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Dr. Cynthia Reasoner wants to know what works and what needs to change with Buckingham County Public Schools. The district’s new superintendent, who took over officially on July 1, outlined her ‘100 Days’ plan to the school board during their July 9 meeting. 

Reasoner told the board she had three goals for her first 100 days in office. First, she wants to get to know people and build relationships. But beyond that, she wants to collect data and plan.

“I plan on meeting with as many stakeholders as possible, to help create connections, to promote two-way communication and to obtain information regarding our perceived strengths and opportunities for growth,” Reasoner said. 

Basically, within the next six months, Reasoner wants to update the district’s comprehensive plan. And that starts with steps taken in the first 100 days. Between now and October, she plans to meet with student groups, parents, members of the board of supervisors, the sheriff, local ministers and other members of the community. She also plans to examine the current capital improvement plan, the approved budget, student schedules, handbooks, the school websites and take on-site visits to each of the district’s buildings. 

“I will use this data to determine what practices may need to be stopped, what initiatives we need to start and what programs and practices should continue,” Reasoner said. 

The goal here is to make sure Buckingham’s operations are efficient, effective, and student focused, she explained. Is there a better way of doing something? As someone coming in from the outside with no prior engagement with the district, Reasoner can offer a fresh set of eyes is the thinking. Maybe some things can be done in a different way or maybe some are outdated and don’t need to be done at all. 

Building a new comprehensive plan 

Part of that community engagement started last week, with the launch of a community survey. To take the survey, you can just click here, which walks you through the different questions. This isn’t a yes or no survey. You have space to give an answer to each question. What are your highest aspirations for Buckingham schools? What issues exist within the district? 

This data, along with everything else she’s collected over the next couple of months, will be presented to the school board at their October meeting. That’ll be in the form of a ‘100 Days’ report. 

All of that information will be put together in the form of a comprehensive plan update by either December or January 2026, Reasoner said. Iw would be a comprehensive plan that follows these guidelines. 

“Every student is capable of high achievement, no matter his or her background,” Reasoner said. “It is our responsibility to ensure high expectations, provide multiple opportunities and supports, and cultivate relationships with students, parents and families.” 

This will include a look at instruction, finance, human resources, student services, maintenance, food services and transportation. Reasoner said the updated comprehensive plan will outline how all school division resources will be dedicated and allocated to meet those objectives. 

A need for change

The need for change, or to at least examine new ways of doing things, is a topic that’s been raised multiple times at school board meetings this year. As state and federal funds constantly shift, that’s led to repeated shortfalls and district cuts. In order to get ahead of those issues, or at least as much as possible, the board has talked about a need for reviews and being creative with the available resources. This starts that process. 

Once the updated comprehensive plan is finished and voted on by the school board, then Reasoner said the group will get two updates each year as far as progress in getting it accomplished. In May and November of each year, school board members will learn what’s been done and what will be done to implement the updated version. 

More about Cynthia Reasoner

As mentioned, Dr. Cynthia Reasoner took over her position on July 1, after the retirement of Dr. John Keeler, her predecessor. Before coming to Buckingham, Reasoner served as the Director of Human Resources and Administration for Amelia County Public Schools, a role she held since 2023. She began her education career in Newport News City Public Schools as a teacher, a position she held for three years.

Reasoner has also served as an AVID Program Director for middle and high schools in Hampton City Public Schools, an Assistant Principal in Hampton City Public Schools, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, and Chesterfield County Public Schools, and as a Principal and Director of Instruction and Human Resources in Amelia County Public Schools, culminating in nearly 31 years of experience in education.

Cynthia Reasoner earned her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Liberty University, a PreK-12 Administration/Supervision Endorsement from Old Dominion University, a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Mary Washington.

Once again, to take the district’s survey, you can click here.