001Good evening, everyone. I call this special session of the New Kent County School Board to order at 5:00. Ms. Davis, will you please call the roll? Mr. Rymer. Here. Mr. Wyatt. Here. Ms. Dombroski. Here. And Ms. Cunya. Here. A quorum is present. Next item on the agenda is the board vacancy announcement. Ms. Dombroski, there's the agenda is if you the agenda in your packet. Um it was switched. Yes, ma'am. Okay, so we are moving to the election of the chair. Nominations are now open for the office of chair. Nominations do not require a second. Do I hear any nominations? Yes, I'd like to nominate Ron Wyatt. Wyatt for chair. Ron Wyatt has been nominated for chair. Do I hear any additional nominations? I would like to nominate Helena Cunya for chair. Do I hear any
002additional nominations? Hearing no further nominations, the nominations are closed. We'll vote in the order of nominations. Each member will state the name of the nominee they are voting for when called. Ms. Davis, will you please roll roll call the vote or roll call the vote. Mr. Rymer. Um voting for Ron Wyatt. Mr. Wyatt. Ron Wyatt. May I just one second, sorry. Ms. Dombroski. Ms. Cunya. Ms. Cunya. Ron Wyatt. So that is three votes for Mr. Wyatt and one vote for Ms. Cunya. Having received a majority of the votes cast, Mr. Wyatt is elected chair of the New Kent County School Board. Congratulations. Thank you. Appreciate that. This time I'd like to call on our superintendent, Dr. Nichols. Yes, sir. Um so item C on the agenda is board vacancy announcement. Um I want to take
003a moment to share an update. Um due to change in residency, our school board chair, Mr. Pergano, who's here with us, um has stepped down for from his position to be the District One board rep. Uh you have to reside in uh District One. So uh incredible loss for us. We're grateful for Mr. Pergano's service and and leadership. And we thank him for his continued support of New Kent County Public Schools. And he still has two more kids with us to go through the school. So as a result, there's now a vacancy for the District One seat on the New Kent County School Board. Um so board members, uh we have a process that we need to go through to select an applicant to serve as the interim District One School Board member. Um so
004that closes item C. [snorts] Uh Mr. Chair, if you want me to go into D. Yeah, might as well go ahead. Yes, sir. So that brings us to D. Um D is a resolution authorizing petition for special election. Because this vacancy is occurring more than 90 days um outside of the next general election, um then we have to have a special election in November. Um so the resolution before you um in the resolution uh posted to board docs authorizes our attorney Sands Anderson um to work with New Kent Court to organize that special election. That is not a simple process to pull off in their timelines and deadlines. So uh board members, that resolution which you have um gives them the authorization to do that part on your behalf. You will have to go through
005the process to select the uh candidate now or in this uh 45-day window. Uh but this is for the special election. Be happy to answer any questions about either of those items. Any questions, Ron? No. Then we'll move uh ahead under action items. The consideration for approval of this resolution authorizing petition for special election. Do I hear a motion? I move that we uh approve the resolution authorizing petition for special election. Any second? Second. Ms. Davis. Mr. Rymer. Aye. Mr. Wyatt. Aye. Ms. Dombroski. Aye. And Ms. Cunya. Aye. Okay. Being approved, we'll move ahead to comments. Mr. Rymer, we'll start with you. School board comments. So with uh you being sworn in for this recent year, I've been thinking on why I ran for in the first place, what I hoped to accomplish, and after
006reviewing in my mind what we have accomplished as a board, and what we've accomplished as a board, everyone on this board ran as a person with good will with the hopes of improving the school, and if you look back on some of the things that we have done, I think they they have brought um some improvements to the school. We've passed before the governor um executive uh motion, we passed a uh procedure that uh prohibited the use of cell phones from bell to bell. Um we've reviewed the dress code and emphasized enforcement on and we are moving forward with rebuilding, trying to get a new elementary school, all because we care about and are concerned about uh our students having a safe um and orderly classroom experience where learning can take place. Um we have
007an active school board. Every one of the members of the school board here have are actively participating in the events of the school that the uh school has. I know a number of us have been to plays. I know that we attend uh ceremonies, and we attend sports events. Um we are interested in the well-being of our students and celebrate their achievement. Um we are keen on managing the growth of the school. County is in a bit of a fix right now because its tax base has been stretched because growth in this community. But we are have have as a board has advocated have advocated for money that we know is required to run the school effectively. Um we have worked with the administration to see that this district maintains excellence across the board despite
008the uh tenuous funding situation. And they've achieved very good results uh even with the the money that they've been given. Uh we have two model schools, is that correct, Mr. Superintendent? Two. Model schools? Two distinguished, yes. Mhm. And uh our other schools are close to achieving that status as well. I'm sorry, sir, three. Three out of five. Yes. Three out of the five. >> Yes, sir. Um there are we have unique programs here at uh our New Kent districts. We have a very robust relationship with the Bridging Communities program. We have majority of the seats, certainly, probably a supermajority of seats there. And we are very interested in our students having the opportunity to learn technical school skills as part of their matriculation through the program. We have a great cooking class as part of
009our standard high school curriculum. And we have a junior Navy ROTC on campus that reaffirms our commitment supporting families in the community. Every member of this board is supporting these things. And one of the things that's clear it's hard to get things done in this school. But when we work together and focus on important things like that, we do get things done. That's all I have to say. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Brubaker No comment. Mr. Cook Thank you, Mr. Chair. These past few weeks have been personally difficult for me. I have come to care deeply for each of my fellow board members and staff, students, and the community we serve. I want to make clear that I remain 100% focused on fulfilling the duties and responsibilities I swore an oath to uphold on the
010day I was sworn in as District 2 representative, a member of the New Kent County School Board. Collectively, the board has been focused on emphasizing student achievement and improving student outcomes. We have always prioritized investing in resources, personnel, and structures that keep our students safe while providing the best educational environment possible. I am confident that the board as a whole will continue to do so to review to do so for the best for the rest of our tenure. I welcome the opportunity to meet as a board to review those duties and responsibilities and to resolve any issues that might be obstructing the board's ability to do its work effectively. This is an opportunity for a reset. Let us continue to commit to excellence because our students, staff, and community deserve nothing less. Thank you. Thank
011you. I would like to say first and foremost that we as a board collectively are on track. We have responsibilities to fulfill. We were um elected by a constituency who expects us to do as we said we do. And that we will do. We'll be moving forward with the budget process, budgetary process, the new elementary school process, everything that goes along with that. And we still in spite of changes that I'll address also will we haven't missed a beat and we won't and we will continue. We have an amazing superintendent, administration, teachers, students, parents, and citizens of New Kent and we're still committed to excellence in education and that we're going to we're going to keep going. So um On other matters, Mr. Pagano, thank you, sir, for your service. It was exemplary. You did
012an amazing job. You are an incredible leader. I was honored to work with you for 2 years and found no fault in the process and I'm very grateful. You have done tremendous service for New Kent County schools and to the public and for that, sir, I thank you. Thank you. Having said that, I want to make certain that we understand as a public that Mr. Pagano's stepping down from the board is completely and totally unrelated to an unfortunate diatribe at the end of last meeting where I felt as though personal grievances were aired in public and they shouldn't have been. But they were. But they had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Pagano stepping down or resigning from the position. And in spite of everything or anything that may have been taken from that
013we're not going to let that stop the process. The train is on the track. Everything is still upright and that's how we're going to approach things. And moving forward, we look forward to qualified candidates to fill that position and we will find that person and they will come on the board and we will walk with them through the process as well. Help them get up to speed quickly and hear from them, listen to them. I would like to remind the board each and every one of us, which I realize I'm probably preaching to the choir, but I'll do it nonetheless. We are public servants. We are here to serve. The greatest leaders that you find in history were the greatest servants as well. They were unselfish. They were not focused on themselves. We can't be.
014It's an imperative that we are focused on students' educations, on administration, on staff, on the process itself, paying particular attention even to areas that the public a lot of times forgets, like school bus drivers and mechanics and those who are just as important in the process. So as we move forward, I would remind you that we have no power individually, absolutely zero. Our power is collectively as a board. And we going forward should remember that. And I look forward to working with you. I don't take this position lightly. I am honored and I will serve with integrity and open-mindedness and communication. And I thank you for your time. Mr. Superintendent um May not be a great secret, but I'm known as a shoe person and I will tell you um These are going to be
015huge shoes to fill for Mr. Pagano. It's a great loss. But I understand the rules and I understand I appreciate him you know, moving forward the way he has. I spent time with each of our principals, board members, and public this week to share the news, you know, so that they would they would know kind of where we were heading and the feelings were consistent. So I feel you know, sort of obligated to to save what I was told publicly. One, there was typically a deep sigh, but we're losing a strong focus on governance and a huge supporter of our schools. So you know, when you talk about legacy and what you're known for, like I can't think of two greater things to to be known for as a board member. He's also been a
016great supporter of mine. But I think it's important for the public to know that support does not mean agreement. So Mr. Pagano and I did not always agree. And he one of the things that I love is he provides feedback but public and privately that pushed me as a leader. So in those moments where you don't agree, it's an opportunity to grow and I've grown. This will be the first year I had a same chair two years in a row in my seven years here. So but I'm excited about Mr. Bott taking on the chair. um But so I appreciate that push and then I went back and forth about this part in the comments, but I mean I think it's important. I think board leadership matters just like teachers matter and superintendents matter. Not
017very long ago I was presented with an incredible opportunity for my family to leave New Kent. I've been here seven years. The average lifespan of a superintendent is less than three. um So I was able to discuss this openly with our chair. I didn't have to try to do anything under cover and under darkness. I was able to talk to our chair. Mr. Bott was vice chair at the time and I will tell you despite my deep love for this community it was also the support of our board members individually and collectively that I want to continue and finish my career in New Kent. So board leadership matters and having Mr. Pagano and Mr. Bott support me no matter what I did. >> [clears throat] >> It wasn't about if you stay in New Kent,
018we support you. If you go anywhere else, you we never talk. It was you've got to do what's right for your family. You've got to do what's right. And to have bosses, to have um people that are pushing the mission forward, that do that for you, you can't find that other places. So I'm really um It's a great loss and I just I thank you for what you've done for me and what you've done for our team. um and the support and uh Board members, I will do my best to guide us through this process and provide you with the information you need. Uh Ms. Davis uh is back thankfully as the clerk. Uh but uh we will work through this process. There are One thing I know about New Canaan, there are amazing people
019ready to step up. So, I'm confident in District 1. Um and I'm confident that that we can come together as a team. So, uh those are my comments, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay, with that being said, meeting is adjourned. I'm here.