001You >> guys ready? >> Good evening everybody. Um like to go ahead and get this started. Um I'd like to call to order the October 21st Picosen School Board meeting. Um go ahead and get started. Uh, the first order of business, um, Miss Stud, would you come up and lead us in the pledge of allegiance? [Music] >> 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. >> Please pause for a moment of silence. You may be seated. Today our quote comes from Clutarch. The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled. Thank you. >> Thank you. Miss Carol, do we
002have any additions and or modifications to the agenda? >> Chair Burbage, we have no additions or modifications this even. >> Okay, thank you. Uh, next on the uh the list of things is recognition with Miss I Good evening. I'm filling in for Miss Kelly Perie tonight who normally does the recognitions. So, before we begin giving a glowing report for our first senior of the month, I'd like to remind everyone that this is a program supported by one of our very generous community supporters, the Picosen Exchange Club. This organization not only recognizes the students, but also provides a scholarship at the end of the year. We appreciate their generosity and partnership for all that they do for our high school. The October senior of the month consistently challenges herself by taking numerous honors, advanced placement, and
003dual enrollment courses. Her commitment to her studies has earned her an impressive 4.18 grade point average, as well as membership in the National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, Social Studies Honor Society, and Spanish Honor Society. Beyond the classroom, she demonstrates strong leadership and involvement in a wide range of extracurricular activities. She has been an active member of the Chick-fil-A leadership group, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Key Club, STEM club, and Leo Club. She has also served in multiple leadership roles, including secretary of the school council administration, historian, and treasurer of the Excel club, and president of the Arrive Alive Club. In athletics, she captained the JV Lady Islanders soccer team from 2022 to 2024 before advancing to the varsity team. And she currently plays on the Lady Islanders varsity field hockey team. In addition to her
004academic and extracurricular achievements, our senior of the month has gained valuable professional and community experience. She is currently completing a virtual internship with Quickstart Solutions where she manages media files for online campaigns, organizes content in cloud-based system, and design simple graphics to support digital initiatives. She has also dedicated significant time to community service through her work as a student helper at Baron Elementary School and Craft Elementary School, assisting teachers in classroom preparation, supporting students, and helping to create welcoming environments for the school community. Collectively, she has contributed over 40 hours of service to Baron Elementary and multiple summers of support to Craft Elementary. Please join me in congratulating Miss Addison Forest as our October senior. Thank you. >> Congratulations. Okay. Uh next we have presentations and reports. Uh the first presentation will be the WHRO
005public media presentation with Mr. Bert Schmidt the president and chief executive officer and Elbert Seawward the vice president of education services members of the board. Thank you for allowing to speak with you. Congratulations by the way. [Music] >> Um my name is Bert Schmid. I'm the president and CEO of WHR. Unfortunately Elmer Seward could not be here. here. He had a family emergency and will not be with us tonight. But uh we provide you each year an impact statement and I think you have a hard copy of that with you. I'm not going to go into all the details of that report, but I have prepared for you a video that summarizes what you'll find in this report and we can play that video. Dance out is the nation's sole public media station owned by
006a collaboration of 21 school divisions. This distinctive ownership model places education at the heart of our mission influencing every aspect of our work. Our team of educators is committed to offering students, teachers, and families innovative free highquality programs and services. One key service that WHRO offers is E Media VA, Virginia's leading digital content repository. With nearly 100,000 free, top quality instructional resources, E Media VA provides educators and students with videos, interactive tools, games, lesson plans, images, and more. This platform is designed to enhance personalized learning and make classroom experiences more engaging for our youngest learners. WHRO offers exciting educational activities to spark their imagination. Our three education bands visit elementary schools with programs tailored to Virginia's standards of learning covering literacy, numeracy, scientific investigation, and technology. We also support parents and caregivers, ensuring children are
007prepared for kindergarten and set up for success in their early school years. For secondary educators, WHRO provides a catalog of 29 awardwinning customizable online courses and digital resources. These mediarich aligned courses are designed to integrate seamlessly with various learning management systems. They offer flexibility for face-to-face, lift, blended, and fully online teaching environments, enriching lessons with engaging content. At WHO, we celebrate students achievements through competitions that showcase their talents. The Great Computer Challenge, for example, gathers school teams from across the region at Ultimian University to tackle real world technology problems. Another highlight is the Town Bank Regional Spelling Week where middle school champions compete at WHRO studio for a chance to advance to the scripts national spelling be. The local competition is recorded and aired on WHRO each April. Elementary students also have an opportunity to
008shine through our PBS Kids Writers Contest. This competition invites young writers to craft and illustrate their original stories, fostering creativity and critical thinking. Our student advisory board reflects our commitment to student engagement. This group of high school students offers feedback on WHRO's content and has opportunities to create their own, influencing our online courses and e media VA resources. We're equally devoted to supporting educators through our professional development programs. Our workshops and training sessions provide teachers with cuttingedge strategies and tools, empowering them to inspire and guide their students effectively. Visit WHRO's education web page to learn more about how these amazing free materials, programs, and resources can benefit you. At WHRO Public Media, we're proud to partner with our local school divisions and the Virginia Department of Education to shape the future of education, one student
009at a time. >> So, as you know, you're one of the 21 school divisions that literally own the license to WHRO. We're the only media company in the entire country owned by a collaboration of K12 school divisions. And so, it's a great pleasure to work with all these schools together. In fact, last week we just had the superintendent over at our shop talking about a variety of educational topics within the impact statement we provide you. Page uh two is an executive summary. As school board members, of course, you're very concerned about your finances. The last second to last paragraph on that f second page summarizes your return on your investment. And uh I'll just read it. Possen City Public Schools invested $7,000 in WHO services during the 2425 school year and received direct and indirect
010benefits valued at $681,000, a return of $96 for every dollar invested. We hope you're happy with that uh ROI and I'm happy to take any questions you might have. I have a question. Um, in regards to accessing your media, your your content, um, are parents able to access that from home or do we need to be like in school or >> So, it depends on what you're specifically talking about. So, if it's E Media VA about 95% you just go to immediiava.org and you have access. There's a limited amount that has to be within Virginia. So, you have to have an account to sign in because we only bought rights for Virginia. >> Um, but short of that, most of that. Now, if it's the online courses, that's within the division. We're a manufacturer of
011courses. We give them to the division and then the division decides how they're going to be used. >> But I'm just talking about like someone who's homeschooled or >> Yeah. A lot most of our services are available to homeschoolers. >> Okay. Yeah. >> Private school. Okay. Public school. Yeah. Everybody. >> Any other questions? Okay, thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Take care. >> Okay. Uh, next up is the instructional update with Miss. All right. Good evening, Chair Burbage, school board members, Superintendent Tilllet, staff, and community members. Tonight, I will be providing another brief update on the accountability and accreditation data from VDOE. Last time I used the words coming soon a lot and it still remains true, coming soon. Uh, I shared the raw data released by the VDOE last time regarding our
012pass rates for our so assessments. We had anticipated by this meeting we would be able to share our accountability and accreditation standings including our designations. Unfortunately, the VDOE has not yet released that data, citing the need for a third party to review it and verify it for accuracy. At this time, we do not have a specific timeline for when the data will be released, only that it is expected soon. We have reviewed the raw numbers for review of potential inaccuracies from the VDOE. So they have sent us raw data via spreadsheet. However, that the state has embargoed that data. Um and we are not yet permitted to release this for public consumption. In discussions with other divisions, at least 50% have noted errors in that raw data that was provided by the VDOE. Picosen is
013included in that. Um thankfully though that is an opportunity for us to correct those errors so that when they send it back to us it does truly reflect the work of our students and staff. I want to thank Miss Kimberly Montavo who's been working diligently to review the data provided to us to ensure that it does reflect the hard work that our students and staff have put into it. This just serves as a reminder of the bifurcated system in which we have both accountability designations and accreditation. I wish I could give you an update on where we stand here, but we don't. So, when we do have the data, we will have a designation under accountability and accreditation. Again, another reminder of how the scores will be calculated in the new framework for our accountability
014designation. And I did not show you this slide last time, but in the fall, so some of you were not here in the fall when I shared this slide, so I thought it'd be a great time to bring it up. So, keeping in mind um these percentages, those will result in points. And those points will then end up with one of these designations between distinguished, on track, off tac track, and needs intensive support. And of course, if you're in the distinguished category, you're exceeding the state's expectations. if you're on track, you're meeting the expectations. One important thing to note about these scores is that the VDOE has shared with us they will not be rounding. So if you have a school that is 89.6 4/10en of away from a 90, you will be considered on
015track and they will not round up to distinguished. There is a little push back in that and so there's some advocacy that rounding might be appropriate. Um, but as it stands now, that's how those scores will be calculated. Are there any questions about this before I move on? Because I have one last slide and then I'm done for the night. Yes. >> Has has the VDOE acknowledged errors in the data? >> Yes. And that is why they are sending the spreadsheets in order for us to correct the errors. At times they cannot provide reasoning as to why there are errors. For example, Miss Montavo could ex tell you that she has found uh where the denominator doesn't match all the cells as they add up. There's 10 more students in the denominator in the total
016category and we've asked well where did those 10 students come from? Who are they? How can we account for them? And we don't have answers for that yet. I think that could have prompted with so many divisions having errors that need for that third party to verify it before we actually release the designations. And so it takes a lot of manh hours whether you're a small division or a large division of time to search student by student to verify all of the data that's in there because we have so many different categories where we could earn points and we want to leave no stone unturned and make sure we have all of our points accounted for. >> Thank you. Mhm. >> Now, going back to the designations, the four, are they tied to dollars in
017any way and from funding at all? It's strictly rankings, if you will, qualitatively >> and and it's tied to support. So, if you are designated an offtrack or needs intensive support, there would be additional supports from the state. Um, and of course, technically that's money, right? If they're sending a person or but it's not actual dollars coming into us. We don't get any more dollars for being distinguished as we are for being on track. A lot of our federal funding like title one is based off free and reduced lunch status. So that's not tied to these. It's tied to the number of students who qualify for that and our population size. >> Thank you. >> I have a question. Um thank you Miss Montalvo for working through this data. >> Um so just trying to
018understand. So the state sent us a data set back that has inaccurate information in it and so we have to go back in and find the mistakes. >> Yes. And um people have asked is it that did we send them inaccurate data you know because obviously they have to get the data from somewhere and the answer to that is also no. our data was correct, but somewhere in their process and how it mingled came back with some inaccuracies. >> And um I'm not uh going on record to try to defend the Virginia Department of Education in this in in any way. Um but I will say this, having gone through uh multiple new accountability programs over the years, uh Virginia has used the very this same accountability model for many years. Um and people were
019very used to it and the data was uh shared back and forth between school divisions and the the department um very seamlessly and now this is a whole new model with a lot of variables >> points for very different things that were not in the formula before. So, um, in their defense, it it's a lot. 133 school divisions, um, some of them very large with, uh, thousands and thousands of data points going into one hub. Um, it's a lot. Um, so, uh, one of the challenges is they've, you know, built the boat, painted it, and sailed it all in the same year. Um and that's a bit of a challenge uh especially to um uh school divisions trying to make sense of it, understand it, where all the points go for various uh parts of
020the accountability program. But I think once it's all settled and said and done and and uh vetted and um people understand it, uh it's going to be a good model. uh it separates accreditation which is by now only doing things that you must do from accountability what how are the kids uh performing on various task and um I think this model is going to be much more aligned with what a lot uh the movement around uh most of the country and um when we get there and it's clean and good u dependable data I I think it's going to be a model that we'll we'll embrace and it is higher standards. You've read about it in the news. Um uh the standards are increased and now they're debating over cut scores that are also being
021increased. So, it's a lot. It's a heavy lift for schools and and certainly um high rigor for students. >> Well, I just want to say thank you to Miss Malvo and I'm sure there are other folks that are working on this. Um we have an estimate on when they think the >> well >> okay >> they didn't but we are being hopeful and we've put it on the November agenda so we are hoping that uh in November we'll be able to share you know our accountability and accreditation stand uh standings with you. >> Okay. All right. Thanks. That's all I had. >> All right. Well, I guess follow-up question. Do do we have enough sense of the data that we received that we can still proceed to improve any deficiencies? >> Oh, for sure. And
022the raw data that I presented the time before that is accurate and our so pass rates, you know, um and so our schools are already building school improvement plans based off of that data. Um Miss Montavo again tracks our attendance data very closely. So we have that to know where we can make um some changes in our instructional programs or uh supporting students with significant needs programs. There's lots of work still happening. So some of the new categories um that we would we don't have growth. That's a metric that is magic. It's hard to define um because they have a formula that's not shared. So we we don't quite have that. We do know, you know, how many kids have AP and dual enrollment and those types of things. So, we do have some data
023to make goals with for sure. Okay. All right. So, normally I have a calendar for you and I've changed it up a bit because last year we presented on a few topics. Um, and of course this is subject to change if there's questions from the boards or the community that we would need to change this, but we wanted to highlight even more students la than we did last year. And we really enjoyed that. So, um, in December, uh, we're looking to do our program of studies and advanced coursework, but in January, we would love to highlight our college now students who are currently in the program taking courses so that you can hear from them and their experiences. February, career and technical education month. We had our students come in last year and we'll repeat
024that again so they know we know what they're working on. Um a student writing expo. I've got some business that we always have to take care of in April with SPED and Perkins annual plan month of the military child. But we also have a new steam class in K2 and we love for that teacher and those students to share with us what they learned this year in that steam class. So um again just wanted to share what was to come. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. [Music] All right. Next up, we have Mr. Roberts with the oper operations update. Well, good evening members of the board, Superintendent Tilllet, staff, and community members. want to start um tonight's presentation for operations with some transparency on some issues that we've had recently with I'm sorry I want to
025adjust this um with transportation um and some of the things that we've been discussing on um how to do better especially with our communication and the system for field trips um so just a little brief synopsis on how field trips work in the division uh we have I call it the finder set we have transfinder route finder stopfinder it's all a package suite Um, trip finder is where the field trips uh staff are able to enter that and our transportation specialist reviews those and assigns drivers um as needed. Um, a few things to to kind of note. Field trips do kind of have some constraints when it's a a school day. Um, you know, our priority has to be to get these kids to and from school. Um, and that includes regional programs ranging from,
026you know, New Horizons, um, aviation academy, the new college now system. um which you know we want everybody to be where they need to be um on time. So uh that kind of does constrain us to certain time frames when school is in session. Now any other time it just really is based on driver availability. Um we don't have that many drivers but they're very school spirited. A lot of them been in the community for a long long time serving various roles and have a huge invested interest in our school um system. So I'm I'm very proud. I don't want anyone to think at any time any of this what I'm about to say reflects anything the drivers are not not doing. Um I'm I'm very proud of the work that they do and I
027know when we have these kind of have these kind of talks they they do take it personal because they do take pride in their work and um you know that that is kind of a fear sometimes I have about retention. So I always go back when I I make presentations like this and say hey you know this one's on us that's not you. Um you know continue to do what you're doing. Um but some of the situations we had um we had a cross-country trip uh planned um a few weeks ago and um we couldn't find a driver for it. Um this happens. Drivers get you know spread thin. They've got double res through the week. Other field trips that they've covered. Um you know typically on the weekend you know just like any other
028human they they want a break as well. So um the high school was able to find another u meet I think to to substitute that one out later in the season. Um but then again uh I think last week the week before we had another incident with cross country where a bus did not show. Um this one was on us uh unintentionally we had three field trips to go out that Saturday. Um two of the three were scheduled and had drivers waiting on time. Um and unfortunately you know unintentionally we did not have one for the cross country and for that we do severely apologize. Um we have developed some systems um since then uh to implement to make sure that there's just more hands and eyes on the system. Um and again just you
029know approaching the drivers and making sure that that we we have a driver confirm before that event even occurs. Um so um some of the improvements definitely some checks and balances um including myself and also um you know any school representative that would be responsible for uh scheduling that trip just to call them say hey it's still on. here's the driver date time confirmed um with some direct communication and not just relying on the transfinder program. Um so that's some kind of improvements and again I just can't speak highly enough of the drivers um for that one cross country trip um a driver was contacted. We did get a driver there. It was late uh but I just want to commend that one driver um you know waking up unexpectedly on Saturday morning uh to
030the call of duty um and at least got him there to give him a chance. So I do appreciate that. All right, some good news. Um, our new driver that made it through training is now assigned to Route 35, which uh now makes us fully estaffed across the board. Uh, when we don't have drivers absent, you know, we can still have a a driver fall ill or have to take a day and, you know, we have to double up, but we now have the driver assigned to each route, which is the first time um this school year. So, I am proud of that. We did just push another driver that's fully certified and would actually be a returning driver to the division um into the HR process and we're hoping to expedite that um if
031all goes well uh which I expect it should. Um this person would not have to be required to do so much training because they are currently certified. They have been on our staff. So this should be a pretty quick process and turnaround which would give us another additional full-time driver. Um which would severely help in situations when we do not have a driver to report. So, um, very thankful for that. Um, report about Stopfinder. All invitations have been sent to parents. Um, that system has, you know, had its bugs like we anticipated with any new system. We've learned a few things. The the the right back from Power School to it and how it kind of pulls information and who it sends invitations to. Um, they call it the primary contact, which we thought, oh,
032it would be parents. No, it's literally just the first person. however, it's listed in emergency contacts uh can be used too. So, took a while to to figure that out and process and then we had some issues with the calendar um reverting back to pretty much blank. Um we've been working with support. We finally figured that out to try to get those half days scheduled. So, when parents log on to the app, they don't see where it should be, you know, midday instead of, you know, when it's at dismissal. So, um, working through those things, we we pretty much got those settled. But, you know, I encourage anyone, staff, parents, if you're having, um, issues, contact us. We've been very successful with those who have contact us to find a resolve. So, I am happy
033about that. Um, tablets issues are still kind of remaining with some of them. Um, mainly with the Wi-Fi, but fortunately, that does not impact the the parent app. It it goes off the GPS tracker that's plugged into the um, code reader. Um, so parents can still see even though the tablet's not working. Um, bus patrol. I know this has been a long process. Um, being transparent. Again, there's two items that we're trying to get them to make sure that's in the contract that's kind of non-negotiables for us to make sure we're not overextending oursel in any situation. Um, you know, once they can agree and put that in the contract, it will be a strong agreement, I think, between us and that company. So, uh, we're at the finish line, balls back in their court.
034um looking forward to hearing back from them once they um you know come back with their next set. And um I do know that there's a proclamation I think that you'll read about bus safety week. Um the the actual day that we celebrate is um October 22nd tomorrow. So if you see a bus driver, give them a kudos. Um give the little little ones a little uh safety lecture and uh you know that's what basically this week's about. All right, very quick update. Uh, last time I was with you, I kind of told you about we had no freezers at one point at the high school. Uh, we installed that external freezer u that was working. Just as of yesterday, we got the interior um job completed and it is functioning. We haven't loaded the
035food yet cuz, you know, there's always that, you know, chance, you know, want to let it run and go a couple cycles. Um, but so far it's holding strong and and we're hopeful that that's that's a complete build there. Safety update. Um, our safety committee did meet at the end of uh September. Uh we did have a vendor that uh presented some communication style badges. Not saying that, you know, this is something we're trying to jump on, but just something that in education has become a forefront um security device um that some um school divisions have elected to go with. So we fighted the vendor in just to see how you know the options, pricing, and things of that nature. And that's kind of a goal each time that we meet each month to look
036at different facets of things that are out there. Um, we talked about our crisis plan, the the weapon detection systems that we have and the stop thebleleed kits, uh, that now is required by law to be in schools. Um, very exciting news. I'm not going to read all these numbers because I will mess them up, but um, you can see how much money that we have been um, awarded here recently, which is very exciting news for uh, the use of security equipment purchasing. It's a reimbursement. of this grant kind of is a different it's reimbursement, but every so often they'll throw you more um if you award it from previous years when those years monies have not been spent. So they reallocate it to school divisions uh based on need. So there's our current awards
037um you know uh me and Mrs. Spence will be working um to get this um all all sorted out. So but very exciting that we got this new grant um drill report. We're up to date on all our current drills and we we did the um earthquake drill that happened pretty much, you know, state nationwide on the 16th. All right, project and these are the big project updates. Uh first with the tennis courts. I know that's been a point of emphasis. Um geotechnical study has been performed. Uh we've got the first bid from the company that actually helped us uh land the geotechnical study with the solution. And basically what that geotechnical study found is that we are infiltrated with water through all the layers both from above and below. Um the solution currently is
038that uh you know we need to build up that base foundation to give it a solid you know uh basically pad to start from and then reconstruct the the tennis courts on top of that to prevent further cracking and using some geotechnical fabric so those pre-existing you know cracks don't resurface. So, um, you know, this will be kind of a costly thing and and that's why we want to go out and try to find another bid, um, just to see if the the first price that we've been given is competitive. So, um, you know, all this is something that's in the works and we're focusing on and tried to see what we need to do for the upcoming season. Um, we've also discussed options on how we could kind of fix what we have to
039make it safe and playable. Um, you know, in the meantime, because as you know, if if you know anything about pavement, it's very temperature and weather dependent. you know, you can't just start paving when it's cold or the weather's bad. So, we'll we'll just have to play that by year and and make the strategic decision on that one. Um PMS gym floor repair has started. Um if you want to go and look in a window currently is completely uh repaired and sand it down. There is no paint on it right now. Uh I just actually left a few hours ago. Um so, they're moving ahead of schedule. They said it could take anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks. I'm hoping they keep, you know, pushing um on. So, you know, PE classes, we've got basketball
040season coming up, volleyball season. Uh looking like we we'll do well. Um so, a lot of usage we need out of it and uh excited to get that one finished. We have been discussing um energy with some energy efficiency companies. these companies come in and uh basically do a huge audit of the buildings both looking at utility bills, looking at all the equipment um and seeing if there's any way that we can um achieve any efficiencies with our energy that could equate to money to be leveraged. Um all of this is free and they kind of give you the list of you know to-dos that they could help us with and if we you know so choose they'll help us find vendors to to achieve that. Um it ranges anything from lighting to solar to
041you name it as long as it's the name of energy. Um the trailers at the PES campus have started to move. We now have one row completely gone. I've been talking to the vendors kind of trying to push this along. I would like this to already be done. Um but you know uh it's up to them to to get these removed, but we're going to be working with them closely to make sure this is expedited. But I am happy to see them starting to move. And just kind of a little, you know, something that's in the future, but not too near future is the PHS roofing project that will start this coming summer. Um, already been talking to some manufacturers, some vendors, looking at samples. They've done infrared scans, had two different companies do that.
042um comparing data and and we're really buckling down to make that decision on what system we're going to go with that will give us one the best coverage um best warranties and overall if we ever decide to go with any other route like solar or whatever um that it can support those things in the future. So, um, lot to consider, but I think we're in a good spot to try to, uh, make a decision on a vendor and a manufacturer hopefully by the turn of the the new year. Um, so we get those best contractors or at least the hope, uh, to get that first dibs because everybody's going to be looking for that new summer work. And that's all I have. >> So, do you have all the bus drivers you need right now?
043Right now we have enough to cover all of our routes and with the new driver that would be coming in um there is one uh route to phase on that currently our transportation specialist is having to drive daily still. So the the problem really is is we only have one substitute and they can only work certain days and it's only two days a week that they can work. So you know when someone is out sick or whatever that's when the double run starts again. So, as long as everybody is well and and you know, in a good spot, yes, we're fully covered. But if anything, one thing happens, you know, we're kind of bare bones. >> So many celebrations. Just a little celebration. >> Hey, having two new drivers right now, I >> That's cool.
044Yeah. >> over the moon right now because we could be a lot worse. >> Thanks. >> Um, I have a question in regards to the tennis court, >> right? Um, I realize that, you know, the work is going to be somewhat temperature and weather dependent. >> Have the tennis coaches and the athletic director been involved kind of think about, you know, because we have tennis season coming up in spring. How how's that going to work? >> Yeah, we've been discussing that um internally and and and going to look to them because, you know, that's the decision that we really is on the table right now is how can we um give them the best chance and facilities, you know, um with what we have. So, you know, that could be we do some patchwork to
045get them to have a playable surface for the season and then worry about this in the summer when it's prime paving season because the heat um or is it something that, you know, we're confident with, you know, expert opinions that we could try to to push this along um you know, which could be a risk. That would have to be a very thoughtout and strategic decision if we went that route. Have we asked them if putting the tennis courts back right there next to that ditch line is a smart idea? Just I mean the flooding here, it seems like water is the reason we had this problem. So >> is spending money to put the tennis court right back where we had it a good idea, >> right? And you know that's what that geotechnical
046study was for. You know to see what's just not you know sublevel. they went and they dug and dug and dug and dug and you know they're confident with the solution that that that would build it up enough to give it the foundation that it needed. Um there have been some drains that have been installed. We can't really pinpoint when that was but they really don't lead anywhere and I think that that's also um accelerating the problem especially with the harsh winter that we had because the water is channeling in but it's not really draining out anywhere because the drain just go straight in. Um, and if you know anything about the freezing and unfreezing, that that's going to rip apart any pavement if you have any cracks in it. >> A couple other points
047um of interest there. Um, our tennis courts are a bit higher, quite a bit higher actually than the city's tennis courts that are adjacent and further away from the the title ditch that's closer to their courts. They've just had theirs resurfaced, I believe, last summer. and um they tended to last longer than ours did between resurfacing. So this uh geo study that we did, we were hopeful would tell us why that doesn't make sense. Um and we believe that it has a lot to do with how our courts have drained. Instead of draining off, they're draining under. uh there are some actual drains built into the court which we can't figure out why and we can't find out where it drains. So our theory is and the geological study just shows that there's water retention
048under there. I think we're draining we all think we're draining water from the court under the court and then it's freezing and and rising uh exacerbating the problem that already exists from being in a low-lying area already. But our courts are significantly higher than the city's courts without and they're not experiencing the same um maintenance problems on their courts. >> And the city courts do they have no drains. They >> they don't have built-in drains. So we think that's a big part of it. You know, we're not the experts, but we've we've we've got the experts um consulting us. And I think when we f when we get a final plan um uh this problem should be alleviated without having to relocate the court re relocate the courts cuz for one thing we don't have
049other property that would be easily relocated to this. The second thing is um we um back to a little bit of from uh Dr. Burbage's question, we have now it's a timing thing. We need to make sure that our students um our student athletes can can have their season on schedule and then we have to debate whether we can get this project done in and completed by then or if we need to do a patchwork, let them get their season and then we come in after the season in the summer when it's typically better time to do tennis courts. Um we'll be coming back to y'all with that final plan as well uh with um the funding process through um carryover requests. So we'll be talking about that um probably at our next our November
050meeting. Yeah. >> Additional question. Yeah. I I know you said you're getting more quotes, but based on the quotes you have, do you have a sense of the the cost savings through repair versus constructing an an entirely new court? Well, let let me just address that. Um, just to clarify, it needs a new court. Um, the study shows that it needs a new court. Uh, just putting uh paint on top of that, we're going to end up back in the same situation we're in. But the question then is, can we do something? Is there a cost-effective way to make it keep it safe through the season and then do the project afterwards or or can we um feel sure that we can get it done in time for a March uh start of season? So
051that's the big debate, but I think there's uh no question from the experts who have looked at it, the folks who did the study, the folks who have have given a a quote and um we're confident the next group that's coming in next week, I think to look at it, we'll we'll all come to the same conclusion. We can't put a product on top of that that will not crack again from the inundation because it's coming from underneath um not from the elements on top. That make sense? >> Yeah. I I guess my question was more along the lines. Sometimes it it costs more to fix an old house than it would be to just tear it down and build a new house. >> Well, and this is basically that. Uh it's taking off the
052top layer to a point where you're back to kind of um almost a new a new lot. Uh there is some um gravel base under there that that is uh according to the study, of course, they've drilled holes and gone down deep. They think that level is is is buildable, which will save us some money and not um compromise the integrity of what goes on top. Thank you. >> Are there any alternative tennis courts that the students can use in a pinch? >> Um short answer is yes, but that's a very complicated process. For one, um, uh, our kids practice every day in season and, uh, so transporting kids, we just talked about the transportation issues to and from an alternative site. even if we could find those sites. Um, you know, all the other
053schools are running programs just like we are. Uh, we're looking into those things, but our our top priority is to try to find a way to facilitate our program on campus this year and repair it afterwards or if have some high confidence level that we can get most of it done prior to season and if we had to reschedule a few games early season, we could probably accommodate that. And another important note through this process with the vendor that we've been working with the geotechnical team would be on site you know periodically to check on things because you know there's other factors that no one can predict of settling and things of that nature if it occurs during the process. They're there to make sure hey you need to wait or hey go you know
054they're the ones that would really guide us with their expertise and their their metrics to tell us it's a good or bad idea to continue or um wait till whenever. So, um it it's very touchandgo. Um you know, but I think that they're confident with the the solution that it should permanently fix it. >> Questions? Thank you, Mr. Roberts. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Next up is uh Miss Spence for finance and budget update. Good evening, Chair Burbage, school board members, Mr. Tilllet, staff, and the school community. In tonight's finance report, we will review the school at activity fund audit report for the year ending June 30th, 2025. And you should have that at your desk at the DIS. Looks like that. The activity funds report pertains to funds held at the school level and
055managed by the principal. For these funds, the auditors review the year-end financial statements and conduct appropriate testing to ensure that the statements fairly present in all material respects the cash receipts, dispersements, and ending balances. The auditor's opinion was what was that the financial statements were accurate, which reflects positively on the management of the activity funds. the audit communication letter which is also you have received a copy. Whoa, too fast. Um uh has uh two letters in it. The first letter titled required communication with those charged with governance is a required letter that outlines the audit process. If there were any issues or findings during the engagement, they would be communicated in this letter. I am pleased to report there were no issues or findings. The second letter titled independent auditors report on comments on internal
056control reports on internal control deficiencies. As you will see, no material weaknesses were identified. There is a district-wide comment about segregation of duties which is a common observation in small divisions. The basic premise of segregation of duties is that no one employee should have access to both collecting CLA cash receipts and making the cash dispersements. As noted by the auditors, we have controls in place to mitigate this risk. and I'm confident in the effectiveness of our oversight and review processes. I'd like to recognize at this time April FTH. She's our finance coordinator who helps oversees all the um works with the bookkeepers on a yearly basis. And also I'd like to extend a congratulations to the uh bookkeep bookkeepers. Beverly Naylor with PO uh Possen High School. Ryan Naylor with Picosen Middle School. Shelley Austin
057with Picosen Elementary School and Jessica Thomas with Picosen Primary School. [Music] The fiscal year 25 financial audit for the main financial statements is currently in process and will be presented to the board by December 31st. And that concludes my presentation for this evening. If there's any questions, >> any questions? Um, I want to thank you, Miss Fence, for all the work that you did and fur and all the rest of the Pakosen bookkeepers. That was a lot of work and I'm sure you're glad that >> over. You guys did a great job. Thank you. >> Thanks. Okay, moving on to public comment. Uh, Miss Carol, do we have any public comments this evening? >> We have one uh citizen for public comment tonight. >> Okay, I'm going to read my statement and then um who's
058speaking? >> Sign in. >> Okay, go ahead and sign in and >> Oh, okay. Go ahead. I'm going to go ahead and read the statement that I need to read while you guys are signing in. Um, school board welcomes public comment during regular meetings. Schoolboard members do not respond to public comment during a meeting. All comments should address a matter related to Picosen public schools. The school board will not hear public comment that involves an individual student related matter. The disclosure of which would violate applicable confidentiality requirements. School board expects that each speaker will be courteous, modeling for our students how one can respectfully disagree with others views. Speakers will address their comments to the entire school board and not to one individual board member nor to the superintendent, a staff member or the audience.
059Speakers are encouraged not to engage in personal attacks. Speakers will present their comments from the podium to allow schoolboard to follow schoolboard policy. Time allotted to speaker shall be three minutes. Okay. Um, Carol, you'll run the lineup. >> First speaker is Sheri Dystra from Emanis Road. She wants to talk about transportation and sports. And of course, I'm going to shorten this up because I'm so happy with what Mr. Roberts just said. Um, hello members of the board, Mr. Tilllet, Chair Burbage. Uh today I wanted to make just a few comments on the transportation for afterchool sports especially on Saturdays. Um as you all know there was the event that happened on um September the 6th where the kids found out less than 24 hours beforehand that there was not going to be a meet. And
060then again on October the 11th was the morning that they waited over an hour. the varsity boys were not allowed were not able to run. They missed their time. Um, fortunately though, the JB boys had not ran yet, so they were able to still run that day. Um, but of course being varsity, you know, they like, you know, preferred to run with the varsity kids. Um, but those are just a couple of examples um due to the limit on time. Um to be honest, um I truly appreciate um steps that are being put in place to make sure something like this might not happen again. Um this is definitely I'm not standing here as a personal jab at our bus drivers. Um several of them have known me since I was a baby, know my
061family, so I hope that they know that I'm not here to bash them or um their superintendent in any way. What I'm here to ask of you all is uh what's what's going to be plan B if this happens again? Um we have a national bus shortage. We we bus driver shortage. I'm sure we all can agree on that. But what what's plan B going to be? What's the backup plan? Um you know, it's crazy world. These kids go through a lot during the day. And um we have so many amazing athletes. We have amazing thesians that go all across the state in competitions. Our band had five competitions this year. Um I had a girl on the cross country and my son is on the band. So of course when this started happening with
062cross country, I you know didn't make any drama out of it, but I'm saying to myself, what's going to happen if the band can't get you know all the band, all the instruments, everything? So, there was a few suggestions the last few weeks that have just been battered around to me that I wanted to share with you. They're they're not mine, but I feel like they're worth just bringing up. One was that um if all the parents agree, parents that have the kids for that particular like let's say cross country, I'll just talk about cross country. Um, if they all agree that parents can drive them in a situation like this, can there be some type of permission slip that the parents will get? You know, the beginning of the season, you're you're turning in
063the physical, you're turning in all these forms that you're signing off on, fees and whatnot for to be a part of the uh team. Can we also have a permission slip? And everybody just agree. You already, you know, parents already raised their hands. Oh, I'm done. All right. The other suggestion was co coaches having the CDL license, not given, you know, of course some coaches might not want it, but it's there might be some coaches are like, "Yeah, I'll get behind the wheel to get them there on time." And the other is um having a backup um here, someone to call here. Um and CDL license training being given to uh schoolboard members here as well um in the schoolboard office. All right. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Mr. Bter. Next speaker is
064Daniel Hendrew from Oscars Court on Transportation. Hi, I'm Daniel Hendren. Uh, sorry for being in uniform. I just came straight from work. Uh, we're a military family. We've gone to about six or seven schools in my career. Uh, and this by far the best one. So, I want to upfront say we love Coastal Schools. Uh, I'm here to talk about transportation as well. Uh, and I'll also caveat this, like the assistant superintendent for operations did, that this is by no means a shot of our bus drivers. My kids love our bus drivers. I have four kids in high school, two in middle school. So, one high schooler, two middle schoolers. Uh, and sorry, one high school, one middle school, two elementary. They were in primary last year. So, it's it's a mess. But, um, one
065of the reasons it's a mess is because our SK our kids are supposed to arrive at 3:12 p.m. per per the transportation schedule. the average arrival time. I did some statistical analysis on the 35 days school days that we've had so far. Uh 49 minutes late. They arrived. I heard today it was said just a few minutes ago that we have all the drivers we need. And I guess my follow-up question would be then why did my two kids in elementary school on uh PES route 31 central uh arrive at 4:02 p.m. this afternoon. Scheduled arrival time is 3:12. And that has happened every single day. Average notification time on Stopfinder is uh 3:37 p.m. which is 20 minutes after they're supposed to be home. Uh so stopfinder is being not super useful. Um and
066it is it seems to be cons consolidated to specifically our kids route. Uh the primary school I've checked with my neighbors are not having issues. It's the elementary school and specifically is route 31. I think talking to as much as I can get out of my elementary school dum dums. Uh that my kids is who I'm talking about. Sorry, just to be clear on that. Uh is that uh it sounds like route 31 is paired up with route 35. Those are the two that are always late and they are always jammed in. Three, I've heard of rumors of four to a seat uh in there and they are always always always doubled up and late. So I don't want to just bring problems. I'd like to bring solutions as well. Uh and my solution would
067be let's share the pain. Um I think that other routes should have to get doubled up occasionally and it should not be my route every single day for uh my kids. I'll also echo the cross country wos. My daughter's on the cross country team for high school as well, and they literally had to get off that bus, sprint to the starting line, and run. No stretch, no warm-ups, no nothing. Um, which is obviously sub-optimal, and the boys didn't even get to go. Um, so that was especially made even more disheartening for her as they are sitting out there for an hour waiting and they see the cheerleading team get picked up on time and it seems like it's a prioritization issue. Um, and it seems consistently uh allocated towards cross country, sometimes band. Um as
068right now band doesn't have transportation for the middle school for VMEA. Uh so Mr. Lawson I know is working that uh separate but we don't have transportation like they're asking parents to bring trucks to get our percussion instruments down to the VMEA competition right now. Uh so I think transportation we like I think we still have some uh work that we can potentially do and I hope that the solution I've got the statistics if you guys want them for the average arrival time for every single one of my kids. Standard deviation was 8 minutes. So it is consistently very late uh if anybody cares but the solution I would recommend is let's peanut butter spread the pain out so it's not consolidated into one or two routes. Thanks. >> Thank you. [Music] >> Final speaker
069is Maria Heldrth from Rivergate Drive about the cross country. >> Yes. Um thank you so much for having me today. I'll be as Oh, wait for that to start or I could I guess it doesn't matter. Okay. All right. Um, I'm going to refer to my phone just cuz I jotted down some notes. Um, thank you so much for the opportunity to speak today. I really appreciate it. Um, my son Liam is a 10th grader at PHS. He is a member of the men's varsity cross country team. As mentioned by Mr. Roberts, there were two scheduling snafoos. one that caused them to have to pull out of a race 24 hours before the race and another that caused the varsity men's team to not be able to be eligible for their race. They were able
070to run with with the junior varsity, so they were able to get in a run, but their times did not count towards individual awards or team awards. We had a senior runner who was seated third in the varsity race. So, that's pretty big bummer as a senior. Um, if you don't know much about cross country, there are only a few sanctioned events during the school year, it's three, but that is organized by the schools. So, we often in order to build a more comprehensive schedule for our cross country, they participate in invitational races on Saturday. My suggestion is that this transportation issue isn't going away. As Miss Dystra said, it's a nationwide shortage of bus drivers. My suggestion is that the school board, the school division review policy that allows for a backup plan. I
071was there. Miss Dystro was there. We could have loaded kids into cars and gotten them there. I understand that there are insurance issues to to deal with and and I appreciate that. But I think unless this issue goes away, unless magically 10 bus drivers fall at our doorstep, we have to start planning for a backup plan. I don't think that the option should be either you get to go because the school drives you or you don't get to go. So I think there has to be some ability to plan for backup plan and also to you know be creative like look I can fit five, Miss Dra can fit five, parents sign a permission slip or whatever whatever creative solution comes up with that we come up with to get our students to these events.
072Um particularly cross country seems to be these smaller teams. Cross country it happened during track and field season. Um, my son's a member of the track team as well. Bus is late for swim season. These smaller teams seem to sometimes, unfortunately, feel as though they're not priority. Um, we have a student right now on the C men's cross country team. They're regional champions. There's no reason that they can't shouldn't have a bus to take them to their events. So, I really think that, you know, we just need to kind of creatively look at the policy that's in place and think of ways that we can ensure that our student athletes can take part in these events, especially these Saturday invitationals for these individual sports such as cross country. Boom. Thank you. >> Thank you. >>
073Okay. Um moving along to the consent agenda. Uh we have four items for this evening. Uh we have approval of financial reports. We have authorization to change appropriation and to accept and expend funds in accordance with attached request. We have approval of personnel action. And then we have approval of minutes for September's regular meeting. Uh, can I get a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> So moved. >> Can I get second? >> Second. Uh, any discussion or questions about the consent agenda this evening? >> Okay, Miss Carol, can we have the vote, please? >> Dr. Bartlett, >> I. >> Mr. Dow, >> I. >> Vice Chair Dubose, >> I. >> Miss Jones, >> I. >> Mr. Maxwell, >> I. Miss Orsbborne >> I. >> Chair Barbage >> I. >> Vote passes 7 Z. >>
074Thank you. Uh moving on to other matters for consideration. Uh the first item is consideration of approval of design for VDOE grant application approvals in absence of division superintendent. Can I get a motion to approve item A? So moved. >> Can I get a second? >> Any questions or discussions about about this? Um, this is basically going to allow Miss ID to sign grant applications to VDOE if Mr. Tilllet is not available or is that correct? >> Correct. >> Okay. And you're the one that's mostly involved with those to begin with. So that that kind of makes makes sense. Um, so we have a motion and a second. Uh, Miss, we ready for the vote? Okay. Miss Carol, the vote. >> Dr. Bartlett, >> I. >> Mr. Dow, >> I. >> Vice Chair Dubose, >>
075I. >> Miss Jones, >> I. >> Mr. Maxwell, >> I. >> Miss Orsbornne, >> I. >> Chair Barbage. >> I. >> Vote passes 70. >> Okay. Item B is consideration of approval to adopt the AP environmental science textbook for Picosen High School. Uh, can I get a motion to approve item B? >> So moved. >> Can I have a second? >> Second. >> Okay. Um, any questions or discussion? Okay. I actually went up and looked at the textbook. It is an excellent textbook. Uh I felt like it covered a lot of the things that I do professionally as in aquatic toxicology. Um I feel like the kids that are taking this class are going to have a great experience and learn a lot of real world environmental science concepts and things like that. So I
076was really I kind of wish I had a copy of it to be honest with you. Um but uh I think it's a good textbook. So, um, any other questions? Um, Miss Carol, the vote. >> Dr. Bartlett, >> I. >> Mr. Dow, >> I. >> Vice Chair Dubose, >> I. >> Miss Jones, >> I. >> Mr. Maxwell, >> I. >> Miss Orsbborne, >> I. >> Chair Barbage, >> I. >> Vote passes 70. >> Okay. Item C is consideration to authorize the superintendent to sign a contract for custodial services with service m service master commercial services for the 2026 2027 school year. Can I have a motion to approve item C? So move. >> Can I have a second? >> Second. >> Okay. Any questions or discussion? >> I would like to just make one comment
077regarding service masters and in the contract. I have no issues entering in the contract. Um I just want to make sure that um we continue to hold them to their contract as we move forward through the next year. >> Okay. >> Miss Carol the vote. >> Dr. Bartlett >> I. >> Mr. Dow >> I. >> Vice Chair Dubose >> I. >> Miss Jones >> I. Mr. Maxwell >> I >> Miss Orsbborne >> I >> chair Burbage >> I >> bud passes 70 >> okay uh last item item D is consideration of approval of proclamation for bus safety week and let's see where is the I'll go ahead and uh why don't we get a motion to approve the proclamation and then I'll read it after the second. >> So moved. >> Can I have a
078second? >> Second. >> Okay. Uh the proclamation is for school bus safety week from October 20th to October 24th, 2025. Whereas public transportation helps hundreds of Posen's children arrive safely to and from school each day. And whereas the average school bus transports 54 students, replacing approximately 36 family vehicles, increasing the convenience and efficiency of student transportation. And whereas school buses are designed with safety measures including bright colors, stop sign arms, and cross view mirrors to avoid crashes and prevent injuries. And whereas the highest standards of school bus safety are maintained through rigorous driver training and certification requirements. And whereas school bus transportation employees should be recognized for their steadfast commitment to safety to safely transporting Picosen students. Now therefore be it proclaimed on this 21st day of October in the year 2025 by the school
079board of the city of Picosen Virginia that October 20th through 24th October 24th 2025 is recognized as school bus safety week in all Picosen city public schools. So um without further ado uh Miss Carol the vote >> Dr. Bartlett >> I >> Mr. Dow >> I >> Vice Chair Dub Bose >> I >> Miss Jones >> I >> Mr. Maxwell >> I >> Miss Oresbourne >> I >> chair Burbage >> I >> vote passes 70. >> Thank you Miss Carol. Um, I guess we're moving on to the last item here is communications and/or other matters by school board andor superintendent stud. >> Um, so to start with our summary of what's going on in all of the schools, um, Picosen Primary School had a positive and engaging month. We recently hosted the Omega Man anti-bullying
080assembly which inspired students to show kindness, courage, and respect. Our students are ready to be dream makers and not dream breakers. Not only do we get to see our PHS athletes for fun Fridays, but this week we're looking forward to welcoming PHS athletes for Read Aloud to a child week on October 23rd. Athletes from all sports will visit classrooms to share stories and inspire a love of reading among our students. We're so excited for this special event. Next week, we are excited to kick off anti-bullying spirit week as we work together to put a lid on bullying and color our world with kindness and also wrap up the week with our much anticipated book character parade. During spirit week, we'll also welcome the mobile dairy classroom, which will offer students a fun and hands-on learning
081experience about agriculture and where their food comes from. Moving on to Gosen Elementary School. They are joining together against bullying with our anti-bullying spirit week. This week, our students are stocking it to bullying, putting a lid on bullying, and wearing orange for unity and dressing in maroon and gold to team together against bullying. We want all of our students and staff to be respectful to each other. And this week brings awareness to our efforts. Pagosen Elementary students are also celebrating the success of our fall fundraiser. We surpassed our goal and all classes will have extra recess. Our top selling students from each grade will be helpers for a day, giving our encore office and other school staff an extra hand. All grade levels enjoyed a movie during lunch and the best incentive was seeing Miss
082Grisco kiss a real life snake on our announcements. Our teachers are scheduling parent teacher conferences right now and we encourage all parents to sign up for a time to meet with their child's teacher to learn more about how their child is doing so far in school. We appreciate the support our families provide to our students and school community. Um Picosen Middle School is all in. Our school counselors have been hard at work setting students up for success through engaging classroom lessons. All sixth grade students recently participated in a counseling session called entitled Making the Most of Middle School. As part of this lesson, students viewed a tips and tricks video created by seventh and eighth grade PMS students who shared personal advice on managing lockers, homework, organization, friendships, and extracurricular involvement. In recognition of October
083as bullying prevention month, our counselors have developed home room lessons and produced weekly videos that define bullying, teach students how to respond to bullying and mean behaviors, encourage them to be upstanders, and highlight the power of kindness. To spread positivity, students wrote encouraging messages on post-it notes and placed them around the building for others to discover. Tomorrow, students and staff will join together for unity day, wearing orange to show our shared commitment to preventing bullying and promoting kindness. Students in the PMS adaptive special education program recently participated in their first community-based instruction field trip, visiting the Picosen Public Library and the Picosen Diner. During the outing, students had the opportunity to practice essential social communication and money management skills in real world settings. These community-based instruction experiences bridge the gap between the classroom and the
084community, providing meaningful hands-on learning that fosters independence and builds lifelong skills. We're also looking forward to our fall dances Friday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and to celebrating RI red ribbon week October 27th through the 31st. Each day will feature a themed spirit activity promoting a drug-free lifestyle in support of this year's national theme, life is a puzzle, solve it drug-free. Finally, congratulations to our Golden Bull students of the month. In sixth grade, we have Moxley Fischer. In seventh grade, we have Maisie Vandergrift. And in eighth grade, we have Tommy Estus. We deeply appreciate our entire school community, students, staff, and families for their partnership and shared dedication to making Picosen Middle School a positive and welcoming place for all. Lastly, we have the Picosen High School. Picosen High School had a busy and exciting
085month, and things are looking great. Thank you to our wonderful PTO for providing a delicious brunch on September 18th. And to everyone who participated in our homecoming festivities, students, faculty, and families for bringing energy and pride to the parade route and cheering on our home team. Congratulations to our homecoming king and queen, our hallway decorating winners, and the spirited senior class for taking home the pep rally spirit stick. Last week, sophomores and select juniors participated in the PSATs, and tomorrow, our juniors and seniors will have the opportunity to take the ASVAB. Regional tournaments are beginning soon for fall athletics, and we look forward to many exciting events ahead. Congratulations to our golf team on finishing third in the state and to Landon Hermansky for advancing to states where he delivered a strong performance and was
086named all state. A big congratulations also goes to our band for a successful start to their competition season with more great performances to come and their assessment tomorrow. As always, please check the Island Times on Parent Square for important updates from PHS. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Maxwell. >> All right, I I will always begin with my preemptive echo of what my colleagues will say that I will inevitably forget. Um, special congratulations to the first senior of the month, Miss Addison, starting the year off strong. Very impressive resume. Congratulations to her. Um, thank you to Mr. Burch Smith from WHRO for that presentation and thank you to WHRO for providing what I wrote down was a $680,000 return on our investment. So, thank you to them for using our investments and bringing that back
087to the community. Um, thank you to Miss ID and Montalo for their work with the VDA accreditation uh, review. Thank you to Miss Spence and her team. I apologize I didn't get all the names of everyone involved there, but thank you to them for that uh, getting through that audit. U, thank you to Mr. Roberts as always for your operations team and everything you do, juggling all those uh, projects at one time as well as working on issues with our buses and school safety. So, thank you. um to all those without directly responding to those public comments. Thank you to all those people showed up and uh voiced their opinions and concerns. I appreciate as always uh hearing from the community. Also, thank you to whomever was in charge for the Omega Man presentation at
088the primary school. That was a big hit in our household. Thank you to our special congratulations to those Golden Bulls. Again, apologize I didn't get the names down quick enough. Uh congratulations to them. And lastly, thank you to uh everyone involved with the homecoming festivities, especially the homecoming parade. Um I got to participate with my kids uh through youth sports riding in the parade and there was I got to say um had a big sense of pride. We had a couple couple of parents in our organization that aren't from the city and they were amazed when they were riding on the float seeing the the outpouring of support from the community and everyone that was there. So, thank you for that. >> Thank you, Mr. D. >> Um, I'd just like to echo everything that
089he just said. Uh, Miss Grisco, kissing that snake. I heard about that from so many kids and you could never pay me enough. So, uh, I want to say though that it is very nice to have a community that cares so much and principles and teachers that go out there and do what everything that you guys do above and beyond and uh, thank you for everybody with the public comment and thank you for your service, sir. >> Mr. Horses. >> Yes, sir. So, first of all, not congratulations. Thank you to all of our bus drivers. Um, I always tell them I don't know how they do it because I can handle a whole school full of kids but not a bus. Um, and I appreciate transportation, everyone who's been working so hard on that. Our
090parents who came with thoughts, ideas, and possible solutions. It's all a big part of making us successful. Also, congratulations to Miss Forest for being senior of the month. I did want to say WHRO, amazing program. If you haven't checked it out, the STEM bus and the um literacy van are amazing. I've been the first time I saw the literacy van. Um those kids have graduated a few years ago, so it was it's been around for a long time. And the online services are great also. And great computer challenge. If you've never supported our kids there, if you ever have the opportunity to coach, again, very an amazing opportunity. pep rally I heard was amazing and that the juniors really did great with their um tug-of-war and they beat those seniors. And I do want to
091say if you have not been out to see the band yet or the show choir, both are amazing. Um the band's performance this year has been fantastic and the show choir at Seafood Festival was amazing. So support that. Go band. >> Thank you. >> Thanks, >> Dr. Bartlett. >> Thank you. Um I I I want to echo all the kudos that um everyone else has given particularly to busy Addison Forest. I I mean she just sounds like one of the busiest people I've ever heard of. Um I had no idea that WHRO I mean I'm a fan. I listen quite regularly, but I had no idea that they're so involved in supplementing educational materials and and activity school system. So I'm I'm thrilled and immediately put down the website, which it I could get into
092just from here. So, that's good news. Um, bus safety week, you know, I'm encouraging anyone who's interested in being a bus driver to please apply during that week. Um, I I I'm with you. I I don't My sister was a school bus driver, but I I could not do I It's just I It's an incredible job and very difficult. So, I really to laud all of our bus drivers. Um, a clean audit, Miss Spence and your crew, that's always a good thing. Um, and the last thing I'll say is I know all of y'all know I was a classroom person for my whole career and I always loved Halloween. Um, and so I will say this, I just hope everyone has a really sick because it's it hits on Friday, which is unusual. I'd rather
093it be on Wednesday, but since it's hitting on Friday, I just wanted to say I hope everyone has a really safe and just just a just a little bit sinister Halloween. Everybody gets lots of candy. Thanks. >> Thank you, Miss Jones. >> Yes. Um I'll start with the Picosen Exchange Club. A big thank you for all of their support of our schools. I look forward to the student of the month recognition every month. Um, and a big congratulations to Miss Addison Forest. Um, what amazing accomplishments. And also of note there, um, it may not have been visible on camera, but I did notice quite a few of Add's, uh, field hockey teammates here in the crowd. And, um, thank you to them for coming. That is pretty awesome. And, um, just teammates on the field
094and off the field. Uh, just to call attention to that. That's also a wonderful example that I was very pleased to see. Um, Miss IDE and Miss Montalvo, thank you for all the accountability and accreditation work. Um, I imagine for a small division, it can be especially cumbersome to sort through data and things like that. We just don't have as many bodies sometimes as a larger division. So, that is not unnoticed. Thank you for that. Um, Mr. Roberts and the bus drivers, thank you. It's funny how many connections. My grandma was a bus driver for many years. So, I do know it is a thankless job, but such an important one. And thank you to all of our drivers and in honor of bus safety week. Um as well as to our speakers. On that
095note, thank you for your time and for coming. Um more to come there. There's there's always room for improvement. Um so thank you to our drivers and thank you for all the work that's being done and will be done in that area. Miss Spence, thank you for overseeing the audit process. Miss Ferth, our school bookkeepers, that is really outstanding. In um a prior career, I was an auditor and you don't often see activity fund audits with no comments and uh the segregation of duties comments is not a thing. So, we had no individual school comments and that is outstanding. So, thank you for all of your work there and a thank you to the the fine auditors of Brown Edwards for their fine services as well. Um I think that was lastly, thank you to
096PHS for a successful homecoming week. Um that was really awesome to see. I think um it really rallies the entire community, but really a lot of fun for our students. Um really important, a lot of hometown pride. So, final good luck to all of our sports teams for the fall as district competitions are getting underway um these next few weeks. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Deose. >> All right. Um I'm not going to say the eword, but I'm going to underscore everything else that everybody else has said. Um a few things. uh earlier this month uh attended the uh health advisory board uh meeting. Uh just a quick update on that. You know, uh Miss Worlin uh heads that up. Uh a lot of good initiatives being pushed forward through that group uh throughout
097our uh school system um especially for our staff, but also for our students. Uh so I want to thank all of them for all the work that they're doing uh related to that. Um and it's uh you know really positive to turn around and hear what they're trying to do uh for everybody um through that initiative. um talking about bus drivers. Uh a few weeks ago, I was going through some things uh cleaning up uh after uh um moving uh dad out of uh his house and I ran across a beanie that my bus driver gave me uh when I moved in uh to um the house that my parents were in. Um so it's a you know it's truly um unfortunately a thankless job in some cases but they truly do care about their
098kids and uh um it's great that we honor them this month. Uh and finally um I've heard a few things uh bouncing around where um some of the students in the elementary school uh want a doover uh for the snake kiss. They feel like um they feel like somebody may have cheated a little bit. So, um, gauntlet's been laid down, so I think we need a maybe a little bit of redo. So, that's all I got. >> Thank you. Um, there's not a whole lot that hasn't been said, but I'm going to say some things the second time. Uh, congratulations to Miss Forest as student of the month, and thank you for the to the exchange club for sponsoring that monthly award and all the other great things that they do. um not necessarily school
099related, but uh I worked at the seafood festival on Friday and Sunday and I saw a lot of student groups uh working there, volunteering there uh specifically the football team on Sunday afternoon helped break all the tables down. That was a huge relief for me uh cuz I was worried I was going to have to get involved in that. Um, so you know, it was great to see all the students from Picosen participating in small but meaningful ways at the seafood festival. Um, I'd like to thank WHRO for coming. Uh, they do provide a lot of great instructional work. Um, I know that I've looked at it, you know, just to see things like math courses, science, foreign languages. Um, to the families here in Picosen, it's worth taking a look at. Um, regarding bus
100drivers, uh, I'm thankful for each and every one of you. Um, I know it's it's a hard job, but it is perhaps one of the most important jobs in our school system. It's getting our kids from home to school and back safely. Um, so you're appreciated. Um, especially the Route 34 bus driver who has to take my son from school every day. Um, I know he can be a handful sometimes. Um, lastly, oh, uh, Miss Spence and your group, again, I've said this once already, uh, coming through with a clean audit. Uh, I know that took a lot of work to get everything together, but I feel like you're instilling principles across our school system and, you know, between Miss FTH and your bookkeepers, they're doing great work. So, thank you for, you know, being
101a good leader in that aspect. Um, thank you for all the speakers who showed up tonight. Um if there are problems in our school system and you're at home, you know, grumbling and things like that, you know, you can always contact any of the school board members. We all have an open door policy. Email us, call us, and then if you if you feel like you need to come, please don't be embarrassed or shy or, you know, we're all parents here in this room. So, you know, come and speak. Um we want you to come. that's how we figure out a lot of what's going, you know, needs improving. Um, and then congratulations to the golf team for third in the state. Um, that's that's a pretty significant accomplishment. And then, uh, best of luck
102to the band for a set up tomorrow. That's all I have. >> Um, and I will, rather than use the eword, I'll put a big exclamation point behind all of these amazing uh things you've said uh today. uh and I uh won't repeat them, but I do want to shout out to our middle school band again uh who will be representing Picosen at the Virginia Music Educators Association conference. And I'm I believe I'm correct in this that this may be the first middle school band ever invited for this uh very prestigious honor. Um I was um uh allowed to write a letter on their behalf and um it was an easy letter to write. Um they are amazing bunch of and uh talented musicians and um I can't say enough about Mr. Lawson and his
103leadership uh in that program. It's grown in size and capacity uh since I've been here and it is extremely they are extremely uh fun to watch. Um the jazz band um they can really jazz it up. I'm really looking forward to their concert next week. I guess it is a week after in preparation for I'm looking at Melissa. >> Yeah, it's coming. >> It's coming in in the very near future. >> Doing a warm up for Halloween. >> Okay, gotcha. Anyway, that's all. Thank you. Okay. Uh lastly, uh Miss Carol, do we have any other materials for board review? >> There are no additional materials tonight. >> Okay. Thank you. Well, I would like to go ahead and close tonight's meeting. Everybody have a great evening.