May 21, 2026 School Board Meeting

001Call this meeting to order. At exactly 6:01 on May 21st, we have a quorum present. Let's proceed. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. 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. Ms. Wasef roll call, please. Good evening, everybody. Ms. Boone? Present. Ms. Bailey? Present. Mr. Allsbrook? Present. Mr. Grant? Here. Mr. Hold? Present. Ms. Parker? Present. Dr. Carter? Present. Thank you. There needs to be a certification by the board for the May 7th meeting because they are still in closed session. Can I have a certification, please? Whereas the Franklin City School Board has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote in accordance with the provisions of

002the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and whereas section 2.2-3712.delta of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by this school board that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law. And now therefore be it resolved that the Franklin City School Board hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge, one, only public business matters lawfully exempted by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification applies, and two, only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered. We have a certification. We now need to vote. Any discussions? Need a second. Do we have a second? I guess the meeting's adjourned. In order for this meeting to continue, we need a second because we need to close out a

003closed session from May 5th. If we do not receive a second, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Everyone came out for no reason. Do we have a second? Well, we need a second. You did the certification. We need a second to continue. I will second. With that being a second, we go ahead to the vote. Ausbrooks. Is there a discussion? Uh the discussion I have is um I'm not sure if everybody can certify because two persons left during closed session. So, what is the ruling from the attorney on that? Is that um you, Daniel, or um or Micah? I I heard your question, but I couldn't hear the question. Can you repeat the question? >> Yes, this is Ms. Bailey, Micah. I'm asking question, how you doing, about certification. Who can actually certify because one person

004actually left during closed session. So, how can they certify what happened and what didn't happen cuz they actually left during closed session. One person left after closed session before we came back into the meeting. So, who can actually certify? And is there a way that we can put the microphone to him so the community could hear him, Ms. B? Is that close as it can be? Can the volume get any louder? That would be Josh's question. I don't Okay. Just asking. I think I'll do the best I can to speak loudly. I think anybody who was in closed the closed session can certify that what was discussed in closed session was what the board said they were going in the closed session to discuss. If somebody left before closed session ended, then it might make

005sense for that person to abstain. But I I don't think there's any obligation for that person to abstain. Thank you. That was my only discussion in discussion time. Yes, Bob. Mhm. Okay. Okay, we can have that discussion later. Right now we're going to >> this is discussion time, so he's having it now during discussion time according to Robert's Rules of Order. This is discussion time. >> [applause] >> Once again, that that discussion to go behind closed doors would be a FOIA violation. That is no reason to go behind closed doors. Mr. Mr. Kent is right. Whoever left closed session last week and would you like to discuss why you left closed session? That's a yes or no question. Okay. So, I left at the end of the closed session before we came in because of

006the something that the attorney had said, which I can't speak on too much, but the fact that I am not going to put myself at jeopardy for what could potentially blow potentially blow back, which is what I said to you before I walked out of that door. And Mr. Allsbrook was standing there. I think you had already had stepped away. I exited. You had already exited. So, the exact So, the same thing that I said before I walked out of there after you heard me talk to the attorney, I said, "I'm not going to participate in that. I am not going to put myself in jeopardy like that." And I said, "Y'all, I am leaving." That is what I said, and then I left out. And then Mr. Allsbrook saw me cuz he walked out

007behind me. And he said he said, "Are you leaving? Am I right?" He said, "Are you leaving?" I said, "I can't be a part of that. I want no parts of that." I said, "I am leaving." And then I walked away. That was why I left. Okay. And my recollection was that when we talked in there, you basically stated how you were going to vote. I did. And then when I came back in, I asked the attorney a question because we were talking to Daniel. And Daniel said with some of the things that were going on, even if I chose to abstain or said no, it was still it putting myself in jeopardy of the lawsuit. So, I told I said after that I said, "I am not going to participate." So, initially, you're right.

008At the beginning of that when we were having the discussion, that is what that was my intention, exactly what you just said. Before we all left out of there, I talked to Daniel. And that was what Daniel had said. So, I said after that that I was going to recuse I was going to miss But I didn't talk to you like I literally I said that. We were standing right at the door. We literally had literally just walked out. You had given me a fist bump, and then when we walked out, uh Mr. Allsbrook was behind me. He followed he stopped he said he said he He "You leaving?" I said, "Yeah." I said, "I'm not going to be a part of this." I said, "I don't want to get myself hemmed up." And then

009I left out. That was me. So, you have one answer. There was another board member left. But, just for clarity, the attorney had sent everything. Everything the attorney sent wouldn't put anybody in jeopardy. But, you just some people just choose not to do their duties for whatever reason. We're not going to blame it on that cuz the attorney gave great clarification on everything and how things were supposed to be done. And actually sent it. They actually sent how it was supposed to be done and what was supposed to be said. So, there was no questions with it. The attorney did send what they sent, but the attorney also said also said that with the things that were going on and what they were receiving, that there was a possibility that we were opening ourselves up

010to something that was even worse. He did say that. But, he also sent the correct terminology on how to handle it. But, sometimes when you feel you're getting outvoted, it's easier to exit than deal with the situation. And outvoted is an actual >> Yeah, it's quite much easier to exit than deal with the situation when you're getting outvoted. >> I believe what she's referring to is the fact that by you leaving, we no longer had a quorum, so we couldn't even vote on anything. That's why we're in closed session now. Right. And I will say this again quite clearly to >> But, she was the second one to leave. I said everyone that's sitting here, Yeah, we still have a quorum. You did. But, that was the point for the vote not to happen. or

011I said no. I was still putting me in jeopardy, so I want to make this quite clear as well. Even if it was not even if one of you one of the three people that are also sitting here was not here, it wouldn't matter. If that came up again, guess what? If it was still five people, you know what I would still do? I would still turn around and I would still walk away. It doesn't matter if it was the three and I. The The way that that would not is if there was an even vote. So, what I'm telling you is it doesn't matter to me one way or the other. This situation coming up like that and that particular thing with only five people was a no for me, period. That's what I'm

012saying to you, Mr. Perry. No. He said that he said that if I voted no or abstained that I would still be in jeopardy. That is what he said. But, there were other votes where we were always out voted and we stayed. Other vote I'm just talking to community, not you directly. There were other votes where we were always out voted and we stayed. There were other times when we came up here, got yelled at from this group, words misconstrued, and we stayed and we did our duties. That's what you do, even though you may not like it. And some of the things that was done was done against FOIA violations as well. There were FOIA violations committed and we still stayed here. And those are actually proven. Those are actually were said. We've changed

013policies that this board still haven't implemented and we didn't get upset and leave. We changed many policies that this board has not implemented and we still stayed and did our governance duties. Well, what I'm not saying >> Even though it was I'm not talking directly to you cuz I'm not going back and forth with you. No, no, no. But, we are going back and forth. No, but we are going back and forth. I'm addressing the community on that point. Because no matter how many times for over a year, if we were out voted being anyone up here, we stayed. We came back. If we were yelled at from being up here, we stayed. We came back. If our words was misinterpreted up here, we stayed. We did not leave during the closed session. If we

014had one of us or even two of us like the time when me and Al we stayed. We did not leave. So, you made your statement and I'm making mine. We're not here to debate with the community. We're just making statements. We're not, but I'm also not going to let it be presented to the community, either. It's already presented that way because you left. So, it's already It's already presented to the community. It sounds wonderful, but it's already presented to the community. You left. That's already presented to the community. You can frame it this way. You can frame it that way. You and I'm going to correct it each time. You chose to leave. You chose to leave. You chose to leave. You can't stop me. The chair does not recognize this discussion. May we

015please move on? >> Yes. Please. Agreed. Now, may we please have a vote? All um Bob. Abstain. Thank you. I'm also abstaining because I was not here present at that meeting. Ms. Bailey. Come back to me. We'll wait for Ms. Bailey to vote. Ms. Bailey just said you can come back to me. You have two other board members. If you're trying to make an example of something, that's a waste of time. Actually, you have three other board members. Other people have said to come back to them and you've done it, but you're not doing it this time. It's been recorded sessions. Lashonda have said at different times to come back to her and you went back to her. >> please vote so we can move on? Please. Please. Very stern. Yes, very today. Extremely. I

016don't know. It's up to you. Can't Mr. um Osborne. No. Once again. Ms. Bailey. Yes. Point of record, Ms. Parker, I did not see Yes. Three yes, one no, and two abstain. The majority carries it, so it's a yes. It's been approved. >> Three to one, three to two. 5.1 to approve of this agenda. I'm going to approve of the agenda as prepared. We have a motion, we need a second. Second. We have a motion and a second that we need to vote. Discussion. Is there a discussion for this agenda? Yes, I would like to make a counter motion to amend the agenda to discuss the calendar that was used previously last year to be implemented one more year to give the teachers, students, and parents time to get acclimated back to a five-day calendar.

017I think we have a motion on the floor and we have to deal with that first. Actually, point of point of call because I countered the motion, so point to call. What did you say? You would like me to make it again? Yes, I would like him to make a counter motion to amend the agenda to discuss the calendar of last year to be used this year so the students teachers parents could get acclimated with it have it going back to a five-day calendar next year. It's already on the agenda two different calendars, but not the one I am referring to. We have to vote on the motion on the floor before we have a counter motion. Um, let's check with the attorney point the call cuz I made a counter. It's about the agenda.

018We are in discussion about the agenda. And I'm making a counter motion to amend the agenda. What what was the first motion seconded? Yes. >> Yes. And we're in discussion. I mean, I I think that's a proper motion if you if you want to make it. So, we need to vote on the counter motion and we need a second. I second. Mhm. It's the counter. With the motion and the second, we have to vote. All in favor? Yes. Grant? Yes. Parker? Yes. Bailey? Yes. Holt? Is this the motion to use the calendar for last year? >> year's calendar onto the discussion for this year. So, instead of it having two calendars, now we're discussing three calendars. >> That's exactly correct. I vote yes. And yes. Now, we need our vote for the approval of the

019agenda. We have to finish two. Motion carried. It's six to We need you to We need you to It is. Motion carries. We'll discuss the third calendar. Quick quick question. How would I I ask something to our closed session. Is this the time to do that as well? Because I didn't see it a point that was discussed last time and we never got an opportunity to vote on it. I didn't see that on the current agenda for tonight's closed session. Meeting, is is that going to carry over anyway or are we just not going to talk about it tonight? Everything that was did not that was not discussed on May 7th carries over onto this meeting, whether it's closed session or open session. But you're saying it's not on the agenda? I didn't I didn't

020see Yeah, the point that I made for last time's agenda, I didn't see that put on this uh this agenda. But this board said it's going to be discussed, so that's that's fine with me. If it is. Uh-huh. It's on the agenda for you. I mean, we can It's up to you, man. What? You you I'm You were asking any one of us? Oh no, I don't know what he's talking about, so She wasn't here, she wouldn't know. I just know that everything So that to the closed session as well. Yes, sir. Just wanted to make sure. It's on the closed session. With everything carrying over, are we ready to vote? We just approved the amendment to the agenda. Now we have to go back to approving the agenda. Mhm. So we have a first

021and a second for the agenda. And the discussion was just ended. Now may we please vote? Osborne. Yes. Mr. Grant. Yes. Parker. Yes. Bailey. Yes. Boone. Yeah. No. Holt. Yes. Holt. Yes. So you got five yeses and one no. Next. You have to say motion carried. >> Motion carries. Because of the five yeses and one no. I do. Cuz I don't even know what it's about. Mhm. Stay over there. Virginia education superintendent's report. Ms. Smith-Britton. Good evening members of the board, administration, colleagues, and community members. My name is Margaret Smith-Britton. I've been employed of Franklin City Public Schools for 4 years, and I'm currently the lead for the exceptional education department at SP Morton Elementary School, and your VEA president for 1 and 1/2 years. When I started as president, we had 12 members. We

022are up to 52 at the present. That includes educators, cafeteria staff, bus drivers, all staff of Franklin City Public Schools. Tonight I stand before you not only as a teacher, but as someone who deeply cares about our students, our schools, and the future of the district. We come to work every day dedicated to educating, supporting, and encouraging the children of Franklin City. We invest our time, our energy, and our hearts into making sure our students succeed academically and personally. We do this because we love what we do, and we believe in Franklin City Public Schools. However, the uncertainty surrounding the school calendar has created growing concerns among the teachers and other staffs for Franklin City Public Schools. Many of us, this is not simply about the dates on the calendar. This is about our livelihood,

023our stability, and our future. As educators, we understand the importance of planning and preparation. Right now, many are struggling with the unknown. Without a resolution, there's fear that some may be forced to seek employment elsewhere in order to secure the stability for themselves and their families. I want to be clear. Many of us do not want to leave Franklin City Public Schools. We enjoy working here. We value our students, our co-workers, and our relationships we have built within the community. But the uncertainty can be unsettling, especially when it impacts our careers and the ability for us to provide for our families. Thank you for your support and your continued support for the teachers, the parents, the staff, and most of all, the students. And I ask for a calendar to be passed tonight. Thank you.

024>> [applause] [applause] >> MS. TOMPKINS. MS. TOMPKINS. >> GOOD EVENING, BOARD CHAIR BOONE. Um other members of the board, Mr. Dr. Carter, and all those assembled here and online. Um I was prepared to discuss two calendars, which are the superintendent's recommendations, um and I'll go through my presentation and answer any questions that you might have after at the conclusion. So, some of these slides are going to be similar to what they were um when I presented the superintendent's calendar recommendation on May 7th. There is a need for a change. Improved academic gains for our kids. More time for interactive and hands-on learning. Additional professional development time, as well as the social emotional benefits when students are in school for more days. Increased remediation and enrichment opportunities are also one of the benefits of a changed

025calendar. Next slide, please. These are the other programs, as I mentioned. I won't go through all of them this time, but the programs that you see listed here all operate on a five-day per week calendar. And even if the school is out, we still have to provide transportation to and from these locations for Franklin City Public School students. Compliance with the Virginia Preschool Initiative. I have uh quoted what is written on page 29 in the guidance. We must provide five days per week for our pre-K program. I know that there are some in the community who may have misinterpreted this particular um portion of the um guidelines. However, we met with the Virginia Department of Education to argue the point that we were meeting the 990 clock hours or 180 days. They came back with

026us and said, "Although that may be true, you're still not meeting the required 5 days per week, even if we are out for inclement weather and it impacts um the 990 or 180 days, we have to report that to the Virginia Department of Education and those slots are prorated. If the students are out for an asynchronous day or a virtual day, it does it counts against the Virginia Preschool Initiatives. So, those thing preschool works in a different capacity than the 990 180 for the general population. So, that's why some of the rules are different for this particular program and it also has funding implications. Next slide, please. So, here you see the amount of money that we received this year for our preschool program and there is a required local match. So, depending and that

027changes depending on the number of slots you are allotted, those that you ask for because of the demands uh and the needs of the community. But, this is the amount that we actually received for the 25-26 school year. This These were the findings from the monitoring visit that we had for this year. As you can see, I've had I put a um a line beside one of the areas for improvement where we have been asked to write a corrective action plan. We have completed our corrective action plan for this particular these findings. We have completed the physical hearing and vision screenings. We have partnered with ODU, so that one is complete. And in August, when we rewrite our MOU, that would be complete. The calendar would be the hold up for this particular finding. So,

028if we don't vote for a 5-day per week calendar, then we have to report that to the Virginia Department of Education that we will not be able to meet that particular guideline. Next. So, the two calendar options that we have before you tonight, option A with wellness days and two professional development days with the health expo component. And we want to thank you, Mr. Osbrook, for your suggestion because we feel that even though there's professional development, that half-day would be devoted to teachers' health, physical and emotional well-being. So, we have added those two days in there, October 9th for having one first semester and April 5th for second semester. So, thank you for that feedback, sir. Option B is a 5-day per week calendar with no wellness days. When I compared the two calendars from

029this year to last year, when we look at how many actual days teachers have off with our current calendar, I'm going to go month by month. In September, with our current calendar, teachers would have 3 days off in September. If the if we uh um reduce the number of wellness days in September, teachers would have 2 days off. In October of this year, teachers had 2 days off. In the new calendar with wellness days, teachers would have 1 day off. In um November, teachers would have 8 days off in the old calendar, but 6 days off in the new calendar with wellness days. >> One moment. What was September? September, they would have had 3 days off as as opposed to 2 days off in in this um particular calendar. Um in December, they would

030have still have 9 days off in both calendars. Um in January, instead of 4 days off, which would be January 26th, January 27th, they would have 2 days off, but three teacher work days where they would have no students, and they would be able to work in their classrooms in preparation. So, they are not counted as professional development days. Those are teacher work days. So, they would have 5 days in the month of January with no students. In February, they would have They had 2 days off this February. They would still have 2 days off um next February. March, they had 2 days off. In the calendar in the new calendar with wellness days, they would have 3 days off. In April, they had 6 days off this year because all of spring break was

031in that calendar. In the new calendar, they would have 3 days off. In May of this year, they would have 3 days off. In May of next year, they would have 2 days off. And in June, they have equal amount of days off. So, as you can see that even with the new um the new calendar versus the old calendar, the days off if that is what we are looking forward to support teachers, it's very similar. So, I'll take any questions that you may have at this time. The total days from last year were how many? The total wellness days were 12. Total off days? Total off days um total off days did you Compared to the total off days for the new calendar. So, the total off days I'm going to have to do

032my math um 3 6 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 39 in this calendar and Let me see 9 10 16 19 20 21 22 27 28 29 um be about Hold on. Let me try it one more time. 10 um 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 So, they lose 10 days. Yes. If we cut through all the noise, it looks to me like we have three calendars before us. One is last year's calendar, which won't work because we don't have enough instructional time in that. We have a second calendar that has four wellness days as I see it here. And then we have a third calendar that has zero wellness days.

033Is that correct? >> That is correct. >> So, the real question before the board is, do we want four wellness days or zero wellness days? I don't think that's the real question right now cuz part of that is your opinion that last year's wasn't going to work. As I'm reading um What is this? FYI It says that programs must provide a full a half day at least. School year services 180 days or 99 hours. Um it also said that school should operate. It didn't say had to. It did give instructions on the hours. And we have been working with that schedule for the last years. And also, these are not questions, these are statements. In our last meeting Mr. Grant asked, was that the only reason that we were in jeopardy with losing funding? I

034don't want to quote you, Mr. Grant, but is that what you said? And the answer was no, that wasn't, and that would that one thing would not correct the situation. And I don't want It's not that I don't want certain narratives have been spun. That is not entirely correct. If we're going to quote policy, let's get the whole policy and give that to the community as well. And that's not at you, Ms. Tompkins. Believe me, that is not at you. But some people are not giving the community and everybody full information. Let's Let's give full information out cuz it does say should, the language in this. And it does say 99 hours. And we were Um Mr. Osborne, how many hours were we achieving now? With this >> [clears throat] >> What was it with

035the current calendar? We're meeting the clock hours. It's It's It's It's It's well over 990. However, even though it says should, we are required because we had a meeting to debate that. Dr. Walters and I, along with Ms. Mahoney who oversees our VPI program, we argued the fact of should or shall. They said that we that we have to. It's a requirement. Even though the language says should, we are still required to provide 5 days a week. That is a Virginia Preschool Initiative guideline. It's not enough for you to have 990. It has to be 990 180 days plus a calendar aligned to 5 days per week. That is why we had a finding. You don't get a finding if you're meeting all of the requirements. So, we argued that and we were told it

036was still a finding because we do not and that came directly from the associate director of preschool programs for Virginia. So, when you said you you, Ms. Mahoney, and Dr. Walters. You all had the argument. >> No, we had we we fought for that when we met with the Virginia Department of Education about the findings because we had we had concerns about the language, should versus shall, because those things matter when it comes to guidelines and regulations. When we met with them, they said even though it says should, it still is a requirement and you will have a finding because you are not meeting it. So, the should is still for them interpreted as a shall. >> Did they send that in writing? Yes. >> Cuz we we didn't get that. >> Yes, it's in

037writing and it's also and it's also in a finding. So, whenever you get a finding, you and you get a letter with a finding and that letter had us have a finding because we're not meeting it. Even though we are meeting the instructional component of 990, we're not meeting the day count. >> Oh, I understand what you're saying, but I'm reading from the Virginia Preschool Initiative VIP guidelines for 2026. I'm reading directly from it. So, is it contradicting what Is it contradicting the guidelines? And I know you are, too. But, are they contradicting their own guidelines cuz the language did say should. Right. The language says it should. Now, if they're contradicting themselves, I can't speak to that. I just know that they that they gave us a finding, which means we're not meeting the

038requirement, and we had to write a corrective action plan. So, we did meet, and we did have a extensive debate about that, and they came back and said, "We're going to meet with you, but we want you to understand you're still not meeting the requirements, and therefore, we're giving you a finding in this area." And that's when the letter came that we had a finding. Okay, and you have a copy of their findings with this subject? Yeah, and and and and and what what I have on this screen, I took it directly from the letter. Okay, but we would like to see the actual letter because the board has to make an informed decision. And it's not that Miss Miss Britton, I know this is a lot of off subject, but everything you said was

039well received. As a board members, we get I can't tell you the number of calls I got alone from teachers concerned with the calendar. Great concern, specific concerns. >> [clears throat] >> And we need our teachers, and we appreciate our wonderful teachers. So, yes, the finding should have been given to the board so the board could make a accurate good decision that's best for the teacher, students, and the parents. It's a collaboration. It's not a clique like some people have said. It's not one group versus the next group that had of the board. It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with the parents, the children, and our wonderful, wonderful teachers. Uh So, we we didn't get certain information. And when we're looking at what the state and the guidelines say, and

040then we get something that's not breaking it all down, we can't make an informed decision. The The letter was shared with the majority of the board. I'm not talking about the letter, Dr. Carter. I just said what I was talking about. I said the actual findings. She said she pulled some out and put it in here. There's nothing wrong with that, Dr. Kaminski. I'm not asking that. I mean, actually what the letter said exactly verbatim, the discussion of you all going back and forth with them. Yes, we need that when we're reading the state guidelines and something is contradicting what the state put out there. Yes, we need all of that to make the best decision. That's all I have to say on that subject. Okay. Any other questions? No, but I have a more

041of a statement I would like to take a moment to to read. Um so, I will say before I cast any vote tonight, I want to acknowledge that this has been a very difficult decision for me personally. Um I have taken time to listen to the concerns raised by teachers, staff, students, and families. And I understand why people feel so strongly about this issue and why they continue to feel strongly about this issue. This is not necessarily the calendar that I would have preferred. Um however, as a member of this board, I also have a responsibility under Virginia law, including section 22.1-79.1 of the Code of Virginia, to ensure that a school system has a calendar that's adopted and in place so that the division can operate efficiently and effectively. My vote tonight is based

042on what I believe is best for students and their families while also fulfilling the responsibilities entrusted to this board. That does not mean that this decision comes without concern or hesitation on my part because I have many concerns. I also want to be clear that tonight's vote is not the end of this conversation. A vote may finalize a calendar, but it does not erase the concerns, sacrifices, and realities our teachers and staff face every day. Our education educators are the foundation of this division. They show up for our students even when they're exhausted, stretched thin, and asked to carry more than they should reasonably be expected of them. They deserve more than words of appreciation and meetings like this. They deserve meaningful support, respect, and a board that continues fighting for them after tonight's vote

043is over. And while this may be the decision before us tonight, it cannot become the standard we settle for moving forward. We owe our teachers, our staff, our students, and our families better conversation, better collaboration, better solutions for the future, and more respect. This is a responsibility I take seriously, and that's a commitment I intend to keep. >> [applause] >> Can I ask Mrs. Smith-Burney to come back to the podium, please? Smith-Britten. Britten. Thank you. You're welcome. In your role as president of our local V E A group, do you believe our teachers would accept either the four-day wellness calendar or the no wellness calendar? I'm going to answer this as honestly as I can. At this point in time and the conversations that I've had with them, they want a calendar to know that

044they are going to get a paycheck. Whether it's A, whether it's B, whether it's [applause] C, whether it's modified, they want a calendar tonight. So, you're saying a calendar needs to be voted on tonight, Ms. Britton. That's what you said earlier. It's the same question with the same answer. >> If not, they are looking at other districts. They are going to be leaving. [applause] Because they want to know. They want job security, understood. And appreciation. And a lot of them have to make their mortgage payments, they have to make their rent payments. They don't have excess money that they can draw out of the bank to make these payments. I'm just being as honest as I can be with you. Yes, ma'am. Any more questions? Thank you. >> [applause] >> Madam Chair, I move that

045we approve the She only presented one of the calendars. She said you have two calendars to present, Bob. I move that we accept the calendar with four wellness days for next year. How can you make a motion if we're still discussing it? She asked any more questions and it was two calendars, Bob. Where is the second calendar? It's Then I amended the agenda to discuss the third one, Bob. So, how are you going to move past that to that? The second calendar was the four wellness days. The third calendar was the zero wellness days. So, you're talking about the one that said three and two? And we still have to discuss what I amended the agenda about the old calendar. So, how do you just move past that? That was not a question to you.

046That was a question to Bob. >> Okay. Go ahead, Ms. Sampson. The superintendent's recommendations are option A, which is the calendar with the wellness days, or option B. Those are the two calendars that are the superintendent's recommendations. I am presenting the calendar. I would love a vote, but I am simply presenting the superintendent's calendars, his options A and B. >> [laughter] >> And I do have some more questions. >> Sure. This paper right here. Yes. Did this directly come from the VDOE? >> Uh-huh. Yeah, it actually it it came with that letter. >> It came like this. It wasn't derived, took and reformulated. This is what they >> Oh. No, ma'am. That's exactly how they sent >> Okay, cuz I do want to take some time to read the points that they said needed correction.

047>> Yeah, don't know. But this don't >> directly came from them. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. It would be against the law for me to do anything in the I I understand, but it's not the first time something has been done against the law. So, I had to get it clarified. We have to get it clarified. Well, I don't break the law. Understood. Thank you. The first point, 7.1, that has to be completed by 2026-27. What? The um the one with the vision and screening? Yes. And we have already done that because now this new group of students who are coming in, we have already partnered with ODU, so they have their vision and screenings done. So, that one is completed. Okay, then number two, that has to be completed by the end of 22-27

048as well? >> 26-27. By the end of it. Mhm. It should it the your your 20s the the artifact is your 26-27 calendar. So, it's not the end of it. Your 26-27 calendar is the proof that you have met that finding. Okay, they want it done in the understood. >> And the MOU at the bottom, we sign those every August. So, once we sign that, that will be completed August 26. I did have one question. Sure. Let's say we do have a lot of folks leave because we are only doing four wellness days. What will be the plan to continue to attract high-quality educators for our district? Well, the one thing that I can say is there there are multiple ways to attract teachers because let's say you get a teacher who who wants to

049come to Franklin. If they leave Franklin as I stated last time because of the because of the wellness days, they're going to go to a school that has no wellness days because because when I looked at the calendar from the seven cities, there are no school divisions that have a wellness day. So, they would be leaving us to go to to another school division that has no wellness days and probably fewer professional development days. So, that is only one tool by which you attract, but that was part from what I understand, that was a part of attraction for during COVID. We're now post COVID and when we see across the state, students are really not recovering quite as fast as we had hoped when they went and returned to in-person learning. So, we need to

050increase the number of in-person learning days to account for those years where we were not in school. So, there are multiple ways. This is only one tool, but we have to pivot because our needs have changed and our students are not recovering as fast. So, we need more time. >> [applause] >> One of the concerns you said, um, anywhere else in the seven cities they would have to work without the wellness days. >> Yes. The teachers did a lot of them who communicated with me and it's good over 50 teachers actually in the last two weeks. One of the things I pointed out was what you said and the response was a little bit different. The calendar went to that. It wasn't due primarily to COVID. It was presented because our salaries were lower and

051this was one of the way it attracted I I'm being fair. Thank you, teachers, because I I got the calls. You all corrected me very quickly when I said what you said. I was corrected very quickly by educators. That was a tool used because our pay in our locality was lower. Mhm. And that was it was a very I understood the tool. That's why it was used. It really was not COVID. >> Okay. >> And they explained that the difference is going to one of those cities and teaching in the seven cities, they would get paid higher for it. Sure. So, that is something we have to consider. We have to consider everything our teachers say and give them credit. >> Yeah. What Ms. Smith-Britton said, we have wonderful loving teachers, she is so right,

052and we don't want to lose them. We definitely don't want to lose them. We have parents coming to us talking about how wonderful their teachers are here. Absolutely. >> So, they are valued. Absolutely. >> They are definitely valued, but we are taking away and not giving anything back, and that's what this board wants to do. We don't want any teach Some teachers have explained they are leaving, and the other seven cities will pay them significantly more for the five days that they're working, and everybody wants to How everybody has mortgages to pay? Everybody wants to get paid what they're valued. Sure. So, you have to understand both things. So, And I And I completely agree with that, but there's one thing that we have to consider, that even if we're not paying and we want

053to find other ways to recruit our, you know, to recruit and retain our teachers, we also have to take into consideration the law. And what we are And what our requirements are. >> you went over that, but I was clarifying it two points on how we got to this schedule, and the difference is if they go somewhere else. I have a teacher teacher right now when I start at my new job, I'll be making $13,000 more. It's right here, and it's five of them going with her. That That's what was just communicated, and it's the truth. They're not willing to take those days, lose days, and keep the same money. I get it. >> So, yeah, I I wasn't talking about that point. I was talking about the other two points. >> Sure. And we

054have three calendars to vote on, Bob, not two. That's what we amended the agenda to reflect. Uh just a quick question. I mean, it may have already been answered, but I want to just get some clarification for myself. Now, are we making this pivot based off of what uh Virginia Department of Education came down and spoke to you about as far as the pre-K Mhm. or is it the pivot because our students need more time in the classroom so that we can see significant gains in student um student achievement? It's both. >> It's both. >> Yes, sir. So, how long has this actually been like in the plans? How long has this actually been something that the central office had been actually kind of like mulling over to say, "Okay, now this is the time

055for us to do it." Because you guys have been here what a couple of years now. Just wondering if this has been something in the back of your mind or was it just that Uh oh, I'll take this one, Ms. Tompkins. >> Thank you. Uh this was uh given uh the wellness days was proposed by the former superintendent. So, when I became interim superintendent, I brought it toward the board to say that we are not uh our students are not recovering as fast as the other students in the state due to COVID. That staying at home really hurt them. Our pre-K already through to our viols testing suggests that the majority of the students start from from behind. So, when I brought forth the proposal to the board at that time at that time they

056said, "No, we will stick with the calendar because of recruitment." And during that time, I understood the logic, but I also was thinking about the needs of the students. Back then, the teacher the teacher retention rate was 67%. Now, we're averaging under my administration 88 to 92% retention. And that is fact. And and and you're right, but it you're right, but it could actually be contributed to the fact that they've been enjoying those wellness days, too, which is something you just basically said here and said that you had nothing to do with. So, I I understand that. >> Even with the wellness days, it was at 67%. No, I I I understand that. Uh and I appreciate you saying what you said. Uh but at the end of the day, like I said, how long

057is this I mean because uh to use a phrase I've heard from several central [clears throat] office members, I haven't been here that long. Uh so, I'm at I'm saying since I've been here as a school board member, I haven't heard anything about anyone saying that the reason that our students weren't achieving wasn't because they weren't spending enough quality time into the classrooms. Mr. Grant, if it was up to me, I would have the kids go back 5 days a week. So, that's why I incorporated enrichment Fridays. And so, that's when it passed, but guess what happened to enrichment Fridays? Only 20% of the kids actually show up, and the ones that we need to show up the most, we can't get them to get here. We out of title one funding, the teachers are

058paid $50 an hour. So, they still and we had trouble staffing the wellness Fridays on a consistent basis. So, it really wasn't about the money. So, I'm trying to tell you that even with the enrichment Fridays, we have not over the years been successful in getting teachers to work at a consistent basis, and we have not been successful in getting the students that we need to come in here that are struggling academically 5 days a week. So, if it was up to me, this would have been changed a long time ago. So, in all those categories that you're saying we were unsuccessful in, what where does the buck stop? The buck stops with everyone. It the buck It's a It's a community. It takes a community effort to educate children. It takes parents to get

059the school the children to school. It takes us to educate the children from the teachers on up to the superintendent. But it is a It is up to the board to work in the best interest of students. So, it is a collaboration. It takes a village to make sure that our children are educated. The school system can't carry this weight alone. I I actually agree with everything you just said there. And I just hope that you remember that when you're claiming the success of all these wonderful programs you brought here, that it's everybody that's creating the success, just like everyone is responsible for the failures that's happening. Well, absolutely. >> Sir, I give everyone credit for what they do. Yes, I do. I give credit for everything. I understand. I understand. But I tell you

060what, I tell you what, it takes a village. And it takes a And that's point blank, period. Uh My amendment was to go with the same calendar one more year. Yes, I I amended the agenda. I amended the agenda in the beginning of the meeting that we vote on one, two, or the third one. I amended to include three calendars that we're voting on. And that one, thank you Lashonda for asking me. Comment. Remind me. One, two, or three. The third one was to use the calendar that we use last year for one more year. Because I had do have concerns about teacher retention. Their salaries have not been increased yet. We may have I don't know what did you say? A 92 retention rate right now, but what's going to happen after this calendar

061passes? No one knows. We don't know how many teachers already made plans, which several of them have and entertaining offers already. So, my proposal calendar third proposal, the amendment to the agenda was to vote on using the same calendar as last year. I have a question. The >> Yes. findings that were found, were they not found on this calendar of this year? Yes. Yes. That that monitoring happened for 25-26. And that's the present calendar that we're using that we have the findings. Yes, ma'am. So, even though we have enough hours and enough days, we're still not meeting >> not meeting the the state requirements. Yes, ma'am. So, option three is not an option. It's either A or B. >> Well, it is a option because we amended the agenda to vote on it. You can

062just not vote for it, but it is an option. Um um um Dr. Ricks, you're out of order. The The only thing that that that I am charged with today are the superintendent's recommendations. The superintendent's recommendations are option A or B. He is not recommending the option that you talked about today. He did not recommend it. I moved I made a motion to amend the agenda to include that and vote on it and it was passed. So, you are correct. Those were the ones he presented and the one I presented, option three, was to use the previous one. Very good point. If you want to vote against it, you can vote against it, but we made a motion and it was passed and we will vote on it according to what we did. So, with

063the motion being passed can we take a vote from this now? A, B, or C currently? With the motion being present, A, B, or C? Which A is A is option is option A is the two the one with the wellness days, the four wellness days. Option Option B is the one with no wellness days. And option C is the one with the findings. The one we're currently using. So, with that being said can we please take a vote tonight, whether it's A, B, or C from this board? [applause] No, it's not we're going to Can we do this now? We already made that motion. You have to go ahead and ask for the vote. Mr. Allsbrook, A, B, or C? Option A. Grant? Option A. Parker? A. Bailey? C. A. Option A. >> [cheering]

064[applause] >> All right, Ms. B, what do we have? Who's next? Dr. Ricks, student services. All right, good evening, everyone. Good evening. All right, I wanted to give some updates tonight on our Pearson Center. Um we just have been approved to offer an additional set of assessments cuz we were only offering GED at this time. Um there is a barcode if you would like to scan that's on the screen as well for the community to see to be able to set up any additional assessments that we have. As you can see now at the Pearson Center at JP King, we offer the additional test, um the CompTIA, which is a industry um certification for IT development. We also offer child development associate associate, um ICC for contractor and trades, and IT specialist. Um so those

065are the top five, and then you can see where a list of the other um uh certifications that you can sign up for. All of this are available on our website. So any questions on the Pearson Center? Yes. >> Yes, I have a I have a question. Do we know actually how many individuals have actually come in and used the Pearson Center with the testings being done? Do we at least have a number? Yes, the last number we only had one test for a while. So they just approved for us to have to host the other test. Okay. So with that being said, I can estimate that we've had at least 20 people to sign up for the GED testing within the area and that's within this year. Like I said, recently we just added

066the more of the other test and it's open 2 days a week and then it's open every other Saturday morning. Okay. Any other questions about the Pearson? Okay. All right. So, the next I wanted to give a update on a program that we implemented last year during the 24-25 school year under Dr. Carter's leadership. We've we implemented a JVG Jobs for Virginia graduates. This is the second year that this program have been in place and I just wanted to highlight some of the key components of the program and how we have made progress even over the grant requirements for the program. So, as you can see at the top, the number again these are students that are at risk throughout our division and we identify students through a intake process who and with a parent

067are participants of that intake process of who actually can participate. So, we had the number of students served this year was a total of 32 students. Each grant requires a 22 at least 25 participants have to be registered on the roster. So, we exceeded that grant requirement. The model services the grant requires us to have 95 contract hours for that service. We have exceeded that requirement for this year with 107 hours and I'll be able to break that information down what that looks like within the report. Average number of barriers, these are barriers that the students have coming into the program. They have to at least qualify for a six or more barriers to participate period. At this time at the end of the school year, our average for barriers are 4.59% and as you

068can see the students start out with either six barriers or more that we want that we want to see that number continue to decline. The top five barriers that are identified in our population, as you can see, economically disadvantaged, um inadequate or no work experience, lack marketing marketable occup- occupational skills, first generation college participants, and non-conducive family environments. So these are family environments that have could have multiple things going on with the police services, social services, they have receiving services for like Western Tidewater or different interventions. So those are the top five barriers among this population. So as you can see, I can and I want to also emphasize that the 32 students that are enrolled in this program, they consist of ninth grade students, students that are in alternative program through our Cleo Choice,

069and it also includes students that are on our suspension services. These are students that have to wear ankle bracelet or may have gun charges or different charges where does not allow them to be able to come into school and get regular services and their hours are tracked on a um spreadsheet. So as you can look at the bottom, that go down to that graph at the bottom. This is pretty much the breakdown for our 32 students and their 107 model service hours in those major areas. So as you can see, that first area is academic remediation. There is a lot of academic support that's geared into the 32 students that are part of this particular program. Um as you can see, students getting a job, that's why our average number of barriers decline because we

070could see that more students in this program have been able to secure jobs. Um our career association, you can see that's there, how the percentage are exposed to different careers, community service, field trips, and speakers coming in to speak with them there as a percentage. Counselors sitting down with school counselors, and also our interventionists, and also our work-based learning opportunities. So, all of that is embedded in this program. And I would also like to ask Mr. Evans to stand. Mr. Evans has been our JVG specialist >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you. Thank you. Miss We've had some challenges the first year with security staff in this program, and Mr. Evans have really came in and worked with our school counselors and administrators, and really targeted those students in the community that best supported to kick

071carry this program out this way. So, again, it's not just about having a program, but it's having the right person. And Mr. Evans is definitely the right person. I commend him for his dedication AND HIS WORK. >> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT. SO, ANOTHER KEY COMPONENT I want to share with you all tonight. We've just had our final senior meeting committee planning meeting um today, just over our graduation planning for that. And I want to say I want to announce that we do have a total of 82 students graduating from Franklin High School. That's definitely a celebration. >> [applause] >> So, as you see, we have we have some fun events coming up. And please, if you feel free to get a moment to come out and celebrate one of the events, please come out. Wednesday,

072the 27th, will be the senior breakfast at FHS cafeteria from 9:00 to 10:00 to 11:00. Thursday, the 28th, from 11:00 to 2:00, there will be a senior cookout. Um Friday, May the 29th, will be the senior trips to King's Dominion. So, they'll all be they'll all be loading up the bus that morning, coming back that night. And Friday, June the 5th, graduation will kick off at 6:00 p.m. at the Workforce Center. >> [applause] >> All right. All right. And now we got to have special presentations for our for our culinary level two team tonight. And as you can see, they prepared foods that you could taste out in the um hallway area. And I'm going to ask that Mr. Evans, who also serves as our culinary teacher, to come up. >> [applause] >> Good evening.

073Um thank y'all for having us. I have a good group of kids um that I've been working with. Um it's a pleasure to work with them. Of course, I love cooking. I've been doing it for many years. I've been running my own business for many years. I've been formally educated. I'm not going to stand up here and talk about all my credentials. My kids, though, I love them dearly. And they are great. This group right here is culinary two. When I got the program, um there was a few things that needed to be adjusted. Um and once we got to the beginning of the school year, you know, I recognized those things. And now this half of the year, we have been able to cook various different meals. I've taken them on a tour through

074American region. They have been able to explore four of the eight regions. And they have been able to cook different foods from those regions. And they understand the flavor profiles at this time. If you came through the line, they had they can explain to you exactly what's in the food, exactly what it tastes like, exactly the spice, sweet, salty, all your tastes, all your flavors, all your senses that you have. They know how to do it. We have several events. We have catered in the school. We have served our teachers at least 10 times during the school year, during the second semester, and we did breakfast the beginning of the school year to help fund the program. Um this group right here I can't express to them more than enough that I really do care

075about these kids. Um they are exceptional in the classroom. They listen to me very well. They work well as a team. Um we have been able to provide great meals, and I thank them. And I have one senior here tonight, Charlie, and she's interested in going on to culinary. I have been able to take them on trips. >> [applause] >> So So currently I have three students that are interested in culinary and one that has already been accepted in Johnson & Wales for culinary program. >> [applause] >> I wish I had the ServeSafe testing results. They have not come back yet, but I'm hoping for the best, and we I did prepare them, and we did a lot of fun things, games and such to prepare them for such a rigorous test, and it's the

076same test that us as adults take. It's very long and very hard and detailed. Um to be honest, I failed it one time. So I'm just letting you know how hard it is. So but these kids right here, they they put in the work and I thank you thank y'all for listening. Thank y'all for eating our food and I hope y'all enjoyed it tonight. >> [applause] >> All right. Also, I left something out. Um I work with this group in the mornings. First and second block is a double block, long long block. And then and then I work with JVG. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I work with self-contained students. Um that's the special needs students that come in and they'll they'll riot. I love them. Layla is back there and I got >> [applause] >>

077If you have a moment on Tuesday, they're going to do their presentations for their recipes. They're going to walk you through their recipe on how they how to make various different items. They're going to do that. We're going to do a game of life on Tuesday at JP King. They're going to walk you through it. I've been working with them, teach them how to cook on their own and they picked it up very well. They've been training and so my first student is Howard Andrews. >> [applause] [applause] >> Howard Howard has a recipe. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Lavelle, he greeted me at the door and saved me from the rain. He is wonderful. He He does more than cooking. He He took care of me. Thank you. Howard told me tonight he's going to make

078sure everyone get in safely. And he did. Thank you, Howard. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> OKAY, THEN I HAVE MARIAH AUSTIN. She's not here tonight, but she is one of the seniors and she has applied at TCC. She got interested in the program when I took them on a college tour. I did take them to three schools. So TCC was one of the schools that we went to and she was interested. So hopefully she get accepted in TCC culinary program. >> [applause] >> Thomas Black. >> [applause] [applause] [laughter] >> Uh Jayquan Brinson, he's not here. One of my mains, Kane Brick. >> [applause] >> Keymani Brown, he's not here. >> [applause] >> Rayshawn Combo, he's not here. >> [applause] >> CHARLIE DENSON >> [applause] [applause] >> MARKAVION EVERETT UM, he's not here. >> [applause] >>

079Isaiah your front Leroy >> [applause] >> LABRIA KNIGHT >> [cheering] [applause] >> NOW, I GOT TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THIS young lady. Um, if you know her, she is she's going to speak to you every time you see her, and she's going to give you a hug, or she's going to say something kind. LEILA LOPEZ >> [applause] >> GOOD. >> [applause] >> GOOD JOB. SHE GREETED ME SECOND AND HUGGED me and was wonderful. Yes, you did. Xavier McLennon >> [applause] >> Nicholas Osborne >> [applause] >> Alexander PEREZ >> [applause] >> NOAH PERRY >> [applause] >> McKenzie Satcher >> [applause] >> Jazir Thompson >> [applause] >> and Ketrail Wilson >> [applause] >> Y'all come forward picture. >> [applause] [applause] >> Um, one more thing. Um I do have a TA that helps me. Um, I would

080it would be a a tragedy not to recognize her. Um, Miss D >> [cheering] [applause] >> All right, let's feel the love here. Thank you so much for understanding. Very nice. All right, good. A couple more if you Very good. Thank you, Wyatt. I THANK YOU. >> [cheering and applause] >> ALSO, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK the uh yesterday we had the CTE Expo. And for those of you had an opportunity to attend the Expo, it was magnificent. And I And any of the teachers are here for the Expo teachers or students who participated in the Expo are you are you here? Would you stand if you're here? Some of the culinary students. Did you Did you get to Did If you had an opportunity to go into the cafeteria to taste the culinary arts

081students' meals, fantastic. Fant- >> [laughter] [applause] >> So, I would like to give a shout-out to the Mr. Creekmore, the director over the CTE Center, the teachers that worked very, very hard to put that together, and most important while we're here, the students who were the ambassadors and uh came and showed the parents around. I believe we had at least 130 uh participants, parents come through the CTE Center yesterday. So, I I really encourage you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Next year, we are moving toward automotive technology. We are We are partnering with Ford and Winter Circle uh with uh Tidewater Community College. And so far, we have seven students that are interested, and they will train those students, and then after their program is complete, they will provide them with a job. Wow. >>

082[applause] >> So, these are the programs that are getting the children career and college ready. So, I'm proud of the CTE Center and what it is doing for our community. Ms. Morrison. Good evening. Chair Boone, Dr. Carter, school board, good evening and everyone assembled here. Um I'm going to present first the April vouchers. So, we'll first start with the vouchers from the cafeteria. Um you'll notice we did have to replace a cooler. The next slide will start the general fund. Could you go back? >> One question, Ms. Morrison. Yes, ma'am. Um the sheriff's office, how much when we used the city of Franklin, was there a charge? Cuz I know we pay this every month, but was there a charge when we used the city of Franklin? I don't recall. Okay, could you find >>

083That's fine. Could you find out for me? Yes, ma'am. And actually give me a call, email, whatever you can do and an update with that. Thank you. >> Absolutely. Okay. And these are the uh expenses paid out of grant funds. I have included which grant that was paid out of instead of just indicating grant funds. Okay, any questions on the vouchers? I'll move on to the regular report. I'm going to present the April financials in a little bit more detail in a different format than I normally do. Um The first this is our general fund only. And the um When I presented the four budget amendments when the city council heard those four budget amendments they approved three of them and they tabled one of them and I'm scheduled to go to the city council

084meeting to explain the budget amendment regarding reducing state revenues to match what the state revenues going to be because of our ADM dropping. Um so that's why we've only collected 79% of our state funding. Once we change the budget it'll come up to 83%. We have collected 83% of the city appropriation and also more than 100% of our local. For the expenditures I've broken them down for each function into salaries and benefits and materials and supplies. And you can see that for our general fund our total expenditures are 83% spent and 83% of the month has gone by. That uh spending leaves us with um an operating deficit of 590,000. Um but it's important to note that we had at least that much in fiscal year 25 expenses that had to be paid under fiscal

085year 26 with no budget. So, um that that will come into play um once when we do our annual uh audit. Um this if there's anything negative there, it will go against our our fund balance reserves that we already had built up from previous years. All right. So, still on that slide. Um if we look at the negative variance on administration materials and supplies, um we have paid $85,000 more than what we budgeted for legal fees this year. And we also have spent 62,000 more than we anticipated on the allied services, which is the physical occupational therapy uh for our students. If we want to look at the operation and maintenance area, the materials and supplies would be um custodial supplies came in higher. Um we had the awning that we put up that we

086did not budget for. And then the pre-K playground. Uh we had no funds set aside in our budget for capital expenditures this year. Uh we have spent 460,000. And that would be the regular playground. Um the sanitary line we had to install in JP King. And also um SP Morton boiler and chiller repair and replacement. Next slide, please. So, for um I've created a separate slide for all grant funding. So, if it's a grant, it's listed here. Um important to note on grants is that we are dealing with two to three grant years at any one point in time. So, especially for the title grants, um they're due to be spent within 27 months. So, for Title I, we're finishing up getting the final reimbursements in for the 2024-25 grant. We're working on the 2025-26

087grant spend down now, and we're also looking forward to the to the 27 grants, which the 26 grants are due to be um expended by June of 28. So, there's always um there's always three uh two to three years going on at one time. And um they're summarized here. Um we have collected um 50 per 1% of our revenue at versus spending 54% of our expenses. And that 100,000 um was actually collected on May 1st, 1 day too late to be included in April. Uh we do our reimbursement requests monthly. So, um we do it is only just on a 1-month lag. Next slide. So, for the textbook fund, as we've talked about, um those charges get recorded in um June. And we've spent 49,000 on textbooks. For nutrition, um we've collected 77% of our

088anticipated revenues. And we have spent 91% of our anticipated expenses. And as I've mentioned, we have a um somewhat of a corrective action plan to spend down some of the available fund balance. Uh VDOE lets us have 3 months of cash on hand at any one time. And so, in in response to their uh request, we had planned some capital expenditures. You'll see of 94,000 this year in an effort to spend down that. And the the largest one of those is uh the cooler. We replaced it at Franklin High School. Next slide. And this is just a very concise summary of the overall totals. Questions on the finances? Okay. Now, moving from a financial statement >> Yes, ma'am. >> There was a negative on the playground. Was the playground not um funded to us? It

089was not in our budget, no, ma'am. I understand it was not in our I don't get the part why it wasn't. I'm not even going to lie. I don't understand why it wasn't in our budget. And I really don't understand why the awning wasn't in our budget if we had that building put there. Mhm. So, that's beyond right now. The playground, the new playground. Was that not gifted to us by Oversea or was not a part of it given to us free? Um I'm losing all of this. So, the Oversea Health Care Foundation provided us with a $75,000 grant Mhm. um for the playground. Um and so, that covered the projected um equipment and installation. And I have reached out to the company to ensure that we have completely spent or we've completely um caught

090up on our balance because uh currently there is a remaining portion of the one that purchase order that has not been paid. So, I wanted to be sure that um that that had actually cleared before we close the purchase order. And at the time we prepare budgets for example and now we're in April we're preparing the budget for June July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027. And there's many assumptions that we make that become clearer as time goes on. And so at that point in time we might not have realized that we wanted to install that awning. In in March of 25. Okay, so wait wait wait wait wait. Let me let me let me wait wait wait. So we knew we were getting this building, right? In 25. Yes. And we knew that the

091space between the building and the main building was over 10 ft. So we did not project for awning. No, and in fact none of the capital expenditures were funded locally. So no, we did not. Go back three slides. To the first one. Go again. Go again. So under facilities, the 66,000 series of capital expenditures we did not have a budget for those. We had to budget zero to get a balanced budget. Okay, so right now we are in the surplus deficit of how much? For the general fund is 590,000. Okay. But we have got over 600,000 of bills that we had to pay in early in this school year because at the end of last school year our expenditures kind of slowed down a bit until we looked at our cash management philosophy. Right, that's

092when we weren't given funds. Let's just take that part away right there. So, right you said 590 surplus operations. And then what else did you say? The second part of it? That we had expenses from last year. And that was 600 and something carried over. Yes. Okay. And then negative without ADM is how much? That's going to be 612,000 of Our revenue has already reflected that because DOE has already started paying that, but we're going to have to reduce the budget side. So, this year we're anticipating a deficit at the end of the year even with our bills being paid because we have a low lower ADM. Am I saying this correctly? >> Absolutely, you are. Okay. I've concluded my questions. Okay. So, on the cash side um in April we had we brought in

0931.6 million. We put out 1.8 million. Um so, that did leave us in a deficit for April. Pointing out that we did get 143,000 on May 1st related to April. Um the beginning balance was 861,000 and that puts us cumulatively at 1,059,265.13 and that does um match the city treasurer's figures. And the next slide is just a trend um to illustrate that sometimes um we're in in a surplus, sometimes we're in a deficit and relying on local funding um is a commonplace thing for school divisions to do. Any questions on the cash side? Have you studied the times that we were actually in a surplus versus the times that we were in a deficit? I'm a little closer to to kind of mimic that over what we're doing to constantly get into the red. Is

094there anything that we're doing a little different? Well, what it shows is currently our expenditures, our recurring expenditures, are exceeding our recurring revenues. So, during that time we had a lot of COVID funds coming in hand over fist. And um we generally did not have as much staffing as we have now. So, that's contributing factors towards why our uh expenditures are exceeding our revenues. So, yes, we do need to do that. 2023 wasn't a COVID We still had COVID funds. Yeah. Cuz they were they didn't expire until September 30th of '23 or '24. Yeah. I do have one budget amendment this evening. Is it going to give us back the million? >> [laughter] >> Let's see what it gives us. We did receive a $50,000 check from the Wallace Foundation on May 15th. And this

095budget amendment would be um to allow us to accept that grant and get the appropriation from the city to start to spend. We don't need to spend it. Where is it going? Can we get to know where this $50,000 is actually going? I mean, we're voting to receive it. Shouldn't it go towards the negative? It's Usually grant funds come with a specific defined purpose that you have to spend the grant funds on what the purpose was. And what was the purpose for this one? The Wallace Foundation. The purpose of this one is for leadership development. >> [clears throat] >> So, for those for those for those teachers and operational staff who would like to become administrators, so you have to deal with deal with a pipeline. So, we have to begin to develop our staff

096and to train the current staff that we have. So, that's So, that's where that's where Wallace specializes at. Oh, I know. I heard. I heard. I heard. Any other questions? No. Thank you for your time. Don't we vote on this budget amendment? >> to You got to Hold on. You got to vote for that one as for the motion. Can I have a motion to vote to send this amendment to city council to accept this $50,000? We have a motion. Do we have a second? Oh, sorry. She's asking for a motion. Madam Chair, I move that we vote to accept the Wallace grant for $50,000. We have a motion. Do we have We have a second. Do we have any discussion? We'll proceed with the vote, Mr. Allsbrook. Yes. Grant. Yes. Parker. Yes. Bailey. Yes.

097Boone, yes. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Motion carries. That concludes my superintendent report. Madam Chair. Yes. Um I move that we approve the minutes from the April 16th uh 2026 meeting as presented. Second. And I heard you, I'm still stuck on the other part. I am, seriously. Um Do we have a discussion? Can we vote on the consent agenda for you said May 16th? You said May 16th, correct? April 16th. Mr. Allsbrook? Were we all present? Okay, just making sure. Mhm. Mr. Allsbrook? No. Mr. Grant? Yes. Ms. Parker? Yes. Ms. Bailey? Yes. Mr. Hall? Yes. Ms. Boone? Yes. We also have a consent agenda. The regular Oh, you did the April 16th. School Board Work Session Meeting minutes for May 7th, first reading. It was just the first reading. Then we have 3.3 2026-2027 School Board

098Meeting Schedule Calendar, the third reading. You don't need to do that. No, that one is for That was for the school calendar. We We to look at the school board meeting. We tabled We tabled the I make a motion that we go ahead and approve the school board meeting schedule for 2026-2027. I'll second that. With the motion and a second any discussion? Ms. Dalce Brooks? Yes. Ms. Grant? Yes. Ms. Parker? Yes. Ms. Bailey? Yes. Ms. Holt? Yes. Ms. Boone, yes. Motion moves. Stands. Whatever. In accordance with 2.2- >> Stop for a second. Sir, could you just stop for 1 second? Excuse me, because I have a question. With us being placed in a deficit, I have a question for Dr. Carter. How are we going to fix it this time? I understand that Ms. Marston,

099we have this 600 and something deficit, then also the ADM, and I understand that the ADM has dropped over 80 something students because they have gone into home schooling. I get that and I understand that, but I need some clarification before I even go further and honestly stay for the rest of the meeting of how we going to fix this, cuz this will So, what happens is, even though [clears throat] our ADM has gone down by so much, we have a number of fixed costs that don't decline proportionately with declines in ADM, such as utilities. You know, you You to have a building, you have to have transportation. So, w- and to account for that in the accounting world, you when we do our annual audits, we w- we have a a fund balance. It's

100called fund balance, and that's the balance that has built up every year when we have had revenues that exceeded our expenditures. And normally I have year 24 and year 25 on my slide. So, at the end of year 20 4, we had a $1.5 million fund balance. So, after the 25 audit and the 26 audit are complete, that number will be just deducted from our available fund balance, and we will have to be more careful about recurring expenditures exceeding recurring revenues. When you So, when you're doing the P&Es and you're doing these profits, loss, and everything else, um you're not doing this alone, correctly? Correct? No. Um all school divisions are required annually to have an audit of a CPA firm to come in, um audit the expenditures, um and the revenues, and they do

101they do a thorough audit. So, with that being said, I'm not pointing fingers at you, but is there ever a time you say we just don't have enough? Or we're going to go over, or we're going to um >> Yes. We have um monthly projections in addition to what's on the budget. So, yes, I I put forth projections and uh make it known what those projections are going to look like. >> it known, who do you make it known to? If it's the department manager specifically, like if it was operations, I would have a conversation with Dr. Walters directly. But, in all departments, I let Dr. Carter know. So, is that something that we can be told from now on, at least to let us know because when we're in the deficit, decisions come from

102us. And when we're in the surplus, decisions come from us. And I'm sitting here so confused right now. About all of this. So, I understand us losing students and I understand all of that, but I don't know. To me, it's just common sense with the awning and everything else. I'm just sorry. It seems like an opportune time to have more conversation about fiscal responsibility and fiscal oversight in the district cuz it based off of what I'm hearing, it seems like we don't have enough knowledge about either one. So, I feel like we should probably start having that conversation soon in the future. >> first time me sitting here, I agree with you. Glad we're on the same page. Right, here we are. What I have seen in some school divisions is the board and the

103central office staff create a finance committee and it's usually two board members and two the finance person and the superintendent and we go over monthly where we are in each and every area. Was that not done in the past? Not since I've been here, no. It's been done [clears throat] in the past. >> I mean, we have an internal finance committee that meets among us, but we haven't done the one that includes board members. You said since you've been here, so how long has that been exactly? I'm sorry. May 1st, 2023. So, it hasn't been done in 3 years? Well, both sides were So, 3 years. >> Well, normally the when you do your organizational meeting, July 1, is when you assign your committees. Yes. >> That is true. So, that's So, that's So, if

104no one signed up for the finance committee, then you would not have board representation. No, she The question The question John asked was when would the has it been done? And she said not since she's been here. We were just asking about the procedure was has it been done and it hasn't for for 3 years. You said both sides because that's a whole another topic as far as committees and signing up cuz people have signed up for committees and they didn't take them all. That's a whole another can of worms that we're not here. We were just answering John's question. So it's been 3 years since both sides has represented. Thank you. So uh-uh, we did have we there was one Jerry Jerry Maguire. Query Maguire Jerry Jerry Um That's good. 23 that's Yeah, we're

105in 26 now. So we're about 3 years like she said 23. Okay. Um I'm I'm wide open. I'm a open book. I don't have that in front of me, so Thank you, Ms. Morrison. No problem. You want to proceed, Ms. Parker? In accordance with 2.2-3711 of the Code of Virginia, I move that the Franklin City School Board enter into a closed session to discuss and evaluate matters related to new hires, supplemental employment, promotion, demotions, resignation/termination, resignations rescinded by staff, and non-resident students pursuant to Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711 alpha 1 and 2. Second. Mr. Grant Yes. Parker Yes. Bailey Yes. Boone, yes. Mr. Holt >> Yes. We are now in closed session. >> Mhm. >> The closed session has concluded. We are now returning to open session. I would like to entertain a motion to come

106out of closed session. I move we come out of closed session. Second. With the motion and that second, do we have a discussion? We'll go ahead to vote, Mr. Osborne. Yes. Grant. Yes. Parker. Yes. Bailey. Yes. Moon, yes. Yes. Mhm. So moved. Whereas the Franklin City School Board has convened a closed meeting on this day pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and whereas section 2.2-37 12.delta of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by this School Board that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law and now therefore be it resolved that the Franklin City School Board hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge, one only public business matters lawfully exempted by Virginia law were discussed in

107the closed meeting to which this certification applies and two only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed or considered. Second. With the first and second, do we have a discussion? Can we go ahead, Osborne? Yes. Kent. Yes. Parker. Yes. Bailey. Yes. Oh. Yes. Moon, yes. Madam Chair, I have two motions to propose uh from closed session. The first is to approve the personnel agenda as presented less item 34 and item 36. We have a 34 and 36. Items 34 and 36. >> I'll second that. I'll second it. With the motion and the second, do we have a um discussion? Mr. Osbrook? Yes. Kent? Yes. Ms. Parker? Yes. Ms. Bailey? Yes. Boone, yes. Yes. Madam Chair, I also move that we approve two resident or two

108non-resident students as submitted. I'll second. We have a motion and a second, do we have a discussion? We'll go ahead and vote. Osbrook? Yes. Kent? Yes. Yes. Bailey? Yes. Yes. Yes. Uh Madam Chair, I'd like to make a motion. I move that the Franklin City School Board direct the School Board's attorney to conduct an administrative review of the division's compliance with mandatory reporting obligations under applicable law and board policy with authority to request cooperation from division staff as needed and to report findings and recommendations to the School Board. I'll second. With that motion and that second, do we have a discussion? Mr. Osbrook? Yes. Mr. Grant? Yes. Ms. Parker? No. Ms. Bailey? >> Yes. No. I have to abstain. One abstention, three yeses and two nos. I mean two. So moved. Motion carries. Citizens time.

109Ready. I do. Are you ready? Citizens time. Adam Fox. Sharon Young. I'm not supposed to say their name three times. I'm going to say Adam Fox once again. And for the third time, Adam Fox, please. Ma'am, I have to say it three times. One more Excuse me. I'm going to ask for her to be removed the next time that she does come out. The sheriffs are. It just won't be fair tonight cuz the whole audience was talking out of turn tonight. That's all I'm saying. Everybody was talking out of turn tonight. It was plenty of people giving comments. Sharon Young. For the second time, Sharon Young for the third time. Ms. Carolyn Lawrence. Good evening. Some of you speak, some of you don't, and I'm fine with that, but that's life. Um I got a

110couple of things I want to address to an individual up on this board. If you're going to be a man about what you say about me, say it in my face and not behind my back because my back is not a voice. I've been a great teacher, Mr. Holt. Matter of fact, I've been an awesome teacher. For you to make comments in the community about me not being a good teacher, not one day did you walk in that building to observe me, do an evaluation on me, or an observation. You don't even know what I taught half of the time in the building. So, don't critique me if you don't know what's been going on with me and my career. You say it take a village. I sure would like to see it go back

111to old school. That's all I have to say. And be careful what you say about me. Cuz my families getting tired of it now. I've been damaged and you sit up here looking like, "Oh, well, so what?" That so what going to turn into something different. It's not a threat, it's a promise. Thank you. I have no idea what you're speaking of. No, I'm not. You're not supposed to return Thank you, Ms. Lawrence. Audrey Lee. Okay, I'd like to say good evening to the chair who finally decided to come to work. I wanted to say the reason that I did that was because Mr. Fox had given me his speech that he was going to make because y'all stay back there too long and he didn't think that what it was fair to the community

112and to the citizens to have to wait that long to be able to share what they had to say. So, that's why I said it three times. And [clears throat] I y'all I had a long speech to say here, but y'all have drained me tonight. Y'all have drained the hell out of me. And this is ridiculous. In the beginning, y'all should have let those children go before you got into any business that was going to take any type of conflict or whatever. That was uncalled for. And I had Let me just read the latter part of what I was going to say. Much like the whistleblower policy, you as a board voted to have the superintendent make and he was not done so and he has not done so because he didn't want to. You

113as a board are not holding him to any standards. You don't require that he do what you vote on. He works for it, is employed by the school board, yet some of you seem to think that he can remain in position and in power while everything beneath him that he is responsible for fails. The larger issue here is governance. The superintendent is an employee of the school board. He is expected to carry out board direction, implement board decisions, and work collaboratively with the board. Not publicly pressure the community against it when he does not get the outcome he wants. This is not an isolated incident. The board previously voted for the creation of a whistleblower policy, yet this policy still has not been implemented. Once again, a direction of the board appears to have been

114ignored without consequence. At some point, the board must decide whether it votes its votes and directives directives actually mean anything or carry any type of authority. And to to all of you, my heart aches for these children. I am just just appalled that y'all would allow leadership. Y'all have all these doggone doctors and things in positions. All these money's going out, but these children are having to suffer. We can't keep fast food stores open because the kids don't even know how to to be respectful enough to come to work. They don't know how to count your change. Something has to be done. And I would request that everybody on this board try to start coming to these meetings that they're supposed to be at every week. And I like to present this um token to

115Miss Bailey for her daughter that's graduating in a few days as a lawyer. Graduating tomorrow as a lawyer. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Going to Dartmouth, Massachusetts tomorrow for her graduation. Thank you. Chelsea Chewings Chelsea Chewing 6.2 school board announcements, presentations, or comments from the board. I do. I deal with it. Um so last night we had the CTE Expo. And um we went through the and all of the different departments demonstrated something. They had something that was going on. When I came in they were doing the I'll call it the hair show, right? They were doing their hair show and to see where the students were um cuz I go there on Tuesdays and Thursdays to get a wash or something done. Um just to see the work and stuff that they have done

116was actually really really phenomenal. Um and then we went to the foreign language class and they did a whole tour of everything that the different countries is apparently 21, I think, different Spanish-speaking countries. So the kids are actually talking to us in Spanish yesterday um and then doing trivia questions and things. Um culinary If you ever get a chance to eat food that the culinary students have uh have prepared, eat it because it's actually it's really really good. They actually put a lot of effort and time into uh their presentation and their skill. But yesterday was just an all around um great great thing. We went to the criminal justice with Ms. Bowers and her students actually had a crime scene. Then they had they showed you how they collected the evidence and then they

117did the medical examination. She got shot twice in the back and in the side and the bullets didn't come out. So she walked me through all of that. Then the forensic expert that was there, they had a judge, they had a prison. Um he was maximum security. Nobody went down there. Uh it was just like they just used and literally put into a visual all of the different programs, the different things that they were working on in those programs. But one of the ones that really really stood out to me was the Future Business Leaders of America FBLA with um Ms. Rollins. So some of the students actually ended up um they had different presentations that they had to make uh based off of their particular topic. So we had a student that actually won

118first place. Um he won first place in marketing and then he was actually uh he was number five for state. So if somebody had chosen had had chosen not to go through with you know their event, then he would have been the sub in for them. So there's a lot of good things that are our students are um participating in over at the CTE center. That particular student was there to speak to us last night. But I think there was three or four students who still placed within like the top three or four for their respective um their respective topics last night. So I just wanted to shout them out. I don't want to call their names out from the dais, but um to all of the students that are in the CTE and whatever

119the program is, um that's a great job. That's a great job, cuz I still can't flat iron. But, just proud of proud of them for what it is that they do. And if y'all get a chance to, go over to check out the salon on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They get there about 11:45. They leave at 2:30. They going to wash you. They going to braid you. They going to quick weave you. They going to do something with you. All of them have something that they are doing. Even interesting. There's a lot of different um parts and a got a lot of good information uh that we have over there. Just wanted to let y'all know that. Well, prior to Ms. Audrey coming up and uh giving her speech, uh I did have something on my

120mind that I wanted to say uh to the superintendent. Uh this is like the second time I think you've publicly uh criticized certain board members. And it actually I guess your your non-favorite board members. Uh And I I count myself as one because I wasn't here that time that doing your superintendent's report, you you said some negative things or saying that we should have been here where I know I gave adequate notice for personal reasons that I couldn't be here, but maybe you didn't know that. I can't speak for the other two that didn't come. Uh but also with this letter that recently was put out there, uh as it was stated, we are your supervisors. And actually most and including in this position, most uh subordinates are are are penalized for criticizing publicly their

121supervisors. Hm. And um something I'm going to look into. I actually went over the um some of the school codes today. Uh and I'm going to definitely look into that because I think I've been nothing but respectful towards you even though I disagree with you on a lot of you don't think I've been respectful of you? Well, you are definitely entitled to your opinion. Uh but I can't I can't recall myself publicly, you know, trying to talk about your character, talk about whether you're showing up or not. I definitely question uh you know, the student achievement which you're supposed to be at the foundation of making sure that it happens. Um but at the end of the day, like I said, this is the second time that it's happened and right now I'm asking you

122to please stop doing that because that's not what we need to be doing. Uh but at the end of the day uh like I said, I'm I'm looking into the more uh rules and regulations behind what can actually be done based off of your actions. >> [applause] >> This is board comments, right? He He You do not need to be asked if you're finished. This is board comments. You are a board member. That was inappropriate. Let's remain professional. That was uncalled for. Critus, that was just sarcasm. We will not do that. Thank you, Ms. Lee, for what you were telling us about governance, but we will not do that. I did have some comments, but I'm going to table them for now. Mr. Grant, I'm just sorry that that just happened. Please don't apologize for

123other people's ignorance. >> Uh Madam Chair, I make a motion that we adjourn. I'll second. Is there any discussion? Mr. Allsbrook? Yes. Grant? Yes. Parker? Yes. Bailey? Yes. Butt Holt? Yes. Boon? Yes. Meeting adjourned.