001I'm the Vice Chair and District 5 board member. It brings me great pleasure to welcome everyone to tonight's meeting. For those unable to observe now, the meeting is being recorded and will be available for later viewing on the PGCPS YouTube channel. Miss Conley, please call the roll. Yep. Brown? Here. Dr. Edithol. Mr. Jackson's founders. Chair Jackson. There are 4 or it was present. Thank you. There are 4 present with a quorum present. The operations budget and fiscal Affairs Committee meeting will come to order. adoption of the meeting agenda. If there are no objections to the committee. Excuse me, if there are no objections, the committee shall adopt the April 22nd, 2026 meeting agenda. There being no objections, the April 22nd, 2026 meeting agenda is adopted. Approval of the meeting minutes. If there are no corrections,
002the March 18, th 2026 meeting minutes shall be approved as distributed. There being no corrections, the minutes are approved. Public comments. There are 9 public comments for tonight's meeting. That's all I got. Gonna help me out, Ms. Conley? And first we have Ian Fay. We're talking student health, safety, and temporary facilities planning. Hello, hello, can you hear me? Thank you. Hello, everyone. I'm Ian Fay. I'm a parent at Cesar Chavez Dual Spanish Immersion Elementary School. And I feel that the other 9 of those public speakers this evening are probably some friends of mine as well. This is probably the first time I've met the majority of you. Uh, maybe the same goes for me. Um, but the reason that I'm on here is because this is going to be the start of an ongoing relationship.
003As, uh, my, uh, constituents and I have… are coming to you exhausted over a recent incident that is what I would call a cherry on top incident. Our school caught on fire on Sunday, and it is just the last in the long line of things that we feel have been. Um… We've felt under attack, I'll make it that way. And there's a laundry list of things, and I know that this may not be the exact environment to grieve these. Uh, these issues, but we have now decided that every place that we can be, we will be because of the things that have gone on. So I assume that everyone on this panel is aware of the fire on Sunday. Um, this comes after a number of other things, including a horrific name change situation that
004we have to deal with, not to mention that our, uh… our families, some were getting deported, um, we are facing budget cuts in areas that. specifically affect us and our community and really it's allergy season and we just don't like that either. So I'll just top that on there. But I wanted to show up. to go on the record that we're not happy, and… and that we are interested in working with everyone who will be interested in working with us. Um… To check off some of these, uh… these grievances, and uh… like I say, I don't… believe it will necessarily be able to do that tonight, but I… I consider tonight an introduction. Uh, you'll be seeing more of me. Next, we have Jamie Bishi. All right. Can you hear me? Good evening, Chair and
005members of the committee. My name is Janie Bavishi, and I am a parent of Cesar Chavez dual Spanish immersion. I want to acknowledge that no one was hurt in the recent classroom fire that Ian just mentioned, and I also appreciate the school staff's quick response. At the same time, many families have ongoing concerns about student health, safety, and learning conditions following the fire. Students are experiencing the aftermath in very real ways. My own child share that our class has been moved for the remainder of the year, and that our Chromebook smelled like smoke had ash on it, and that headphones were burned and unusable. Another family shared that a student became physically ill upon arriving at school due to the smell. These are not abstract concerns, these are real, immediate impacts on students. It is
006also important to note, while there were no injuries, that appears to be because the building was unoccupied at the time. That fact should underscore how serious this incident could have been. This is not about whether the school has reopened. It's about whether learning environments are fully safe and ready, and whether families have enough information to feel confident in that determination. We understand that cleaning and air quality testing have taken place, but families have not yet received clear, detailed information about what specifically was tested, what standards were used, and what thresholds determine that a classroom is safe for students. There are also important questions about materials and equipment. What is being cleaned versus replaced, and how decisions are being made for items exposed to smoke, soot, or heat. And we still don't understand the contingency planning.
007If conditions are not fully resolved, what options exist for temporary or partial relocation? I also want to acknowledge that many families and our PTO have been advocating for stronger investments in school facilities. Incidents like this raise broader questions about how risks are identified, prioritized, and addressed across the district. But right now, our immediate focus is ensuring that students at Cesar Chavez are in environments that are fully safe and appropriate for learning. With that in mind, I respectfully ask the committee and the district to first share transparent, accessible results of environmental testing. And ongoing monitoring, including the standards used to determine safety. Second, clearly communicate the criteria being used to determine that classrooms and materials are safe for student use. Third, ensure that damaged or exposed materials, especially electronics and soft materials, are replaced where appropriate,
008not just cleaned. Fourth, outline contingency plans, including temporary relocation options if conditions do not meet full standards. Meet all samples. And finally, I appreciate that the school is working to organize a parent town hall this Friday, and I encourage the district to ensure that facilities and environmental experts are present to answer questions directly. Even if this does not meet the district's usual threshold for a facilities response, the current conditions warrant heightened security and transparency. It is a meaningful disruption to students' learning environments, and it deserves clear communication and careful oversight. Thank you for your time and attention. Thank you. Next we have Margaret Dominguez. Yes, we can. Yes, hello, can you hear me? Wonderful. Thank you so much for having me. I am also on the Pto at Cesar Chavez alongside Ian and another proud
009parent. Like Ian mentioned in the beginning, our school has faced a myriad of concerns this year from supporting families. around greater ICE presence, as well as dealing with the complexities and emotional impact of a possible renaming process after a disgraced public figure. So, throughout, we have maintained to be active and supportive. Earlier this year, we experienced two separate days of electrical sparks that led to fire drills and fire department presence at our school. And as you just heard from the previous comments, this weekend we had an electrical fire that decimated a classroom. While we are extremely thankful that nobody is hurt because the building was unoccupied, we've had enough. This fire has heightened already serious safety concerns in an aging, underfunded building, and leaving both parents and staff worried about whether our school is physically
010safe. Today, for example, we were supposed to have a wonderful event at our school that I think some of you were going to attend, and instead of that, when I was telling my daughter about that there was a fire over the weekend, she said, oh, like the last one, and it breaks my heart that no child should have. multiple electrical fire experiences to be able to compare one happening at their school. My daughter also voluntarily asked if she could wear a mask to school, something that she has not done since the pandemic, and it really underscores to me, um, not only the safety concerns, but just some of the fear that some of the children at our school are experiencing. And throughout all these obstacles, our PTO has been working really hard to step up
011the best we can with fundraising and emotional support in different ways, also trying to support our educators the best that we can, who are showing up and maintaining love and professionalism and guidance and heart with everything they're doing. But they are tired, and we are feeling stretched thin. We can't carry this alone. We want to support our staff, have a safe building, support the families that are there, and we've, through this, we really need support, partnership, and action to ensure that our students, families. And staff feel safe, valued and protected in every sense of the world, emotionally, physically, and academically. So we welcome any clear indication that throughout this very challenging year, the district hears our voices and has our backs in all of the ways that it can. Thank you very much. Thank you,
012Miss Dominguez. Next speaker we have is Patricia Templeton, Individual Budget and Facilities. Mm-hmm. It's Patricia on? Yeah, she's. Can you hear me? Oh, yep, can you hear me? Oh, perfect. I'm also a parent from Cesar Chavez. I have a daughter in kindergarten, also calling about the recent fire. It's just unacceptable. Our building needs to be better funded and safe for our children to be there. Um, I'm also a medical provider, and then earlier in the year, there was lead found in one of the fountains, and that's also an acceptable. Um, so just wanted to call to. to say those things, and… during a time when things like this are happening. We don't need to have budget cuts, we need to have increased funding and making sure our buildings and our kids are safe. Thank you,
013Patricia. I want to echo what my fellow parents have. Hi, good evening. I'm gonna miss some family, you know, chaos, if you will. But thank you for hearing my words. I just want to echo what my fellow parents have said. You know, we need to put our students' health and safety first. And we… I just want to add to that we're willing to work together. I have experience that when we talk to different people, they shift the blame to others. We talked to the Board of Ed, they shift to the county. We talk to the state, they shift to the county. We talk to the county, they shift to the Board of Ed. Our students, they don't want all of that. They don't want that. They need our leaders, county, state, district, school, city level,
014to all put their health and safety. First, this is our future. And… honestly, if our adults that are leaders can't see that. But that's really disappointing, and we're going to the polls in June, and we're ready to fight for what is right for us, for our families, our students, and our schools. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Mendoza Walters. The next speaker we have is Adair Agundeko. Yes, we can. Hello. Can you hear me? Okay, thank you. Uh, good evening. My name is Adaro Gundeko, and I'm a 2019 graduate of Occidental High School in Prince George's County, and currently I'm a student at Catholic University of America, pursuing a dual master's in. architecture and net 0 design. And I'm here today as both a alum of this school system and a Maryland resident to voice my
015support for Prince George's County's 20. 40 electric school bus commitment. As someone who's personally experienced the school transportation system in this county. I understand how closely the transportation is tied to student health, school access and daily educational experience. Diesel emissions continue to disproportionately affect urban communities and students who already face environmental health burdens, including asthma. for air quality and for air quality. The transition to electric school buses is not only a climate action strategy, but also a public health and environment justice priority. So my request today is that the board continue reinforcing implementation readiness for. The 2040 goal by maintaining a clear transportation electrification roadmap, supporting charging infrastructure planning and ensuring the district remains competitive for future state and federal funding opportunities. Prince George's County has the opportunity to remain a statewide leader in school
016bus electrification. And I urge continued commitment so that the district is ready to scale quickly when larger funding windows reopen. Thank you for your leadership and continued commitment to healthier schools and a more sustainable future. Thank you. The next speaker we have is Ingrid Rojas, Budget Cuts and lack of support for our students. Good evening, everyone. Buenas noches a todos. My name is Ingrid Rojas, and I am the parent of a child who attends Cesar Chavez Spanish dual Spanish Immersion School. This past weekend was frightening for all of us, and this fire was actually a wake-up call. Our school leaders have been working to ensure the building is safe for our students to return. But many of us still worry about our kids getting sick from the air quality or hurt by the damage if
017another fire occurs in the school building. Also, our teachers, who are the backbone of the school, deserve a workplace that is free of safety hazards and aging infrastructure. Thus, I am here tonight to say clearly that building renovations cannot be postponed. Prioritizing these upgrades are the only way to ensure that our school is protected for the long term. Our children deserve a school that is just not safe enough for today, but built to protect them for years to come. Thank you. Thank you. The next speaker we have is Tamika Etanoff, Student Health Safety and Temporary Facilities Planning. Miss Tamika, you are. up if you are here. Miss Tamika, if you are TE. If you could come off on mute so we can hear your public comment. We are ready for you. Hi, can you hear
018me now? Yes. Okay, sorry about that. Um, so I'm driving, so I can't really get into my whole spiel right now, but I did just want to echo some of the concerns that you heard from the other parents at Cesar Chavez. Um, we're all concerned about the lack of funding for capital investments. We're all concerned about the health and safety of our children. Um, and we just urge you all to do what's right and to invest in, you know, making sure that our children are safe, and not just when there's an issue, but, you know, like, preventing, um, future issues and making sure that schools across the district have the resources they need to. Be safe. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Can you hear me? Just making sure. Yes, we can. First and most importantly,
019I want to acknowledge the dual Spanish immersion community and fellow District 3 families who experienced a fire this weekend. I was also grateful. It was a reminder of how dangerous our aging school buildings can be, and we're grateful that no one was hurt. School construction and maintenance issues have been a top priority of mine for more than five years now, ever since a coalition of feeder schools engaged in the phase one battle over Hyattsville Middle School. What happened this weekend with an aging school literally on fire, reflects the crisis we face. It's not an isolated incident. We've had several emergency rebuilds in recent years, and we're not going to dig our way out of a $20 billion school construction and maintenance backlog overnight. That's why I say over and over phase 1 and phase 2
020must be only the start. ensuring world-class safe facilities for every school community will take many more phases of school construction and advocacy to come. There were cross-filed bills this legislative session. Hb 1329 and SB 934 on school construction funding. They were bipartisan and would have raised the state's annual school construction funding goal from $450 million to $550 million. That's still far less than we need, but was a step in the right direction. Neither bill even got a committee vote. We must use the full power of PGCPS's voice to make school construction funding a top legislative priority next session, and it's going to require more than putting a bill or two on our support list. We need parents and community members to start engaging now, securing promises from candidates while we have the leverage of upcoming
021elections. and making sure the Prince George's delegation will deliver the capital investment funding that we need. It will mean a sustained effort, and it can't be a Pgcps only issue. Other schools and LEAs across Maryland must benefit from increased funding as well, because having a statewide solution is how we get statewide support. For the adolescent. Each of you know that I will be in this fight. I'll be in Annapolis as many days, and for as many legislative meetings as you need. And I'll be the bridge with other statewide education advocates to build a true coalition around this issue. But we need other PGCPS parents, like the ones who were in this meeting, to join, too. And tonight's an invitation to any parents or schools who want to prioritize school construction investment. We can't have our
022children learning in aging, unsafe buildings, and can't wait until a weekend fire turns into. We have a terrific Blueprint schools team, and now we must deliver them the funding that they need. Thank you all very much. Thank you so much, and thank you for all the public speakers, those who did written comments or pre-recorded messages for us. I'm going to turn it over to Chair Goins McCants so she can introduce the presentation and the speakers. Thank you, Vice Chair Brown. So at this point, we will move to our facilities master plan update. The chair recognizes Dr. Coleman. Our Chief Operations Officer. for that update. Thank you, and good evening, committee chair going McCants, Vice Chair Brown, board members and community stakeholders. The Capital Improvement Program, or Cip, is a multi-year spending plan focused on the
023long range vision of modernizing our portfolio of school buildings. Through the CIP, Educational Facilities are planned, designed, renovated, and constructed based on the prioritization of needs established in the educational facilities master plan, or EFMP. Tonight, the Department of Capital Programs will provide a presentation focused on the Educational Facilities Master Plan and the Prototypical Educational Specifications that together guide future school system investments. At this time. I turn the program over to the Director of Capital Programs, Mrs. Shayla Taylor Jackson. Good evening, Chair going members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to be with you tonight. I want to begin just by acknowledging the public public comments that we heard this evening. Particularly those from the Cesar Chavez community. Uh, I believe everyone who spoke tonight, as well as those I work shoulder to shoulder
024with on these issues every day, shares that same conviction and desires to see our students in modernized, safe, supportive facilities. So I certainly hope we can count on that joint advocacy together as we roll out the plan that we're going to talk about tonight. And then zooming out, I just want to ground tonight's discussion in that broader context. So Prince George's County Public Schools serves about 200 facilities, and approximately half of those are over 45 years old. So over the last decade, guided by our current master plan. We've really made meaningful progress, but all that progress means we've moved from the second oldest inventory of schools in the state of Maryland to the third oldest inventory of schools in the State of Maryland. And so that need remains significant, and it remains that way for
025a. large portion of our students. Our prior plan to fully execute required 570 million dollars per capital investment every year to address those facility improvements and to modernize every seat in practice. We averaged closer to 160 million every year, so that gap. Combined with the ongoing construction cost escalation, the labor and material pressures of our current economy, our broader budget and enrollment challenges meets the need definitely exceeds the available funding, and that's really where this work comes in. The Educational Facility Master's plan. is our framework to evaluate needs across the system and make disciplined, data-informed decisions about how we prioritize our capital resources. So when it comes to modernization, that prioritization isn't really an optional side event for us. It is our. Our core responsibility. So, um, we share these sentiments, we, um, look forward
026to a continued partnership. And with that context, uh, we're going to walk you through the master plan support project tonight, how the pieces will come together, including our prototype at specs, the planning framework. The early community engagements over this 18 month effort. And I just want to note, I think the last time I was with and we talked about this work, we were building out our leadership plan in this area. Since then, I think she's 8 months in. Miss Kayla Anthony has stepped into the role of our planning supervisor and has really brought a lot of leadership and clarity to this effort. So with that, I will turn it over to Miss Anthony to walk you through our master plan efforts. Thank you, Director Jackson. I'm going to share my screen. Give me one second.
027and I'll wait to confirm that you can see that. Yes, ma'am. I'm seeing some nods. Excellent. Okay, thank you. Um, well, good evening, everyone, board members, community members. I appreciate the opportunity to be in front of you tonight to talk about two key initiatives that we have coming out of the planning office within the Department of Capital Programs. As Director Jackson said, my name is Kayla Anthony, um, and I have the honor of supervising our planning team and overseeing these major initiatives. So, what are those two initiatives that we're gonna, um. walk through an update on tonight. The 1st is the prototypical educational specifications that Director Jackson mentioned, and the second is that comprehensive update of our educational facilities master plan, or. Um, that effort we often call the master plan support project, because it
028is a much bigger effort that is involved in walking all of our buildings multiple times, as well as evaluating the enrollment data. To make that long-range plan, and so that feeds into our annual educational facilities master plan process, and we'll talk a little bit about that tonight. So, um… The first thing that I'll briefly go through is our prototypical educational specifications, which is a mouthful. So you'll often hear us just call them Ed specs. And Ed specs are really, they are our guiding standards, and they. for facilities, and they help make sure that our facilities have equity and consistency in how they are planned and designed. So that's how we establish the size, the programmatic elements, the spatial relationships and adjacencies within that building. And then other key design features as well. They do not
029answer every single aspect of a building's design because there is a site specific aspect that occurs as well as the actual facility design process we go through, but they help set that standard. Um, for us as a portfolio. They also are used to evaluate our existing facilities to make sure that they are still suitable for delivering the educational and academic programs that we as a district are trying to deliver. And so they become. a tool or a benchmark we use in the master plan process to evaluate those buildings. So this is a very high level of what goes into the ed specs process. And so we have started the project, and we are in the phase of interviewing. Um, all of the departments across our system, um, and that occurs before we enter into the
030draft specifications and standards, um, phase, ultimately reviewing, refining, and then adoption and application of. those standards. And, um, just as a brief update, this has been focused. This effort is mostly an internal tool that we use with planners and architects. So we've been focused on interviewing our departments across the entire system. You can see here. Just as some of the sampling of ones that we've been speaking to. We've been focused on the elementary and middle school levels to start, um, because that really… they operate a little bit more uniquely than high school does, so we like to divide those out. And we've already been hearing things about the importance of technology in our facilities and what does the future of that look like? Making sure that we have adequate small group breakouts and resource rooms,
031outdoor classrooms, things like that, like these are all. Things that we're hearing across these departments, and then we make sure that we reconcile those into a standard that we can use across our entire program. So… Um, I think that's all on the educational specifications, so now I'm going to switch to the master plan support project, which is really the bigger initiative that that effort supports this year. So the. Master plan support project. It is our… strategic long range roadmap, and it identifies how we will. improve, invest, and use our buildings and our sites. It looks at. our enrollment and our enrollment forecast and projections. It looks at our facility conditions from a building perspective, as well as from an academic delivery perspective. It looks at what our educational programs that we wish to deliver are.
032So if we are changing certain. CTE programs, like, maybe we want to offer an electric vehicle CTE program and not just auto body. How do we incorporate that into our entire portfolio? And then ultimately, it also takes into account equity across the. the portfolio to make sure that we're investing, um, equitably across the county. And so, this is high level, some of the key elements that go into that process. Um, we are in… uh, the throes of data collection right now, and that is a, uh, really a year-long process for us to be able to collect the data that we need across our facilities, but we will also begin, through that, engaging the community. on some of the things we're learning, and also just hearing from them about what's important. So I'm going to talk
033about those, um, two pieces tonight, which I think are really critical and what is coming up, or what's on the horizon for this process. So, the first, um… piece, the data collection, is what data are we collecting, and why is that important to us? So I know we throw some of these terms around, and I just think it's important to level set, so we're all on the same page. So, uh, a facility condition assessment really looks at our school buildings. And it takes into account those major systems that are really the bones. We talk about, like, it's got good bones, like, that's the bones of our building. So, what does the major systems like plumbing, HVAC, roofing, windows, electrical, and then other core infrastructure throughout the building? What's the age of those systems? Which of
034them may need replaced and when, or what is the maintenance schedule for those over time? And we really use that as, like, more and more of those systems appear to be at the end of their lifespan. We use that to prioritize and schedule. which facilities are going to get those capital improvements. So that's the physical element of it. And then there's the educational suitability piece, which I mentioned earlier. That's what those prototype specifications feed into. Um, and so this is where we take a look at how well is the building supporting our learners. So not just how, what condition is the building in, but does it actually provide the types of spaces that modern learning occurs in? And so we will take a look at the classrooms, but also our common areas, our resource spaces,
035what technology access is there, natural light, air quality, etc. Those are all pieces. of the educational suitability piece, and that helps us know where our buildings may not align with how we're delivering our program, and then also guide us on where renovations of space may be needed an addition, or ultimately. If several of these categories are triggering as poor condition, then you're looking at a major modernization or a replacement of that facility. And so those are the key pieces that we are out walking our buildings. We've actually. I'll go to this one because we did complete, since we last saw you, um, our pilot schools, which is a point of discussion in the last one, as well as we've already assessed 51 of our elementary schools through this process. And so, um, once we have
036all of an asset type data, so like all of the elementary schools are completed, we can then come back and talk to about what did we see across all of our elementary schools and what are some of those needs that we're anticipating in the broader master plan. And then, ultimately, a big piece of this is, um, collecting all this data is only as good as we can put it to use, so making sure that we actually have a tool that we can use to prioritize the data and keep check on our buildings. So there is a dashboard that's part of this. and a backend, um, data system to make sure we're maintaining that over time. So what's coming up? What do we have next on the horizon in addition to this data collection? Obviously, the
037assessments of our buildings are going to continue through into the fall and and possibly even throughout, you know, till the end of the year. Um, it kind of depends on, like, right now, as we schedule buildings, uh, some of the testing is going on, and so we don't enter the building when there's testing. That may change our schedule, um, things like that, but we try to work around our school's needs and, um, the things that they have going on. We'll also be finalizing. Our educational specifications, and that'll feed into the building walks, so that's the two major data collection efforts that we have ongoing. But then the other major activities that you're really going to want to see is our community engagement launching, and that's. such an important part of our process, because that helps
038us understand what the lived experience is, not just what the data of this facility condition data tells us. And that's very important for us to understand what it. feels like to be in our buildings, interacting with our buildings from a student standpoint, a staff standpoint, parent and community member and caregiver standpoint, and even as a community member, right? These are important facilities in your community, and so making sure. that, um, we cover a lot of those communities in our engagement. So we've tried to outline our engagement. in a way that offers us both. breadth of who we're going to talk to and depth of what topics we're going to be able to cover. And so, um, the depth often comes in those focus groups, and the breadth often comes in those listening tours. We get
039to speak with a lot more individuals in those types of meetings. And so the way we're thinking about it is that, or the way we've planned it is that we'll be doing focus groups throughout this spring, which is starting very soon. And then we're currently working and anticipating a website launch in the summer. We know that a lot of people. or out of town during the summer. Um, and so we're trying to get our, uh, you know, all of our ducks in a row so that we're ready for fall engagement, and anticipating in the fall of 2026, we would engage in a countywide listening tour, which is when. We will be in your districts. We want to go into all of the board members' districts, partner with you to make sure that we are getting
040all of the community members, the word out, the community members there, so that we can hear them, um, and understand what that experience is. And then. Ultimately, we will use that to feed into the plan, begin some scenario development next year, based on all of the information we hear, and we'll be able to do another countywide engagement. um, about some of those scenarios and ideas for the recommendation. So, um… That's shown here graphically, which I know can be a lot to digest, so I try to explain it in words, but I will briefly describe this. Uh, schedule of upcoming activities, so you can see how they all interrelate. Um, at the top, you can see that we have the facility condition assessments ongoing, as well as our prototype educational specifications. That corresponds with. The engagement
041at the bottom, which is our departmental interviews and the focus groups and website development that we're going to be starting. We will also be in summer, beginning our educational suitability assessments. Once those educational specifications are complete, and simultaneously, we will be doing visioning and criteria setting with our academic. directors and leaders, and getting a picture of what our enrollment looks like with the September update. So that's a key point in this. We want to make sure that we have another opportunity to see the enrollment picture in the fall. Um, that's when that countywide listening tour would be going on. It's when we enter back into school in the school year 2026-27 school year. And then, as we turn into the new year 2027, that's when we would begin some of that scenario planning. Once we
042have all of our data in hand, we are not making decisions or recommendations until we have had a chance to see all of the information in one place. And that's when we would have an opportunity to engage with you all again, as well as across the county. Um, to hear feedback on that before refining that plan, and ultimately informing our Cip and aligning that. So, I know that's a lot that I've just thrown at you. I get really excited about these efforts. I do want to finish, if you will just indulge me. with, um, this last slide, which is of two images. And I took these photos on a school tour that we did recently, um, and it's just kind of two photos that have stuck in my mind, uh, recently, and I thought I
043would share the first one. is a problem-solving process that was hung in a math class, and it's how a teacher obviously is explaining to them going through the problem solving process, and that's essentially what we are doing in these planning efforts right now, and the one that has. Stuff with me is examine your results, because if you look at the second photo, which is a desk where the intent was that those cords would enter the grommet and not be seen on the outside of the desk. Clearly, how we intended that design to be is not the outcome of what we're seeing in this picture, and so I think it's important to think about what we've planned and what the results are, and so that's a key piece of this effort. big, and it's comprehensive, and
044we're talking to a lot of people to inform this. There's a lot of perspectives that feed into this plan, but this is the kind of… obviously, that's a very specific example, but this is the kind of thing that we want to feedback into our planning, so that we make sure we're continually. getting better and doing better by our students, our learners, our communities. So, thank you, um, for your time, and I would be happy to field any questions or turn it back over to Director Jackson and Dr. Coleman. Thank you so much. Board members, do we have any questions? So, I do have… I'm giving my colleagues a moment. I do have a couple. Can you explain a bit more about the difference between the departmental interviews and then the focus groups? Yeah, that's a
045good question. So, um, you might say they're both focus groups, some are just internal and some are external, right? But essentially, it is us bringing together individuals to. hear their perspective on a topic. Departmental interviews are our internal stakeholders. And so in the facilities division, we want to make sure that we hear from the academic side, and we hear from all of that side. Um, and so we conduct a thorough set, excuse me, of interviews to make sure that we're hearing all of their needs. The focus groups are more externally focused. And so that's where we will plan to speak with students, the PTAs. Um, specific targeted outreach groups, like our Disability Advisory Board, Parents of special education needs, immersion programs, people who might have a different experience than what. Um, you know, if we
046go to a general community meeting and we're fielding a lot of general questions, it's our way of targeting those specific populations to make sure we're hearing that experience. And I guess… In terms of those two separate ways of engaging. Our principles, leadership teams and teachers engaged in those processes as well. And are they in the departmental interviews or the focus groups? Yes, they are. Principles would fall more as like a focus group for I mean, it's essentially the same. They're more of a focus group, whereas our administrators and our leaders would be more of those internal department and leadership interviews and meetings. Got it. So I guess in that, is there a space like, say, I am a teacher at a specific school. Is there space for me to elevate what the. what the instructional
047needs might be for my building as it relates to facilities. like, are in that engagement, are we engaging with FACs, for example? Are we sending out surveys specifically to teachers, or is it just… If they happen to fall in one of those other groups, they're able to elevate that for their building. I would say… I would say that, um… Am I allowed to continue? You can continue. Okay, um, I would say that I can't guarantee that our process will touch every principle, but we are trying as much as we can to provide opportunities where every principal can give us feedback in some manner, right? So whether that is. Uh, through a established focus group or a community meeting, whether that is via… we have… we have facility processes where they can provide input through their
048leadership, but they're always able to give us that feedback for that goes to our facility advisory committee. Um, or if that's through some of the surveys that we'll hear from. I don't have a list of every principle that I'm making sure to check off on, but we are trying to get a broad representation from our principles in new buildings and old buildings, because I think. That's an important piece of this, too. We want to make sure, especially on the prototype specifications, that we're understanding in the new things we've designed that that is. what we want in future new buildings as well, from our teachers in older buildings, making sure that we understand representatively that. What they're experiencing, how we can improve that daily lived experience. Um, I guess then just a request, especially since this
049is a 10-year-long plan, and we know that there are, just due to the limitations we have with funds, timing, and all of that stuff. We have people who will be in buildings. students who will be in buildings for that entire next 10-year span, maybe not individual students in a specific building, unless they're in a K through 8 school. But if we can. Find some way to specifically get input from each individual school. Maybe not just the principal, but somewhere to actually have that tracked and housed, so that that can be. that can be factored into the plan, especially since it's such a long plan. And given the fact that so many people now are voicing, I know I get it in my email all the time and get told, uh, out in public. People are
050like. We're not being heard in terms of what's happening in our building. And my concern is, if we are talking to principals as a group and expecting things to kind of bubble up through whatever leadership channels, etc. We are missing what's happening in individual buildings. Yeah, I really appreciate that comment, and I… I would add, I think the beauty of our countywide. meetings where we're partnering with you all as kind of helping us host those is making sure that all of those individuals that you interact with on a regular basis that. Thank you so much. I just want to add one thing if I can. Just quickly. It's not the same as talking to every teacher, but going through and once you have that that educational sufficiency scorecard where we've said, like, these are the
051standards for classrooms and for technology, what's a safe corridor layout and a safe. Um, parking lot configuration. It does help us, because we are going in every facility twice, one from that facility condition, like, you know, looking at your windows and your HVAC position. And then we're also doing the educational adequacy. So we'll know some of the big things. Like, it won't be a situation where we don't know that that special education room is inadequate like we won't have like a. big mess like that. But I do like, and I have some ideas of how to fold in more of that kind of on-the-ground information outside of just, like you're saying, like, our leadership framework reacting to that information to make sure it does reflect their lived-in experiences. So we've got to think about that
052and how to approach that. I greatly appreciate that. board members, do we have any? Additional questions. Board member Jackson Saunders. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you very much for the presentation made this evening. It is indeed enlightening and quite helpful, and I appreciate the foresight in the countywide listening sessions that are being planned. Specifically, do you have a plan for how you'll report back out to those stakeholders what you have actually heard? So what I get is. Yes, they listen, but we never know what they are doing with that information, and so it seems like it's more of a communications issue, and I'm wondering what have your thoughts been about how to make sure the stakeholders who you've taken the time to listen to. know indeed that you've heard what they're saying and how
053you're going to respond to it going forward. Absolutely, yeah, closing that feedback loop is really important. Part of the importance of having, um, that website, and then also having multiple meetings, is that we'll be able to show, here's what we heard, and here's how that impacted. the plan. Um, obviously, uh, not every. Comment will result in a change, but at least we can show what we heard and summarize that so that it's posted publicly, absolutely. Seeing no additional hands. Dr. Coleman, is that conclude the presentation for? Yes, it does. Board member going becomes. Thank you. Operations. Thank you all so much, and welcome. Welcome, even though it's about 8 months late. Uh, Miss Anthony. Uh, with that, we will now move to. We will now move to our finance department. and I know we do
054not have Chief Howell. So the chair recognizes. Director Siobhan. Um… Yes, the chair recognizes Director Siobhan Smith for our. Good evening. Thank you so much. You're going to the cans. Can you hear me okay? Title I school allocation process. Yes, ma'am. Okay, so today we have a presentation coming from our Title I office. We have Director Natasha Blood, and we also have. One of our supervisors. So at this point. I don't know if Dr. Strader is on the phone to make an introduction, but at this point, if you want, Natasha, I can turn it on over to you. Oh, there you are. Thank you, sir. I can step in. Yes. You did a wonderful job. Director Flood is with us, as well as the supervisor in the finance section of Title I. Uh, Leslie Ingram
055Johnson. So I'll turn it over to those two, and let's get started. Thank you. Yeah, good evening, everyone. Good evening, board members, community members, as well as colleagues. I'm Natasha Flood. I'm the director of the SN title one department, and I do have my fiscal supervisor along with me, Mrs. Leslie Ingram Johnson. So. We appreciate, first of all, thank you, and we appreciate the opportunity to walk through the Title I allocation process with everyone, particularly for the upcoming school year. It is our purpose from today's presentation. that we provide transparency to everyone on how Title I funds are determined, how they are prioritized, how they are actually distributed to our several schools, more than several hundreds of schools across our school system. So through the presentation, we'll review some federal. requirements. We'll also talk about
056the district methodology that's being used, as well as give you some insight of projected data for our upcoming school year. So, um, with no further ado, we'll go straight into talking about the purpose of Title I. So Title I exists to ensure that all children have access to a fair, equitable, and high quality education. That is the core of the program and the intended of its design. It was designed to ensure that achievement gaps are closed, as well as expanded opportunities for students exist. The work that we do is under the Every Student Succeed Act that was reauthorized by the Elementary Secondary Education Act, and it's our responsibility that we are good stewards over the ways in which funds are being used, the compliancy and strategic and definitely looking. forward to that impact for our
057well-deserved Title I students. So, to understand the allocations, it is helpful to first understand how the money flows. So the next slide, you will see how the money is flowed. It starts off through Congress. Congress allocates funds for each state. The state then receives an allocation, and they go through a process of their. formula for identifying how much each LEAs will receive. That brings us to us with Prince George's County Public Schools. We get the allocation from the state, and then from there, within Prince George's County Public Schools and within my department, we then look at the formulas and the methodology that we use within the district to allocate. for our schools. Currently, this school year, we have 107 Title I schools, and that number fluctuates from year to year. Um, this is an annual
058grant, um, and we go through this process on an annual measure basis. So, at this time now, I'm going to have Leslie walk you through the next steps of how once we receive the funding. how we determine eligibility with our schools and how we rank our schools. Thank you, Director Flood, and good evening, everyone. So to determine how we identify our Title I schools. We do it based on a poverty counts, and we're ranking our schools. And so every year, as it was mentioned, we go through this process to. Identify the schools in the attendance areas. We then rank the schools, and then we determine the allocation for each of those schools. So how do we identify those schools? They're based on 2 data points, and those data points are the September 30th student enrollment,
059and this is validated by our pupil accounting and school boundaries office. And then our October 31st. direct certification enrollment data based on the data we receive that is validated by our food and nutrition services. We use the direct certification data, because this is a process which children are. Excuse me, children are identified as certified for free meals, eliminating the need for household applications. So when we're thinking about our schools that are identified as community eligibility provision or CEP schools. which we have over 125 of those schools. These are the schools that are not collecting lunch forms. They are directly certified. And so this correlates with the economically disadvantaged student group. on the Maryland report card, as they also use direct certification. And for a student to meet one of the criteria for direct certification. Um,
060their household is identified for either SNAP. or food supplemental program, which is how Maryland terms the program as well. Temporary assistance to needy family, Marilyn also terms it as temporary cash assistance or a foster child. So here's an example on how we use the 2 data points to determine the percentage of poverty. So, as you can see, this is Achievers Elementary, and on September 30, th there was 494 students. enrolled, and on October 31st. 312 were directly certified, which gives us a percentage of poverty for that school at 63.16. So we do this process for every single school within the district. based on that data. So now that we have how we calculate the percentage of poverty. Now we go through that ranking process, and the schools are ranked in descending order. of poverty. By
061law under ESSA, all schools with a percentage. poverty of 75% or higher must be served. Any school that falls below that threshold as a district, we do have a flexibility to rank the schools continuing and descending order, or by specific grade spans. And so and with grade spans, you can rank them. You're choosing elementary, or you can rank all academies or all high schools. But as a district for Prince George's County Public Schools, we do use grade span grouping. So again, we determine what the district-wide percentage of poverty for each school, then overall the district wide power. percentage of poverty, so adding up total enrollment, total number of students directly certified, and that gives us our district-wide percentage of poverty. Next, as I stated, we will rank all schools within a grade span. So we
062put the academies in the elementary schools together because there are overlapping grades within the academies, and primarily most of the grades are at the elementary. um, grade span within that, so those are ranked together. Middle schools and then high schools. Based on each of those three grade spans, each of them have their own percentage of poverty. And this can be what we are used to determine the cutoff point by grade span. So once we've identified schools and their percentage of poverty before any funds are given to the schools, we must do a reservation of funds from the grant. for the LEA. So those areas that funds are reserved for are district wide instructional programs. So one of the examples is we have a summer program that a stem program. That is open to our 4th
063and fifth grade students. So that would be funding for that under the district wide program. If there is a professional development that we're doing either for a grade span or content area. that is coming out of the central office that we're providing this professional development that is considered a district wide professional development. Education for homeless children and youth. That is under our McKinney-Vento program. This is a mandated set aside that we must provide funding for services for students experiencing homelessness. So in collaboration. With the McKinney-Vento program in that office. We determine what a reservation would be to provide services for students experiencing homelessness. Then we have equitable services proportion for participating private schools. This is a proportion of the total allocation that is taken off the top. These are for students who. are attending local
064private schools who live in Title I school attendance area. So they would live in the boundaries of our listed Title I school. There is provisions in the law that we do provide a proportion of the allocation for services, and those services can include. um, small group. um, tutoring. coaching for teachers who are serving those students. As well as parent and family engagement. The next reservation of funds is for indirect costs. And so indirect costs are those things such as the title one office is housed in a title one built in a Prince George's County building. We're not paying direct rent, you know, we don't pay for direct utilities, but those costs for things that we do, such as payroll and. And all the other things that you don't directly charge for is calculated through this
065indirect cost. Then there's parent and family engagement. The law requires that 1%. of the allocation is set aside for parent and family engagement, and of that 1%, we must distribute at least 90% to the schools. So each of the schools receive a portion of that. 90% of the 1%. And then finally, we reserve funds for the staff for the fiscal management and program implementation as we support. The Title I schools in any of these other programs that we are required by law to have. So for the allocations, as it was shared earlier, allocations are recalculated annually. And so again, this data point for September 30th and October 31st that we would receive in the current year determines the schools for the upcoming school year. We must always. Always, always serve the highest poverty schools first.
066So even as we serve schools below the 75% based on grade span, within that grade span, we must serve the schools. in rank order. So we cannot decide that a school that is at. 60%. We're going to skip serving that school to serve a school that's at 54%. It still must be completed and done within. rank order and the same would hold for as we determine what that per pupil allocation is. The per-pupil allocation that we would give to the school. cannot be less for a lower-ranking school. So here is a sample of an actual ranking sampling from this year. for our Title I schools that was submitted through our Title I application to Maryland State Department of Education. So as you can see here, schools are ranked in descending order when you look at
067column M. And so the school started at 71.98%, and then it went all the way down for the 107 schools that we have this year. This document shows their school improvement designation. If the school came in as school-wide or as a targeted school. the grade span of the school identification, if they are CEP school. And then in the columns N and O, those are those private school children under the Equitable services. who are residing in the attendance area. So all this information is here. In addition to the per-pupil amount that is allocated to the different grade span. So that. Per pupil amount is multiplied by the column L, which gives us our total allocation that the school would receive. This does not include what they'll receive for parent and family engagement. And that typically is
068between 4 and $5100. Okay, Director Flood. Yeah, so thank you, Leslie. So what I like to say is that Title I is an equity strategy, right? But not only is it an equity strategy, it's also built on an accountability commitment. So, with that said, um, I'm going to walk you through what we're doing, what we… What would the allocation for currently this school year, and then I'll take you through the projected piece for our upcoming school year. So currently, as I've stated, we have 107 Title I schools, um, through that pass-through grant, we received a little bit over 52.8 million dollars. And, as Leslie shared with us, we went. that ranking process, that grade span grouping to find out what our district-wide poverty percentage was. Um, and that's specifically with direct certification. From there, again,
069as Leslie explained about the grade span grouping, you can see here. The grouping of each grade span and the district or the direct certification cutoff point. So this is that ranking process of schools. From there, we look at an allocation. We really try to make sure that all of our schools have a meaningful Title I program. And we say meaningful. that they are able to at least be able to purchase a classroom or resource position. So each of the grade spans give a percentage of an allocation, so all of our Title I elementary schools and academies, as you can see for this school year, received 13. $1,380 based upon their pupil allocation. Middle school's at $11.90, and high schools at $680. So, using this process, it reflects both funding availability as well as it supports
070the accountability commitment to our grade span. methodology. So the next slide I'm going to just walk you through our projected data for next year. Um… And as the point of this presentation, we didn't have our data, so we really pay close attention to the news, close attention to what's going on in Congress, and we projected for next school year a decrease, just hearing what's happening in our nation. Currently, we projected about 50 million, a little bit over 50.2 million projected this school year, well, school year 26-27, we do know that we will have 104. Title I schools. So again, remember, this is an annual, um, ranking process that we do, so schools can come out, can come in. It's definitely an entitlement grant. Our district percentage for the upcoming school year is at 42.47, and
071again, you can see the grade span cutoff. of the identification of the ranking process of how schools are selected. And then again, for ensuring that a school has a meaningful program, even though with that decrease, here's the per-pupil allocation at each LEA has the… responsibility and the autonomy in identifying the per-pupil allocation amount for each grade span, as what you can see here. We again, it is a projection. All right. So if there are. I don't know if it was just for me or if everybody heard, but you froze a little bit at the end of your… I think the last thing I heard you say was projection. And then you froze for a little bit. Oh, wow. Okay, I'm my apologies. So again, this slide here shows the projection for school year, the upcoming
072school year. We do know, based upon our ranking process and identifying schools, we will have 104 schools for next school year. Again, this is annually. So we know that they would be a decrease of. schools, the allocation, again, here's the cutoff piece of the selection of the schools that make up that 104 schools, and as well as to ensure that schools have a meaningful program. And as a meaningful program that schools are able to at least purchase a classroom teacher position, we provide or have the autonomy to create a per-pupil allocation. And you can see. the per-pupil allocation amount here listed on the screen. So again, as I come to closing, Title I allocation again is more than just numbers, right? We really look at the strategic investment that we're providing to our schools and
073looking at opportunities to expand. um, closing the achievement gap, as well as reducing any barriers so that we can ensure that outcomes are improved. So, at this time, I'll turn it back over to my chief, Dr. Strader. Thank you very much for the presentation. I believe we're good for questions now. Thank you so much. Okay, board members, do we have any questions? Okay, I do have… I guess some up here we go. for Member Ajakaya. Hello, everyone. Good evening. Thank you so much for that wonderful presentation. And sorry, my apologies for having my camera off like pretty much the whole meeting. I'm currently at my PS meeting. But I did have a question about slide 8 talking about like the determining the cutoff points by grades there. So I wanted to ask if like the
074funding for Title I, um, for each school, like. I mean, of course, like, it's inside of this slideshow, but is that, like, a heavy portion of, like, the factors that are considered when allotting money to, like, all the Title I schools? Like, how much poverty each grade level is in at specific schools, or, like, you know, what is, like, what are the other factors that are considered there? Like, is that one of the main factors? Thank you for that question. Yes, that is the main factor. It is based on percentage of poverty. That is how all of the schools are ranked. There are no. Other factors that are taken into just those two data points, October 31st. for the direct certification and September 30th for enrollment, and that is how it is ranked across the
075nation for, um, for every school district. I guess my follow up question to that, then, in the way that things are funded. Those 2 dates this school year. in September and October of this school year, determine how much funding they got this year, or how much funding they will get next year. Thank you for that question. The 2 data points only determine. how the school is ranked based on percentage of poverty. It does not determine funding. funding as it as was shared on the slide, funding, it's a pass-through grant. So the funding is based on formula, census data of students ages five through 17 throughout the state. And then the funding goes to Maryland, and they then know the data per LEA, and that's how they then calculate the funding. Specifically, this data for this
076school year is used to determine whether or not they are title one for this year or next year. for next year. So, assuming demographics change. based off of this year, a school is title one. So they will be getting funding, and they would know that they are getting funding for title one. But those dates come next year, and they are no longer a title one school. So they would then no longer get title one funds for the. That is… that is correct. following school year, correct? How soon are schools notified of that so that they can prepare to make plans? Because it seems like that's a pretty significant. amounts of money, depending on the size of schools, like the. slide you showed, it's, like, 600,000 here. million here based off of their enrollments. how soon
077are schools notified of those changes? Like, you are no longer given this designation. So the schools are notified in the January, February timeframe that they have. They're either exiting Title 1. For the current school year, or they will be onboarded in the new school year, and that comes before this budget season occurs. And so they're aware of what the funding. Now, it is always projected. Because we get the funding, the allocation, it can come anywhere between. May to September. So we give projections and that's how they are able to budget their staffing as well as any discretionary funds after they've determined staffing. But we do align to the district's budget season. Which is why we need to help them, notify them that they're identified for Title I or not. Thank you so much. Vice Chair
078Brown. You're welcome. Yes, thank you so much, and thank you for the presentation. I think my one question that I do have. For the schools that are not Title I, I think I only have one or maybe two in my district, um, but for the schools who are not, I know some of them have a program where if kids are not able to have lunch, they… the principal has a loan, or. I believe that would be a separate pot, because for Title I, we only serve those schools that have been identified, and their specific budget guidance and supplemental funds to the instruction. All of our Title I schools are identified as CEP schools, and so those students receive all 100% of the students receive breakfast and lunch at no cost through this community eligibility provision
079of of. the National School Lunch Program. and and if I could add, thank you for the question, board member Brown. That's one of the advantages to our food and nutrition services program, expanding the number of CEP schools, because it allows the students to eat free, whereas in our non-CEP schools and non-title one schools. We still have to provide a meal if students want to eat, even if they can't pay for it. And so that actually ends up being creating a budget deficit across our schools that then we have to contend with as a district. That's incredibly. Thank you for the clarification. Board member Jackson Saunders. Thank you, Madam Chair and Dr. Coleman. I kind of want to follow up. or with what you just said, and then ask a question. Recently at the National School
080Boards Association Conference. We heard about the impact, potential impact of H.R. 1 or the Big Beautiful Bill. And beginning in the fall, my question is, is there an impact with regard to eligibility for Title I schools as it relates to SNAP or the lunch program? Because they also talked about the fact that obviously. If the school is not eligible, then students who need to eat comes at a cost to the county. So, and if I'm off base, just let me know, but is there any correlation between H.R. 1 and the. new policies that will come into effect in the fall and the budget impact on PGCPS. So as far as state legislation, I have not heard of any impact on our upcoming food service program. I would have to defer to Director Kirkland, our food
081and nutrition services director around federal legislation under the big, beautiful bill. Um, so I can take that question back to her board member Jackson Saunders. Okay, thank you. I would appreciate that. Thank you very much. for member adjacay? Yes, thank you so much. I do have a question and I'm pretty sure you kind of touched upon this already a little bit, but if a school does not like, you know, like they do not register or like they don't like they're not considered as a Title I school. By the deadline, do they have to wait, like, a full year to join? Like, what if they really need the money, like, in the middle of the year? They have to wait a full year to be able to be considered a Title I school, or what would
082that process look like? And then, um, in addition to that, is there part of the money that is being allocated for Title I schools? are like, are some parts of the money, like, you know, just being safe from schools who eventually do find out that there's Title I school, like, maybe in the middle of the school year, or close to the end of the school year, like, third quarter, fourth quarter? Yeah, so great question. So the money is reserved for the school year that we're in, so we can't save anything for following school year to support another school. So no, we can't. We're unable to do that. Um, so again, we utilize those two data points of September 30th and the October standpoint in order to identify those schools. at the beginning of the school
083year. So, in the middle of the school year, once we've made these identifications, that identification lasts from the beginning of the school year to the end of the school year. I am wondering. Oh, go ahead. I am wondering, and correct me if I'm wrong, Board Member Ajakaya, what I think what she is asking is. If you have that September and October date. And you find out now, this school has a high number of. students that now qualify them as Title I. But it is a new school year, so the kids that need the support are here now, but they were not designated as a Title I school the previous year, so they have to wait a full year. is what you all are saying before they receive funds. Did I get that correct? Board member
084Ajakaya? Yes. Those two data points, they don't change regardless of changes in demographics from a school. So if on October 1st. 20 students. transferred from school A to school B. the data that was used on September 30, th it's it's like solidified. That's the verified enrollment data. So any movement of students after. September thirtieth does not impact. the identification data that's used for the upcoming school year. And the same thing with the October 31st data. So although, let's say, you know, even if a lunch form was completed, or now they're directly certified on November 1st. They still have access to the meals and all of those things, but that data would not be counted towards identifying the school for title one in the upcoming year. Those are hard hard data. September 30th and October 31st.
085and want to also point of clarification, too. It's also an application process, although we go through this process internally to identify our schools, we then have to send that list to the State, along with our title applications to say, hey, this is what we're doing, this is how many schools we have, and we provide the list to. MSDE, who then approves the monies to be spent that way. So it's not like something we can do on the fly and make adjustments to student populations on the fly. It has to go through that formal annual application process. Board members, do we have any additional questions? Okay. Seeing none. Uh, thank you so much. Dr. Strader and Director Smith. If there is nothing else that you all have to share with us. I don't want to prematurely
086prematurely end you all's presentation before you all are done. Okay, seeing none. We will move towards adjournment. Thank you, everyone, for being here. I would like to inform the public that our next operations budget and fiscal Affairs Committee meeting will be on May 18, th 2026. Please continue to check our Prince George's County Board of Education website for meeting updates. If there are any. There being no further business. The time is now 658, and the April 22, 2026 operations budget and fiscal Affairs Committee meeting is adjourned.