001call our meeting back to order. Mr. Green, will you please read us out of closed? Yes, ma'am. I move that Roanoke County School Board come out of closed session for the following to discuss the investigation of a student matter pursuant to the scholastic record exemption at 2.2-3711A2 of the Code of Virginia, and for consultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members pertaining to actual or probable litigation and consultation with legal counsel regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel pursuant to 2.2-3711A7 of the Code of Virginia, and to certify that to the best of each member's knowledge. Only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under the chapter and only such business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were
002heard, discussed, or considered in the meeting by the school board. Second. Madam Clerk? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Landon? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Greenwood? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Hudson? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Clements? Yes, ma'am. Item 2.03, action from closed. Yes, Madam Chair. I move that student 2025-2026-15 be expelled from Roanoke County Public Schools. Second. Madam Clerk. Dr. Weiss. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Linden. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Greenway. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Hudson. Yes, ma'am. Ms. Clements. Yes, ma'am. Madam Clerk, I'd like to make a motion that student... Students number RE 2025-2026, numbers 30 and 31, be excused from compulsory attendance pursuant to 22.1-254-B1 of the Code of Virginia. Second. Madam Clerk. Dr. Wise. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Linden. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Greenway. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Hudson. Yes, ma'am. Ms. Clements. Yes, ma'am. Welcome, everyone. Will you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance?
003I 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. Item 4.01, announcement of changes in the agenda. We do not have any. Item 4.02, approval of agenda. Do we have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Madam Clerk? Dr. White? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Linden? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Greenway? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Hudson? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Clements? Yes, ma'am. Item 5.01, recognition of Glenver High School VHSL Class 2, 106-pound wrestling state champion, Jack Yetzer, presented by Ms. Tammy Odom. Actually, I think it's going to be Dr. Franklin. I forgot to tell you that changed. Sorry, Dr. Franklin. Thank you, Dr. Franklin. My fault. Thank you. Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the board, Dr. Nicely, Dr.
004Soltis. We are so proud of the two young men that we're going to recognize tonight. I cannot speak enough about their character and their dedication to their athleticism and their academics. But for right now, I'm going to turn it over to Coach Ortega because he can do this better than I can. Good evening tonight. I'm here to recognize a couple of wrestlers. If you guys want to come up, Jack Yatzer and Levi Wright. These young men have competed at the highest levels in high school wrestling. They both showed grit in wrestling and determination throughout the season. Wrestling is like no other sport. It is a bond of brotherhood. You bleed, you sweat, and you work extremely hard together. Six minutes of pain. You push your body to the point of exhaustion. Then you realize it's
005only the first period. Four more minutes to go. It pushes you mentally, physically. These two individuals have shown great dedication to the program. Both young men are the first ones in the room and literally the last ones to leave. Staying after practice and working out, working on their craft. Jack Yetzer is 26-5 this year. He's a sophomore. He's the ultimate competitor. During the season, while wrestling at Big Blue in Christiansburg, he broke his hand. This is just a few weeks before postseason. Jack could have called it quits. Instead, he wrapped up the hand and wrestled till it got better. He put his head down and went to work. Was it 100%? I don't know. You'll have to ask him. Jack pinned his first opponent in the first period in the state finals to win his
006first state championship. Congratulations. Levi Wright is a sophomore. He's 32-5 this year. I've had the pleasure of watching this young man grow up. Since elementary, he was one in the room with all the older kids holding his ground, practicing and learning every time he stepped into the wrestling room. He works extremely hard and is dedicated to putting extreme effort into the craft to be the best he can be. Levi continued to dominate this season. In the finals at States, he tech-followed his opponent in the third period to win his second consecutive state championship. Congratulations. Congratulations to both of you. and your achievements this year. Can't wait to see what the future holds for you. As iron sharpens iron, so the man sharpens another. Thank you. Moms and dads, you're welcome. Come on up. Item 5.03,
007recognition of William Byrd High School VHSL Class 3, 132-pound wrestling state champion Darren Witcher, presented by Mr. Evan Knoll and Coach Thomas Kessler. Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the board, Dr. Nicely, Dr. Soltis. It's our pleasure to introduce you tonight to the Class 3 132-pound state champion, Darren Witcher. He has been before you before, as this is his third state title over his four years. I will allow Coach Kessler to speak more on the wrestling, but I would be remiss if I did not talk about Darren Witcher, who is in 41 days going to graduate as a valedictorian. going to pursue a civil engineering degree at Virginia Tech, currently serves as our dog pound leader, which is one of the leaders for our student section as well as our student body, and was also
008recognized this year as our top terrier at William Byrd High School. That award means more to us than anything. That is the best representative of William Byrd High School, the terrier that demonstrates safety, respect, and responsibility the most consistently. and you would not meet a person in our school community that would say anything otherwise about Darren Witcher. He comes from a great family who are both Roanoke County Public Schools employees and he represents himself, his classmates, and his family on a daily basis with an extreme level. of poise and respect and responsibility. And I could be not I could not be more proud of you, Darren, for the young man you are. I know Coach Kessler will talk about your wrestling ability, which is quite impressive as well. But From the day to day for
009us in the school building, Darren is as good as it gets. And I could not be more proud of him. I think he's going to represent William Bird High School. I think he's going to represent Roanoke County Public Schools. And most importantly, he's going to represent his family and himself with the highest level of class in the future. So I'm very proud of him. How's it going? Third time up here talking about Darren. So I went to write some stuff. I wrote some stuff down on my phone, some notes, so I wouldn't leave some stuff out. Wrestling-wise, 128 and 17 third-most wins at William Byrd we've ever had. He's our first three-time state champion for our school. We've had a lot of two-time state champions, but Darren was our first three-time. State tournament, 15-1. You
010get a few wins. Your matches, you get four matches at the state tournament. 15 and one, 13 pins, two major decisions. The one loss he has a freshman in the finals. He got to come back last year and beat that kid. So he is he's beaten. Everybody needs to in the state. He actually has never lost past his sophomore year in the state of Virginia. Anything on the mat in the state. Darren's top notch off the mat. It doesn't hold it on the mat doesn't really hold a candle to how he is off the mat And before I get to all that, if you could write a manual on like how to raise a kid, how to handle an athlete, how to support a program from a parent's standpoint, Kevin and Suzanne have been top
011notch. They would be the authors of that book. And they're both Roanoke County Public School employees. But that's a side note. But they have been fantastic. They are great. And I'm so happy and so blessed that they have helped me and helped our program. As Mr. Noel was talking about, Darren's a 4.4, I believe, EPA. He attends Burton's engineering program. He wants to go to Virginia Tech to be a civil engineer. He is going to Virginia Tech to be a civil engineer. He has his life figured out. Top notch. He's won every single award that you could think of, as Mr. Noel already said. He is the total package. And he described himself earlier as one cool dude. So he also has that title as well. During our season, he was in most wrestling seasons.
012The guys have to cut a lot of weight, which means they dehydrate themselves. They're on a diet. They get pretty moody, pretty tired. Two times a week during our season, we have our youth program come in for about two hours after our practices. And Darren didn't miss many, if any. He would devote, again, over four hours a week to these kids, ages 5 to 11. And he would go and work with these kids, and it's unbelievable. He could take any kid in that room with any sort of... They had any sort of trouble paying attention, learning, and they listened to him. He's a child whisperer. I know for me as a parent, I had my five-year-old in the program this year, and it meant the world to me to watch my little guy who was
013super shy, super reserved, and every single day Darren would get him and get him on the mat and break out of that. So it means a lot to me. I know it means a lot to... Everybody in our program. And Darren's leaving William Byrd. And William Byrd Wrestling a better place than he came and found it. So, truly, we'll miss him next year. But he's going to go do great things. I want to say a couple words, too. Because I don't know if I can say anything other than what's been said. But I also have the pleasure of serving a lot of people. Darren is also a part of the Leo Club, which they donate. and I can't tell you other functions that we have and it's always involved. I let him have it, but
014now there is a three-time state champion, which trumps his two times. So we couldn't be more proud. That does no work for us. And your family. I just love that Evan's recognizing rest. I'm going to do a switcher real quick. I'm sorry. I'm going to sabotage this one more time. I just want to read something, and she said I could share this. Where is Ms. Witcher? She didn't leave, did she? No. Okay. Make sure I'm still okay to read this. Mr. Kessler, are any of the other coaches here? I don't think. I'll let them know personally what you've said also, but let me find the part that you had about Thomas. Ronnie Wood. And finally, Coach Kessler, our fearless leader. He has a thousand things coming at him during the season, but you would never
015know he handles everything with grace. He is a part teacher, part coach, part parent, and part sports psychologist. She had nothing but great things to say about every one of you, and I'm going to send this to the... wrestling staff, each one of you, maybe get you to help coordinate it. And Ms. Witcher, these are her words, not mine. Although we are proud to have you know that. I've told you that many times. For what you do, not only for our wrestling program and our kids, but for the community with Trip Eisen and some of that stuff, you're amazing too. We're lucky. We're lucky. Thank you. Item 5.04, recognition of March Mathness winners, Ms. Sarah Baer. Good evening, Madam Chair and school board members. I'm Sarah Barron, the supervisor of mathematics. I am delighted to
016address you today to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students during the recent March Mathness competition. Recently, you saw a video, but today we're here to recognize them in person. For three weeks from March 2nd through March 20th, our schools competed in a competition to complete as many IXL math proficiencies to the highest level possible. Schools were placed onto four teams, the Duncan denominators, Fractions of Fury, Guardians of Geometry, and Number Ninjas. Before celebrating the success, pardon me, of our students, teachers, and schools, I would like to acknowledge the invaluable support from key individuals involved in March Mathness. Dr. Ken Nicely for approving this district-wide initiative and serving as our referee. Team coaches, Dr. Jessica McClung for the Duncan denominators, Mike Riley for Fractions of Fury, Dr. Jamie Soltis for Guardians of Geometry, and Kim
017Bradshaw, Number Ninjas. I'd also like to recognize Colleen Burt. She is our IXL District Partnership Specialist for her collaboration, weekly data analysis, and continued support throughout the competition. Also from IXL are Josh Voss and Josh Bosley. I'd also like to thank Chuck for his creativity, writing fun scripts, and partnership with Roanoke Valley Television. Lastly, Alan Francis. He is our multimedia producer with Roanoke Valley Television for creating weekly videos showcasing our schools. It is my pleasure to recognize this year's winners. The most proficient team goes to the Guardians of Geometry, coached by Dr. Jamie Soltis. These schools are Back Creek Elementary, Fort Lewis Elementary, Glen Cove Elementary, Mason Cove Elementary, Glenver Middle School, and Northside High School. Thought it was all p.m. Keep going most proficient classroom goes to miss Kendall cook at Mountain View Elementary
018Miss cook will be receiving a gift card for $100 from IXL to host a pizza party with her students The most proficient school goes to Glen Cove Elementary Which secured the top position for all three weeks of the competition? They are going to receive the traveling trophy engraved with their school's name and year I would also like to recognize the following teachers at Glen Cove for their outstanding participation during this year's March Mathness. Ms. Donna Hall, 5th grade, Ms. Kristen Smith, 4th grade, and Mr. Andrew Minnick, 3rd grade. As we celebrate our students' success, I want to also acknowledge the support provided by our principals, our math teachers, parents, guardians, and the entire school community. Their encouragement has been pivotal in inspiring our students to reach their fullest potential. Thank you for your attention, and
019I look forward to your continued support in nurturing excellence of mathematics in Roanoke County. Ms. Bayer, I still would like to log that my grandson from Hermannale Horn says it was rigged. He said they should have won. I think Dr. Soltis had something to do with this. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Ryan, when I announce this one is when you'll go up and hand out their certificates. Who's presenting? Jill Green. Well, however you want to do it. Maybe. We could do that. Because then they start to win. Good job, guys. Do you want to say something? How about as soon as they finish, you can just say, can I say a few words? Before we get up. That's fine. Hey, Tim. David asked if you guys want to say anything about Coach
020Hood. Maybe say it before we go to take pictures. Okay. Because then they kind of start to leave. Yeah, no, that's a good idea. Yeah, so you guys can both do that and then we'll go. Item 5.05. Recognition of Science Fair Grand Award winners, Ms. Tammy Saws. Good evening, Madam Chair, school board members, and Superintendent Nicely. It's a pleasure to be with you this evening. I have the honor of recognizing four outstanding students this evening, Roanoke County students, for their exceptional achievements at the regional and state science fairs. I'd also like to thank Mr. Levy. For who is the director of our Roanoke Valley gov school and he's also the director of our regional science fair For his leadership and support and creating these opportunities for us and for students across our region Including two
021of the student or yeah two of the students that we're going to be recognizing tonight. They're from Roanoke Valley Governor's School I'm gonna let mr. Levy speak for just a second Thank you chair board and superintendents I appreciate the opportunity to be here. I'm gonna be real quick We're gonna let this all say all the fun stuff But I just want to take a minute to just thank y'all for your support of the governor's school really important part of our regional program is I'll know it's important to us that we're able to serve the region and I'm very proud to be able to be an extension of the great services that you have in Roanoke County and really proud to be able to provide opportunities for the students at the Governor's School, but through the
022science fairs as well as students across the region. So really happy to be here and really appreciate y'all's support, but I'll turn things back over to myself. So we are going to start this evening by recognizing Jude Hypes, who is a Cave Spring Middle School student whose project was titled... Carbs, Take Your Mark, Get Set, Fuel, a model stomach experiment, which earned him first place at the March Regional Fair, as well as two special awards, the Carol Massert Award for the Most Promising Biological Sciences Project and the Office of Naval Research Award. jude also received the nomination for the thermo fisher scientific junior innovators challenge which is the nation's premier stem competition for middle school students so i'd like to congratulate jude hypes miss rhodes his teacher is also here tonight from cavespring middle Next,
023I would like to recognize three outstanding high school students whose project earned them first place grand awards at the Regional Science Fair and then continued on to the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair, which was just held last weekend, where Mr. Levy had the privilege of participating, where they received additional recognition for excellence in research. These three students will represent our region. at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Arizona in May of this year. So that's exciting. So our first student is Prisha Tiwari from Hidden Valley. Step forward so they know which one you are. There you go. From Hidden Valley High School and Roanoke Valley Governor's School. Her project titled... Translational genomics utilizing Agner's chromosomal aberrations and the mitotic index in Allium sepa to identify genomic targets for salinity resistance in rice. That's
024a mouthful. Earned a first place grand award and the Office of Naval Research Award at our regional fair level. And then she went on to earn another first place award and another grand award at the state fair last weekend. So congratulations to Prisha. And then next we have Alicia Sophie, also from Hidden Valley High School. She earned a first place grand award at our regional fair and her project titled... a non-invasive method for skin hydration quantification assisted by data-driven modeling. She also earned two special awards, the Office of Naval Research Award as well as the Alfred D. Bleas Award, sponsored by Virginia Western Community College. And Alishba earned honorable mention in her category at the State Fair. And then lastly, we have Arianne Madon from Hidden Valley High School. and the Roanoke Valley Governor's School,
025who earned a first-place grand award at the regional fair with his project titled Transforming Lung Cancer Screening Through a Novel Deep Learning Software for Automated Lung Nodule Detection and Segmentation in CT Scans. Arian also earned four additional special awards at the March regional fair. The Citadel Securities Innovation Prize, the Office of Naval Research Award, the Regeneron Biomedical Science Award, and the Yale Science and Engineering Association Award. And he continued to State Fair, also placing first in his category. And I'd also like to mention that this will be his second. trip to the International Science and Engineering Fair. So all three of these high school students will represent Roanoke County at the International Science and Engineering Fair in May in Phoenix. Please congratulate them, all four, well all of them, I think the other, Jude's already
026gone, but congratulate them for their outstanding, nope, he's still here. For their achievement, dedication, and the pride that they have brought to Roanoke County Public Schools. Congratulations and good luck. Well done. Unbelievable, isn't it? Yeah. I don't even know half of those words mean. Item 5.07, recognition of Coach Bill Pope's retirement as Northside High School's basketball coach, presented by Ms. Jill Green. Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the board, Dr. Knisley and Dr. Soltis. I'm with as close to a celebrity as I think you can get. But the humble Coach Pope is sitting beside of me. And as you are recognizing these amazing students tonight, he's like, wow, that's amazing. I'm like, dude, you're amazing. It really is a special night, not only for the Northside community, but for Roanoke County. Tonight we are here
027to recognize an extraordinary leader, mentor, and pillar of our community, Coach Bill Pope, for his remarkable 46-year coaching career in his 40 years dedicated to the service of Northside High School. Coach Pope's impact extends far beyond his 680 career wins, district titles, regional titles, and three state championships. His legacy is defined by the countless young men he has guided, inspired, and shaped through the game of basketball. One former player, now a Northside High School Hall of Famer, said, I'm a good dad, a good husband, a good friend, and good employee because of Coach Pope. As we honor his retirement, we celebrate not only one of the most accomplished coaches in Virginia High School League history, but also a man whose commitment, character, and love for Northside have left a lasting mark in our school and
028community. We all certainly understand and respect his decision to retire, but this excitement for Coach Pope and family leaves a tremendous void and sadness in the hearts of so many, not just in Roanoke County, but in the Roanoke Valley. He has been a symbol and reflection of what high school sports should be. I highly doubt you will ever see a high school coach stay 40 years out of school ever again. I have shared selfishly what a joy it has been to spend my tenure with Coach Pope. And like so many, I am a better person because of my time working alongside of him at Northside. Congratulations, Coach Pope. Job well done. Thank you, Dr. Nicely, Dr. Soltis. We go back a ways, too. Yeah, back to a paint crew back in the day. School board,
029thank you so much for having me here tonight, especially Mr. Linden, who is our announcer. But he was more than an announcer. He was a real great supporter of our team and followed us on road games and everything else. So I see a couple of my assistants here, Will and Jake, my wife Patty here, and our AD, Brett Newman. Dr. Rippey, our next principal, a great hire, Verona County, and a great hire over here by Ms. Green. We talked a lot of basketball through the years, and it was such a joy to talk to her about it and how invested she was in the guys' success and all our success and how much she just wanted to help. I just want to say a couple things. The business of coaching and teaching, in the end,
030is not about the X and Os or in the classroom, which I love teaching too. It's about people. It's a relationship business. And I feel very blessed and very fortunate that I have relationships. all across the state because of this job that you guys have entrusted me to have and just all the relationships I have through that and coaches and even beyond the state. Of course, within the Roanoke Valley and all the relationships there, whether they were rival schools or not, I just really feel very good to feel a part of it. And then, of course, the Northside community, which has been fantastic to me. Northside High School. I said, as I reflected back on the last month, I've been asked a number of questions by people. And one of the things I would say
031I would always come around to is I just feel really lucky that we found Patty and I, my wife and I, we found the Northside community. We settled into that school and my four daughters went through that school and we just felt like it was just the perfect place for us. all the way along. And back in the 1990s, Bob Teitelbaum wrote an article, and I can't remember the title of it, but it was, I think the North Side was a perfect place or something to that effect for the Pope family, and it really was all the way through. So thank you very much for having me here tonight. I really appreciate it. Coach Pope, before I share my comments regarding your retirement, I've got one more question for you. Was Dr. Galleon just an
032incredible visionary or what was it in your sales pitch that allowed an 0-20 head coach to get a head coaching job? Well, he's a super smart guy. I've always thought that about him. Dr. Gallien first hired me before that as a JV coach in 1980-81. I coached his son, Andy. Then I went off to Powhatan for one year, and I was very eager to go. And probably some people would have said kind of foolish. I just wanted that so much. But I learned a lot from it, a whole bunch. And then came back to the Valley, went to Salem for a couple years, and then back when Dr. Kalyan hired me for the second time. But in the end, you know, I like him a lot. He's a super great guy. Very thankful for him,
033too. But 680 career wins, which was sixth most in VHS history. Fourth all-time at one school. 17 district championships. Eight regional championships. 19 state tournament berths. 14 Final Four appearances. Six state finals. Three state championships. And a record 11 consecutive state. tournament appearances speaks volumes. Absolutely. Well, thank you. It does. And it's, it is, I've again, gotten to reflect with a lot of questions asked and one of the ones, you know, just the relationships you develop become people ask me, what will I miss most? And that will be it. I mean, of course, even when you talk, when you think about the wins and or the heartbreak of, of losses, it's, it's the idea that, you're doing it with somebody. So I've been really lucky. I've had great coaches around me. I've got two of
034them here tonight, but plenty of others too. And then, and then all the player relationships. Sometimes I just think of all that and all the relationships have developed out of that and then watching them grow and have families. I just can't help but think of how lucky I am and just how fortunate I am to be in something like this. So, yeah, so all those are really great. But it's sometimes just thinking about some of the moments where we just could share something so incredible together because we had worked so hard. And it's just something you... you just can't really duplicate. It's just an incredible feeling. So thank you. For me, all those incredible accomplishments weren't really what stood out. I mean, it was your professionalism throughout, your respect for the game and respect for
035game officials during games, your care and concern for the players and their families. And it wasn't just on the court, but I know if a player had some issues in a classroom or outside of school, you were always there for them. I really respected that. And as Ms. Green alluded to, I've heard more than one Hall of Fame inductee there at Northside refer to the impact that you had on them and their careers. Well, they had a great impact on myself and my family too. And just as important, not only on the hardwood, but your 43-plus years of coaching. I know all three of my boys had you as a teacher, and they truly respected how demanding you were in the classroom, making sure they give 100%. And they really enjoyed you as a teacher
036just as much. And I know Parker loved having you as a coach. So I taught them to win with humility and dignity and lose with grace. So you've set standard for coaching here in the Valley. And just super proud that you were able to do that at Northside. Thank you so much. I know your family's going to. They've been very supportive, your wife, Patty, and your three daughters, Cassidy. Four daughters. Four daughters. That's right, Cassidy, Callie, Kelsey, and Carly. Yes. They've been a tremendous support system, and I know that they're going to be enjoying the time that you get to spend with them and the nine grandchildren? Twelve. Twelve. Yeah, twelve. Six and six. I know it made some impact because we went to spend some time with some of them. They were out shooting,
037and they were definitely claiming they were Northside Vikings. And one of them actually claimed the name for their youth team, I think, is the Vikings. That's right. I just want to say thank you and job well done. Congratulations. Thank you so much. I can't say much more than what Mr. Linden said, but I would like to note a few things, one of which my son didn't get to play for you, but you did have him as a JV coach, and he still refers to you as one of the greatest assets in the county, the state, for what you've done for the kids and for the other coaches and him just being one of many. I know you've got trees everywhere of coaches. or kids that you've coached that have went on to do things like
038that. And he refers to you often still, and I've told you all this, I'm just rehashing what he thinks the world of you. And he had the fortune of beating you for the first time ever. And I don't think he truly enjoyed it because it was you. So I'm like, enjoy this. But, uh, but he, I mean, he just thinks that much of you. And then I've tried to think, well, uh, Coach Pope, is he Coach K of high school? Is he Coach Wooden of high school? Is he Dean Smith of high school? I mean, I just think your legacy will have legs of. the community and the kids that you've touched and the people that you've coached against and truly the respect that you get and give on the court that I've told you
039this, your teams always seem to reflect your personality. And, you know, with kids, that's always can go, you know, whatever. But it always seems like these kids reflect your personality out on the court when they, you had the dominant teams that could have rubbed it in your face. Never saw any of that. And I just think that speaks volumes to who's leading them. You know, it could have been another. It could have been me. You've heard me yelling at the referees out there like a crazy person. It could be somebody like that. But it's you, and you're teaching those kids more than basketball, and you know that. You've had a profound effect on so many students. and coaches along the way and referees and everybody that's watched you. So thank you for what you've done.
040I'd hate to be the guy that comes in behind our girl that comes in behind you. Good Lord. But, uh, you know, they got shoes that I don't know anybody can feel and just has to be their own person, but, uh, phenomenal. Well done. I don't think you've left anything on the table. And so thank you for all you have for the community. Thank you so much. Thank you. Dr. Rippey. Come on, Dr. Lee. Thank you. I'm glad I shower every day, huh? Yeah. Item 5.08, School Spotlight, Glenver High School, Dr. Corey Franklin. Hello again, Madam Chair, members of the board, Dr. Nicely and Dr. Soltis. I'm proud to be here this evening to share a glimpse into the heart of Glenver High School. There are so many exciting things happening at GHS, we had
041a hard time picking just one component to highlight. So instead, I'm going to share a video, GTV style, created by our talented journalism students, whose work captures the spirit, pride, and everyday moments that make our school unique. From the classroom to the community. Their perspective highlights not just what we do, but who we are. I'm Dr. Corey Franklin. And I'm Jackson Hartman. Welcome to Glover High School. From science labs to creative projects and math classes, our classrooms look a little different every day. My boy Nick Fraticelli checked in to see what students are doing around the building. What's up, GTV? Today, we're doing a classroom insider, Mr. Florek's general and AP physics classes. They did an egg drop. So we had to calculate how to drop an egg from the top of the stadium and
042hit Mr. Florek as he was walking across below. And so my students had to solve two problems at once using their algebra one and two skills to do some cool physics. And I'm going to bruise later because they got me really good in the arm multiple times. Maybe next year you'll get me in the head. Today we are working on linear regression models. So they're pulling back the cars like two inches, three times, four inches, three times and so forth. They're going to take the data. They're going to calculate the line of best fit. You've got to make a prediction with the line that they came up with and we'll see who wins. So we have a big party. We try all kinds of Scottish food like haggis flavored potato chips and just celebrate reading
043poetry and enjoying the works of Robert Burns. Tell me what you're eating. Haggis chips. They're not the best thing I've ever had. The city project is done in my principles of business class, and the students collaborate to decide what sort of businesses our city needs. We're here at Glenbush Trunk Retreat. Let's see what they have. Let's get trunking. We designed how we were going to set up the parking lot. We measured the length and the width. We talked about area. We talked about... planning and cost and budgeting what we were going to buy for the trunk or treat. And then we had to creatively come up with a way to put it all together. So the Formula One car project, we found a plan on YouTube and a video, and I let that student start
044building it, and other kids saw it and they wanted to do it. So that's how the project got started. We made two big wheels, and we cut them in half. on that bandsaw right there. For seniors, it is more than just graduation coming up. It's also their senior portfolios, which is a chance for them to showcase their skills and what they've learned here at Glenver High. Our friends Carter and Tyler gave us a look on what goes into the senior portfolios. I thought the senior portfolio was really interesting and helped me take a look at how much I've done over the past four years. And I brought in something not only from my senior year, but something from my sophomore year that is going to inevitably help me. with the future. It was a really
045good learning experience learning how to pick and choose things that you've kind of done and it really shows you how much you've done during your time in high school and I think it was really beneficial and I think our teachers just did a lot to help us and guide us in the right direction. It's really cool to see how they were able to take what they had at the very beginning from like artifact collection and really develop that. process and get to the end where it shows that they really have become these critical thinkers and collaborators and communicators. And it's so cool to see what they want to do in the future. The teachers at Glenborough have been here a lot longer than we realized. It's true. Dr. Franklin used to be a teacher here.
046Well, I was a student here and now I run the school. Talk about a Glenborough! Now it's turn to Cora and Cooper to see some other teachers who are also Glenborough alums. Why did you guys want to come back to Glenborough? Who wouldn't want to come back to Glenver? I came back to teach at Glenver because of the community. I knew once I became a teacher that this is where I wanted to end up because I went here. I loved it when I was a student here and I had some teachers here that really made a huge impact on my life and I wanted to do the same to the Glenbrook community. This school is family. This school means a lot to me. I've always had a special place in my heart for this area
047and I wanted to come back and reconnect with the people of this area and also give back to what I was given, which was a lot of great family atmosphere and I wanted to do the same thing for the students. Part of why I wanted to come back to Glenberg is because of the community. It's just such a feeling of home here, and especially with my mom working here and having gone to high school here. It's just such a great place, such a great school, and there's nowhere else I'd rather be. Jackson, what are you doing? I'm practicing my theater. Oh, leave it to the pros. Speaking of the pros, Glenberg's arts programs have had another incredible year. Let's check it out. All right, I'm here with Mr. Denton, director here at the Theater of
048Glenver. What have you guys been able to do this year? So it's actually been a really, really exciting year. We started off strong back in the fall with an original production called Welcome Home. It was about coffee shops and aliens. And Alex was an integral part of that production, which was excellent. Shout out to Jerry, the real OG. And then in the spring, we took on a huge undertaking where we actually did for the first time in quite a long time, a full scale musical that was a collaboration between the theater department, the choir department, and... the band as well as the color guard and that was one of the most well attended highest grossing and frankly fun productions I think the school has ever done Thank you so much. Of course. All right, I'm
049here with Ms. Smith, Director of the Choir here at Glenford. What are some of the things that the choir's done this year? We've done a lot of things this year. We've had multiple concerts. We had a slew of students get into all-district choir. We have three students going to all-state choir. We're going to Philadelphia. We did the Wizard of Oz. And we got superior at assessment. All right. Thank you, Ms. Smith. You're welcome. All right. I'm here with Mr. Alford, director of the band here at Glenford High School. What has the band done this year? So the band has been very involved this year. Starting in the marching season, we were. Very good. Started out second place at the Salem competition, continued to improve and work very hard. In the concert band world, we went
050to district assessment, got an excellent rating there, which was great. So we've been very involved and very happy to be around. Thank you. Yeah. Wow. Jackson, what are you doing? Looking at all these trophies. Well, Bloomberg has had a great year this year. We've won state championships in cross country, cheer, indoor tracks, swim, and wrestling. And the year's not even over. Let's take a recap of the successful moments we've had so far in athletics. Showcase districts, regions, and states. Championship class two team with eight points from right up the road. Yes, I did. So I packed it up and brought it back to the crib. Just a little something to show you how we live. All I do is win, win. Everybody hands. And your VHSL Class 2 State Champions for 2025. Put your hands
051together for Glenford High School. Every school has unique traditions, but Glenborough has some really unique ones. We have the Spark Club, we have the Rocking Chair, and we have the Booty Crank. Speaking of the Spark Club, who won it this year, Dr. Franklin? It was... did the spark plug start? So it was in the early 1970s, you know, that last century. And it started with some Glenbergh cheerleaders going to a competition in Lynchburg. And it was a spirit competition. And the prize for the most spirited was the spark plug because the spark plug ignites a spark in the crowd. It is about the most spirited, most pepped up class of Glenbergh High School. How did the booty crank originate? So I was in Color Guard when I was in high school here. And one of
052my friends, Lori, she was in Color Guard with me. And she decided to just make up crazy dances with the band when they were playing. So my friend Adam, who was one of the quad or quince drummers, he would play the booty crank with the rest of the band. And then she just started making up this dance. And we all thought it was super fun. So we would do it. And then when I decided to become a teacher and I came back, it was still here. And so now my own kids do it. usually on a Friday night in the fall. I'll send her a video of all you guys doing it, and she's super excited that it's still happening and still a tradition at Glenber. Glenber is more than just a school. It's a
053community, and it's a family. We asked some of the parents what makes Glenber such a special place. The reasons why I love Glenberg, I think one would be just the opportunities that the kids have here in the Glenberg community, not just athletically, but also academically. I really love the small school atmosphere. I love all the opportunities that Glenberg offers as a parent. you really can't beat that. As a parent with a student at Glimmer, one of my favorite things is how connected the staff is with their students. They have so many opportunities for whatever students are interested in. We've seen firsthand how supportive the students are, teachers, and families for each other. We couldn't be more proud to be a part of this Glimmer family. Thank you for allowing us to show you how special
054G-Town is. Bye now! We truly appreciate your continued efforts in support of Glenver students and staff. Thank you so much for all you do to help our community. Before you go, I just want to thank you for everything that you do at Glenver, you know, family, community. That's been mentioned multiple times in the video. And of course, had an awesome opportunity to work next to you for almost five years. And Glenver is a truly special place. I was actually having this conversation the other day with Dr. Soltis. There is just something special about it. I wish so much that my parents lived in Glenver instead of Salem. Nothing against Salem, but you guys, you changed my life. I'll be honest with you. Some of the people, most of the people in that video, all of
055the ones that were there when I was there, really changed my outlook on a lot of things in life. I've never walked into a place where I didn't know anybody, but was treated like family. The true love that you guys have for the kids, it's unreal. It's just a special place. And you and the staff, you guys really make it what it is. Thank you. We always got to keep it the way it is. It's just wonderful. Thank you. Thank you. Dr. Soltis might have had a little bit of positive interaction there at Glenberth. I see you looking at me. I mean, Glenberth, the reason I am here, you know, it was the teachers that made such a difference in my life. I was a kid who could have went the wrong direction and had
056a coach and teacher who took me under his wing. I've already told you guys that. Bought my lunch the whole way through school. I mean, it was basically my dad. And that tradition has been there a long time. When, you know, Corey and I went to school there together, she's older than me. I like to point that out. Well, you know, Mr. Greenway and I do speak, I didn't mean to interrupt you. Mr. Greenway and I speak about this a lot because I know how he feels about Bird and how special it is to him. And equally, Glenver is just special to my heart. It always will be. I just run out of words to say because I absolutely love, I mean, I walked in this morning and got so many hugs and seeing the
057kids. It's just a wonderful, Glenber itself is such a wonderful community. It is the hidden gem of Roanoke County. Well, and I was blessed to be there and blessed to have Corey as an assistant principal. And I'm very proud of what she's done to continue the Glenber tradition. So thank you. As the former principal and current principal, who's better at the booty crank? Definitely not me. I was going to say definitely Corey. We're going to need to see some of this. You can't do that, man. I was arrested. She was a tear weight. So definitely Corey. But I dressed up like an old lady one time. You remember that? And I'm a pretty good old lady. And did the booty crank? I did not do the booty crank as an old lady. I got duct
058taped to a wall. That was a little heavy. I failed. But Glenburne is a special place, as is all our schools in Roanoke County. We're truly blessed to live in this valley. Yeah. Thank you. Thanks. Item 6.01, report by Student Advisory Council Representative, Mr. Bear Tyree. Good evening, Madam Chair, Dr. Nicely, Dr. Soltis, and members of the board. Thank you for this opportunity to share an update from the recent SAC meeting held on April 1st. At this meeting we had a guest speaker, Joe Legault. Mr. Legault led a discussion on artificial intelligence in education. This discussion emphasized responsible AI use and strategies to promote authentic student work. Mr. Legault also invited students to participate in future AI guidance committees with several SAC members expressing interest. The Student Leadership Conference Council reviewed final preparations for the
059conference on April 24th. Students discussed logistics, registration, and volunteer opportunities. The council voted on a proposed amendment to establish an attendance policy. The motion was passed with 25 yays and 1 nay. The policy establishes clearer expectations while maintaining flexibility for student commitments. Now for the school updates. Cave Spring High School hosted an international club event to raise money for global humanitarian and hunger efforts. They celebrated World Languages Week. Knight's Aid finished their Project GPS, which is Get Places Safely. campaign and they have students going to the state debate competition. At Glenver High School, 48 students will be competing in the FBLA state competition. They sold out their Wizard of Oz play. The Highlander Council is in the process of finishing up their updated school-wide expectation video and 8th grade tours of the high school recently
060took place. At Hidden Valley High School, 16 students are going to the DECA Internationals. Two students qualified for the International Science Fair, the new turf field was completed, and The Titan 12 selection for next year was completed, including the selection of SAC member Addie Weaver. Northside High School celebrated a state championship in pole vault and celebrated the fact that 82% of seniors participated in the opportunity-ready defense portfolios. William Byrd High School recognized third place winners in the regional science fair. Students are preparing for the upcoming jazz band assessments and preparations are underway for the Dogwood Festival on April 24th through 25th, which includes a performance from the William Byrd Marching Band. William Byrd Middle School recognized 16 regional finalists from Ms. Peters and Ms. Riddle's class in this year's physics. Civics. Of those 16 students,
061Shelby Hensley placed second and Laysen Elkins placed third. Both of these students have qualified for the state competition in June. Northside Middle School conducted a recent field trip to the local animal shelter and hosted a pep rally on the Friday before spring break. Moving on, the SAC reviewed leadership applications for next school year and finalized plans for senior recognition on May 21st. The upcoming events are the Student Leadership Conference on April 24th. The next SAC meeting is May 6th, and the Senior Recognition Night is on May 21st. Thank you for your continued support of student leadership in Roanoke County. Thank you. Item 7.01, Hearing of Citizens for Agenda Topics. We do not have any. Item 8, Consent Agenda. Do we have a motion to approve the Consent Agenda? I think a motion to approve Consent
062Agenda is submitted. Second. Madam Clerk? Dr. White? Yes, ma'am. Mr. London? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Greenway? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Hudson? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Clement? Yes, ma'am. Item 9.01, Amendment to the 2025-2026 Budget for Chapter 7 Bonus. Ms. Susan Peterson? Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the Board. I brought this report to you during the March 30th work session, and I'd like to revisit the report today and provide some additional information. Just to reiterate, the General Assembly and the Governor have finalized the caboose budget for the current fiscal year, which includes funding for a bonus averaging $1,500 per employee for funded SOQ positions. By May 1, the division must certify that it will provide a bonus of at least an average $1,500 per employee or take an equivalent action in either fiscal year 2026 or 2027. The
063school division has the discretion in how the bonus is allocated to maximize its impact on recruitment and retention across instructional and support positions. We have closely monitored our payroll lapse and determined that it is sufficient to cover the local cost above the state contribution. Based on this, staff recommends providing the full $1,500 bonus to eligible employees. When I presented this in March, I noted that the net cash value of the $1,500 bonus is approximately $969 after standard supplemental tax withholdings. At that time, you asked if there was a way to reduce this impact by allowing the bonus to be directed into the retirement account. We have since confirmed with the Virginia Department of Education that this approach is allowable under the language of the Chapter 7 legislature. We have also verified with our attorneys, our
064auditor's tax department, and our investment consultant that because both our 403B and our 457 already have language in the plans allowing for the rollover of our leave balances at retirement, we may offer employees the option to roll this $1,500 into their retirement plans, subject to the plan provisions and the IRS requirements. The Human Resources Department does plan to issue contracts mid-May. To be eligible for the bonus, employees must have signed their contract by June 1st. In addition, employees will be required to complete an election form indicating whether they would like to have the cash out or have it deposited into their 403B or 457 plan. This process is similar to what employees currently go through when they retire to determine what they're going to do with their leave payouts. Employees electing a retirement contribution must
065have an established retirement account within power, 403B or 457, before this transfer occurs or there will be nowhere to put the transfer. So, HR will communicate that with our employees ahead of time. In addition, all employees must be aware that all contributions into the IRS plan is subject to statutory limits on an annual basis, and they just have to be cognizant of what they are currently putting in and ensuring they don't exceed these contribution levels. Finally, we will be receiving and expending approximately $1.5 million of state funds over and above what our current budget is, and so we will have to carry this over to the Board of Supervisors. for their approval of the ordinance and appropriation of the additional funding. So with that, staff would recommend you move forward with these options for employees.
066Do we have a motion? So moved. Second. Any discussion? Yes, ma'am. You knew I would. I just want to make sure because that's a big point right there. Most people are going to probably need the money and I get that. That's fine. If they elect to put it into their retirement, into what I call a 401k plan, but it's not the same, it's 403b or something for government employees, is it the whole $1,500 that goes in that they... Yes. Okay. So it's essentially another $500 and some dollars that goes into that account for the employee. I just want to make sure somehow we relay this to our employees. I don't know how the best method to do that would be, but so that they understand that then it grows. it grows tax-free or tax-deferred I
067guess is the right word because you will have to pay when you get but hopefully you're in a lower tax bracket when you're retired so I just want to make sure that they understand because that is a nice feature if if they want to use but most are gonna probably need and I get it but hopefully some will be able to use it for that And just as an additional plug, you know, the school board did adopt a match in the 403B. And so if someone is not already have a 403B set up and not taking advantage of that match, that's an extra. Do you know the max for the 403B for a year? Is it the same? Is it 20-some, isn't it? I think it's 600. $630? Please don't quote me. $630 is all
068you can put in or match? That's the match. Match, okay. So on the 401k side, I think it's in the $35 range, or maybe that's because I'm old. Maybe it's in the $25 range. Well, that would be per the employer's plan. Okay. A match for a 401k, or in our case, a 403b or a 457, would be whatever the employer puts in the plan to be a match, and you adopted the match not this year, but last year. He's asking what is the maximum amount somebody would put in, like, legally. Oh, I apologize. No, because you mentioned that in your comments. About $24,000, I think, is what the current year is. So it's pretty high. It's high, you know, unless somebody's really pumping into that account. You know, you've got plenty of room, hopefully. But
069it's a nice feature. I just want to make sure our employees understand that that's available to them. Thank you. Any other discussion? Madam Clerk? Dr. White? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Lunden? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Greenway? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Hudson? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Clements? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Item 10.01, RCPS Solar Car Challenge. Ms. Kim Bradshaw? Good evening, Madam Chair, Board, Dr. Nicely, Dr. Soltis. We held our first solo car challenge just last week, so I wanted to share some highlights and some background so that way you know what built up to this event. Last spring, we purchased solo car kits for all of our elementary schools. Eleven of our 16 elementary schools chose to participate in our countywide solo car race. Each participating school held its own school-based competition with the top team from each school advancing
070to the county-level competition, which was held just last week on April 8th. Part of the structure of the competition, teams participated first in time trials. We did have one team who showed up, I think it was Clearbrook, if my memory serves me correctly, and their car was working before they got there, and the minute they put their car on the track to do time trials, it quit working. So they immediately went to pit, and you would think they were stressed about it, but... One of the team leads was like, we've got this, we've got this, we can do this, we can do this. So just to hear that was amazing. The event used a double elimination format, giving students multiple opportunities to compete and improve. Some teams needed repairs, just like I was mentioning with
071Clearbrook, and they were allowed to go to what we called the pit area. but they had a three-minute time limit. So they had to do whatever repairs they needed to do in three minutes and get right back on the track. Students designed and decorated their containers that carried their cars. We called them garages, to safely transport. Some of the highlights, Herminal Horn Elementary School won the garage competition with an innovative design that included moving parts and built-in structures to stabilize their car during transport. One of the most exciting moments of the event came when Penn Forest emerged from the B bracket to defeat Glen Cove Elementary, who was undefeated up to that point. But the amazing part was when the race was finished and they realized Penn Forest won. Both of those kids immediately stood
072up, congratulated each other, high-fived each other, and everybody was cheering for the winning team. So it was a magical moment, I have to say. Throughout the day, students demonstrated outstanding sportsmanship by cheering on each other, encouraging other teams, and remaining respectful even in moments of defeat. To align it with Opportunity Ready, just to point out how it met all of the C's. For collaboration, the students had to work together to design, build, test, and improve the cars. For communication, they had to communicate effectively throughout the process and during the competition. critical thinking and creativity. They used problem-solving skills to enhance their designs, troubleshoot their challenges, and make improvements. Centeredness. The students demonstrated perseverance through multiple redesigns, setbacks, and failures. And citizenship. They showed respect, supported other teams, and represented their schools positively throughout the entire
073event. So I just want to take this time to thank a lot of people who worked together to make this such a success for our students. Our ITRT team worked directly with each of the participating schools, prepared them for the challenge, and honestly, they organized and ran the event. I kind of put it out there, and they made the magic happen. the administrators and teachers for saying, okay, I'll try. And they tried. And then they came out here and then they got to see all the magical moments together. That was amazing. to our instructional team for their support on the day of the race and helping ensure the event was a success. And I understand that Sarah Baer is going to glamorize her flag next year for the start line. That's what I've been told.
074Special thanks to Kathy King. I contacted her and I said, hey, these are my 11 schools. Can you provide transportation? So she worked to make sure we had four different buses that went to all the areas and got our kids here on time and got them back to school on time. So I have to thank her. Special thanks to Chuck Lionberger. You're taking a look at some of the video that he put up for our event. If you've not seen the video on Facebook, you need to take a look at it. It is amazing. He has kid interviews. It is great. And also his assistance in giving us some media coverage with Channel 10. And finally, a thank you to each of you for your continued support of STEM at the elementary level and providing
075our students with ways that they can showcase their opportunity-ready skills at the elementary level. So we're going to end with a clip because I can't say enough, but the kids, when they speak, I mean, it's amazing. So we're going to end with a clip from one of our students. This is your axle and your spacer. The spacer got stuck off. It was not on there so it was gripping. That's what we think the reason was that it slowed down. We are overcoming traps that try to race. We did a time trial. So we added some more glue so that it was a little bit stronger and our wheel won't pop off. Yeah. And that team, that's Burlington's team that you saw in the video clip. And I watched him just before he went. He was
076in the pit area. He put his car down, and he heard it running. He said, something's not right. Something's not right. Something's not right. And he knew because they'd been listening to it run for. Months and he knew that the sound he heard wasn't quite right so they needed to make some improvements so I just want to thank you for the time to share this with you and Showcase our students and more importantly showcase our staff and all their hard work Thank you. Thank you. I am 11.01 hearing of citizens for non agenda topics. We do not have any Item 12.01 report by Roanoke County Schools superintendent. Dr. Ken nicely Well, it's been another terrific evening of opportunities to celebrate our students and staff of Roanoke County Public Schools. From state champion athletes and state
077champion scientists to an award-winning coach like Coach Pope, who not only has taught players how to succeed on the basketball court, but as we heard this evening, more importantly, how to succeed in life and be young people of character. Speaking of coaches, I do want to recognize once again Coach Soltis and congratulate him on leading the Guardians of Geometry to a well-earned victory in this year's March Mathis competition, as well as the most proficient school winner, Glen Cove Elementary, and the most proficient classroom in Mountain View Elementary. Thank you to the school board for allowing us to celebrate all these accomplishments at your meeting when we meet. I think this is what we're all about. The solar car challenge that Ms. Bradshaw was describing for our elementary students was a lot of fun for them,
078as you saw. It was very exciting to have our gym full of young students engaging in this competition. I want to thank Ms. Bradshaw and, as she mentioned, all of our ITRTs and teachers for the tremendous amount of time and energy it took to put this together. And just to emphasize what she was sharing, I want to say that the thing that really impressed me the most from that day was not just the fun the students had with the races. The character and sportsmanship they displayed in winning and losing. I saw the students who had lost a race take initiative to shake hands and congratulate the students who had won. And that takes a lot of character, and I was so proud to see that on display. I want to thank Ms. Wakeland and Ms.
079Balsley, the librarians at William Burr Middle School, for inviting me to take part in their whole school read aloud event earlier this week. Last Friday, they actually had arranged for the author of the book they were reading to visit the school by Zoom, and then I was asked to read aloud the first two chapters of the book to kick things off. I always appreciate the creative ways our librarians and teachers bring reading to life for our students, and the William Byrd Middle School folks are a great example. Seniors successfully completing the A-STEP program were celebrated today along with their parents and families. We had a great turnout. We started the A-STEP program, of course, a few short years ago as an additional pathway for students to find success and remain on track to graduate. I
080had several parents approach me this morning to say thank you because the program has made a difference in the life of their child and given them a chance. In turn, I say thank you to the school board for being willing to financially support the program. And also to thank Ms. Newcomb, Ms. Leinberger, and the whole ASTEP team for the great work that they do. RCCTC tours with business partners and potential business partners continue, including a tour this Monday with officials from Virginia Credit Union. As Mr. York pointed out at our most recent celebration of the sizable $1.25 million commitment from Corillian Clinic, we are already one-third of the way toward our goal with an after- after a few short months of the Campaign for Excellence. And that is thanks to contributions, both large and smaller,
081from companies that are continuing to come alongside of us because they're excited about the new school. The annual Golden Apple Teacher of the Year reception is coming up on Wednesday, April 29th, and we look forward to celebrating our teachers who were nominated. This year, we've added an additional recognition for staff members in non-licensed support roles, and we've had over 45 nominations from almost all of our schools. We want to thank the volunteers and business community who support the Roanoke County Public Schools Education Foundation and its work to partner with us for programs like the Golden Apple. The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting an upcoming event on April 30th for the business community to celebrate and learn about our CTE programs in the Roanoke region. Mr. Serr, our CTE director, who is, of course,
082highly respected and recognized across the state for his leadership in CTE, will join me as one of the keynote presentations, and we look forward to continuing to tell the RCPS story. Next weekend, our Center for Performing Arts students will present their annual show on Friday, April 24th in the evening, and two shows on Saturday, April 25th, and that's going to be held over at K Spring High School, and of course, all are invited. I want to again thank Ms. Peterson and her staff for all the hard work on the FY27 budget, which the board passed at your last meeting. She'll be officially presenting that budget to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, April 28th at the regular meeting. But as a reminder, this is, of course, a preliminary budget and will need to be revisited
083once the General Assembly finishes their job of passing the state budget. I want to congratulate Dr. Chris Benson, principal of Hidden Valley Middle School, future principal of Northside Middle School, and as well as Ms. Kim Smith, principal of Fort Lewis Elementary, for being recognized by the Virginia Board of Education in the first class of Principals of Distinction as a statewide honor. And both will be recognized next Thursday at the State Board of Education meeting in Richmond. Finally, another important event we always look forward to each year, of course, is coming up the first week in May. And this is the annual celebration of our student registered apprentices at their official signing ceremony on Friday, March, excuse me, May 8th at the Salem Ridge Axe. I'm still getting used to saying that. The Ridge Axe baseball
084game. I believe invitations were actually emailed out today. So encourage all the board members to RSVP and come on out and celebrate these students with us. Thank you. Thank you. Item 13.01 reports an increase of board members. Dr. White, would you like to go first? Sure. And first off, I'd like to just echo what's already been said a number of times. Congratulations to all of the students and teams, really, that were recognized tonight. It's always a pleasure to celebrate the accomplishments of athletes, mathematicians, and scientists that came up today and really shows the diversity of, you know, the quality and character of our students and staff. And at the heart of all that was their dedication to... whatever their interest was that was driving them. And behind that is the relationship that we've heard a
085lot about, highlighted with Glenver and all the interactions between athletes and mathematicians and their staff members. And that's really what it's all about, and I'm glad to be able to continue to celebrate that. And I guess I'll also publicly say thank you for the balloons and gift. I feel a little awkward with balloons hanging out up here when nobody else has them. My wife and I did welcome a sun into the world on April 4th, so 12 days old now. My math is right, but I'm sleep-deprived, so that may be odd. But, you know, we're all doing well at home, and my wife and son are doing great. And I don't know how his older sister feels about having a little brother quite yet, but I'm sure she'll come around. And that's all I have
086for tonight. Thank you. Mr. London? Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, I, too, would like to congratulate all of the Science Fair Award winners. I know Ms. Clemons and I had the opportunity to go to the science fair event over at Hidden Valley a couple months ago, and I truly felt like the least intelligent person in that room. It was amazing to see what they were doing. So I want to wish them luck in the international event out in Arizona. Thank you to Ms. Salves for everything that you do for that group and all our science teachers in STEM. It's just amazing to see what is going on in our schools in that. in that department. So I had an opportunity to go to the job fair over at the Green Ridge. Wanted to thank all
087the companies who came out and set up over there to help students and their families learn about opportunities in the community. And other than that, just want to congratulate Ryan and Reagan on the birth of Finn. your willingness and contribution to our future ADM here in Roanoke. Nice. Mr. Greenway? Yes, thank you. Congratulations as well. That's awesome. You know, the brother and sister will have to figure out the pecking order there somewhere. It'll all work out. What a great night. This was a great night of celebrations and sharing of things that are going on in Roanoke County Public Schools. It's one of the reasons I truly believe that we're 10th in the state of Virginia. I mean, it's amazing. All the good things that are going on. We had a Title I meeting yesterday or
088Tuesday. I've lost count of the days now, but we had a really good meeting there, and it's really nice to see that these schools are engaged in some of the Title I events that are going on. And, of course, in the Benton District, we have three of the Title I schools. And I would like to, I just wanted to expand upon, I would like to hear a little bit more about William Bird Middle School. I don't know where they finished in the... percentage range but i'd like to know a little bit more about that to understand that also i think we've got a good event coming up for next friday which is one of my favorites the sac that all of us will participate in it's an opportunity for us to to meet with the
089kids and i love hearing their ideas and the things that we can take back and make our schools better it's really a wonderful event dr white it's uh one where the sas sac student group gets together and we separate in by our schools and it's just really a nice opportunity to hear some of their thoughts and they're very articulate very bright as Mr. Linden said I think I'm the lower denominator in that room because they're such such bright such wonderful students and they represent our schools so well I'm also going to sponsor a team next year to beat Dr. Soltis And the mathness. We got to beat him. We can't let this bragging go on. Beat the magic eraser. Oh, wow. How's that? Look at that. Edie, you're going to have to take over here
090and help us out. We're going to get him. But, yeah, thank everyone in the Roanoke County Public Schools for what they do. It's an amazing group. Y'all just can't say enough great things about what's going on in Roanoke County Public Schools. And one last item is I think we need to put CIP on our next work session. We've talked about that. at least start the ball rolling because we've got some big things. And I don't know if Dr. Nicely, if that means we need to engage you before or after or during or how we need to do that with the group and try and come up with a new assessment probably. Maybe we can talk about it then or whatever. But I think we need to do that quicker rather than later because we're going
091to lose a lot of funds next year of things. trend the way our counterparts are telling us. So, yep. Thank you and good night. Look forward to seeing the end of the year celebrations. Thank you. Mr. Hudson. I'd like to recognize our state champion wrestlers again. From Glenbrook, Levi Wright and Jack Yatzer. That is a, well the coach, like he said, that is a special sport there. You've got to work really hard. You just don't win a state championship with that. So congratulations to those young men. I believe that's Levi's second in a row, right? So that's just amazing. Back-to-back state champions there. You know, our science fair winners. I don't know where to start with that, with the topics. I think I would have just been, I would have liked to have seen that.
092That was unreal. We have some really smart kids. And speaking of smart, you know, Dr. Benson is, we're really looking forward to him coming over to Northside. Congratulations to him and Kim Smith for getting that principal distinction award. That speaks to our staff. I think that's something they actually had to do themselves too, correct, Dr. Nicely? That's something they had to work for. They put in for that themselves. That wasn't something that they were told to do. So it shows the dedication to go above and beyond the daily grind of what they have to do to keep their buildings and our students served. So congratulations to them. And Glenver High School, you know, there's a reason why we call it Highlander Heaven. It's a beautiful place inside and out. The people are what make it.
093And I'm so proud to be able to represent them and to be able to do things for our community. And speaking of that, Coach Pope. Congratulations to him. He'd said something, and it was said multiple times. It's nice to win, but it's amazing to see a man that's had the impact on young men for 40-some years. And there's no telling how many young men that he changed their lives and got them on the right paths. So congratulations and thank you to him for his service. That's all I have. Thank you. I would also just like to say I don't have the connection to Coach Pope that you guys do, but what I took away from that was that he's so humble and he's grateful and thankful. He feels like he's the lucky one, and here
094he's impacted all of these students. So that was my takeaway. I think he seems like an incredible human being. Also, congratulations, Dr. White, on the baby. And also I just wanted to mention Dr. Franklin. I loved her presentation. The recognitions is my favorite part of all of our meetings when we get to see all of the great things that are happening. And congratulations to all of our student award winners. I just wanted to say that I loved her presentation. It was student driven and created and just really entertaining. And she showed us what's going on at Glenborough High School. So I just really appreciate her approach to presenting Glenborough High School. Just a couple of things. We had the Roanoke Valley Governor's School. Board meeting this week the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair as
095was mentioned by Tammy Salls and Mr. Levy who was here earlier was this past weekend and the governor's school had the most projects earning awards of any school in the state which is really fantastic as you saw here tonight there were a number of Roanoke County students who received awards and there are four projects, five students that are going to be competing at the International Science and Engineering Fair from Roanoke Valley Governor's School in Phoenix, Arizona. So congratulations to them and we wish them the best of luck. Also this week, Dr. Soldes and I attended the VSBA Regional Spring Network Forum on Tuesday and that was in Patrick County. We had the opportunity to meet with other board members and superintendents from around the region. We also delivered artwork from Roanoke County students for the
096VSBA student art contest. And we did have a student, Anna Moores. She placed first for the middle school category. And so her artwork will be displayed at their Charlottesville office for the next year. So congratulations to her. And that's all I have. So if there is nothing further, meeting adjourned.