.

Beginning in September, the Board will continue to hold two public meetings each month. The meeting held on the first Tuesday of each month will be a work session. The meeting held on the third Tuesday of each month will be a business meeting.

Board of Education President Melissa Williams says, “The Board is looking forward to implementing this revised meeting structure. Holding a work session followed by a business meeting two weeks later will enable members to more deeply engage in the developments of the school system, enhance communication and collaboration, and allow the public to learn more about the work being undertaken by the Board before any formal actions are decided.”

The Board will not take any formal action during its work sessions. Those meetings will focus on sharing information, discussing issues, and receiving reports from the Superintendent of Schools and other WCPS staff that will help better inform the Board’s work. During business meetings, the Board will celebrate student and staff recognitions, receive public comment, and take formal action on various topics for their consideration.

“Holding work sessions in advance of business meetings allows Board members to receive and review a great deal of information on various timely and relevant topics. It will also provide them with time to process and discuss the information at a deeper level prior to publicly voting on topics,” adds Superintendent of Schools, Dr. David Sovine. "This approach enhances transparency and provides our community with a greater opportunity to provide feedback and engage with the Board on issues that are important to them. I believe the new meeting structure will benefit both Board members and their constituents.”

The Board’s work sessions will begin at 4:00 p.m. Business meetings will begin at 6:00 p.m. Meeting dates are subject to change. The full meeting schedule for the 2023-2024 school year is available on the WCPS website at: https://wcpsmd.com/school-board/board-meetings. These meetings will be open to the public and conducted at the Center for Education Services, located at 10435 Downsville Pike in Hagerstown. Board of Education meetings are also streamed live on the WCPS Facebook page (www.facebook.com/wcpsmd), the WCPS YouTube page (www.youtube.com/wcpsmd), and the WCPS website (http://wcpsmd.com/school-board/board-meetings).