Coraggio Consulting Fairfax County School Board Meeting, Thursday, May 22, 2025 Date: Thursday, May 22, 2025 Place: Fairfax County School Board, Virginia Length: 3h 59m (video) Official meeting video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybk33y-nr7Q Official School Board page (FCPS): https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/leadership/school-board Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting. Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-10-29. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [00:02:41] - This May 22nd, 2025 regular meeting of the Fairfax County School Board will now come to order. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of silence. During our moment of silence, let us remember Congressman Jerry Connolly and extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family. [00:02:58] He was a tireless advocate for Northern Virginia and the board will present a proclamation in his honor at the June 12th, 2025 regular meeting. [00:03:11] - Pledge of Allegiance. [00:04:22] I selected to identify our singer before she started, and it was not just an ad for the [00:05:41] Cappies, but please do turn in. That performance of the National Anthem was from Itsuko Scoville from South Lakes High School. Please give it up for her. Very talented. Agenda Item 2.02, Announcements. [00:05:59] In accordance with changes to the Code of Virginia, Section 2.2-37083B, which occurred on July 1st, 2024, members of the public body who have a disability or are caregiving for someone with a disability now count toward quorum as if the individual was physically present. [00:06:16] In this case, Ms. Lady has notified the chair and clerk of the board that she is using remote participation as she is caregiving for an individual with a disability. Thus, Ms. Lady will be counted as in person for the purposes of quorum tonight and does not need to be voted in by the board. [00:06:36] She is located in Williamsburg, Virginia. Ms. Lady, please check your audio and video. Good evening. Check, check. Hello. Thank you. Thank you. If you'd like to review a copy of the meeting agenda, please see the back of the auditorium. To obtain copies of any items or supporting materials being presented tonight, please reference the QR code on the agenda or visit fcps.edu slash board docs. Tonight's meeting is being broadcast on channel 99 and live streamed on YouTube and our website at fcps.edu slash live stream. [00:07:10] Agenda item 2.03, Children's Mental Health and Wellness Proclamation. I call on Mr. McDaniel for a proclamation. Whereas mental health is health and is integral to every adult and youth's overall health and well-being and the health and wellness of our children are of paramount importance to the future vitality of our community and nation. Mental health conditions are real and prevalent, but stigma and fear of discrimination keep many who would benefit from mental health services from seeking help. And whereas while everyone experiences times of difficulty and stress throughout their lives, one in five adults and one in five youth struggle to address a mental [00:07:45] health illness condition in any given year. Fifty percent of lifetime mental illnesses begin by age 14 and 75 percent by the age of 25. Only half of youth with a mental health condition receive treatment. Early intervention and education are proven strategies that significantly contribute to the development of healthy children who are better equipped to handle the challenges of adolescence and adulthood. And whereas Children's Mental Health and Wellness Month highlights the importance of positive mental health in a child's healthy development. Research also supports protective factors like trusted adults, both within educational settings and [00:08:21] in the wider community, connecting with others, being physically active, and seeking professional help when needed play a critical role in supporting the mental and emotional health of our youth. And whereas the collaboration between Fairfax County Public Schools and county agencies along with partnerships with nonprofit organizations like Healthy Minds Fairfax is essential to increase awareness of signs of mental illness and to address barriers to accessing services through the coordination of prevention, early intervention, and treatment services. [00:08:52] And whereas Children's Mental Health and Wellness Month is an opportunity to celebrate the work of FCPS to increase awareness of the connection between mental health and social, emotional and psychological well-being, and access to school counselors, social workers, and psychologists is crucial for addressing the mental health needs of students, and the division has established no-cost mental health teletherapy sessions for all high school students that are private and confidential, and our students highlight awareness throughout participation in wellness clubs and activities in their schools and the work of the Student Advisory Council. [00:09:25] And whereas FCPS is committed to prioritizing the mental health and well-being of all students, providing resources and support services that promote positive mental health and address mental health concerns, encouraging open communication and reducing the stigma associated with mental health, collaborating with families, educators, mental health professionals, and community organizations to create a comprehensive network of support and implementing programs that foster their social and emotional learning, resilience and coping skills. [00:09:52] Now therefore be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board proclaims May 2025 as Children's Mental Health and Wellness Month and we urge all members of our school community to actively participate in activities that promote children's mental health and wellness throughout the month of May and beyond. Let's work together to ensure that every child in Fairfax County Public Schools has the opportunity to grow, learn and flourish in a mentally healthy and supportive environment. [00:10:18] - Thank you Mr. McDaniel, is there a second? second miss lady all those in favor of the proclamation miss marron mystic sit mr mckelveen dr anderson mr mcdaniel miss anderson miss seismor heiser mr dunn mr moon miss st john cunning miss lady and myself that is unanimous for board members present congratulations thank you miss anderson agenda item 2.04 honoring the 70th anniversary of bucknell elementary school proclamation i call on mr dunn thank you whereas bucknell elementary school has served as a [00:10:57] foundational educational institution in Fairfax County since opening with just 14 classrooms in 1955 in response to the post World War II population growth in Northern Virginia and whereas Bucknell has remained adaptable throughout the decades embracing integration in the 1960s the introduction of a kindergarten program and evolving its curriculum to prepare students for success in middle in high school. And whereas Bucknell has continually upgraded its facilities starting with significant renovations in the 1970s that included the addition of a gymnasium, modernized systems, [00:11:35] and later improvements such as a library, computer lab, and main entrance updates making the school a safe and welcoming environment for learning. And whereas Bucknell actively embraces its motto to Build, Empower, Succeed, offering enhanced academic programming through initiatives such as English for Speakers of Other Languages classes, Project Excel, Reading First grants to support literacy and student achievement, and the establishment of a parent center in 2010. [00:12:04] And whereas, Bucknell will further its tradition of innovation by launching Fairfax County's first public Montessori program in fall 2025, initially serving three, four, and five-year-old students in multi-age classrooms. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board hereby honors and commemorates the 70th anniversary of Bucknell Elementary School, celebrating its distinguished history, outstanding contributions to education, and enduring legacy of academic excellence, community engagement, and service. And now, therefore, be it further resolved, the Fairfax County School Board extends its heartfelt [00:12:43] Congratulations to the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community of Bucknell Elementary School on this significant milestone with best wishes for continued success and prosperity in the years to come. Thank you, Mr. Dunn. [00:13:00] Is there a second? Second, Mr. Charming. Mr. Moon. All those in favor, Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McIlveen, Dr. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Sanderson, Ms. Sizemoreheiser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. St. John Cunning, and myself. All those opposed? Ms. Lady, are you in favor? Okay. Ms. Lady should be counted in the affirmative column. [00:13:32] No, that means it's unanimous, so congratulations. Agenda item 2.03, honoring the 35th anniversary of Saratoga Elementary School. I call on Mr. Dunn for a proclamation. Whereas, Saratoga Elementary School has served as a cornerstone of educational excellence in Fairfax County since opening its doors in 1989. And whereas Saratoga Elementary has dedicated teachers who provide high quality differentiated learning opportunities, establish a trusting and positive learning environment, [00:14:07] and believe all students can achieve at high levels. And whereas Saratoga Elementary is home to a diverse community of families and staff offering a continuum of services from preschool, general education, the advanced academic program, and enhanced autism classrooms. [00:14:23] And whereas Saratoga Elementary is a proud purple star school valuing the commitment and sacrifice of our military families and supporting military connected youth through a student and family orientation and military connected ambassadors. And whereas Saratoga Elementary focuses on the whole child through workout Wednesday and providing access to sensory pathways and zen dens where where students can implement strategies to help their brain be available for learning. [00:14:50] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board hereby honors and commemorates the 35th anniversary of Saratoga Elementary School, celebrating its distinguished history, outstanding contributions to education in Fairfax County, and unwavering commitment to nurturing the intellectual, social, and emotional growth of its students. [00:15:09] And be it further resolved, the Fairfax County School Board extends its sincere congratulations to the students, faculty, staff, families, alumni, and community of Saratoga Elementary School on this meaningful milestone, with best wishes for continued excellence, innovation, and achievement in the years ahead. [00:15:30] - Thank you, Mr. Dunn, is there a second? - I second. - Ms. Anderson, all those in favor? Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McElveen, Dr. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Seismore-Hyser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, and myself, that is unanimous. Congratulations, the proclamation passes. [00:15:50] And before we continue, Mr. Dunn informs me that the president of the PTA at Saratoga is here, and she was just named the PTA Volunteer of the Year for the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. [00:16:10] Her name is Chesapeake Dalrymple. Did I get that right? No, Dalrymple, there we go. I apologize. So thank you very much for being here. All right, agenda item 3.01, our pictures first. [00:16:33] This is what happens when I go off script, Mr. Dunn. - It's all Mr. Dunn's fault, it's not my fault for not paying attention to where we were. All right, the clerks will now instruct us on taking a photo and we will start with the 35th anniversary of Saratoga Elementary School. [00:16:48] So please join us, if you're here for that, [00:16:50] at the dais in front of the, where we stand for photos. [00:18:00] - I would like to welcome all those here in support of honoring the 70th anniversary of Bucknell Elementary School proclamation to please join the board for a photo [00:18:07] at the front of the dive. [00:19:12] I would like to welcome all those here in support of the Children's Mental Health and Wellness Month proclamation to please join the board [00:19:18] for a photo at the front of the dais. [00:21:16] - Agenda item 3.01, community participation. The next order of business is community participation. We welcome all community members who are here and those who signed up to speak this evening. Additional information about signing up to provide comments at school board regular business meetings and public hearings can be found on the school board's website at fcps.edu/schoolboard. [00:21:37] During the signup process, community members acknowledged they were informed of the school board's expectations for proper decorum when providing comments. These expectations are also available online and with the printed agenda and meeting materials in the back of the room. We ask all audience members to be respectful of one another. [00:21:54] Shouting and outbursts will not be tolerated. Please hold your applause until the conclusion of a speaker's remarks. Audience members may not join speakers at the podium and should remain at their seats, including when recording video or taking photos. We are grateful to those who have come to speak to us today and thank you for your cooperation. [00:22:12] School board members will be listening but not responding. Madam Clerk, please call our first speaker. - Patty Karshner. [00:22:39] - I'm speaking to you as the parent of a twice exceptional, a P4 autistic fifth grader. And I wanted to share a good thing that just happened. So I'm gonna brag about my kid for a moment. [00:22:55] My kid just quit chorus. He advocated for his needs and opted out. He made it happen without our help. And I'm just really, really proud of him. [00:23:10] Self-advocacy is the most important thing we can teach R2E students. Autistic students routinely experience misunderstandings and overwhelm in the school environment. Too many times autistic students receive negative feedback because teachers misunderstand what they are saying, what they are doing, or why. [00:23:31] R2E autistic students are expected to mask their disabilities and behave like neurotypical students, especially in the general education setting. There is an urgent need for updated autism training for administrators, teachers, and staff. [00:23:50] I've asked my student what he would change about school. He says he'd like to be able to choose classes that he's interested in, like you can in college. Our 2E students in all schools and all settings need access to academic rigor, enrichment activities like science and math olympiads, supportive programs like AVID, and time for self-regulation our kids need sensory friendly school design and neurodiversity affirming support every year families pull their two key two e-kids out of FCPS so I ask you to please talk to our [00:24:26] kids and find out what they think school would be would would improve school I appreciate it Young Lee Young Lee Frank Cole Mallard good evening to all of you I speak to you tonight as [00:25:05] a 50-year Fairfax County taxpayer, father of three former FCPS students, Vietnam vet and retired VOA Voice of America journalist. The beginning of this Memorial Day weekend is a solemn time as I remember my fellow veterans who risked and sometimes gave their lives to keep our country safe. They did so to ensure that you would likewise keep our students safe and educate them in partnership with parents. Student safety issues include drugs, gang activity, human trafficking, grooming, the promotion of LGBTQ1A+ MAP ideologies, transgenderism allowing boys and men [00:25:45] in girls bathrooms and locker rooms is of major concern. Many gender confused children are autistic or on the Asperger's spectrum or have other special needs and are further misled by the FCPS sex ed curriculum or socio-emotional health slash human growth and development survey questions asking such things as when did they first have sex how many times a month do you have sex or do they think they are the right gender we need to be empathetic but in today's culture empathy is redefined words like compassion kindness and justice are no longer rooted in truth but are [00:26:23] twisted to advance dangerous ideologies that appeal to emotion over reality. The exploitation of empathy, quote unquote, to promote notions like trans women are women, abortion is healthcare, and no human is illegal, are examples of slogans that sound caring, but the policies behind them often cause deep and lasting harm. [00:26:43] By twisting moral language, you manipulate well-meaning persons and parents into supporting agendas that ultimately undermine truth and hurt the most vulnerable. On this Memorial Day, let's get back to what has made this country great, recognizing that keeping secrets from parents is dangerous and opens the door to predators and traffickers. [00:27:03] Thank you. - Please play the video testimony submitted by Stephanie Lundquist-Aurora. - Good evening. Earlier this year, during a closed session meeting, school board members quietly decided to create 12 new clerical positions for your own personal benefit. [00:27:22] Your new staff will be enjoying salaries of $121,000 about eight months of work totaling 1.5 million dollars meanwhile fcps leadership announced last week it is reducing the number of special education leads in elementary schools as well as the number of advanced academic resource teacher positions throughout the district so just to get this straight you are hiring overpaid secretaries for yourselves and eliminating teacher positions in schools i know that with the exception of matteo dunn all of you refuse to comment on this but even you must see that this is wrong in the last five years you've spent at least 400 000 on new office [00:27:59] space for yourselves and voted to substantially increase your own salaries and i guess now you have the power to hire your friends as overpaid clerical workers with taxpayer funds i wonder if some of you are making hiring decisions based on your future political ambitions for example at large member kyle mcdaniel who is currently embroiled in a scandal for allegedly embezzling $1.5 million from Blue Label Aviation, hired Democratic campaign strategist and donor Laura Stokes. Rational Seismar Heiser appointed the vice chair of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee and former chief of staff to a Democratic delegate as her district director. Is she [00:28:38] preparing for her next political move after the school board? I understand that Carl Frisch and Robin Leidy promoted their staff aides. What a nice 68 percent raise at the taxpayer's expense. It's sad when the people who are managing a $4 billion budget behave like children in a candy store with their parents' credit card. This corruption and nepotism are made even worse by the fact that you're eliminating teacher positions that affect student outcomes. [00:29:01] You should be embarrassed. You need to be better leaders, and we need an external audit of the budget. Thank you. Please play the video testimony submitted by Michelle Wyss. Hi, my name is Michelle Wyss. I live in Foxmill Woods in Reston with my family. You can see where a little, little pocket on the back end of South Reston. [00:29:28] Our kids currently attend Crossfield Elementary because they walk and then they go to Hughes and South Lakes, which are just about a mile away. We were thrilled to see the kids stayed in their existing schools in scenario one. But then we were shocked in scenarios two and three when they were bused in two different directions to Rachel Carson and Oakden. [00:29:50] It doesn't make sense. If you look at the current boundary maps for middle school, they go to Hughes, which makes sense because they are Reston kids. They attended Reston child care and preschool programs, and their religious congregations and scout troops and ballet schools and pediatricians and orthodontists and dentists are all in Reston. [00:30:13] And so staying at Hughes and going to Southlakes makes sense for our kids. The school board's ultimately going to have to decide what's more important, walkability or keeping cohorts together but to that point if it's keeping cohorts together why wouldn't the school board consider a fourth scenario which would be moving our children to hunter's woods they would have to move ride the bus but the bus ride is the same as a car ride to crossfield and our kids would be able to stay in the ib programs we're extremely concerned about our [00:30:49] secondary children being moved halfway through an IB program to an AP school. Please keep our kids in the South Lakes Pyramid for middle and high school. The school board has to make the decision about the elementary school, but the reality is, is that Oakton Pyramid never should have come into play. Thank you. Mr. Frisch, that was our last public speaker. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Agenda item 4.01, student representative matters. I call on Ms. Sawant. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. [00:31:25] this past Monday I chaired the student leadership development programs mock work session where 12 student leaders discussed and voted on mock proposals that came out of their mock forum just a few months ago I was absolutely blown away by what they had to share at the table and their proposals included universal student meals a path to inclusivity and support implementing vaping education through targeted education and reducing substance abuse in FCPS schools and lastly redistribution of the high school grading policy while these mock proposals are part of the program they reflect what students across fcps are thinking feeling and experiencing right now so i wanted to take some time to share some of the [00:32:02] findings that they presented at the board first to talk about the vaping proposal according to the 2023 state of tobacco control report by the american lung association virginia received an f in youth tobacco use prevention policies that places us among the lowest ranked states in the country and students are noticing while we do have our alcohol tobacco and other drugs unit students in the mock work session raised concerns about its inconsistency in being applied in schools and across grade levels some students reported receiving these lessons twice a year in their health class while others at the same school level said they hadn't received the content at all this year another issue is timing the health curriculum that [00:32:41] covers health and where wellness and sometimes the alcohol tobacco and other drugs unit is generally taught to 9th and 10th graders integrated in the PE curriculum. But what about 11th and 12th graders who don't take health and PE or the students who opt to take health and PE over the summer and then don't receive the education in the same way? At an age where peer pressure, experimentation, and stress are often heightened, shouldn't we continue to reinforce substance abuse prevention? Speaking from personal experience, I only had one vaping related lesson in eighth grade, in 11th grade. I have received nothing this year. [00:33:12] We also discussed the challenges from a teaching perspective if we were to, say, move the alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs unit into advisory or interdisciplinary lessons at every school, depending on how each high school worked so that everyone could access it. But the thing is, advisory is a place where we squeeze in so much content from APs to college applications to portrait of a graduate, executive functioning, keeping track of everything that's going on in schools. [00:33:37] To effectively add in these vaping lessons, schools need more guidance, planning time, and equitable materials. Students also talked about wanting more resources to help with substance abuse. But I believe we have them, and we do, from our substance abuse prevention program to our school-based specialists and digital content. [00:33:56] But the issue is that it's not reaching students the same. So it's not that we lack information, we're lacking access, visibility, and consistency in getting these lessons to students the same. Another proposal focused on our high school grading policy. While FCPS uses the 70/30 split, students have noticed a lack of consistency between the rolling and quarterly grade books that happen at each school. [00:34:20] And the thing that I actually want to mention about this is that we didn't notice this inconsistency until one student said, "Well, I have a rolling grade book," and another student said, "I have a quarterly grade book." Even though we're both using 70/30, we don't have the same type of grade book, and that does affect grading. The student who also created this proposal felt that the 70% weight on tests places too much pressure on high-stakes exams, especially in math classes where three to four tests could make up most of your summative grade for that quarter. [00:34:46] And while we do have summative retake options to 100%, it doesn't necessarily guarantee that your grade will be higher, especially when students are jungling new material with old material and for those who aren't strong test takers. But when asked to revise that 70-30 split, student leaders were divided among what should ideally be formative, summative, homework, or practice. [00:35:06] How do we revise this number when so many different people have several different opinions on how it should be implemented? Again, this was just 12 students at the table and we were all divided. At the same time, we also have to think about the continuity for our students and our teachers who experience these changes as we've implemented these new changes this school year, but what happens in the next school year? [00:35:25] These student leaders brought such thoughtful ideas to the table, ideas that reflect the larger student experience and leave us with more questions about what we should do in the future. I am so grateful that we brought this program back this year and the questions that students raised and thank you to all of our school board members who attended and shared your feedback with these students as well. [00:35:43] I also attended the Fairfax Global Leaders Closing Ceremony this past Sunday and I just wanted to thank you Mr. McElveen for organizing such an amazing program and the leaders that you helped shape. And lastly, TJ Tech Extravaganza, a STEM event for students in grades K through 8 was held this past Saturday and we had 19 Title I elementary schools and over 2,000 visitors that came to visit and I think that this is just an amazing way to continue to spread STEM education here and spread the excellence that we have here in FCPS. So just thinking ahead at the next school board meeting we have all of the high schools and FCPS will be graduated so if you're graduating [00:36:19] congratulations. Excuse me thank you Ms. Sawant. All right agenda item 5.01 One action certification of closed meeting compliance in order to comply with section 2.2-3712 D of the code of Virginia it's necessary for the board to certify that since the Fairfax County School Board convened a closed meeting on May 22nd 2025 to the best of each board member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempt from open meeting requirements and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed [00:36:58] meeting were heard discussed or considered by the board during the closed meeting do I have a motion Ms. Marin, do I have a second? Ms. Sizemoreheiser, all those in favor? Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McElveen, Dr. Anderson, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Sizemoreheiser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, and myself. [00:37:18] That is unanimous. Agenda item 5.02, action, confirmation of action taken in closed meeting. I call on Ms. Marin for a motion. Thank you. [00:37:34] Mr. Chair, I move to suspend. I'm not there yet. No, sorry. My apologies. Closed meeting compliance. Got it. Motion I move to expel the student who committed a serious offense in violation of school board property school board policy by possessing a weapon that under section 22.1 dash 277.07 of the code of Virginia and the Fairfax County Public Schools student rights and responsibilities SRNR is a type that requires expulsion is there a second I second Miss St. [00:38:09] John Cunning. All those in favor Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McIlveen, Dr. Anderson, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Smoorheiser, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady and myself. All those opposed? Abstentions? Mr. McDaniel. The motion carries. I call on Ms. St. John Cunning for a motion. [00:38:27] I move to expel the student who committed a serious offense in violation of school board policy by possessing a weapon that under section 22.1-277.07 of the Code of Virginia and the Fairfax County Public School Student Rights and Responsibilities, SRNR is a type that requires expulsion. [00:38:50] Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Ms. Sizemore-Hizer. All those in favor? Ms. Marin, Mr. McIlvain, Dr. Anderson, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Sizemore-Hizer, Mr. Moon. [00:39:02] Miss St. John Cunning Mr. Dunn Miss Lady and myself all those opposed abstentions Mr. McDaniel the motion carries I call on Miss Anderson for a motion I move to deny the school reassignment appeal of a student who participated in a group in the group assault of a student at school and confirm the disciplinary decision of the division superintendent is there a second I second Miss St. John Cunning all those in favor Miss Marin mistakes at Mr. McElveen Dr. Anderson Miss Anderson Miss Sizemore Heiser Mr. Dunn Mr. Moon Miss St. John Cunning Miss Lady and myself all those opposed abstentions Mr. McDaniel the motion carries agenda item sorry I call [00:39:40] on Miss Anderson for a motion I move to deny the school reassignment appeal of a student who participated in the group assault of a student at school and confirm the disciplinary decision of the division superintendent is there a second second Miss Lady all those in favor Miss Marin Mr. McIlveen Dr. Anderson Miss Anderson Miss Sizemore Heiser Mr. Dunn Mr. Moon Miss St. John Cunning Miss Lady and myself all those opposed abstentions Mr. McDaniel the motion carries [00:40:09] I call on Miss Anderson for a motion I move to authorize counsel to take the steps discussed in closed session related to a pending litigation matter is there a second second Mr. McElveen all those in favor Miss Marin Miss Dixit Mr. McElveen Dr. Anderson Mr. McDaniel Miss Anderson Miss Sizemoreheiser Mr. Dunn Mr. Moon Miss St. John Cunning [00:40:40] MISS LADY AND MYSELF THAT IS UNANIMOUS THE MOTION CARRIES AGENDA ITEM 5.03 ACTION FINANCIAL YEAR 2026 APPROVED BUDGET I CALL ON MISS SEISMER HEISER FOR A MOTION I MOVE THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD ADOPT THE FISCAL YEAR 2026 APPROVED BUDGET AS DETAILED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2026 ADVERTISED BUDGET MODIFIED BY THE ADJUSTMENTS INCLUDING THE AGENDA ITEM IS THERE A SECOND I SECOND MISS ANDERSON MISS SEISMER HEISER WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOUR MOTION YES JUST BRIEFLY I UM THIS HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT BUDGET YEAR AS many have seen we were facing a shortfall of 121 million dollars which is the largest shortfall i [00:41:19] believe scps has ever faced at least in the the recent future or his recent past excuse me and so that required some really tough decisions and i think what makes some of these decisions so tough was the fact that we all up here and i think many in the audience understand and believe that public education is the bedrock of our community of our economy of our democracy residents moved to fairfax county because of our schools businesses come to fairfax county because of the schools and the strong public education system and the educated workforce fcps is known for its high quality [00:41:54] education and breadth of program offerings in addition to that it is one of the largest employers in virginia and has one of the largest bus fleets in the mid-atlantic this takes excellent educators in each and every building and strong administrators in each every building and strong leaders who have the skills to manage that complex and large organization a four billion dollar a year organization with 40 000 employees and 181 000 students and 200 schools is a complex and costly challenge and to provide an excellent education on top of that takes strong dedicated people at [00:42:29] every level so with that i want to start by thanking our funders since we do not have any ability to raise our own revenue I want to thank our funders for the state federal government and our Fairfax County which provides 70 percent for funding our schools and for supporting public education I want to thank very much in this first year of collective bargaining which is a really exciting year I think several of us were on the board when we voted in collective bargaining I was chair when we passed it and I and in this era where we are not able to keep up as much as we'd like with teacher compensation, making sure our teachers and staff have a voice, a voice [00:43:08] in their future and a seat at the table is something that I hold and we all hold very dear. And I applaud our teachers and staff for fighting hard for that right for themselves. And I'm excited in the first year of collective bargaining to be able to say that we were able to bargain. [00:43:23] We were hoping for the 7% raise, but at least able to hold for a 6% raise for our FEU union. And I'm proud to be part of that. I know there's been a lot of concerns about the three areas, about the areas that were proposed to be reduced in our budget in order to meet our obligations. [00:43:44] And that includes reductions in classroom teacher allocations, which may result in 275 teacher positions, fewer teachers across our school system and fewer ones in our county, in our buildings, eliminating classroom monitors, changing some of the staffing formulas regarding central funding of AARTs and special education department chairs removing the funding for social studies curriculum materials and electric buses all of and reducing central office funding by three percent all of these will have an impact in our schools in our buildings and our ability to provide the education that we're known for but I have faith in our team and our staff and especially [00:44:23] our teachers and staff in the building to continue to do the excellent work that they're going to do and as far as the special department chairs and AARTs we've had a lot of reassurance from Dr. read that those positions using working with each principal will be kept whole as we move into an equity hole as we move into next year so thank you for all the advocacy and all the voices and thank you especially to our teachers and staff and families and community for supporting public education i'm excited to vote for this budget thank you miss sizemore heiser miss anderson would you like to speak to your second just briefly i'm not going to belabor any points that have already been made we understand that hard decisions had to be made this year and we [00:45:00] We understand that they have real impacts, and we are grateful that we are working with all of the partners required in order to make those things possible, and we understand that it may not have been the exact choice that everybody would have made. We're doing the best we can with what we've got, and as one of my colleagues likes to say, this is a bare-bones budget. [00:45:20] We are funding the things that we absolutely have to in order to keep moving, and we are going to continue to advocate both at the state level and with our county partners to TO MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND FULLY WHERE WE ARE AND WHY AND HOW WE'VE GOTTEN HERE. AND SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO DIGGING INTO THAT WORK WITH MY COLLEAGUES AND I AM GRATEFUL FOR WHERE WE LANDED THIS YEAR THAT AT LEAST WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PRESERVE THE COMPENSATION THAT WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR OVER A YEAR. [00:45:49] SO WE DIDN'T GET ALL THE WAY THERE BUT WE GOT CLOSE AND I'M GRATEFUL FOR WHERE WE ENDED UP. THANK YOU MS. ANDERSON I CALL ON MS. MARIN FOR A MOTION. [00:46:08] I move to suspend the rules and consider the question of postponing indefinitely the proposed budget amendments. Is there a second? I second. A motion to suspend the rules and consider postponing indefinitely the proposed budget amendments has been made and seconded. [00:46:23] It is not debatable and requires a two-thirds vote to pass. If the motion to suspend the rules passes, we will consider postponing indefinitely the proposed budget amendments. During that time, board members may discuss the benefits or drawbacks of the amendments in question and they can also discuss why they should or should not be considered individually tonight. [00:46:44] If the motion to postpone indefinitely passes, the amendments in question will not be heard this evening and we will move on. If the motion to postpone indefinitely fails, the board will consider each amendment individually. [00:47:03] And since this is not a debatable motion, adoption of this motion again requires a two-thirds vote. All those in favor of suspending the rules. Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Seismarheiser, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, and myself. [00:47:20] All those opposed, Mr. McElveen, Dr. Anderson, Mr. Dunn, and Mr. Moon. The motion carries. The rules are suspended. The count doesn't sound like a good count. What's that? I didn't get the count, but that sounded like that was fewer than two-thirds. [00:47:40] It's eight. eight passed okay yes did i not say myself what about miss lady i think that's i said miss lady yes hand is up thank you eight uh the motion to suspend the rules carries the motion to suspend [00:48:14] the motion to suspend the point of order i don't see miss lady i don't see her screen i don't see a hand i don't well it was up there accounts it's right there right in the middle of the screen robin lady has her hand up miss lady would you like to verbalize your vote i'm voting yes thank Thank you. The motion to suspend the rules has been adopted. We will now consider the motion to postpone indefinitely the proposed budget amendments. Ms. Marin, would you like to speak to your motion to postpone indefinitely the proposed budget amendments? You know, the budget [00:48:52] work takes place over a long period of months, and this year was particularly onerous, and we, our superintendent, worked to make it, make something happen with respect to the, you know, agreement with the unions, and we had a very short time period to turn things around. [00:49:13] And so having motions come to the dais at this late stage doesn't give us the opportunity to really hear them out fully. And I was thinking about this, if we want to be transparent, but if we did every single conversation at the dais, we would never be able to get our work done. [00:49:31] So talking leading up to a public meeting still gives us the opportunity to share what WE THINK, BUT TO ACTUALLY DEBATE BACK AND FORTH IS NOT A GOOD USE OF EVERYONE'S TIME. SO I HOPE THAT WE CAN IN THE FUTURE TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS MORE FULLY WITH MORE TIME. [00:49:48] THANK YOU, MS. MARIN. AND AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIR, I WILL INVITE -- MS. ANDERSON WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOUR SECOND? I FEEL SIMILAR TO MY COLLEAGUE IN THE FACT THAT WE ALL HAVE THINGS THAT WE FIND IMPORTANT AND WE ALL HAVE THINGS THAT WE WOULD AIM TO CHANGE FUNDING FOR. [00:50:11] At this point, I believe strongly that we have come up with a deal in an agreement with our partners in lots of different arenas. And I think that it's important for us to follow through with that agreement. Thank you, Ms. Maren, or Ms. Anderson. [00:50:26] At the discretion of the chair, I will invite Mr. Dunn to speak next since these are his amendments. Mr. Dunn. Thank you. I believe we share the same objective, to provide every child with a world-class education and a safe learning environment. Unfortunately, FCPS has fallen short in recent years of providing a safe learning environment in middle schools and high schools in particular. [00:50:46] And there's one simple reason for this. School administrators do not have a sufficient number of security guards. The standard number of security personnel in a middle school is one school resource officer and one security guard, or two. The standard number of security personnel in a high school is one SRO and four security guards, or five. [00:51:05] I wondered if school administrators considered the standard number to be sufficient to meet the needs of their schools. resounding answer is no. I conducted a survey over the past week of schools across the county and here's a sample of what they said. In Sully District, they need at least four additional security guards. In Mount Vernon, at least nine. [00:51:25] In Providence, at least three. In Drainsville, at least three. In Mason, at least four. In Springfield, at least six. This is almost 30. Based on our school administrators, at least 29 additional security personnel are needed across the County. This reflects the responses of half of our 50 middle schools and high schools. So you can extrapolate out that the number is at least double that or approximately 60 security guards. The question is are we going to listen to our school administrators who we have trust to manage our schools every day and who know better than anyone in this room the needs of their schools? And the apparent [00:52:01] answer is no. We're not going to listen to them and we are not going to provide them with the resources, the boots on the ground to ensure the safety and security of our schools, staff, and students. The question is why. Our most sacred obligation as school board members is to ensure the safety and security of the children who are entrusted to us each day by parents, guardians, and caregivers. It is a legal and moral imperative, but we are failing. [00:52:27] Ask any middle school or high school student, do you feel that it is safe to use the bathroom in your middle school or high school? The answer is invariably no. In fact, I've never had a yes. Bad things happen in the bathrooms. That is what my children told me that is what I heard as recently as this weekend in Tyson's directly from students mouths that is the reason many principals close most if not all of the bathrooms in their school during the school day denying students safe and accessible bathrooms many students too many hold don't go to the bathroom at all during the school day holding in their bladders it's [00:53:03] unhealthy ask any teacher or staff member do you feel that your middle school or high school is safe? And the answer is also almost invariably no. You will hear about the drugs, the fights, the vaping. You will hear about teachers who are forced by the insufficient number of security guards to act as heroes, to perform the functions of security guards, breaking up fights, stopping stabbings. We should not ask our teachers to be heroes. They are already heroes for the burdens they bear. It is time to act and if not now, when? When will it be time to provide our children with safe and accessible bathrooms and schools. This has [00:53:43] been going on for years. It's time to act. Thank you, Mr. Dunn. Ms. Lady. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I feel the need to speak to this just in light of the fact that I've been most recently working in our public schools, but also as someone whose expertise and life's work was in mental health. [00:54:07] If we were going to have a pot of money where we could hire more staff, I would implore this school system to hire more social workers, counselors, psychologists, because the work we need to be doing is in prevention. We have troubled children, but we don't have enough people to support them, to speak with them, to work with them, to prevent aggressive behaviors, acting out, and the things that Mr. Dunn has highlighted. Yes, we want our children to feel safe. I never felt unsafe as an employee at Chantilly. And whenever we did surveys, [00:54:46] don't believe that any of my colleagues felt unsafe. And I think that most of the surveys indicate that most of our children do feel safe in our schools. But I just want to say that, you know, as has been indicated earlier, it's late in the game to kind of debate what should be happening in our budget. But if we suddenly did have this type of money, I wouldn't want to hire 60 security because I don't want to create a space and a situation where we're triaging and reacting. I'd rather be proactive. I'd rather get out in front of it. I'd rather hire specialists. [00:55:18] who can work with our kids and can intervene when they're at hopefully earlier intervention so we can prevent any of this aggressive behavior so i just i'm want my community to understand that i want our students to be safe i'm 100 supportive of that but i do believe that what what all the research says that when students have a trusted adult who they can talk with that is a big thing in their social emotional health and well-being so we need to put those type of people in their life and have exposure to them um and that's that's going to be the best thing moving [00:55:55] forward is prevention it's not being reactive but being proactive thank you thank you miss lady dr anderson thank you um this motion to i guess indefinitely suspend um postpone the amendments is not one that i will support i i don't believe this is the right way for us to do business i certainly understand we need to have more conversations before we get to the dais we need to have more planful work but we also have to acknowledge that we've been in a place that is not ideal we had a work session literally on tuesday where we learned certain things and asked [00:56:35] certain questions time was originally not on our side from the very beginning given the timetable that we've had since the board of supervisors made their decision on may 13th it was hustle and hurry for everyone involved including us yes it will take time for us to have the discussions that are presented in some of these amendments of which by the way i have none so there's no dog in the fight for me personally but i think as a collective that is our job that is our primary fiduciary duty to discuss the budget and to wrestle it into the things that's going to represent [00:57:11] what our community wants it doesn't mean we have to support it but cutting off the conversation altogether it just really saddens me that we're not able to devote the time that this budget deserves to really explore the ins and outs even with the limited time that we've had again we just had a work session on Tuesday where we just learned some new information and today's Thursday so there has to be grace for that and for us to do our job of really turning every stone in order to have full discussions on the things that matter to our our constituencies. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Mr. McElveen. I agree with everyone that this has [00:57:50] been a lot of work and many thanks to our budget chairs and staff and everyone who has put in that work. But I have to say I'm pretty shocked. This is the first time I've seen this kind of indefinite postponement on the budget, no less. One of the most important things we do. [00:58:11] I urge my colleagues to give their peers the opportunity to present their ideas. You don't have to agree with them. I don't agree with all of them. Regardless how you feel about the proposals, cutting them out is not a very collegial thing to do. [00:58:28] So let the voices of your colleagues be heard. Thank you, Mr. McElveen. Ms. St. John Cunning. I, too, want to appreciate all the hard work that has gone into this budget, particularly because it was a new way of doing the budget which affected what the time the timing was and the quick turnaround I understand everyone's frustration I know that each and every one of us has different areas that we would like to you know adjust in the budget and if each of us took our preferences we would be here for the next two weeks to hear Mr. Dunn and [00:59:06] his statements you would think that our schools are the most dangerous places in our county and that is not so I'm I'm someone that has worked in the schools and had to leave my school position to be here to tell you what it's like to be down in the trenches and in the schools. I agree with what my colleague said I would rather invest in people so that it's preventative because that's what studies show our psychologists our social workers our counselors and our family liaisons are the ones that really impact the well-being of our students. Can we make improvements in security absolutely I'm not saying that we can't we don't have the money to do [00:59:45] that right now and that's unfortunate but if it was if we were going to start readjusting where money would go then that's where I would want to invest in is in our people because those are the people that make the difference and impact the lives of the students and I speak from personal experience talking about the value of teachers and counselors that literally saved the life of my daughter. And so our schools are safe. Our schools are teaching children. Our schools are saving lives. Thank you, Ms. St. John Cunning. Ms. Dixit. [01:00:24] Thank you, first of all, Dr. Reed, Ms. Burden and the entire FCPS team for their hard work on this budget. I also want to thank the Budget Committee for their leadership. On this point of, you know, what we are discussing right now, I do understand safety and security is very important. I believe in having more security cameras in school if the budget allows. I do believe in having extra monitors in the schools so we can watch the hallways, bathroom, you know, [01:00:58] detectors for vaping. But we just don't have the resources right now. I wish I could do all of them right now and add to that budget. But what I could not support and will not is cutting salaries of any school teacher or staff member, they have FEU, non-FEU, it doesn't matter, but I will not get any best salary. I will not do any irresponsible thing just two days before, or one day before the budget has to pass. So I would work with our colleagues to, you know, [01:01:35] find ways to fund these other initiatives by my colleagues and and I do believe that our schools are safe as my sons have gone through these schools have always asked them every day have you do you feel safe do you feel you any there's an issue there was not no complaint for 12 years but yes sometime it happens and we understand that so I I really appreciate that what we have done here with the limited budget we have. And I think we have a path moving forward is work very [01:02:10] very, very closely with our other partners, the state and county and make sure we get more funding next year to get all these initiatives fulfilled. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Dixit. Mr. Moon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for giving me an opportunity to speak because it sounds like my colleagues want to shut down the debates and unbudget in my three decades of involvement [01:02:45] with the school board discussion i've never seen anything like this shutting down the whole debate we talk about needing to have a discussion more discussion but this is basically not wanting to have that discussion period at times due to the time constraint we may want to limit the discussion by calling the questions but this is simply shutting down the whole discussion period a [01:03:22] couple of colleagues of mine talked about work session not being scheduled until a couple of days ago very unfortunate we didn't have that discussion work session last week we should that should have the work session right after we had a public hearing so that all the members could have enough time, more time to reflect upon the discussion from much earlier work session and start thinking about what to bring to the table for discussion, having more conversation amongst the board members. Unfortunately, that did not take place. What happened on Tuesday? I went home. [01:03:57] By the time I got home, it was almost close to nine o'clock because we had a work session from five o'clock scheduled until 8:30. Sit down, cool down your head, reflecting upon what transpired at the work session. What could I bring to the table for further discussion? And crafted something and shared with my colleagues. First thing I got was, whoa, that was not shared within 48 hours. [01:04:26] Oh, folks, that work session schedule did not end until it came within the 48-hour window. I am second to my stomach. Thank you, Mr. Moon. [01:04:43] I'm going to take my turn and talk about sausage making and the process and the hours that I spent trying to make sure that board members have the things that they want considered here. I think Mr. Dunn would agree that I have been in constant contact with him about this. [01:04:58] I hope he would. And here's what happened. On that 48-hour period, which this board adopted, and I don't just get to break the rules, that is a rule of the board. So if the board wants to change that rule, they can with a two-thirds vote. [01:05:16] We received eight amendments that were virtually identical. And other colleagues came and said, well, can we do an omnibus? In other words, consider them all at the same time, which is what we do when we've got a bunch of motions where there is a want to pass them all. [01:05:32] I spoke with the parliamentarian, and he informed me that you can't do an omnibus because these motions are virtually identical, but they all do it differently. So you can't pass them all at the same time. can't risk passing them all at the same time because they do the same thing. And so this is what we came up with to get to the nut of what board members were asking to do, which is to consider all eight of these. It was eight at the time. It's now four at the same time. And so as I articulated both in introducing these motions to make sure everybody understood it, and as I did to [01:06:07] Mr. Dunn before the meeting, that the conversation about this motion was an opportunity to talk about the merits of the amendments it is not four amendments that are wildly different they are they have a different funding source so the merits of that approach could have been discussed in this motion not just the process but when a board member comes to me and says i want to do x y or z i don't shut them down even if i agree disagree with them i spend hours before every single meeting it seems like these days walking through parliamentary procedure with colleagues to make sure that they get exactly what they want out of the meeting if the board is willing to take [01:06:44] it take it there with them I never turn anybody away from that and when colleagues said that this is what they'd like to do I even told the amendment maker that this is what people were planning to do another chair wouldn't tell anybody any of this and they would just push for the most efficient meeting by hoping that people were in the dark about parliamentary procedure and not tell them how this works let people fail on their motions let people not know [01:07:17] that it needs to be seconded but that's not how I do business if next week there's our next meeting there's a motion that I don't agree with and and somebody has a complicated path on how they want to get it done, I'm going to tell them how that path works, even if I don't agree with it. [01:07:35] In this case, I don't agree with the fundamental part of one of the motions, which means I don't agree with it, any of the motions. That doesn't mean I won't work with Mr. Dunn to address security concerns in the future. It just means I don't support these amendments. And rather than having a debate about the same thing eight times or four times now, and just changing the funding source, I'm going to support the motion to do this all at once. [01:08:01] Thank you. Dr. Mr. Dunn followed by, wait, Ms. Sizemoreheiser has not spoken yet. So I wasn't going to speak because this is really a motion to suspend the rules, but I think it's important to say that all of us want to make sure that the atmosphere in which our kids learn is the best, most safe, inclusive, and welcoming atmosphere because the data shows that when kids feel safe, supported, and included, they will learn better. [01:08:37] The data also shows when kids are fed, when they are mentally well, when their families are engaged, they will learn better. At the end of the day, all of our goal, I believe, is to make sure that the kids can learn what they need to learn to be successful on the path that is right for them. [01:08:57] Now, I named a bunch of things there that kids need to learn, to have to learn. I agree with my colleague that kids need to feel safe to learn. There are lots of different ways kids can feel safe. [01:09:14] I recently met with social workers. Social workers engage families, deal with kids' mental health and mental wellness. Our social worker ratio is one in 1,400. I would love to bring an amendment to have more social workers. [01:09:33] We have not done well with inclusion. My colleagues have heard me talk about this. I would love to bring an amendment to bring back the inclusion resource teachers we used to have in Fairfax County, because that shows that some of our most vulnerable students with the biggest gaps, Inclusion, data-driven, science-driven, works. [01:09:54] I would love to have more security guards, but I don't think I want security guards sitting in the bathrooms. So the reality is that this is a very tough budget. We are $121 million shortfall from what we asked. [01:10:11] There are many things that would make our kids feel safe, supported, and I haven't even talked about enrichment and education in setting them up for what they need for these careers that we don't even know what they're gonna be yet. That's the reality of where we're at. [01:10:26] We all constrained ourselves because I think we all have excellent ideas, including my colleagues, on how to make our kids' education better. But at the crux of this, here's what I know. We cannot have an excellent education without excellent teachers. [01:10:43] If you talk to almost any parent or any kid, what they will point out, the difference between a great year and a bad year is the teacher. And so my priority, and I believe a lot of our priority, was compensation. [01:10:59] because we have to keep up with our surrounding jurisdictions, especially those that are paying more and it's cheaper in which to live. I wish we could do all of these things. I think it's difficult to put all of us in a situation where we have to pick and choose. [01:11:16] I choose the teachers. - Thank you, Ms. Sizemoreheiser. Dr. Anderson. - Yes, thank you. - I'm sorry, Mr. Dunn, then Dr. Anderson. - I wish we could do all things too, but Maslow's hierarchy of needs says safety and security is number two after hunger and thirst. [01:11:34] That's a basic need. If we don't meet that basic need, we can't meet any needs. How can you achieve educational progress, progress and outcomes, if kids aren't safe? What message does it send to our community if we decide to indefinitely postpone the safety and security of our schools, staff, and students? President George Bush once said, message, we care. Is our message now a message we don't care because we're putting it off indefinitely? How much do we need to provide a sufficient number of security personnel at every middle school and high school in the county? [01:12:03] 5.2 million, let me say that again, 5.2 million. That's 0.00155% of the $4 billion FCPS budget. Within the past two weeks, FCPS decided to spend $6 million on metal detectors for every high school and middle school, $6 million. [01:12:21] With that same money, 90 security guards could be allocated to middle schools and high schools across the county to ensure the safety and security of our children. I would rather invest in security guards rather than fickle technology. Beyond that, we have multiple buckets of money which we can draw 5.2 million including increasing central office reductions from 3% to 5% of the 248 million dollar budget. That is so important. I'd rather have security of our kids rather than a few extra bodies at gatehouse. Contracted services also increased from 48 million to [01:12:55] 42 million to 90 million just within this year. There's certainly five million dollars in that bucket that could be used as well as strategic funding which increased 700 percent. Preventive services are great and i've supported increasing the number of social workers and psychologists to the nationally recommended ratios but what happens when someone gets stabbed what happens when there's a fight what happens when there are drugs are you going to send in the social worker no you're going to send in the security guard you're going to send in the school resource officer we need to have them not in our bathrooms but walking the hallways making sure that our kids [01:13:28] feel safe and are safe as a practical matter thank you mr dunn dr anderson thank you one of the the things that I think it's also important to share because we do follow Robert's Rules here and Robert's Rules does allow for bringing motions at the table at the dais on the spot yes our board did make a decision to have 48 hours be our rule but if Robert's Rules is applicable in some places it should be applicable in all the places and I get it there are a lot of very worthwhile things I think everyone has said here whether it be counselors whether it be inclusion whether it be safety all of those things create require dollars and [01:14:07] will create better experiences for our students however that is not the reason why I'm even speaking tonight about this I'm speaking about this process that we are engaging in right now which essentially quells debate not having the opportunity to talk about things I it's dismaying to me and I don't think that's right way for us to go as a body yeah it's just not being able to have the discussion the last thing that I want to say on this point I know that mr. Moon [01:14:41] had made mention of on Tuesday wanting to inquire a little bit more about our non-FEU workers who are hourly just finding a way to provide some more a higher percentage of compensation increase to that group that's a discussion I think we would like to hear and like to have it doesn't mean that we would vote for these things it doesn't mean that we need to agree with all of them but shutting down the debate that we're kind of having now in a backdoor way it this is the same time that we're committing whether we're committing the [01:15:17] time to discuss about committing the time or just giving the time to have the discussion it's really troubling to me that we are comfortable with just shutting down debate for ourselves. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. I'll take my go back for the record. [01:15:36] The 48-hour rule was adopted using Robert's Rules by 10 members of this board. We would not have that rule were it not for Robert's Rules, which has a stipulation in there in case the board does want to adopt something. And so we used it, 10 of us. And if there is significant support for not using that rule, it can be suspended. That's also Robert's Rules. I don't get to change the rules on my own, period. Mr. Moon. Thank you, Dr. Anderson, for bringing up what I want you to have [01:16:16] some discussion tonight. Thank you, Mr. Moon. Oh, sorry. I'm not done. Okay, thank you. I know you want to cut up the debate, but I wasn't done. So for employees who are not part of a collective bargaining. There are about 13,500 employees. Out of that, 1,400 are highest paid employees [01:16:51] within the school system. 12,000, our employees, are the least paid employees within the school system. Superintendent's proposal to give a 5% compensation increase for those employees basically are setting aside $13.5 million for 1,400 employees, highest paid employees, close to about $10,000 per employee on the average versus $5 million for all 12,000 hourly [01:17:29] employees for about $400 per employee, which comes down to about $2 per day. I mean, that's the kind discussion I want you to have on the table. Thank you Mr. Moon, Ms. Dixit. Mr. Chair, point of order, this dialogue needs to be germane to the motion about the board process to suspend. But we have nobody else left to speak so we'll be voting on the motion. All right. Can we put the motion on [01:18:03] the screen for postponing indefinitely? It's right there on the bottom of the screen. All those in [01:18:54] favor? Ms. Marin, Ms. Dixit, Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Sizemore-Heiser, Ms. St. John Cunning, MS. LADY, I CAN'T SEE YOU, MS. LADY, AND MYSELF, ALL THOSE OPPOSED, MR. MCLEVEEN, DR. ANDERSON, MR. DUNN, MR. MOON, THE MOTION CARRIES. [01:19:18] WE WILL NOW RETURN TO THE DISCUSSION OF THE GENERAL BUDGET, DR. ANDERSON. THANK YOU. FIRSTLY, I DO WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE BUDGET TEAM BECAUSE AS I SHARED JUST A LITTLE WHILE AGO, HAVING TO REACT VERY QUICKLY TO THE EVER-CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF THE BUDGET IS NOT EASY. [01:19:39] SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. Secondly, Dr. Reed, well, no, secondly, I do want to say thank you to all of the individuals who did come to the public hearing a week or two ago. It feels so much longer, but I know it hasn't been that long. I believe we had over 200 people sign up to share and to talk about the different things that were of great concerns to them. [01:20:00] We heard that night quite a bit of advocacy for the special education chairs. We also heard a lot of advocacy for the AARTs. We also heard quite a bit of advocacy for the classroom monitors before we take our vote. [01:20:17] Dr. Reid, I would love for you to speak to our community who may not have had the opportunity to tune in to Tuesday's work session regarding what we are able to do with these three positions. Yes, ma'am. [01:20:32] Essentially the I'll start with the classroom monitors first. The classroom monitors have been integral to the work in our elementary schools over this past several years since the covid pandemic they've provided a great deal of support to schools and you know provided admirable service and support we've not been able to find a funding source to continue that role so that 13.3 million is something we need to balance the budget where [01:21:08] Where there is flexibility at different schools, principals or staff may have the opportunity to have some classroom monitors and some reduced role depending on funding reserves or flexibility at the school level. [01:21:28] As far as the AART positions, as you recall, we left the AART positions in Title I schools intact so it was our non-title one schools that we reduced the central funding allocation for as well as the special ed department chairs we reduced by half the centrally funded allocation so recognizing that we're not able to keep a full-time special ed department chair and full-time a ART position in [01:22:04] the continuing budget base so what that's going to require is for us to work and our regional assistant superintendents and our chief of schools office will be working with each principal to look at their unique context and provide we've given our elementary principals an extra 15% of their carryover traditionally we've capped that at 10% but we're allowing allowing 25% to give them more flexibility and being able to, for this one-year-only [01:22:39] fund source, to provide those other half positions or those other half -- keep those people whole in those roles. So the opportunities for principals will be to utilize trades, to utilize more flexible carryover, and where necessary, we'll also look at the staffing reserve, which is a central fund of money, again, one-year only dollars. [01:23:05] So I did meet with our special ed department chairs and our AARTs and assured them that they would be kept whole for this year, but also recognize that those .5 positions that are not in what we call the operating budget base, we're going to have to have conversations, And I think our board very much so understands this, that we're going to have to have conversations about these roles and other roles within the division, depending on our funding, our projected [01:23:43] revenue for next year. And also want to make a comment that our special ed department chairs, our AARTs, and our classroom monitors are all working extraordinarily hard on behalf of each and every one of our students, all our staff do and these budget decisions are really difficult but that's that's where we are at this time and I believe everyone understands that we're going to continue the work that these positions undertake in particularly our work I think as Ms. Karchner mentioned this evening our work [01:24:20] with our twice exceptional students our inclusion work and our work with our students in advanced academics as well so that's the update thank you just to put a final point just wanting to be sure that there's understanding in the community because I'm sure we've all received lots of questions about this I even received a bunch of questions events latest today principals at elementary schools non-title one elementary schools will be able to use their carry it well I want to backtrack I don't want to confuse principals at [01:24:58] elementary schools will all be allotted an additional 15 percent in their carryover funds so that's step one it's kind of a graduated scale and they're expected to utilize those funds to make up the difference of AART's and sped share the point five if that is insufficient then they move to step two which is prioritizing their trades in order to arrive to these positions as whole to make those two positions whole if that continues to be insufficient then they're to engage with their regional associate superintendents in [01:25:33] order to access potentially the staffing reserve because at the end of this year the expectation is that in our elementary schools even given the budget situation that we're in but using these different options that our Our ARTs and our special education chairs will be 1.0 at all elementary schools. [01:25:56] Is that an accurate statement? I want to qualify that. And Ms. Burden is trying to, we have to be careful when we use one, the whole FTE positions because only half of the position is going to be centrally funded in the budget. [01:26:14] The other half of the position is going to be funded either by carryover trades or the Staffing Reserve to keep our people whole this year but I think it's just the term position that we have to be the position isn't fully in the budget half of them is half of the position is but you are correct that the the people will be whole in those roles and those roles this year only this year next year will be a different conversation because we don't yet know what that budget landscape is but one of the things that I do want to put out into the ether here is the [01:26:53] budget if the budget landscape is as dire as it was this year that we begin some of these conversations a lot earlier because we were really short on time this time around. Thank You Dr. Anderson. Mr. Oh Mr. Dunn. I want to thank Dr. Reed for her leadership throughout this process my colleagues on the budget committee and the school board for all their hard work as well as all the FCPS staff who have had to navigate a very difficult and challenging process. [01:27:30] This is a process first and foremost. We deal with, throughout most of what we call budget season, we have a lot of unknown variables. How much will we receive from the county? How much will we receive from the state? How much will we receive from the federal government which might abolish the U.S. Department of Education? We only get towards the end of that process to the point where we actually have some definite or near definite numbers and of course there are lots of priorities there's always more we want to do in a variety of respects and this has been particularly turbulent with the introduction of collective bargaining where you know a commitment [01:28:09] was made at the beginning not quite fulfilled and then had to have last minute negotiation because of some policy choices that were made. That created a whole lot of turmoil because budget cuts were put on the table which were never articulated to the school board or to the public earlier in the season and caused a lot of trauma, honestly, for employees who found out on a Friday morning that their positions might be eliminated or cut back the following year and they might not be able to pay their mortgages or meet their family needs. We need to do this different. We certainly need to do this different. So if we do have cuts in [01:28:45] mind. We articulate that early and often in the season. So if people want to come and advocate for their positions, for their communities, they can do so. But I am always in favor of robust debate, of thorough conversations with the community. I started my journey to school board based on my advocacy at that speaker to prevent the elimination of high school sports, theater and performing arts, music education in elementary school, and language immersion programs. [01:29:19] And I see some of my allies in the audience who fought with me, and an ally on the school board today. It's so important that we continue to allow people to advocate, articulate their views, because when we don't, then it's sudden, it's dramatic, it's traumatic, and that is contrary to the spirit of our country and contrary to the interests of our school system. [01:29:44] Thank you, Mr. Dunn. I'll take a turn. So, tonight we are making history by approving the first ever collective bargaining agreement in a budget that Fairfax County Public Schools has ever had. [01:30:05] This milestone is the result of years of organizing, collaboration, and compromise, and we are better for it. Through the CBA, bargaining unit employees will receive a 6% raise, along with meaningful improvements to leave, working conditions, planning time, and other benefits. [01:30:21] The budget also includes a 5% raise for our hardworking employees who fall outside of the collective bargaining agreement. At its core, the CBA is about improving the quality of education in Fairfax County Public Schools by underscoring the notion that teachers' working conditions are students' learning conditions. [01:30:39] Despite its historic nature, we have to be honest. This budget is not everything we wanted it to be. We are disappointed that FCPS did not receive full funding from our state and county partners. The superintendent has done an incredible job working to bridge the $121 million funding shortfall while trying to limit the impact of cuts on classrooms. [01:30:59] Still, we need to acknowledge that progress was made. The state's SOQ changes brought nearly $30 million to FCPS, a step in the right direction in one of JLARC's, one of their 16 JLARC recommendations. As a reminder, the non-partisan JLARC estimates that if we were funded at average levels from the state, Fairfax County Public Schools would receive $568.7 million more each year. [01:31:26] So we have to do more next year to push the Governor and the General Assembly to do even more on JLARC. The Board of Supervisors increased its transfer, helping us meet core obligations. They pulled back on other proposed cuts that would impact students, like eliminating middle school after-school programs and high school crossing guards, and I'm grateful for that. [01:31:45] I'm most grateful for members of the community, especially the students who came to public hearings to express their views on that matter and so it's going to require deeper more meaningful collaboration and working together with our state partners if this is going to be different next year budgets are values in action but they are also complex constrained decisions this one reflects hard choices shaped by underfunding but also a landmark victory for educators and some real wins for students let's commit to working even harder together next year with our [01:32:22] state, county, and federal partners to get it right. Thank you. Ms. Dixit. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to sincerely thank the students, parents, staff, and the community member who shared their thoughtful inputs, whether at the public hearing or Sully District Budget Town Hall, or through directly reaching out to me through this budgeting process. Your voice and input have been very important guiding our decisions. In Fairfax County, we expect excellence in our school and with a wide range of activity that's [01:33:01] support all the students but as we have said before FCPS cannot keep up with this continued state under funding and budget cuts. To address this funding shortfall this year the revised FCPS budget has several adjustments and we have already addressed that many times at 121 million dollars but these measures of which have taken somehow to still meet the demand of our community it's only for one year we have funding for many of these positions over time there'll be fewer adults in the building which will mean larger class sizes less [01:33:39] intervention for struggling students and less support for teachers directly impacting learning outcome if budget cuts become normalized we could lose years of progress we have made in making education fair innovative accessible for all students we I'm very happy for the additional funding we got with the state partners but we still are very low in terms of other neighboring states and funding and I'm very excited to support the the first contract for collective bargaining agreement and the race for the educators and I will continue to support with our educators and the staff members anybody [01:34:19] who's working in any capacity in FCPS I'll be there to support them till my time on the Board. I would also like to continue the collaboration much earlier with the supervisors and our partners at Fairfax County to better align ourselves in the budgeting process so we have hopefully more funding next year. Thank you so much everyone and I hope everybody is have a safe night and safe summer but yeah let's let's get this done. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Moon. [01:34:54] thank you mr chairman just briefly i am supporting the budget in my 22 years serving on the board there wasn't a single time that i did not support the budget at the end of the day you need to have a budget to continue educating our children and supporting our educators as well but i want to say this to a public we may be talking about tough fiscal times next year being even tougher but i [01:35:29] I must tell you that if we do not invest in education, there is simply no future for us. So even with the, so regardless of fiscal challenges, we need to put our resources as much as possible to education and we need to support our educators, especially those in classrooms. [01:36:05] - Thank you, Mr. Moon, Ms. Marin. - Well, I'm glad I work in the world of learning because this budget process has proven to be quite the teacher this year. And this is like my 10th year of the process. But not just for me, I know many residents, including children and adults, students and staff, collective bargaining offered its own coursework for learning and then having $150 million shortfall provided another way of seeing things and then further yet when the agreement had to be re-bargained. [01:36:35] And while I'm glad that we've all learned and certainly seen a huge surge in advocacy and interest, I've worked so hard over the last few months to avoid the pain of these cuts. I just, I wouldn't even admit that it was gonna happen until May 8th, so, or 6th. [01:36:55] But, you know, I was reading some of the obituaries about Congressman Connolly, and remembering seeing him standing on what is now mosaic. It used to be a dilapidated, rundown movie theater space. I remember that with my own eyes. [01:37:11] and to see that he, with others, really worked to create big things that benefited the whole county. And now I think about all the elementary schools we have here, the mixed housing, the metro station, the business, and I want us to get back to that when there's this vision of all of us really thriving here. [01:37:31] So I've said before there are two truths about the budget here in Fairfax and probably in another place in Virginia. One is that the Board of Supervisors provides more money each year and as such FCPS has received more money each year that's totally true but the second truth is that FCPS requires more money each year to maintain the level of public education expected in this community and I'm hard-pressed to think of anything in demand now that costs less than it did now than the prior year that's why we have cost-of-living adjustments and that's why we have inflation calculations right I mean we [01:38:07] KNOW THAT IT WILL GO UP. BUT THERE IS A THIRD TRUTH AND THIS RELATES TO THE PERCENT OF REVENUE AND THIS IS A HUGE LESSON AND I THINK WHERE WE REALLY NEED TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS BECAUSE IT'S THAT PERCENT SHARE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS THAT HAS DECLINED OVER YEARS AND I'M STILL IDENTIFYING THE DATA AND THE SUPERINTENDENT HAS UNEARTHED IT. IT WAS A RALLYING CRY LAST YEAR BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS LAST YEAR WE HAD 52.7% OF THAT REVENUE AND And this year it's 51.5. [01:38:41] So when the superintendent proposes a budget based on prior years, it's not unreasonable. It's based on historical data. And so I look at places like Prince William where they have a set rate of 57% and they can do other work and not have to debate it every year. [01:38:57] So the biggest thing that I would love to do together as a board is work with the county board in a much better collaborative way. WE DON'T GET TO DECIDE THAT ALONE, RIGHT? SO I REALLY HOPE THAT THE COUNTY BOARD, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SIT TOGETHER, SHARE INFORMATION BETTER, TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN REALLY SPEND OUR TAX DOLLARS IN THE BEST WAYS SO WE CAN REALLY HAVE THAT FAIR FACTS THAT WE ALL CAME TO LIVE HERE FOR OR STAYED HERE FOR. [01:39:23] THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. MARIN. SEEING NO OTHERS, WE WILL HAVE A VOTE ON THE BUDGET MOTION, WHICH IS GOING TO BE ON THE SCREEN MOMENTARILY. ALL RIGHT. [01:39:45] ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MOTION. Marin mystics it Mr. McElveen Dr. Anderson Mr. McDaniel Miss Anderson size more hyzer Mr. Dunn Mr. Moon Miss St. John Cunning Miss Lady and myself that is unanimous the motion carries congratulations. I call on Miss Sizemore hyzer for a follow-on motion. I move that the school board direct the superintendent to provide updates to the board on efforts to ensure that the [01:40:21] advanced academic resource teachers ARTs and special education department chairs are fully and equitably staffed at the elementary school level in the 2526 school year these updates should be included as part of the annual executive limitations process with details provided in the appropriate monitoring report or reports for example el4 human resources el5 financial planning el9 instructional program etc is there a second i'll second thank you mr frisch uh ms eismerheiser would you like to speak to your motion yes just briefly um this follow-on [01:40:56] motion simply asks that as part of our regular el process that dr reed come report to the board on the efforts that she has already talked about and promised the board and the community in terms of keeping our advanced academic resource teachers and our special education department chairs fully and equitably staffed at our elementary schools. [01:41:17] We heard a lot of concern from our communities, our parents, our teachers and our staff about the importance of both of these roles in our schools and our buildings. The EL process, the executive limitations process was actually brought to us by Dr. Reed as a way for Dr. Reed to report to the board and the community in a transparent and public way at every school board meeting at what where one of these are heard on a specific area of operations, human resources, financial planning, etc. [01:41:45] And it is a systematic process in a way by which the board can hear updates on different operational matters. And so all this fall on motion does is ask Dr. Reed to come and report on the efforts to keep the AARTs and special department chairs staffed in the way she's already through this executive limitation process we have in hand. So I hope my colleagues can support this. [01:42:08] Mr. Frisch, would you like to speak to your second? Yes. As Ms. Seizmerheiser said, the superintendent made commitments to staff and during the board work session this week about the work that will be done to ensure that our special education department chairs and our AARTs are made whole this year. [01:42:29] here, and I think it's incumbent on the board to ask that the superintendent report on the progress of that commitment as part of the typical EL monitoring reports. Just to give an idea, we're giving complete flexibility on where this would fit into the monitoring reports, but some ideas, Dr. Reed. [01:42:46] EL 4.1.A is values, employee talent and expertise to ensure that all are treated with dignity or respect. It could go there. EL 4.3.B, maintain favorable working conditions to promote high morale, it could go there. [01:43:02] EL 9.2, ensure programs, curriculum, and materials support equitable access and opportunity for all students, it could go there. EL 9.4, it could be ensure consistency and instructional expectations across all programs, schools and programs. [01:43:17] The point is, there are lots of places where this type of data could reasonably be included. I had really great conversations with some colleagues about this, including whether or not the policy should be updated to reflect the goals of this motion. [01:43:33] And I reflected on that. And the reason that I have these ELs written down is because I went back and read the ELs to see are there things that I might change or add to get at this. And I ultimately determined that this data, which is really a one-year snapshot that we're LOOKING FOR FITS PERFECTLY FINE IN TERMS OF REPORTING IN ONE OF MANY ELS. [01:43:54] IN TERMS OF TIMING, THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM ELS WE DON'T HAVE THOSE SCHEDULED YET THIS YEAR BUT LAST YEAR EL9 WAS IN SEPTEMBER AND EL4 WHICH IS HUMAN RESOURCES WAS IN OCTOBER NOVEMBER SO THAT'S PROBABLY ROUGHLY WHEN WE'D BE THINKING ABOUT GETTING AN UPDATE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT IF THINGS ARE SIMILAR NEXT YEAR LIKE THEY WERE THIS YEAR SO AND And I appreciate all the work that our staff is doing to help the superintendent follow through on those commitments. [01:44:22] I know that it has been a tough couple of weeks, not only for the budget team, but also for Mr. Solomon and his team as they try and make this all work. Ms. Marin. Thank you. You may have noticed I'm a stickler for process and policies and things like that. [01:44:38] So I love that the motion talks about the EL, but I feel like it creates an extra step that we could avoid if we just proposed the change language in the actual EL. Indeed at the last school board meeting I had prepared some language to change in EL at that time, but there was a lot of discussion, I guess people still had questions and a few of us have raised that we'd like to make some tweaks to other policy language and so at this point of the year what I suggested and I did share this earlier was how about we do it like a package of EL updates all at the same time because I think that's really a better practice and we could even make it more global not just about the SPED chairs [01:45:18] AND THE AARTS, BUT IT COULD BE THAT WE'RE ASKING THAT THE -- IT COULD BE THAT SHE PROVIDES A STATUS REPORT OF STAFFING CHANGES AS A RESULT OF AN ANNUAL BUDGETARY ACTION. BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY THE INTENTION OF THESE ELS IS TO BE MORE GLOBAL. [01:45:33] AND I THINK PUTTING THE FOLLOW ON IS MORE OF A HABIT THAT WE WERE TRYING TO MOVE AWAY FROM AND REALLY USE THE POWER OF THE ELS. I ALSO DO THINK THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT HAS SAID PUBLICLY AND TO ALL OF THE PRINCIPLES that this will happen so for me I don't need to underscore the trust and it also gets to I guess just how we do the work and how many times are we gonna divert from just the main thing like she's got it we're good we're gonna hear about it we have quarterly reports we have year-end reports so I understand the need to assuage the community I kind of feel like there's been ton of [01:46:13] communication so I don't really support the motion so I might abstain or not I I don't want people to think I don't support informing ARTs and special ed chairs. I just, the process matters to me, and I'd like us to work as cleanly as possible. Thank you. Mr. Dunn. [01:46:37] I would like to bring an amendment to the follow-on motion. I move to amend the follow-on motion to delete the words, provide updates to the board on efforts, and replace it with provide a plan, and I would like to move to amend the follow-on motion to delete the words in the 2025-26 school [01:47:15] year. Mr. Dunn, can you do that one more time for us? Sure. I would like to, I move to amend the follow-on motion to delete the words in the 2025-26 school year, right in the middle, and I move to [01:47:44] amend the following motion to delete the words updates to the board on efforts and replace that [01:48:01] with a plan. Is there a second? Mr. McElhain? Second. Mr. Dunn, would you like to speak to your motion? I would. I feel the following motion is unclear in its intention and desired outcomes [01:48:41] because the phrase to provide updates to the board on efforts. In the business world, we talk about effort doesn't count but outcomes do and so fundamentally what this following motion is seeking to achieve is to ensure that we continue to employ advanced academic resource teachers and special education department chairs for the foreseeable future. I think we heard almost 200 people testify to their value to their elementary schools and so I think fundamentally what we want is not updates on efforts which is really just spinning wheels but instead a plan a plan [01:49:20] to ensure that they remain continuously employed and the second edit I proposed to delete the words in the 2025-26 school year what that essentially conveys is that we only care about extending their employment for one year now the testimony I heard from 187 people and it was 187 people is that these are indispensable resources the special education department chairs are indispensable resources to make sure IEPs get done and get done right to support our special education teachers and our special education students and their families and that advanced academic resource teachers are fundamentally important not just to [01:49:58] serve students who are already receiving advanced academic services but to ensure that every student has equal opportunity to receive those services in their base school not just at the AAP centers but to realize the vision that AAP services will be provided at every elementary school every middle school so that every student has equitable access and if you're on the bubble you can get access you can be included because if we talk about inclusion all the time there's a difference between the talk and the walk and so I think these edits will better achieve the objectives of of this following motion thank you Mr. McElveen [01:50:38] would you like to speak to your second no thanks Mr. Frisch I agree with 98.7 0.7.5 percent of what Mr. Dunn said, except we have a plan, a plan. It may not be the plan that you're articulating, but we have a plan for this year, and I want a report on the execution of that plan. Did it work? Do I support the superintendent coming forward in the future with a plan for how we're going to address these needs? Of course I do, but that's not what this amendment seeks to [01:51:14] do. This amendment seeks to make sure that the plan that has been articulated in the work session, IN THE MEETINGS WITH AART'S AND SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT CHAIRS IS EXECUTED AND THAT IT RESULTS IN WHAT WE'RE TOLD IT'S GOING TO RESULT IN. SO IF YOU WANT TO BRING FORWARD A FORUM TOPIC OR ANOTHER MOTION THAT ASKS FOR A PLAN AND MAYBE NOT EVEN JUST FOR THESE TWO POSITIONS, WE HEARD ABOUT OTHER POSITIONS AS WELL, I WOULD LIKELY SUPPORT THAT. [01:51:41] ALSO THE MONITORING REPORTS ARE NOT SO MUCH FOR PLANS BEING PRESENTED TO THE BOARD AS they are for updates on the execution of work. So not quite the right place to put it, but I support almost everything except for that little nugget, which is where it's being placed. I'm going to ask that everybody go ahead and turn off their lights if you do not want to speak to this particular amendment. [01:52:04] So, Ms. Seismerheiser. Thank you. And similar to my colleague, I also support 98% or 99%, I don't quite know what number of what you bring. I think we all understand the value of these positions. I'll just say personally having both had an AAP child and a special education child before these positions were in place and seeing the difference they make in the buildings. [01:52:28] I understand from a personal level the value our department chairs bring in supporting teachers and ensuring those IEPs and processes are happening and engaging with families. There's so much that they bring. Same with the advanced academic resource teachers. One of the things I'm proud of on this previous board that we did was expand the local level fours and those AARTs came out of a report that we had from a consultant on how to improve our AAP programming and that was one of the recommendations also to help support that local level four. [01:53:00] So as a parent, I understand the value of these positions. Like my colleague, I also believe in the importance of process. The EL monitoring reports are to give us updates on what is operationally already happening. They aren't a place to deliver plans. Again, if there's a forum topic or other ways to do that, I'm happy to entertain and think about that. [01:53:19] But right now, all we're looking for is for updates on what Dr. Rita's already operationally promised. The EL reports that is what those are for. And so I don't believe this is the right forum to do what's being recommended. But I appreciate the thoughts and the commentary, and I'm happy to look at it in a different way. [01:53:38] Ms. Lady. Thank you. So I first want to thank all the people that came and spoke and advocated for ARTs and SPED shares. but I also feel like someone who worked with staffing sheets and did trades for 15 years at Chantilly, we just voted on a budget. The budget cut each of these to 0.5. I feel like this follow-on motion is now telling Dr. Reed that everyone must trade other staffing to get back [01:54:16] to a 1.0. My concern is, and I voiced this before, we have schools of differing sizes. I have several schools in Drainsville, over 1,000 children. Perhaps they need a 1.0 of each of these, but I also have some smaller schools that have differing needs. I also want to uplift the schools who have implemented STEAM classrooms. To mandate these become 1.0 each might be mandating that you cut a STEAM teacher. It could be mandating that you cut an e-mert. It could be mandating that you cut a reading specialist. I just want my colleagues to understand how staffing works. [01:54:55] And I trust the superintendent. She indicated to us in the work session. She reiterated again tonight that, with the RAS, with each individual school, that she's going to work with those principals to do some school-based decision-making around what the needs of that school is. My fear is, to put this in writing in this format, is mandating that she make every single ART and SPED share a 1.0, which then doesn't allow her to work with each principal and each RAS to be specific to our elementary schools, so they can do what's best for their kids and for their communities. [01:55:28] and for that reason i can't support it mr fresh for a go back dr anderson okay unless i missed something i thought the goal for this year was that we were going to end up with a 1.0 of aerts and a 1.0 of special education chairs using that three-point system we discussed at length during [01:56:02] the budget vote so that is going to happen bar none is that correct dr reed yes ma'am so it's IT'S NOT AN IF, IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN USING ONE OF THOSE THREE THINGS OR A COMBINATION OF THOSE THREE THINGS FOR THIS YEAR FOR THIS YEAR SO THIS IS ASKING THAT YOU PROVIDE AN UPDATE THAT IT HAPPENED BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY MANDATORY. [01:56:29] YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU. MR. FRESH. TO A COLLEAGUE'S POINTS ABOUT EQUITABLE STAFFING, I COMPLETELY AGREE AND I HAVE A LOT to learn from my colleague who has placed literally hundreds if not thousands of people in different jobs around our school system, so I appreciate that. [01:56:51] And I do have, you know, I can see that a school with 2,000 kids has, you know, different needs per position than a school with 800 kids. That makes perfect sense. Let's have that conversation next year as part of the plan. This year we know what the plan is. [01:57:10] The plan gets us to 1.0. Dr. Reid, it's not technically 1.0 because of how we're doing the budget, correct? which is why we use the word fully instead of 1.0 because it's not technically a 1.0 even though that's the result. Yes sir that's correct. And so what this simply asks is that the superintendent report back on those commitments. It may not take her more than 10 minutes to do so. I'm not sure exactly how long it'll take but at least we'll have a report back. It'll be part of the normal monitoring process for next year and wherever we end up during next year's budgeting process will tell us where we need to end up on the monitoring reports in the future. [01:57:51] Mr. Dunn, did you want to go back? Yes, please. I appreciate the 98%, but it's always the 2% that matters, right? I did want to address, because there was a suggestion that I bring a follow-on motion, gosh, that 48-hour rule, it's a real killer, right? [01:58:11] I could bring a follow-on motion right here, but for that 48-hour rule. I wonder why it's there in the first place. And I've never publicly addressed this, but it's because I brought a motion in August 2024 to have outside counsel conduct an independent investigation of the Hayfield football scandal. [01:58:30] The next school board meeting, that was voted on by 10 of my colleagues. And I think we've seen that that 48-hour rule is really inconvenient when we want to make progress in our school system, when we want to have debate, when we want to bring motions here at the meetings. [01:58:46] because some conversation has been had and like, gosh, that's a great idea. 98% there. If you just tweaked it, I could tweak it if I didn't have to wait 48 hours and get my DeLorean and travel back in time, right? I could move to suspend the rules, but I think if you've watched more than one school board meeting, you see that I normally vote with four, not with eight. And so I think it's important that we recognize the realities that we're in a democracy, right? And we talk [01:59:16] about democracy at risk. We need democracy on the school board as well. So with that thank you. Seeing no other lights we're going to go ahead and vote first on the amended language that's on the screen in front of you. All those in favor. Mr. McElveen are you voting for your amendment. Mr. Dunn. All those opposed. Miss Dixit. Mr. McDaniel. Mr. Frisch. Miss Sizemore Heiser. Miss St. John Cunning. Miss Lady and myself. All those abstaining. Mr. Moon with Miss. [01:59:56] Marin and dr. Anderson away from the table. Okay, so now we are going to remove return back to the original Will the clerk please read the vote. Sorry It's two seven one two because we have miss Marin and dr. Anderson away from the table. Okay motion fails [02:00:35] Yes, I meant so now we are going to return back to the original follow-on and we're going to seeing no lights Related to that further discussion. We're going to go ahead and take a vote here So all in favor of the motion as on the screen, the original motion or follow-on motion on the screen, please raise your hand. [02:00:56] So we have Ms. Dixit, Mr. McElveen, Mr. McDaniel, Mr. Frisch, Ms. Sizemore-Hyzer, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Moon, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, and myself. That's unanimous for all board members on the dais currently with Ms. Marin and Dr. Anderson away from the table. [02:01:18] Thank you. Agenda item 5.04, action, proposed 2025 school bond referendum. This item has been postponed until the June 12th regular meeting. Agenda item 6.01, why don't we, do folks want to take a five minute recess before we go into the presentations? [02:01:38] Thank you. [02:01:39] We'll take a five minute recess. [02:07:52] Board members, please return to your seats. [02:17:10] Colleagues, please return to your seats. [02:17:32] Board members, please return to your seats. [02:18:21] Dr. Reid, I think we'll let the stragglers join us as they sit. Go ahead. Go ahead as in begin? [02:18:37] Yes, please. So goal two of our strategic plan states our commitment that every student will experience an equitable school community where student health and well-being are prioritized and student voice is centered. [02:18:53] As part of this commitment, we're dedicated to ensuring that every student has access to the necessary mental health and wellness services to support their successful engagement in school. So this evening, I'm thrilled to bring academic matters around mental health and wellness supports and this is really important as I had an opportunity to do a short video with one of our musical theater students yesterday morning which we'll share later in the next week. [02:19:26] One of the things he said is that he really found his voice when he felt confident and centered in his school environment so i think this is really important so i want to note that this evening all fairfax county public schools and programs are supported by school-based mental health professionals this includes school counselors psychologists social workers and substance abuse prevention specialists and i would say that our folks have been incredibly thoughtful caring and dedicated to the [02:20:01] focus of making sure our students are supported while in school. School-based mental health professionals provide a range of services to support the social and emotional well-being of our students, and these professionals collaborate with administrators, teachers, and parents to create positive classroom cultures as they recognize and respond to students' emotional needs effectively. To learn more about the unique training, expertise, and contributions of each of these professionals you can visit the websites linked on this slide so moving to policy 2121 Fairfax [02:20:38] County Public Schools supports student mental health and wellness essentially in through three areas number one prevention and education secondly assessment and intervention and thirdly crisis support and postvention that's a term I haven't used before but that must be prior to intervention So, anyhow, these processes for supporting schools are critical and continue to be part of activities that are necessary for the world-class education we provide here in Fairfax County Public Schools. [02:21:14] In addition to the services provided by our school-based mental health professionals, we also have a number of community partnerships. These are designed to provide easy access to mental health services and encourage students to seek help and support. For example, Our Minds Matter is a non-profit organization focused on suicide prevention. [02:21:35] Our Minds Matter clubs encourage self-care and healthy habits, promote social connectedness, increase pro-social skills, and increase help-seeking behavior in youth. We also have partnerships with the Healthy Minds Fairfax Short-Term Behavioral Health Program and Hazel Health. [02:21:53] And these support increased access to mental health services for students who may be experiencing mild to moderate mental health challenges. Hazel Health currently is available to all high school students, and the Short-Term Behavioral Health Program is available to all high school and middle school students. [02:22:11] The partnerships we have with Fairfax County Community Services Board and the Hart Leaf Center deliver mental health services on-site in our FCPS school buildings and our partnership with Northern Virginia Family Services includes school-based mental health and prevention services that are also critical for the safety and mental health and well-being of our students. [02:22:34] Currently, the Our Minds Matter clubs are in 19 high schools, 11 middle schools, and one elementary school. And on-site community services board services are available in 10 schools. Heartleaf Therapy are available in two elementary and will be expanding to an additional four in the 25-26 school year. [02:22:55] When you think about mental health, it's really important to think about how we collaborate with families and how critical that relationship is. The Family Academy and the Family Resource Center provide ongoing opportunities for families to learn about youth mental health, develop the skills and understanding needed to identify challenges and seek help, and promote the development of protective factors that support resilience and well-being. [02:23:20] This slide shows the most recent Family Resource Center presentations offered by school-based mental health staff. Finally, I want to highlight how FCPS is supporting our students and our community as we respond to the ongoing opioid crisis. [02:23:37] We've provided a scaffolded unit of health education, comprehensive education to prevent the use and misuse of drugs by increasing awareness of these substances and discussing healthy behavioral alternatives as well as providing information on how to access supportive resources and services these substance abuse prevention specialists are assigned to every fairfax county public school pyramid and are based in each high school and these hard-working professionals work every day to support our students and to think about substance misuse prevention it's really a [02:24:14] critical part of our ability to have students focus on school in school. We've also established a comprehensive overdose protocol for all school administrators to follow in the event of a suspected school connected student overdose. This protocol includes immediate steps for maintaining student safety as well as follow-up actions to support the student to experience the suspected overdose and any staff or student bystanders who observed or responded to the suspected overdose each school clinic has been stocked as well as every school bus and every AED unit in every high school and every [02:24:52] Fairfax County Public School with naloxone and all school administrators school health roommates public health nurses school safety and security staff middle school after school specialists transportation staff athletic coaches and athletic trainers complete a training program on recognizing opioid related overdoses, administering naloxone, and promptly seeking medical attention for a drug overdose. [02:25:16] We also send out division-wide notification any time there is a confirmed overdose in any of our schools to ensure transparency and community awareness. Finally, we use opioid settlement funds to develop a prevention program focused on encouraging open family communication and fostering help-seeking behavior, which includes our Become Unskippable message included in our FCPS communications over the past few months. [02:25:45] Madam Clerk, would you please play the video? You need your gun if I... Teens are pros at skipping what they don't want to hear. Listen up. We need to... Especially when it comes to hard conversations, like discussing fentanyl. [02:26:00] I need to talk to you right now. You know, I don't want to hear excuses. But with the right approach, you can become unskippable. Hey, do you know what to do if a friend overdoses? And when you're unskippable, you can teach your teen how to spot and respond to a fentanyl overdose so that they can help save a life. [02:26:18] Learn more at FCPS.edu. Thank you. So, Chairman Frisch, that is academic matters for this evening, and I'm happy to take any questions. Thank you, Dr. Reed. Dr. Anderson. [02:26:35] Thank you. That was definitely very powerful. Those are important conversations to have, and I know we've had a lot of community outreach regarding drug overdose so thank you for that one of the things that I I'd like to think is happening is that we're having fewer happening this year than we did last year is that accurate we were in senior leadership recently and realized that we didn't even want to say it out loud but our dashboard currently is zero suspected overdoses in our schools this year [02:27:10] which is huge progress. But again, exactly all of the things say all the prayers do all of the things so that that continues. Can you speak a little bit to what is available for our students in K eight outside of school because we know that our high school students are able to access Hazel Health. What is available for our K eight students. So the [02:27:37] The K-6, K-5 in three areas, essentially our K-5 and K-6 schools have school-based staff, counselors, social workers, psychologists. [02:27:56] Our middle schools are able to access, I want to say there's a particular, I think it's LEAF, something LEAF, I apologize. middle schools are able the Hartleaf Center delivers some therapy in middle schools and some in elementary but not all so I think that in our northern Virginia family services include some so it's I think that the high school there's a much tighter web of services and I think at middle school it's a little more fractured in elementary it's more school-based and partnering with [02:28:32] parents and I think at elementary probably what's going on right now is probably right but I do worry about the middle schools because we know that the youth data it really shows elevated levels of you know anxiety all of the things that we are seeing at our high schools are happening at our middle schools with seventh and eighth grade students particularly so it just continues to make me wonder how can we better support that level so that is not as fractured but it's easily accessible the way that Hazel Health is I know you you and I had conversations in the past in terms of bringing that down to the lower level. [02:29:07] Have we been able to make any inroads on that? - We have not moved the Hazel Mental Health, Telemental Health into middle school. We have not done that yet. - Is that still a possibility? [02:29:22] - It is a possibility, but there is a budget implication. Currently, the annual cost of Hazel Telemental Health 1.26 million and that's what we're funding it in the FY26 and this from July 1 of 2024 through May 13th of 2025 we've had 1068 students referred all of which are high school students with 2777 [02:29:53] teletherapy sessions conducted referred I thought it was self well I guess self-referred teachers is also referring students to Hazel Health? Roughly 50% of the referrals came directly from families and 50% came from school-based mental health staff, which includes school counselors, social workers, or psychologists. [02:30:17] And I think we included referrals from families could also include students. Thank you. I would be remiss if I didn't share, and especially in a time of really tight budget times, we've allocated a significant amount of dollars to this program, which I think is very worthwhile. [02:30:34] And it's supposed to be able to be available to all of our high school students, which total around, what, 25,000 students? More than that. More than that. Yes, ma'am. And we have a thousand accessing it. That's at a cost at $1,100 per kid. That doesn't seem to be a lot of bang for our buck. [02:30:54] It appears that there is not, well, I should say in grade, it looks like the most usage is occurring currently in grade 11. Our 867 sessions occurred, followed by the 10th grade year at 724, the 9th grade year at 651, and our seniors utilized it the least at 535 sessions. [02:31:18] So, you know, our students, there are a variety of ways that we reach out to let students know, but it is not used as robustly as it certainly could. Not at all. And the difference at high school, if you could refresh my memory, is that students, are they requiring parental permission to participate at the high school level? [02:31:39] We've done opt-in and opt-out. And I think right now, Dr. Presidio, do you want to confirm which way we are right now? I think they, I'll let you answer that. We are requiring parental permission, yes. So parental permission is needed at the high school for students to participate. It seems to be a little bit easier then for us to just absorb the middle school students into that group because we also know that there's a need there and we are really not getting the most impactful participation it just seems as if we should have some space there to perhaps renegotiate that contract to be more [02:32:14] inclusive of our 25,000 middle school students of which a fraction would participate just to get a little bit more out of this again I'm a big fan I just worry about the investment and not really seeing that we're getting as much out of it as we should be yes ma'am and I think the renegotiation I think those conversations are ongoing but I will make sure I check in with staff to see because I think it's a per pupil fee [02:32:43] but given the usage I think it's certainly a fair question thank you Dr. Anderson Mr. Mr. Moon thank you Mr. Chairman Dr. Reed I think I did ask this question previously but I wasn't sure whether i have received a response on this question is the best way to deal with mental health issues is to prevent them from happening prevention is the best way to handle with that said with that [02:33:20] said as we set higher and higher standard and asking our students to take more rigorous courses and more AP and IB courses, our students become under more and more stress. [02:33:37] A few days ago, actually about a week ago, I was going to have a conversation with one particular freshman and was surprised to hear that maybe I should not have been surprised, you know, taking three AP courses. I said, "Wow, as a freshman, and how do we reconcile students being stressed out because we are asking for more and more, and our desire to to prevent mental health issues, prevent that from happening. [02:34:14] - Yes, sir, I think that there has to be moderation in all things, right? In the sense that if we are there, often students push themselves and wanna take, I think a rigorous academic load and need to eat well and sleep well and be active and in community with their families and friends and so forth. [02:34:42] So I think for students that want to take an academic load that might be three AP courses as a freshman, I think as long as they have balance in other parts of their lived experience, I think it can be managed well. [02:35:01] I think one of the things we've talked about, I think, more and more isn't that we're going to be able to live a life that is stress-free or anxiety-free. What we're going to have to, I think, more so support our children and our, honestly, our adults as well, is how do we manage stress? [02:35:21] Because it is a part of our lives. People are anxious about a variety of topics. And I think how to think about managing that stress and anxiety is very important today in a variety of ways. [02:35:37] So that's how I would reconcile that. One request that I make is, you talked about students putting a stress upon themselves. I feel that a lot of stress comes from parents asking more and more from their children, comparing them with perhaps with other children, other students, et cetera. [02:36:06] I think we may need to engage our parents a little more and talk about this. And in the past, I even went as far as us having conversation, really meaningful, serious conversation with college admission officers, whether if they're looking at certain number of AP in the highest courses one could take from a student's high school career, that's going to put pressure upon students to get there. [02:36:42] And unless we hear clearly from college admission offices that they're not really, they don't really have a certain number everybody has to achieve to be able to be admitted to that school, it's not more the better, that there's going to be more and more pressure upon our students. [02:37:09] I mean, that's what I've seen over the last three decades. Yes, sir. I think a college admissions conversation likely makes sense. I think as people understand the reality of what admissions counselors look for. I also think sometimes the pressure and the stress is not just academic. It can be social. It can be not making the team that parents want a child to try out for an athletic team or a first chair in the orchestra or a theater role in [02:37:46] they've become an understudy and not so I think there's stress and pressure and anxiety across so many aspects of growing up for lack of a better term and it's not just being in a class or being on a team or being in an ensemble or being at a work job but it's also I think our reluctance to accept that students sometimes are imperfect and perhaps we are imperfect as well I think when I spoke with our Oakden robotics team and they talked about how important failure can be [02:38:22] in learning, and I don't know if we make that safe for our children. So I think there are a lot of ways we can mitigate stress and anxiety, and we probably need to work harder at that. So I take your point. [02:38:39] - Thank you, Mr. Moon, Miss Lady. - Thank you, Chair Frisch. I need to first start by thanking all of my colleagues mental health school counselors directors student services psychologists social workers substance abuse counselors the work you do is important the work you do is life-changing the work you do is you know you save kids lives on a daily basis you you create for them a future and [02:39:17] i just can't thank you enough for all the work you do i want to touch on a little bit of what my colleague was just talking about in terms of uh college admissions um you know we would do senior survey data at chantilly and we added on questions beyond what was required from the state of virginia and most of what we were trying to capture was what seniors wish they had done differently and overwhelmingly overwhelmingly they all indicated they wished they had taken a less rigorous course and had more fun because they probably would have gotten into the same college [02:39:51] they got into. I make this point, we want our kids to challenge ourselves. We definitely have kids can handle three APs as freshmen. We definitely have kids who are embarking on things that are probably stretching them beyond what's probably appropriate, which is impacting their mental health, their sleep, and other things in their life. But to the college admissions thing, you know, I always used to do this at parent meetings. I would say to my parents, I want you to take out a piece of paper write down where your child's pediatrician went to undergraduate when they all chuckled because they didn't really know next guy asked is where'd your accountant go to undergrad [02:40:28] well they don't know i could go on and on from a dentist to an attorney to you name it um the point being that you know all of our colleges are fantastic and a college education is transformative for the kids who are college bound um i also want to uplift trades we live in an industry now where the pendulum is swung back to where you don't have to have the piece of paper to thrive we have a lot of career-based programming that kids can leave high school and walk right into a nice salary get training within that industry and really thrive so back to the mental health piece [02:41:06] you know i think we just need to you know help kids understand that there are numerous pathways and understand that college is a launching point for all kids to do well once they get there um but i just i'm really grateful um and it's interesting because i felt like there's a little bit in the presentation heavy on opioids and the work we're doing with substance abuse and i'm grateful for the comment that yes there's there's zero right now knock on wood within the dashboard in terms of overdoses but what we still have combating is social media we have what kids [02:41:42] are using to define their self esteems and you know learning how to manage stress and if they're you know i will also speak to the parent piece you know as a parent um it was your time is up thank you okay i can give you a go back if you like thank you thank you um mystics it thank you dr reed for highlighting the mental health and wellness support from fcps um i didn't want to um [02:42:16] I remember something last year you had made a presentation about our sixth grader have some behavioral and they're exhibiting that they feel like they're getting more bullied or they complained about loneliness and other things. I wanted to see if that that trigger is still going on like it was it was an uprise I think that time. [02:42:37] Yes ma'am you remember that correctly and I will be getting that data back I think at some point for this coming or this past year. And as soon as we do, that will probably be in an EL next year. So I will make sure we get in. If we have anything current, I'll include it in a Friday letter. [02:42:54] And that kind of right really emphasize the need of more counselors at school. And our student to counselor ratio is really low. I mean, it's a high role. I don't know. But yeah, we need more counselors. And what is the ratio right now for Title I schools? [02:43:14] do well all of our title one schools except two are elementary right now so dr. Presidio do you have the ratio roughly of our counselors in title one schools the ratios in our title one schools for counselors aren't aren't any different the ratio and mr. Solomon might know the precise number but at the elementary ratio for counselors I believe it's one to five hundred thank you so much actually the reason I bring it up I was in Center Ridge Elementary [02:43:51] was talking to a counselor and they definitely said that was something they wanted to elevate is the need of more resources in terms because there's a lot of need and it's entitled in schools and students coming from different background multilingual learners and they just needed more I guess reinforcement so something to I guess look at considering that I know the last time we talked about Hazel Health and there was a way we were trying I think going to move to opt-out and so all the students will be opt-in Mr. Setti did we do you remember this conversation about Hazel Health that will keep it opt [02:44:31] in and then students can opt out if they need to yeah it's not really a technology issue the issue is that when students are experiencing mental health issues and needs we want to make sure that the parents the family members are really involved in that process we're not trying to create barriers for access and that's why parents and families can provide direct referrals make those direct contacts without working with their staff but when a student is working with a psychologist or a counselor and that counselor or psychologists recommend some additional services outside of the school we want to [02:45:09] make sure that the parents involved in that process thank you and it's good to see the number rising up last year it was 500 some students now it's like almost double so that shows it's being more there's a more awareness of it I definitely agree that we should expand this to a middle school student that is a time students are going through a lot of changes mentally emotionally physically and and they're lost sometimes right during having my own voice I can kind of relate to that so I feel like we're missing some opportunity and we get that [02:45:44] support earlier I think it could be helpful them for them when they are going to high school so I think middle school are really really important for a lot of things we do and especially as two years in the school in and out it's IT'S JUST THEY NEED MORE SUPPORT SO WE'D LIKE TO SEE IF THAT CAN BE ADDED AND ALSO I THINK THE COST OF IT IF I THINK MAYBE TALKING TO DR. [02:46:11] MISS BURDEN THAT MAYBE PER PUPIL COST OF NEGOTIATING WITH YOU KNOW SOME WAY WE CAN BRING THE COST DOWN PER STUDENT THAT WE WILL WORK ON THAT YES MA'AM THANK YOU THANK YOU MISS DIXIT I'M SORRY SORRY SOME OF THE VIDEO LINKS WEREN'T WORKING ON THE PRESENTATION you just shared and I was thinking it's maybe it's because we are an FCPS laptop it would I don't know if other students can use the share watch it too was it the link to the video or some [02:46:46] of the links to the videos the suicide prevention video the other videos here well we'll take a look at that and repost a version to board docs with a working link thank you for pointing that out [02:46:57] Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Dixit. Ms. Marin. Dr. Reed, one of the challenges I recall being raised was that using Hazel during the school day, that was a challenge because a student would need a private place and that was hard to staff. And so I do wonder about the low usage. So again, it was that students would require a private confidential place and that would mean that staff would have to then monitor that. And so I just do wonder about that if that's cause for the low [02:47:34] involvement if it was to be expanded I wanted to share something that sticks in my mind I think it was in 2023 I was at a high school and they were doing a government civics things and somebody asked them you know it was like this whole senior class and they said raise your hand if you have someone in this school that you can name that you trust and not a lot of hands went up and so I do wonder about you know how are we ensuring that the students have that at least one person and this gets to like the whole you know transitioning into the grades and having that that person also when you first arrived about three [02:48:09] years ago you had shared data about how this generation is differently engaging in behaviors and pass including like drug use and dating and driving and so the statistic about the decrease in fentanyl overdoses also makes me wonder about that data and you know are we do we know who our kids are in this generation and just how often are we as a board knowing I mean I know my daughter and how she is but there's a whole bunch of other kids who are different so I just wonder about how we as a board can be sure that we're thinking of the kids [02:48:43] the way that they really are and not the way that like we grew up and I wondered if there's any data if we know what are the most prevalent mental health challenges our students have like what are the most frequent is that broken down so we could say okay well we need to staff up on this kind of thing but maybe not this kind of thing so yes ma'am I mean I think that's a great question I don't have that data this evening but I could go back to staff and see if we do track that so I'm happy to do that yeah well what comes to mind is [02:49:22] a friend and constituent just had a challenge with her student who did not want to go to school and then a secondary student it's like what do you do when you have this human that doesn't want to move like you can't really move them right and so it ended up that the assistant principal was a wonderful resource you know called and talked to the students through what was gonna you know and and then it got solved so and I've heard other stories of kids who are have a lot of anxiety going to school so like if that's a rising thing right what do we need to do to help that as opposed to you know fentanyl overdoses we keep going you know to prevent that but anyway just [02:49:57] something I was wondering about. No it's a good point I it's more to think about obviously. Yes ma'am. That sounds good. Thank you. Thank you Miss Marin. Miss lady for a go back. Sorry. Miss Sizemore Heiser. Thank you. Just just briefly a couple of things Dr. Reed. First I really appreciate this presentation and I wanted to kind of lift up what our student rep said about some of our substance abuse programming that we have. I'll just wait a second. No no it's okay. We're having some camera issues so just a moment. No it's okay. Go ahead Dr. Reed. Thank you. [02:50:41] So some of the substance abuse education, I don't know exactly, I think your point is very well taken, right? And I think it would be good to have some of that education earlier. So you don't need to tell me today, but it would be maybe good to get a follow-up to see what we do have embedded for our students in our earlier years. [02:50:58] Because I do think some of that education that we have can be very powerful. And while I'm glad to see the fentanyl overdoses are going down, this is still an issue in our society. I can tell you some of the stuff we have is very powerful just anecdotally from one student, which happens to be my kiddo, who went to one of our fentanyl prevention town halls before he went to college and now asks every single person when he sees a bag of gummy bears if there's drugs in them. [02:51:22] So, you know, it is powerful stuff, and I think it gets our kids to think, you know, and maybe realize there's dangers where they don't realize. So I think it's important to have that. The other thing I wanted to, I was surprised it wasn't listed here, is the Family Summit Because the Family Summit has a lot of different supports, you know, formerly the Special Education Summit, but there's a lot of different strands around mental health and mental wellness. [02:51:44] Again, anecdotally, I can tell you, you know, when my own child was diagnosed with autism, I learned a lot about that at the Family Summit first. So I think that's an important thing, you know, to lift up, especially since it's back in person when it's been virtual for a long time. So I just wanted to mention that, that I think that's an important piece where our families can really learn a lot and then take those strategies home to their students. [02:52:06] So this last thing I want to say is this goes back to what I've been talking about for a while when it comes to our budget, right? Not only are we facing a shortfall, but we're also schools are being asked to do so much more than they ever were asked to do, right? [02:52:21] And our principals and our teachers and our leadership team and everybody, you know, the workers in our building, everybody's been asked to, you know, not just educate our students academically but you know ensure that they're mentally well ensure that they're fed ensure that we engage their families and that's a reality that we have to get our community to better understand that the demands are on schools are higher than ever and we've got to be funded to meet those demands so thank you for all that you do and this I would really put a plug in for earlier substance abuse education I'm a big believer in preventative education and also for talking about that family summit and all that it offers because it really is a wonderful resource thank you yes ma'am we'll [02:53:00] make sure to include that moving forward i'm going to take i'm going to take a turn um so one of the interesting things is we've been talking about fentanyl the last several years is that at the same time that fentanyl overdoses were going up and frighteningly so drug use by the same cohort of students you know young people was going down significantly and that was a very difficult needle to thread when it came to communicating with parents right how do you explain to parents that [02:53:36] drugs are your your child is far less likely to use drugs today than they were a couple or many years ago but if they do use drugs they're far more you know they're they're far deadlier right that they could be laced with fentanyl etc and so i i would hate to leave the public with the perception that what we're talking about here is an epidemic of drug use right what we're talking about is the deadliness of fentanyl and so it is extremely encouraging that this education is working that we're seeing [02:54:15] numbers go down and we're not just seeing it in Fairfax County though that is encouraging we're seeing it all over the country with young people in particular and I you know I'm hopeful that the trajectory of fentanyl use and the damage that that has on people will you know be more in line hopefully nobody uses right but that it would be more in line with the historic low numbers of students using illicit substances how do you thread that needle more effectively with parents to communicate that schools are safe it's not everybody's not using drugs but fentanyl yes is extremely dangerous so I think threading [02:54:54] that needle really our mental health professionals and our substance abuse professionals have been really thoughtful about that I think it's all of us just use language that you use this evening mr. Frisch I I think our students are less likely to use drugs however the drugs that they may use are more deadly and I think the other thing about fentanyl is you can inadvertently use fentanyl if you're not very careful about the source of any kind of pill that you might be taking. Even aspirin that you get from a friend. Absolutely. Yes, sir. Yeah. So just, I mean, being [02:55:34] good and wary consumers, I think we have to really help our young people with. Well, in the years ahead, I'm looking forward to partnering with you and the rest of the staff as we explore other ways TO SUPPORT NOT ONLY STUDENTS FROM EVER, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY NEVER GETTING INVOLVED WITH DRUGS, BUT ALSO HELPING STUDENTS WHO HAVE ENCOUNTERED DRUGS AND ARE NOW LIVING CLEAN LIVES BECAUSE THEY COULD USE MORE SUPPORT IN OUR SCHOOLS AS THEY NAVIGATE WHAT IS ALREADY DIFFICULT TIME FOR ANY TEENAGER, LET ALONE ONE LIVING IN SOBRIETY, WHILE ALSO GETTING THEIR EDUCATION. [02:56:09] YES, SIR. THANK YOU. MR. DUNN? I JUST WANTED TO SAY WITH RESPECT TO FENTANYL THAT WE HAVE HEARD IN PRESENTATIONS, THE RISK not only for children and students but for adults as well and how it's important for every human being regardless of age to be careful about where they procure their pharmaceuticals from because unless you're buying direct from Walgreens or other reputable pharmacies ordering online even obtaining a bill from a friend we heard a story not so long ago about a judge [02:56:44] who you know borrowed an aspirin and was found dead the next day that's extremely unfortunate for people who have no intention of engaging in legal drugs don't think they're engaging in legal drugs but the pills they receive are for whatever reason reasons that escape me are contaminated so certainly for all of our community not just our schools it's important to be prudent be safe and know where your where your medications are coming from because this is a larger societal problem and not not just limited to our schools thank you - Thank you. [02:57:22] - Thank you, Mr. Dunn. Ms. Sawant. - Thank you. This is very timely, just given what we were speaking about earlier this week with students. And as we can see on the screen, there are so many different resources, but I don't think that they always reach the students. Like when I was saying like they're substance abuse specialists, a lot of the students were like, well, I didn't know, or I don't know who that is for my pyramid. [02:57:41] But what I did want to talk about was the ATOD lessons. Like I know in middle school, it's well given through health and PE classes, and I can sit through my inbox and actually find weeks where I was submitting those assignments. But when it gets to high school and you can choose to take HPE over the summer and you don't get those health lessons the same or you do it in 9th and 10th grade, but it's only a week, how do you implement the ATOD lessons for 11th and 12th graders? [02:58:04] Because what I heard from students varied a lot. So great point, Ms. Swann. And Dr. Presidio, what does our curriculum look like for juniors and seniors, which might be really critical times for sure in high school for ATOD lessons? Yeah, I'm going to actually on that one. [02:58:21] And I think, phone a friend, I believe Dr. Axler is online and could maybe help us with the scope and sequence of delivery of lessons from elementary through secondary. Very good evening, everybody. Yes, Dr. Presidio is right. [02:58:37] We do have a scaffolded sequence of health and PE lessons focused on substance use from K through grade 10. Grades 11 and 12 have specific separate foci. And so there's more flexibility in the way that those are implemented, but all students are required to participate in specific activities focused on identifying areas of potential risk in substance misuse, trying to focus on particular substances, what the risks may be with those, ways to identify protective factors and particularly look at refusal skills [02:59:17] and healthy replacement behaviors in both grades 11 and 12. And that's overseen by our instructional services department, specifically our health and PE curriculum. - Thank you. I just guess I want more clarity on where those lessons are done 11th and 12th grade, 'cause in 11th grade they had pulled us into a special session and given it to us. [02:59:38] But in 12th grade, I didn't receive anything. So I'm just wondering how specifically schools go about implementing that, whether it's advisory or other periods. So just something I noticed. - Thank you, Ms. Sawant. Go for a go back. Dr. Anderson. Yes thank you. [02:59:58] I did forget to ask a quick question as related to slide three. Some schools have an inordinate number of crises in terms of risk assessments in terms of you know student elopement which we know can take anywhere from two hours to the entire day to contain and to deal with all of the things that that involves. [03:00:19] How does the district quantify the type of supports that are needed at the sites that have more frequent occurrences of these activities than those that do not. - So I know we have staffing standards and those, as you know, as the board in the community know, the staffing standards exceed the standards of quality, the SOQs that are funded from the Commonwealth. [03:00:50] Either Dr. Presidio or Mr. Solomon or Ms. Burden, the staffing-- - And perhaps I should explain a little bit more Because I do know we have the staffing standards but these are the kind of unanticipated activities that occur in the school year because I do know centrally those threat assessments risk assessments those things are gathered I'm sure and tracked by some office but does that result in additional support for the schools because you know from somebody who worked in the school knowing that any of these events can take the counselor the classroom teacher the special education chair the principal [03:01:27] assistant principals just dealing with the crisis at hand and having multiple of these crises across a year could really burden a school. So I'm just wondering how is that data treated for additional support? I think that probably sits in instructional services, Dr. [03:01:44] Presidio, because you have the DSS department there. Yeah, so I think it's a combination of the instructional services and the Department of Special Services staff and even some folks in the region offices. So we don't adjust our staffing standards. Typically, based on that data, we're staffing based on the students in the school. [03:02:02] But what we do do is we provide a lot of centralized support to Dr. Reed's point from central office. So if there's a crisis in a school, we have a crisis response team of social workers, psychologists, counselors that are available through central office and oftentimes redeployed from other schools in the school division to support those crisis situations. [03:02:22] So that could be everything from, you know, a significant issue of safety, a loss of a community member in the school that is going to require significant counseling services to increase behavioral incidents in a school where we need to push in additional supports or, you know, utilizing those resource staff in a number of ways on mental health and safety issues for particular schools that might be highly impacted. [03:02:49] Are those supports able to be deployed immediately when there is, for example, a threat assessment and let's say a school is handling multiple threat assessments across the week for a period of time? Absolutely. Okay, thank you. [03:03:05] And just the last thing that I wanted to share, because as you mentioned during your last statement regarding Hazel Health, that it's a contract that is per pupil, I wonder, instead of perhaps paying for 100% of the high school students to be able to participate, given AND OUR PARTICIPATION RATES PERHAPS WE HAVE A SMALLER PERCENTAGE, MAYBE IT'S 10 PERCENT WHICH WILL STILL BE MORE THAN WHAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY AND STILL BE ABLE TO PULL UP THE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS. I THINK THAT'S GOOD FEEDBACK. I THINK THAT CERTAINLY CAN GO INTO THE [03:03:37] RENEGOTIATION CONVERSATION AS ONE OF THE POSSIBILITIES. YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU, DR. ANDERSON. MR. DUNN. ALL RIGHT. SEEING NO OTHERS, WE'LL LET YOU TAKE YOUR SEAT. THANK YOU. [03:03:53] no strategic planning update we're doing it from your am i not correct there's a camera issue and i think the camera issue has been resolved so the current camera issue we are still having it there's a couple ways we can go about it dr reed can be shot from the back we can shoot her from the side she can go from her seat the back is fine film we can film i think film from the back is a beautiful thing yeah so we do not need to have dr reed speak from the dais not unless she wants to be on camera whatever you prefer thank you mr frisch i think i'm here and let's move forward [03:04:32] strategically with our strategic plan update all right um thank you chairman frisch members of the board as a reminder to our public each month we share an update on our work around the strategic plan and this evening we're going to talk a minute or two about goal 4 equitable access and opportunity and this is a goal I think that's again very important and tied to mental health and wellness it's one of those measures in this case where we're going to look at a focus on accessibility to extracurricular activities and this evening I'm excited to [03:05:08] share with you the work we are doing with math and science Olympiad in our title one schools and who wouldn't love to be involved in math and science olympia our mathletes are fierce and our science leets as well as you can see from the quote on the screen um are we in a how about impact of school connectedness there we go as we can as you can see from the quote on the screen participation in out of classroom activities has been linked to a number of positive academic outcomes as well as positive self-esteem and feelings of belonging [03:05:47] which in fact are connected to mental health when our students are involved whether it's clubs sports programs like science and math Olympiad they tend to do better in school and attend more consistently in other words belonging in that sense of authentic belonging matter the powerful connection between engagement and well-being especially for our students who are economically disadvantaged underscores the importance of fostering school connectedness for the past two years Fairfax County Public Schools were on the next slide please Fairfax County Public Schools has made a commitment to our title one [03:06:26] schools and students in those schools to ensure they can offer both math and science Olympiad programs these programs have participation at no cost we cover the cost of being part of the program itself we also cover transportation for all practices and competitions, and we provide meals from the food and nutrition services. [03:06:50] We believe every student should have the chance to explore their passion for math and science. In Math Olympiad, between, again, Math Olympiad teaches multiple strategies for out-of-the-box problem-solving, develops mathematical flexibility in solving problems, and fosters mathematical creativity and ingenuity. [03:07:12] The program currently runs from November through March and is a fantastic opportunity available to students in grades 4 through 8. This year, we offered Math Olympiad at 42 Title I elementaries and two Title I middle schools. [03:07:28] The enthusiasm has been incredible. The math energy our mathletes bring, with over 650 mathletes actively participating in five engaging contests that were held throughout the season. Science Olympiad and our Title I schools also run November through March and they build excitement in STEM by offering fun and rewarding tournaments for elementary, middle and high school. The program runs, as I mentioned, November through March and offers students opportunities across a wide range of grades between 3rd and 12th. [03:08:04] This year, we were proud to offer Science Olympiad at 42 Title I elementary schools, two middle and one high school. Again, fantastic engagement with over 500 students participating in this hands-on team-based competition, which culminates in exciting in-person events. [03:08:22] And in fact, spoiler alert for next year, we met with the Science Olympiad statewide team as well as Math Olympiad, and we're going to be creating a Fairfax County public school spring olympiad for all schools to participate we are so excited i cannot wait it's going to be quite an event it's uh probably going to need to start a reservation soon anyhow at this time let's take a look at math and science olympiad in action madam clerk please play the [03:08:56] video programs such as science and math olympiad in our elementary and middle and high schools really provides students with many opportunities to explore the sciences to explore math so we really wanted to make sure that we were offering science and math olympiad to as many students as [03:09:29] possible today we are going to build on what we did in geometry last week so math olympiad offers a variety of different ways for students to work together so we start off with our warm-up and And then after that we go into our whole group lesson where I teach them one subject that is our subject of the week. [03:09:51] This week we are talking about permutations and combinations. It's one of our more advanced topics. Every time there's a new week, I always tell my mom, "Mom, when is it going to be Math Olympiad?" It helped me because I can learn more things, like for example, I was learning area, I can just like divide them into two boxes and then add them all together. [03:10:13] Olympiad is a competition and it's basically a bunch of STEM projects all put together on one day. We practice once a week. They are given a problem or a task and they have to come up with a plan, test it out, try, fail, come up with another plan and try again and it really asks students to work and problem-solve. [03:10:36] You get to choose a topic. I'm doing anatomy and astronomy. I always want to be a doctor and that's why I chose anatomy as a topic and it's just like really fun. A lot of our work is collaborative in Math Olympiad because I do believe those conversations about why an answer is the way it is or how to get there is very important to their learning, more than just getting that correct answer. They always will be paired with a partner and that fosters the sense of collaboration with the students and that's an integral part of Science Olympia. It's taught me to not work just work alone. I should get new ideas, new [03:11:15] opinions. We get to work together with other people and we're cooperating. I think it's better when you're with a team because you can share ideas. We're hearing from the teachers that they're seeing that students who participated in these clubs, their confidence increased in the classroom and they were applying all those great problem-solving skills to their different classroom courses. [03:11:39] It's important to have access to challenges where you are growing your brain through making mistakes and seeing your own learning in action. It helps them understand how to plan, organize themselves. It teaches resilience, sparks curiosity. It gives them a broader perspective and looking at the world in a bigger lens rather than just in the classroom you get to think about things in a more practical way and I think it's really cool that they that they're practicing basically for things we don't know are going to exist like all those jobs that we don't know will be here it's awesome it's great I [03:12:18] think it's very special to have this kind of opportunity that our kids can take a sense of accomplishment and pride in that's gonna ultimately you know benefit our community and you know our child's educational journey. [03:12:36] So I just I that just warms my heart and I want to for the public that's watching say that this board has insisted that we provide these opportunities for not just some students in some schools but all of our students in all of our schools and that's a commitment I hope you see coming to life. [03:13:01] OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ARE GOING TO TRANSFORM THE FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY AND THIS GREAT NATION AND THAT WORK STARTS WITH OUR EDUCATORS, OUR CHILDREN AND OUR FAMILIES THAT SUPPORT THIS. SO I WILL BE DELIVERING TWO MORE UPDATES TO THE BOARD AND TO THE PUBLIC RELATED TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN ON JUNE 12TH AND JULY 17TH. [03:13:22] SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT AND MR. CHAIR THIS CONCLUDES OUR MAY STRATEGIC PLANNING UPDATE. THANK YOU DR. REED. This is the part I get excited about the most is seeing a student doing other things. [03:13:40] It's just learning on the books, right? This is like hands-on learning and problem solving. And I think going to all Title I schools, I think this is the best way we can do equitable access because other students can find a way to get to these courses after school enrichment. [03:14:01] Their parents and other PTA members who are doing it in other schools, but in the title one schools We don't see that So I'm really excited to see that the one thing I wanted to say is I know this is great another and we don't have much dollars But here's the way we could have chess club in all those schools as well because I know there other schools have chess club And and just wanted to see if that can be happening. Yes, ma'am. Well chess is as you know a [03:14:31] complex game. Alex last week and the charity chess tournament gave me some moves so I could stay engaged a little longer. But we certainly are looking at chess and also knitting. We've got a knitting group headed up by Kathy Hosek out in the Mount Vernon area. And I know there's a great demand just to think about what activities we can be about so I will definitely add chess as a as a thought plan here thank you so [03:15:09] much yes ma'am Thank You miss Dixit miss Anderson just really fast I love this I mean this is right up my alley in terms of a lot of the work I do in in my other world my question to you is how many of our non title one schools actually have science and math Olympiad do we know I know there are a number of those miss lemon thoughts on about kind of a round figure and we'll get you exact numbers for the Friday letter but miss lemon I will definitely look it up I believe we [03:15:45] have about 17 in addition to the the title one schools that are currently in science Olympiad so I understand that with the sheer volume of schools that we have I think that we may be making an inappropriate assumption that our non title one schools have this available to them or know how to get it started and so now that we've had this wonderful opportunity to know what the enrichment possibility is i think that it would be a good idea um even before the pandemic all my my kiddo school had was math olympiad and it was [03:16:23] done as an ad hoc thing that just two teachers kind of took on and so i think that having some of the experience of how this could go and talking to principals about how they might be able to TO BRING IT TO THEIR COMMUNITIES AND THE BENEFIT OF IT I THINK WOULD BE A REALLY IMPORTANT THING FOR US TO MOVE FORWARD JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT ASSUMING THAT OTHER SCHOOLS HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITY SO IT'S JUST JUST A LITTLE POINT OF ADVOCACY YES I'M SORRY I WILL CHECK WITH EMILY TO GET THE EXACT NUMBER THANK YOU THANK YOU MS. ANDERSON DR. ANDERSON THANK YOU THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF MY VERY FAVORITE THINGS AS YOU KNOW THIS WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE FIRST CONVERSATIONS WE'VE EVER HAD [03:17:02] and just to see it come to fruition has been really fantastic just to confirm the science olympiad and math olympiad because they're led by teachers can that also count for ipfit time well that's a great question miss lemon i believe so yes because it is addressing for students who might be chronically absent and if it's addressing um if it's addressing standards that they would have missed in the school day then yes it can and I think what we're finding is that kids when they're involved in this don't end up on that chronically absent list so it's really a preventative more than more than anything but we can use [03:17:42] that data for IP fit thank you which brings me to my second point you know this is great these are the things that kids get excited about adults get excited about how can we take some of these activities and infuse them in the regular activities that are occurring throughout the school day in which everyone can participate because good instructional practices are good at all times. [03:18:09] Yes ma'am I I think that's a good idea to contemplate building on so let me yeah no I I think that it's it is correct and I think what we're so let me take that back to the team and be thoughtful about that I do know we continue to you know we have a lot of resources that are limited notwithstanding financial but time also becomes a resource at elementary school in terms of our reading writing and math SOLs and science as well so let me take that back to the team and see what's [03:18:48] possible and not necessarily embedding the whole program because we have a curriculum but some of the activities must lend themselves to something that we're doing maybe it's just a matter of aligning the scope and sequence to see what makes more sense even if it starts off as a culminating activity to you know so or at least an exploratory activity to some learning and the last thing I can't see for some reason my eyes are watering thank you I oh the last [03:19:24] thing was the chess that Miss Dixit mentioned all for that I vote yes it's ma'am thank you miss thank you dr. Anderson miss Anderson I already did that mr. McElveen yes so dr. Anderson kind of took the words out of my mouth now that we are apologies for the phrase but saddled with early release Wednesdays again for next year can we use that time to to do these activities [03:20:00] IT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT CAME UP IN A CONVERSATION AT A SCHOOL TODAY. I THINK THAT WOULD BE CERTAINLY TRANSPORTATION'S PROVIDED AND CERTAINLY BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONTEMPLATE THAT. SO LET ME TAKE THAT BACK TO THE TEAM AND WE CAN GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT. [03:20:16] RIGHT. AND I EXPECT IN SOME SCHOOLS WE'LL HAVE TO GET THE PTAs ENGAGED FOR FUNDING IT, BUT I'D LIKE US TO MAKE BETTER USE OF THOSE EARLY RELEASE DAYS. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. [03:20:32] MCELVEEN. And I really appreciate this, too. I'm very excited to see the hands-on learning, the excitement of the students. I think, you know, to get to the full length of this goal, and I know this wasn't a full report. It's not a goal report, right? It was just sort of a snapshot of some of the great things we're doing. [03:20:50] But it would be helpful to sort of have an audit of what is available at our school so then we have a sense that then we can do a gap analysis, right? Because I think sometimes, as to Ms. Anderson's point, right, we're maybe assuming that this is available in a large swath of our schools when it is often parent or PTA driven in each school. [03:21:15] I also agree with my colleagues around chess. And I love knitting because when we talk about mental wellness and relaxation, that's a big part of it, right? I'm going to throw my pitch in again for speech and debate and theater at elementary schools because the schools that have theater have amazing programs. [03:21:31] And it does all those things do a lot of good for communication and creativity and collaboration. So but I do think, you know, with the second year of these early release days, I agree with my colleague, that's a really important place that once we do our audit and our gap analysis, perhaps we can systematically build in programming into those days. [03:21:51] That would be helpful. But I love what we're doing here. I'd love to see a sense that, you know, in my vision, I would love to see like a playbook of these are best practices for elementary school, right? [03:22:06] Like what are the things, chess, knitting, speech and debate, science Olympiad, math Olympiad, you know, robotics, right? I know some schools have robotics as well, you know. What does that look like? And I'm not saying that everything is at every school, but what does that look like and how do we have that consistency? [03:22:25] Because right now it seems like it's pretty ad hoc. I mean, I'm going to throw fitness in there as well, right? WE RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF PHYSICAL FITNESS FOR OUR STUDENTS. SO MAYBE SOMETHING AS A VISION TO BUILD DOWN WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW TO FULFILLED THIS GOAL. WHAT'S OUR AUDIT, WHAT'S OUR GAP ANALYSIS, AND WHAT'S OUR VISION FOR THE BEST PRACTICES FOR THESE ACTIVITIES? [03:22:44] THANK YOU. YES, MA'AM. CAN I JUST SHARE AN UPDATE? I'M SO SORRY. I JUST WANT TO SHARE THAT WE DO HAVE 43 NON-TITLE ONE SCHOOLS IN SCIENCE OLYMPIAD AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE 25 TITLE ONE SCHOOLS WITH CHESS CLUB. [03:23:01] THANK YOU, MS. LOMON. THANK YOU. - Mr. Moon. - Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Earlier today, I had an opportunity to exchange some emails with Dr. Posidio and gave him a heads up that I would be asking this question about a science and engineering fair. [03:23:22] But before I ask you any question, let me just comment upon chess clubs. I love chess. At the same time, as a someone who grew up playing another board game called Go, If you haven't seen, have never played, never learned, just let me know. [03:23:43] I'll be willing to tutor you. American Goal Association has partnered with some of our schools in FCPS and providing free tutors, stipend to our faculty sponsors, and etc. And in fact, on May 31st, there will be a Goal Festival at Thomas Jefferson, sponsored by the Office of the Chief of Schools. [03:24:10] So with that said, Dr. Presidio, my question to you about science and engineering fair. I think you indicated that all high schools are a lot of spots at the regional fair. How do you a lot of spots? Well, thank you for that question. [03:24:27] And I am familiar with Go, and I'm also familiar with your aptitude at Go, so I will not be playing against you anytime soon. But to your question about the regional science fair, we had an amazing event this year. was the largest event we've ever had with over 600 participants, and the way that students can participate in that particular science and engineering fair is it starts at the base school level, so in all of our honors level science classes, students are required to complete an independent research project, and one of the ways that they can complete that is by participating in a [03:25:04] school level science and engineering fair, and then the students that are selected at the school level move on to the regional fair level where they can compete for larger prizes and then they can move on from our regional fair to the international fair and our students actually do quite well on a historical basis that the international fair as well so that's the basic kind of trajectory from classroom to the regional fair so when you said a lot among high schools is there based upon number of students in then honors level science classes or how is that done we make sure that there's a equal number of [03:25:43] slots at the regional fair for students to have equitable participation from all of our base high schools in the county so is doing I guess independent research project is a requirement for someone to be able to participate in the engine science and engineering fair that's typically the gateway I mean there are opportunities for students to do it independently but typically it would be initiated through the classroom content is the first stop. [03:26:12] - So there's no other way? - No, I mean, you can't, there are some other ways to accommodate that, but again, most of the students that are gonna participate in that would start at the classroom level and at the school level fair. - And piece of data I was looking for all yours, you told me that you would need a little more time to get that data to us or to me, is whether you can give me a number of students taking honors level science courses throughout the high schools in the county. [03:26:46] I just want to see whether there is a large range, depending upon scores. I get that TJ may be, since TJ may have many more students taking higher level courses, but I want to see how that's spread. [03:27:02] No, I really appreciate that question, and we'll get that data for you and share it with the full board probably by next week. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Moon. Ms. St. John Cunningham. So thank you I'm really glad to see these programs they're pretty amazing. [03:27:19] I do think we have to have an audit because I know different schools have different programs and there are schools that have been running Odyssey of the Mind for a lot of years and they are supported by PTAs where some title one schools can't have that support. So I think this is a great fit and I know we're talking about everything that we want. [03:27:42] And as someone that has run after school programs, I need to, like, calibrate everyone. A lot of times it's our teachers that volunteer, community members, and you need people that are really committed. I ran an after school program for 10 years at two different schools of a ballet folklorico, and it was run for free, but it took a lot of commitment to do it. [03:28:06] And I had a great dance teacher. And I shouldn't say it was run for free. There was a fee because of the costumes that the kids had to wear. I also ran an after-school program where we had knitting and we had the Healthy Plate Club where kids learned how to eat healthy food and learned about healthy food and actually cooked the food and went home and took the recipes home. [03:28:31] We had chess. We had yoga and mindfulness. All of that was teacher-run, and the funding was very limited. Most of our funding was that we could provide meals to the kids. I know that we say that all things are possible, but a lot of this falls on our teachers and that kind of commitment. [03:28:51] I would love to see this expand, and a lot of what I saw happening in here, I see in some STEAM programs that are integrated into our schools. So that's another thing that maybe we could look at at elementary schools where we can have that. [03:29:09] I mean, not now, pie in the sky, not now, but those STEAM programs, those schools that have those STEAM programs are doing this kind of work every day, and it's part of the rotation for the kids. And the schools where I've seen those STEAM programs be successful, that is the kids, that is their favorite class. [03:29:29] That is the favorite place to be because they are breaking things apart, they're putting them together, they're being creative, they're learning, they're seeing how it works, how it doesn't work. So, that might be one way that we can, in the future, with more funding institutionalize, but it's great to see what is happening and hopefully our funding partners will see the value of this. [03:29:55] Thank you. Thank you, Ms. St. John Cunning. I have some lights on, do we have go backs? And suddenly there were no more lights except for Ms. Anderson. [03:30:11] Thank you, Dr. Eith. Thank you. Agenda item 7, consent agenda. adopted rules of parliamentary procedure roberts rules provide for a consent agenda listing several items for approval of the board by a single motion many items listed have gone through board review and documentation has been provided to all board members and the public in advance items may be removed from the consent agenda at the request of any board member prior to the meeting the consent [03:30:46] agenda is on the screen is there any objection to approving the consent agenda hearing and seeing no objection the consent agenda is approved agenda item number nine number eight new business the following are new business agenda items they will not be voted on uh this evening but action is scheduled at a future meeting agenda item nine board committee reports i call on miss st john cunning for a report from public engagement committee um the public engagement committee met on may 13th the committee discussed updates to the proclamation process the full board will [03:31:24] be voting on the edits at an upcoming regular meeting we look forward to having a streamlined process for this and future boards plans were also shared for the upcoming board member toolkit this will help our incoming board members and staff liaisons onboarding to our community advisory committees with greater efficiency we also had a presentation from the clerk's office with an update to the student leadership program and some great information about the history of of our student representatives on the Fairfax County School Board. [03:31:54] I want to pause here to thank our deputy clerk who has done a lot of work with the student leadership program. And it's something that we're going to be able to rely on and build on. [03:32:09] So the amount of work that he has done is amazing. And I really want to thank him for that. Our next meeting of the Public Engagement Committee will be on June 18th at 1:30 p.m. [03:32:26] - Thank you, Miss St. John Cunning. Agenda item 13, excuse, yeah. Agenda item 12, superintendent matters. I call on Dr. Reed. - Thank you, Chair Frisch. Just wanna, again, as it is Mental Health Awareness Month, thank all our hardworking mental health professionals in the school division for all they do to provide support for our students and one another. [03:32:51] It really does matter. I also want to share some great news that for the 12th time, the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation has honored FCPS as one of the best communities for music education. And for those of you who've had a chance to get out and see some concerts recently, musical theater, and our young soloists this evening, our music is incredible here in Fairfax County. [03:33:18] And just props to all of our educators that support music and our students and families as well. This past week, I had our first inaugural meeting of our military connected youth, and it was a fabulous meeting. [03:33:35] We had about 30 young people from across the county representing each of our high schools, and really had a conversation about the things that matter and the things we could improve in transition for our military connected youth. [03:33:50] We're also working on plans for a summer event where prior to school starting, we can have military youth from around the county get together for a social event and compare notes and network effectively. [03:34:05] And some of our military connected youth are actually gonna plan it. The Louise Archer Elementary School, ribbon cutting was fabulous. And it was so instructive to learn about the history and meet some of the former students who attended Louise Archer. [03:34:23] I also wanna say that Tuesday afternoon, I had the opportunity to go to Robinson Secondary School and meet with a student who's visually impaired to see how he uses his meta AI glasses and really advocate for himself about those being able to be used regularly in school. [03:34:43] So I thank Principal Tracy Phillips for arranging that. And it was a it was a great conversation and have been in multiple schools in the last couple of weeks. But I will say on Tuesday, I finally got all the answers for our boundary work. [03:34:59] I was invited to the geospatial analysis class at Centerville High School and met with students who presented our boundary solutions that they had resolved. So I'll be sharing those with our team. [03:35:15] but it was fabulous to see our students wrestle with boundaries and actually explain to me how they resolved all of that. So I said I really could kind of just begin to relax about that, that the geospatial program and our young people, they're so incredible. [03:35:31] I just am inspired. So I think we've had boundary committee meetings many nights and we have another one tomorrow night. I encourage our community to come out, share feedback, check out the website, the new tool and provide feedback our process will be better with the more feedback we receive so thank you Chairman fresh thank you Dr. Reed it is now time for agenda item number 11 board matters next on the agenda is board matters I will call on each school board member who has requested an [03:36:06] opportunity to speak starting with Miss Marin I did request that the only caveat is if it weren't too late I guess this is not considered too late yeah I just wanted to to tv is the yiddish word about the singer who was here miss utsoko Scoville so she already won the cabbie last year for best vocalist and she's up again this year and she's going to Ithaca College her dream school for musical theater and it was just a super special surprise to see her here I also [03:36:45] just want to share about the exceptional festival I went to the Matsuri Festival at Fox Mill Elementary, which is the Japanese immersion. And it's just so much. It's, you know, culture and dance and food and crafts and art. And we celebrated Endo Sensei, who is retiring after 30 years. And it was really just a wonderful show of community. So other than that, I guess I'll just leave it at that for tonight. I hope people have a meaningful Memorial Day. And we're going to get to the fun parts of the year now. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Marin. [03:37:20] Mr. McDaniel, the wrong name here. Mr. Dunn is not at the table. Ms. Sizemorehizer. [03:37:37] Thank you, and I just appreciate an opportunity to speak because there's a couple of things I really wanted to lift up, and one I wanted to just recognize that we had a proclamation about May's Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, and that is something that's very personal for me, and so I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about that. [03:37:55] My parents both were immigrants from India, and they came here at a time where there weren't a lot of, It was sort of the first wave of immigration from India, and things were not well-known. And so I was born here. Growing up here, sort of the first wave of a culture was not easy. [03:38:13] And it's something I can see with our students right now, you know, trying to bridge these two cultures. So it's really meaningful to me to be the first one in my family to vote. And it's really meaningful to me when my dad came here and he came as a student, learned a whole new culture, and embraced it. [03:38:35] He loved being American. He loved it, from the Giants to the 49ers to the Broncos. I know, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Dr. Reed. Boo, Seattle. He loved Fourth of July. [03:38:50] He loved everything about it, and he instilled that love in me. So the thought of being Asian American and having this beautiful heritage that is now celebrated, that was not understood but is now celebrated, is what makes our country amazing. And so I just had to recognize that. [03:39:07] And I feel very honored, actually, I was kind of shocked when I found this out, but honored to be the first Asian American woman elected to this board. It seems hard to believe that it took that long. And I'm kind of honored and shocked to be the first Indian American person elected to this board. [03:39:23] And that also is kind of shocking that it took that long. But it's a great testament to how great our country is that we have a board that reflects the beautiful cultures and diversities of our community. I also wanted to recognize that this past weekend was the 71st anniversary of Brown versus Board of Education, and that is seminal to making sure that we can provide an equal and excellent opportunity to everybody, and it's important to stop and think about the history that we had in Virginia, where many schools were shut down to avoid integration, and that wasn't that [03:39:59] long ago, and that is a huge disservice to our country, so I think it's important to stop and remember that, and the last thing I want to say is just a congratulations to all the Cappies nominees, because I love theater, and I love seeing so many of these plays, and there's so many Capi's nominees from the Braddock District that I could list all of them and I have all of them here so I'm just gonna start reading them and then my timer goes off that's gonna go off and I cannot wait to celebrate all of you guys because I've seen your plays and your work is incredible so marketing publicity Libby Hanson Fairfax High School much ado about nothing special effects and technology Peyton Morales and a certain special effects crew West Springfield [03:40:38] High School I know my ding up my time will come off soon oh that's it Bella of Molino, Lake Pradix Secondary School, the Trojan Women. With that, go see high school theater next year. It's amazing. Go see middle school theater. It's amazing. Have a great night. You know, they only give us like six seconds to introduce the awards at the Cappies, so you're going to have to figure it out. I've got a whole page and a half. Ms. Seizmerheiser. [03:41:00] Ms. Lady. Thank you. I too just want to uplift all of those who have served our country. I am a daughter of a father who served our country and a brother who served our country, So as we approach Memorial Day, I am unbelievably grateful for those relatives of mine and also everyone who has fought for our freedom. We are the freest country and I'm very grateful for those who fought and come before us. I also wanted to talk about the fact that last week I attended [03:41:36] National Police Week. I work every year with kids who were killed in the line of duty and also uplift the counselors that i've recruited from fergus county that help support that endeavor and the fact that we have a lot of giveaways for the kids who come to the program and ended up with a surplus of school supply type items that i was able to deliver to hutchinson elementary one of my title one schools to help those students backpacks color pencils notebooks things like that so it was special to be able to bring those items to them earlier this week graduation is fast approaching i want to give congratulations not just all of our students but to all of our school [03:42:14] counselors for getting through ap testing um i know what a labor of love that is i know how hard it is for the kids to study and prepare um and i know everyone's blessed and glad that's behind them i wish all of our students well if they prep for and take the sol tests and final exams the next few weeks and i also want to wish the best of luck to all my schools for competing in district and state championships i want to congratulate the winners of the international science and engineering fair awards from tj high school alvar wang first place in energy from langley high school bennett wang and jason pan first place in environmental engineering and from mclean high [03:42:52] school chloe giglio fourth place in biomedical and health sciences we also have several drainsville national merit scholarship winners from langley high school amy key vishwa rakasi and john wu from mclean high school rachel no and from tj hsst sophia wang sophia lee lynn phoebe pon and and Patrick Shi. [03:43:13] Also congratulations to Emily Flores Hinojosa from Marshall High School who received the Latinos Unidos Hispanic Leadership Alliance Scholarship presented by the Hispanic Leadership Alliance. Finally, I wanna congratulate the Duranes with finalists of the Ferris County 2025 Fairfax Area High School Shark Tank Technology Challenge. [03:43:32] Second place, Artisan to Alan Wang from McLean High School. Third place, Gateway, Jasmine Ma from TJ and Jaden Saran and Sophia Zhang from Lene High School and honorable mentions, Krishay Tavari from Langley High School, Erron Rathour and Sean Miles from McLean High School and Chinsey Zhu from TJ. [03:43:53] And again, like my colleague, congratulate all of the nominees for the Caffys. I look forward to being there on June 2nd to honor those students. And yes, if you don't see high school theater, please get up and do it next year. And finally, I echo my colleagues and remarks shared earlier expressing my condolences to Cathy and the Conley family on the passing of congressman jerry connelly republican representative connelly was a pillar of the ferris county community serving over three decades in public service on the ferris county's board of supervisors and in congress his leadership will be sorely missed and finally my [03:44:26] contolences to all my jewish friends related to the tragic murders that took place last night outside the jewish museum my heart goes out to you my prayers are with you i'm sorry that this took place. Thank you, Ms. Leidy. Mr. Moon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was not going to speak until, until Roshna Seismar Heiser, Braddock District's school board member, inspired me to share something about my parents. I was the, I'm the first Asian American to be elected [03:45:06] in Fairfax County. Unlike perhaps your parents, my parents struggled quite a bit living here in the U.S. Didn't have language skills, never had language skills until they died. [03:45:25] They didn't have language skills. They were not educated in their own country. They came here for the better future of their children. Their American dream was to send their three children to college and they did achieve their American dream. Me being the first in my family to go to college and both of my younger sisters they went to college so they achieved american dream by their three children achieving their american dream of going to college as well [03:46:05] thank you thank you mr moon dr anderson thank you i would be remiss if i didn't talk about my wonderful event yesterday that i attended i had the pleasure of going to the early identification program or eip graduation last evening at george mason university for those who are not aware the eip is a multi-year college prep program for first generation college students when student i'm sorry whoops emails and it is a collaborative effort between fcps and george [03:46:44] mason and it includes a host of northern virginia schools prince william arlington etc THE PROGRAM PROVIDES YEAR-ROUND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT, PERSONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE STUDENTS, AS WELL AS SCHOLARSHIPS. [03:47:03] ONE OF THE STUDENTS WHO WAS PART OF THE PROGRAM FROM FALL SCHERCH HIGH SCHOOL WAS THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER YESTERDAY, WHICH WAS FANTASTIC TO SEE HER IN THAT LIGHT. AND STUDENTS ALSO HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY TO THE PROGRAM. I WANT TO SHARE THIS POINT BECAUSE A LOT OF PARENTS DON'T KNOW THAT THIS PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE. [03:47:21] and when it becomes available. They are looking to grow the program, Dr. Reed. The interim director mentioned yesterday she wants to grow the program to 1,600, which is nearly doubling it. And so I'm looking to see if we can also double our participation, because looking at the list yesterday, Arlington is beating us, and we're way larger than they are. [03:47:45] But students do have the opportunity to apply for the program at the end of their seventh grade year after a recommendation from their school counselor or any other adult EIP is implemented in 13 of our schools and seven of those are in the Mason district Glasgow Holmes Jackson Poe and Annandale Falls Church and Justice high schools I'm really looking forward to seeing that program grow it is fantastic in terms of its preparation for the students and they spend so much time on the George Mason campus that being in college makes it it's almost old hat they [03:48:20] are very very prepared and not only are the students committed to the program their parents have to be as well during the ceremony that is a pledge that is that is shared by both groups separately in terms of how they're going to be supportive of their students I also had the pleasure of attending an impressive performance of Annie at Bailey's upper elementary recently I think Mr. Moon you went on another day and it was terrific to see those very young people be so technically savvy because they were also served as the crew and I learned that the equipment that they were working to do the sound [03:49:00] and the lights etc are very similarly very similar to the equipment that is used on Broadway yes their director is a former I want to say Marshall High school director who came down to the elementary school so Annie was not only well acted but it was just really well produced by our students so thank you for providing us with the opportunity to be there and lastly i want to give some kudos to the justice rowing team they were incredible at the state championship earlier this month with seven boats competing and congratulations [03:49:39] of the state champion women's junior quad an alliance kate shank chloe burnasconi and brooke iman jones we wish the best of luck to the women's junior quad and the men's senior quad and the women's senior double as they compete in nationals this weekend also want to say congratulations and i won't read all their names because there are 32 recipients students who are recipients of the hispanic leadership alliance scholarships that were awarded earlier this weekend and last but not least the [03:50:15] VMEA the Blue Ribbon Award which is the highest award given to school music programs in the Commonwealth to qualify for this award each school's band or chorus or orchestra must receive a final rating of superior at the VMEA district concert performance assessment I'm very happy to declare that Annandelle High School Glasgow Middle School and Justice Middle School were all recipient of this wonderful achievement um have a wonderful memorial day weekend and thank you thank you dr anderson mr dunn thank you uh you know watching the debate on the school board [03:50:51] sometimes can seem messy like watching mom and dad fight but what i what i really respect and admire about all my colleagues is the common dedication to our school our children and our communities and so just because we disagree doesn't mean uh you know we don't share those common commitments and values. I regret to share that Edison High School lost a beloved teacher in a tragic accident on Fry and Pole Road during last year's severe thunderstorm. She was a dedicated teacher who will be deeply missed and my condolences are with the teacher's family and the entire Edison High School community. Congratulations to the Mount Vernon District [03:51:27] School CAPI nominees, Edison High School for Peter Pan and Wendy, South County High School for A Course Line and Hayfield High School for Crazy for You. We're so fortunate to have such talented theater programs in our schools, and good luck to all the nominees. Congratulations also to the Mount Vernon High School Boys Track Team for winning the National District Track Championship. Good luck at regionals and states. Congratulations also to Hayfields Boys Lacrosse for winning the National District Lacrosse Championship and pouring rain no less. Congratulations also to Saratoga Elementary School PTA President Chesapeake [03:52:01] Dalrymple, pronounced Dalrymple, so I did that completely wrong, following in the chair. So she was selected as a 2024-2025 Virginia PTA Volunteer of the Year. I was thrilled to join the Fairfax Federation to celebrate the incredible Karen Corbett-Sanders, my predecessor, at last weekend's 2025 Citizen of the Year banquet, where she received a special gratitude award. [03:52:26] I was also excited to speak to the South County Federation recently about the FCPS budget and the impact of potential federal impact aid. Finally, I was pleased to meet with leaders of the new Gum Springs Civic Association and Gum Springs Community Center Advisory Board. [03:52:43] I thank them for inviting me to discuss and receive their input regarding the comprehensive school boundary process. Finally, I want to remind everyone that there are many community meetings coming up regarding the comprehensive school boundary review. There's one tomorrow at Lewis High School at 7 p.m. There's also one at Whitman Middle School next week on May 29th. [03:53:03] I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day, and thank you to all the veterans. and their families who have protected our country for more than 200 years. Thank you, Mr. Dunn. Ms. Dixit. I just want to be very brief. I wanted to just wish everybody an Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. [03:53:23] As a proud member of the AAPI community, I invite you to please join me to celebrate the rich history, contribution, and culture of the AAPI community here at FCPS for West County and rest of the country. I ALSO WANTED TO SAY GOODBYE AND CONGRATULATION TO MS. [03:53:43] SIMINSKI. THIS IS HER LAST MEETING WITH US, BOARD MEETING, AND WE WILL MISS YOU MENTALLY. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND THE WONDERFUL WORK YOU HAVE DONE SO FAR. SO THANK YOU, EVERYONE. HAVE A WONDERFUL MEMORY DAY. [03:53:59] THANK YOU, MS. DIXET. AND BEFORE EVERYBODY ASKS FOR TIME AGAIN, I THINK WE ALL SHARE THAT SENTIMENT, MS. SIMINSKI. THANK YOU. MS. busy couple of weeks and I have enjoyed visiting schools and attending amazing school theater performances and award ceremonies, celebrating our incredible staff and students and engaging in different community meetings. As the end of the school year is upon us, I'm looking forward to attending graduations and transition ceremonies, celebrating the accomplishments of our class of 2025 graduates and celebrating [03:54:37] teachers, the staff that got them there. And I will also I wish all the students the best of luck as they finish their school year. I do want to mention that it has been a tough month for two of my school communities so I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the tragic student losses that we've had at both South County High School and Robinson Secondary School. I send my deepest condolences to these families and school communities touched by these tragedies and I encourage all of us to be careful on the roads. Thank you Miss Anderson. [03:55:09] Most politicians take themselves far too seriously, not Jerry Connolly. That's not to say he was unserious. On the contrary, he took his work representing us in Washington very serious. But he did it with a sense of humor and an unmistakable joy that filled every room he entered. [03:55:27] You could always count on him for a perfectly timed quip during a stuffy meeting, especially if another politician was talking, or a knowing wink to make sure you heard what he heard the way he heard it. It was an incredible education being Jerry's school board member over the past six years and his neighbor over the last two. [03:55:51] How to persevere, how to center constituents in the work, how to marry pragmatism with progress. He made public service feel both purposeful and human. What a gift it was to learn from him and what a loss for all of us who had the privilege of knowing him. [03:56:09] For members of the community who would like to join us, the school board will be offering a proclamation honoring his lifetime of service to Fairfax County at our regular meeting on Thursday, June 12th, 7 p.m. here at Luther Jackson. Earlier this month, I had an opportunity to attend the Shark Tank Technology Challenge Recognition Ceremony with Miss Anderson, which was really cool. And I wanted to congratulate our students from McLean High School, Aryan Rather, who's also providence district resident who earned an honorable mention for the team's project chat [03:56:47] which was a mobile device aimed at reducing social isolation among senior citizens so very incredible work there i also attended the hispanic leadership alliance 20th anniversary scholarship reception with several of my colleagues very excited that three providence district residents katia marquez martinez from oakton bread garcia from falls church and heidi arze from marshall high school are recipients i also attended over the last several weeks many middle and high school and even elementary school musical theater productions and though the curtain has closed on this year's productions at the high school level uh you can still see great theater at our [03:57:26] middle schools for a couple more weeks um in providence district kilmer middle is hosting kilmer broadway desserts on may 30th and thoreau middle is doing something rotten which is a great show may 30th 31st and june 1st and they're doing the advanced theater act ones on june 5th so i highly encourage folks to attend i also attended this week's student leadership development program mock school board work session this is a program that mr mckelveen brought back to the board and i can't wait to see how it grows in the years to come because our kids are exceptional [03:58:04] and it was wonderful watching all of the students participate in the same types of things that we do as school board members thinking through proposals arguing for their proposal taking into consideration people's amendments voting up and down on things so it was great watching and i appreciated um mira karnick my providence district student for her participation in the meeting i would also give shout outs to all of the vmea students and blue ribbon and national merit scholar winners but finally i am the only thing once again standing between [03:58:42] us and the rest of our evenings so at 11 13 and 49 seconds this meeting is adjourned ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coraggio Consulting ยท aguyonx.com