001[Music] okay the date is January 21st 2025 the time is 1808 hours and I would like to call the frederck County Schoolboard meeting to order uh we have an agenda before us do I have a motion for approval Mr chair I move to approve the agenda as presented second we have a motion to approve and we have properly seconded is there any discussion hearing no none all in favor signify by saying I I any opposed nay nay opposed one opposed we have an agenda Mr Mr chair we have two requests to participate remotely one by Miss Linda Martin and one by Mr miles Atkins the request by Miss Linda Martin to participate remotely has been or Miss Martin has requested to participate in the meeting remotely for a personal matter specifically due to a medical
002reason in Frederick County I move to allow Miss Martin to participate in this meeting remotely I second we have a motion for remote joining and has been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I any opposed it's been approved and Mr chair we have a request by Miles Atkins to participate remotely Mr Atkins has requested to participate in the meeting remotely for a personal matter specifically due to a work commitment in Sterling Virginia motion has been made for Mr Atkins to Second stand been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I I any opposed now we have an agenda I do apologize Mr Martin thank you for keeping me straight we have an agenda before us to have a motion for approval Mr chair I move
003that we approve the agenda before us do we have a second second can you guys hear yes we can hear you was that hello we can hear you miles can you I'm hearing is music I can barely hear you guys and I'm I can't understand radio radio Mr chair I motion that we recess for five minutes to figure out the um issue that we have second all right thank you any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I recess for 5 minutes can we get a motion to come back out of recess Mr chair I motion that we return from Recess second it's been motioned to come back from recess and has been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I anyos all right we are back in
004session Madame Vice chair what's pleasure of the board Mr chair I move that the County School Board of Frederick County Virginia enter a closed session meeting for the following to review and discuss appointments administrative appointments administrative leave leave of absence resignations support staff hires substitutes tutors volunteers appointment of a hearing officer the superintendent's contract and goals of the superintendent pursuant to Virginia code section 22-3 711 A.1 and to review and discuss individual student matters that would involve specific students and particular information contained in their Scholastic records including requests for release from compulsory attendance for religious re reasons for an alternative education program pursuant to Virginia code section 22- 3711 a.2 for consultation with legal counsel regarding the superintendent's contract pursuant to Virginia code section 22- 3711 A8 I second that okay we have a motion
005to go into close sessions been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any any opposed we are close session all right again the date is January 21 2025 and The Time Is Now 1905 Madame Vice chair what's the pleasure of the board thank you Mr chair I move that the board reconvene from closed session second all right we have aot motion to return from closed session has been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I I any opposed we're now back from closed session mad Madam Vice chair Mr chair I move that the best to the best of each board member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully Exempted from open meeting requirements under the Freedom of Information Act Virginia Freedom of Information Act were
006discussed in the closed session and only such public business matters as were identified in the by which the closed session was convened were heard discussed or considered by the school board we we have a motion to certify the closed session M second and Mr Atkin seconded so it's been properly seconded any discussion uh Madam clerk I yes I I Mar I Mr Atkins Mr Atkins motion carries and Mr chair we have several motions out of closed session I move to approve the personal actions as recommended by the superintendent second we have a motion and it has been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any oppos motion passes Mr chair I move to approve the appointment of Mr Craig mcil as the hearing officer for personnel matters on an
007as needed basis I second all right we have a motion to appoint and it has been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed carries I move to approve the release of students A and B from compulsory attendance I second motion to remove from compulsory attendance has been made and properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I I motion carries and those are the remaining uh all the Motions Mr chair all right uh right now we are going to ask for a minute of Silence in honor of Mrs Tammy Nicholson a staff member from apple pie Ridge Elementary School who has recently passed away so join us in a moment of silence thank you for that next is our Pledge Allegiance Pledge of
008Allegiance uh I now ask everyone who is able to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and tonight we have some of our students to lead us in the pledge so if I could please have the students from the Virginia honors choir come up front please Al 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 thank you for that next is a consent agenda do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented Mr chair I move that we approve the consent agenda as presented second it has been motioned and seconded is there any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed we have an agenda next is St I cannot speak next
009is student and staff recognitions one second sorry absolutely thank you and we do have several proclamations today so I'll start with school principal Appreciation Week January 12th through the 18th whereas School princip schools work cooperatively to direct develop and inspire all members of the school staff and student body and to communicate effectively with parents to engage them in the learning process and whereas principles serve as educational leaders managing the policies regulations and procedures necessary to ensure a safe and effective learning environment for all students in Virginia's public and private schools and whereas principes and teachers are entrusted with the opportunity and responsibility of guiding directing nurturing mentoring and imparting knowledge to our children while they are at school and whereas principales work collaboratively with teachers staff students parents and the community at large to proactively
010prepare students to be self-reliant and productive citizens and whereas the Virginia School principal's Appreciation Week is an opportunity to recognize the hard work of Virginia School principles and to recognize the importance of school leaders in ensuring that every child has access to a quality education now therefore be it proclaimed that the Frederick County School Board hereby declares the week of January 12th through the 18th 2025 as Virginia School principal's appreciation dated this 21st day of January 2025 we have another Proclamation it is National School counseling week February 3rd through the 7th 2025 and because this Falls before our next board meeting we'll go ahead and recognize it now whereas school counselors work together with students families and School staff to help students reach their full potential and whereas school counselors are committed to helping students
011explore their abilities strengths interests and talents as these traits relate to Career awareness and development and whereas school counselors help parents focus on ways to further the educational personal and social growth of their children and whereas School C whereas school counselors seek to identify and utilize Community Resources that can enhance and complement comprehensive School counseling programs and help students become successful engaged citizens and whereas comprehensive developmental School counseling programs are considered an integral part of the educational process that enables all students to achieve success in school now therefore be it proclaimed that the freder County School Board hereby declares the week of February 3rd through the 7th 2025 as National School counseling week dated this 21st day of January 2025 and I'll turn it over for Mr Bell to read our school resource officer appreciation
012day I have a proclamation on school re for the school resource officers appreciation day it's on February 15th that's a day after Valentine's Day and have it on good authority they both they do also like candy and flowers um whereas school resource officers sro's Bridge gaps between Youth and law enforcement and embrace a Triad concept of school policing serving in informal counseling education and law enforcement roles to support students and communities they serve whereas school resource officers continuously lead by example and promote a positive image of law enforcement to school children and school communities whereas school resource officers create safe learning environments provide valuable resources to school staff members Foster positive relationships with students and develop strategies to resolve problems that affect youth with the goal of protecting all children so they can reach their
013fullest potential whereas school resource officers are valuable and essential members of the education community and deserve unwavering respect and support from the public in the pursuit of keeping schools and students safe now therefore be it proclaimed that the Frederick County School Board hereby declares February 15 2025 as school resource officer Appreciation Day a special day to show appreciation for school based law enforcement officers and encourages all citizens to show their gratitude with displays of support and personal messages dated this 21st day of January 2025 thank you Mr Bill and as Madam clerk has kept me straight on all these uh uh meetings we need an approval for the minutes from the school board from December 10th that is part of the consent agenda is it okay so we ar right see you're keeping me straight
014again all right now we're going to the staff and student recognition all right thank you Mr chair good evening and welcome everyone this is a portion of our Schoolboard meeting which we call the awards of Excellence program before we proceed I would like to ask that everyone stay here through the entire program out of respect for each individual who is being recognized once we have completed all presentations you will have an opportunity to leave and enjoy the rest of your very frigid evening hope you all are staying very warm out there in addition when you come forward for your certificate or to be acknowledged as a school please take a moment to pause up here with the chair and myself for a photograph then move to the right remain at the front up here and
015we will take a photo of the entire group being recognize and thank you everybody families and students for coming out this evening I have Mr chair come up right here in the front so we don't have to go down the stairs and we'll call you guys up thank you in November students from jameswood milbrook and Chando high schools traveled to Norfolk Virginia to participate in the Virginia music educators Association all Virginia senior honors choir this year there were 722 total auditions and 132 seniors from across the Commonwealth were selected for this prestigious choir congratulations to the following students from jameswood High School Abigail [Applause] Paxton congratulations [Applause] Julia egnot [Applause] Virginia press [Applause] Mac SE [Applause] Hudson Miller [Applause] and next up from milbrook high school Malachi Smith Shields [Applause] Isaac [Applause] Neil Emerson gendia
016[Applause] aralo and now from shando high school Cassandra Hughes [Applause] and annia Mason [Applause] congratulations [Applause] at the annual community commitment for change conference several FCPS staff members received the Tigger award the tiger award is is presented at the annual community commitment for change conference and embodies someone who never gives up never says no and keeps going until they find an answer tiger is the perfect example of how the community should view the children of our community and their families and with us today we have Elizabeth Fout [Applause] Sue Boyce [Applause] Tyler Thompson [Applause] and Mark Reigns [Applause] in November Frederick County school resource officers Sarah galbreth and Wayne Alsbury and school security officer Kim Nicholson swiftly responded to a medical emergency at mil milbrook High School their immediate intervention helped to mitigate the severity
017of the situation before the arrival of emergency medical technicians that the dedication and professionalism displayed by these individuals underscores the vital role they play in ensuring the safety and well-being of our students thank you for your service and with us today is Deputy Wayne Alsbury [Applause] next up is citizen comments Mr Mr chair we have administrative appointments sorry all right so we have a couple administrative appointments when I call your name please come up to the podium I to read a little bit about you uh then if you want to say a few words to the school board so first up I would like to call Mrs Crystal Marshall as our new coordinator of World Language please come on down please miss Marshall uh recently was in a position as a French teacher here at
018shando high school she's held since 2001 prior to joining Frederick County count Public Schools Miss Marshall taught French at L Ridge Community College as an Adjunct professor for four years Miss Marshall holds a Bachelor of Arts in French with a minor in sociology from Mary Baldwin University and a MERS in French from George Mason University please join me again in welcoming Mrs Crystal Marshall welcome congratulations thank you so I just wanted to say as a proud graduate of Frederick County Public Schools and a proud Frederick County Public School educator um I appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve our students and teachers in this new capacity though Shanda will always be my home I am excited to begin this new role thank you to the board to central office and to all those involved with
019this process thank you [Applause] congratulations okay next up is Jennifer Duckworth as the new assistant director of student support services please come on down she has recently served in the capacity as assistant principal at apple pie Ridge Elementary School since 2006 Miss Dorth also served as an assistant principal in Berkeley County public schools for five years and Elementary School teacher for six Miss Duckworth holds a bachelor's in elementary education from Shepard University and a master's in educational leadership from West Virginia University please join me again in congratulating and welcoming Mrs Jennifer Duckworth [Applause] congratulations good evening board Dr Hummer and cabinet I want to say thank you for this exciting opportunity and how much I'm looking forward to working with the students families and schools of Frederick County in this new role and I would
020also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Appley Ridge Community thank you thank you next please come on down is Miss Sarah Mason who joins the team at Jordan Springs Elementary as their new assistant principal having served as Frederick County Public School special instructional Services Supervisor of compliance Miss Mason also served as supervisor of special instructional services and a fifth grade special education teacher for FCPS since 2006 17 she brings two additional years of general education teaching experience in Witchita public schools in Witchita Kansas Miss Mason holds a Bachelor of Science and Elementary education from Shepard University a masters in special education from Friends University and a masters in educational leadership from Western Governor's University please join me again in congratulating Mrs Sarah Mason [Applause] congratulations good evening Mr chair Dr Hummer and members
021of the board uh thank you for the opportunity to take the next step in my career I'm excited and grateful to join the Jordan Springs Elementary community and support their continued success I look forward to serving this community in this new capacity working directly with students teachers staff and families in a more focused Hands-On role as the assistant principal thank you all right we have two more next is our our new assistant principal at Frederick County Middle School Miss Lisa Booth please come on down Miss booth has been a dean of students since 2006 at Frederick County Middle School additionally she brings another 12 years of experience in various roles with public education Miss Booth holds a bachelor in physical education and health education from Berea College a master's in health education from Eastern Kentucky
022University and a postgraduate postgraduate degree excuse me in educational leadership from Salem International University please join me in welcoming Miss Lisa Booth thank you Dr Hummer and the entire board for the trust you've placed in me I look forward to serving the community in a new way and continuing our work to make Frederick County Middle School a place where every student and every educator thrives thank you [Applause] all right last but not least please come on down Miss Caitlyn summer who joins the leadership team at milbrook high school as their new assistant principal having been in Lowden County Public School since 2012 Miss summer brings secondary experience as a special education teacher special education Dean summer school principal grade level Dean and assistant principal miss summer holds a bachelor in political science from shanadoo University
023a MERS in special education from George Mason University and a certificate in administration and Leadership from shannond University and and additionally she's expected to complete her Doctorate in Education congratulations and educational leadership from shanadoo University in May 2026 please join me in congratulating her congratulations and welcome good evening I want to thank chair stent the board Dr Hummer and Mrs altendorf for investing in my leadership and trusting me to serve the milbrook high school Community as assistant principal this professional opportunity is also for me very personal as I have three children in the milbrook high school pipeline I'm honored to serve my community in this capacity and I look forward to contributing to the continued success of frederck County Public Schools [Applause] thank you Mr chair Mr chair Mr B I would like to make
024a motion to pause for a five minute recess okay the motion has been made to recess and that'll give those of you that wish to leave the time to do so uh and it has been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signified by saying I I recess for 5 minutes motion to return Mr chair I move that we return from Recess I second in motion that we return from recess and been properly seconded any discussion hearing none all those in favor signify by saying I I Madam Vice chair thank you Mr uh that believe that motion passes and thank you Mr chair uh before we begin public comment uh we would like to take a moment and remind everyone that the school board updated our policy regarding public participation in meetings at our
025November 19th 2024 meeting pursuant to the updated policy all members of the audience and speakers are expected to be courteous to others and model for students how to respectfully participate in public meetings by speaking and behaving in a manner that adheres to our student code of conduct the student code the code of student conduct prohibits the use of profanity or slurs against people based on their perceived race ethnicity color national origin citizenship immigration status weight gender gender identity gender expression sexual orientation or disability it also prohibits disruptive behavior that interrupts or interferes with the orderly conduct of this meeting additionally pursuant to the updated policy if you brought any signs posters banners or like objects those items must remain in the back of the room so that you do not restrict the view of others
026copies of the updated policy 119 P have been provided and are available for you to pick up on the table where the signup sheet was located a QR code has been provided with each copy so you may directly access and review the code of student conduct which has been incorporated into policy 119 P frederck County School Board is please receive public comments at each monthly meeting from members of the public which include residents of Frederick County Virginia including residents of Winchester City Virginia FCPS students parents and legal guardians of FCPS students FCPS employees and businesses located within freder County Virginia individuals speaking to the board will be allotted three minutes those individuals representing groups organizations will be allotted five minutes with one representative per group upon recognition by the chair speaker should approach the Lector
027and to speak to the school board members of the audience and speakers are expected to be courteous to other is a model for students uh how to respectfully respectfully participate in public meetings by speaking and behaving in such manner that adheres to FCPS student code of conduct complaints regarding FCPS employees should be first submitted to school principal or to the School Board office complaints regarding individual students should be submitted to the school principal or appropriate School official School Board is committed to showing respect and courtesy to all citizens comments that are not protected under first Amendment of the US Constitution will not be tolerated this includes comments that are vulgar vulgar obscene threatening and comments that are intended to incite violence or breaches of Peace members of the audience are not permitted to interrupt the
028speaker or meeting by asking questions or making comments signs posters placards banners or like objects are permitted into the school board meeting but only if the individual Pro possessing such items remains in the back of the room so as not to restrict the view of those attending the meeting in person violation of the guidelines will result in the chair ruling the speaker out of order continued violation may result in removal from the premises we have provided copies of the updated policy as well as a QR code that will take you directly to the code of student Conduct Handbook they are located on the table where the signup sheet was located the chair has discretion concerning public participation at Schoolboard meetings the school board meetings are tape recorded for the purpose of clarification and the development
029of official minutes first is Christy Scarboro Christy Scarboro of the Stonewall District Mr sturdivan on December 16th you contacted the Frederick County Sheriff's Office because you had been receiving criticisms for what you did at the last meeting you then told a deputy that you understand how to block phone numbers and emails and have been doing it with success well I am now making a verbal foyer request for the records pertaining to all the numbers and those emails that you have blocked unlawfully next a little disclaimer what I'm about to say you guys are not going to like it whatsoever you're going to be disgusted you're going to be appalled and you might even be shocked but stent you specifically are going to want to hear what I have to say I only ask that you
030let me finish because at the end it will all make sense no use in shielding any of the children in the room or anybody watching and you're going to understand why you're the you're the fudge packing fairy Mr chair you're out of she is out of order you are out of order you are out of order you are out of order I'm asking you to stop stop it you are out of order ma'am have a seat you're out of order your time's up she's out of order I'm asking the deputies to remove her from the building please yes I asked to have her removed she was not reading the book she was calling what's your name ma'am what's your name ma'am what's your name ma'am then you're not authorized to speak you're not authorized to
031speak you're out of order you're not authorized to speak have a seat or or leave have a seat or leave esor from the premises please leave the premises ma'am Mr chairman if I may ma'am um there is a process if there's a book that you're not happy with then you can well she's using an appropriate language I'm not going to get into an argument or debate with you there's a process and you can go to our Fred County Public School website and you can use that process and indicate your concerns with that book or any other book that we have in our libraries now I do believe that Mr Stant the chairman of this board has asked you to leave and officers if you could please follow the uh authority of the School board chairman
032that would be great thank you ma'am your time is done I'm asking you to sit down or leave deputies can you ask order her out please I will take the time to look into this issue so this is a book in our library next up is Chris Lawson Happy New Year to everybody my name is Christina Lawson and I live in the Gainesboro District students attend school to learn hard skills like reading History Science and Math they also need to learn soft skills like teamwork communication collaboration and problem solving learning these skills comes from social awareness which is the ability to put themselves in another person's shoes talking and working with others that have different backgrounds will allow them to build relationships that can be used in all aspects of Their Lives recent surveys show
033that these interpersonal skills are at the top of the list of what employers look for in their job candidates the use of these skills enhances productivity adaptability and Innovation I understand that Frederick County Schools is working on a new strategic plan this plan needs to provide an environment where all teachers students and Staff feel safe recognized and accepted only in this type of environment can open and honest discussion occur and allow students to practice and hone their interpersonal skills only in this type of environment can our students reach their full learning potential I'll add this if we're not careful children can also learn less desirable things such as disinformation narrow-mindedness and intolerance these lessons can lead to bullying suicide and violence people are not born with these sentiments this learned behavior comes from our families
034our communities and our politicians I believe that school is is the perfect place to learn acceptance and understanding of others to learn that though we have differences we also have much in common if anyone's interested in getting honest information about the lgbtq plus Community there are good resources online I'll suggest the Human Rights Campaign at hrc.org also P flag at PF a.org please do your own research and don't let don't just listen to the rhetoric you hear in our community online or from some of our elected officials it is my privilege to speak up for those that might not be able to speak up for themselves it's my my right and responsibility as a taxpayer and a member of this community to speak out about the direction I think our school system needs to go
035I'll continue to speak up as long as hate and intolerance exist in our society and I encourage others to do the same thank you have a good night penny haery okay Angela McKenzie hello good evening Schoolboard members and staff and FCPS Families my name is Angela McKenzie if you know me or have received one of my letter letters I am praying for you and of course God always extends his mercy and Grace to us all Romans 8:28 States and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose in order for this verse to be true for us we must get it straight we must put God first love God and love others I believe that the purpose of life rests
036on three main precepts relationships respect and responsibility our relationship with God must come first and in order to love God we must first accept his son Jesus Christ and ask him into our hearts to forgive us of our sins and change us into His Image our relationships with others will not be right until we truly take this first step of obedience we must also show respect to God this involves prayer and studying his word the Holy Bible we must ask God to help us trust in and learn his word only then will we be able to apply his word to our lives we will not be able to trust and respect other forms of Authority in our lives until we first trust and respect God once our relationship and respect for God begins to grow
037then we will want to take on responsibility for his work his purpose God's purpose is that all men should be should be saved 2 Peter 3:9 says that the Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all men should come to repentance we too should want this for all men it is our responsibility to be Witnesses for Jesus to share our testimonies with others so that Hearts eyes and mind may be open to the truth of God's word that is why I have written my letters and that is why I'm I am here now now in regards to the lgbtq plus class for young children I believe that our Schoolboard has made the right decision in not allowing this class God does not want us to open up children's young minds with too
038much until their hearts have had the chance to be open to him we should not mislead impressionable young hearts eyes and Minds some things are just non-negotiable for example two plus 2al 4 that's a fact if a student says 2 plus 2 equal 5 we say no that's not right and then correct them and try to show them how 2 plus 2 equals 4 to me a man is a man and a woman is a woman and marriage and sexual relations should only be between a man and a woman it is confusing to children to state or show otherwise Genesis 1 127 States the male says that male and female created he them and Genesis 2:24 States therefore shall a man leave his father father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife and
039they shall be one flesh Jesus confirms these statements in Matthew chapter 19 and in Mark chap 10 I agree that young people who are confused about their identity and sexuality need kindness all people need kindness however showing kindness should not be done by affirming sin and pride and lust are sins we all need forgiveness and we all need kindness time thank you that concludes citizen comments next is reports um so next up is superintendent uh yes Mr chair thank you so um I have a couple items before I jump into my needs-based budget presentation so first I want to thank the school board for commemorating the moment of silence for Mrs Tammy Nicholson she served our school Community for nearly 30 years and she left a huge huge hole in our hearts please continue to
040send your thoughts and prayers to our family staff and students I also want to give a big thanks to all of our staff and students who receive recognitions and awards today we have a lot of magnificent students that make us all very very proud and a lot of amazing staff that lead this outstanding group of students and I cannot thank you enough for all of your hard work as I mentioned earlier the W the winter weather has not done us any favors I want to give a big thanks to our facility services staff custodians and transportation for all of their hard work uh as we try to open schools and a very safe fashion this inclement weather again is not getting any better we're hopeful for warmer weather in the coming weeks and we will
041continue to keep you posted as we navigate this winter season but thanks again to our staff for all of their their hard work on top of all their other roles and responsibilities I also want to thank the school board for commemorating our principales SRO and school counselors for their appreciation weeks in a day I also want to thank our school board for all of their support for supporting these individuals and meeting the needs of our students each of these three individual groups of individuals do so much for our School Division and community and we greatly appreciate your commitment to Excellence our principles work hard every day and making sure teachers and staff are in the right spot to educate and support our students while managing and maintaining the plethora of other variables throughout every day
042our SRO who are there here this evening which are very thankful for Sheriff mil Holland and allowing us to have our SRO in our schools and the many tasks and duties they perform every day as a true Testament to their dedication to our students staff and community and they remain committed to being proactive in keeping all of us safe and our counselors we all know have they have numerous responsibilities on a day-to- day from course selections to student support teaching classes and being part of numerous teams to make sure that our schools and staff are safe they also work very closely with our parents and our students as well as other very important tasks to make sure students are where they are supposed to be of keeping our school Community safe our gratitude is endless
043and please keep up the great work thank you Mr chair I'm now going to jump into my needs-based budget presentation for those in the audience and those listening at home thank you for being flexible this is located on board docs uh I have the presentation out front if you wanted to get a copy or it's on on board dos to look it over I'm going to be presenting to the board and if you all have any questions please stop me throughout so as I have mentioned this is my needs-based budget presentation this is for information only and there is no actions at this time so first I want to remind us as our what our why is and our why is our students we work very hard every day to make sure that we are
044getting our students what they need and that number continues to climb we are now over 14540 students students and we continue to have unique needs of each of these students in order for them to achieve their goals in order to get to where they want to go and that is our responsibility and it is our investment and our promise in our future this budget process is very involved there are numerous variables and aspects to how we collect our information to present to you all what our next year's budget needs to look like we gather information from our strategic plan we gather information from you all we gather information from our constituents and our parents and our students to make sure that we are putting forth a comprehensive budget in order to meet the needs of
045our students keep our staff and take care of our current assets this is a 9-month process from start to finish as a matter of fact when this budget is adopted hopefully in no later than May 1 we will get started on the next year's budget so thanks to Mrs Anderson and the finance team you know that is never ending and we are always looking at making this process better so that we can continue to work through every aspect of this budget which involves you school board so please as we work through this if there's additional information or questions as we navigate this we love your feedback we want to make sure we get this right as we work forward of again meeting the needs of our School Division back in October we started this process
046by seeking feedback from each of you we looked at the many different variables of where we currently are with sta staff initiatives where we're at with our current budgetary needs as well as our staffing and student needs and we came up with these budget priority proposals which you all adopted back in November December and we focused on these three specific areas we looked at our instructional initiatives for supporting our students we looked at our compensation packages for our staff which is very very important because that is what is the majority of the makeup of our budget and then of course we looked at our operation in regards to our operational assets which is the building you're sitting in which is also our school buses as well as the many different aspects to make sure that
047we're providing a conducive learning environment for our students we also have our current strategic plan we're in a very unique year where we are in the process of developing a new strategic plan that will be started in this upcoming school year in the fall of FY 26 each of these areas that we've continued to focus on over the Last 5 Years From our Student Success to the Recruitment and Retention of staff to culture and strategic Partnerships with the many different representatives in our community are a major contributor to meeting the needs of our students and meeting the future and the vision that we have for Frederick County Public Schools and Beyond we utilized each of these aspects understanding that the Strategic plan might shift and change as Mrs Knight and her team are currently working
048through but these aspects ects more than likely will not change we have to focus on our students we have to focus on our staff we Thrive when we look at the different Partnerships we have with this community and culture is also very very important to make sure that we attract highquality staff and to make sure that we have a conducive learning environment for students before I move any any further do I have any questions Mr chair I'll just do want me to wait to see if there's questions or you want me to keep going okay thank you sir thank you we also have a lot to be proud of there are many many different aspects of Frederick County Public Schools that we have to be very happy for and I can think of 14540 of
049them all of our students have something to contribute and each of their stories make us who we are we have a many different aspects of our operations from uh lunches we serve to the miles we travel in regards to getting students to school safely as well as the opportunities that we provide them through instruction we have over 90 C courses and growing we also have numerous dual enrollment courses 47 plus which we are looking at adding more of those opportunities as well as looking at the many different aspects of this growing School Division to align with this growing community and we want to make sure that we continue to stay on top of that and celebrate those many different areas we also have a lot of stories to tell the biggest story that we have
050to tell is our 94% graduation rate Which is higher than the state average I shared with you many many times I'm not stopping till we get to 100% but that is something to celebrate that our students are graduating and they are achieving their goals we have to find those other 6% to make sure that they are also achieving their goals as well we also got approval thank you to the Board of Supervisors in the community for the fourth High School which is a huge deal that's going to not only provide additional space but it's also going to add additional opportunities as we hopeful to expand on our CTE and du enrollment as well as other courses for our students as we continue to grow and expand however with that we have a lot of work
051to do there are additional areas and aspects that we need to focus on as we continue to address the areas that can see Improvement and we recognize those areas and as we continue to build out our budgets we have to plan and invest to make those changes first we are going to continue to look into our continuous School Improvement plan process looking at attendance making sure that we're working with our parents and our students so they understand the importance of coming to schools developing relationships with not only their peers but staff as well those important relationships are going to help our students Excel and be able to achieve those goals looking at Behavior Behavior does impede learning and we want to make sure that we put those supports in place to help support our staff
052so that every student is learning at their Highest Potential and then of course all that links back to the performance performance of our students as they continue to take high stakes tests as well as other areas as they continue to go through our Academic Program sorry my clicker here as I mentioned the Strategic plan that is a big deal and that is something that we're currently in the process of looking at and we are going to have to invest in those changes that we make with that strategic plan that is going to be a commitment for not only our Schoolboard and ourselves but for you all the community as we develop this new 5-year strategic plan which goes into effect next year that involves every aspect of this School Division and community so we're going
053to have to invest to make those changes so that we continue to improve and focus on those areas so our students are able to achieve their goals the next aspect which we've been talking about over the course of the last six or seven months is the new state framework coming out from the state and if you've paid attention to this information coming out from the VOE as well as presentations that we have done as well we have work to do there's going to be four categories that the state is going to hold us accountable for and it's going to range from distinguished on track off track and in need of intensive support we have numerous schools that are on track and off track we have a few schools that are in need of intensive support
054we have zero schools that are distinguished again I am not stopping till all of our schools are distinguished we have the resources we have the staff and we have the Magnificent magnificent student body that we will be able to get there and that is a high stakes goal that we are committed to work on to get us to getting all of our schools to our distinguished status but we have to invest in that we have to invest in our staff we have to invest in resources and we have to invest in the changes that I'll be presenting to you here in a second the other promise that I made it's it's again it's hard to believe that this is my third budget presentation to Schoolboard in this community and from day one I've committed that
055we need to do a better job of thinking ahead we have to look five and 10 years down the road to make sure that we are creating a budget that is going to be sustainable over the next five and 10 years so that we can continue to contribute to the students that will be here and are here now we have to take a look at the needs of our students as they continue to grow we have to look at retaining staff high quality staff and providing them with the supports and resources they need in order to meet their job because that is where all this starts because out of all of this our biggest asset is our people you our staff from our custodians to our bus drivers to our teachers to our administrators to
056our executive cabinet each and every one of them plays an intrical part in the day in day out of getting our students what they need and 83% of our budget 83% is our staff and we want to make sure that we continue to stay focused on those areas because our staff is what meets the needs of our students so now I'm going to dive into the budget and please Mr chair or other board members stop me if you have any questions we're going to focus on three parts of this budget which is the operating budget Debt Service fund and our capital projects funds which I'm going to break those down here right now the other aspect of my promise is to make sure that not only are we thinking ahead but we're looking at the
057phase and approach of the different aspects of this budget we're going to be looking at our staffing standards we're going to be looking at the declustering of our pay scales from back from 2010 in the recession where we have to fix those pay scales over years of getting zero or minimal pay increases as well as taking a look at other incentives that we can progressively add on the other promise that I made is that we will continue to be good stewards of our dollar so every year I have tasked my staff to take a look at our budget and look at our line items to see are there any shifts of of money that we can utilize so that we can request less from the locality now this isn't hidden money this isn't money that's
058just sitting there that we can access this is money that is built into our budget that maybe we didn't use on a given year or maybe it was shifted or maybe there was some moves that we've made and we have determined that there was $650,000 that we can reallocate within our budget so that's 650 less that we are requesting from the locality and we will continue to take a look at that because that's going to change year to year it's going to change on our needs it's going to change on our instructional practices and it's going to change it's going to change when we have make those adjustments ments in regards to how we are fiscally being fiscally responsible with our budget so first if you remember excuse me with our need with with our
059Schoolboard budget priorities there were three areas that we wanted to focus on the first was compensation packages so for the four staff groups of staff that we focused on were teachers which was a 4.9% average across the board our classified staff which was a 5 6% across the board that's our custodians Administrative Assistant bus AIDS we also have our other personnel which was a 4.4% average across the board which that includes our psychologists diagnosticians our athletic trainers as well as some other folks and then a 3.4% for administrators and supervisors so a breakdown of each of these groups across the board we started with our colola which is a cost of living adjustment which is a 2.5% that's determined by the Social Security office so we don't just randomly make up that number and we
060started there if you also recall we're at the second year of the banum for our governor the governor comes out with a budget every two years and part of that was a 3% increase each of his two years of his budget so we've increased another 05% to get to that 3% average and then here's where we are going to be phasing in the different aspects of our budget so as we talked about last year we're trying to unclustered years of experience because our pay scales have gotten compressed and clustered due to the years of no pay increases so we want to stretch that out as we've talked about we are also looking at adding $5,000 for one more year and that will be 24 years or more this past year we did 25 years or
061more and that made a significant difference because as we've talked about in personnel and through survey data staff are leaving us to go to school divisions above the Coca line to get that three years uh average before they retire so if we're if we can get us closer to that and it also shows our dedication and our acknowledgement for our staff that commit to 25 years and in this case if this gets approved it would be 24 years and then of course we also bumped our starting salaries for our staff to 54,000 and that was something that we worked on so that we can stay competitive with neighboring divisions we also recognize that we have to do a better job with our classified staff in regards to compensation these folks keep our School Division running
062they are an intrical part of our School Division and this is our custodians Facility Services bus drivers cafeteria workers across the board and not only are we losing some of them to neighboring divisions but we're losing them to retail and we have to keep up with those pay increases in order to keep the great staff that we have so we started with the 2.5 we increased to the 3% and then we also unclustered years of experience and then also provided them a a step to get to that 5.6 average across the board we also looked at our other professionals and we started with the 2.5 increased to three we looked at those steps to get to the 4.4 and then also our administrator supervisors and coordinators same started at 2.5 and then increased from there
063to get to a 3.4 average we also wanted to focus on three other specific groups that we've identified as needing additional compensation to keep the great staff that we have and the first group is our instructional and bus assistant we've recognized not only are we losing them to neighboring divisions but we're also losing them to retail and those are intrical part of our School Division as you know bus assistance on a bus supporting students with unique needs as well as our instructional assistance in the classrooms and this is across all three levels we also wanted to take a look at our school security officers as we've talked about many many times safety is important and number one and this isn't our SRO our sros are also an integral part of our School Division but we
064do not fund them that the county funds them we these are school security officers that are in the building and also have an integral part of keeping our school safe when we did a study we recognized that they were underpaid when you compare them to neighboring divisions so that is an area that we wanted to focus on and then another area talking with our middle school principls and our team we currently have Middle School lead teachers at the middle school level as our numbers climb and as responsibilities climb we recognize that we need to provide additional support for our Middle School administration so we've taken those lead teachers and we moved them to a what's called a Dean rooll which would be a 12-month position and that will help with administrative responsibilities help with referrals
065help with day-to-day tasks but it's also going to be a farm system to raise good administrators so that we could replace administrators as they retire and leave Frederick County so we're starting that at the middle school level lastly we talk about this probably at every Personnel meeting and this is something that we talk about quite regularly with our administrators is the need for additional special of special education support specifically our Learning Centers we've recognized that with the additional training that these individuals require to meet the needs of our unique students or the needs of our unique students we want to make sure that we provide them with the supports that they need and unique needs so we wanted to focus on our level two teachers and instructional assistance by adding an additional salary bump 3,000
066for teachers and 1,000 for our instructional assistants and that would be built into their salary not a stien so it will go towards vrs we've also recognized that we're having a hard time filling those positions so we want to be able to compete with neighboring School Division so that we can keep great staff and attract staff to fill those vacancies next up is our instructional initiatives first is our staffing standards this is something that we work very very hard on to make sure that we're being good stewards of our positions so that every school is staffed based on the needs of their students and we had a lot of conversations with our principls with our staff with you all in regards to where we're at with the Staffing standards and as I mentioned this is
067going to be a three to five year process to get us where we need to be with our local standard of course we can't go below what the state says we need to be at and the state does not do us any favors when it comes to the so soq as we've spoken about so until that gets fixed this is an area that I'm going to be proposing we continue to work on to staff our schools so we started with conversations with our principles looking at our staffing standards of a 50 position request in this upcoming budget but we were able again as we promised to look at our current positions and we were able to shift 10 positions into those 50 for a request of 40 if you recognize down at the bottom there
068we are now focusing on operating staff as well as we're proposing three additional security officers at High School school as well as five additional custodians because those were an area that we definitely need to see significant Improvement in regards to Staffing at our high schools and two of our elementaries next up for instructional initiatives is our NR program our NRE program is a regional program with a partnership of Clark Winchester City and Frederick County we have over 240 students in this program that range from Early Childhood special education to school age student with significant needs and these students are placed there from each of these divisions and we provide services to those students who are who it's not appropriate for them to be in the public school setting as determined by an IEP team and
069with the growth and with the Staffing increases we are at a $700,000 increase for nrep they are overseen by a board from the three superintendents from each of those respective divisions so we meet regularly to talk through these needs and that is something that we talk about quite regularly as we continue to look at the Staffing and the needs of the students in that program next up is the enhancements elevations and expansion of our instructional Department Mrs Knight and her team have done a phenomenal job as we started with the reorganization as well as working with our schools in regards to how we're providing professional development and learning and providing our administrators and staff what they need to meet the needs of our students and we've identified specific areas that we need to improve now
070there are two main focuses with this budget that are going to be a shift for us for Frederick County Public Schools and one of those is going to be on this slide here which is the data management system we have a lot of antiquated processes and it is the no fault of anybody it is because we have not funded ourselves in order to meet and keep up with 21st Century Learning and 21st century needs so whenever we need data or provide data to schools we are pulling it from multiple sources hoping that the data is correct because it's pulled from spreadsheets and there's human error and a lot of times we get it right but it takes a long time and that time can be spent of working with schools on how to interpret data
071a lot of that time could be developing programs and developing our staff but we've spent so much time on the process that it's taken away from all the other things that we need to do and I will share with you that we are behind when it comes to this data management system so this is going to be one area that we will need to challenge ourselves as we continue to grow and as we continue to stay committed to moving the needle for kids and this is something that our Administration is very very uh happy for and they're looking forward to that next up is curriculum development taking a look at what we're doing currently in regards to the rigor of our instruction and making sure that we are one spending the money that we currently
072have wisely and secondly making sure that we are continuously assessing ourselves to make sure that we are moving the needle for kids in a positive direction so Mrs Knight and her team has recommended a shift in the curriculum development process so there is some rigorous development that she's looking at in regards some additional funding there as well as expanding our professional learning opportunities for not only our teachers but our administrators our classified staff for us to make sure that we are continuously in a growth mindset that we continue to shift and change with the needs of our students and we continue to provide them with high quality instruction next up is our operating fund as I mentioned we want to stay committed to the future we have to continue to look ahead one of those
073areas is making sure that we invest in modular space now again modular space is not something that we want down the road but it is something that is going to be temporary and in years past we have never pulled money out of an operating fund for the lease and for the modular we've pulled it out of unobligated dollars or cost savings but in order for us to get ahead of this until we can build new schools and expand which we're in the process of doing we need to continue to invest in these modulars we are looking at other schools as I mentioned to you all bass Hoover James Wood and milbrook right now we are just moving forward with Middletown and to The Testament of our commitment we've determined that we did not have to
074added modular to Jordan Springs which is going to save us some money down the road and that was due to Mr Goodwin and his team to really doing a fine Toth comb of making sure do we truly need those and that saved us some money for the long run next up is committing in Safety and Security Mr Bell did you have a question I can stop there Mr chairman may I um I was just curious how many modular does that uh entail $175,000 so for Middletown Mr Goodwin do you know how many that is I think it's five no 10 sorry I saw Kristen's five and I missed her other hand it is 10 sir for 175,000 that's yes that is the lease correct okay yes per unit or that's total that's total toal total
075okay thank you yes sir thank you the I understand great question Mr Bell thank you thank you team next up is our Safety and Security this has been a really big deal and I put a lot of credit to Mr Conlin and in his vision to keep Frederick County Public School safe he does a fantastic job but as we know he's looking for more resources to make the things happen with his goals that he has for his Department in this school division he is very active he works very closely with our administrators with the Sheriff's Office and we've identified some areas that we need to improve uh he continues to work on updating our locks updating cameras as well as other areas of improvement Mr Conlin and Miss Williamson are also Masters at finding grants
076they've actually found a couple grants to fund a lot of our projects and we thank them for that those efforts to save us some money and also to show to show all of the work that he's doing he's currently in a coordinator role and we we are recommending that he goes into director role with all the work and oversight that he does it's hard to believe that we didn't have this position let alone Mr conin just over a year ago and we are definitely very far from that with everything happening within our schools Across the Nation so again Mr conom we thank you to that Testament so that is something that we want we're recommending that he increase to a director role next up is transportation as I've shared with you all the magic number
077for our bus replacement is 13 we're currently at 9 so our recommendation is to add two more buses which would bring us to 11 if Mr Shepard were here he would share with you that this salt and all this ice and snow is definitely not helping the longevity of our buses as a matter of fact we had a couple buses that wouldn't even start with these frigid temperatures so he's working very hard to make sure that all of our buses stay in good working order but in order to do that we have to make sure that we have a regular replacement cycle as I mentioned we travel over 2.5 million miles a year a year with our buses so we want to make sure that we are staying on top of that and that replacement
078cycle next up to close out our operating fund we're asking for additional 100,000 for technology for replacement of devices as well as a school nutrition transfer which would help with the meal debt as we've spoke about many times and then here's the second area as I mentioned to you there are two areas that is going to be a challenge for us to move forward because this is going to be a change in regards to how we operate as a school system and again we are Antiquated when it comes to our human Capital management system because it currently does not exist we currently use many different programs to oversee the interviewing process to oversee evaluations which are paper pencil uh and there's just many different aspects that we just need to improve and it's going to
079help with time it's going to help commit to the things that we need to improve and it is an investment but it is a change and if we want to continue to promise to that investment and promise to that growth we have to invest in those changes it's a big deal but we we are invested in making sure we make those changes Mr Bell Mr chairman may I okay thank you um with regards to school nutrition transfer and the $100,000 of unpaid student meal balances I just want to bring the Public's attention to a potential bill that is uh being floated around uh Richmond right now where public school students across Virginia would soon be getting free breakfasts under a newly proposed bill um and the price tag for that is 43 million and that
080would in Compass all public schools in the state of Virginia I'm curious if we know what the breakdown of the uh unpaid student meal balances are with regards to how much for breakfast versus how much for lunches M Mrs Anderson I see you mouthing to me over there if you don't mind that's something that we can follow up in a finance committee an answer to your question thank you and then my second question uh or request is I know this isn't on this particular budget and I know this isn't an EXT this isn't a very popular idea but I still would like us to look at how much it would cost to provide free lunches not breakfast just lunches to all of our students in uh Frederick County if that's something that you could do
081so yeah so Mr Bell I'm going to get to that point of this presentation in regards to additional requests I'm going to talk about timeline and requests I understand but I wanted to bring it up anyway absolutely yes sir so we've made note of that and we'll continue to talk talk about it I appreciate it thank you yes sir Mr Bell thank you um on another note as as Mr Bell mentioned and I had conversations with other board members about this with that school nutrition transfer there is a couple bills that are currently in the general assembly one of them being free breakfasts across the board and if the state funds that of course we would factor that into this request and make those adjustments the state does not do us any favors in regards
082to when their budget comes out versus when our budget is required to be finished per state code but if you recall last year we did get additional money from from the state and we worked with the county and we gave some of that money back again as as good stewards and Faith to our and word faith to our word is that we want to make sure that we're doing this right so there was additional money that we did give back to the county so if that happens and we don't get to a point where this is approved or not and the state gives us money after the fact we can have that conversation of where that money would go if we want to give it back to the county or not okay so here's a
083breakdown over to the left where it says fy2 that's what you call a baseline budget that's where we at right now that's where if we had no increases just straight across the board that's where we would be over to the right is our proposed changes as you can see we are commensurate with the local transfer with the state transfer the governor's budget Cal tool just came out in December we did anticipate some additional money with that there's also conversations in general assembly which happens every year from both the house and the Senate to potentially increase that amount of money we'll get get from the state and if that happens which we're hopeful we will see a decrease in the County transfer so the more we get from the state the less we will be asking
084from the locality Don't Panic with that federal dollars going down that's just because we're getting further and further away from that taboo word of covid so those covid dollars are going away and then those other receipts are going to be your day-to-day operations such as use of facilities or tax return or excuse me not tax returns Insurance returns so that's where that we get those additional dollars which we account for in our budget so the last two items here are our debt service fund and this one is an interesting one because we would not be requesting an additional 1.5 the reason we are is because we asked for additional money last year if you recall for our debt service fund but the county which we are very thankful they paid for this and this is
085just a matter of fact is they took it out of their Capital project fund which is one-time money so since they took it out of their Capital project we have to make sure that we don't lose sight of that so we had to add that back in and they can choose how they see fit in regards to paying off that debt so that's why you see that little orange bar and that's why we are making that request again because we're anticipating that we wouldn't be asking for it for this upcoming year next is our Capital asset projects Mr Goodwin and Mr Davis have worked very closely with our finance office to get this list to where it is in regards to Priority before it was alphabetized but from the request from you and our Board
086of supervisors we put it in priority order and these are the area these are the projects that we've determined of areas of improvement for our County last year we were at about 19 million this year we're at about 14 million and that's thanks to you all On The Board of Supervisors for allowing us to spend unobligated dollars spending the three million that we got last year from our Capital project ass from the county as well as the S cost savings at the end of every year we've been putting that towards these projects so we have been chiseling this down which we are very very thankful for but we're still at a $14 million ask in regards to the assets that we currently have and making those improvements so last but not least just want to
087provide a timeline for you all as as I was just sharing with Mr Bell is we this is my needs-based budget presentation to you all and that's what it is a needs-based budget presentation we then have a public hearing on February 4th but we also are going to have numerous budget and finance committee meetings as a matter of fact our first one is this Thursday yes it is for the finance committee but I encourage all board members to participate as we continue to navigate and work through this budget you all then will be asked to adopt the budget on February 18th but before that we are going to have a budget work session as a board and we're also going to be having a joint work session with the Board of Supervisors which I'll be
088providing them with the same presentation plus or minus items that you want me to discuss with them so we can have an open conversation and dialogue in regards to where we think we are are with current revenues as well as what we can look forward to in regards to the asks that we are requesting from them from now until February 18th is when you all should be making the request and those changes because as I mentioned to you all last week there is a timeline that we have to abide by and getting the county our proposed budget as well as so they can get the budget to make those adjustments and needs met in regards to the entire County so this is my needs-based budget if there's things you want to see adjusted or change
089you all can do that accordingly as you know uh and then that will go before the Board of Supervisors with hopes they approve that in April and then you will be asked to approve the budget in April as well which you can make additional changes at that time before you approve the calendar is located on our website so if you have any questions let us know we also have Town Halls we have three town halls the one here at shando is going to be February 26th also have February 11th and the 19th we are going to record one of those for folks that aren't able to make it in person I very much enjoy these genuinely speaking because I get to have a a very very involved conversation with a lot of our constituents in
090regards to our budget I enjoy that very much as I'm sure you guys can tell and I'm looking forward to those conversations with our staff and the constituents of this amazing community and I just want to thank you I want to thank our school board I want to thank our team for all of their hard work with putting this budget together it is very very arduous but it is very very needed and it's good work I want to thank all of our staff and all those at home watching and with that Mr chair that is my needs based budget presentation thank you sir and thank you Schoolboard thank you Dr hmer uh next is new business we have committee reports building and grounds meeting from January 13 2025 Mr chairman here are the minutes from
091the buildings and grounds committee meeting on January the 13th meeting the builds uh buildings and grounds Committee of the Frederick County Public School Board was held on January the 13 2025 the meeting was called to order at 4:32 and a copy of the minutes have been provided to each board member during the meeting Mr Davis discuss the capital projects updates Mr Kenny gave an update on the capital Improvement or CIP uh projects Mr Goodwin shared an update on the fourth high school project and discussed the A&E selection process Mr Thompson reviewed the diesel program at DJ Howard Mr Goodwin gave an update on the modular at Jordan Springs Elementary School and Mr David Frank from penon Associates discussed the proposed easement for Frederick water at shano high school the meeting adjourned at 5:21 additional details
092regarding the committee meeting are included in the minutes provided to board members do board members have any questions about what was covered the buildings and grounds committee meeting held on January the 13th seeing none at this time I move the board approve the proposed easement at shando high school second okay we have a motion and it has been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed passes one last motion I move that the board approve the minutes of the buildings and grounds committee meeting held on January the 13th 2025 second motion to approve and been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any oppos carries next is the committee report finance committee budget work session from January 15 2025 thank you Mr
093chair and for everyone in the audience and listening I wish I could tell you that it was all encompassed in Dr Hummer's budget presentation because that was basically the topic of our finance committee meeting so we are in budget season so the meetings for the finance committee are going to be very long and very detailed so um but I try to keep them fun so please do come out and um and participate and get your question and at least get that an get uh that information so that you can get your questions answered later and you can always reach out to me or any of the board members if you do have any questions as we go through this process so uh without further ado the finance committee report for January 15th 2025 a meeting
094of the finance committee of the Frederick County School Board was held on January 15th 20125 the meeting was called to order at 4:34 p.m. and a copy of the minutes has been provided to each board member during the meeting Dr Hummer reviewed the agenda and share the budget timeline and the Virginia state code pertaining to budget Mrs Anderson discussed FCPS facts Revenue supporting the operating fund where operating funds are spent in the development of the superintendent's proposed budget she also Shar the fiscal wide 2020 fiscal year 2023 comparative cost per pupil compared to a 30 mile radius the fiscal year 2024 2025 average salary for teachers with a bachelor's degree compared to a 30 mile radius the counties within a 30 mile radius the fiscal year 2024 2025 beginning salary comparison for teachers with a
095bachelor's degree and the 2025 salary for teachers with a bachelor's degree compared to Lowden County next Mrs Anderson reviewed the rate comparisons for bus driver school bus driver bus drivers school security officers and instructional assistance for fiscal year 2025 Mrs Anderson also discussed full-time equivalents FTE the state budget local Composite Index LCI how the LCI works for S soq funded positions And The Debt Service for the fiscal year 2029 next she shared the Staffing standards the tenative budget calendar and the fiscal year 26 budget preview Mrs Anderson also reviewed the cost of salary increases for all staff the fiveyear salary strategies the cost to remove the years's ex years experience clusters on the teacher pay scale as well as fiscal year 26 items to consider for salaries Mr Goodwin explain the difference between the capital
096Improvement plan CIP and the capital assets plan capap and between the operating fund the capital projects fund and the construction fund he also discussed Capital asset planning preventative maintenance and asset replacement next he shared how project priority levels are determined what tools are being used to determine the cost associated with the capap as well as the fiscal 20 fiscal year 2026 budget requests for asset replacement Mr Davis reviewed the capital asset plan facilities preventive maintenance schedule and asset replacement program for fiscal 20 fiscal years 2026 through 2029 Mrs Jordan discussed the notice of federal interest for arml elementary school and Middletown Elementary School the meeting adjourned at 5:27 p.m. additional details regarding the information covered at the committee meeting are included in the minutes provided to board members are there any questions from board members
097about the information shared at the finance committee meeting held on January 15 2025 all right hearing none and seeing none there are two action items I move the board approve the notice of federal in interest for arml elementary school and Middletown Elementary school I second that have a motion been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signified by saying I I any opposed motion carries I move the board approve the minutes from the finance committee meeting held on January 15th 2025 I second that motion has been made and has been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any oppos motion carries thank you Mr chair do we have any board member comments Mr chairman Mr B um folks thank you so much for coming out tonight on this
098icy cold evening here in shando um I want to thank the students and staff uh that we recognized for their hard work and we look forward to working with our new staff our new appointments um and uh big thank you to our SRO officers for keeping order in our meeting tonight and I want to sort of address that um I want you folks to know that are in the audience and also at home that may have watched our first speaker um Miss scarbo bro was bringing up a valid point it was the way that she was bringing it up if she has a concern about a book that's in our schools or any of you have a concern about a book in our schools then you need to bring that to our attention and we
099have a process that that's in place to address those specific issues and that process can be found on our website correct M Dr Hummer that is absolutely correct sir and if if someone wants to bring it to our attention here at the board meeting so be it but in a way that's conducive to an operating business meeting and that's what this is this is a business meeting you know this is not a grand standing moment so I would offer to miss scarb Boro if she's listening or if she listens in the future that uh to email me the book name and the and where which school that she found it in I believe she said jameswood middle but to be certain and we'll absolutely look into that book and make sure that number one it
100is in the school that she said it's in and number two we'll take a look at it um through the process and then make a determination and it's not just made by one person it's made by no less than what 14 16 people Dr Hummer correct okay thank you um and thank you Dr Hummer for putting together such a great budget I'm looking forward to this budget season something I thought I'd never ever say in my entire life but I'm looking forward to it so that we can better provide for our students and our staff um and that's all I have to say Thank you Mr chairman uh I just want to bring up a couple of things first of all thank you to Miss McCoy and the Warriors for welcoming us and hosting us
101tonight go Warriors um next uh I just wanted to make a quick mention of all of the folks who over the past two weeks have been spending the late nights and very wee hours uh of the early morning driving treacherous roads and then collaborating together to make sure that our kids and our staff are safe um seeing how that process happens is um it inspires me and make gives me a lot more confidence um knowing that the number one concern is making sure that everybody is getting back and forth to school safely so I want to thank those of you who are doing it and ask that you please be safe while you do it um with respect to the library books or really any um curriculum material in general Miss Garo like Mr Bell
102said had a great point about the materials in our library and I want to be absolutely clear that um I take very seriously anytime that somebody reports that there is potentially something objectionable in our libraries most especially if it comes across with um a lot of derogatory language or or graphic depictions of sex those things are not okay um and I want you to know that it's not a waste of anybody's time to ask to see these materials um the library librarian at jameswood middle school and her assistant her friends of mine and they're the best in the business and I can guarantee if you want to see something in that Library it's open to you just ask moreover this doesn't go into a bureaucratic black hole it really is worth reporting because that report
103is taken seriously it's reviewed I haven't been on one yet since I joined the board but I'm sure I will be eventually um and if Miss Garbo is is finding these materials if any parent or taxpayer is finding a material that they think is objectionable please tell us um because I want to know and I want to take it seriously um finally on the budget um much like like probably everybody in the audience as well as most people watching at home I just finished writing an exorbitant check uh to the county um uh revenue office um for what they think my house is worth I asked them if they would buy it from me and they wouldn't write me a check they didn't see the humor in that I wasn't kidding um given the exorbitant
104amount of new Revenue that will be coming in I think the modest budget proposal increases um that we're asking for are absolutely respectable I also appreciate that um they were very much tethered in reality um because schools cost money um and I don't want to spend that anymore than anybody else but I respect the time and effort that went into this and that I did not see bloat in that presentation and I'm sure we'll get into it in more detail but I just wanted to say thank you for that Mr chair thank you so to kind of dovetail into what Mr Bell and uh Dr kkin said regarding the library books for anyone who is curious about if there is a book in our libraries that information is publicly available to everyone not just students
105staff or parents of FCPS it's on a website called Destiny did I get that correct Dr hmer yes ma'am okay excellent so if any of you in the community whether you have kids in the school or your whoever you are if you have concerns about a book that could potentially be in our schools please please do look it up on Destiny and if it is we have a very comprehensive process for reviewing that book so uh please do bring it to to our attention I wish I could read every book in the library but none of us can sitting up here we just don't simply have the the hours of the day uh so please please do look at Destiny if you find it it's if it's in our libraries bring it to our attention
106via the process and we will make sure that it's t that it is addressed um also too a nod towards our strategic plan this is a massive lift so we're finishing up inpire 2025 which was the old plan it gave us a very good Bedrock foundation for culture in our schools we have a lot of very happy students a lot of happy parents and a lot of Happy Teachers so from that we want to build on that and that is going to run right smack dab into the new accreditation standards that are coming forth this coming fall so thank you to the five board members that took the time to fill out the survey we all seven of us were given a survey as far as what we expected in the Strategic plan uh for
107the board members that I've had a moment to speak to we all took constituent input in mind and filled it out accordingly so to the four other board members who joined me in filling out that that um very extensive and very well done survey thank you for taking the time um that being said there's a lot of surveys going out to parents and to students and to teachers so please take a few moments and give us your thoughts give us your honest unfiltered feedback of what you want to see our schools become because this is this is a very big deal um as I've said from the day before we're a third of a billion dollar business and our products are our children and they're most precious products we could possibly produce so uh this
108is a huge lift so please take a few moments to fill those surveys out um I get a lot of questions from constituents and concerns as well regarding our teacher hiring practices so I wanted to just give Miss frankley and her team a very good nod a solid nod we get a weekly update um from her team we as school board members do as far as how many teacher vacancies we have I'm very proud to report that we started the year of 70 vacancies we are now down as of this week to 47 so we are chipping away at that very nicely uh so thank you Miss freakley for doing that you and your team um also too I just wanted to put a little a little uh question that I brought up in the
109finance committee meeting that that wasn't included in a very lengthy um synopsis because it would have been far too lengthy um instructional assistance I want to give a shout out to our instructional assistants I wasn't fully aware of everything that they do um but you'll you'll notice I'm sure several of you noticed in the presentation tonight that we are giving we were hoping to give them a pay bump here's really the reason why they are taking over a Lion's Share of Duties in the classroom and that Lion Share means being substitute teachers as well we have had a very very difficult time getting substitute teachers and our teachers get sick and they have to take a day or they have a family emergency and in comes a substitute and lo and behold we don't have
110them so we have instructional assistants that have been pulling double duty have been going above and beyond and they need to be compensated for such so shout out to our instructural assistance and I hope the board will consider consider supporting that facet as well as many other facets of Dr Hummer's budget thank you Mr chair Mr Atkins hey I just want to say good evening I regret that I'm not able to be there this evening but um I'm I'm there in spirit with yall um I want to say thank you to the uh the board Dr H and his administration for um putting together that that bud budget presentation uh you know it's looking really good so far I'm I'm happy to chip away at it um if we can and you know give our
111staff the uh the pay that they deserve to keep them around as well as um look at our projects in a responsible manner um as far as the book thing goes um I had some time so I looked it up um it's the book's called flamer um you know sounds like a derogatory term to me I don't know why we would even have something like that in our library um but if we can have a a book like that with the language that's in it if that is correct why wouldn't we want to hear that and why would we stifle somebody's free speech I think that's kind of the appalling issue here um that we would be doing that um if a parent has a concern I understand the process I've sat on um those
112committees and the instruction committee uh where we've reviewed those books however if a parent has a legitimate issue where they're reading from one of our books one of our books that we give and and put out in front of kids then they should be able to use that language to address what they're reading I'm not saying go off the script or anything like that I find those words offensive myself however if we're putting that stuff in our kids' hands we need to do a better job as a school board and as an Administration that's all I have to see thank you any other comments uh Mr chair I'm sorry I just wanted to make a quick announcement if I may go ahead um this Thursday night at from 6:00 to 7: PM I will be
113at Bass Hoover Elementary School um the public is welcome to come and join me if they have any questions um we'll be talking about a lot of the things that we've talked about in our meeting today as well as um any other questions that you may have um I will be there from 6:00 to 7: at Bass Hoover Elementary School and that of course will be dependent on whether or not we have school on Thursday um if it's a delay we can still meet um I believe Dr Hummer that is correct but if we're out of school I probably will have to postpone until next week uh when the weather is more Cooperative so I hope to see anyone and everyone thank you our next school board meeting will be uh a budget public hearing
114February 4th 2025 at 7 pm motion to adjourn Mr chair I move that we adjourn the school board meeting this evening I second have a motion to adjourn has been seconded any discussion all those in favor sign signify by saying I I I any opposed