Williamsburg-James City County Schools will shuffle its school zones next year when it opens two new preschool buildings.
The WJCC School Board on Tuesday unanimously approved a redistricting plan that Board Member Michael Hosang said would lay a solid foundation for the next decade.
“A foundation that we could then, as a school division, build the best school division and the best schools in the state,” he said.
WJCC began planning the preschools three years ago and moving classes out of the five elementary schools that offer pre-K. The division could stop using temporary trailers at many campuses and ease crowding at some schools. The impact, however, wasn’t going to be uniform only moving preschoolers; some schools would still be at or near capacity while others would have more room.
WJCC started crafting a redistricting plan in 2025 and received community pressure and pushback about the process.
Parent Bryn Ghio started the WJCC Redistricting Advocacy group to organize parents. The Village Initiative, a 10-year-old group that advocates for school equity in Williamsburg, also questioned the plan.
The new zones will increase the number of students of color and economically disadvantaged students at certain schools while decreasing the numbers at others; the groups fear the reshuffling can widen achievement gaps without more support. Matthew Whaley Elementary and James Blair Middle, for example, will become more than half Hispanic and non-white; James River Elementary will exceed 60%.
“Without a clear, publicly committed funding and staffing plan that addresses current inequities — and how the maps will exacerbate them — we are concerned that these maps will reinforce separate and unequal schools,” Amy Quark from the Village wrote in a statement to WHRO in October.
Superintendent Daniel Keever said work on that is underway and that funding and staff will be shuffled as needed to meet student needs. Earlier this month, he committed to prioritize budgeting for lower class sizes for K-3 at schools with high concentrations of students with greater needs.
According to the division's August survey results, most of the WJCC families and staff who responded believed the maps reasonably balanced multiple priorities and minimized unnecessary student disruption. Less than half of respondents from the broader community agreed. The data didn’t break down responses by racial or socioeconomic demographics.
Board Member Ty Hodges on Tuesday called accusations of WJCC trying to “intentionally turn back the clock on racial equity” nonsense.
“I can tell you that you have done nothing but harm your cause and distract from the nuanced discussions that this process requires,” he said.
Board Chair Andrea Donnor acknowledged the skepticism some people have.
“All I can say is that I can show you better than I can tell you,” she said. Donnor mentioned plans, such as building a career and technical center at Warhill High in 2031, that will raise the profile of the division.
“So watch us work.”
