HARRISONBURG, VA (Rocktown Now) – Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS) said in a press release that the partnership with Massanutten Technical Center (MTC) is at stake with Rockingham County Public Schools (RCPS).

On March 19, 2025, RCPS publicly proposed changes that would give its School Board greater voting power on the MTC Executive Board. HCPS said this would undermine a long-standing legal and ethical standard in Virginia: equal governance in joint regional schools.

According to HCPS, the data in budget documents between HCPS and RCPS is below:

  • MTC Student Enrollment:
     RCPS: 76.5%
     HCPS: 23.5%
  • Operating Cost Split (the daily expenses of running the school):
    RCPS: 76.5%
     HCPS: 23.5%
  • Capital Investment Split (the value of property and cost of enhancements):
     RCPS: 80%
     HCPS: 20%

Due to the funding formula in the MTC agreement, which specifies that the two school divisions evenly split the first 15% of the operating costs, HCPS said it regularly contributes more than its enrollment share, currently paying approximately 29% of operating costs—not 20%, as RCPS said.

HCPS said that there were in-person and email conversations between members of the two School Boards which revealed that the RCPS Board planned to propose changes to the MTC Operating Agreement before the March 19 press release issued by RCPS. This was followed with a formal revised Operating Agreement shared by the RCPS Board. While the HCPS Board is open to changes to the Operating Agreement that enhance the relationship between the two school divisions, they said some of the changes proposed by RCPS are unacceptable. These include: 

  • Reducing the voting power of the Harrisonburg School Board on the MTC Executive Board.
  • Removing the Harrisonburg superintendent from a leadership role in governance of the school.
  • Placing caps on the enrollment of HCPS students. 

RCPS Board members asked HCPS Board members to keep conversations private and chose not to discuss their desired and privately proposed changes at the public meeting of the MTC Executive Board on Monday March 17, 2025. Two days later, they sent out the press release. 

HCPS Board members and the superintendent said they have publicly stated many times that they value the CTE education provided to their students at MTC; that they value the relationship the two school divisions have enjoyed for almost six decades; and that it would be a significant loss if its relationship with RCPS dissolved over controversy of ownership. HCPS leadership states that they want to keep the relationship intact while also being open to negotiating any changes that respect the HCPS Board’s constitutional and legal responsibility. 

HCPS said it would be irresponsible, and “arguably illegal”, for HCPS to agree to these demands from the RCPS Board:

  • Reducing HCPS’s equal voting authority (HCPS cannot accept)
  • Removing the HCPS superintendent from a leadership role (VA law requires each superintendent to have a role in leading a regional school) (HCPS cannot accept)
  • Capping HCPS’s student enrollment at 20% when HCPS represents 33% of the region’s student population and is a growing school division (HCPS will not accept).

HCPS is calling for the community to send feedback about the situation and are encouraged to reach out to the HCPS Board members and/or the superintendent. Their email addresses can be found on the HCPS website. 

For more information about MTC, view the articles below:

MTC governing board meeting has divisive vote – Rocktown Now

RCPS issues statement on commitment to strengthening CTE opportunities – Rocktown Now

MTC discussed during Harrisonburg City School Liaison Committee hearing – Rocktown Now