Waynesboro Virginia Organizing

We're still at it! Building people power to make real change in Waynesboro.

Here are some highlights from this March:

We organized a Community Listening Session with guest speakers Kathryn Brown, President of the Waynesboro Education Association, Pamela Wagner Executive Director of Staunton's Arcadia Project, and House Delegate McLaughlin current House representative of Waynesboro to highlight the impact federal funding cuts have on our representative's state budget proposals.

We organized a press conference to highlight Waynesboro City Council's proposal to cap the funding they provide to local schools.

We came out to speak at public comment, gathered petition signatures and met with decision makers for our Anti-Bias campaign and canvassed.

If you want to get involved in local grassroots organizing, email our chapter organizer at [email protected]

Waynesboro Virginia Organizing and Waynesboro Education Association held a press conference March 9, 2026 in front of Waynesboro City Council chambers to respond to Waynesboro's city councils proposal to change their funding agreement that has been in place for 20 years.

Throughout the press conference, parents, educators, and concerned citizens warned that changes to the funding formula would drastically reduce resources for programs and specialized positions that support struggling students.

You can read more about the proposal and city council's response here.

https://www.wmra.org/2026-03-12/proposal-to-change-how-waynesboro-funds-public-schools-draws-opposition

https://www.newsleader.com/story/news/local/2026/03/12/teachers-parents-urge-waynesboro-to-keep-school-funding-formula/89099532007/?utm_source=the-news-leader-at-staunton-daily-briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailybriefing&utm_term=hero&utm_content=psta-e-nletter65

If you would like to find out how you can get involved, please contact Nora at [email protected].

The chapter had it's monthly meeting this week. The room was packed with people ready to get organized!

We shared highlights from our Lobby Day visit and began preparing for an upcoming community listening session in March.

The next monthly chapter meeting will be next month on Thursday March 12, 2026 at 6 p.m. This meeting will be our annual meeting where we reaffirm our commitments as a chapter, review our statement of beliefs, and determine what statewide and local issues we want to focus on this year! If we have time, we’ll debrief the community listening session and talk about next steps.

If you would like to get involved, please contact the chapter’s organizer, Nora Scott by email or over phone. Contact information can be found in the link in our bio.

This week, chapter members pushed state representatives Delegate McLaughlin and Senator Head to vote yes and support

💵 Taxing the wealthy their fair share by creating a new tax bracket to tax millionaires in Virginia
🎓 Update mental health training for public school teachers so they can better support unhoused and LGBTQIA+ students
📚 Established education standards for private schools using public funds for school tuition
🏚 More enforcement power to local governments by allowing them to sue neglectful landlords in their locality

The General Assembly is still in session and so are many of the bills our chapter is supporting this year. Let’s keep to doing all we can to keep our elected officials accountable!

Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in West Virginia v. B.P.J and Little v. Hecox, two cases brought by transgender students challenging state laws that ban trans girls and women from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. The Court will decide whether bans on trans women and girls participating in women and girls’ school sports violate the rights of student athletes under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Young trans people play sports for the same reasons as everyone else: to find community, build confidence, and learn teamwork and discipline. All youth -- including trans youth - deserve safety, belonging, and equal opportunities to participate.

This isn’t just about sports. We must protect trans youth.

REMINDER: both Friendly City Safe Space and the Shenandoah LGBTQ Center will be open today for our community. Please use our space to feel connected and get support. In Staunton, a community member will be teaching a DIY sticker workshop, and we'll have some pizza for folks joining.