001Good evening everyone. Miss Reynolds, you ready to >> Okay, >> we're good. >> Good. Thank you. I do want to make an announcement tonight before we get started. She's going to probably get mad at me, but after 47 plus years working for Pennsylvania County Schools, tonight is Miss Hancock's final meeting. And she's been the clerk of the board for many, many years. And I'm going to be honest, I'm going to really miss her. I know Miss Carter is going to do a wonderful job, but I can tell you she has done a fantastic job and devoted her life to Pennsylvania County Schools. And I think the the county has schools have been a much better place for what she has done for us. So, if you would please give her an applause for her. She
002doesn't really like getting recognized. She really likes to be hiding behind people, but that's okay. After that many years, we do appreciate it and we wish you all the best. Um, if you give us just a minute, we got a few closed items to take care of and then we'll get into the regular meeting. So, first I need a roll call, please. >> Mr. Fitzgerald? >> Yes. Mr. Henderson, >> yes. >> Miss Merrick, >> present. >> Mr. Mills, >> here. >> Mr. Moon, >> present. >> Mr. Shields, >> present. >> And Mr. Daws, >> present. We're going to recess from close. We will have to return to close at the end of our regular meeting. So, I have a motion to recess and certify, please. >> So, move. >> Roll call, please. >> Mr. Fitzgerald,
003>> yes. >> Mr. Henderson, >> yes. >> Miss Merrick, >> yes. >> Mr. Mills, >> yes. >> Mr. Moon, >> yes. >> Mr. Shields, >> yes. >> Mr. Dos, >> yes. Um, any actions from close so far? >> Yes. We have a motion to approve the request to wave schoolboard policy GBO-PC retirement from Mr. Roy S. Williams, Senior to allow him to retire under the early retirement incentive program effective September 30th, 2025. >> So move have a motion to have a second. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Mr. Fitzgerald, >> yes. >> Mr. Henderson, yes. >> Miss Merrick, yes. >> Mr. Mills, yes. >> Mr. Moon. >> Yes. >> Mr. Shields. >> Yes. >> Mr. Doss. >> Yes. >> We have a motion to approve personnel changes for August 12th, 2025 as presented and
004discussed. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Have a motion and a second. Any discussion? >> Roll call. >> Mr. Fitzgerald? >> Yes. >> Mr. Henderson? >> Yes. >> Miss Merrick? Yes. Mr. Mills? Yes. >> Mr. Moon? >> Yes. >> Mr. Shields? Yes. >> Mr. Dos? >> Yes. We have a motion to approve the release for comp compulsory attendance for 14 students based on religious exemption. >> Make a motion. >> Have a motion in a second, I think. Any discussion? Roll call, please. >> Mr. Fitzgerald, >> yes. >> Mr. Henderson, >> yes. >> Miss Merrick, >> yes. >> Mr. Mills, >> yes. >> Mr. Moon, >> yes. >> Mr. Shields, >> yes. >> Mr. Daw, >> yes. Mr. >> Uh Mr. Bay, I think you have a announcement here. >> Yes, sir. Uh Chairman Dolls, thank
005you very much. We'd like to take this opportunity today. Um we did receive um notification that we had recently a vacancy at Chattam High School for the assistant principal position. Mr. Dal Beard was the assistant principal there. He's taken on the position as a principal in um Lynchburg City Schools. We certainly wish him well. But at this time, I would like to bring a recommendation for an assistant principal to assume those responsibilities, and that will be August the 13th. What I would like to who I'd like to bring to you today is Mrs. Charlotte Cassell. Miss Cassel has worked with us in Pent County as six years at Kuck Elementary School as a teacher. She has also served as 15 years as gifted resource teacher. um also serving as a summer school administrative intern also
006as assistant director of Pedmont Regional Summer Governor School. She has a bachelor of science degree um from Aver University, a gifted endorsement from Everett University, a masters in education and curriculum and instruction and gifted education with Liberty University and endorsement in educational leadership at from Longwood University. Miss Cassell has extensive knowledge of curriculum instruction um very strong instructional knowledge and I think she is going to bring um a lot of value to Chattam High School. So again we um would like to bring that recommendation to her effective August the 13th. >> I have a motion. >> I'll make that motion. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Roll call, please. >> Mr. Fitzgerald? >> Yes. >> Mr. Henderson? >> Yes. >> Miss Merrick? Yes. >> Mr. Mills? Yes. >> Mr. Moon? >> Yes. >> Mr. Shields? Yes,
007>> Mr. Do. >> Yes. Is she here? >> She is right there. Stand up, please. [Music] >> Congratulations. Okay, that it. Okay, that's all items from closed. Now we're going into our regular meeting. At this time, I would like to make an addition to the agenda. It would be item number 10.4, dress code. Can I have a motion to approve the agenda with the a change? >> So move. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Mr. Fitzgerald, >> yes. >> Mr. Henderson, >> yes. >> Miss Merrick, >> yes. >> Mr. Mills, >> yes. >> Mr. Moon, >> yes. >> Mr. Shields, >> yes. >> Mr. DS, >> yes. >> Consent agenda, please. >> Have a motion. >> Make a motion to accept the consent agenda as presented. Second. >> We have a motion and a
008second. Any discussion on any of the consent agenda items? If not, um, roll call, please. >> Mr. Fitzgerald? >> Yes. >> Mr. Henderson? Yes. >> Miss Merrick? Yes. >> Mr. Mills? Yes. >> Mr. Moon? >> Yes. >> Mr. Shields? >> Yes. >> Mr. Dos? >> Yes. Dr. Reella, do you have any new employees here tonight that you know of? >> That's a really good question. >> Yeah, if they are, stand up. >> If you are a new employee, please rise or please stand. Welcome to Pennsylvania County Schools. We look forward to you working for us. Thank you for being here. >> Thank you, Mr. Jos. >> So, now we get to the point that everybody wanted. We're going to recognize some students. Miss Petty, we have a bunch of students to recognize tonight, right? Mr.
009>> Chairman Doth, school board members, Mr. Mayhew, and all assembled. Good evening, Mr. Anderson. >> It is my pleasure to recognize students this evening. We will begin with National Junior Beta Club award recipients. The first school is Gretina Elementary. Administrators, Jennifer Andrews, principal, and Tara Taylor, assistant principal and sponsor, Jasmine Gregory. Would you all please come forward? and our director of elementary education is Todd Cece. Students, as I call your name, would you please come forward? Each student will receive a certificate that reads, "Certificate of excellence, Pennsylvania County Schools." This certificate of excellence is presented to the student in recognition and appreciation for outstanding achievement for the particular area granted this 12th day of August 2025 by the Pennsylvania county school boards school board chair Kelly Meriks school board vice chair the first student we
010will recognize this evening is Hayes Hubard placing first in musiccology at the National Junior Beta Convention. [Applause] Congratulations, [Applause] [Music] Ian Mayhew, placing first in musiccology. Congratulations [Applause] [Music] Reagan Parsons placing first in musiccology. [Applause] Congratulations, [Music] Briana Wright placing first in musiccology. Congratulations [Applause] McKenna Martin placing fifth in twodimensional design. [Applause] Reagan Parsons placing fifth in two-dimensional design. [Applause] Congratulations [Music] Kylie Shelton placing ninth in black and white photography. [Applause] Congratulations, Briana Wright, placing fifth in two-dimensional design. [Applause] Congratulations. [Applause] And Kylie Shelton placing fifth in two-dimensional design. [Applause] congratulations and congratulations Retina Elementary. Thank you. Next we will have Mount Ary Elementary School principal Pamela Fields, sponsors Chassity Wartz, Amelia Wilson, Bernardet Hagens, and Kelly Birfield. The first student we will recognize from Mount Ary for National Junior Beta is Eden Hancock, placing
011fourth in recyclable All right. [Music] [Applause] And Eden Hancock placing seventh in engineering. [Applause] Congratulations, [Music] [Applause] Abel Ashby, placing seventh in engineering. [Applause] Levi Dalton, placing seventh in engineering. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Colt Hill placing seventh in engineering. [Applause] Liam Mercer placing seventh in engineering. Lindsay Hutcherson placing seventh in digitally enhanced photography. [Applause] Congratulations and congratulations Mount Air Elementary. [Applause] Next, we will have Stony Mill Elementary, Kimberly Haymore, principal, Angela Adams, assistant principal, and sponsors Stephanie Abbott and Jennifer Brown from Stony Elementary is Riley Conover, placing ninth in cake decorating. Congratulations, [Applause] [Music] Cadam Middle School. Principal Jessica Waller, Assistant Principal Heather Langford, Director of Middle School Education Jenny Eaton. sponsors Ursula Pen Coleman, Shannon Lubrielle Abria Witcher, Jana Reynolds, placing ninth in junior fiber arts. Congratulations [Applause] congratulations Chattam Middle School [Applause] and Miss
012Eton, you may want to remain for Gretina Middle School. Dr. Thomas Takis, principal, Cassandra Pitman, assistant principal, and Hie Ghart, sponsor. Aubrey Cray placing third in recyclable art. [Applause] Congratulations, Greta Middle. You're welcome. Gretina High School principal Franklin Ferguson. Assistant principles Chad Scrugs and Kina Wright, assistant principal. Sponsor: Rebecca Franklin. Director of secondary education, Brian BS. Key Smith placing 10th in division one fiber arts. [Applause] Congratulations, Bretna High School. Mr. BS will remain for us for a few more. So next we have Dan River High School, Jonathan Fain, principal, Lauren Bun and Cynthia Mills, assistant principles, and Corey Foster, assistant. And Corey Foster, sponsor. Emma Rose, placing seventh in division one mixed media. [Music] [Applause] Congratulations, [Applause] [Music] Olivia Cook, placing 10th and performing arts senior vocalist. [Music] [Applause] Congratulations Dan Rivera High School. Next
013we have Tontol High School principal Lisa Todden, assistant principles Kain Devivi, Dustin Eckles. Sponsors Tara Mills, Jennifer Watson and for the high school. These are all of our national senior beta. First, we will recognize from Tonto High School, Brady Austin, placing second in service learning showcase. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Brody Buchanan placing second in project proposal. Congratulations, Anna Enman placing second in project proposal. [Applause] Congratulations, [Music] Clara Meals, placing second in project proposal. [Applause] [Music] Congratulations, Matthew Nose, placing second in project proposal. Congratulations, [Applause] Riley Parsons, placing second in division one handdrawn anime. May [Applause] [Music] and get first place. [Applause] Congratulations, [Applause] Riley. First place, Edward Walker, placing seventh in US history 9th grade. Congratulations, [Applause] Chandler Snow, placing eighth in science, 12th grade. Congratulations, [Applause] [Music] Thomas James, placing ninth in spelling. 12th grade.
014[Applause] Congratulations, [Applause] Madison KS, placing ninth in twodimensional design. [Applause] Congratulations [Music] [Applause] [Music] Gabrielle Cisneros placing 10th in mathematics 11th grade. [Music] [Applause] Jonathan Coffee placing 10th in psychology, ninth grade. [Music] [Applause] Congratulations [Music] Rodie Buchanan placing 10th in technology video. [Applause] Congratulations, [Applause] [Music] Hie Cassida, placing 10th in technology video. [Applause] Anna Enman placing 10th in technology video. [Music] [Applause] Congratulations [Applause] [Music] Shelton McKini placing 10th in technology video. [Applause] >> Thank you. Congratulations, [Applause] Clara Meals, placing 10th in technology video. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Congratulations [Applause] [Music] Sydney Pritchette placing 10th in technology video. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Chandler Snow placing 10th in technology video. [Music] [Applause] [Laughter] Congratulations and congratulations Tonsil High and all of our national senior beta recipients. Um Tonsil High don't administrator don't go far. Chadam High School Angela Andreant,
015principal, Ad Doll Rich Beard, and Jason Ins, assistant principles. Jason Ins was the sponsor represent representing Chattam High this evening. Mr. Brian BS, Chattam High School FA Chapter. This award goes to Chattam High School FFA chapter in recognition and appreciation for outstanding achievement for receiving the state public relations award with silver rating at the Virginia state FFA convention granted this 12th day of August 2025 and Janelle Ball Brooks is also present with us she is the director of career and technical education so Mr. B secondary director, Mrs. Ball Brooks will receive the certificate on behalf of Chadam High. >> Come on. Mr. Bose is standing in for the principal. Thank you so much. Congratulations. And Miss Ball Brooks, will you remain with us for the next awards for FFA for Virginia State FFA Convention, Tontol
016High School. These awards go to Tontol High School students in FFA, principal Lisa Titen, Kain Devi, and Dustin Eckles assistant principles, and sponsor Dr. Jessica Jones. Please join us. [Applause] The first student we recognize is Caitlyn Knight, receiving the FFA state degree at the Virginia State FFA Convention. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Congratulations. [Applause] And these next three awards are for Tons High School FFA chapter. The first certificate reads, "This certificate of excellence is presented to Tontol High School FFA chapter in recognition and appreciation for outstanding achievement for receiving the state superior chapter award with gold rating at the Virginia State FFA Convention. Congratulations [Applause] [Music] And the second award reads, "The certificate of excellence is presented to Tontol High School FFA chapter in recognition and appreciation for outstanding achievement for receiving the state public relations award
017with gold rating at the Virginia State FFA convention. Congratulations again. And the third recognition for Tontol High School FFA chapter is for receiving the gold chapter award from the National FFA organization. Congratulations to Mrs. Lisa Ton and Dr. Jessica Jones and FFA students for their excellent work. [Music] And thank you Dr. Mrs. Brooks for your support of these students. And thank you everyone who came out to support our students in the recognitions this evening. [Music] [Applause] >> Thank you. Okay. Thank y'all. Up next on our public presentations is a character word of the month. Mr. Bow is going to come forward tonight and do the first one. Student reps, y'all watch real close because after this it's going to be one of y'all's turn, right? >> Okay. And I cannot tell you how thrilled I
018am they'll be doing this. >> Good evening, Chairman Doss, members of the school board, Mr. Mayhew, assistant superintendent, students, staff, parents, guardians, and all guests. Character education is a subject we enjoy discussing with our students. Character education is not just about appropriate school behavior. It is so much more than that. It is about the way we treat others in every situation, even when it's difficult to do so. Each month beginning with September, as Chairman Doss mentioned, our student representatives to the school board will make presentations on our character words. Our character words are courage, trustworthiness, honesty, respect, courtesy, responsibility, self-control, fairness, caring, and citizenship. This evening, I will be talking to you about the character word of the month for August, courage. The definition of courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables
019a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, challenging circumstances. A synonym for courage is bravery. When I asked Google Gemini for a description of courage, this is part of the response. Quote, "Courage is a multifaceted human quality that goes beyond the simple absence of fear. It is the ability to confront a situation that is dangerous, difficult or painful even when one feels afraid. In essence, courage is an act of will. It is a choice to persevere, to endure, and to act in alignment with one's values and convictions regardless of the potential negative consequences or the internal feeling of fear. It is a fundamental component of resilience, integrity, and personal growth. End quote. Clearly, courage is demonstrated by strength and action in the face of adversity. Courage can take many forms. It may be revealed in someone's
020health struggle. It may be observed when someone stands up for others who are being treated unfairly. We may see courage in students and leaders who are being or who are competing against others. Courage is needed to make uncomfortable decisions that are being made for the right reasons. It takes courage to have those awkward conversations with parents, guardians, teachers, and peers, even when we know those conversations are necessary. It takes courage to acknowledge when you need help and even more courage to ask for it. There are many, many more examples of courage. It is my opinion that the student representatives to the school board demonstrated great courage when they willingly applied for the opportunity to lead by making it their goal to positively impact their schools and their communities. It takes courage for them to recognize
021the bigger picture and focus on the greater good. At a very eventful, oftentimes stressful time in their lives. They have chosen to demonstrate courage by serving as a listening ear and being an advocate and a voice for their peers. I commend them for the courage they have shown for making this important decision. Each and every day, sometimes several times a day, it takes courage to model the traits of good character by standing up and doing the right thing. While it might seem easier to make a wrong choice that seems popular, I look forward to hearing how they describe our character education words throughout the school year. And I appreciate your time and your attention as we discuss the character word of the month for August, courage. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. BS. Before we
022go to the next item, I'm going to put y'all students on on spot just a second. How was the first three days of school so far? >> Pretty good. Pretty good. It's a senior year. It's supposed to be great, right? Is it hard to believe y'all gotten to senior year already? Yeah. You just went to the high school a few weeks ago, didn't you? Ninth graders. Yeah. Time moves pretty fast. Well, I hope you have a great senior year. We we're glad y'all here with us tonight. We look forward to working with you this year and we appreciate y'all do serving. So, thank you. Um, next we have the PA, Mr. Hill. I know I saw you over there somewhere. Hi. There you are. How you this evening? >> Tired. >> Well, I' I've been
023better, but I've been worse, too. >> I'm like you. I'm tired. >> Uh uh first I'd like to start off. We can go ahead and acknowledge how nice it is to see these kids recognized. Like all our hard work, you know, it pays off. These kids are succeeding and they're doing well. It's great to recognize them. So, we appreciate that. Give yourselves a hand. Congratulations for all your hard work. >> Speak up in the mic just a little bit more. Sorry about that, sir. >> Just a little better. Okay. Uh, so good evening. Thank you for your time. Uh, as of this meeting, currently posted are psychologist positions, two counselors, 27 teachers and aids, four cafeteria, both part and full-time, as well as 10 custodial positions. Pennsylvania County Schools routinely operate on what could be
024considered understaffed, but we can agree that these jobs are critical for successful operation. Some schools have people filling in multiple positions wearing several hats as it were. I ask that we review the lowest tiers of the pay scale as quickly as possible to make future adjustments to better address filling in these positions uh that are essential for the operation of our facilities. Some of the most difficult positions like sped aids require difficult manual labor that are mentally and emotionally taxing. the starting salaries are outpaced by our surrounding school systems as well as many local employment opportunities that don't necessarily come with the difficulties of being in a classroom. It would also be beneficial to remove the caps on the scale for positions like psychologists, maintenance, administrative assistants, and other positions that have the scale topped
025at 25 years. This incentivizes loyalty and experience in positions where experience will become increasingly difficult to come by. We need experience to prepare our next generation of teachers, counselors, cafeteria workers, students, and so on. Uh the new digital bus radios are amazing. Thank you. The improvement is noticeable immediately. Um they are already infinitely more clear coming over the analog signal. Uh I would like to reiterate that it would be in the best interest of all the schools to break the radio communication over the available bands that we have. uh as we transition to digital uh it's recommended that each district be assigned to a particular band so that Dan River communications don't overlap with Gretina communications and so forth. Uh this would be especially beneficial in the cases of emergencies like children missing stops or
026weather events that we've experienced. Uh while addressing the radios uh all the schools I'm aware of use walkie-talkies to communicate with teachers outside on playgrounds or in hallways, cafeterias, etc. These radios are a significant expense to smaller schools that don't generate the same funds through resources like PTO's or fundraisers. We ask for a safety review to determine if the schools could be afforded a small stipen to replace or require sets to ensure that they always have these devices available as a safety resource. Uh lastly, it was brought to my attention that during a safety training, administrators in the buildings were asked about communication capabilities in the room that they retreat to for emergencies. As it currently stands, we request that we begin the process to evaluate installing means for communication and monitoring in the vault
027areas. This will afford admins or front office personnel the ability to communicate with 911 or other outside resources without be relying on cell phones. This is becoming increasingly difficult, especially with the installation of uh the solar panels as cell signals are now getting more difficult to get outside of buildings. I thank you very much for your time and I'll forward you my notes following the meeting. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Taylor. [Applause] >> Uh, staff committee reports is next. Uh, security safety security update. Mr. Boon, I think you going to talk to us a little bit. >> Yes, sir. >> You got a PowerPoint? >> I do. >> Good evening, Chairman D, school board members, Superintendent Mayhew, and those in attendance. There have been many great things taking place across our division over the
028last school year and this summer. Id like to take this opportunity to provide you all with some safety and security updates. I recently attended a safety training conference and it was good to know that there are many initiatives uh that were that we're already doing here in Pennsylvania County Schools. Uh that's under the guidance of the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Service Center for School and Campus Safety. Uh they can be seen in our crisis management plan and in our school buildings. Uh, speaking of some of those, as you may know, most of our schools were approved for the 2024 school safety grant. With the security grant, we installed security cameras at approved schools along with installing digital bus radios on all of our buses and at each school to improve communication between our schools
029and bus drivers. Additionally, we equipped Tons Middle, Chattam Middle, and Dan River Middle with AEDs. Grant the Middle also received a new AED. However, theirs wasn't funded through this grant. Through the Storm Connections grant, we are currently in the process of identifying area areas across our schools that need additional protective film or ballistic film. Some of those areas include the high school cafeteria windows, classroom door windows, large windows at our middle schools, band rooms, and library and office windows at our middle schools also, along with other areas across other buildings. Any leftover funding will be used to purchase additional security cameras for our schools. On Tuesday, July 15th, the critical response group, CRG, conducted a tabletop exercise at Chattam Middle School. The event brought together administrators and division staff from P uh PCS along with
030Psylvania County Sheriff's Office, Psylvania County Emergency Services, and the Hertown Police Department. The purpose was to apply key principles aimed at strengthening preparedness and coordination in the event of a school safety incident. The exercise feature a realistic scenario and facilitated an open dialogue on procedures, inter agency agency collaboration and communication between the school division and public safety partners. Those are just some of the pictures from the tabletop um exercise that we did at Chattam Middle. and some more. We have recently or excuse me, we have successfully moved our visitor management system from school pass to the Raptor Technologies visitor safe platform. The change was necessitated by Raptors Technologies acquiring our previous vendor school pass. The new Raptor system maintains all the critical safety functions our staff and administration have come to rely on. There has
031been no functionality or loss of functionality. Key service that we will continue to have is tracking all staff check-ins and checkouts. Logging student late arrivals and early departures. Instantly screening every visitor against the national sex offender registry before they are allowed to access any of our school buildings. Raptor Technologies is a nationally recognized leader in K12 school safety and security. The visitor safe platform is a robust dedicated security system designed for the school environment. This transition ensures we are using the best-in-class tool to help keep our students and staff safe across all of our division buildings. As you all may recall, about two years ago, we were looking into an emergency notification system for our schools. We found one platform and uh with the assistance of our information technology department in Chhattam Middle School, we
032were able to test out that platform. Unfortunately, with that one, we found some areas that that kind of struggled for us um with the platform and and what we learned from that was that the platform was more complex than what we needed for our school. Was more suited for large facilities such as a mall or hospital somewhere where you were getting people out, but you didn't have to uh reunify them later. We're still in the process of finding and looking at an effective way to streamline our emergency response system. One program that we have have looked into is the raptor technologies emergency management system. Some of the benefits of this system include its ability to link with other software and protocols that we currently have in place including our CRG digital maps of each school
033visitor management system. The I love you guys standard response protocol that we adopted as a division. And one of the biggest benefits is the raptor emergency management system utilizes what we call rapid SOS which is also used by the pavilion county emergency services. In the event of an incident, our schools would have the direct connection to first responders. So, we're looking at some grant funding, hopefully find some grant funding that can take care of that. We recently submitted a school security grant application for the 2025 grant year to the state. If we receive approval, the funding will be allocated to enhance our security measures by installing additional cameras at designated schools. Additionally, we plan to replace a phone systems at all four high schools and intercom system at two of the schools to improve communication
034and safety. This initiative is crucial for ensuring a secure environment for all students and staff. And if you have any questions, I'll take those at this time. >> Anybody have any questions? Dr. Moon. >> Thank you, Dr. Moon. Appreciate it. Anybody have any questions on the remaining desk reports at this time? Okay. If no questions, we'll move on to the superintendent report. Mr. may >> thank you. Uh good evening chairman D school board members and um staff that are here and of course the community and students. First I'd like to again say congratulations to all the students who are recognized. I know many of them have already left but it's always good to come back to the beginning of school and see so many students recognized. It certainly goes to their hard work and the
035dedication and talent of the sponsors and the schools that work so hard. So again uh congratulations to them. Recently, we had our annual principles and supervisors meeting was held on Monday, July 28th at Gretton Middle School. Excellent meeting. During this time, we had expectations that were set for the school year for all our staff, including creating a high quality, positive learning environment, establishing high expectations for all, building and fostering positive relationships with students, maintaining and maintaining, excuse me, building and maintaining a safe and orderly environment. Excellent planning by Miss Patty and the assistant superintendent for this event. We had new employee orientation held on Wednesday, July 29th through 30th, welcoming 110 new employees to PCS. Again, excellent planning by Dr. Reanella, assistant superintendent for administration and the assistant superintendents and all the staff that supported
036that event. Excellent opening of schools this year. 12 month staff returned last Monday um to our schools. Lots of work has completed in my um rounds going around. And I think everyone noticed the energy and so forth and the positive energy that we noticed in our schools and certainly welcomed our students u back this past Friday. Um over the past over the summer we had lots of construction as you were very well aware in some of our buildings. Kuck Southside Union Hall were probably the most notable with all the things that are going on in terms of HVAC construction and building construction. A new um car rider loop at Kuck that we negotiated and got that working very well. staff have just jumped in and just were able to negotiate this and do very well.
037Would like to acknowledge Tonsl High School robotics team. Um I think the the column was 17150 I believe was recognized at the national event for the first Chesapeake district championship I believe as a Compass finalist. They placed third overall for the motivate award and placed first overall for the judges award. Congratulations to Tonsel High School and it sponsors Dr. Jessica Jones for that event. We are very fortunate to have staff that are very highly trained and dedicated to do what is best for children and our outstanding test scores continue to reflect that hard work. We continue to wait for the final accreditation ratings from the state, but the pass rates on standards of learning tests for students continue to place Pennsylvania schools in the top 20% of the school divisions of 132 in the state
038of Virginia. That speaks volumes about the hard work that our teachers are accomplishing each and every day. our administrators that do support them and of course the students that are working hard and receive their support from home by working together the parents and teachers provide the best opportunity for children to be successful in Pennsylvania county schools. Another goal we continue to work on and ensure that every student attends school regularly. As you know, attendance or chronic absenteeism is a marker for accreditation. So we continue to work hard, schools continue to work very hard to instill that. But we will always I will always say publicly that we need support from parents to ensure that coming to school each and every day is very important so they receive the appropriate instruction and support from their very
039well-trained teachers. So I will continue to reiterate that and also will reiterate this the sta the support that we have from our support services office from Dr. Robin Haymore and her staff and working very closely with students and of course working with juvenile juvenile domestic relations to support families in encouraging regular attendance to school. An update on middle school sports. Currently we have volleyball, boys basketball, golf, cross country, flag football, cheerleading. New for 2526 we will have baseball and softball. So we're looking forward to adding those new new activities to our middle school roster. I would like to also make note I'm very um pleased that preschool um continues to be an access issue in our our system. However, I would like to commend Dr. Haymore and her staff for work working very hard to
040increase access to our students um for preschool intervention at an early age is so very important because I think it makes pays many more dividends when they get older. we were able to add another classroom and clear a lot of individuals that were on the wait list and make a lot of families happy. So again, congratulations Dr. H on her work. Very uh pleased with her work and of course Dr. Reella worked very hard to help with that as well. We also have just want to remind us to the board VSBA 2025 hybrid legislative advocacy conference is September 19th at the Chesterfield Career and Technical Center if you're interested. I want to also make note of there was an article featured and I want to and it's the our town spring 2025. I missed this
041somehow but if you get a chance I'll pass this around. It featured our own schoolboard member Mr. Jordan Henderson there. So if you get a chance please take a look at that. As always good news to our schools and it is in written form. So congratulations Miss Henderson um for the piece there. It was very nice. And I would like to end my comments by simply saying welcome to Miss Jonica Carter and she will assume the responsibilities as executive administrative assistant to superintendent and clerk of the board. And also u welcome you Miss Carter and then I would like to again Mrs. Mr. D mentioned earlier to make some uh very nice comments about Miss Hancock but I would just say I've known Miss Hancock for a long time. Um, and she is the same
042then as she is now. She is always a supportive, professional, kind, humble, and will always do anything she can help do to help anyone. She will certainly be missed in her role as Psylvania County and all the hard work she has committed. I think Pennsylvania Psylvania County is certainly a much better place since we've had Miss Hancock, and we will certainly miss her, but we know she will always be there to provide support and assistance as always. So again, can we give another round of applause for Miss Janet Hancock? That's all I have. Mr. B. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Williamsburg trip is November, you need to give me those dates again. November 19th, >> 21 >> through the 21st if you're interested. I think Mrs. Hancock has already worked on those reservations. Please speak with
043her or myself if you have any questions about that. >> I'm going >> right. She needs to know who's coming. >> Yes, Mr. Mills, you not going? Mr. Fitzgerald, you going? >> M. Moon, you going? Mer Shield? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> And the students as well. I'll get with you about that, too, if you guys will be invited to come. >> Oh, the students. Yeah. I don't >> Y'all y'all need to get with her soon. Very soon. Okay. >> That's all I have, sir. >> I made the statement when I was talking to the press a while back and I said Miss Hancock was an encyclopedia for Pennsylvania County Schools. I guess I should say now she's Google from Pennsylvania County, but when you started you was encyclopedia, but we moved on to Google
044now. So, you're going to be missed and I I know I'm going to miss you a lot. It's you know, she she would come by my house a lot and you know, her and my wife are good friends and a five minute stop will turn into an hour or two, but I'm going to miss those nights, but you can still come. All right. Okay. Um, we have no unfinished business, so we'll move on to new business. First, first up is revision of school board policies. We need to waver the first reading and approve it on the second reading tonight. So, do I have a motion to waiver and and pass a mot tonight? >> So, move have a second. >> Second. >> Any discussion on any of the policies? Roll call, please. >> Mr. Fitzgerald.
045>> Yes. >> Mr. Henderson. >> Yes. >> Miss Merrick, yes. Mr. Mills, >> yes. >> Mr. Moon, >> yes. >> Mr. Shields, >> yes. >> Mr. Dos, >> yes. Joint use agreement for Pennsylvania County Parks and Recck. Do I have a motion to approve it? >> So move. >> Second. >> Any discussion on that? Will we tracking the having parks and recck maybe track the money that's as an income versus the expenses that we have incurred in our county schools to make sure that this is whether we need to revisit it next year or not. >> Merrick, could you speak up into mic? I couldn't hear you from over here. said, "Are we having parks and wreck possibly track the income that they make versus the expenses that we incur to see if we need
046to renegotiate this for next year?" >> I don't think that was something that we asked him to do. I mean, >> you talk to Mr. Price about that and see how if he's willing to try to do it. >> I mean, we can certainly ask him if he's willing to provide that information. I guess we could do that. Um but right now the the I think the change is they're going to offer provide $50,000 back to the school. Then what we're going to do is um work with finance determine a fair reasonable way to distribute that for those funds to schools. >> Okay. >> Can you clarify for me one thing? The is 50 50,000. Is that correct? >> Yes, sir. >> What what what are we going to do with that? Are we going
047to divvy it up to four high schools or what? Well, I think the plan uh discussed this um kind of review this and determined. I first asked the principles if they could determine, you know, because you know, a lot of the things are trying to figure out what revenue they were going to not be able to incur anymore because they're not collecting date tickets anymore for the baseball and softball, you know, and so forth. So, my thought was is I would work with finance and I've asked doc, excuse me, I've asked Mr. goals to work with athletic directors to determine you know the kind of usage of all the facilities and then hopefully we'll be able to come with a metric working with um Miss Worley our chief financial officer to determine a fair way
048to be able to redistribute funds back to the schools and also whatever cost that we have to incur from the division for any kind of things like facilities you know utilities things like that we would come up with that and I can report that back to the board >> question answered thank you >> Sure anybody else roll call please >> Mr. Fitzgerald. >> Yes. >> Mr. Henderson, >> yes. >> Miss Mary, >> yes. >> Mr. Mills, >> yes. >> Mr. Moon, >> yes. >> Mr. Shields, >> yes. >> Mr. Do you hand your packet the code of conduct from the VSBA for our school board clerk? Do I have a motion to approve it? >> Motion. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Roll call. >> Mr. Fitzgerald? >> Yes. >> Mr. Henderson? >> Yes. >> Miss
049Mar? >> Yes. >> Mr. Mills? >> Yes. >> Mr. Moon? >> Yes. >> Mr. Shields? >> Yes. >> Mr. Dobs? Yes. And a final item is a dress code. I have a motion to approve the dress code as discussed in the work session tonight. >> Well, before we vote, I think we need to uh Oh, we got to take the motion first. So, moved. >> Okay. Somebody second. >> Second. Now, now you can >> Okay. I think we need to publicly um declare what was changed. >> Okay. >> Would you like me to read each part? >> I guess so. Yeah. >> Okay. All right. So you have the dress code that has been provided to you and I'll kind of go over you know the process that we had when we worked with um
050the principles. So at the last meeting it was asked to from the um board for me to have um a discussion with middle school principles and high school principles. So that's what I did 17th and then finally both groups again on July 23rd to review you know our present dress code to make a determination where we wanted to move forward. my my questions to them was to review exactly what we had and determine if there was any discussion in terms of what they wanted to see possibly to change um and then I would report that back to the board. So quite a long discussion as we reviewed this um the principles were very supportive of the protocol and believe that a dress code is very important because it promotes modesty and promotes um you know
051what what I would say is um you know reducing distractions and of course making sure we ensure that we are preparing our students for the future. And so our discussion kind of landed on what things they thought that they felt like they wanted to make recommendations. So what I have to present to you is this. I took our dress code and went over this with the principles. And what you have here is um the old dress code. It's not numbered. It's in columns and so forth. And it's listed. And so I'll do you want me would you like me to read each piece or just the pieces that were changed? >> I just think pieces that were changed. >> Okay. So what I did was um what I recommended in the work session was this
052um it was to ensure that there were some things that were kind of blocked up in paragraph form. So I broke those down so they were more clear. So there were one 2 3 four five six items. So there was item number 11 and this if the board approves this we'll communicate this to back to the um schools is number 11. Opaque meaning not see-through clothing. um must cover areas from armpit to the other armpit down to four inches above the knee. Number 12, item number 12. Shoulders must be covered with sleeves or straps of opaque note material. It must be at least 2 in thick. That's pretty much similar to before. It's just it's just kind of broken down so it's a little more clear. Any holes, rips, tears, see-through, or mesh fabric must
053be lower than 4 in above the knee or must be worn over opaque fabric. Number 14. Clothing may not depict, imply, advertise, or advocate illegal, violent, or loot conduct, nudity, weapons, or the use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, or other controlled substances. Number 17. If tight fitting pants, and I've got in parentheses such as leggings, compressions, yoga pants, etc. in parentheses are worn opaque, not see-through apparel such as a shirt, skirt, etc. must cover the front and back private areas. And then the last one, number 20. Please note the school may modify the dress code as appropriate as needed for class and/or program requirements. This may include but is not not limited to career and technical education programs, lab courses, physical education classes, athletic activities, programs, etc. And that was the only thing that was modified.
054>> Good. You ready for the vote? >> Roll call, please. >> Mr. Fitzgerald? >> Yes. >> Miss Henderson? >> Yes. >> Miss Merrick? Yes, >> Mr. Mills. >> Hi, >> Mr. Moon. >> Yes, >> Mr. Shields. >> Yes, >> Mr. Doss. >> Yes. That concludes all of our business for tonight. We're going to take a five minute re recess and then we'll go back into closed. I want to thank everybody for being here tonight. Um, here we are back at school already. It's hard to believe. Thank all y'all for being here and we'll see you next month, I hope.