Prince William County School Board Meeting - January 7, 2026

001All right. At this time, I'd like to call the Prince William County School Board meeting to order. Before we move to the approval agenda, I need a motion to amend the meeting agenda by moving item 18.02 under board matters to occur during thriving futures focus. Uh, Vice Chair Blake. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that the Prince William County School Board amend the meeting agenda by moving item 18.02 under board matters to occur during Thriving Futures Focus. Do >> I have a second? >> Chair, Miss Williams. >> Miss Williams. Second. Um, any discussion? Please vote. All in favor, raise your hand. Okay. Any opposed? Motion passes unanimously. >> Vote is seven yes, one absinate. Vote. Tradition. Motion passed. >> Yep. Yep. Okay. Good. Uh, motion now in order for the approval of the meeting

002agenda as amended. Vice Chair Blake. >> Thank you. I move that the Prince William County School Board approve the meeting agenda as amended. >> Do I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, >> Miss Zarapore. I second. >> Any discussion? Please vote. Everybody, hands in the air. Sorry. >> Vote is seven yes, one absinate. Vote Dennic. Motion passed. >> Okay. Moving on to motion to enter close session. A motion is order. Vice chair Blake. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that pursuant to sections 2.2-3711 and 2.2-3712 of the code of Virginia, the Prince William County School Board enter close session for the following reasons. One to discuss with staff the assignment, appointment, promotions, performance, demotions, salaries, disciplining or resignation of specific public officers, appointees or employees of any public body pursuant to section 2.2-3711A1 2-3711A1

003of the code of Virginia and two to discuss with division council and staff actual or probable litigation in specific legal matters involving staff, students and other civil litigation involving the school division under sections 2.2-3711A7 2-3711A7 and 8 of the code of Virginia and three to consult with division council regarding specific legal matters involving schoolboard regulation 801-2 and the use of schoolboard property at Gainesville High School pursuant to sections 2.2-3711 2-3711 A8 of the code of Virginia and four to discuss and receive briefings by staff members related to the security and school facilities, the safety of persons using such facilities and actions taken to respond to such matters where discussion and open meetings would jeopardize the security of such facilities pursuant to section 2.2-3711A19 of the code of Virginia. >> Do I have a second? Mr.

004Chairman, I second. >> Miss Wall seconds. Any discussion? All in favor, vote with your hands in the air. >> Vote a seven yes, one not present, vote. Tradenic. Motion passed. >> All right. And at this time, the Prince William County School Board will enter close session, return in approximately 1 hour. Good evening. Good evening and welcome to the very first meeting of the Prince William County School Board for the year 2026. I'd like to welcome you all here. We're going to reconvene in open session and we have a couple of action items we need to take care of. A motion is in order for 7.01 close session certification. Mr. Blake. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that pursuant to section 2.2-3712 2-3712 of the code of Virginia, the closed session of the Prince William

005County School Board meeting of January 7th, be certified by adopting the following resolution. Now therefore be it resolved that the Prince William County School Board hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge one only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirements were discussed in closed se closed meeting to which this certification resolution applies and two only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard and discussed or considered by the school board. Do I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, >> Miss Zarap, >> I second. >> Okay, any discussion? All in favor, raise your hands. Tonight, we're doing hand vote. We're >> vote is 8. Yes. Unanimous. Motion passed. >> Our system is struggling a little bit. Okay, very good. Uh, moving on

006to close session action item 8.01, approval, appointments, and releases. Uh, Vice Chair Blake, >> Mr. Chairman, I move that the Prince William County School Board approve the appointments and releases of specific employees as presented in the close session. Do I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, >> Miss Wall, I second. >> Any discussion? All in favor, raise your hand. >> Vote is eight. Yes. Unanimous. Motion passed. >> Okay. At this time, we will do the pledge of allegiance. Tonight, we have our student representative, Karina Grover of Kan High School to lead us in the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Okay, thank you. Okay, so um couple things

007uh housekeeping matters. This is our normal um once a year we do an organizational meeting. So, we'll have a number of votes on commit committee assignments and the new vice chair. Um, before we go on, this is uh vice chair Blake's last meeting as vice chair and I want to personally thank him uh for a terrific year. He has been a great team member. He has stood in for me at a number of my meetings and events across the county and has done so with distinction and I truly appreciate it. His partnership and commitment to our schools and his collaboration has been above anything I've seen before and I really appreciate it. His highly focused commitment to children and their learning has been a great asset to the school board and our schools and his

008commitment to the NABSCO district has been unrivaled and wellreceived. Thank you, Mr. Blake. Let's give him a round of applause. Thank you. Okay, now we're moving on to Thriving Futures Focus. But before we do that, I um uh have a motion for an agenda item 18.02 uh which we moved in our um schedule up to this point. And so at this point um I would like to have that motion. Oh no, hold on here. Here. Am I supposed to read all this other? Okay, before we do this, so we're going to have a motion, but thriving futures focus is an opportunity to highlight our exemplary work being accomp accomplished in our schools that fulfill our vision that every student will graduate on time with the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind necessary to create a

009thriving future for themselves and their community. We dedicate this time during our meetings to recognize students, staff members, and schools that have earned an honor and award at the state or national level. Before we do our na our thriving futures focus for this evening, we do have something special. We want to recognize our flag football champions. We'll be doing that and and I'd like to have an a motion uh agenda item 18.02 from um Erica Treenick of the Brensville District. Okay. So, we're putting forth a resolution supporting the permanent adoption and expansion of girls flag football in Prince William County Public Schools. You >> want me to go ahead and read the >> Yeah. Why don't you read the recommendation? I move. Yeah. >> Oh, I'm sorry. I don't have that. >> Yeah. Okay. >>

010I don't have it. >> I move that Prince William County School Board approve the resolution supporting the permanent adoption and expansion of girls flag football in Prince William County Public Schools. >> Uh would you like to read the whole motion tonight? >> Would you like me to? >> I think so. >> Okay. >> Yeah, I think we should as part of our effort this evening. Yes, please. >> All right. Whereas the Prince William County School Division celebrates the successful completion of its inaugural girls flag football season in the fall of 2025. And whereas participation in the first season was robust with 12 of the 13 of the division's 13 high schools, Battlefield, Brensville District, Charles J. Kan Senior, Forest Park, Freedom, Gainesville, Garfield, Osborne Park, Patriot, PTOIC, Unity Reed, and Woodbridge fielding teams and engaging

011female student athletes from every grade level. And whereas girls flag football is one of the fastest growing high school sports for girls nationally with the National Federation of State High School Associations reporting a 60% increase in participation between 2023 and 24 and 24 and 25 school years. Nearly 60,000 girls taking the field and almost 1,000 additional schools nationwide offering the sport. And whereas the expansion of opportunities exclusively for female athletes is essential for advancing wellness, leadership, and academic engagement. As research consistently shows that girls who participate in school athletics demonstrate higher confidence, stronger community connection, improved academic performance and increased likelihood of pursuing leadership paths. And whereas increasing athletic opportunities for girls directly supports the goals of Title Nine, helping close gaps in participation rates and ensuring that young women receive equal access to school

012sponsored sports, funding, facilities, and coaching. And whereas the Prince County School Board recognizes that athletics play a critical role in empowering girls and young women, especially in historically male-dominated sports, and that girls flag football provides a unique inclusive avenue for girls to develop physical strength, teamwork, discipline, resilience, and competitive skills that will serve them throughout life. And whereas the Washington Commanders, the region's NFL team have invested over 1 million in supporting the growth of girls flag football across the DMV, including the provision of uniforms, equipment, and partnership resources that have strengthened the opportunities for female student athletes in Prince William County. And whereas the school board extends gratitude to Superintendent Dr. Latana McDade for initiating the county's first season and for her leadership in collaborating with community partners to ensure the program's success. And whereas

013the board also thanks all student athletes, coaches, volunteers, parents, and families for contributing to an inaugural season that was historic, inspiring, and remarkably successful. Now therefore, be it resolved that Prince William County School Board one formally supports and recommends that girls flag football be adopted as a permanent girls fall sport across all high schools in Prince William County, and two, directs that the school division fund girls flag football consistent with all other sports at every high school, ensure compliance with Title 9, and provide female athletes with appropriate facilities, resources, coaching, and competitive opportunities. and three, we'll issue a formal request to the Virginia High School League advocating for girls flag football to be recognized as an official VHSL sanctioned sport for all high schools across the Commonwealth of Virginia. And four, we'll send a letter

014to the Virginia Board of Education urging them to support VHSL's establishment of girls flag football as an official statewide sport and to emphasize the importance of expanding athletic opportunities for female student athletes. and five declares full legislative support for efforts to secure statewide recognition of girls flag football as an official VHSL sport and commits to advocating for policies, investments, and partnerships that elevate and expand opportunities for female athletes. and six declares the continued growth of flag girls flag football is a vital step towards advancing equal opportunity for girls in sports empowering young women through sport and ensuring that female athletes of Prince William County receive the recognition access and support they deserve. >> Do I have a second >> Mr. Chairman? >> Miss Wallen. >> I second. >> Okay, great. Any discussion? Please vote and

015then we'll do our lunch and private futures. All in favor? >> Vote is eight yes. Unanimous. Motion pass. >> Standing. Let's give that a round of applause. >> All right, folks. In addition to developing app and approving the resolution, the school board is honored this evening in our thriving futures focus to acknowledge the Brensville District High School girls flag football team for winning the inaugural flag football championship. I invite Miss Treenic of the Brentville District to introduce our champions. Miss Treenic. >> Thank you, Dr. Latif. This year, as mentioned in the resolution, Prince William County Public Schools did something truly special. We launched girls flag football as a new club sport, opening the door for students to try something new, compete, and lead in ways that did not exist before. In our very first season,

01612 of our 13 high schools stepped up and fielded teams, showing just how much interest and enthusiasm there was across the division. That excitement was matched by incredible support. Earlier this year, Prince William County Schools partnered with the Washington Commanders to introduce girls to the sport through clinics held in January and May. In August, the Commanders announced a major commitment to girls flag football across our region by providing uniforms, equipment, and resources that helped our programs get off the ground in a meaningful way. The season kicked off in unforgettable fashion at the Commander Indoor practice facility in Ashurn where four Prince William County schools, Battlefield, Brentville District, Garfield, and Osborne Park took the field for the very first matchups. From that moment on, it was clear that was something special. Throughout the season, every team

017competed with energy, sportsmanship, and pride. The semi-finals and championships games were played in Prince William County and the Brensville District High School Tigers claimed the inaugural championship title. We are proud to have Brensville District High School represented here tonight by the principal coaches and the team. At this time, I invite Dr. Katherine Mes to share a few words about the historic season and to introduce our Brunsville District High School award-winning coaches and student athletes. And I think we're actually going to have Coach Baltimore do that instead. >> Yes, >> Coach Baltimore. First of all, I'd like to thank God for giving me the opportunity and these coaches to coach this great bunch of ladies here. It was it it was just awesome. I want to thank you all for all that you do for allowing

018us to have the girls flag football. I want to thank the commanders for all that they did in support for the girls flag football team. I want to thank my coaches who done an excellent job of working with these ladies and also I want to thank all the teams who participated in this year's flag football season. Um all I can say is it was a pleasure. We enjoyed it. These ladies when when we first started I didn't know how we were going to do. I said we're the smallest team. We had 17 girls come out and I was hearing remarks, oh, Woodbridge has 65, this had this and that. So, I'm like, oh, how we gonna compete? But we have a great group of young ladies who worked very hard and they showed why we

019were the best in Prince William County. And uh I owe it all to you ladies. And I want to thank all of you for all your hard work, all that you do, because you really deserve being champions. >> And so, thank you. >> Coach, did you want to introduce your coaches? And then I'll have each of the students just announce their names. They can come up to the mic if they wish. >> This is uh coach Mike Tingen and Coach Larry Burke. and seniors. >> I want to start with my seniors. Yeah. >> Seniors, come on up. >> I'm Natalie Marvin. >> Oh, yeah. Tell us your position, too. Why not? >> And if you're a senior or junior, if you're going to do this again next year. >> I'm a senior. My name is

020Natalie Marvin, and I was the quarterback. >> All right. >> I want to say something real quick. All these girls did an excellent job. She was the best player in Prince William County. Natalie Marvin, >> I'm a senior. My name is Aubrey Urban and I was a wide receiver. >> Um, I'm a senior. My name is Riley Kums and I was a slot receiver. >> I'm a senior. I'm Ava Garza and I was a slot receiver. I'm Payton. I was a senior and I was a wide receiver. >> I'm Kylie. I was a senior and I was uh out for the season cuz I broke my finger. >> Uh I'm a junior. My name is Sammy. I was a wide receiver and a cornerback. >> I'm Millie. I was a junior and I was a

021sub. >> I'm Celeste Calabriate and I was second center. I'm a sophomore. I'm Gemma Orlando and I was wide receiver. >> I'm a sophomore. My name's Ashby Choy and I was defensive rusher. >> I'm Daniela Espinosa. I'm a sophomore and oh, and I'm a defensive rusher. >> I'm Reagan Toms. I'm a sophomore and I was center. >> I'm Elise Johnson and I was a defensive blocker. >> I'm Ava Martin. I'm a freshman and I'm a defensive rusher. >> I'm Carly West. I'm a freshman and I was a defensive rusher. >> Um, I'm Madison. I'm a freshman and I was a rusher. >> Let's give them another round of applause. >> Well, thank you, coach, and congratulations to the coaches and players. You have something else to say, coach? >> Oh, okay. Thank you. this and

022thank you for inviting us here. This this is very special. We want to thank you again for having us. >> Wonderful. I want to thank all those involved in supporting these state champ our our county champions including the family members, teachers and staff in the back to please stand to be recognized. All of our parents who did everything to help these lovely student athletes. Congratulations again. And um and I think I hope and I hope with our resolution we can convince the rest of the state to adopt this as a statewide um sport and you'll be here next year as state champions. Let's do it. Um Dr. McDade, >> thank you Dr. Latif. Congratulations to our players, our coaches, our administration, um to the Brinsville District girls flag football team. You are trailblazers. You are

023history makers. you have set the standard for other young girls to come behind you and be able to see what is possible. So, we are PWCS proud and congratulations on this incredible accomplishment. You had an extraordinary season and of course your proud uh Brinsville District board member made sure everyone followed you. Uh job well done. Congratulations. So at at this time I'd like to request our honores to come forward to receive a token of our appreciation. Take a picture with the school board please. Oh, their photographer is going to be right in the middle, right? Well, maybe he'll step out so all the parents can get one. >> Yeah. I know that's good. Let's do it again. your phone. I don't say it. Absolutely. Thank you. Mr. Oh yeah, we should put this very little

024Okay. And thank you everyone for allowing us to do that. Really exciting. Um we will now move on to the organizational meeting. A motion is in order for 11.01. Approval of the annual organization meeting agenda. Vice Chair Blake. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that the Prince William County School Board approve the annual organization meeting agenda as recommended. >> Do I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, >> Miss Williams, >> I second. >> Any discussion? >> Okay, please vote by showing your hand. All in favor? >> Organizational meeting. Right. >> Vote is eight. Yes. Unanimous. Motion pass. >> Okay. Moving on. Nomination vice chair. Motion is in order. Uh Mr. Vice Chair Blake. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that the Prince William County School Board elect Mr. Richard Jesse as vice chair

025for 2026. >> Do I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, >> Miss Williams, >> I have a second. >> Any discussion? Please vote by showing your hands. >> Thank you. >> Vote is 8. Yes, unanimous. Motion passed. >> Thank you. Moving on to 11:03. A motion in order for the clerk appointment. Um should we Who wants to do that? You want to read it again? >> You want to wrap up for tonight or do you want to go? I >> Okay, you're on 11.03. Clerk appointment. Motion's in order. >> I move that Prince County School Board to appoint Laura Mills as clerk of the Prince County School Board for 2026 2026. The salary for the clerk shall be as currently budgeted. >> Do I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, >> Miss Williams. Any discussion?

026Please vote. >> Vote is eight. Yes, unanimous. Motion passed. >> Moving on to 11.04. Vice Chair Jesse. >> I move that the Prince Williamian County School Board appoints an Anna Udite as the deputy clerk of the Prince William County School Board for 2026. The salary for the deputy clerk shall be as currently budgeted. >> Do we have a second, >> Mr. Chairman? >> Miss Williams. >> I second. >> Okay. Any discussion? Please vote. Oh, yep. M >> I just wanted to say because I forgot to say for our clerk appointment of how much I appreciate you ladies and all the work that you do for the board. So thank you for coming back and supporting us in the ways that you do because most people I'm not sure are aware we don't have staff so

027we depend a lot on you to help us do our job. So thank you. >> I think that's a ditto from the rest of the board. All in favor? I >> vote is eight. Yes, unanimous. Motion passed. >> Moving on to 11.05. Uh Mr. Vice Chair Jesse, >> I move the Prince County School Board requires a corporate certity bond of $10,000 for the clerk and the deputy clerk to the school board condition upon the faithful performance and discharge of their duties with the premium for this bond to be paid for by the school board. >> Do I have a second, >> Mr. Chairman? >> Miss Williams. Second. in um any discussion, please vote. Signify with your hand, please. Thank you. >> Vote is 8 yes, unanimous. Motion passed. >> Okay. Um next up, 11.06. Mr.

028Jesse, >> I move the Prince William County School Board establish the location of its regular school board meetings at 14715 Bristol Road, Masses, Virginia, which has typically held on the first and third Wednesday of the month, January through June and September through December. meetings shall convene at the 6 pm and immediately following the approval of the agenda, the school board will enter close session until 700 p.m. at which time the public meetings will resume. Adjustment to the meeting calendars are made to accommodate schedule, holidays, spring breaks, and annual Virginia School Board Association conferences as necessary. >> Do I have a second, >> Mr. Chairman? Miss Williams. Second. >> Any discussion? Please vote by signifying with your hand in support. >> Vote is 8. Yes. Unanimous. Motion passed. >> On to 11.707. Mr. Jesse, >> I

029move that Dr. Carol Fenard, deputy superintendent, be appointed as a designate of the division superintendent to attend meetings of the school board in absence or inability of the superintendent to attend through December 31st, 2026. >> Um, do I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, >> Mr. Blake. >> I second. >> Any discussion? Please vote. >> Vote is eight. Yes, unanimous. Motion passed. >> Okay. Next. 11.08. Mr. Vice Chair Jesse. >> I move that Prince County School Board approve the appointment for organizational committees as follow continue. Number one, continue membership of V Virginia School Board Association for 2026. to elect Le Lisa Zagur to serve as a de delegate to the Virginia School Board Association annual convention in Wesbury, Virginia in November 2026. Three, elect Dr. Barbara Latif to serve as alternate to the Virginia School

030Board Associated Annual Convention in Williambury, Virginia in November 2026. Four, appoint Lori Williams to serve as a representative to the National Alliance of Black School Educators for 2026. Five, appoint Tracy Burke and Jennifer Walls to serve to serve as representative to the Prince County School Joint Audit Committee for 2026. Six, appoint Barbara Latif to serve as alternate to the Prince County School Joint Audit Committee for 2026. Seven, appoint Richard Jesse to serve as a representative on preschool policies council for 2026. Eight, appoint Jennifer Wall and Lori Williams to serve a representative on the school student school health advisory board for 2026. Nine. Appoint Erica Strandenic and Lisa Zager to serve as representative on the Safe School Advisory Council for 2026. 10. Appoint Barbara Latif, Tracy Blake, and Jennifer Walls to serve as representative to the

031Prince William Internal Audit Committee for 2026. and 11 appoint Jesse to serve as alternate to the Prince William County School internal audit committee for 2026. And 12, appoint Justin Wils, Tracy Blake, and Lisa Zager to serve on the school board dismay committee for 2026. 13. Appoint Lori Williams, Tracy Blake, and Richard Jesse to serve as alternates on the school board disciplinary committee for 2026. Alternate. Um, do I have a second? >> I second. >> Okay. Any discussion? Please vote signifying you're up. Any opposition? Okay, >> Dr. Latif, there's one correction. Um, the script incorrectly has that um the schoolboard disciplinary committee alternates should be Williams, Wall, and Jesse. >> Okay, >> so Williams, Wall, and Jesse. So, let's fix that. Please revote then. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Okay. All right. >> All right.

032Eight yes, unanimous. Motion passed. Excellent. Adoption of consent agenda. Uh so anyway, that wraps up the annual organization meeting. We're moving on to 12.01. Adoption of consent agenda. I invite Mr. Jesse to make this motion as well. >> I move that Prince County School Board approve the public meeting consent agenda as recommended. >> Do I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, I second. >> Miss Williams. Um any discussion? Please vote. All in favor? Raise your hands. >> Eight. Yes. unanimous. Motion passed. >> Okay. And then uh moving on to acknowledgements recognitions. Mr. Jesse, >> I move that Prince William County School Board approve the acknowledgement and recognitions that recommended. >> Do I have a second? >> Mr. Chairman, >> Miss Williams, >> I second. >> Any discussion? >> Mr. Chairman. >> Yep. >> Since this

033is our first meeting of the year of 2026, I'd just like to remind our public, viewing public, those in the audience, that we typically do these um acknowledgements and recognitions for the month upcoming. These are all January um because by the end of the year people are confused why we're so ahead of time but um typically it's for the month I'm coming. We have a lot of um a lot of them to celebrate this year and I know that next week I think it is is principal appreciation and we also have crossing guard appreciation day this month. So I just wanted to call those out. Thank you Mr. Chairman >> Mapore. >> Yeah. I just want to make sure everyone uh knows about uh January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. It's an important topic

034because we do have human trafficking here in Prince William County. Um there are lots of resources through our police department, the Department of Homeland Security, uh that work with um locally to help our communities. So, uh take a look at our resolution here and um go ahead and look at uh information online about how to prevent human trafficking and also how what to do if you if you um have someone in your life who's affected by it. Thank you. >> Please vote. Signify with your hand. >> The vote is seven yes, one abstained. Tradenic. Motion passed. >> Okay. Moving on now to citizen comment time. Those citizens who signed up in advance with the clerk may address the school board this evening when they are called to the podium. The citizen comment period for a

035regular schoolboard meeting is 1 hour and citizens may speak on agenda items or other topics derain to the operations and policies of Prince William County Schools. Please use proper decorum and manners while at the podium or you'll be asked to step aside. We ask that the audience please be respectful of each speaker and refrain from any clapping, cheering or jeering to avoid disruption of the meeting. If you do not do do so, the board will recess and I'll ask the room to be cleared to restore public order. Tonight we have 30 citizens signed up to speak. When I call your name, please come up to the podium and state your name and address. For the record, per policy 134, the time allotted for each speaker um is 2 minutes. Uh we have changed the um

036time the clock. There's a clock there. I think there's something at the podium as well. And um you'll see the green and the yellow and the red. Um as per usual, um I'll call the first five folks up if they want to come up to the front. There's seats up front to sit. This will be the order for the first five. Tama Henden, uh, Ceal McDaniel, Blake Hera, Anna Reyes, Anna Robels, Tama Henden. Good evening, esteemed board members, colleagues, and community members. I am Tama Hend, and my address is on file. Thank you for the opportunity to address you this evening concerning the county's redistricting plan affecting PTOIC View Elementary School. I outline supporting research-based information in emails sent to you this week. I hope you take the time to read them. My intent is

037to impart information. So, let's talk about the facts. Facts not in dispute. PTOIC View is closing and its entire student population will be assigned to the new Woodbridge Area Elementary School. The staff both certified and classified are not assigned to the new school nor any other school at this time. Let me reiterate the staff are not moving to the new school despite the fact that the entire student population is in the final promoting class. There are 34 students who've attended PVES since preK and kindergarten. 33 are eligible for VAS and 32 have passed them. That's a 97% pass rate. A significant percentage of the staff that taught their taught these scholars are present educators in the building today. The only fact in dispute is the reason for the staff being dispersed throughout the district and

038is based in exactly which students will attend the desired uh and the desire to develop a new school culture at WES. The proposal presented this evening can be interpreted as the movement of only PVES students for the 2627 school year with additional students added in 2728. For your edification between retirements and the participate teacher tenures, military and life events, a minimum of 33% of the staff will not be returning to the district. The decision made by the board would be the precedent for opening new facilities moving forward. a task I know you do not take lightly. >> Thank you, Miss Henry. >> Thank you. >> Um, next up, Cecile McDaniel. >> My name is Cesley McDaniel. I'm a PWCS parent and a PTCO president at Patty Elementary. My address is on file with the clerk.

039First, I want to thank Dr. Carlage, the planning team, and the superintendent's office for being responsive to my emails and questions throughout this process. Thank you to Justin Wilk for attending both town halls and listening to your constituents. I'm very grateful to be represented by you. Since November 14th, I've spent countless hours talking with families, asking questions, and trying to find answers. Patty families showed up strong at both town halls, and provided meaningful feedback. Scenario 6 addresses a lot of those concerns. It maintains walkability for established neighborhoods, respects geographic proximity, preserves parent involvement investment, and was responsive to the majority of feedback when feasible. While my concerns about the process remain, I do support scenario six as a reasonable path moving forward. But I'm heartbroken for our Forest Park and Grayson Village families who bear

040the brunt of these changes in our school. I know Patty Panthers will benefit from and be a vital part of whatever community they're in. They're resilient and amazing. But that doesn't make this easy. Reassigning 2,660 students means losing the teachers who know their learning styles, the staff who greet them by name, and the programs their families have helped build. I can't even think about the teachers and staff who will be reassigned. My hope is that you'll learn from this process as rebalancing rolls out divisionwide. Families need more than three days to review complex scenarios. Materials need to be mobile friendly and easily accessible. I've shared some low-lift changes with the planning team that I think would really make a difference in how families receive this information and engage in the process, like having one consolidated

041PDF families can download and share. Any outside facilitators should be well briefed on the pronunciation of our school names at the very least. Some of these things made it feel like there was very little concern for the hundreds of affected families across all 12 of our schools. I really do feel like some of it was easily avoidable. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Blake. Cara, good evening board members, chair and Dr. McDade. My name is Blake Heron. My address is on file. On December 3rd, this board broke trust with its teachers. Four members voted to extend the teachers workday by 30 minutes with no supporting evidence. no implementation plan and no legal consultation with the teachers or union. Mrs. Wall, on November 18th, your statement that we are an anomaly is incorrect. The

042anomaly isn't our teachers. It's you, the chairman, Mr. Blake, and Miss Williams. You dismantled a good faith negotiated 7-hour workday based on selective information, which proves the negotiation was not in good faith. It's hypocritical that you joined government overreach, abandoning the conservative ideology you claim to support, after you voted against the ratification, and then used the management rights at your will. That was your agenda item and now you'll take responsibility of it. Dr. Latif and Miss Wall, you each offered different justifications, but I'm confident you both know the real reason, a truth you'll never share publicly. What's concerning is elected officials is you both felt compelled to publicly raise unsubstantiated concerns of potential fraud by PWA. The four of you four of you sought to silence the teacher voice, but have only made it louder

043as some are questioning whether to return. Mr. Williams, 13 years ago, you promised to listen and act to the constituents best interest. Extending teachers hours without consultation contradicts that commitment. Woodbridge deserves a board member who shows up like the resoning town halls you failed to fail to attend. Mr. Blake, your censure raises serious questions about your leadership and professional conduct. Dr. Latif, due to your controversial policies, you will be challenged by a 35-year-old Army veteran who knows PWCS deserves leadership, who values his teachers and respects his parents. He will be committed to restoring teachers time and fair compensation. He will ensure this board's accountability and ethics. And he will guarantee student achievement and academic excellence. It's time for accountable, transparent leadership that brings focus back to our classrooms and the community you serve. Our teachers

044and our students deserve better. >> Thank you, Anna Reyes. They do. I um just for note, do we have a more time for the translate? Okay. >> Did the timer get adjusted? Yeah. Thank you. >> Okay. Yeah. Okay. >> Uh good evening. Um the mo Anna My name is Anna Reyes. I'm a mother of pee and I would like to know and I wonder what u so important decision was not communicated as the closure of a a school. Um There are many parents that still don't don't know or have news about the school closes. is is is a big problem that we were not informed about the closeness of this school and all the children's or kids will be transferred to another school and we were not notificated. We would like to have a um

045another day and better communic communication about the closener about this school and all the teachers are being affected and and the kids about the closer closure of the school. Uh, okay. And I'm here to request the same way that you decide to close the school also think about the teachers and set up the teachers into the transfer to the new school. >> And that's and that's all. >> Thank you. Next uh Anna Robels and then after Anna Robels the next five will be Yinia Mong Keti Kint Katana Puntana Jesus Elda Paneda Elita Diaz and Greg Reer Anna Robels. >> Good evening. Thank you for allowing me to speak. view have a great and excellent location. >> I'm very excited about the new school. >> I support this decision because it's important to keep our kids

046motivated. I have three kids. One of them go to view >> and the others graduate from view also. They have a great opportunity and they have a great teachers. A >> I'm very grateful. Um I'm very grateful to the staff members at Ptoic View for the great work with the students and their support of the community with the parents will be very happy and grateful if you could make the decision to they have all the staff from Potomac View to continue working with all the children at the new school. teacher, students, >> parents. >> We are a great family >> and that's our request to think about all these not the split. We want to keep the union. >> Gracias. >> Thank you. No clapping, cheering or jeering folks. Thank you. Yinia Mong. >> Good

047evening. My name is Yenia Amangji. There is a social and academic disruption that can negatively impact a child's development, especially for elementary children. I am representing PTOIC View Elementary. all our children, all the teachers, and all the staff. My daughter is in fourth grade, and she is a walker. We live about a minute away from the school. She has learned so much, and all because of the excellent teachers and staff that make the difference in a child's life and education. Natalie is already having a hard time understanding why she needs to go to a different school. She is stressing that when she thinks that her teachers and staff will not be there when she graduates next year. Please reconsider. You are hurting our children, all the teachers and all the staff. Keep PTOIC View Elementary

048together. Please don't close the school. The only thing that you should be closing is PTOIC Inn, the motel that is next to the Woodbridge School, next to the school, and that's 711. Clean that area. Clean that area, please, so the people can feel more at ease. Thank you so much for your time. >> Thank you. Uh, Caddy Quintana Jesus. Good evening everyone. I'm a mother of a daughter who go to Potoma Puk and also I have couple two nephews who have a special need and also go to PT viewer. I'm here with all my respect and I value uh all your professionalist to be here this evening and for your work. view. Yes. And we are feeling a little bit upset about the closing of the school and transfer our kids to the this children's

049to this new building that we I think we would like oh we miss to be informed about the closenet and we feel like we were not part of the community for this decision. grandfamilia. So as we all are here um we are a great family and our children's and our community with Bonma view we are being together for so wrong. I think your decision to create a new school and the building is great for the community, but at the same time is difficult to the challenge for the kids and the chains. Um, we are requesting I'm here to tell you that we would like our teachers and the staff from Potoma View is still stay uh close to our um uh close to our children because it will be a big change and I think

050it's going to affect them emotionally. Thank you very much. That's the time. I'm sorry guys. Thank you very much. >> Yes. She just want to do the closure to be uh take um the decision of keep the community together, the the staff uh together. >> Yep. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, >> Elder Pana. Good evening. I do Santos, mother of fourth grade student at Ptoic View. My son is very sad because he won't be able to graduate from fifth grade at the school he's attending his whole life and we founded well he be he been moving with a new school without his teacher. It's what's even worse. or children spending most of their day with their sh teacher. They are a part of their life. The teacher know them and understand when

051and where they need the most help. If they are moving without their teacher, the new teacher won't know anything about our children. Our children will feel alone, without the support, and without knowing who to turn to when they need help. Changes are difficult but when you have someone special or your family by your side you overcome them more quickly. Imagine when a family moved to a new house the shame feel very strangening and you miss many things but a family we help each other to get through it so that it doesn't affect us too much. But if we move it and left our children alone, do you too will be easy for them? Something similar will happen. If you send our children to a new school without their teacher, it will affecting them emotionally, psychology

052and academic. I urge you to consider it and think about the future of these children before acting and the area where the school is. Do you know the area and the business around the school? Please be sure our kids will be very secure and safe at school. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh Alita Diaz, Alita Diaz. Okay. Uh next five are going to be Greg Reer, Megan Feeman, Mariloo Torres, Jefferson Bradford, Katherine Mulligan, and Kisa Lee. Uh, Greg Reer. >> Good evening. My name is Greg Reer. My information is on file. On June 17th, school executives set a tremendous controversy in motion. School operations cleared the way for Dominion Energy's blue line. They shared inside information with Dominion's lobbyist and told engineers it was okay to run a 230,000 volt transmission line behind Patriot High

053School. Your staff even outlined the process for Dominion to buy the land. In November, your communications team lied to thousands of families. They told the school, told us the school had not worked with Dominion. They told us no land was at stake. They said there was nothing to worry about, even as high voltage power lines were proposed to loom near metal bleachers and hang over paths used by thousands of students from four different schools. When we reached out to present the truth, the executive clerk closed our online tickets without any reasons. You should all be aware of the conservation easement that actually protects Patriot High School land. You have all been reminded of the Virginia law that gives you as the board the absolute power to deny access to this route as well. You should

054also know the Virginia DOE guidelines forbid placing power lines near schools. We've all reached out yet no one's responded. Not a single email. Mr. Dennick, you live in the community impacted by this line. You were asked in October to support the community in meetings with Dominion. In November, you were asked to clarify the school's position. I've sent several emails as well. Why the reluctance to not get involved? Dr. McDade, your principles, you, and area supervisors were all asked to correct the record after the communications team misled the public. Why haven't your staff or yourself had the courtesy to respond? Mr. Bach, Mr. Wilks, Mrs. Wall, you've all been off asked to help support as well yet. Silence, no response. There's maybe at least two explanations. are either continuing to negotiate with Dominion and their lobbyist

055or it's a failure of leadership. So, I ask you to do two things to get back on course with trust in the public. Direct the council to issue a resolution of denial to Dominion and answer the people of Prince William County who sent their concerns to you, the leaders they chose to trust. >> Thank you, Mr. Reader. >> Next up, Megan Feeman. Good evening. My name is Megan Feman. I have been a Patty Elementary School parent for seven years. I am also a Prince County school employee and I am a taxpayer. I am present to address the redistricting proposal. Under scenario six, my household is not directly impacted. However, our school community would lose 32% of its students. Students who are launching currently launching thriving futures at Patty. I attended both town halls and the

056parent focus group and I am disappointed in how this process was managed. While the report suggests communities were wellinformed and engaged, that was not the lived experience of families over the past seven weeks. On Friday, November 14th, after business hours, our highly engaged community was shocked to learn that Patty, a school outside of the Route 1 corridor, would face significant changes. Families had just 72 hours to understand the situation and prepare for the town hall. Initial scenarios appear to be created without meaningful stakeholder input. For example, three out of four early scenarios converted walkers into bus riders, raising concerns about whether transportation was adequately consulted. Although later scenarios address this, trust had already been damaged. Transparency has been a sign a consistent concern. Data tables lack clear sourcing and it was unclear who created the

057scenarios, who was consulted, and how decisions were made. At both town halls, the slide explaining roles who was passed over quickly. It was unclear whether the individuals running the town hall were Prince William County employees or contractors. There was no identification of other Prince William County employees present and what roles they had in the process, leaving confusion about accountability. During this process, Patty was recognized by the Virginia Department of Education as a distinguished school, a model of what success within Prince William County Schools looks like. Yet proposed scenarios remove students from that environment and shift long-term capacity burdens to schools currently identified as needing intensive support. This does not feel aligned with students best interests. This process felt rushed, lacked meaningful community engagement at times and created confusion that undermined trust transparency and trust. Thank

058you, >> Marlu Torres. There can be no learning if our childrens are not safe. Potama view currently save 550 students and 100% of those students are being transferred to the new Wridge Elementary School. Yet as parents, we were never consultant or ask for our input regarding this relocation. Today I speak on behalf of more of than 500 BTOC view families who are directly affected by this decision. Our petition which has gathered over 850 signature is clear and reasonable. Automatically transfer all school staff to the new Woodridge school along with our children's to be absolutely clear. Um this includes the principal, assistant principal, teachers, assistant teacher, security staff, cafeteria staff and every employee who are part of autom. All the scenarios presented to us result in the same outcome. Our childrens are moving to the new

059web school. What remains and resolves is whether they will be surrounded by the trusted adults who already know them. Bottom view has a dedicated safety and support team that knows our children's well. Our students feel safe because these staff member have worked with them for years and understands their individual needs, strengths and challenges. Moving our children to a new building in a familiar location, we already create a stress and uncertaintity. Adding a familiar staff only compounds that stress. As parents, we should not have to wait for new personnel to learn who our childrens are. When trusted profession already ceases with the current pot staff this transition can be a positive experience rather than a disruptive one without then our elementary school age childrens are being asked to adapt to a new school new neighborhood located

060on a busy commercial trail with unfamiliar faces all at once maintaining the bottom of your staff is also essential given the safety concerns in the new school son. Thank you Miss Torres. >> Thank you. Next up, Jefferson Bradford. Good evening, members of the school board. My name is Jefferson Mlullen. My address is on file with the clerk, and I am an eighth grader at Gainesville Middle. Tonight, I want to talk about a serious issue at my school. Monkey. The only game a white person can beat a black person at is hangman. These aren't jokes. These aren't misunderstandings. These are racial slurs said directly to me by other students. I have reported this harassment before. Nothing seems to happen and it keeps happening. Recently, after being told, "Shut up, nigger." I reacted. I hit another student

061for that. The school acted quickly. I was suspended for 3 days. I'm not st I'm not standing up. I'm not standing here saying what I did was right. I'm here asking why. Why? When racism is directed at me, the response is slow or silent. But when I react to it, the response is immediate and clear. I'm not asking for special treatment. I'm asking you to stop allowing people to hurt me, to provide the same safe learning environment to me that is seemingly so easily afforded to others. When racism goes unchecked, it says that it's acceptable and it teaches students like me that we're expected to deal with it because the school won't. I know racism exists and I know I will probably deal with it again and for the rest of my life. I didn't

062expect to have to deal with it already. I'm 13 years old. I would like to be a kid just a little bit longer. I am not bad. I am not threatening. I am not aggressive. I am not lesser. I am just a kid who wants to go to school and feel safe. This shouldn't keep happening to me nor anyone else. >> Thank you, Katherine Mulligan. >> Good evening. My name is Katherine Mulligan. I've been a math teacher at Woodbridge High for 16 years and I'm also the mother of three children currently zoned for Patty Elementary. Last year I was honored as educator of the year at my school and this year I co-lead our staff voice committee which works to strengthen school climate and culture. Personally I try to make my school a little more

063like Patty each day. Patty truly lives up to its motto as the place you want to be. Under Mr. Luchiotti's leadership and with the support of an exceptionally strong PTCO, Patty has built a safe, inclusive, and thriving distinguished school community. A meaningful part of that culture is the element challenge program. If you look around tonight, you'll see some Patty apparel. Not because this is a school board meeting, but because today is Wednesday. Every Wednesday is Element Wednesday. Students take part in activities designed to build teamwork, belonging, and school pride. This culture is so impactful that my children even proudly wear their Element shirts on Wednesdays during summer and over winter breaks. We love Patty. On November 14th, I learned that redistricting might force my children to leave Patty. And I was heartbroken. As I reviewed

064the proposed scenarios, though, I became deeply concerned. In three of the four original options, students who live less than three minutes away on foot were reszoned and placed on buses to other schools. Walkability was stated as a priority at the town hall meetings. Yet, these original plans ignored that reality. Patty students do not walk along 234. They walk safely through Monontlair. By overlooking that, three of four scenarios would have unnecessarily displaced students, removed them from their school community, and thrown them on a bus during a driver shortage. These scenarios would have had real consequences for children's well-being and mental health and should never have been proposed in the first place. Finally, the redistricting voting form sent to families was inaccurate and it did not include scenario six. It was not corrected until the morning of

065December 16th after flawed data had already been collected. As a math teacher, this lack of care and accuracy is especially troubling. My request is simple. The next time there's a resoning, please provide complete and accurate information. Give families more than 72 hours to review it and listen to the communities who know their schools. Our students and families deserve nothing less. Thank you for your time. Kissa Lee. And then the next five after that will be Britney Robinson, Yinia Lacader, Crystal Fenwick, Laura Porterfield, and Ronnie Cerone. Kissa Le. >> Okay. Uh Britney Robinson. My name is Britney Robinson. My address is on file. I am the parent of multiple disabled children in the school district. At 8 a.m. every school day, I transport my daughter, Rivka, to her legal stayput placement at the Linder Academy in

066Alexandria. Transportation to that placement is required to be funded by this district. As of today, January 7th, I have not received any reimbursement for Rifka's transportation expenses for this school year starting September 3rd. Um, Prince William County is fully aware of this obligation and of my morning transportation responsibility. Despite that knowledge, PWCS unilaterally scheduled my other daughter, Savannah's homebound instruction by Zoom at 8:00 a.m. This was done outside of an IEP meeting and over my written objection. Prince William County Schools knew this created a direct conflict, they were told. They chose to proceed anyway. As a result, I was forced to choose between being present on Zoom for Savannah's instruction or getting Rifka safely to school. There was no option that allowed me to do both. This was not an accommodation that this is not

067an accommodation that is unsafe. Each day that week, I pulled over to the side of the road to state on the record to the teacher on the other end of Zoom that this situation was dangerous and created by Prince William County Schools. As I did that, my child in the back seat told me she was afraid for my safety. Let me ask a simple question. What happens if a parent or their child is injured while doing what Prince William County Schools structured these services to require? Because that risk was not accidental. It was foreseeable and it was created by Prince William County Schools. Prince William County Schools structured services in a way that made compliance impossible and then claimed services were offered. That is manufactured non-compliance. When a district acts unilaterally outside the IEP process

068after objections are raised and continues even after being warned of danger, that conduct reflects predetermination, constructive denial of services, and appears retaliatory. My children are not leveraged. They are not collateral damage. They are children with federally protected civil rights. I am placing this on the public record because what happened here reflects a systemic failure, not a misunderstanding. I am asking this board to ensure that no family is put in this position again. Thank you, >> Miss Lacader. My name is Yinia Lacader. My address, is this on? Hello. Okay, it's on. My name is Dena Ler. My address is on file. I am the parent in Prince William County Public Schools versus Dustin Ler, a case that this district recently lost in federal court. I want to start by reading from Prince William County's own prior

069written dated December 16th, 2025. Miss Ler asked Prince William County Schools to document that Bella was placed at the Wakefield School for the last two and a half years as ordered by a judge. The team did not agree to include that statement as it was not accurate. Let that sit. Your school system put in writing that a court-ordered placement is not accurate. This is not a mistake. This is institutional contempt for the rule of law. Here are the facts. Hearing officer Mitchell ordered my child's placement and funding. PWCS appealed and lost. That placement is my child's statep put placement under federal law. And yet PWCS is refusing to honor it. In November 2025, VOE issued a letter of findings in Rifka Robinson versus PWCS telling the same district, the same administrators, including you, Dr. McDade,

070that when a hearing officer orders a private placement, it must be funded as stay put. On November 21st, the very same day the letter of findings was issued, Prince William County through outside council told my attorney it would not make any further reimbursements. Then on December 4th, after my council filed a state complaint requesting enforcement, PWCS still did not comply. Instead, you chose litigation under the guise of clarification to delay and obstruct. This feels a lot like realiation against a family for advocating for my child's civil rights. Every dollar you spend defending this is a dollar taken from classrooms. Every week of delay is a week you knowingly violate civil rights. This is willful institutional misconduct. My child is not a legal strategy. She is not a budget line. She is a child with civil

071rights. I'll leave you with this. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. If this board allows us to continue, you are bystanders. You are not just bystanders. You are participants. Crystal Fenwick. >> We can't hear you. >> Crystal Fenwick. Laura Porter. Porterfield. Good evening. My information is on file. Thank you for coming and all that you do to keep the children safe and help them get a quality education. You work as a team in the same way everyone works as a team during pickup and drop off at our schools. This event is carefully choreographed and happens twice a day. I saw on Facebook this morning that people lose their minds at pickup and drop off. But in Braar our schools Marstellar Patriot and Tlay have their

072routines. Marstellar uses crossing guards. the SRO personnel. It's all hands on deck. Patriot with their new drivers and traffic cones has a winding loop that snakes past TClay and drops the kids in front of the building. Tlay utilizes their safety patrols and teachers do a silent headcount to get the students in and out of the building without incident. So when the power lines want to put transmission lines on school property, they're adding more variables to already complex mix because especially during installation and during maintenance, you've got more trucks, you got more vehicles, more personnel, more supplies, more comingings and goings from a very tight spot. And this is unnecessary because we have other options. Therefore, the community is asking you to continue to safeguard our children. Say no to the addition of transmission lines on

073school property. Say no to unneeded additional traffic. As Benjamin Franklin said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Little steps now can prevent bigger problems later. Thank you for your help. Thank you for listening. Have a happy and safe new year. Thank you, >> Ronnie Savani. Good evening. My name is Ronnie Cerrone. My address is on file. Uh I must say thank you for making the recommendation for girls flag football. That means that uh I don't need to recommend a girl sport as I talk about boys volleyball. My son Roman and I both came uh in November to speak out about bringing boys high school volleyball to Prince William County. Uh since that meeting, countless parents have reached out to me to tell me that they supported boys volleyball and how their

074son would like to play volleyball. uh and asked if I've heard any information back from the school board. The answer is unfortunately no. Uh but I can say that the two petitions that were started both by my son and one of his colleagues uh at Battle Volleyball have amassed almost a thousand signatures in support from members of the community to bring boys volleyball to Prince William County. I also want to reiterate that the boys volleyball is the fastest growing sport for boys across the nation according to USA volleyball with a 12 and a half% growth last year and 76% in the past 10 years. Although less expensive than girls, travel volleyball in most cases, club volleyball can be quite expensive and may detract would be players from playing uh and getting needed social and team

075experiences. Noted by one of our Prince William County Police Department dads who was here working at that meeting. Uh he noted how expensive it was and if it was any more expensive he would have to tell his son no. Boys volleyball in school would open up the sport to boys at all economic levels providing new collegiate opportunities in addition to great exercise camaraderie and teamwork skills. Fairfax County introduced boys volleyball in 2024 and 20205 school year. Lowden County approved it to begin in the fall of 2026 uh several weeks ago putting us behind our neighbors. I know that the county athletic director submitted for boys volleyball in addition to girls flag football and his budget recommendations and I can delete the whole paragraph but flag football. Thank you for your time. Peter Mcdermic. Peter, >>

076we can't hear him. >> Can you hear me now? Peter Mcdermick, Dermach, Patrius Platter, Jessica King. My name is Jessica King. My address is on file with the clerk. Um, I have two boys. One goes to Ronald Reagan and one goes to Battlefield High School. Um, my Battlefield student gets to school on time every day without failure with the bus. My middle school student on December 15th when it was 7° outside had to walk 1.8 miles to school so he didn't miss a summitive test because the bus didn't show up. We had all kinds of excuses from the school bus system that the bus didn't start. I had another excuse that the driver never came in and they routed another person there. This is the 15th time that the bus is 30 to 60 minutes

077late and my child is standing outside in 7 to 20 to 30 degree weather for 30 minutes to 60 minutes with no notification that my the bus is going to be late or that the bus isn't coming at all. And I'm at work by that time and my son of course didn't tell me nor my husband that he was walking until he was already walking. Um, I don't appreciate the non-n notifications we're not getting about the school buses. Um, and I don't think my child should almost walk 2 miles to school when there was ice on the ground and we shouldn't have been in school if the buses couldn't start. If that was the real reason. Um, but this is happening more often than not for the middle school. I'm thankful not for the high

078school cuz I don't want my son on 15. It's reckless and dangerous. But my son is still walking. three or four times he's had to walk to school because the bus has been 30 to 60 minutes late and he doesn't want to get in trouble and he's been counted absent several times because of the bus and I've been arguing with the school to get that fixed. But um I need the bus systems looked at. It's the middle school kids that are getting the bad end of the stick for that. Especially the kids that are getting picked up that are the furthest ones out and the way the bus schedule works doesn't make sense to me. Um, but I don't want my son when it's snowing or ice outside walking two miles to school. So, thank

079you. >> Thank you. Next, um, Nicholas Shaduan. Good evening. My name's Nicholas Shadine. Great attempt at pronouncing a very difficult last name. So, thank you for that. Um, I first just really want to extend an appreciation to the board, which I don't think has happened very much this evening. Generally speaking, we don't have the problems in Prince William County that our sister counties do. We've seen problems in Fairfax and in Lowden County that have gone well beyond the scope of really anything that should be in education. But what I did want to say and bring up tonight is a small issue. I come from an army background and the army basically drills into you that if you do the small things right, you get the big things better and you do the big things right.

080So my wife came up here and just spoke about a situation dealing with the school buses. This is one of those small things that needs to be rectified. It's something that needs to be looked into. And there's several problems. The first one is is that my child has been unable to go to school uh on time because of the fact that the bus hasn't showed up. This is a weird problem to bring to the school board, but the reason why it's coming here is because of the customer service angle with the school board with the school transportation system. You call the school transportation system and you sit on hold for hours. And if you haven't experienced it, call, give it a shot, and just see what happens because I assure you that if they don't

081know you're the school board member, you'll be treated the same way. I'm an auditor. I audit the federal government, and this is one of the many things that I perform as a function for them, this might be something to consider within the school board's discretion to do an internal audit of how the system is working. This is something that's relatively simple and an inspector could complete probably within about eight working days or less. You could do a real simple study. The problem comes when the temperatures are cold and students are walking long distances. I come from Maine, so if my kids outside in the cold for a little bit, that's fine. When it's -5° with windchill, it's unfortunate. Thank you very much for your time and thank you for your service, >> Jessica Char. And

082then we're going to go the five after that will be Barbara Zadei, Corey Mclaclin, Robin Norris, uh, Rene Renea Leech, and Bashan Johnson. Jessica Sher. Good evening, members of the board. As we begin a new school year in Prince County Public Schools, I want to focus on something that sits at the intersection of academic success, student well-being, and long-term readiness. Resilience. Resilience is talked about as a isn't often talked about as a positive trait. But the reality is it doesn't feel positive when it's happening. It feels messy. It feels uncomfortable. And for many of our students, it feels like frustration. This feeling of frustration creates anxiety, avoidance, and disengagement. Frustration is not a failure signal. Frustration is evidence that learning is occurring. Resilience isn't about getting out of the space as fast as possible. Resilience

083is about how long students can stay supported, encouraged, and equipped with strategies to cope and persist. Our school division has adopted the Virginia social emotional learning standards to help teach our kids the power of resilience and work through frustration. I would like to see P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P PWCS take the next step fullyriculated divisionwide social emotional curriculum training accessible to all of our educators in the same way that Fairfax schools have implemented the be good people curriculum. Currently, instruction can vary from school to school and from classroom to classroom. This is an investment in our students that this board has already committed for the year ahead. I ask our teachers feel supported when they take the time to integrate

084into their curriculum and that be given more opportunities to advance their training. A more consistent approach would help ensure that every student in every one of our schools learns to how to manage frustration, persist through challenges, and stay engaged when learning feels hard. Thank you, >> Barbara Zadei. >> Good evening. My name is Barbara Zadei and my information is on file. I'm here to speak out against the projected or proposed blue line from Dominion Energy putting up huge electric lines right past our schools. When I first found out about this, I sent many letters out and although I got responses from a lot of other people, I've heard absolutely nothing from the school board, which signifies a shocking lack of transparency as far as I'm concerned. We know that these have been done before. Um,

085but that doesn't mean it should be done again. We have no idea what the impact would be on our children's health and well-being. Um, just because these studies haven't been done, there isn't information out there for us. And because we've done it before doesn't mean we should do it again. We can learn and we can make better decisions. And that's on you. I'd like to read directly from the Virginia Department of Education guidelines for the school facilities in Virginia public schools as of 2021 under the section called school site considerations and subsection says other consideration other consider considerations recommended to evaluate existing or potential school sites. And number nine states location of schools near electric power transition transmission lines or other environmental hazards should be avoided. What this means it has already been determined to

086be an environmental hazard. Thank you. >> Corey McLaclin. My name is uh Corey McLaclin, parent of three Prince William County students. My address is on file. According to these foyer documents, early last summer, Dominion Power began reaching out to PWCS about plans to run 230,000 volt power lines on school property near TClaywood, Patriot High School, Cedar Point, and Marstellar in what was called the Patriot High School Hornbaker project. On June 17th, 2025, PWCS informed Dominion Power that, quote, "The transmission lines crossing in the proposed path do not pose a problem. Dominion will need to prepare a formal offer for acquisition. Schoolboard approval would be required." On November 20th, PWCS reaffirmed this assessment to Dominion, noting that after an evaluation, PWCS determined the proposed power line plan would have no quote operational impact on the schools,

087but these power lines do pose a problem. That land, according to the deed, is protected. The property, quote, may be used only as a Prince William County public school or public park. And the Virginia Department of Education, as we just heard, states, schools should not be close in close proximity to high voltage power lines. No matter what Dominion says behind closed doors, no matter what they say behind closed doors, these high voltage power lines will threaten the safety of our community. Fortunately, there are other routes Dominion has proposed that do not require school land. Please do not sell out our children and our educators to fuel data centers this community never wanted in the first place. Thank you. Robin Norris. >> Hello. Happy New Year. My name is Robin Norris. I am My address is

088on file. Um I'm here to talk again about dyslexia awareness as I've been bringing up um for the past couple of years. I wanted to introduce you to another resource for the year. Um this is a story about one of two football players. This football player happened to be on the Detroit Lions. His name was Dion Butler. But it's not the Dion Butler that went through our CD Hilton High School years ago because he was on the Seattle Seahawks. This Dion Butler talks about his NFL time as not for long. Because sadly enough, he managed to get through elementary school, middle, high school, and college with a fourth grade reading level, never understanding that his anger issues had to deal with dyslexia. When it caught up to him, it was when he was at the

089NFL level and the playbooks got too complex. There was too many words and that was it. So, he's one resource in our community for us to to be reaching out to. I also wanted to share with you that in a few weeks um from March 11th through March 14th, the Black Literacy Matters um is having their conference down at Norfolk State University. And um Amir Baraka is going to be one of their presenters there. You all have met last year. Um and Dion is planning on attending as well. And so when we think about the difference between a child who plays football and ends up in the NFL and can read the playbook and a child who plays football because he's really struggling in class and can't read the playbook, we have some work to

090do. When I say we, me, parents, school boards, nationwide, so that this angry young man doesn't have to wait until he's 27 on the precipice of becoming a father to say, "It's my reading that's holding me back. It's my reading that's making me angry when I can't read anything from the playbooks to the restaurant menus to the greeting cards at my wife's, you know, wedding space with me." So, thank you so much. Happy New Year's. Ranada Reanita Leachch. I'm sorry if I said it wrong, but Ranatada Ranada Leachch that I missed that one, too. >> I got you. I'mma tell you how to say it. >> My name is Dr. Ranatada Leech and this is Ava Santiful. Um, our address is on file and I'm a proud Panther Cub parent at Mary Williams Elementary School.

091The redistricting process thus far has been chaotic, difficult for many of our families to navigate, and just confusing. However, we were encouraged to see that scenario 6 was added to the list of proposed options. At this time, scenario 6 is the only scenario that appears to be truly beneficial to the Mary Williams school families and keeps us all together. Lastly, I am extremely disappointed to hear that our African-American students are being exposed to racism in the schools and there is nothing being done to address this wrongdoing. My child will be attending middle school soon and I truly hope that you guys get this issue under control. Thank you. >> Uh Bashan Johnson. >> Hello, I'm Bashan Johnson and my address is on file. I'm a PTO treasurer at Mary Williams Elementary School and I'm the

092parent of a second grader. I live in Port PTOAC and my last formal address asked three questions which was where, why, and how. Where is the commitment to proximity, transportation improvement, and community and neighborhood? And why in all five scenarios, my Port PTOIC community would be moved to Coington Harper or PTOIC shores passing three schools. It would also proximity to Mary Williams, which is 4 minutes. Division of the population would be split in half, drastically affecting the socioeconomic diversity. And finally, we were assigned to PTOAC Middle School, forcing my daughter to come back after potentially going to those other schools and looking at her first love every day. In all five scenarios, Mary Williams was split in two. And it was not it's not overpop populated at 94% and never even got an option to

093stay there. How does this build community improve in transportation and proximity? By answering our questions and hearing us. In scenario six, it reflects in favor of me Williams Panther Cup family staying together. Friendships and relationships my daughter and family have soundly built in a loving high education and family focused environment that gives Mary Williams its pulse will remain. Thank you for hearing the where, why's, and hows in scenario 6. I know it's not over, so I stand here again passionately requesting that the board decide in favor of scenario six. At Mary Williams, we are five dens, which is partnership, responsibility, integrity, determination, and energy that equate to one pride. Mary Williams Panther Community is a diverse and inclusive community, and we are better together. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. That concludes citizen

094comment time. Up next is going to be the office chief information officer 1501 student housing elementary school attendance area recommendations for the Woodbridge area and PTOI shores number two elementary school. Dr. McDade. >> Thank you Mr. Chairman. I would like to at this time introduce our chief information officer Mr. Matt Gilfoil and our supervisor of planning Dr. Matthew Cartage. They will be presenting an update on the redistricting plans this evening. >> Thank you Dr. McDade. Um, I will turn this over to Dr. Matt Carlage in just a moment. Um, first I just wanted to take a brief uh moment to explain why I'm introducing him. Um, earlier this school year, the planning team was realigned um from the facilities department to be housed within our research, assessment, and data services department uh which falls under

095the office of the CIO. This has enabled improved organizational coherence between our data teams to improve better decision-m uh throughout the organization. I want to thank Dr. Dr. Cartage and the entire planning team for their hard work and efforts throughout this process in partnership with the facilities team. So, Dr. Cartage. >> Good evening, Chairman Latif, Vice Chair Mr. Jesse, members of the school board, and Dr. McDade. This evening, I'll be presenting to you the report of recommendations related to the current school redistricting project underway as we welcome a couple new schools to the division. We'll first talk about the current landscape and situation in terms of overcrowding in some areas while underutilization exists in others. We'll talk about the project timeline that has been ongoing since about September. We'll then talk about community engagement and

096the various conduits through which we collected information, a more robust process um than in years past. We'll then move into the recommendation of the administration and superintendent for the board's consideration and then discuss the next steps. As I mentioned, we are welcoming two new elementary schools to the eastern part of the county. The first one is Woodbridge Area Elementary. Now, these are not the official names of the schools. These are just the names that are being temporarily used as they go through the construction process. Once the board has determined the attendance areas for these schools, then a separate regulation guides the naming process. So, as I refer to these, if you don't like the names, it's okay. It's not going to stick. Woodbridge area is our first one. Is scheduled to open for the 2627

097school year. It is located adjacent to Fredland Middle School and will have a program capacity of approximately 630 students. The following school year, PTOIC Shores number two will open. It is located near Cington Harper Elementary and will have a program capacity of about,50 students. When we look at this project, it can effectively be split into two halves. The northern part of the route one corridor is effectively underutilized and is projected to continue to decrease in student enrollment as a function of lower birth rates that are occurring. Larger cohorts at the upper elementary grade levels like three, four, and five are being replaced by smaller grade levels at the base. So kindergarten, first and second. Additionally, the county is experiencing um out migration to other parts of Virginia and even further south as we've discussed in

098past CIP conversations. Additionally, every year we monitor how many students are being yielded by new construction. And one of our enhancements that we did to our projection model over the last couple years is looking at those yields for houses that are just 10 years old or newer. And what we observed this year was that those newer housing units are actually yielding students at lower rates than what we saw in the past. So that has an impact on projections. Visualized for you would be the projections for these three schools in the northern part of the route one corridor. Kilby, PTOAC Vio, and Vaughn. Effectively, all of them are under 100% of capacity within the next three years. They're they're self-correcting. The redistricting process has afforded us an opportunity to reimagine and offer a better facility to

099the students of PTOAC View Elementary by relocating all of its students to the new Woodbridge Area Elementary as a function of the lack of necessity to add 631 seats to a region that doesn't require them at this time. When we think about the condition of PTOIC view, we use a facility condition index that quantitatively measures the state of the building, how much deferred maintenance is present, the replacement cost, and it's objective measurement. PTOIC view is one of the schools in the worst conditions in Prince William County schools and would be slated for a renovation. The challenge with this particular school is that the site is quite constraining. If there were to be a full renovation pursued, a lot of the play area would not be available. It would be difficult for a construction crew to

100bring the materials in and have a designated staging area. All of this while trying to educate students in the building. So there's an opportunity here to avoid that and promote the student safety and avoid instructional disruption. I mentioned all that before we get to the financials. The estimated cost to tear down and rebuild PTOIC view is approximately $55 million. The renovation could take upwards of four years because of the complexities that this site offers. With all that being said, our new elementary schools are roughly a little bit more but roughly the cost of that renovation. So that's the rationale that came from the recommendations that we have in our scenarios to relocate the students at Ptoic View to the new Woodbridge Area Elementary. As we shift to the southern part of the route one corridor,

101it's an entirely different landscape. These schools are significantly overcrowded. In the CIP for fiscal years 25 through 29, the board approved our recommendation to increase the size of Ptoic Shores number two by 300 seats, bringing it to a total of about 1,50 seats that will be opening up in two years. When we look at the graphics, we can see that the schools are overcrowded and we can also visualize them through a couple of the schools that we have on our slide deck. Coington Harper currently has 11 portable classrooms that are being used as an overcrowding abatement strategy. It's at 131% of capacity and had the school not been built, it would have been reaching 144% of capacity in two years. Fortunately, with the timing and opening of the school, despite a few delays along the

102way, that 144% of capacity utilization will be avoided. Patty also is significantly overcrowded. Currently, six trailers present and approximately 143 students over program capacity, expected to increase to about 190 students over capacity in the next two years. So, these are the projections for the southern part of the route one corridor. If we were to do nothing, you can see that many of these schools are at capacity or significantly above. To summarize, nine of the schools along the Route 1 corridor are above 100% of program capacity. And our goal bringing to you this evening recommendations would be to offer a solution that supports long-term stability and supports our students. Now, we're going to discuss the redistricting project and its timeline. As I mentioned, the process began in late September when the project was kicked off with

103executive cabinet. our staff provide a presentation to them to give them our recommendations what we were seeing and trying to identify key stakeholders to include in the workg groups. So that's what I want to focus on first with the repeated collaborations. Not on this timeline are all the times that internal stakeholders were reviewing various scenarios through the lens of office of special education, the lens of transportation, the lens of food services and what this would do to the number of students receiving free or reduced price meals and the list goes on in terms of the number of stakeholders. So every time that a public scenario was delivered, there was already an internal vetting process that was undertook. On October 8th, my team had anformational session with the principles of these affected schools. At this point

104in time, no scenarios were drafted. It was simply to gain insights from those who are expert in their school communities on things we should be aware of. What can we be mindful of as we develop these scenarios? Moving forward, the 17th of November and December 11th were the two town halls that my team hosted in consultation with National Demographics Corporation, the consultants that were hired to assist with the meeting facilitation. These meetings were offered in hybrid format and we will get into some of the attendance metrics and so forth later on in the discussion tonight. A parent focus group was held on December 17th. And then as we fast forward, we are here tonight for anformational item. We will then next be having a public hearing here in the board chambers on the 21st before

105the board is scheduled to vote on the 4th of February. At this time, we're going to shift and talk about the community engagement strategies and the findings from them. The board adopted a new process for redistricting a couple years ago and this is its first full implementation for the opening of a new school. Because this project is impacting more than 250 students by the regulation, it involves the most outreach and community engagement. On the 14th of November, the project website was launched and shared with the public. There were no scenarios on it at that time, but there was information about the process and some key dates to hold um for the calendar. We also consulted our internal translation team to provide the materials online in nine different languages. Throughout the process of having town hall

106meetings and focus groups, we offered interpretation services that were requested. Additionally, what is new for this process is leveraging the parent teacher liaison through the office of DEIC to increase participation in audiences that have historically been difficult to reach. For the town halls, we have the metrics here. Um, staggeringly for an elementary project, we had 507 registrants for the first town hall. Usually we don't see these this magnitude of numbers unless we're working with high school redistricting projects that are significantly larger. Most attended virtually and there were 61 speakers signed up to speak at the first town hall. The second one was on December 11th. We had 365 registrants and we had 107 speakers. I want to extend my appreciation to the media team who stuck with us by our side about an hour and

10715 minutes beyond the meeting's closing time to ensure that everyone virtual and in person were able to speak. On the 15th of December, we had a virtual town hall or sorry, not town hall, a virtual focus group comprised of about 36 parents. And by the regulation, the intent of that focus group is to try to incorporate voices who might not feel comfortable addressing in a large audience setting. Additionally, we can collect those members through principal recommendations and we did as well as when individuals registered for the town halls, we asked in our survey, would you possibly be interested in serving on the focus group? So we had 36 parents and 12 schools represented and it was about 90 minutes of meaningful engagement. The communication department is another one that we would like to extend our

108appreciation to. They provided targeted messaging throughout the process. Early save the dates of the town hall days, web stories, um text messages, reminders. I mean it was very helpful and I feel like through them and through the parent teacher liaison there was a quite robust outreach effort after engaging with the principles and the internal stakeholders. Four scenarios were developed and this is a deviation from the old process where it just began with one single plan the preliminary plan. This advances the conversation more quickly so that you have four different scenarios out in the public upon which you can gain feedback. The fifth scenario just kind of foreshadow was created in response to the feedback that we collected through the online form and what we heard at the first town hall meeting. Then scenario six came

109after the second town hall meeting. So effectively, it is the single scenario that has the most public engagement features incorporated into it. Within the new regulation, there are things that we include in the report that is attached to the board docs item this evening and one of which is a summarization of what were some of the key pieces of community engagement or feedback we received. So again, this was collected via online form which has a public forum at the town hall meetings as well and then via email. I won't go through all of these, but some of the key concepts are community integrity, walkability, safety, uh student support, stability. Um all these are clearly outlined in the report that we're also sharing with you. Um, one of the things that our consultants picked up on

110and I have as well since doing this for PWCS since 2013. When I first started, everyone wanted to go to the new school and I didn't quite fully grasp that. And in this particular project, the schools are doing a lot of things right in this region because nobody wanted to leave their current school. There's a lot of love for their current school communities. So, that was an interesting thread that I wanted to share with you all. from the focus group in particular that's a small group setting as I mentioned the members were invited via the parent teacher liaison principal nominations or those who attended the town hall meetings express interest and we extended invitations to some of those members from the focus group some of the key takeaways would be safety and the location of

111the Woodbridge area school uh there were some concerns about its safety fencing and things of that nature that we outline in the report. Uh there were also concerns about some of the academic quality of some of the schools in the region through which uh select neighborhoods would be reassigned from to another school. For the board in particular, there was questions about grandfathering of rising fifth graders and perhaps extending that to siblings of rising fifth graders. When asked, the focus group overwhelmingly said that scenario six was the most preferred scenario of those drafted. Now, at this time, we'll review those features in scenario 6 as they relate to the regulation 264-1. Within the regulation, the overall goal is to better balance enrollment to provide optimal learning environments for the subsequent three years that the boundaries go

112into effect. The top priority is facility utilization. Loads of challenges are placed on schools, students, staff, and safety when schools are significantly overutilized. So with that being the top priority, the guard rails for that one is no school within the first three years of the attendance areas being adjusted should exceed 105% of capacity. 105% cannot be reached. Additionally, a little bit softer guard rail is the recommendation that no school in those three years should dip below 80% of capacity utilization. The next one is the stability of school assignments. It's important that students have a stable environment and if they have been recently reassigned at the same school level. It's important to try to avoid reassigning that same neighborhood to the school from which they were just assigned or to a different one. In terms of

113local geography, effectively compact walkable attendance areas are sought when possible. Now, as we go through these, as a function of the geography of the county, you can't optimize every single one of them for every single neighborhood. That's why sometimes schools are not the closest one to which a neighborhood is assigned as a function of, you know, there's just there's not space. If we were to do that, the school might be significantly overutilized. Within local geography, we also try to avoid splitting neighborhoods and strive to improve the progression of neighborhoods from elementary to middle and then onto high school. The last one is student demographics. On each of the scenarios, we report out the demographics of not projected students, but students who were enrolled on this past September 30th, and we share out what the percentage

114of the various ethnic and racial groups are, the percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced price lunch based on the current attendance areas, and then what the resulting percentages would look like if this scenario had been retroactively put in place last September 30th. with. So, at this time, we're going to walk through the reassignments that are characteristic to the scenario six. Um, I'm going to break eye contact as I read through these. The Woodbridge Station Apartments move from Vaughn to Kilby. PTOIC View Elementary attendance area moves to Woodbridge area. PTOAC Club moves from Fitzgerald to Vaughn. Residences proximate to Fitzgerald and north of Cardinal Drive moved to Fitzgerald. PTOIC Shores number two retains PTOIC Shores HOA in addition to Chesapeake Bay Apartments. Forest Park and Grayson Village moved from Patty to Dumpries. South Bridge

115and Wayside Village moved from Swans Creek to Cington Harper. Victoria Park Apartments moved from River Oaks to Mary Williams. Williamstown moves from Dumrey's to Swans Creek. And Highland Park moves from Triangle to Swans Creek. Provided on the screen in very small numbers is the specific stats for the scenario 6 visualized. It shows that over the next three years all of these schools are within the compliance of the facility utilization. No school exceeds 105% and schools move away from being less than 80% utilized. Additional features speci specific to scenario 6 is that a total of 2,660 students are proposed for reassignment. This is about 31% of the students within this region. As shown on the previous data visualization, all of these schools are compliant for the facility utilization component. In terms of student stability, the last

116time that elementary adjustments were made in this region was 2019. Therefore, kindergarteners at that time before these go into effect next year will have progressed out of elementary school. For local geography, the scenario 6 maintains current Walker boundaries wherever possible. Kilby Elementary progresses to only one middle school being Fred Lynn instead of two. Patty progresses to a single high school being Forest Park and is no longer split between two middle schools. Vans reduced from three geographic progressions to two. And lastly, the demographics are all provided in the report for the scenario 6 recommendation. At this time, the planning staff and I would like to make the recommendation to the school board that they approve and adopt the configurations of the attendance areas in scenario six for the Woodbridge area elementary and the PTOIC Shores number

117two elementary school. And with this having two schools opening up in consecutive years, we want to bring attention that the motion should be very explicit on how this is implemented. So rising fifth graders should be given the opportunity to remain at their currently assigned school. The attendance area for the Woodbridge Area Elementary School is to take effect the beginning of the school year 2627 which means that only Kilby and Vaughn have their attendance areas adjusted in addition to PTOIC view all going to the Woodbridge area. Additionally, all remaining elementary school attendance assignments should take effect the following year when the PTOIC Shores number two school opens up for the 2728 school year. In that year as well, those rising fifth graders were recommending be given the opportunity to remain at their currently assigned school to

118finish out their elementary career. As far as next steps, this is for the board's information this evening. As I mentioned earlier, there will be a public hearing scheduled on the 21st here in the board chambers and then the board is scheduled to take action on this at the February 4th meeting. Thank you very much. Okay. Um so this is the um you know stated in the schedule the next steps will be a public hearing coming up. Um, we are not voting on this for uh, one month and um, we hope to hear from people on all the different scenarios. I hope to hear from the school board members on the different scenarios. I certainly um, expect that staff should um, expect to hear from board members and um, the community regarding this over the next

119month. I truly appreciate it. If there's any questions here at this moment, happy to take them. Otherwise, Mr. Dur Wilk. Yeah, they're not so much questions. These are just general statements and reflections. Um, if that's okay. I wasn't going to ask questions on the cuff tonight. And I'll get back to um Dr. Cartage and his team uh for this. And and I do want to thank you, sir. Um you spent an exorbitant amount of time at these town halls with your team. Uh the last one we were at went well well into the evening uh to ensure we've brought on um the feedback from those who are in virtual um those who were still on at that point uh to get the feedback. So I appreciate that. Um you know for someone who like me

120who's very engaged and try to be as proactive as possible, it was really hard with me with the regulation that we passed and policy to really just sit back and kind of let the process roll out. Um and we had to I understand limit the board's um in sense interactions or my statements, my beliefs, things like that to preserve the integrity of this process and I respect it and I get that and um being at these two meetings uh and hearing feedback from constituents uh in the community, I I do want to thank the division for what I believe rectifying earlier maps. Um with some of the changes mostly in particular to the Montlair walking community with Patty um the PTOIC Shores community overwhelmingly has insisted for a long time with feedback that the PTOIC

121Shores number two school be primarily for community cohesion theirs and we'll talk about possibly some concerns with that but that's you know the trade-off what we get with that. and then of course Mary Williams was able to uh preserve primarily uh the boundaries that they have. Um so I'm thankful for that. Some of the community concerns that were shared tonight from some of the speakers are similar ones that I had. Um you know some of the communication um trying to get clarity on things. Um I did find it difficult like when scenario 5 was dropped the day of the second town hall. um you know and I understand we have a timeline and such but that I think made it hard for people to potentially adjust their speeches or their uh strategy for coming to

122these meetings because that was unveiled then and then six came and it seemed like it was smack right before the holiday um and and and that survey and I think I expressed a little bit about this before because this the survey wasn't necessarily the process itself. it was the way I felt like it was conveyed. Um, and and I think it was unrealistic for us to just assume everyone was going to go back and read the policy and regulation to realize that the survey was just one component of feedback because I saw all over social media people promoting and saying go vote as many times as possible because the winner of this survey is going to be the map that's proposed. And and and that in fact is not actually what's going to occur. I

123don't we haven't the survey results I don't know if that's coming later or such but nonetheless um so adding clarifying language on that because you could not block multiple times an IP address voted you couldn't block if someone sent their grandma in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to go on and vote and such like that and it it did make it very confusing and and so that itself was really hard navigating the maps even as a board member and most of these streets I've walked during the election season because that's just the process, you know, and I found it confusing sometimes to figure out what roads were what roads um and where the school was located in the community and I can't imagine, you know, just your average parent who knows their community but trying to figure out

124the the makeup with these maps. So again, something maybe to look at in the future um with this. I'm also thankful that you know the PTOIC district I always say has some of the strongest PTO's um PTO's PTCOs um in the county in my opinion. Uh and and I am thankful that a number of them really pushed and engaged their families to come out and support this event and and I think we see the positive benefits from for example the the Patty or the Mary Williams two of uh of my schools. However, I also have to look at the other end because I'm very concerned about some of the schools that barely have PTO's, barely have parent engagement, uh because of lower socioeconomic concerns, first generation families where English is not the first language spoken

125and and I'm concerned about those communities because there are significant changes coming to those schools. So, if we look at the maps and some of my I'm not going to make my recommendations now because we have a month, but looking at community cohesion and things like that, you know, I I I just want this is a hard process. I know the community. We're not going to make everyone happy. I know I'm going to have constituents mad at me. And we're talking about community cohesion, but my neighborhood is the only one really getting sliced in the middle. right almost in the middle where the HOA is for community cohesion. I get why it's done like that because we have to put people students families in Covington Harper but the hardships are being felt by all of

126us and and these are families my son will be moving on next year to a middle school metriculating up but his friends and their younger siblings and things like that. These are my neighbors and people who I have to see on a day-to-day basis who now are going to probably find out depending on what happens that they're getting moved in two years to another building. So my point there is in ways people are going to look at this and say you know there are some winners and losers of this. I don't necessarily believe there are losers in the process. You know there's pros and cons. I'll look at my example with you know my community for example. Yes, we would be moving hypothetically out of a beloved community in a school that you know has

127always been since it opened in 2001 the school but then on the same token you're moving into a new building like Coington a newer building like Covington Harper that has you know a lot of different nice things for the community shifting. So again looking at it from a more holistic framework on the changes. Um, but I I long story short, I know I feel like I just went on a whole kind of tangent. Um, these are just my thoughts and reflections after holding it in for about a month. Um, and and just wanted to express and put that out there. I am very appreciative appreciative of the division. This policy, the change, the regulation is much more robust in the communication, in the engagement. I do believe as some constituents said, these are things we

128need to look at, potentially some um oversightes or shortcomings in this process for future ones that we really need to uh and like I said, rectify or improve in future things. Um but I again using and looking at map six I think currently is the best outcome of where we're at with the five options. Um, but again, I do have some thoughts and changes, but we have time to get more solicit feedback and stuff like that. So, I will leave it at that. I appreciate Thank you for letting me speak. I do have the most schools impacted by this um in this change and um it's a it's a tough process. Boundaries are not fun. They suck to put it, you know, and and it it has been something. And so, you know, staying back

129and quiet and letting the process play out is not the easiest thing for me, but we're there. We're done. We presented the map and here we go. So, thank you so much. Thank you guys. I know I usually I know I hate when all of you pontificate, but let me have my moment there. So, >> I love when you pontificate. I love it. >> I love your pontification. Just >> um I just first off, happy new year. Thank you, uh Dr. cartilage and everyone who uh worked on this boundary process so far. Um as my school board member uh Wilk said, boundaries are just never fun that I've been I don't know good six, seven at least at this point in my tenure. >> 12 no boundaries boundary changes. I know all the middle schoolers

130will be all excited. I didn't even realize. Guess I'm not a cool mom anymore. Um a few things that I just want to first one of the things I always questions I always get um when it comes to boundary process especially in one like this it sometimes schools are are that are on the geographic line aren't included um just for the public's education could you speak a little bit about that >> of course as Mr. Wilk very articulately described what boundary and redistricting processes are. We tried to avoid bringing unnecessary numbers of schools into the equation because there just wasn't sufficient data to support bringing in like Lee Sennsylvania for example with our projections and decreasing enrollment that we're seeing in many schools throughout the county. Their overcrowding self-corrects in the next few years. So

131to try to keep the process more targeted to the schools that most significantly needed overcrowding relief or needed to leverage the new Woodbridge area school. That's why some of those schools along the route one corridor were excluded from the process. >> Thank you. I appreciate it because I think to just your average parent it' be well this school is right along how come? Um I think the next thing I'd like to address is and here we talk about PTOIC view and the proposed relocation. I think I know from my perspective uh to to address some of the uh the commentary and rhetoric in the newspaper and out in in the media. One of the hardest things or the challenges that I've encountered in speaking to um individuals in my area is it it it's being

132approached as a done deal and this is just going to be and I think the the most important thing to recognize is there isn't anything that's done until this board votes. Um and so yes, it's smart to think if the school does close or if the school doesn't close. I just want to be clear to our public that nothing is official until the board votes. And I think that that's very helpful. Also to speak a little bit about PTOAC view and the location ha I also sat on a land audit committee several seems like lifetimes ago trying to get the determination of who owned the land around the school how we could and this was easily Miss Jesse was on the board so I want to say maybe like 2015 2016 we started looking at

133these things perhaps even earlier um with the new elementary school coming in and uh PTOIC view needing so much work. I think it's been identified or most people think of it similar to when we rebuilt Kilby. I'm not sure if you're the right person to ask this question to, but if we could speak a little bit to the difference between the scenarios from a division standpoint, I I'll give my quick synopsis and then someone can chime in. The major difference is when we rebuilt Kil Kilby Elementary, it was the same school, the same we didn't change attendance area. We didn't change school staff. It was literally we have space for our students to continue to be educated while we were building a new building which is very different than the proposed uh scenario now. And

134I say proposed because again we have not voted. It's not official. This would be a scenario where we are opening a brand new school standalone building that already has a principal that's been hired. We originally had one from when the school was going to open the the first time. that person since I'm not sure where she went so I don't want to say but got promoted. Thank you. Now we have a new principal and um this is why I say if you're not the maybe the appropriate person to answer this question. Historically when we open a new building and they the building receives a principal a principal is hired it is then that person is usually allotted the uh autonomy to pick their own staff and to furnish the building and all of those things.

135Um, I know that process has been interrupted somewhat because we had a false start and all the things uh mostly related to construction and things of that nature, but that is still the case. This is still considered a brand new that is the primary objective. What we're doing is we're doing boundaries for two new elementary schools. So, I don't know if there's any staff that would like to like u I got it right. I just to confirm um Dr. Mday's nodding. So, I think that's the primary difference. I don't want the public to be misled or think that we are doing a replacement school because the elementary the Woodbridge Elementary School area elementary school had been discussed and planned long before this was even on paper as a possibility. So I I just think it's

136important that that's clear. Um, I also wanted to speak to the uh PTOIC view community and say that I I have not been able to physically be there for the town halls for my personal bad luck of germs. However, it does not mean that I have not been listening. I do know several families that attend PTOIC view and I understand that for Prince William County, this is something that I don't think we've ever done, which is to just simply not have a school operating in it in its original capacity. So, I understand that that's hard for a community. Um, but what I have heard the most and what I am excited about is the new area elementary school. Um, I do want to assure the public as well that no one is going to be

137out a position. Um, teachers will still be teaching within our our county if that's what they so desire. Um, and I think should we, you know, depending on how the vote goes, I think that's the missing part of the message, too. That's really important. uh boundaries are hard and change is hard. Uh we don't know the official outcome because we haven't gotten to that stage, but I do want to reassure the community that no one is losing a position. Um there's no nothing to say that teachers could not go there, but it is not the same. It is up to that new building's principal to make those hiring decisions. And I just want to be very clear in messaging that we are not doing a replacement school. It is not a rebuild of a school

138because those are two very different things. I think that the new principal of my elementary school deserves the right to open a building as she would any other. Um, and could you since we stole it from your district, uh, Mr. Blake, could you remind me? I I don't >> Miss Lebe. >> Miss Levki. I could picture her face, but I could not picture her name. There was a nice write up in the in the paper. Well, Principal Levki will will be the new principal. And then in addition to that, one of the things that I often ask for when it comes to boundaries is what I'm gonna ask for, and I know it's tight scheduling, if we could have another community meeting scheduled. I think what I'm hearing is most people feel like they were

139uninformed. And I do not believe that is lack of us promoting uh what is going on because it's been in the news and such. The reason why I asked for that is often we do have smaller hiccups. We have a lot of different members in our community. Also, the timing. Um, I think because it was over the holidays, it would be worth from my perspective to have another town hall or meeting, especially for my community. Um, I can't say operationally how to do that if it's virtual, whatever would be easiest. But I think now that we're all back in school, everyone's back focused and has attention, I would like to try or at least have the division try to capture some more input from the northern Route One community. Um, just because of the timing.

140is my son middle school, right? I know that there are still some families that left the country. You know, they left before break. We still have a stu a couple members on my robotics team. One in particular hasn't gone back yet. She back on Friday. So, just being aware of those type of um family dynamics and people traveling. We all jokingly say no school November. I think that gives the impression to our community um that we have not allotted enough time because we aren't in school. That seems very choppy. Um that would be my request. In addition to that, uh I don't have any other questions at the moment, but I do know that I will be sending some uh and and possibly asking for some changes. The last thing I want to say is

141I really want the public to understand that is that it's not done until we vote. So there is always time to uh offer commentary uh and we will be listening. So thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, Miss Wall, >> thank you. Thank you for your presentation, for the information, for everybody who worked really hard behind the scenes on this, which sounds like there was a lot of effort that went into it um going back all the way to September. Um, I have um a couple of questions and a few comments. So my first comment or question I should say no actually it's gonna be a comment um is this is our first I want to reiterate re reiterate the point that this is our first largescale redistricting effort since our new policy and procedures

142went into place. Um, and I see this as a big improvement over what we had in place before and how we used to do boundaries. Um, and greater input from the community, more opportunities, more thoughtful pres research and study on the front end, which hopefully will yield a less contentious and more satisfactory result in the end. So, I really do appreciate that. And while it since it is our first process, I do expect that there will be feedback that we gain. um knowledge that we learn, you know, things that we learn to further improve the process. And I want to thank the public who came tonight and gave us ideas for how we could improve. Um so, thank you. Um my question, um concerns, uh Van's numbers over this 20 3031 time period. Um and

143given the confidence in scenario six, I was looking at the chart on page 25 of the slide presentation. Um, and I was wondering if I could hear just a little bit more about our thoughts about Van's projected numbers in the 2029 30 2030 31 scenario since um, as I'm looking at it, it looks like I mean it does fall within our criteria of the three-year criteria. But if we look a little further out to the five-year criteria, we have uh this outlier school um with uh I don't know how many 60 70 extra students um which would be a couple of trailers at least, maybe three. And so um could I hear a little bit more about where why we ended up with this scenario for Vaughn um as opposed to and maybe this is

144too specific of a question for right now. Maybe this is something we can talk about a little bit later, but is there something that we could Are there any adjustments we could make to make that fiveyear and we don't have to, you know, put trailers up in four years instead of >> Yeah, I can speak to that. There's a situation in that extreme northern part of Route One that we're monitoring in terms of some development apartments that are going up in the Belmont Elementary attendance area. Additionally, when you look a little bit further out and zoom out, we have a replacement school opening up at Aquan Elementary. It's yielding a couple hundred additional seats. There could be opportunities to do micro attendance area adjustments if these projections do come to fruition for Vaughn. Again, this

145is, you know, five plus years out into the future. Our projections have been consistently improving and hitting very high standards. At the same time, this is our first year of projections that have entirely postpandemic historical data built into them. So, there's still opportunity for things to be changing in the region. Um, we could be decreasing more quickly than we even anticipate. >> Okay. Thank you. And so, what I'm hearing is that well, you have we have confidence in our one, two, three years out projection, correct? Less confidence in our four, five, six, so forth. and that we are anticipating if we need to we have a couple of different options and strategies correct to make smaller adjustments >> should this end up >> really being the case. >> Exactly. >> Okay. Thank you very much.

146I appreciate that information. Um my second >> question um is um I I think I'm understanding this correctly but maybe I'm not. Um, I was wondering about the kindergarteners who know that they will be moving in that second shift, the 2027 2028 >> group. So, will there be a scenario where you have a kindergartener who starts at a school and then as a first grader they get moved? >> And I was wondering could we do a >> thing where grandfather or kindergarteners into the school that they will be going to? there wouldn't be that situation because in the first year the only attendance area being adjusted is Woodbridge Area's creation which means that the students from Kilby and from Vaughn would all start that first year. Then the following year all of those students who

147would be registering for the following school year for 2728 when they register they would be registering for their school in the future. >> Okay. Okay. So, we wouldn't have any kindergarteners who started one year in kindergarten at one school and then in first grade got moved. >> Well, and that's sorry, let me rephrase that. That is possible, but it wouldn't be as a function of having these attendance areas go into effect in two consecutive years. >> Okay. All right. I don't know if everybody's I I I'm hoping that means that we aren't going to have children starting at one school. I guess you're saying it's possible they could start at one school and then be redistricted first grade. >> In grades K through four, they could like if they enrolled right now, they could potentially

148be in a school for the remainder of this year, next year, and then be reassigned. >> Okay. >> But there wouldn't what I was I think I jumped to what I thought your question was. There wouldn't be any students who wouldn't start in the Woodbridge area school next year who would then start the following year. >> Right. Okay. But if they started at one school as a kindergartener, they they would continue on with that same school as a first grader. >> No. if they if they are a kindergartener through a fourth grader um next school year for the 26 27th school year >> and they live in a residence being reassigned the following year unless they're a rising fifth grader they would be reassigned under the current recommendations. >> Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I mean I

149understand it's only the fifth graders. I'm wondering if do we want to consider also the kindergarteners? But it sounds like >> that's the board >> that's not a thing we do. >> That's the board's decision. implementation is the board's decision. >> Okay. I just just thinking about the littlest ones for sure. I mean, if you you start your first year at a school and then your first year you're when you go to first grade, you're at a brand new school, it's like starting all over again, which for our littlest kids is probably the hardest. >> The the challenge would be PTOIC Shores number two is not opened yet, >> right? >> So, if you were to be assigned there the following year and you're that kindergartener, >> Yeah, that's right. you got >> you're going

150to specialize in construction for that first first year. >> Okay, I see. All right. Well, thank you very much. Um again, I appreciate the work on this uh the feedback to adapt into scenario six. This is not my area of the county. um somewhat familiar with it, but I do know and can speak from experience of my own children in the western end when we were redistricting every year for a period of time or every other year and families were getting moved two or three times during a course of an elementary school. So, at least in this scenario, silver lining, we haven't had to do that since 2019 and that I think makes this much less complicated for families because they haven't been moved and then moved again. >> Um anyway, I appreciate the work.

151Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Miss Wall. >> I just have a >> Mr. Jesse. >> Thank you. Uh first of all I want to say that I do think that there is another meeting needed before we uh vote because in my opinion there were some areas area where the people weren't concerned because they weren't being moved. But with the six uh displayed or uh they are being moved. So they didn't have an opportunity to say we don't want to be moved or so forth and why until now and they didn't have much time to think. So I think there that is needed. I also want to perhaps disagree a little bit with uh uh my colleague. When you move a whole school and all the students into another building, whether it's uh at

152the end of the other parking lot and so forth, it's a move of the whole school. And it does not make sense to me not to move the teachers with the students. And I think that's very important that we do that. I do hope with this scenario that we now have that the principal of the new school will hire as many of the the people as possible. I I just don't think it makes sense to do that and I think very well. One of the person that wrote an email to me that said it is entirely in the authority and the preview of the board to decide how the new schools should open, operate, and staff. While the board certainly has oversight responsibility, the day-to-day operation and staffing of the schools fall under the superintendent

153preview, not the board. That said, this does not mean that the board cannot or should not voice concerns when it disagree with the decision being made. And I do disagree with the way that we're doing this. I don't see, you know, why if you're gonna move the whole school, you move the whole school, including the staff. It doesn't make sense to me. And I think if you have uh principal picking which uh staff they want is sort of like picking, oh, I want this one because they're the best teachers and this one's not that good of a teacher, so we're not going to pick them. That's the perception that you're going to have. And like it or not, that is the perception. So I I do say the other thing, Matt, and you and I

154worked a lot on on on boundaries, but I will say on any map that you send out, please put a dot or something to indicate where the school is because looking at those that thing, it doesn't make you know, I know a lot of the schools, but I can't tell on the map where it is. And it would be helpful uh also to indicate where the communities are like you were saying there because that makes a lot of sense. I don't like to see when we jumping over a community but I can't tell on your maps with the big maps at least. Perhaps if I go into the computers I can find that but I would need some more teaching on how to do that. But I do again would like to say that I

155think we do need another community meeting uh and let the uh people who did not have a chance to say I don't want our kids to be moved to have that opportunity. Thank you. >> Mr. Tenny, >> Matt, there were three community meetings and they all happened before Christmas break. Correct. There were two town hall meetings and one focus group all before all before winter break. The two town halls were hybrid >> November 17th, December 11th, December 15th. >> Correct. >> Okay. And there will still be one more opportunity for the public to speak at the public hearing that we have. >> That's correct. So effectively that could be perceived as a >> community meeting. >> Correct. Okay. Thank you, Matt. And I'd also um bring the board's attention to if the board moves forward

156with an adopted scenario that's different than scenario six. And if it wishes to change the assignment of any neighborhood with 10 or more students that was not proposed for reassignment in the first six scenarios, that in of itself would trigger another community meeting. >> Let's let's make that crystal clear. So, for example, we have the public hearing on January 21. And by the way, I'm not opposed to adding another community meeting if that's something the community wants. I'm fine with that. And if your office staff can do that, but >> we have a public hearing on January 21, we come back and vote in the first week of February. If during that vote, we decide to make some alterations. There's an amendment to the lines that would change a neighborhood that then triggers Say it

157again, in the new process, >> right? In the new process, if there was an assignment, the board decided to do a new assignment >> Mhm. >> for a neighborhood that was >> that night that was of a neighborhood with 10 or more students that was not scheduled for any reassignment in the first six scenarios, >> then an additional town hall meeting would be triggered. But if we move neighborhoods that were moved within those six that were already sort of being instead of moving them to school X, we're moving them to school Y that night. We could then vote that night. >> The intent is to not blindside a community who thought they were unaffected throughout all the processes and then Yep. >> the 11th hour they're changed. >> Did you have anything to add, council?

158Well, I was just going to if you'd like, I can read the exact requirement in the schoolboard policy 264, which says that should the school board request a proposal that is a significant moda modification from a previous proposal, then the board shall direct the superintendent to hold at least one town hall meeting with at least 7 days public notice prior to final board adoption of the proposal. Any schoolboard requested modification that impacts 10 or more current students in a neighborhood that has not previously been included in the superintendent's recommendation, nor in an earlier alternative proposal should be considered a significant modification. >> Okay, great. Well, I think the superintendent administration's heard from the school board on this and you certainly have the, you know, obviously the next few days to communicate to the staff your

159concerns on all scenarios and make any requests of the administration andor um >> Yeah. >> Oh, Mr. Jesse. Yeah. Sorry. I have a little question or concern with the reading and perhaps we have what I'm understanding you're saying that if any area was in any of the six proposals then if we want to move them that does not trigger a meeting. Is that what what I'm hearing? If neighborhood A has 10 students in it and neighborhood A throughout the first six scenarios was never proposed for assignment to a different school and then the board says in our scenario here that we're about to adopt neighborhood A goes to a different school before you could do that you would need to hold a community meeting conversely if that neighborhood A had been proposed for reassignment to

160any school to any other school in the first six scen scenarios, you wouldn't have to do the tr the community meeting. You could if you wanted to, but it wouldn't be required by policy. >> Okay. I think that's something we need to look at. to perhaps a revision because I could see a school let's say going to Kilby a neighborhood going to Kilby and now they're going to van and because that does not automatically trigger the thing because if they were in any of the five six scenarios that does not trigger and it's something I don't think we've really intended. Thank you. Yeah. So to give the public the opportunity to provide feedback on what the board is ultimately thinking, if the board wanted to develop something significantly different or different at all, it would

161be most efficient and transparent to do that before having another community meeting because we could run into a a feedback loop here of we are doing another community meeting on scenario six and then the board goes a different direction. and now I have to do a community meeting on that one and so forth and so on. So that's just something that I offer up is it's it's different from the past process and regulation. Just want to share that with you. >> Okay. Thank you guys very much. Appreciate it. Thanks Dr. Carlage. >> Thank you. >> Um at this time we are up for our student representative time. Karina Grover from the Charles J. Kan High School. Miss Grover, you're up. >> Well, that was a lot of fun. Um, thank you Dr. McDade, members of

162the school board, and the community for giving me the opportunity to speak again. Um, whether you took the time to reset, catch up on rest, or continued working hard, I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break. I know I enjoyed it. On Monday, our student senate was thankful to have a meeting with Dr. Sullivan and her team where we discussed important updates regarding grading and the use of AI in PWCS. There's been understandable concern surrounding the updated grading system and I want to reassure students that there is no need to panic. Dr. Sullivan and her team took the time to clearly explain the changes and overall this is not a drastic shift. The main differences students will notice in student view is that they can see their grade reported as quality points. For those seeking

163more information, I urge you to visit the earning high school credits and gradepoint average section of the PWCS high school course catalog. This has all the information needed regarding questions and concerns. We will also we also discuss the upcoming implementation of an AI program for students which has sparked a lot of conversation. I'll admit I was initially unsure about how AI would be introduced in our schools. However, after learning about the safeguards PWCS is putting in place and the emphasis on education and responsibility, I am now very excited about this step forward. PWCS will be offering a mandator mandatory course on AI use for both students and teachers, ensuring it is used ethically and responsibly. More information will be shared soon. And I want to thank Dr. Sullivan and her team for taking the time

164to listen to student perspectives and address our questions. Now, as we approach principles appreciation week, I want to recognize the critical role principles play in our schools. Principles are often the bridge between students and leadership ensur ensuring student voices are heard, supported, and amplified. On behalf of students across PWS, PWCS, thank you to our principles for your dedication, leadership, and commitment to creating environments where students can thyally th truly thrive. Okay. Um, yeah, that was a long long meeting. Um, I want to give a special shout out to my principal, Dr. Healey. He has visited our SVC meetings countless times and now we have an extra girls bathroom in the morning um because we have brought up concerns about overcrowding in bathrooms. So, that was really exciting. I wanted to brag about Kogan a little

165bit. Um, now the student senate has also led middle middle school student voice committee workshops to help prepare the next generation of student leaders. I've had the opportunity to attend two out of three workshops and through these experiences, I can confidently say that we have a strong and engaged group of middle school students. It was inspiring to see how seriously they take leadership and how thoughtfully they participate in student voice committees at their school. To our middle school students, your voices matter now and the work you are doing is already shaping the future of student leadership in PWCS. Thank you for improving your schools and helping your peers feel heard. Keep up the amazing work. Lastly, as we approach the end of the quarter, I want to encourage students to reach out to their teachers

166if you have questions or need clarification. Teachers are one of our greatest resources, and taking the initiative to ask for help, whether that's during class, office hours, or through email, can make a meaningful difference. As deadlines approach, using tools like planners, grade books, and ch checklists can help you stay organized and manage your time effectively. Advocating for yourself and asking for support are important steps toward success. It may feel scary at first, but I promise it will benefit you. I will keep this brief as Dr. Dr. McDade will soon be sharing information on the 2030 strategic plan, Elevate. I am especially excited about this plan because both I and fellow student senators had the opportunity to participate in feedback sessions and share student perspectives. While I'll be graduating in just 142 days, I am excited

167to see I am excited to see how this plan shapes the future of PWCS for the students who follow. Thank you for your time. >> Outstanding, Karina. We truly appreciate it and thanks for um having a pulse on what the students think about even at the middle school level. Truly appreciate it. I can tell you even in my home there's some anxiety on the grading changes and so I appreciate your um addressing them and and taking in the student concerns. Um Dr. McDade, superintendent time, you're up. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good evening. I would like to introduce first the newest member of our executive cabinet who has not been formally introduced to the board. We did announce um our newest executive cabinet member, Dr. Daryl Samson, but this is um his first board meeting

168to be uh recognized. He's our associate superintendent for student services and postsecary success. Most recently, Dr. Samson served as executive director of student services at Arlington Public Schools. In this role, he led systemic reforms that significantly reduced chronic absenteeism, expanded non-traditional pathways, and enhanced mental health and substance abuse services in collaboration with county officials. We are so fortunate to welcome such an experienced, passionate leader to our team, and we continue as we continue this journey together. Dr. Samson's dedication will help guide us through exciting developments and new initiatives that lie ahead. Welcome, Dr. Samson. if you could please um stand so everyone can get get a chance to see you. Thank you and welcome to Prince William County Schools. Also, next week is principal appreciation week which provides us an opportunity to highlight the important

169role principles and assistant principles play in making schools safe, caring, and innovative spaces for both students and staff to thrive. Next week, we will be taking the time to thank our principles for their steady guidance, inspiration, and support that they bring to our school communities each and every day. As we celebrate the achievements of our principles and welcome new leadership, it's important to remember that each step forward builds the foundation of our future goals and aspirations. You'll recall that just a month ago um in November, I shared the outcome of vision 2025, which was our last four-year strategic plan and the progress that we made, the outcomes we achieved, and the momentum that we built together as a school division. And I am excited that tonight I will be using the remainder of my superintendent's

170time um to present to the school board and to the public Elevate 2030, which is our new four-year strategic plan. So at this time I'm going to proceed to the podium and present to you Elevate 2030. All right. So I will begin elevate 2030 um and jump right into uh our commitments, our strategies, and our goals. Um, as I stated earlier, I went through the outcomes of vision 2025, which were many. We had so many accomplishments that we're proud of. And jumping into Elevate 2030, it will chart the future of Prince William County for the next four years. So, I will start vision 203 uh, Elevate 2030 with our vision, which will remain the same in Prince William County. Our vision undergurs all of the work that we do each and every day. And that

171is to ensure that every student will graduate on time with the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind necessary to create a thriving future for themselves and their community. We have six core values. You'll see that this is the same from our prior strategic plan. These are values that our parents, our students, our employees, our entire community really holds dearly. So we are continuing with these core values which include um equity, inclusivity, innovation, integrity, resilience and well-being. They grounded us through vision 2025 and they will continue to guide us as we launch Elevate 2030. We are also continuing um to keep our profile of a graduate. A lot of work went into the profile of a graduate and our students weighed in on this. Our families weighed in on this. The board weighed in on this.

172A lot of research went into the profile of the graduate. And as we step into the future of automation and the age of AI, the PWCS profile of a graduate is more important now than ever before. We must prepare students to be critical thinkers, digital citizens, innovators and visionaries, resilient individuals, and global collaborators. And Elevate 2030 strengthens our commitment to nurturing these traits in every student as they metriculate through the Prince William County school system. Based on stakeholder feedback, we've also maintained our four key commitments: learning and achievement for all, positive climate and culture, family and community engagement, and organizational coherence. Vision 2025 really showed us what we can accomplish together. And Elevate 2030 defines what we will accomplish next. So, what is next? Before I begin going over the goals and the strategic priorities

173in Elevate 2030, I do want to ground us in some data in what is happening in the world around us. Because ultimately um in our vision uh for Prince William County, we always state that creating a thriving future means that as students graduate from Prince William County, they should be able to acquire a rewarding career, experience econom economic mobility, and live a purpose-driven and fulfilling life. And so that means that they have to be adaptable and learn quickly. As we look at what is happening around us, the proliferation of artificial artificial intelligence is not just impacting um operations, but it is also impacting education. AI is transforming our world as profoundly as the printing press did, the automobile and even the internet combined. across institutions and industries, companies are forced to reorganize their workforce needs,

174adapt new tools, and create new roles that didn't exist a few months ago. And so what you will see that from Elevate 2030, it is a bold and innovative vision for Prince William County over the next four years. And you will see artificial intelligence interwoven throughout. And I want to give you a little bit of data to help uh understand why it is important for us to do that. So if we take a look at some recent national studies to see how AI is changing the market. In the summer of 2025, the tech industry was predicting that AI would eliminate half of all entrylevel white collar jobs. A fall 2025 MIP MIT study found that AI can already replace 11.7% of the US workforce, which primarily represents 20 million American workers in entry level and

175white collar jobs. By 2030, the World Economic Forum has projected that AI will affect 22% of global jobs and will lead to 170 million brand new roles. yet to be created. So this is not so much about what AI will do in terms of replacement of the workforce, but more about the 170 million brand new roles yet to be uh created and the skill sets that will be needed to fill the roles of the future. And it is our job to prepare our students for that future workforce. And so as artificial intelligence continues to transform the market, it is simultaneously introducing new challenges within the workforce. Challenges that we don't want to see our students face as they seek to go into the workforce. On December 11th, JP Morgan Chase reported that 40% of adults

176lack basic digital skills. The company argues that the workforce shortage is a national security threat, not just an economic issue. The report argues that funding for vital industries like AI and energy won't move the needle without the talent pipeline. And that talent pipeline is right here in Prince William County Schools. By 2030, the Mackenzie Global Institute has predicted that AI will replace 57% of worker hours, which will be automated by AI agents and robots. And by 2030, Microsoft expects that the skills that employers will need will have changed by 68%. So our fear is not that our students will not be able to acquire rewarding careers because somehow AI will replace them. The fear is that we don't want students to not be competitive because the individuals who have adapted and learned how to work

177along say a alongside AI will be the students the the people that our students will be competing with for future employment. Just four years ago, we told undergraduates to pursue coding and computer related hard skills. Many of today's graduates have degrees in computer engineering, computer science, or information systems. All fields that saw explosive growth over the past decade. And according to the Federal Reserve, they are now all degrees with the highest unemployment rates in the United States. But there are high demand jobs across this country um that earn high wages that are in demand and also right here in Prince William County. So what you're going to see from Elevate 2030 is that we will prepare students for those high demand, high wage industries, specifically those in the county because we want our students also

178to come back and work right here in Prince William County. So here's some information that we have about the top growth clusters in in Prince William County. The clusters with both above average growth and above average total demand include information technology, business management and administration, health science and architecture and construction. We commissioned H handover Research to do a labor market analysis for us of our county. And based on that analysis, Handover Research recommended increasing CTE courses in high growth, high demand fields that are in Prince William County and within the Commonwealth of Virginia. So, you will see some of these key strategies reflected um in our key commitments as I walk through those priorities tonight. So, how is PWCS preparing our students to create thriving futures? In comes Elevate 2030. According to Anderson and Winthrop

179and the disengaged team is a text that I shared with the entire uh school division um during our leadership summit earlier at the launch of the school year. A student explorer is someone motivated by their own curiosity instead of outside expectations. These students pursue the questions that interest them and stay committed until they reach their goals. With our strategic plan, Elevate 2030, PWCS aims to nurture a whole generation of student explorers. Students who have the ability to learn quickly and adapt to an everchanging world. And we have four key commitments that will prepare our students for just that, to create a thriving future. So let's get started with commitment one, learning and achievement for all, which really is the heart of our work. Learning and achievement for all is all about equitable access to excellence

180for in education for every student every single day. And in Elevate 2030, we've set some ambitious targets. So first we'll take a look at the goals. In each of the commitments, I'll first share with you uh the wildly important goals that represent that commitment. So these are our big overarching goals that we want to achieve within um each commitment understanding that they are there are smaller goals that are built in throughout the plan. And then I will then share with you not all of the strategies that are outlined or codified in the plan but the high lever strategies that are directly aligned to the goals that are presented tonight. So in commitment one we have several goals. The first being our 95% on-time graduation rate. Now, some of you may be thinking that was the

181goal from vision 2025. You are correct. And we did hit an all-time high of a 94.8% graduation rate. However, the the indicators for graduation rate have changed under new federal guidelines. And so, if you take our 94.8% grad rate and um align it to the new federal graduation indicators, it would equate to a 91% graduation rate. And so we're keeping that 95% and we're going to work to make sure that we still remain at 95% even under the changes in the new um graduation indicators according to the federal guidelines. Next, you're going to notice that we have a goal around uh reading at grade level by the end of second grade. We want 80% of students reading at grade level by the end of second grade. Just a reminder in Vision 2025, we set a

182goal for reading at the end of third grade. But what we do know is that third grade still remains a strong predictor of dropout. So we need students reading on grade level prior to entry into third grade. And we set the standard for 80% of our second graders um reading at grade level. We also we kept the 85% so pass rate. That's a holdover from vision 2025. We did not meet the 85% although we experienced uh noteworthy growth across all content areas. We didn't hit the 85%. You'll recall in November I stated that you would see this as a a reappearing goal for Elevate 2030. And then we also have set uh a new goal in Elevate 2030 to have a 10% rise in advanced pass rates for literacy, math, and science. Making sure that

183students who are coming to us proficient are leaving us um with growth and that growth would be indicated through pass advance. So we're aiming to both remediate and accelerate so that our students achieve prof proficiency as well as advance beyond that to ensure future readiness. Additional goals in learning and achievement for all really focus on postsecary success. So you'll see here that for the for uh a new goal that you haven't seen that we're expecting a 6% increase in enrollment in two and four-year college. Now, I want to make sure that this doesn't take away from the incredible work that we've done in CTE. We're going to continue that. We should be doing both. We want to make sure that students have multiple pathways towards a rewarding career. CTE is a viable pathway, but we

184also are an educational institution and it is important that every student sees themselves as a collegegoing student regardless of whether they choose that pathway or not. If they do choose to go to college, we want to make sure that they see themselves as a collegegoing student who is prepared to get to and through college, which is what makes this goal um incredibly important. We're also setting a goal for 60% of our students reaching college readiness benchmarks as measured by SAT. This really tells us whether or not a student that metriculates through our system can actually earn a um a passing grade in a college creditbearing course once they leave Prince William County. We're also looking to increase the percentage of students earning the seal of biiteracy and I'll talk by 10%. I'll talk a little

185bit more about that and this is a really lofty goal here but I do believe that we can achieve it. We have we are expanding dual enrollment throughout the county and we want by 2030 students uh over the four years will have left Prince William County with an associates degree, the equivalent of an associates degree in their back pocket. We also want 100% of our high schools offering at least one career cluster in a high wage, high demand field. So, you saw the high wage, high demand fields that are right here in Prince William County. And no matter which high school you attend, you should be able to um pursue one of those careers because you have a career cluster in your high school and you shouldn't have to travel to be able to get

186that. So, to achieve these goals, I do want to um spend some time in some of the high impact strategies. What you see here is a list, a comprehensive list of all of the strategies that show up in the strategic plan. I will not go through all of those strategies tonight, but they are available in the document that is online. Um, and so you can take a look at those. What I will do tonight is call out a few key strategic priorities that are directly aligned to the goals that I just mentioned. Starting number one with global learning. Uh global competencies and multilingual skills. Global learning is key to preparing students for for their future. And we're aiming for all students to gain global competencies and multilingual abilities for success in an interconnected world. Employers

187are increasingly valuing bilingualism which correlates to higher wages. So to meet these needs, we will be expanding IB and Cambridge programs. We want to make sure that there's a full K12 continuum for those programs. And we're targeting a 20% increase in the diploma. So if a student is in an IB program, we want to increase the number of students that actually graduate with the IB diploma. And so that 20% increase is targeted for by 2030. We're also going to grow our dual language immersion. We currently have four dual immersion programs. We'll be introducing new language programs in Elevate 2030. And we'll be providing clear biiteracy pathways through all the way through high school, training students on interpretation and translation and culminating in 10% of graduates receiving the seal of biiteracy. The next key strategic priority

188is around career clusters and IT pathways. Career exploration will start early and will progress with students throughout their continuum of education in Prince William County. So by 2030, here's what you should expect. In the elementary school level, the students will be taught career awareness. By the time they get to middle school, there will be a focus on ex career exploration. And in high schools will offer uh preparation through work-based learning and studentrun businesses. All high schools will provide career clusters in high wages and high demand fields, including digital literacy, AI literacy, and industry credentials. and each high school. This is a a a big um goal in the plan is to have every single high school with an IT pathway which is in heavy demand so that um there's equity across the system for students

189to access IT pathways to prepare students for a digital AIdriven future. Currently we have an IT pathway at Forest Park and at Battlefield and we want all of our high schools to offer that pathway. The next key strategic priority is careers, entrepreneurship and student businesses. What we've learned is that the Gen Z uh uh student population our they are driven by entrepreneurship. They want to be their own bosses. And so we want to make sure that we support them in their development towards entrepreneurship. And we'll do this in the following ways. We're providing school-based enterprises such as school stores and studentrun businesses, high school career preparation activities and experiences um and middle school courses that will be dedicated to researchdriven entrepreneurship. The next key strategic priority is around augmented reality and virtual reality emerging technologies.

190Emerging technologies like augmented and virtual reality are changing learning experiences as AR and VR create personalized adaptive environments for all students. PWCS will use immersive technology to make global content accessible and interactive so that students when we talk about global collaboration these are the types of technologies that will allow for global collaboration to happen. By 2030, every school will have access to AR and VR technology, and we're really excited about that. The next key strategic priority in learning and achievement for all is innovation zones and teacher learning. Our educators drive Elevate 2030. It cannot happen without them. and PWCS will provide teachers with rigorous research-driven instructional experiences emphasizing inquirybased and experiential learning for adults. By 2030, here's what you should expect. We aim to award micro credentials in computational thinking to both teachers and students.

191So by 2030, we want 100 students that have been awarded micro credentials in computa computational thinking and 200 teachers also earning the the micro credential. Teachers are piloting uh piloting chat GPT and high school students will have access to co-pilot this coming semester as adaptive AI tools support personalized learning and real-time feedback. Both physical and virtual spaces for teacher collaboration and innovation will be made available. We're we're planning by 2030 to have 10 classrooms of innovation and one teacher-led model, an innovative instructional lab, which will be a space for teachers to share and test instructional ideas and take risks in teaching and learning for a new generation of students. And finally, rounding out learning and achievement for all, the final high impact, high leverage strategy is universal preschool. PWCS is committed to a clear preK

192to kindergarten pathway that develops early numerousy and understanding with literacy instruction grounded in the science of reading. There is strong research favoring the long-term effects of preschool. As a matter of fact, Georgetown University published its groundbreaking 20-year study concluding that students who attend preK are less likely to fail courses or be chronically absent in K12 education and they're more likely to enroll in advanced placement and international baloria courses in high school as well as graduate on time. There's been a wealth of research that points to stronger life outcomes for students who participate in preschool opportunities and we want to expand those opportunities right here in Prince William County. So by 2030, PWCS will provide families with access to universal preK. As you can see, commitment one is our promise to deliver powerful learning to every

193student so that every student can succeed. That concludes learning and achievement for all. Moving on to commitment to positive climate and culture. Strong learning only happens in strong environments. And positive climate and culture is our commitment to inclusivity, belonging, and making sure that every student, every family and employee feels welcome in our schools and feels feel supported in our school district. A student's ability to learn is shaped by the culture and climate around them. And commitment too is about creating the conditions for students success. So, here are the goals for positive climate and culture. We're going to start first with looking at um our English learners. So, you'll recall that in uh vision 2025, we set a goal to reduce the English learner dropout rate by 10%. And and we did hit that goal, but

194we also know that even with meeting that goal, our English learner dropout rate continues to be a challenge and it is above the division average. And so, we are going to continue to chip away at that. So you'll see this goal is now in elevate 2030. We also um as I mentioned earlier all of the upskilling that needs to happen in the workforce. We're investing in our workforce right here in Prince William County and we're targeting 60% of our classified staff participating in upskilling and training um to make sure they're prepared for the shifts in roles that are occurring uh within the workforce. We're also committed to having a point of contact for mental health first aid in every school and increasing diversity by 5%. We also had diversity in our last strategic plan, but

195you, as you know, our students represent over 159 countries in Prince William County schools. And so, we want to make sure the diversity of our staff mirrors that of our students. So, we're keeping that goal. One of the most exciting goals in um positive climate and culture is our home initiative and I'll expound on that a little bit later which is to have at least 150 dedicated residential units for teachers by 2030. Uh additional goals in positive climate and culture really focus on our facilities and sustainability. So, you'll see that we've set a goal to have 100% of our schools with outdoor learning environments um and 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. We also have set a goal to have 100% of our buildings automated with automated systems across all of our facilities. So, let's

196take a look at some of the strategies for commitment too. We will be investing in people, systems, and learning environments, improving our human capital framework, and ensuring facility modernization. So, here is the comprehensive list of strategies that you will see codified in Elevate 2030. And now, let's take a look at some of the high impact strategies that will drive the goals for a positive climate and culture. Beginning with our human capital framework. As educators, we empower our students. And as an employer, we must empower our staff. And so the human capital framework forms the basis for how PWCS will attract, support, develop, and retain top talent. It's built around six connected areas that you see listed here on the screen. And PWCS will align its employee practices with these six components along with our profile

197of a leader and standards of excellence. So looking ahead to 2030, what you should expect. This approach aims to create a clear, fair, and cohesive employee experience and ensure that the school system remains focused on accountability, clarity, and educational excellence. The next high impact strategy is our principal residency. Really excited about the principal residency because you know that in 2025, we launched a successful teacher residency in response to the critical teacher shortage. And leadership development really is central to PWCS human capital strategy. There was um a Wallace Foundation study that came out that talked about the fact that the the most impact to a student comes from the teacher and a later study that followed up to say that the teacher also has to be supported by a high quality leader. And so it is

198app propo for us to expand the residency to the principal so that we have a strong pipeline of leadership because instructional leaders are responsible for creating the conditions for our educators to do their best work. So by 2030, not only will we have our principal residency program um in full swing, we also plan to have 80% of the graduates of the residency holding leadership roles right here in Prince William County Schools, creating a strong succession plan for leadership. The next uh key strategic priority in positive climate and culture is the home residency. Because joining PWCS often involves relocation, we are launching the home initiative and home stands for housing options made easier. And this is to improve housing accessibility and make PWCS an employer of choice. We will continue to build partnerships with universities and

199lensure providers while the home pilot reduces relocation barriers for prospective staff in Northern Virginia. So by 2030, we're aiming to secure at least 150 dedicated residential units through public private partnerships providing affordable housing for our staff. It's important to note that realtor.com has named PWCS among the most popular school districts for families looking to relocate and the home initiative allows us to maintain our standing as the most popular school system to relocate, providing affordable housing options. Next key street uh key strategic priority for positive climate and culture is around artificial intelligence and smart buildings. We know our climate and culture is shaped by the environments where students learn and staff work. And so we will be using AI smart sensors and predictive analytics to boost building safety, cut downtime, and improve air quality in all

200of our facilities. These technologies enable early issue detection, longer equipment life, and lower energy costs, which can be directed back into our classrooms. Through the Better Buildings Challenge, PWCS will convert all lighting to LED. We'll be upgrading building envelopes and prioritizing geothermal and smart HVAC systems where feasible. And the expectation is that by 2030, we will reduce 25% of greenhouse gas emissions. The next key strategic priority is outdoor learning environments. This is a fun one. Um, Elevate 2030 seeks to ensure that every PWCS student will have access to meaningful outdoor learning at their local schools. So, we will be building quality outdoor spaces to include environmental literacy in lessons, train educators for outdoor teaching, and partner with local groups to connect students to their community through outdoor classrooms. because the learning really does expand beyond

201the four classroom walls. So by 2030, all schools will have outdoor infrastructure supporting wellness, engagement, and exploration. And that concludes commitment two, positive climate and culture. And we will move on to commitment three, family and community engagement. And we've got some exciting initiatives here in family and community engagement. Our mission in PWCS is to serve as trusted partners with our students, families, and community. Families are our students first and most important teachers and our commitment to family and community engagement is to deepen trust and collaboration across PWCS. So here are the goals for family and community engagement. First, we plan to expand resources for students and families by opening three schoolbased clinics by 2030. We also want to expand food pantries. We know that food insecurity is uh right here in Prince William County and

202so we are already piloting 10 food pantries, but we're planning to add eight food pantries annually. We also are erecting a new mentorship network which will link students to the business and uh community leaders as mentors with a goal of having 150 or more trained youth mentors. And of that 150 uh mentors, we want 50 of them to be diverse mentors to support our firstgen students. So at least a hundred first generation and underrepresented students who are um pursuing a college after graduation. So let's look at some of the high lever strategies. First, here's the comprehensive list of all of the strategies that you will see in the documented strategic plan. and I will walk through just some of the high leverage strategies that we will be using. Coordinating agencies and nonprofits to provide wellness

203support as well as connecting students to mentors from companies, civics groups, military, and community leaders. So, let's look at our first key strategic priority, which is school-based clinics. We will be partnering with health care providers aiming to offer quality, accessible care in schools where families need it the most. These clinics will support preventative health, mental well-being, chronic disease management, and family assistance. Therefore, lowering barriers, boosting attendance, and helping students concentrate when their basic needs are being met, fostering strong early connections with families. So by 2030, we plan to implement three school-based health clinics and at those clinics have a goal of 85% of students and families receiving essential wraparound services within four weeks of being referred to the clinic. The next key strategic priority is the school-based pantries that I mentioned. Learning is impacted when

204basic needs go unmet. We're currently piloting, as I stated, the 10 school-based food pantries. The most recent um pantry was opened at Hilton High School and there'll be a total of 10 um this year. But moving forward, we will be offering pantries that provide fresh food options, hygiene supplies, and emergency resources for families in need, helping to improve attendance, engagement, and student well-being by addressing food insecurity. And so the goal for 2030 is to implement an additional eight functional food pantries annually to ensure we have a minimum of 40 food pantries across the school system by 2030. The next key strategic priority in family and community engagement is our student mentors. We heard from families across the school system. I personally sat with uh parent roundts. We had 17 total engagements where I had an

205opportunity to meet with community leaders and with parents. And I will tell you the one theme that was reverberated throughout the county is that mentorship is important. And so I'm excited that we are launching the mentorship network program in PWCS. We will be pairing our students with mentors from the business um our business and local community. uh they will be mentors that will support students with goal setting, skill building and college and career transitions. The program also will aim to help first generation and underrepresented youth achieve economic mobility through career exposure, academic support and leadership opportunities. So by 2030, what will you see? You should expect that we will recruit 150 mentors to support 250 students annually with 50 of those trained diver trained mentors being diverse mentors specifically trained to mentor a a minimum

206of a 100 students who are first generation underrepresented students and that's annually. We'll also be ambitiously pursuing internship opportunities that will launch launch a summer internship opportunity for at least 50 students for future experience. And I want to point out here that we are going to continue, you know, that we set a goal in vision 2025 to have 500 um internships earned over the course of the four years. We nearly doubled that and we're continuing on that trajectory. What makes this different? It it is specifically targeted to make sure that there's a minimum of 50 internships that are directly aligned to the students interest and the pathway that they're choosing. Right? So if they have an intern, if they're going into business administration, they have an internship that aligns to that actual career interest. So

207that's what makes this different. Not to take away from the fact that we are continuing to grow and expand internships, but this is a more targeted approach. Next, we have the the strategic priority around career exploration. And this is uh a goal that we've set to make sure that in a nutshell, we have an opportunity, a unique opportunity now for parents and students to learn together and be prepared for the workforce. So we're exp uh extending an opportunity for students and parents to learn side by side. And so this program will focus on microcredentiing, GED preparation and career and technical education, but for both parents and students to be workforce ready. By 2030, 80% of the targeted students and families will receive opportunities to work together to become workforce ready. And closing out family and

208community engagement um is going to be a focus on our spark funding agenda. So the final key strategic priority is around spark. I talked a lot about expanding career pathways. Really excited about um being able to have an opportunity for families and students to learn together to work towards a trade or a career side by side which will bolster the entire family, not just the student. But in order to do this, we will need additional funding. And so we've set an ambitious spark agenda um to advance career pathways and expand the partnerships that support them through Spark, which is our education foundation. So for the next four years, Spark will focus on four main areas. STEM and AI education, wellness and wraparound services, innovation and digital citizenship, and career pathways. And you'll see the amounts

209that we would like to raise for each of those areas. By 2030, Spark aims to raise 30 million for student learning. And I want to um note that while that might sound like um that's that's a lofty goal, we set a goal for vision 2025 to raise $10 million and we doubled that and raised 22 million. So we believe that 30 is achievable, especially with um the agenda that we've put forward that directly will support and impact our students. That concludes positive climate and culture. Moving on to our fourth and final commitment in Elevate 2030 is organizational coherence. In vision 2025, we identified a critical need to align our system for greater coherence. We work diligently to move away from a system of independent schools to a unified school system that allows a division of

21090,000 students and 20,000 employees to be guided towards the same northstar and same vision. This required us creating norm practices and standards of excellence to yield greater alignment, efficiency, and responsiveness in both education and operations. And organizational coherence is important because we are a business. This is a $2 billion business. Our business just happens to be education, but we still have to have operational efficiency. And so, Elevate 2030 will build on the and continue the momentum of organizational coherence through the integration of AI and automation. So, let's take a look at the goals for organizational coherence. Elevate 2030 will build an integrated culture, upgrade digital platforms, centralize data, and train staff in data literacy, boosting efficiency and aligning programs and strategic goals. So, by 2030, here are some of our goals. Number one uh shifting

21150% of new annual investments for pre from previous operational expenses uh for greater impact. This is all about return on investment. The second one is ensuring that 100% of our departments and instructional staff are using AI dashboards for real-time decision making. 100% of our um systems our ERP which is going to be around facilities finance and HR will be modernized and I'll explain a little bit more about ERP um and integrated with approved AI capabilities and finally 100% of our educators specialists and leaders will complete advanced AI training for their roles. So let's take a look at the comprehensive list of uh priorities that you see under organizational coherence which is all around modernization strategies unified data architecture and strategic decisionmaking integrating and automating HR finance and facilities to boost efficiency by 20 to 30%

212and userfriendly tools and ongoing training to build data and AI skills across all employee groups. So let's look at the high leverage strategies that align directly to the goals that were identified for organizational coherence. Starting with data dashboards and data literacy. We all know and I know that uh so many of the schools have already uh communicated excitement about having better data dashboards and access to real- time data um that they can a and with the capabilities of AI for analysis by 2030. Um, we're aiming for all PWCS departments and school-based staff will utilize datadriven uh decision-making through AI enabled analytics dashboards to improve student achievement, increase employee retention, and complete a full integration of data systems across all departments. So, we're getting rid of all of the Excel spreadsheets. The next key strategic priority

213is ERP. And what ERP stands for is enterprise resource planning. We'll be upgrading our system. This will allow us to sunset our outdated and inefficient legacy systems for a more modernized interoperable management system, which will digitize all of our records. So, we're no longer doing manual requests for transcripts and things of that nature. Um, even the application process through AI uh through HR. All of these things uh will be modernized to streamline processes, improve data accuracy, and optimize resources. Automation and AI integration will reduce manual tasks significantly, analyze data for better operations, taking the guesswork out for employees, and enhance transparency. And our staff will be trained in AI to support ethical implementation, which is driving smarter decisions and better services. So by 2030, 100% of core enterprise resource planning systems will be modernized and

214integrated with approved AI capabilities. And we're also aiming through this to reduce burdensome administrative manual workflows by 75%. The next key strategic priority is return on investment. Here's where I do want to publicly thank um our board of county supervisors. We have uh a revenue sharing agreement that ensures that our schools are funded adequately. And this return on investments really is about um making sure that we are taking our commitment the commitment that is being made to this school system and the investments that are being made seriously committing to not only fiscal integrity but also responsibility for ensuring a return on investment. And we believe we've done that with the outcomes of vision 2025. But there's still more opportunities for greater efficiency. And so in elevate 2030, we're making the fiscal integrity transparent through a

215strategic return on investment goal. Meaning that by 2030, 50% of new investments will be funded through reallocating prior operational spending. For those of you who are aware of continuous improvement, it really aligns to our start, stop, continue process where annually every year we look at the work that is happening in the school system to determine what work streams need to stop, what work streams need to start and which should continue and those that need to stop can those dollars can be reallocated for new investments and new strategic priorities. Finally, um, in organizational coherence is AI staff training. Elevate 2030 will ensure that every educator, specialist, and leader receives advanced AI training that is tailored to their professional role. This investment in staff development goes beyond basic digital literacy, equipping our teams with the expertise needed

216to integrate artificial intelligence into daily practice, improving instruction, streamlining operations, and enabling smarter decision-making. So, what should you expect? By 2030, 100% of our staff will be prepared to use AI tools confidently and responsibly, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement that directly benefits our students and the broader school community. Um, here I want to share with you um just a little bit of uh insight from our students. Elevate 2030 really does equip our students for a dynamic world, recognizing their complexity and capability that goes well beyond test scores. It creates a classroom that reflects students identities, expands their horizons, and encourages bold steps into the future. But this isn't something that we as adults feel is necessary. What you're seeing here is also coming from the voice of our students. You heard um

217from Karina that our students weighed in on the development of the strategic plan. We had um robust engagements, but I think the loudest voice came from our students and they have a lot of thoughts about the future and what should be happening in terms of developing a modern personalized classroom. So, let's take a look to see what they had to say. I think classrooms in the future like they're going to have like teachers as like artificial intelligence robots. >> We'll be able to talk to others from different country than meow. >> People probably in Asia can learn stuff in America. >> I think AI will be more advanced and teachers will learn how to teach their students who have disabilities. maybe like one student could be a robot to help all the other students. >>

218As always, the kids are spot on. Um just the fact that they're thinking the future is robots um is to me the most important thing right now. Um these kids are going to be working side by side with robots and the fact that that's what they focused on was so amazing to me. If we're given a technology to utilize it and it's going to help us with that child and make that child be more successful in the classroom, I'm we all are on board. >> If you look at our strategic plan, one of the things that we're really focusing on is trying to make our students great digital citizens. Learning how to use AI for its benefits and making sure you use it responsibly, ethically, and in a way to solve some more complex problems,

219I think, is what we're hoping we'll be able to teach our students. Does this make the teacher obsolete? And I say, "No, this makes the teacher more human to focus on more humanentric things. >> Don't forget your punctuation." >> But you also really shift in how you think about the way that you're orchestrating content in your classroom to be more of an uncovering uh for kids and then applying and less about do I need to fill their heads with something and then just test and see if they learn what I told them. I'm really excited about expanding opportunities for our students to complete and learn and grow as students in flexible spaces, flexible time bands, having options that have been expanded due to growing technology. >> The reality about this as an emerging technology is

220that there are lots of possibilities, but there are also risks and as a school system, we have to focus on both as we roll this out. families are trusting us to be the experts in the space on how their children learn best and how we can help them achieve their goals. It's a huge responsibility that we have to make sure we are cautious when appropriate, innovative when possible to bring those ideas together. These kids grow up on technology. They have it in their hands when they're toddlers. I'm all for the technology that is going to come in the future. It's going to help them in the classroom. It's going to make everything more accessible. It's going to elevate their learning, motivate them, and I'm 100% for it. >> Oh, I get it now. >> So,

221you heard from our students, they are embracing the changes that are happening in our world and excited about that. And our classrooms have to mirror that change. Now is the moment for us to lead with vision, spark innovation, and boldly shape the future that awaits our students, embracing advancements not just in technology, but across elev uh across education. Elevate 2030 focuses on our path forward, imagining the future that we can create together. I really want to take a moment to thank um the entire school board for all of your input and feedback. I hope that you uh see your voice in Elevate 2030. Uh thank you for your support over the last four years for vision 2025. I also want to publicly thank all of our families that participated in all of the engagement sessions.

222I really enjoyed talking with each of you that came out hearing your voice, hearing your hopes and dreams for your children. One of the things that I said to our families in every single one of the 17 um engagement opportunities is that, you know, I think the job that prepared me most for being the superintendent is is the job of a mother and understanding what it feels like to want so much for your child. And so that resonated with me hearing directly from our parents what they want to see uh for the future for their children. and they really just want their students to do exactly what our vision says, create a thriving future for themselves and their community. And I do believe that Elevate 2030 is the step forward towards that. So, I want

223to extend my heartfelt appreciation um for coming out for our families coming out in the evening after work. They could I'm sure had so many other things to do, but they see education as an important bridge towards their students future success as do we. And so just my deep heartfelt gratitude to them. I also want to thank all of our students who participated in our um Elevate 2030 engagement sessions, our community leaders, our faith-based leaders. Um and again, thank you so much to the board for everything that you have done to contribute not just to the past four-year strategic plan, but this future plan that you see here that really is a bold and innovative plan. I do want to um share with the public that may be watching, we you can access the full

224document. It is on our pwcs.edu website, so you can read through all. Of course, I presented the goals and the high leverage strategies, but it is a uh document worth taking a look at. We also have a template for feedback so that there's still opportunity for our families to weigh in and our community to weigh in on the strate strategic plan prior to the final vote on the strategic plan. And I'll just close with the fact that we believe strongly that Elevate 2030 will lead to every student graduating on time with the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind necessary to create a thriving future for themselves and their community. that is elevate 2030 and I will take any questions that the board might have. >> Well, let me let me first start by saying uh

225thank you Dr. McDade. Um you know we are now in your fifth year here as a superintendent. fourth year, you completed a strategic plan that you had to put together coming out of a pandemic uh addressing long-term um problems that the school division has faced. And um you know, you you you when you started when we interviewed you, you know, you had pointed out to this board in in some of your early interviews about lowhanging fruit and easy things we can fix. Um you you certainly jumped in and did that. uh then you picked up on all the harder things over the last four years and it's led to this incredible success of vision 2025. Um and and and and for folks who haven't seen it, you should watch the last board meeting where we

226presented the results and the success of 2025, achieving nearly every one of the goals set out and and being very transparent about the ones we did not achieve and and and reooking at how we're going to achieve those in the next four years. this plan that you have laid out has um like the first plan for everyone to know um and as you just pointed out Dr. Mcdade included input from of the entire community every corner of our county um which I think is critical in um putting together a successful plan when you have buyin from everyone and that's why that first plan really worked well. You have started this effort by engaging the community. We as a board will take input from the community on this plan over the next few weeks. Uh we

227will provide further input. Um and I think um you know I'm just excited about this bold as you pointed out, ambitious as you pointed out, am innovative plan um and I think it's important you know I'll have the rest of the board weigh in, but it is really important for the public to know that Dr. McDade um said to the board four years ago when she put the plan together that every dollar that we budget will be spent towards the goals of our strategic plan. Large organizations who have good strategic plans succeed. That is why people have strategic plans. And when you take every dollar and spend it towards those goals and and we did this as a board even when we might have been hoping we spent money on other things which we didn't.

228We stuck to the plan and it worked. Um, and so the reason why the public should take a look at this plan is that if there are things you want or you like or you see, um, if it's in the plan, it will be funded over the next four years. And that's really important. Um, you know, they say the devil's in the details. Please take a look at this plan. There's no devil in these details. there's only delight and um really a gift bag of goodies for our community who cares about what our students learn. And I'll leave, you know, I'll end with the fact that Dr. McDan ended by saying, you know, her preparation for putting this together as being a mom first. Um, you know, I 100% agree with that statement. Um, I've

229gotten to know you over the last four years. I I truly believe that and uh I know no one whose eyes are as wide open to what the students need as Dr. McDade and as you have been over over the last four years and and it is student needs that drive the work that's in the details that you will all see in this amazing plan. Um and and it is why I am excited to to just be a part of this and continue to support this effort um by this board and by you Dr. McDade and your staff. Um thank you very much. >> Thank you Dr. Latif. I do and uh you just mentioned my staff and I do want to um call out which I did not do earlier. Um we the strategic

230plan for every single commitment that you saw tonight we had co-leads. someone had to lead um the the working groups, the work sessions, collecting all of the information, the data, and then codifying that um into goal proposals. It was a year-long process. Um it was very complex. Um you know, probably some tears. Uh and so I do want to acknowledge I have an incredible executive cabinet. I do not stand here alone. There's no way that I could do this work alone. And I want you to take note that they're all here tonight. um because they are all vested in this work. And so for the executive cabinet who served as co-leads on the strategic plan, if you could just stand up really quickly. Um I want to recognize all of your efforts and the work

231that you've done over the last the last year. I also want to um acknowledge and appreciate my chief of staff um Alisa Bautello. Uh one of her number one jobs is to oversee the strategic plan. So she's kind of like the sergeant-at-arms. she's got to wrangle everybody together um to make sure they adhere to that that timeline, have all of the charter uh uh proposals done. Um it it really was an intense process. Uh she and the director of our our continuous improvement team coordinated all of the family and community community engagement events and attended all of them um with me. So I have a really committed team. Um they're all parents as well. some of them have students in the school system also. You know, we are really deeply committed to serving Prince William

232County schools and students with excellence. And so, I I just wanted to take the time to acknowledge them because they're usually behind the scenes. Um, and I want to just acknowledge and and celebrate them along with my deputy superintendent who leads this school system with me because I I would not be able to do it without you, Carol. So, thank you to all of to all of you that are here tonight who have supported this effort. Fantastic, Dr. McDade. Thank you. Uh I think I see Miss Tennic, then Miss Williams. >> Um I just want to say thank you. That was that that presentation was amazing. Um the way that you go through that and um to echo what Dr. Latif said, uh, you truly listened to each and every one of us and and

233the things that we bring forth even even last year, you know, seeing some of that reflected in this, um, and the perspective that we have as as parents and what we see um, as needs in our community and and and in our own students. Um, that's really reflected. Um, the the one thing that I saw that I really really loved was that 150 students earning an associates degree. I just that is so amazing. Um I think that's going to be a great thing. The the IT pathways um the ARVR those are just awesome awesome things. Um the the dedicated residential units for teachers that's awesome awesome. And I'm sure there's so many partnerships that that can come out of that as well. Um and the mentorships uh with local business owners. I know we get

234asked I get asked all the time, you know, what can we do to help the school system? What can we do? um they they want to help these students uh especially in um the the trades, you know, I think that's going to be such a valuable partnership with these business owners and trades um to help these students succeed. So, um I'm excited about that. I'm excited about the CTE internships um and the AI tools that you're going to provide to our students and our staff. And I just um I think there's going to be so much goodness by 2030, too. And um I just appreciate everything that you've done and everything that your staff has done to do this. Um and thank you, >> Miss William. >> Uh thank you, Chairman Latif. Um I'll start

235by saying thank you to uh Dr. McDade and all of your staff. I know some since you got here, people have departed. We have new people. Um I think everyone has played a role in supporting your work in this division and of course you are the shining star that leads the ship and I appreciate all of it. For me um I don't know how to not be excited honestly. Uh, I sit here as someone who's been here for over a decade and look at your first strategic plan to me was the the the beginning of everything I ever dreamed and had been yelling about from the seat for 12 years. And to see the next level of it, um, the amount of joy that I have right now, even thinking about the student entrepreneurships, most

236people know me, I know my son is has his own business. when I go to school events recognizing that students sit there and um I'll just say like for myself the first time I encountered student businesses I'm thinking oh this is nice like my version of youth you have like a little part-time job but to see the division taking them seriously because a lot of these students have businesses that are also supporting themselves and their families. It's not a part-time thing. It's not a paper route thing. um and they're coming out of high school already employed and sometimes employing others and to be able to support them in that effort and to guide them and hopefully keep them in our county not only um doing that but then they have later the opportunity to mentor

237other students. It's full full circle. Um having the opportunity for uh parents, guardians, other family members to continue their education with their students because I think that's really what's going on in a lot of homes now anyway. At least I know in mine because I'm always like, "What does this do? Can you fix this? I feel like I've gotten old. I don't know how this works." There's a lot of like, "How does this work?" Um providing a setting and a framework for that I think is impactful. um utilizing um I guess what I one of the things I like best is this new strategic plan is I feel like we we will be able to utilize a lot of existing streams and pathways that we have currently in our division in a more efficient and

238meaningful way. Um, I say that for example, I remember a few years ago when independence was being built and we were opening and we had facilities. Um, I talked about could we have internships within our division where students were able to shadow current facility people or whatever the job is. And I've seen the growth in that. I feel like this plan is a continuation of that. Um, there's just so much I could go on and on forever, but I I am I'm very excited by it. I'm very excited by our renewed also our renewed um development of technology and utilizing current technology we have. We have a lot of students families all over the world. Uh, I think it was Unity, is it? Unity Reed with the yellow jackets, the robotics girls team who actually

239are ahead of us and started a whole other team um using what? >> Osborne Park. Thank you. At Osborne Park that uh started a whole other robotics team in another country right from our schools writing subject m um business SWAT analysis and things like that. Uh I I just see this as the right forward path the the path the path forward that is right for our students and our staff. And the last thing I will say because I'm talking too long is I also very much appreciate the training and the investment that we're making in our staff. Um what I hear frequently is that staff get training and it's not always um as refined as they would like it to be for their particular role within the division and I see that there is a

240noted emphasis in that on elevate uh and also norming our system including uh staff at all levels in what our business operations more are and how they work I think is also instrumental into us um operating as one and and that's that's the goal. So I really appreciate it. I'm gonna stop talking now because I could talk forever and I'm very excited and I know there's more to come and also like chairman said we we still are looking for public um input. So thank you. >> Lisa, were you next? >> Sure. Thank you. Um uh Dr. McDade that this was amazing. I I love all the work that you have and your team have put into this. And um I want to just echo briefly what Dr. Latif said. I I remember when I ran

241for school board the first time and um I I looked at our strategic plan that we had at that time and just as a mom who had kids in the system, I couldn't look at it and and know where kind of feel where we were. And I remember when you first came in, Dr. McDade, it was I I was just so grateful that you were like, "No, no, no. Our budget priorities are the strategic plan. It's not a it's it's not a document you put on the shelf. It's a living document." So, um I appreciate all the work you've done and and the the first plan being so successful. Putting this next one into, um action is not necessarily easier because we have great goals in here. Um but we have the the structure in

242place. So, thank you for all of that. I will have some comments that I'll send later, but thank you. >> Um Mr. Blake and then Miss Wall. >> I just want to just say thank you. I appreciate the thought um you know the thought the collaboration the community input and uh just the vision like to see you know vision I guess it's elevate now but you had a vision vision to elevate so um yeah I'm excited as well mostly everybody said everything so I really you know I'm really happy about that universal prek though so >> I think that's going to be a very big game changer And you know, um, if we if we had the goal to have 80% of the kids liter by second grade, I think it's going to be first

243grade with preK there. So, um, yeah, I'm just really excited. Good job, guys. And, uh, I can't wait to see where we go with this. >> Thank you, Mr. Blake. Miss Wall, >> thank you very much for this presentation. Um, I wasn't able to be at the soft launch, so this was really great. Um, and I love um a number of things about the plan. Um, first of all, that we have one and that it is comprehensive. And while it's broad, it's also specific. It it does both things. And I think that's really important. Um, I also appreciate that ideas and thoughts of mine that I've reflected over the years that I've said or talked to you about or others or uh problems that I've seen um are reflected in this plan and you know

244some of the things that are more specific that aren't that we didn't talk about tonight. Um I see them in there. So I I agree. You know, I think we all can see ourselves and our districts and the needs of the families that we represent that have talked to us over the years reflected in this plan. And so, um, I appreciate that because it is a plan for the entire district. We have a very big diverse district with schools that are very different from each other, but yet we are united in our goals. And I saw that through the last four-year process, and I know I will see that through this next four-year process. This will unite us. this will help us be unified as we work forward. Um, I appreciate all the work that

245happened uh behind the scenes. I know this was hours and hours and hours um deadlines, pressure, you know, on top of everything else that you all were doing. Um, and it really is truly a great document. I've already read through um quite a lot of it and I look forward to reading through more of it and submitting my comments um and suggestions. Um I wanted to highlight looking at it not in the details but just from a broader perspective the thoughtful analysis of the future of how acknowledging how different the future is going to be and how that can bring excitement. Um, but that can also bring fear. But the best way to address that fear is to get prepared and to plan ahead to tackle it head-on with the emerging technologies that we know

246are happening now and will happen even more in the future. Um, and and our kids live in this environment and it I think it will only accelerate. And so I think that that is one of the strengths of this plan is that it is flexible enough to adapt, but it is it is leaning into the need for innovation in the way that we do things, the way that we approach a classroom, the way that we approach a child's needs. Um, and I think we will see great things. So it really is going to live up, I believe it will live up to its title of elevate. Um, I do, um, I did read the disengaged teen. Excellent book. Highly recommend it. I'm sure everybody here has read it. >> Um, and >> um, I was

247struck by how how important it is to find not just the student that's getting the good grades, but actually connecting with their learning in a transformative way and really engaging and learning before learning sake. And if we can get more children into that category, we are going to reach our goals and blow them out of the water. Um, so I commend the district um team on that budgeting. I go I I second what Dr. Latif said. I learned that um if it's in the plan, we're going to do it. If it's not in the plan, we're probably not going to spend our time and effort on it or money, effort, time, right? So, I appreciate the fidelity to that process that puts everybody um on the same playing field. It it allows for easier transpar

248easier communications and in discussions and it puts us it just it's just such a smoother process for actually reaching our goals instead of spinning our wheels arguing and going off in different directions. So the connection between the budgeting priorities and the strategic plan um that is those connections are really important and I've seen that in action. So I'm excited to see this go into effect. Um and it does reflect what I'm hearing from the community. Um for the most part there's still a group of people who just want us to go back to pen and paper and no technology at all. But I do think we need to acknowledge that the world is changing and we need to prepare our students to adapt and live in this world where technology is everywhere. We cannot put

249it back in the box. Um and so yes, I love oldfashioned books and paper and reading and everything else. And I think we should still do those things and curs and cursive and cursive is good too otherwise we won't be able to read what people wrote in the past. But um but we should simultaneously lean in to the technologies that are available to us including all of the data analytics, the AI and all the other things that are going to help us be more efficient in the things that we do. So I will wrap it up by saying great job. I look forward to reading this in detail and presenting um or I will I will participate in the process of giving you feedback. And uh thanks everybody. >> Mr. Jesse, Vice Chair Jesse Well,

250thank you for a job well done again and it's very impressive what you do and what your team does and I appreciate it. Uh, as you know, my focus, major focus is on academics and SOS and how well we're doing. And I really want us to work hard to get to that 85%. Uh, as I said before here publicly, I don't care what the state is doing. They're failing as far as I'm concerned. And we want to be we want them to come to us to learn how in the heck do we do it? And that's what I want to see. I also want to thank you for putting in the uh advanced placement because uh my wife called it the J curve. Uh we want the kids to as many as possible get up

251higher so that we look when you look at the graph you see is going up for how many kids are going to the advanced placement because that's a measure uh and that's something we can measure. So but uh I think we're doing a wonderful job in the community. I also would say uh I hope you're not wearing out the principles with all the other extra stuff because there's a lot that they do and again I want their major focus to be on academics but we do so many things with the and you know the the pantry is something that is desperately needed but at the same time I want to make sure that we have people there that can run that and that is not something that the principal has to worry about. So, thank

252you so much for what you do. I appreciate it, >> Mr. Will. Thank you. Uh I'm not going to be loquacious. I'm just going to say thank you. A lot of things that you said resonated with me. Uh it's almost like you took all of our like recordings of our board meetings and dumped it into chat GPT and asked us to analyze everything that we wish it was that easy. >> I know, right? No, that would take a lot. Um uh but uh from things going all the way from of course universal prek has been reiterated up there. It's been a >> a proud um area of mine to represent um uh Washington Reed for all these years and see the expansion of that program is great. I hear all the time from new teachers,

253young teachers, even ones 10 plus years experience, you know, who are still just trying to get their start down here and because the high cost of housing, they're barely getting by, whether it's renting or I mean, god forbid trying to find a house around here. So, I love, you know, the home residency program and what you're trying to do with that process. Uh, the food pantries, loved it. Went to Hilton, saw one of those on a different day with the career pathway partnerships. think it's really creative that workforce readiness partnership with parents learning skills together. I'm >> excited about that. >> I like that. That is really nice. Um and then of course, you know, I think we all in our careers, I often wonder, you know, if my job's going to be obsolete with

254AI, but again, it's all about harnessing that and what that guy said about there of it further enhances being humanistic. And so for the teachers and stuff like that, it's you're never going to be able to replace that component of having a physical teacher in the room. That's right. Or and a lot of other roles. So that was really powerful. So again, thank you so much. Great presentation. Appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Um Dr. McDade, I'll wrap up with just saying, you know, how enthusiastic I am and and you've heard what the board says, but universal prek, fantastic. um you know the home residency and there's a lot of sexy things in this plan that I think um you know are are are are going to be written about maybe in the press

255but but but I I don't want to distract and I and I and that's why I encourage everyone I don't want to distract I mean these things are great the home residency the food pantry we're going to do universal prek all holistic efforts to improve student achievement but in the end the details on learning and achievement for all and our goals for pass rates, for uh college readiness, career readiness, that is the that is the brunt of this plan and and I don't want anyone to sort of miss out on that. If they're covering this, that's what you need to be looking at, too. You know, there's the sexy stuff, but then there's the real the real work. So, we truly appreciate that. Thank you very much, Dr. McDade. >> Thank you, Dr. Lie. And

256thank you to the entire board and again to our entire PWCS community because uh this is our strategic plan and it represents the voices of of every stakeholder group in this um in this county. So thank you. >> Thank you again. One round of applause. Very good. All right. I think um we're going to quickly go to we have uh 1801 revision of policy 401 safety and security. uh buildings, grounds. I think this is the um um this is the plan to put uh defibrillators. Um who am I asking here? Council, Dr. Mc Vern, >> yeah, Vern, we're just putting defibrillators everywhere. >> Yeah, this Yep. Yes, sir. This Well, not everywhere. So, let me just qualify. So, this is this is >> everywhere. a revision to the policy because uh the state uh through

257state legislation has mandated uh that defibrillators be placed strategically at athletic fields and be within three you know three minute response to a student having some sort of um um cardiac event. So uh this is uh a suggested revision to the policy. It is the board's first rating. >> Excellent. If anyone has any questions, concerns, please get them to Vern um or to Dr. McDade's office or to council's office. We will bring this back and vote on it next meeting. >> Thank you. >> Um, thank you. Thank you, Vern. 1802. We already voted on. That leaves us with board matters. And last time we started with Justin Wil. This time we'll start with Lisa Zarapore as she's chitchatting over there. >> Let's go. Miss Zarapore, you're up. >> Thank Thank you for those of you

258who are still here to the bitter end. I appreciate it. I do appreciate all the comic. I think that's PWA up there. So, thanks for coming out. Um, just love you too. Um, it's late so I I'll just say this. Thank you all for the engaging in the process of boundaries and all the things and uh have a great night. >> Miss William. >> Why thank you chairman Latif. I will start by saying happy new year. Specialty clo program applications for most of them close in February. Please be sure to participate in whatever events are going on in your community this month. There's MLK will be I think January 19th. Their dates are out there. Please participate in all the wonderful things that occur in January. And um with that, I will not even use

259all my time. >> Next, >> Mr. Blake. >> All right. I would just say this. Good evening and happy new year. Um this is, you know, this is our first school board meeting of the year, our organizational meeting. And I just want to thank uh begin by thanking all my colleagues, our superintendent, her team, our educators and staff, family, students we serve. And I'm I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue this work. And then I'll just cut this short and I I will say I do want to take a moment to recognize the Garfield High School boys basketball team. >> Right now we came into 2026 undefeated. So we're currently 14 and0. And um we just yeah last night we just beat Woodbridge at Woodbridge. So I don't know you know Garfield that's a big

260deal. So >> that is a big deal with >> beat him very badly too Mr. Jesse congratulations congratulations to coach Bell to all the student athletes for their hard work and discipline and uh we I'm just really proud of you guys. So we all are proud of you. So just keep up the good work and have a good night. >> Thank you Mr. Blake. Miss Wall. >> Well, I'd like to begin by saying I hope everyone had a great Christmas, Hanukkah, Quanza, family time. My three college kids were home for the holidays and spending time together was really, really, really great. And we may have witnessed way too much Stranger Things. Um, >> yes, yes, yes. Um, welcome to 2026. This new year holds the promise of a new start. I do have some wishes

261for the school division. I wish to see the successful launch of Elevate 2030. I wish to see students thriving and achieving, exciting to excited to come to school every day. I wish to see teachers engaged in high level instruction to focus their students and bring out the best in each child. And I wish to see continued commitment to how we allocate resources to best meet the needs of our families. And I wish to see the board work collaboratively with each other and the division to make that magic happen in 2026 and beyond. um in Louiswis Carol's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which I have read very in a very detailed manner in an in an advanced college class. So, I find myself to be quite fond of this book. Alice finds herself ting to a

262cheshure cat and the dialogue goes something like this. That depends. Alice says, "Where Alice, sorry, Alice says, where am I going?" Basically, I'm paraphrasing. And then she says, "The cat says to her, "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the cat. "I don't much care where," said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the cat. "So long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation. "Oh, you're sure to do that," said the cat. "If you only walk long enough." "Um, I share that because when I was reflecting on the strategic plan, that's what came to my mind. Um the benefit of having a powerful strategic plan that articulates a vision for the school division and every department, every school, every student is that it outlines

263an answer to that crucial first question that Alice asks. Um and so which is the question which I put here in my notes. Would you tell me please which way I ought to go from here? I feel like that's what we just heard tonight. Which way ought I to go from here? And yes, it does depend a good deal on where we want to get to. Um, so let's do it. Um, together we have the privilege of shaping a bright future for the next generation. That's what we're talking about and that begins with what we decide for the next four years. So, thank you to all who are here for kids. Your partnership, trust, and dedication to excellence in education inspired me, and I know that good things are a foot in 2026. Thank you,

264Miss Wall. Uh, Miss Erica Trudenic. >> I'm good to go. >> I'm reminded when Alice stormed out of the tea party with the Mad Hatter that she wanted to go home. I yield the remainder of my time. >> Mr. Jesse. >> No. Now, first off, I want to thank uh Mr. Blake for setting an example for how to to be the vice chair and all the things that you did. Uh unfortunately, we're still in a situation, my wife and I, where I'm not available to go to a lot of things at the moment, and I hope that uh we we get there soon. But uh again, thank you for the privilege of being the vice chair, and I will try to do as best I can. Thank you. And I hope everybody has a a

265good 2026, a better one than than we had before, because it's always good to look for the better. And I think we can do uh amazing things. And thank you very much. >> Wow. Well, I'm not going to be short, so um sorry about all that, folks. Um welcome to um 2026, everyone. I'm excited to be here. I want to thank Mr. Vice Chair Blake who served as I pointed out at the beginning of the meeting very well and I've enjoyed working with him and I'm a better chairman because of the work he's put in this year for me and and for this board and I look forward Mr. Jesse to working with you over this next year as well and I think this board will be um well served by you um as well.

266You know part of my job as chairman of the school board is to worry about what's next and what's happening and what's coming down the pike and I am very worried. There are headwinds that the school division faces and there are tailwinds that the school divisions will benefit from. And the headwinds that I worry about as chair are um and that you're going to learn about over the next few meetings of this school um budgeting cycle. Um and and and those those headwinds are very concerning. The headwinds considered uh I'm very concerned about the enrollment drop projections that we continue to hear about. Um that will impact facilities that will impact us as the largest employer in the region in the county and um we are looking at yes um closing of PTOIC View Elementary

267School and moving folks into the new school and and that will be a first for Prince William County and those worries and those actions that we take have impacts um everywhere and I worry about all of those impacts good and bad. um economic outlook with potential recession up ahead. It is unclear um what state funding will look like and certainly federal funding continues to be um you know not not there for schools and and really never has been but continues to be a decreasing portion of um our share in what we need to do. I am worried about uh the continued political rhetoric attacking public education and undermining its efforts. Uh, I worry about the federal hostility to the efforts we have done in DEI and Prince William County makes no apologies and you heard

268from our superintendent this evening on our efforts to take the strength of our community and the diversity of our community and make that a um, uh, benefit for everyone and our continued work to doing that is going to be a tailwind actually for the school division. about the continued federal hostility. Um, for example, last week we heard about the the White House um suing Virginia because our universities have decid, you know, years ago and when I was on the board of visitors of UVA, we voted to make sure instate tuition was available for all our dreamers and our DACA students. And we don't keep track of how many students we have who are dreamers or DACA students, but we have consider maybe the most dreamers and DACA students in the state here in Prince William

269County. And that that will impact our students directly that will impact their ability to launch a thriving future. Tailwinds. So to end on a good note, some of the good things you just heard a strategic plan that is bold, ambitious, and innovative. That is going to be the strength and the power that we need to generate uh successful outcomes for this community over the next four years. We've already become a county that, as you heard from Dr. McDade, one of the um most googled for places to live because of school districts. We're one of the uh best school divisions to work for across the nation. We're one of the um and and we continue to make those efforts as you see in our um strategic plan for organizational coherence, a place that has a positive

270climate and culture. Those efforts will continue. Um, we continue to expand our tax base in the county, commercial tax base that provides and has been a source of strong revenue for the work that we need to do in the schools. Um, while the enrollment drop is a problem, it also provides some positive opportunities, a reduction in overcrowding, our ability to provide universal prek and some of the space we've never been able to uh because we have not had it before and and we might be able to rightsize the workforce accordingly. Um, and our diversity, our greatest strength is our diversity. Being the 10th most diverse county in the country, um, I am excited to see how that diversity unapologetically we commit to on a daily basis to make sure we find success for everyone here

271in our county. I want to thank you all and welcome to 2026. It's going to be a great year.