School Board Meeting - November 19, 2024

001[Music] ask you for not the date is November 19th 2024 the time is 1802 hours and I would like to call the Frederick County school board meeting to order we have an agenda before us do I have a motion for approval of the agenda Mr chair I move that we approve the agenda that is before us second okay we have a motion has been properly seconded is there any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I I we have an agenda Madame Vice chair what's pleasure of the board Mr chair I move to the County School Board of Frederick County Virginia enter a closed session meeting for the following number one to review and discuss appointments resignations staff support hires substitutes tutors volunteers and staff performance pursuant to Virginia code section 22- 3711

002paragraph A.1 and two for consultation with legal councel regarding Personnel matters pursuant to Virginia code section 22- 3711 paragraph A8 we have a motion to go into close session do we have a second second the motion has been made improperly seconded is there any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed we are now in closed session and we will reconvene at [Music] hours Madame Vice chair what's pleasure of the board M Mr chair I move that the board reconvene from closed session second we have a motion to uh return from closed session and properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed we are now reconvened and Mr chair I move to certify the Clos session I move that to the best of each

003board member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully Exempted from open meeting requirements under the Virginia freedom information act were discussed in the closed session and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which this closed session was convened were heard discussed or considered by the board second okay we have a motion to certify the closed session and has been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed motion carries that should be a roll call vote oh I am so sorry I apologize Madam clerk please call call the r Dr urin I Mr funes hi Mr Atkins hi Mr Bell hi M Martin hi Mrs Klein I Mrs Stan I now it cares cares Madame Vice chair do we have any motion we don't have

004any motions coming out correct no sir Mr chair we do yes we administrative appointment oh oh yes yes we do and Mr chair we do have administrative appointments um we have no administrative appointments it's just the staff as as I mentioned in s yes and uh Mr chair I move that we approve the personel actions as recommended by the superintendent second okay we have a motion and it's been properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I I any oppos that motion carries it is 1857 so I'm going to move that we just drive on without recessing for three minutes if that's all right with the board yep all right then so this is the meeting of the Frederick County uh school board and like I said it is um would

005you all please join me in a moment of silence thank you for that next is a pledge of allegiance um I now ask everyone who's able to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and tonight we have one of our students lead us in the pledge so if it could H if I could please have keer bford come up front please I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you so much great job all right next is excuse me the consent agenda do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented Mr chair I'd like to make a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented second all right it's

006been uh motioned and properly seconded is there any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any oppos that motion passes uh we would like now to pause and read our proclamation to show our appreciation for our wonderful FCPS staff whereas the Frederick County School Board wishes to recognize and express its appreciation for the dedicated service of all Frederick County Public School staff whereas their tireless efforts have contributed to the growth and success of our educational institutions whereas staff encounter students parents community members and co-workers of widely differing backgrounds and abilities and whereas we recognize our staff has provided quality services to all no matter what their backgrounds or abilities and whereas we recognize our staff has served Frederick County Public Schools with unwavering commitment and dedication to the betterment of our School

007Division whereas our staff has worked collaboratively with each other students parents and the community at large and whereas we are taking this opportunity to recognize the hard work of Frederick County Public School staff and to recognize their importance in ensuring that every child has access to a quality education now therefore be it resolved that the Frederick County School Board expresses its deepest gratitude to all Frederick County Public School staff for their hard work dedication and service to the county and the School Division thank you for that Mr Bell we're now at our point in the meeting where we get to recognize our amazing students and staff so I will now hand it over to Dr Hummer thank you Mr chair greatly appreciated so good evening and welcome everyone it's so great to see you all

008and welcome to the awards of of Excellence program portion of our meeting before we proceed I would like to ask that everyone stay here through the entire program out of respect of each individual who is being recognized once we have completed it all and all of our presentations you will have an opportunity to leave and enjoy the rest of your evening in addition when you come forward for your certificate or to be acknowledged as a school please take a moment to pause with the chair and myself down below which we're going to come down there in a second and then move to the right to remain at the front so we can take a photo of the entire group being recognized so Mr chair if you can come on down with me that'll be great

009thank you this evening we'll start off with FFA multiple events this fall students from jameswood and Chando high schools competed in various events around the country students traveled to the state fair and dawell V Virginia the National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis Indiana and the Big E eastern states Expo in Springfield Massachusetts results are as follows and we're going to start off with jameswood high school the Virginia State Fair agriculture demonstration the fifth place team Elena [Applause] Perez and Annabelle Franklin [Applause] and next up at the Big E eastern states Expo livestock evaluation the sixth place team Kylie [Applause] Bailey Addison green [Applause] [Music] and Julia Stacy [Music] [Applause] next up we have the milk quality and products fifth place team Faith Warner [Applause] Afton great [Applause] house and Lani teal [Applause] m representing

010sherando high school at the Virginia State Fair the dairyman's contest second place team Emma Weiss Carver she was also third place individual and Riley schulen Riley was also the Ninth Place individual and Addie Decker [Applause] next up the dairyman's contest fourth place team Olivia Rose [Applause] George twig [Applause] [Music] and we also have one more for that team we have Addie Gore [Applause] [Music] in swine proficiency first place Lea Stout [Applause] [Music] moving on to the Big E eastern states Expo parliamentary procedure Career Development first place team Sarah [Applause] [Music] Hawkins Leah Stout [Applause] Morgan [Applause] leg Caleb Green [Applause] Corine [Applause] kulie and Emma Weise Carver [Applause] [Music] moving on to the National FFA Convention and Expo agricultural sales leadership development event silver rated team Morgan leg [Music] and Morgan was also the gold

011rid individual and coren kulie the silver rated individual next we have the marketing plan leadership development event silver rated team Riley schulen and Emma we Carver [Music] [Applause] and now we have the agricultural technology and mechanical systems event bronze rated team Hayden [Applause] [Music] Williams and Caleb Green next up we have the Frederick County Public Schools honorary award Frederick County Middle School student keer bford is receiving the Frederick County Public Schools honorary aard for his work in organ organizing disaster relief efforts for those impacted by Hurricane Helen his program keer cares is currently collecting toiletries clothing over-the-counter medical supplies diapers bottled water and various tools keer was able to acquire a generator from solenberger Hardware as well a truck with the donated items will head to Tennessee and North Carolina at the end of the

012[Applause] month great job [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Penny Curry director of school nutrition services would you please come forward on October 16th the FCPS School nutrition services department received their Virginia Department of Agriculture and consumer services VDS review of the USDA donated food program the auditor had no recommendations to make as the team was diligent in their management of the program she stressed that that it is rare to see a district of our size managed with such a level of expertise and professionalism congratulations [Applause] [Music] [Applause] all right at this point I would like to pause for those that would like to leave and enjoy the rest of your evening please feel free to stay if if you wish to do [Music] so next up is citizen comments the Frederick County School

013Board is pleased to receive public comments at each monthly meeting for members of the public which include residents of Frederick County Virginia could you call the group into order please pleas ladies and gentlemen federick County School Board is pleased to receive public comments at each monthly meeting for members of the public which includes residents Frederick County Virginia including residents of of Winchester City Virginia FCPS students parents and legal guardians of FCPS students FCPS employees and business located within fed County Virginia individuals speaking to the board will be allotted three minutes those indiv idual representing groups or organizations will be allotted five minutes with one representative per group upon recognition by the chair speaker should approach the podium to speak to the school board speakers are expected to show appropriate courtesy to the school board and

014the school board is committed to showing respect and courtesy to all citizens comments that are not protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution will not be tolerated this includes comments that are 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 speaker or meeting by asking questions or making comments violation of the guidelines will result in the chair rolling the speaker out of order continued violation will result in removal from the premises the chair has discretion concerning public participation at Schoolboard meeting school board meetings are tape recorded for the purpose of clarification and development of official meetings or official minutes first on the list is Suzanne Miller Mr [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] my name is Suzanne Miller I

015come to you as a Frederick County resident of the B Creek District as a parent of a jameswood high school graduate and a current jameswood High School senior and as someone who has taught eighth graders for 30 years 26 of which have been at Frederick County Middle School school I'm here because I didn't want anyone to mistake my silence for indifference or acceptance of what has recently happened in Frederick County Public Schools and most specifically Fredick County Middle School I come with one question tonight as a board who are you you represent a county whose vision is quote an Innovative Community where caring relationships and authentic learning inspire all students and whose mission is to quote nurture all Learners to realize their dreams and aspirations yet your actions don't match the beliefs you were elected

016Ed to represent you've removed a principal who didn't just cancel the lgbtq plus Flex as requested he canceled them all why because all students matter to him he is actually the epitome of the bullet point in the FCPS vision statement that claims that we quote Embrace a culture of diversity and inclusiveness he's the epitome of Competency 8 in our career investigations class which reads quote demonstrates respect for diversity he is the epitome of the social and cultural empathy competency in in our inspired 2025 portrait of a graduate initiative which states quote Embraces the differences between people so he did all those things which our belief Systems Support and now he's gone this doesn't reflect on him it reflects on you who are you what do you stand for because your actions speak louder than your

017mismatched answers to questions that have been asked of you to explain the situation of Dr put's removal was it Flex was it scores do you know because we still do not I've worked in this County a long time by choice but I don't recognize us anymore I recently made sure to scan my room for any inappropriate or unacceptable items according to your new flag and Decor policy I found a few things that once upon a time might have been considered a celebration which is permissible under this policy but no longer bring me joy so I'm returning them to you one is a plaque I was awarded for being the 2003 Frederick County Middle School teacher of the year and a top three finalist for Fredick County Public Schools another one is a plaque I was

018awarded for being the 2006 Frederick County Middle School teacher of the year and a top three finalist for Frederick County Public Schools another one is a plaque I was awarded for being the 2012 Frederick County Middle School teacher of the year and a top three finalist for Frederick County Public Schools and finally here's the big one for one year in 2018 I represented all of Frederick County Public Schools as the teacher of the year at the time it was a great celebration and I still treasure the well wishes I received during that time is I was so proud to represent fcms today however I hand it back to you because I don't even recognize who Frederick County Public Schools is anymore and I'm disappointed with who we've become thank you CHR Scarboro [Applause] Christy Scarboro

019Christy Scarboro something tells me the Liberals in the room are really going to enjoy this speech hey retards yep I said it uhoh is the tolerant left not that tolerant oh no well tonight you're going to hear from obese liberal women some woke teachers a few Mr chairman per order in the room order in the room Democrats we are on recess at this moment until such time the room comes to order [Music] some of you here have said that numerous times to us and you can laugh and chuckle that's fine but we will conduct this business and if it continues to get out of hand then we'll take another recess Mr AEL Greg Abel excuse she stepped away point of order Mr stent she walked away from the podium so therefore comment no you went

020into you said you were no order my turn to speak um you you you violated and you walk away from the podium no I did not violate the rules now you're in violation of trying to mess with my first amendment make a motion that we go into recess go into recess all right go ahead back [Music] please seconded any discussion yes Mr chair sir if I may folks you're about to hear someone speak things that you don't like however it's only for two minutes if we can let this person get through what it is that she wants to say and honestly understand that we don't identify with that if we don't then we can move on to the next speaker so I ask you please hold your comments hold your booze hold your cheers and

021just let this person speak once this person is finished we can move on thank you Mr chair all right it's been motion properly second in any further discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed excuse me we're back in session miss scarber you have two more minutes uh excuse me uh can you start the time at three minutes that's the we started it too hey retards well tonight you're going to hear from a few obese liberal women some woke teachers a few one famous redheaded pervert and a handful of geriatric Democrats with the worst case of dry box you've ever seen you know I can't blame the people who are here to voice their opposition to putts demotion after all it was your lack of transparency that they are even here

022the citizens should have been told it wasn't the school board that voted putt demoted it was Dr Hummer after all let's move on to the lgbtq plus kindness Flex class nothing lgbtq should be offered to kids at school or anywhere for that matter far too many and perverts are trying to get in the minds of our innocent children to recruit them personally I won't tolerate that we've all heard the excuses the flex class wasn't a class and had no curriculum it was optional yet neither any of you or principal putt notified the parents of its existence and that's where you up it sure looks like FCPS tried to pull a fast one and slip that in but to putt and the rainbow Mafia seeking to defend him and his honor did anyone ever think that

023if putt had a problem with his demotion he would have spoken out about it instead not one statement has come from putt which seems odd until you find out what his current salary is the only thing putt is upset about is that he made the local paper a few times and there is no doubt in my mind that the super superintendent made a deal with putt it probably went something like parents are pissed how about you take this demotion less work and you'll get to keep your salary oh and don't give any statements about the motion or the contract will be void order order Greg AEL [Applause] good evening my name is Greg AEL and I'm speaking tonight as a parent of a student in FCPS a resident of the gainsboro district and a teacher

024at frederck County Middle School there are two issues that I would like to address this evening first is the removal of Dr putt as principal of Frederick County Middle School Dr Hummer you have stated that you are nothing if not transparent please tell me how an administrator's moved on moved on a Monday and no one knows about it until a Thursday and it is seen in your eyes as transparent you left an entire school with no direction for 3 days not only that when you spoke to the staff you mentioned that you asked Dr putt to remove only one Flex offering either you think the the faculty and staff are stupid or you did not think that statement threw thoroughly enough if you would have you would have known that by definition that is discrimination

025if you would have looked into this more effectively you would have seen that Mr Davy sent his email showing his disgust for the flex offering on October 3rd on October fourth Dr Puck kindly responded to this email informing him of the principles of inspired 2025 portrait of a graduate this is something that was voted on by the school board and is the governing doc document of our school system I know through emails that were shared with me that Mr Atkins and maybe you do not like this document however whether you like it or not it is the governing document until another one is created the removal of Dr putt has not only been hurtful to me but to the entire School a large P portion of our student population has been affected by this change

026you have created a culture of Fe within our building for both students and staff as you should know fear seriously impedes the learning process it seems to show a lack of vision and Leadership for our school and our school system as a whole you have intentionally misled us and that is not the vision we have secondly to the school board I find it reprehensible that you would come out in a public form and threaten the faculty and staff of this County it is funny to me that you can sit there and threaten the and judge these teachers while one amongst you is a convicted criminal for Insurrection and has had had multiple DUIs how can anyone that has committed such crimes sit in Judgment of us teachers that decide to make education their profession do

027so with one thing in mind supporting all students not just certain groups of students if you tell us that we cannot support certain groups of students where does it end would you like us to pick and choose because that would never happen will it will it be you that chooses what the students the students that we support because that will change with every voting cycle maybe it is you that been put on notice on notice for discrimination and for underestimating the teachers of this County as you can see from the attendance of tonight's meeting from teachers of this County and you can from other counties other than ours there is a reason that vaa headquarters received over 800 emails asking for them to support the teachers of this County it is because teachers all across

028this Commonwealth know one thing that we will support all students no matter what group they fall into I thought that it was the job of you the school board and superintendent that you all support students of this County this incident has shown one thing that you will only support the students that you deem worthy of your support thank you Vincent [Applause] Turner Vincent [Music] Turner Vincent [Music] Turner Chris Lawson my name is Christina Lawson and I live in the Gainesboro District when I was in Middle School my parents divorced and my father came out as gay this was 1978 and I was 13 as you would expect I was very lost and confused what did this mean for my family what did this mean for me did this mean I would be gay too I

029had a lot of questions and nowhere to turn the adults in my life who should should have supported me instead added to the turmoil I was told to be cautious around my father and his friends because they were pedophiles because they would try to recruit me I was told all about hell and Damnation I was told to feel shame I hear I am 47 years later still listening to the same hate ignorance and intolerance as I did in 1978 I don't think this is okay do you Middle School is tough for everyone and having something place I could go to ask questions and receive support would have been life-changing for me a club a flex period a trusted adult being told that there was nothing to be ashamed of that my father was still the

030same loving person I had always known that he was born this way and had done nothing wrong a simple act of kindness would have been a blessing having someone to trust would have been immeasurable I read something recently that said helping one person might not change the world but it might change the world for one person as superintendent and school board members your task is to create an environment where all students can live learn and Thrive your responsibility is to achieve the best educational outcome for every student it's been well documented that children learn better in a safe nurturing environment where they feel valued and understood what message does this send when a principal can be removed for wanting to show kindness to his students and staff since when did kindness become a dirty word

031lgbtq plus students are four times more likely to attempt suicide compared to their straight peers poor treatment and bullying have shown to be a significant risk factor affirming and inclusive school should be everyone's goal recent Pauls show that 14 million adults in the US identify as a member of the lgbtq plus Community gen Z adults are more likely to identify than older Generations there have always been queer people pretending they don't exist is a lost cause I decided that I could no longer be silent about another generation living through some of the same things that my father and my family did that's why I'm speaking out tonight I'm speaking out for others who are unable to speak up for themselves or their family members don't let this school board make the community staff and students

032complicit in dehumanizing and traumatizing another generation of queer people to lgbtq students I say You are not alone there is no shame and you have done nothing wrong thank [Applause] [Music] you Carol Pucket hello I'm Carol Pucket Alan Turing was a mathematician who worked for British intelligence to decipher the Nazis Enigma code his work helped end World War II because of his labor on this and other projects he was elected to the British royal Society in 1951 however he did not get to live out his life as a hero Allen was a gay man and that made him a criminal in his country's eyes he went from hero to criminal for no other reason than for whom he loved Alan Turing did not choose to be gay he was engaged to Joan Clark another brilliant

033mathematician in his effort to conform to so societal expectations he fought his nature and even took drugs supplied from the government to cure him these drugs changed his brain chemistry and he was no longer able to use his mathematical abilities Mr Turing took his own life in 1954 at the age of 41 imagine what other wonders he could have accomplished if the world had simply accepted him for who he was a according to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention suicide is the second leading cause of death of young people lesbians gay bisexual transgender queer and questioning young people are more than four times as we just heard four times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers the Trevor Project estimates that more than 1.8 million lgbtq plus young people seriously consider suicide every

034year in the US W and at least one attempt suicide every 45 seconds every seconds the Trevor Project found that 41% of queer young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year including half of transgender and non-binary youth the Trevor Project also found that young people report lower rates of suicidal thoughts when they have access to a firming space let me repeat that young people report lower rates of attempting suicide when they receive access to affirming spaces principal Jerry put provided a safe space for our community at his middle school by allowing the group lgbtq plus kindness to meet during Flex time this Choice provided a safe environment for students allowing them the respect and the support they so desperately need by removing principal putt you have removed the only safe space these students

035have you're also telling them that they are not valued members of the community and should not be seen you are ensuring that some of these students will follow inter turing's footsteps but not as Heroes as casualties of hate and ignorance you have increased the probability that these students will commit suicide you have blood on your hands Ashley Haynes Ashley [Applause] haes okay chairman members of the school board I am Ashley Haynes from the stone wall District I come here tonight as an FP FCPS employee and also a parent of a scholar at Frederick County Middle School I'm currently in my 19th year of teaching and I've had the pleasure of working with a handful of principles in each one has taught me how to be a better educator one in particular I have worked with

036in two different School divisions I started working with Dr Jerry putt when he was a principal at Daniel Morgan then in the summer of 2020 I decided it was time to make the change to come and work at Frederick County Middle School one reason I made the change was the ability to have Dr putt as my principal as with many of my fellow colleagues that work with Dr putt Daniel Morgan they made the change what does it say about a principal when the teachers are willing to leave their current placement and even change School divisions just us to work with him Dr P is a compassionate leader who Fosters an inclusive nurturing School environment where every scholar feels valued and supported he cultivated a positive School culture built on trust respect and open communication whether

037engaging with staff Scholars or parents he would actively listen and encourage collaboration making everyone feel like an integral part of the school in my 19 years of being an educator I have learned many things one of the things I learned from Dr putt is no matter what happened during the school day what matters most is the well-being of our Scholars Dr putt put every scholar first when Flex time was put into our schedule it allowed every scholar the opportunity to spend 25 minutes their day doing something they enjoyed Flex time is what we used to call home room or advisory period when I was in school it allowed Scholars to be belong to clubs and attend meetings which if those meetings were held after school many of those Scholars could not be attend they would

038get we also allowed them to get extra help in their academic classes from their teachers extra band or course practice or even take a walk outside on our beautiful campus these are just some of the flexes that were offered Flex time allowed our Scholars time with their peers and a time to venture out and try something new we did not have a hidden agenda or curriculum we were teaching we were just offering 25 minutes of the school day to promote scholar autonomy and engagement while still providing structure and academic support which comes down to about 5% of their day now as a parent of a fcms scholar sorry sorry having to sorry guys um having to telling him that Dr putt was no longer his principal was just as hard as when we the staff

039are told Dr putt regret every scholar in the morning with a smile a fist bump or even a high five why course playing music which for many of the scholars and staff was the highlight of our day then at the end of the day he would stand along the road waving goodbye to all the buses the scholars knew that Dr put was going to be there for them Dr put's leadership kindness and dedication made a meaningful difference in not just my son but to all Scholars he not only inspired them academically but also a sense of excitement about learning as a parent it is reassuring of know that my son was being guided and supported by someone who generally cares about their wellbeing thank [Applause] you Caitlyn summer Caitlyn summer next name Caitlyn summer Helen

040is it carrier or charrier hello uh my name is Helen Sherer I'm from the gain B District I'm also a Frederick County Public Schools teacher and I work at FCS I am a sixth grade math teacher at fcms and recently we have been subjected to troubling threats from certain community members and Schoolboard officials putting us on notice these threats come from individuals with a limited understanding of public schools purpose their responsibility to support this vital institution their commitment needed to prepare the community's children for uncertain future since we can only guess what careers today students will pursue and the new technologies they will encounter it is essential to equip them with the skills to engage with their future confidently throughout my 20 years in education I have seen that every student I've taught has something

041valuable to offer Society each child needs support guidance education and most importantly love they require more than just basic facts they need quality Educators individuals who possess empathy knowledge and the ability to connect with students to build their self-confidence and teach them problem solving and self- advocacy attracting and retaining such Educators is challenging especially when school board members openly criticize them in local newspapers and on social media the use of inflammatory language to belittle individuals and spread fear and hatred is unacceptable it has created an unsafe environment for many students and staff the actions of the school board promoting hatred and fear toward members of the lgbtq plus Community are intolerable no political or religious beliefs can justify discriminatory Behavior teachers who stood up against these harmful remarks and actions have faced further threats to

042their careers from school board members and their allies leadership through intimidation is unacceptable and will not lead to positive outcomes we must prioritize respect inclusivity and safety for everyone and when I say everyone I truly mean it my responsibility is to provide Equitable educational opportunities for students from all backgrounds including different families races religions beliefs genders and abilities I'm tasked with teaching not only mathematics but also values like tolerance compassion and empathy I must educate both the bully and the victim however I never anticipated that my students would also case Bing from the [Applause] [Music] board Holden [Applause] Alexander Holden Alexander [Applause] hello chairman of the board I'm H Alexander of gainsboro District I currently am a student at jameswood high school and a former student at freder County Middle School I'd like to talk

043about today the removal of Dr Putt and specifically how he helped us when I first came to middle school I was a little scared and I kind of felt better about it cuz Mr Putt was there he opened his all up with a uh friendly smile it was just a nice person made us all feel better he also brought in things like next project which Dr hmer I believe you were there and you saw how good we are we did stuff like launching a balloon we made movies all that stuff and then it was removed and we all and the last thing we had was Flex time which I just believe was removed I'd just like to say the Dr putt always thought about the students and he was one of the best principles I've

044ever had I was kind of shocked when I got to high school that Miss Andrews would not stand outside and wave to students big shocker I don't know if I'll ever get over it but Dr putt truly is one of the best principles I I've ever had and that's all I really have to say thank you good [Music] night Pamela Hughes thank you for this opportunity to speak I've lived in Frederick County for 41 years uh last school board meeting I went to was TW 2007 when my youngest graduated from shando um I had to come out tonight I love Jerry putt he was my principal at Daniel Morgan he is a principal among principles he has he's full of principles from the moment he came he opened our eyes to inequalities and discrimination that

045we just didn't even see but he respectfully told us explained change the rules and he was right he was right he looked at the rules he looked through the rules to the students students weren't allowed to wear pajama pants and then he explained to us but what if you don't have clean clothes and that's the only thing you can wear to school he cares so deeply about the students so many times I would see him sitting on the staircase talking to one student who's having a very bad day and so many students come to school with without their basic needs being Met food shelter and safety and safety is such a big deal how can a student engage their higher level of thinking skills if they are hungry or if they're afraid bullying is a

046huge issue especially for the lgbtq plus community and what happens when you're bullied you shut down and even if you're not being bullied if you are the kids that surround you they shut down too because it's scary and they know they should speak up but it's scary to do so it affects every student that is witnessed to that bullying and so then when you start to shut down you get tremendous anxiety absenteeism would increase inrease despair would come in and despair as we know can lead to suicidal thoughts and unfortunately as a teacher I have had to lose had to see a student take their own life it's not just a statistic it's true it's real if you go to the Virginia Department of Education website there is a page on suicide prevention comprehensive prevention

047strategies the first two strategies are just so evident in how Dr P Rachel [Applause] Ratliff good evening members of the board and Dr Hummer I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you this evening my name is Rachel Ratliff and I'm speaking as a graduate of freder County Public Schools resident of freder County and the Stonewall District employee of freder County Public Schools and a soon to be parent of a frederck county school student and a member of the freder County Education Association speaking as an individual I noticed um excuse me this evening I'd like to share with you some things I notice as an employee I notice teachers and instructional assistants that work daily to provide their best instruction to their students I notice teachers looking out for their students and making quick decisions for

048their safety I notice a music teacher putting on a wonderful community Coral event for Veterans Day I noticed a librarian promoting and setting up the fall book fair that students look forward to each year I know notice administrators that take the time to listen to their staff and work to find solutions that support teachers and students I notice a school PTO putting on a first ever trunk Retreat for the community that had a turnout of over 900 people I notice custodians working hard each and every day not only keeping our schools clean but helping teachers with daily tasks to make their classrooms more conducive to learning I notice a math advisory committee that has worked over this last summer and this year to create a county curriculum that has aligned to state standards and provides

049multiple highquality instructional resources for teachers to use I notice a literacy Coach reading specialist and intervention resource teacher that meet with teachers to ensure they are confident in implementing the state-mandated vaa reading plans I notice an office staff that goes above and beyond their job descriptions on a daily basis and last but certainly not least I notice students and enter school every day excited to learn and excited to share their learning with their family and friends I know there are plenty of things that go unnoticed throughout our many schools and throughout the school days I invite all of you to notice the many amazing things that happen in fredi County Public Schools each and every day than thank you Matt [Applause] Edwards hi I'm Matt Edwards member of the red bun District I want to

050start by reading a few quotes from the emails Mr Davey sent Dr putt that appear to have motivated the decision in this situation lgbtq Plus kindness should not be allowed at all we are offended that everyone keeps trying to force the lgtbq plus alphabet down everyone's throat and into everyone's lives this agenda they are pushing to try to make everyone except the lgbtq plus is ridiculous and has no place in public education what are you going to do next let crossdressers come into the school and do story time this is what you based your decision on an email by one parent full of bigotry and hate people have to ask why LGBT student should have a special club tonight is a perfect example of why people bully them they struggle with depression and anxiety and

051when people come to speak to the board on their behalf people like Mrs Klein scroll on their computers Mr Atkins Mr Bell and Dr Hummer on their phones do you think that they are not noticing that you are more interested in your phone or your laptop than you are in their depression anxiety and suicide they need a community because they know people like you hate them that is why they need a club because they're looking for love and peace there were other clubs available they were named clubs according to the email by Dr put the astronomy club crochet Club yearbook Club clubs are non-curricular and if that is true it is the right of LGBT students to have their own club it's protected by the equal access act just as the rights of Christians to

052have a club are also protected and if you would have done your homework you would have found out that many many schools have been sued since 1999 for stopping LGBT clubs and they've lost the vision of FCPS is to be an Innovative Community where caring relationships and authentic learning uh inspire all students so how does this decision fit that Vision how exactly does discrimination and bigotry communicate caring this decision is not about uh anything but fear and hate it's not about what is best for our students caring is part of the vision of the school system kindness is caring whether you like it or not lgbtqia plus students are citizens of this County they are protected against discrimination by the Constitution as cited in bowo versus Clayton County they have a constitutional right to form

053clubs if there are other clubs being offered as affirmed by Westside Community Schools versus mergens both Supreme Court cases dozens of schools have lost lawsuits trying to block lgtbq clubs on campus because in every case the courts have ruled they were in violation of the equal access act with your comments and decisions in the last month you've broken your oath to the Constitution and let us all down more importantly you've brought stress and harm on children children who simply wanted to to be themselves children who just want to belong children who deserve kindness the adults in this room specifically you are supposed to be the ones putting a stop to bullying not leading the way Ashley pal J okay yes sir Justin pal then so that should be six minutes she yielded her time three

054minutes sir hi my name is Justin po gainsboro District disabled veteran father of two children at this school at the fair Frederick County first I want to address the removal of Dr P's principal I do not feel this was an appropriate act all this did clearly was cause division amongst the community it's absurd it's also a great example of misappropriated funds as Dr put is still working as a district teacher his salary is well above the max salary of a teacher by approximately $40,000 either find Just Cause to fire him or replace him as principal and stop wasting our tax dollars I would also like to bring up the issue of discrimination I love that I'm right after you bringing up the equal access act because Christians are allowed to have a club after school

055hours there is a bus that shows up to school and takes the kids off school property because of the equal access act so if you guys want to have a club you are free to after school it is the same protections under the law as religion and everything else you are allowed to have a club after school when it's during school hours you are during government time and this is not allowed per the law I would also like to bring up issues of other uh issues that I have of discrimination my son was offered Mental Health Services by a third party organization because he has mixed race this is an issue I have because nobody in here who is not of mixed race is not offer this this service many of you might want this

056service for your child but they cannot get it unless they're of mixed race from my understanding this is coming down from the Federal Government funding so apparently I'm going to have to go up to the attorney general to deal with this according to violation of the 14th Amendment I would also like to address issues following government employees out being allowed to express their personal ideologies and viewpoints during school hours as a representative of the district we have Supreme Court cases Pickering versus Board of Education as well as conic versus Meers that shows that while teachers are employees of the government in school they are not allowed to to push their personal agendas that means the individual apple pie who is wearing a dress needs to stop if not under the equal protection act I will

057request religious Services be brought back to school thank you Anna Moffett Thompson good evening my name is Anna Moffet Thompson but most of my students know me as Mrs Mt I am a teacher at Frederick County Middle School I am also a parent of two children at Gainesboro what you permit is what you promote is a philosophy that frames the way I run my classroom ever since Dr put used that phrase in my first year at freder County Middle School it is a philosophy that our Schoolboard members and Schoolboard administrators should take into consideration more often last month after stating and this month after after stating the expectations of decorum during public comments you Mr Sturman allowed individuals to stand at this microphone and use vile and inappropriate language while lobbing vitriolic falsehoods and slanderous

058insinuations about Frederick County Middle School staff by permitting such comments and language you are promoting a community of culture a community culture of distrust and perpetuating a cycle of misinformation about non-existent secret agenda and curriculums of Educators and yet you wonder why students have such disrespectful classroom Behavior which let's be honest is only a small faction even though you seem to focus on it a lot last month several members of the school board who have never taught in a classroom Miss kleene put highly trained teaching professionals who met meet the school board's highly qualified criteria on notice you permitted people to intimidate staff without just cause therefore promoting an Ever growing culture of intimidation and distrust in public education yet you wonder why a student might say to a teacher your days are numbered you

059taught them that here but here is the beautiful part of that philosophy if I permit my students to have a safe place to be their true authentic selves then I promote a culture of acceptance and kindness in my classroom when I permit my students to explore their own interests and spend 25 minutes during Flex at the end of a very long day surrounding themselves with things they want to do and people they want to be with I am promoting the development of a child that retains their curiosity and wonder a child that can question the status quo and dream of something better a child that won't follow the crowd and allow themselves to be indoctrinated and if I remember correctly that is the same type of indoctrination that most of you ran for ran to

060fight against so perhaps you should remember we are all here to do what is best for our students and Scholars and perhaps you should allow the educators of Frederick County Public Schools to do the job they are trained and entrusted you entrusted us to do remember what you promote what you promote permit is what you promote time thank you Dr put for your words of wisdom guidance and setting an example for all of [Music] us Sean Porter Sean Porter Jay Richardson good evening I'm Jay Richardson Redbud District I consider myself to be fairly socially liberal so I generally think people be able to do what they want as long as they don't harm anyone it's a free country after all no other country has our degree of individual liberty our level of freedom but however

061when it comes to the education of children adolescence what they they are exposed to is very important and I need to say this teachers do not get free speech in the classroom they need to follow the script the ones who support rainbow flags and schools and having these clubs and other measures for the alphabet students is say it's about inclusion it's so they feel included and safe from bullying that should be a priority for everyone every student should be should feel included the whole school should be a safe place for all students this space is safe for you that others are not schools and teachers just love operating in local parentes even with regard to matters that directly contravene the wishes and values of the parents some people think hanging a rainbow flag in school

062is no big deal Daryl Bell I don't think a rainbow flag indoctrinates Anyone But the teacher shouldn't start talking about their lifestyle that's exactly what message the flag sends that's exactly what you're saying by hanging the flag you're saying this is great we promote this I think the message that all of this is sending is that gay people are different they need to be treated differently they need they are special they need special accommodations in school they need special classes on how to be kind to them they need special spaces so they feel safe special symbols and flags to be hung in the school I think the message that's sending is that lgbtq people are more emotionally sensitive and weaker than the rest of us and they need to be singled out for inclusion the

063schools wouldn't go to such lengths for any other group not a racial group not an ethnic group not a religious minority none no other group gets this treatment it's easy to say there's nothing wrong with all of this but if you take a minute and actually use your brains and think about it you are treating one group of people differently than everybody else that is discrimination I think I think about what it's like to be a middle and high school students very challenging and confusing time and it's when you're starting to figure out who you are where you belong so I think a lot of people a lot of young people are seeing this and saying hey this looks inviting nobody everybody is told to be kind to lgbtq people no one's allowed to criticize

064or judge them they're immediately accepted by everyone they have their own flag their own special spaces their own special form of Pride hey I want to be part of this so yes they are being indoctrinated they are being pushed by the schools and by extension the government to join the club thank you Daniel scal I say that right Daniel scal thank you ladies and gentlemen in an email to Jerry Puck quoted by the Winchester Star FCPS parent Chris Davey stated that lgbtq plus kindness should not be allowed at all end quote I understand that platitudes and buzzword are more popular than crital critical thinking and relevant questions however I'd like to ask an open question to our citizenry what is lgbtq kindness as a concept by Mr Davey asking if Mr Putt would allow crossdressers

065into the classroom I assume that he equates kindness with approval or endorsement and even if this is not true for Mr Davey I know plenty of people personally who do take this view right now I wish to address them there's plenty we all encounter every day we're not going to approve of I don't approve when parents want to let their kids hang on the iPad for hours and not do their basic job I don't approve when an underachieving High School Dropout messages me with an amazing opportunity to pay my way into a pyramid scheme the thing is these don't require my approval because we live in a free country I thank God for that I truly do the fact that people get to leave live their lives in accordance with the personal beliefs or values

066is the thing I most love about our country now I believe there is a crisis of Education in our country which is the result of many issues beyond the scope of what we're talking about right now however I think the ability of students to feel welcome in places of learning is indeed one of these issues who actually wants to show up in a place they don't feel welcomed or safe and my opinion to willfully ignore the social aspects of going to school is either naive or cruel I have many friends who went through public schools in Winchester Front Royal Etc who are gay adults and they very much struggled because childhood is vulnerable enough already I don't believe as Mr Davey implied in his question about what's next that Mr put or any school staff

067was pushing a particular agenda Beyond giving students an opportunity to be in a space where they could feel less anxious about who they are that's it Mr Davey and anyone else is free to disapprove of the existence of gay people that doesn't change the fact that every day kids will struggle with discovering who they are or feeling like an outsider because they hear how some folks will talk about the alphabet people like those words are poison and that doesn't mean that we should punish staff teachers or administrators for recognizing this and attempting to meet their need which would strengthen the education of our children all of whom are the future of this great nation thank you Mr Wright good evening love the kids unconditionally this is what Dr putt told me success look like perform

068this one task and I succeed every day he leads by that example I saw it from him every day in one way shape or form an outstanding leader of teachers and students providing a safe space for young men and women to learn about their own identity and a safe non-judgmental space called Flex periods curriculum free classrooms I'll say that again curriculum free classrooms where teachers offer safety and comfort for kids to have a little Freedom at the end of their day Dr put engages students day after day and active 2A discussions in Dr put's eyes when having these discussions he's a guide to these kids to find Opportunities to improve themselves most of the time these kids leave smiling or laughing because Dr put made them feel like it's okay to make a mistake in

069fact it's pivotal we make them in order to find success this is the man the leader and the educator you have dismissed folks you are throwing the baby out the window with the bath water if there's any crack in that door to bring Dr putt back please do it you'll be glad you did to inspire innovate and motivate students in a global Society Dr put if you're out there listening mission accomplished Stephanie [Applause] Jordan thanks good evening my name is Stephanie Jordan and I am speaking as an fcpm FCPS employee as well as a former FCPS student and as a for uh FCPS graduate I want to take a few minutes to introduce you to a saying that was a that a pretty smart FCPS teacher once told me what you permit you promote as

070parents Aunts Uncles and every other adult we know this saying to be true we know that if we allow kids to stay up all night it's going to be incredibly hard to get them to go to bed at a decent hour we know that if we let kids play on their phone well into the middle of the night it almost becomes impossible to get them off their phone at a decent hour this saying also works for other things as well however at FCP FCPS we have permitted quite a few things that as someone who has spent the past 30 years of her life being proud of her Frederick County Public Schools background I am not proud to promote we have permitted hate speech and we have permitted intimidation we permitted a principal's career to be

071destroyed because he wouldn't discriminate and he wouldn't single out a student is this what we promote I mean we permitted it when people ask me why they should apply to work here and not go over the mountain what do I tell them that we permit The Bullying of employees and therefore we promote that before I lose my time please know that I as well as everyone else who works at FCPS knows that we are on notice we also know where we can go if we don't like something but I don't want to go FCPS has been my home since my shando days I love having that connection with those kids to tell them that my handprint is also on that senior hallway someone out there probably has my lunch number and if I can get

072an advanced studies diploma they certainly can get one but I also can't help shake the feeling that we're promoting things here at FCPS I don't want to be known for I don't want to come from the county where we threaten and Bully our employees I don't want Frederick County Public Schools to be known as the county where employees are afraid to speak because of retaliation I don't want Frederick County Public Schools to be the laughing stock of this part of the state we need to permit better so we can promote better the students here both current and former deserve better than this thank you Michael s Goose hello board hello Dr Hummer hello colleagues I'm Mike serus I am a member of the uh glorious Stonewall magisterial District um and I am most importantly here

073today to be a voice to share and to let the Frederick County staff know that as the president of the Winchester Education Association we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters here in the county in the face of any of the issues that they might need our support in and so I want to talk again about what's been said several times before what you permit you promote now I'm an attractive 6'2 aquar various you know CIS hetero male in a in a a fairly you know prestigious job I'm a high school teacher but when we look at what we see in this room in previous boardrooms in the statements that some of you have made being put quote on notice is not helpful and I know that I do not want that to be

074promoted I live in Frederick County I spend money in Frederick County a whole lot of money in Frederick County but I work in the city and we do some things that I'm really proud of in the city just like we do some things here you do some things here in the county that you're really proud of and I wrote a few notes about that and what I'm really really proud of in the Frederick County school system is Inspire 25 because what Inspire 25 says is that Frederick County wants to do authentic learning for all students and that they want to create a culture of diversity and inclusiveness and you spell it out even further which I think is glorious in goal number two you say you want to create a nurturing environment and goal number

075four you want compassionate staff quoting the Trevor Project many lgbtq plus young people lack access to affirming spaces just over half say their school is LBGTQ affirming 38% of lgbtq Youth report that their home is affirming only 38% a school can be the place where kids spend their time and a school needs to be a place where we can support those students and as the Winchester education president I do want to say to my Frederick County friends you're always welcome in the city thank you Aaron is it jeffre oh thank you sorry good evening my name is Aaron jeffrion I currently work at Frederick County Middle School however before that uh my previous vocation was as United Methodist Pastor um many of my uh friends and colleagues have already made most of the points that

076I was going to make this evening so I would like to instead read from the United States Department of Education legal guidelines regarding the equal access act and recognition of student-led non-curricular groups the ACT applies to any public or secondary school that receives federal funds and creates a limited open Forum by allowing one or more non-curricular student groups to meet on its premises during non-instructional time schools meeting these criteria are forbidden to prevent access or deny Fair opportunity to students who wish to hold meetings on school grounds the ACT does not mention specific types of student groups to which equal access rights apply it instead broadly provides that schools allowing at least one non-curriculum related student group may not deny comparable access to any other student group because of the religious political philosophical or other

077content of the speech of the group's meetings the ACT therefore prohibits schools from Banning student Le non-curricular groups because of the content of the speech at the group's meetings the ACT identifies narrow exceptions however schools may not ban or suppress the speech of student groups based on a desire to avoid the discomfort or unpleasantness that always accompany an unpopular Viewpoint it would be my understanding based on this that Dr put's decision to suspend all Flex Gatherings rather than discriminate and solely end one that was unpopular with a few parents uh seems to be more in the spirit and letter of this law I would also like to state that if Flex should come back uh we cannot offer uh Christian activities where I would teach any uh student because that would be curriculum however I

078would happily offer my time and my uh masters of divinity degree and my classroom to host any student that also wanted to discuss have a safe place to discuss uh Christian ideals thank you Jennifer is it Bay care there you go thank you sorry uh good evening my name is Jennifer boort I am I reside in the shaune district Holden I do want to note that Karen McCoy will stand outside and wave to you if you went to shando so there's that plug for Miss McCoy um I'm here tonight because it seems that an inaccurate narrative about me and my efforts to advocate for my child have permeated FCPS and its Schoolboard members so allow me to correct the record I have been cooperative and willing to work with shando and FCPS to ensure that

079my students IEP was properly implemented and his needs adequately met this matter dates to September of 2023 and I have come in good faith and in a spirit of collaboration time and time again only to be refused rejected and let down by the school district nine IEP meetings and over $7,000 plus Dollar in fees to my Advocate only to still be addressing the same issues over a year later is no one even the slightest bit curious what has occurred on both sides to result in the need for nine IEP meetings frankly I've attempted to work with shender from September of 2023 until 31524 before they even began to implement my child's assignment tracker in spite of it being carried over from middle school and his transition IEP and being directly addressed as a goal in

080his current IEP two that I've met with Dr Hummer three times and Miss KN two times regarding this matter I have met with Dr Hummer two times and both times the theme was more of the systemic issues my family and I suspect others have faced working with special services department of FCPS I've met with Miss Knight one time after Dr Hummer referred me back to his team this meeting came after this meeting came after Miss Knight was scheduled to attend an IEP but I was informed by Miss McDonald at 4:15 the afternoon before the meeting that Miss Knight was unavailable as she was at a week-long conference then I was informed that Miss Knight would prefer a parent meeting which I honored most recently my meeting on 10 3124 did not occur because after being

081informed on 10:16 and receiving responses from Miss Knight and communication with her assistant to schedule said meeting including a link for the advocate to participate virtually I received an email on 1028 24 around 5:45 for Miss night stating that she was not in agreement with my educational Advocate attending the 10:31 meeting to review the executive functioning plan with me I have requested and to date I have received no explanation of why FCPS was not in agreement with my educational Advocate who might as I add who who has worked with my child since the seventh grade on his IEP lastly I'd like to address the statement that our School Division has been providing me with a multitude of opportunities and services for my child to be successful and I'm going to run out of time so

082I guess the bottom line I'm going to say many of you know what's in this is it's funny to me how the outrage is chosen when are we going to be outraged because a kid's not getting his IEP [Applause] Services Anna [Applause] Bowen Anna Bowen judge not lest you be judged John 2:9 says so heinous is a position of hate before God that a man who hates is said to be walking in darkness as opposed to the light Ephesians 4:31 get rid of all bitterness rage and anger brawling and slander along with every form of malice be kind and compassionate to one another you cannot ask for tolerance for what you believe and then ask for persecution against another we talk about a lot of a lot about equality and equity and education equality doesn't

083always work which is why we do have things like IEPs in place and things to help students succeed which we should honor but when a school allows the students the opportunity to have a what we would say a club if you're going to cancel it because of a non-curricular issue it makes sense to cancel all of them let's be keep in mind that the reason why it was during the day is not every student has the equity access to Transportation after school so I understand the reason since when does it become acceptable to for discriminatory speech or uh saying that people are indoctrinating when the only one putting a spotlight on the SE uh shoving sexuality are those who bring it up in here with their own Spotlight on it I'm the daughter of two

084ordained ministers and you know what I was in my tolerance Club in high school and that's what this is in case you didn't notice LGBT kindness the key word there is kindness and that's not a bad thing so if you missed it we talked about a lot of Statistics they're more likely to become suicidal or bullied so these conversations that we're concerned about they're already happening between students every single day so having an adult there to make sure that they're safe and just listening in those conversations is not negative thing it saved a friend of mine from suicide that's what happened in my class so how can these kids not feel like the world is against them when we see adults even acting as bullies I'm not saying that we should shove gender or sexuality

085to kids because I don't believe in that I think we should teach the curriculum but telling kids they should be force-fed medication is not right either equal access to both if you want to have Bible uh Club you need to have the other one too so which I got to ask since I'm going to run out of time which is the bigger sin to love or to hate I'm going to choose love because loving others no matter what they choose the opt other option is hate and that's a sin that breeds poison John 4:20 says if anyone says I love God and hates his brother he is a liar and for those of you who are going to say this has nothing to do with politics or religion remember lying is a sin too ran

086nuring Brian nuia Pekin District this past weekend I was out in chanelli judging a public forum debate tournament as I am most Saturdays three different teachers came up to me and said you're from Winchester that's that's Fredick County right tell me something what the hell is wrong with your county one pointed to the rainbow sticker on her laptop and said you know it's not really hard to support the students they're better Learners when they've been made to feel recognized apparently not here they're not three of you are Educators and I thought you would know this supporting the students where they are is one of the first things that we're taught to do for the kids when asked why other systems can manage this so well while we're making policy against it one board member said

087well the politics here aren't the same but the kids are the kids are the same and instead of putting kids first we've actually put them on notice that they have to monitor themselves as and who they associate with and they have to govern their own personal behaviors lest they be turned in for not fitting in so who can these kids trust at school clearly this was all triggered by A Safe Gathering Place at frederck County middle turned in by a kid to a parent itching to out the weird kids funny that we're letting some of the worst opinions in the area dictate count uh school policy in the county the star clearly stated that the lgbtq kindness period was the target of Dr Hummer's ey not any of the other Gatherings much like Governor yunin

088attempted model policies some people would rather paint Targets on the backs of kids than to give them the support and guidance they seek instead the kids are being taught that a well-respected teacher and administrator can lose his job over them but maybe the solution is to govern the teachers more harshly the exclusionary flag policy is an example of a solution in a desperate need of a problem as is the code of conduct one of those teachers out there called the flag rule a joke maybe a board member will seek to add those who have had premarital sex or women wearing pants to list of behaviors on the code of conduct that he sees as problematic and worthy of termination this county is suffering the blows from culture War nonsense and it's making us the laughing

089stock of the state like those teachers said it isn't really that difficult you want test scores to rise support the students you want the kids better adjusted support the students you want to retain good teachers support the teachers rethink the flag policy and the code of conduct send a message that FCPS stands by its mission to nurture all Learners not just the normal ones don't allow the worst voices here to arm to harm the most important stakeholders the kids Mary is it boek did I say that right hi I say that right my name is Reverend Mary batek I am a resident of the city of Winchester I am employed by an agency in federick county and I am here tonight speaking on behalf of my congregation shannona Valley Metropolitan Community Church according to your

090bylaws I believe that gives me five minutes to speak on behalf of my organization first of all I'd like to say say thank you it is a blessing for me to be able to stand here and see you face to face because I get to do something for the first time in my 11 years of public Ministry I get to say shame on you I've never done that before I've been to millions of PR well maybe not Millions I'm not that old but several Pride marches we'll say or church services where I've had scripture thrown at me as a weapon and I'm here to tell you to paraphrase paraphrase my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we are to love God and love our neighbor and yall have chosen to love yourselves it's in every gospel

091it's one of the few things that is in every single gospel they like to argue but see me on Sunday for that story even our friend Leviticus who I'm sure we all love says we are to welcome The Stranger and to embrace kindness so I do believe in a benevolent all loving God again we can talk about that on Sunday but for the first time in my life I'm here to say shame on you I don't know Dr putt personally I hope he watches this video feed and sees the impact what I would call Ministry has had on this community I want you to look out at the people here cuz really that's who I here to talk to and see these aren't just the people who care about what you did and didn't do

092they're the people who cared and showed up oh I forgot one of my titles I'm sorry my boss is going to yell at me she's in the back of the room actually I think next on the list I am also one of the co-directors of AR's lgbtq plus Center it doesn't pay but it's meaningful sadly my jobs don't pay what I think they should but rather we do this because it is important to us these people had better things to do with their Tuesday I haven't seen a taco in this room y'all we are here because we care about our students and because you had a responsibility to your voting constituents to protect all of our students Jesus said bring the little children to me that's actually Matthew 19 the second part of that is

093do not hinder them again shame on you you took an opportunity for children to learn kindness to one another that Flex group never said those kids were queer never said those kids identified in any way never said any of that it just said they were there to learn about kindness and you took that away you were more worried about what your constituents and your voters thought of you than what our children needed and as our school board official shame on you I don't need to tell you the statistics of lgbtq children and the exponential increase of the risk of suicide I would be belittling your own education and intelligence to do that you already knew those things I've stood here and told you those things before but rather you chose to ignore those statistics and

094I know that you ignored them because we're still sitting here because we're still having this conversation because it has been more than 5 minutes since you canell that Flex time course it has been an opportunity that you have neglected to act on it should not take your community showing up and saying shame on you for this to have changed it should have changed before we ever got to this point you have made us a laughing stock in this state you have made us a laughing stock in this country but I want to say thank you thank you for spending my tax dollars on a lawyer because lgbtq people are a protected class in the state of Virginia and have been for several years so thank you for spending my tax dollars on the lawyer fees

095to defend your mistake I want to say thank you for the opportunity for us to gather because obviously y'all don't care if you cared we wouldn't still be here so really I'm here to say thank you to these people for showing up and saying this is not okay you are creating divisions that do not need to exist you are creating a culture War by refusing the basic level of Education to all of our children by refusing to teach kindness You Are by default enabling them to promote hate and the Christian in me and even the OB I I see my bigot friend left I'm sorry she missed it but even the East lesbian in me says No Katie [Applause] Vance Katie Vance tough to go after her girl can preach um my name is Katie

096Vance and I'm a resident of the Shaunie district and Mom of two amazing kids in a fr County elementary school but to be completely honest my husband and I are currently considering moving to a different School District because we do not want my kids to grow up in an environment where they can't look up to their Community leaders I came here today planning to share statistics and data about suicide rates depression and the need for Supportive Service services for lgbtq students and I realized something recently you all are a smart group you know this information the problem is that based on the language you used and the policies you're implementing it is very clear that you don't care um and I am so sad and cannot believe that I have to explain to grown adults

097why kindness matters so instead I want to talk about my job I'm the boss that she referred to I am the executive director of a and we opened the first lgbtq plus Center um in the northern shannona Valley a year ago yes and while hate clearly exists in certain small pockets of this room it does not exist in our Center people find Joy people find Community they find love and support and care for the Winchester and freder County Community please come find us we will be your affirming space when adults and leaders in the community will not we have groups events volunteers all the special Flags we have them all so come find us and we have a lot of Joy I can't understand why you would not want to be a part of also

098spreading that Joy do better thank you David dent my name is uh David dent and I teach 8th grade civics at Frederick County Middle School and being a teacher is a second career for me my first career was as a United Methodist Church Pastor I'm Mr dent in the classroom and I'm Reverend dent in the Pulpit when I retired as a pastor for after 32 years I realized I was still called called to work with young people whether in a church confirmation class or in a public school classroom I am called to invest in young people in their future first teaching spirituality to church leaders of tomorrow and now teaching citizenship democracy critical thinking and civil discourse to the community Leaders of Tomorrow and I would urge and thank all of you this is a

099calling and I'm not alone in viewing teaching as a calling every day I'm surrounded by teachers who have been given their lives to invest in young people week after week they skillfully build lessons that engage and Inspire students teachers inspire me do you know else who inspires me parents I do not anticipate I did not excuse me anticipate How Deeply satisfying it is to partner with parents of my students it turns out parents are my people whether we are celebrating their child's achievements or troubleshooting classroom Behavior or Pro problem solving their adolescent well-being maybe I enjoy parents so much because they're about the age of my own children we become allies together for the good of the students we both deeply deeply care about and in 100% of these cases parents have been respectful and

100and grateful of my partnership imagine how Disturbed and frankly shocked I was at our last month's meeting to hear the rhetoric of both parents and board members I never had experienc such vilification and suspicion of teachers not once has there ever been in my experience with parents or administrators that I know that ever feel demeaned in any kind of way I have felt incredibly supported and I uplift the calling and the sacred Trust of both teaching and parenting and the power of the partnership that is together teachers though are feeling devalued demeaned and demonized even gifted seasoned teachers are struggling with a sense of defeat Despair and diminishing personal well-being they feel the mistrust and being targeted the dynamic in our school system is undermining the passion and commitment of teachers putting together time retention

101at risk and I urge you Carol [Applause] Pucket I already spoke oh okay I'm sorry I didn't realize you in there twice Thank you Pam Kennedy Pam Kennedy Gainesboro District I was wrong I'm sorry I don't know I need help I think those are words that bear thinking about as a code of conduct an ethical and a moral code of conduct it is obvious that in our nation today things that were are not despite the efforts of a vocal minority determined to bring back a past that largely exists in their hearts and imaginations various educational and Community sources list the following as things a school board should do monitor progress using data connect with the community use resources strategically and advocate for more when needed focus on student achievement build positive relationships within and throughout

102the school district set goals have a Clear Vision as I look at the list of issues you appear to be wrangling with type of flags in the classroom a teacher's dress code and the need to represent the school system at all times regulation of flex time in the schools for school groups I'm really at a loss to see where those things come anywhere near what a school board really should be doing I can see that you're frustrated as everyone in this room is frustrated to end with a quote frustration is an interesting emotional state because it tends to bring out the worst in whoever is frustrated and we've seen some of that tonight and at other meetings so do the job you were elected to do focus on the high points not the low don't

103be that moth that gets extinguished when it flies up to that light bulb and becomes a puff of dust and I encourage you I carry these around with me I was wrong I'm sorry I don't know I need help we all do thank you Danny Higgins hi I'm uh Danny Higgins I'm a resident of the opin district and I'm also a teacher with FCPS um I'm here to talk to you primarily a personal capacity about experience of inclusion and what that can mean and what that can bring for students when I hear the rhetoric of these meetings um it really brings me back in time I feel like I've traveled back in time 20 years when I was about the age of my students and the only mentions of lgbtq people I had in schools

104were largely negative slurs that was all that I really heard and it's been shown that having groups like this having affirming spaces creates a lot of change for students it increases sense of belonging it gives them it it decreases the chances that they're going to use substances it makes a huge difference in their mental health it increases that sense of school belonging that increases motivation that helps test scores all of these things that we say that we care about and I think that these meetings show like why these clubs were needed there are some people that are questioning why is the space needed is this a special space that we're creating these students are targeted there's a lot of bullying that goes on in schools around these issues there's a lot of homophobic speech that

105I every day as a teacher have to shut down which is incredibly difficult to do when we've been put on notice how do you shut down homophobic speech without necessarily laying out why this is a problem and just for a teacher like me I'm very aware I've felt on notice since the start of this school year as these public meetings have gone down and I just earlier in this meeting I was looking at that wall and I was was seeing I kept staring at Social and cultural empathy and that's what we really need here we need empathy there are some folks that maybe have a pathological lack of it and there's nothing that we can do about that but I've seen much more empathy in this room than I have seen in the other tonight

106than I have seen in the other board meetings and I think that we need to continue that continue that to model that type of kindness because that's what that club is about I think a lot of people have a misconception about what these spaces are they create community I did not have that sense of community until I was an adult that didn't change anything about me or my identity all it did was delay me becoming a more authentic version of myself and feeling like I could breathe having a sense of peace and as you've heard tonight not all students can afford that delay I'm not going to go into those statistics further I don't think it's necessary but there's no indoctrination happening when you create a firming spaces all we want is for lgbtq kids

107to turn into lgbtq adults amen that is all we are ask thank you for your time Sam gford hello my name is Sam gford I'm an English teacher of Robert Middle School uh my intention is not to make any of this about myself but to reach my point I do have to start with myself uh I was a weird kid um and I felt like you know there wasn't a place in the world for me uh but thankfully a handful of qualified often unorthodox but always compassionate teachers uh put me on notice and taught me how to express myself in the spaces they work diligently to ensure we're safe for everyone uh for example my second grade teacher let me wear a wolverine mask when I presented a report on a comic book uh my

108e8th grade Spanish teacher let me write a play about Star Wars using our vocabulary my 10th grade English teacher let me write an essay about the significance of punk rock and those are just a smattering of examples of my teachers knowing who I was and what I needed uh to feel like I belonged uh today I'm a weird adult uh but I have found my place uh during my 12 years in the classroom inspired by those teachers who cared for me I have worked diligently to make my classroom a space in which all of my students feel safe I've had lgbtq plus stud students come out to me before coming out to their friends because they felt safe I've had students of color share their worries with me about upsetting signs in their neighborhoods because

109they felt safe I've had students tell heartbreaking stories about trauma and essays because they felt safe students write poems about their deeply held religious beliefs because they felt safe and they felt safe because I was taught to communicate from a place of kindness now kindness is a choice one most often represented by language these kids are listening and they hear how we talk to and about them and each other they hear how we agree how we disagree and how we view those whose beliefs and Lifestyles don't directly align with the perceived status quo uh when they hear conversations about banning books or cancelling inclusive clubs this has excuse me this has a direct effect on how they View and value their literacy and on their understanding of mutual respect when they hear vitriolic hate speech

110spewed across the very floors of this room it has a direct effect on their perception of acceptable discourse when they hear of respected administrators being put on leave and all of their teachers being put on notice uh it has a direct effect on their attitude toward the academic environment uh notice that teachers are professionals and we are not and never have been in the business of indoctrination but it's impossible to do this work well without being in the business of compassion now I urge you members of the Schoolboard to consider fairness and kindness and Justice in proposed policies while considering how our discourse and rhetoric shapes the blossoming minds of those who will inherit this Earth and what kind of place we want to leave for them now my hope is that it will be

111a place that's a little weird and a lot of kind thank you Sonia please tell me is mar facia correct I'm sorry it's okay we've allers I apologize no worries uh good evening my name is Sonia marfati AUD and I live in the B Creek District the kids are always watching they watch how their parents speak and act and with the access of Technology they watch these Schoolboard meetings and see for themselves how the community behaves in a boardroom setting they see what happens when their own School Board won't follow a code of conduct they see what happens when the chairman gives a disclaimer that speakers should be courteous but allow speakers to curse and yell at the board they see what happens when a parent doesn't like an lgbtq plus Club they see what

112happens when people harass the principal and the administration they see their beloved principal removed from their school and the highlight of their day Flex time taken away they see that if a person yells enough and makes a big stink they get their way and you wonder why there are discipline issues in schools what happens to the rest of the kids don't their rights matter why are we allowing parents who don't have an education degree and are not employees of the school division to dictate what is or isn't being taught or allowed in our schools parents know they can opt out so while you got rid of a program that benefited all students who gets punished and while you placed a principal on administrative leave and transferred them to another school as a teacher who benefits

113all the kids at fcms just want their principal and flex time back as it was designed as part of inspired 2025 thank you Christy jet my name is Christy Jet and I missed the black shirt memo stand in solidary okay I'm a resident of the uh gainsboro District after the October statement that was sent out to fcms families letting us all know in as few words as possible that Jerry putt would no longer be principal and that was it I emailed all of you to ask you what could Jerry putt have possibly done that would warrant immediate dismissal a man so well liked he manages to be popular with middle schoolers okay Miss Klein you told me that there were more documented instances and that more information would be coming shortly Mr Bell you told

114me to be patient Mr Atkins you suggested it wasn't really about Flex time at all but actually test scores Mr Sturdivant you had no comment um and everyone reminded me that this was a confidential Personnel matter I got no real answer but I was assured over and over by all of you that you remain committed to providing all students a safe and highquality education which students you talk about transparency in addressing parent concerns which parents well what might be Personnel to you is personal to me this is my kid hurting my kids teachers who feel like they cannot speak up and are not supported by their school board my school district that I believed in so much that I ran for one of those seats do you think students aren't internalizing what they hear my

115daughter asked me if Dr putt left because they they're all failing that's what the kids are hearing because you are leaving them with no answers and instead of flex time that little 30 minutes of the day where they got to direct what they wanted to learn and be around their friends they're spending another half hour on their Chromebooks with their headphones on shut out from the world congratulations you want to thank others for being your eyes and ears how about using your own did anybody bother talking to Dr putt or setting foot inside Frederick County Middle School before you decided to abruptly move the principal out or have you asked yourselves why you need eyes and ears that aren't yours is it because you have allowed a culture of negativity and retaliation to take hold

116so that the students and staff the literal eyes and ears in those buildings feel they cannot come to you these are your policies your votes your culture but the great thing is it's also in your power to fix so if you want to put someone on Notice start at the [Applause] top ches Woodward I think I get five minutes you're the best okay hello I am Sharice Woodward I am a product of Frederick County Public Schools I'm a parent of Frederick County Public Schools and I'm a teacher and I am the fcea President members of the Frederick County School Board Educators parents and Community thank you for granting me the opportunity to to excuse me to talk I stand before you to address the critical importance of fostering a collaborative and respectful educational environment particularly

117when we encounter differing opinions when disagreements arise especially in a classroom setting it is Paramount that we engage directly with Educators involved open and respectful dialogue allows us to address concerns constructively focusing on what truly matters the well-being and success of students belittling Educators in public forums only heightens emotions and distracts from our shared goal of enhancing student learning we must always recognize the current atmosphere of fear surrounding job security within our school system news from from board members can create a sense of uncertainty that affects not only Educators but also the students they serve research shows that without basic needs food Water Shelter and job security individuals can express trauma responses which can hinder their ability to teach and learn effectively to create a supportive environment we can prioritize resources and training for stakeholders

118understanding the distinction between being an ally supporter or member of lgbtqia plus communities does not equate to being a child predator rather it acknowledges that those choices are a person's right the Bible illustrates through Jesus who befriended those who who were different from him and treated everyone with kindness furthermore establishing codes of conduct that hold teachers to a higher standard both in the classroom and at home is unacceptable unless applied uniformly to everyone when Educators feel supported they are better prepared to cultivate classrooms that honor diversity and Foster meaningful learning for all students as we NE navigate this complexity of Education it is vital to embody the values of respect and understanding when we approach discussions with an open mind we create a community that values diverse perspectives acceptance should not only be a lesson

119taught in classrooms but a principle upheld by all members of our community in conclusion I urge the Frederick County School Board to Foster an environment where collaboration support and respect are at the Forefront by doing so we can ensure that every educator feels valued and every student has the opportunity to thrive let's work together to create an educational landscape that prioritizes the needs of our students celebrates our differences and builds a stronger more inclusive community thank you for your time and commitment to the future of our students Rhonda Lancaster good evening I'm Rhonda Lancaster a 1992 graduate of jameswood high school and a 20-year veteran in teacher in Frederick County Public Schools first of all let me thank you for working with the Board of Supervisors to secure funding for the much needed fourth high

120school and expansions at Middletown in Jordan Springs Elementary Schools allocating funds for the smooth operations of our schools is a top responsibility for your positions as Schoolboard members this work is appreciated another responsibility is helping bring Unity to our educational system from the time students enter their first Frederick County Public School through graduation this is not a responsibility that should be guided by Pol political movements rather it should be guided by sound judgments backed by research-based practices the professionals you've hired should be an integral part of your decisions because like you we have the academic physical and mental well-being of every child in mind we also have the training and ongoing professional development to know what our best practices for the students in our care additionally we are in the trenches every day with students

121who carry the baggage of the world on their shoulders and we help relieve that burden long enough to teach them each day recently I asked my students to reflect on what brings them joy in life and in the classroom in life they listed all their Hobbies Sports entertainment time spent with friends and family in the classroom a few mentioned a teacher who'd worked one-on-one with them until they grasped a difficult concept or a teacher who found an Innovative approach to helping an entire class learn the material what far outpaced mentions of curriculum were the social aspects of education such as working with their friends or playing competitive learning games along with spending time with peers they talked about teachers who saw them as individuals who took time to celebrate their successes or Express concern about

122issues outside of the classroom our recognition of each student as an individual helps bring build an important sense of community in which all students feel like they belong and that is when learning can happen another thing that ranked high on my students list of what brought them joy in the classroom was being able to make choices about what they learned or how they expressed their learning when you think back on your education maybe you remember a teacher who allowed you to go beyond the curriculum to investigate something you cared about or were just curious about maybe that's why you worked in Corrections or Public Utilities or became a pilot or entrepreneur or teacher as you lead our district please keep in mind that student choice is an important part of the curriculum time and that

123teachers should be praised for their guidance they provide every student every day thank you Jim [Applause] Lancaster good evening uh my name is Jim Lancaster and I have taught in Frederick County Public Schools for 20 years in that time I have worked alongside hundreds of deeply dedicated teachers who have poured more time energy and talent than could possibly be measured into ensuring that every single student in FCPS is taught to the highest possible standards and treated with kindness respect and empathy they have ensured that every student has the opportunity to learn and experience success in all that time I have never worked with anyone who was here for the money or for political reasons or to push any kind of agenda Beyond making sure that all students feel safe respected and valued in their school

124more than anything else teachers are here because they want to help they give so much of themselves to help students families and the community to see these same teachers who work very hard every day to do their absolute best treated with distrust and disdain and disrespect in the newspaper in board meetings and on social media is not only harmful and disheartening is terrifying it is terrifying because what this could mean for the future of our students and our schools in recent years we are seen unprecedented local and national teacher shortages teachers have left FCPS in the teaching field for a variety of reasons the teachers who remain here are here because they care about this County they care about their schools and they care about students and their families if they are chased Away by

125distrust disrespect and intolerance the damage to FCPS will be in calculable the dedication experience and enthusiasm these teachers bring to school every day cannot be easily replaced as someone who has dedicated 20 years to helping students in this County I want to see it flourish I don't want any students to lose their favorite teachers their favorite counselors or their favorite administrators I don't want any students to feel like they aren't important respected and cared for teachers and students who feel safe and supported lead to successful schools and a productive Community for everyone one I know that in the end this is the result we all want please consider the environment that your decisions choices and words are creating in FCPS thank you that precludes the public speaking section Mr chair I'd like to motion for

126a five minute recess for a process break for the uh folks in the audience as well as those up here on the Das second been a motion and properly second in any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed break for five [Music] minutes Mr chair I I make a motion that we reconvene from uh uh recess second second motion has been made properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any pose we are back in session next on our agenda is the reports I am going to turn it over to Dr Hummer all right thank you Mr chair I do have a couple items here we have a lot going on and I want to uh share some information first and foremost I want to

127thank this I want to take this time to thank all of our staff and students coming today for their recognitions our students are doing a magnificent job and they wouldn't have be able to accomplish a lot of these great things without our amazing staff our teachers our AIDS our bus drivers our instructional assistants coaches administrators counselors and all of our other amazing staff are working TIR ly to do what is best for all of our students and I'm very proud and grateful for them leading our wonderful students I also want to acknowledge all of our veterans and wish them a happy Veterans Day Mr chair if it's okay with you I would like to have all of our veterans stand if you don't mind so we can give you a big big round of applause

128if we can have our veteran stand in the room okay thank you thank you thank you thank you for your service and dedication to this amazing country we hosted a Veterans Day breakfast last Friday thank you Mr chair for attending with us and wanted to thank our National Honor Society students for putting on such an amazing event as well as our red bud run students for celebra celebrating our amazing veterans we are going to be hosting this event every year so hope to see you all out next year and we had a really great turnout and looking forward to this to continue last week was also school psychologist week we greatly appreciate all of our school psychologists for their hard work and dedication to our school Community which includes but not limited to being involved

129in our threat assessments to keep our students staff and Community safe completing evaluations to determine students if they're eligible for IEPs and 504s as well as making recommendations for how we support our students overall well-being we thank you for your tire tireless efforts and thank you for your dedication to our students just a couple more Mr chair I promise we have a lot going on I also want to thank again everyone for their hard work on getting our fourth high school and two Elementary School expansions prog projects approved and I also want to take this time to again thank our Board of Supervisors for approving these much needed projects you can Applause if you want to this is a big deal for our community and for our students very very big deal we have a

130lot of work to do we're looking forward to collaborate with our staff with our parents with both of our boards and other community stakeholders as we build these three projects together for our 21st century Learners as well as being good stewards of our dollar also for the public to know there will be many opportunities to provide feedback as well as updates going on on our website through the CIP section which is going to have each of these three projects they are going to have a lot of information in there as we move forward with these three projects because 202028 is going to be the two Elementary projects and 2029 the high school will be completed and it is be here before we know it so I want to make sure that everybody stays well informed

131and please let us know if you have any questions that's a very very big deal I also have two other quick plugs first we posted the Schoolboard advisory committee applications two weeks ago and are looking forward to these meetings starting very soon these applications are projected to go before the board these applicants excuse me are projected to go before the board on January 7th at the organizational meeting and then we will host an information meeting for the the applicants for the ones who are nominated to provide Logistics on next steps as well as as very important information as a reminder we have eight total advisory groups we have CTE we have gifted we have special education and the five new ones that we added are budget CIP Transportation what did I miss excuse me technology

132as well as school health so we're very excited about these five new advisory committees and we're looking forward to engaging with the community in a new fashion lastly we are going to have our upcoming CI Town Halls that are scheduled in the months of November and December and this will be an opportunity for us to engage in our current CIP projects as well as our future CIP projects yes we have received in received funding for these three projects but we have other projects that are on the horizon and we want to continue to engage with the community on these projects so for these three meetings the first will be at jameswood high school on November 25th at 5:30 we also have milbrook high school December 5th at 5:30 and then December 11th at shando at

1335:30 these will be listed on our website we will have my presentation up on the website and we're also going to record the first session so if you're not able to make it you can watch this as much as you desire so thank you very much Mr chair and that's all I have next on the agenda is the unfinished business uh we'd like to start with the proposed budget priorities by Dr Hummer is it all right yes sir yes Mr chair so I do have these up in front of you as well as for those listening at home these were our budget priorities for last year as you can see on the slide and these are the also the priorities that we are recommending to be approved for next year so I've presented these to

134you all now two times and I wanted to see if you had any feedback and if not I am these are up for approval this evening do we have a motion for the proposed budget priorities Mr chairman I'd like to make a motion for the budget priorities to what approve the budget approve the B I'd like to make a motion to approve the budget priorities for for fy2 second excuse me FY 26 these were fy2 so these are for fy2 sorry FY 26 I my apologies second okay we have a motion to approve and has been properly seconded is there any discussion on the matter hearing none all those in favor signify by saying I I I any opposed the motion carries next up is our proposed CIP goals and priorities this is new for

135us this is something that I would like for you all to consider to approve every year as we continue to work towards our current CIP priorities as well as we're going to review these every year with our five year plan that we will also be working with the community on so these have been presented to you two times and these are up for your approval Mr chair okay do we have a motion for the proposed CIP priorities for fiscal year 26 Mr chairman I'd like to Pro forward or approve the prop I'd like to approve the proposed CIP goal and priorities for FY 26 second we have a motion and it has been properly seconded is there any discussion Mr chair Mr ankin I'm really looking forward to uh our priorities and our goals here

136um for too long we've been without much of a vision looking forward to uh student capacity and enrollment numbers um this gives the community the opportunity to look ahead with us at our projected capacities whether or not we have to build a a new high school rezone children but the community should be involved in that and um we look forward to seeing any suggestions you all have in that and um look forward to working with you on that we don't want it to be a surprise to the community when we have to go do redistricting obviously we're going to have to do it once we get to Fourth high school and to adjust some of the uh uh enrollment at specific schools due to the population growth within the county um so thank you to

137you and your staff Dr Hummer for uh going ahead and looking looking to the Future for Frederick County thank you any further discussion hearing none all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed motion carries all right Mr chair so we got two other items the first is the list of suggested CIP project priorities so let me just for for those viewers at home and then also to remind the board of this process so every year the county adopts a 5-year CIP project list and that CIP project list contains numerous projects across the county not just the schools but we are part of that process so we have to provide them every year what our five-year projected project list is now with the three projects that were just approved they are on that

138list you already approved those items but as I mentioned we are going to be in 2029 2030 before we know it and we have other projects on the list here is the entire list of projects after working with my team of the 19 projects that we are considering these are projects that the Schoolboard has not adopted these are just projects that my team and I have worked through based on the age and quality of our buildings also thank you Mr Atkins what you said earlier about looking at our projections and our enrollments we have to stay ahead of that so that we can get ahead of providing a conduci some learning environment for our students because class size does matter for our students to be learning so our recommendation as we've discussed and this is

139the third time we are working through this is we are recom recommending that the next three projects on the list are the bass Hoover Elementary School Phase 2 renovation the apple pie Ridge Elementary School Phase 2 renovation and the on-site Traffic Safety improvements I want to be very very clear and this is for those listening at home because we understand that the top three projects on this list are very expensive and we want to be cognizant of the debt capacity of the county that we are not going to be asking for funding if you look over to the right until we get closer to 2028 additionally these projects can change we are going to be reviewing this every year but right now these items are due downtown and we want to make sure that we

140have these projects and we'll continue to work through these so our recommendation Mr chair is that we move forward with the next three projects on this list bass Hoover Elementary School Phase 2 renovation apple pie Ridge Elementary School Phase 2 renovation and the on-site traffy Traffic Safety improvements those are the three items we're recommending for you all for approval this evening and of course open for any questions thank you Mr chair Mr chairman yes sir I move that the board adopt the bass Elementary School Phase 2 renovation the apple pie Ridge Elementary School Phase 2 renovation and the on-site Traffic Safety improvements as the board's 5year CIP project priorities for the FY 26 um year presented by the superintendent second all right we have a motion and it has been properly seconded is there any

141discussion Mr chair I just have a clarification point I'd like to share with the community that's that are that are in the the gallery as well as watching online so when you see number four and number five both the Innovations for the elementary schools you see two numbers for the first one you see the 31566 150 oh million yeah Des thank you commas are important and then you also see the 24,2 or $4,210 n00 for bass Hoover for example the top number the most expensive the 31 million that would be if we did a full renovation estimate the 24 million is if we did a partial so we have not yet decided on those yet so just to provide some clarity that's why there's two numbers for those two projects um Mr chair Mr Atkins

142I I know this was previously discussed but just to bring Clarity out to the public um are these numbers projected at construction cost today or they projected at construction cost for FY 28 so Mr Goodwin I know we've calculated this based on today but I think we put some projections in there please clarify that for us yes these costs have had 5% added on them to it's generally less sometimes than 5% but it's between 3 and 5% which has been added so that would be for that price those projects for that cost they're updated thank you Mr Good great question Mr hains thank you thank you hearing no further discussion we have a motion been properly seconded all those in favor signify by saying I I I any oppose that motion carries the last item

143Mr chair is the third reading of 19 19p we've reviewed that based on the feedback that you all had provided to us it is listed there in board docs and the biggest change was with the signs that the audience can bring signs with them they just need to stand in in the space in the room that is not distracting for other members that are participating as well as some other other verbiage that you all had recommended to change so we took all of that and put it forth so now it is up for you all for approval Mr chair I move that we approve the uh the policy 119 p as written second we have a motion it has been properly seconded is there any discussion hearing none all those in favor signify by saying

144I I I any opposed nay one one nay that motion does carry okay next on the agenda is new business up next is new business uh first is building grounds building and grounds committee meeting report Mr Atkins all right Mr chair um a meeting of the building and grounds Committee of Frederick County Public Schools uh was held on November 11th 2024 the meeting was called to order at 2:46 p.m. and a copy of the minutes has been provided to each board member during the meeting Mr par discussed the capital projects list highlights including support facilities West exterior door replacement apple pie Ridge ele school and Orchard View Elementary School and had the bleacher replacement and track overlay at jameswood middle school he also discussed notable funding or notable funded uh capap projects and progress and

145awarded unobligated funds uh Mr Kenny gave an update on the jameswood high school uh renovation Mr Goodwin discussed the three different Virginia uh construction project delay models design bid build um construction management at risk and public private Partnerships and shared the project delivery recommendations for the free for the three uh recently funded projects Miss Chapman uh presented the recommendations for a contract award to PBI environmental restoration lcta PBI commercial for the dowj Howard Diesel and data center or data science lab HVAC renovation in the amount of uh 1,196 36329 and also shared the recommendation for a contract award to Blackstone Roofing LLC for the roof replacement at jameswood Middle School in the amount of $899,000 and for the roof replacement apple pie Ridge Elementary School in the amount of $310,000 the meeting adjourned at 4

1464 or the meeting adjourned at 5:41 p.m. sorry uh additional details regarding the committee meeting are included in the minutes provided uh to the board members do board members have any questions about what was covered at the building and grounds committee meeting held on November 11th all right seeing none we have four action items coming out of this meeting um one I move the board approve the contract award to PBI Environmental restoration LLC uh T/A uh PBI commercial for the dowj Howard Diesel and data science lab HVAC renovation in the in the amount of 1, 96,3 second all right there's been a motion made and properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed motion carries all right number two I move the board approve the contract award to

147Blackstone Roofing LLC for the roof replacement at jameswood Middle School in the amount of $899,000 second another motion has been made and properly seconded any discussion hearing none all those in favor signify by saying I I any oppos carries all right number three I move the board approve the contract award to Blackstone Roofing LLC for for the roof replacement at apple pie Ridge Elementary School in the amount of $310,000 second motion has been made and properly seconded is there any discussion Mr Bell's quick on the seconds today I like it uh hearing none all those in favor signify by saying I I any oppos motion carries number four I move the board approve the minutes for the building and grounds uh meeting held on November 11th 2024 second motion has been made and properly seconded

148any discussion hearing none all those in favor signify by saying I I I any oppos carries uh see what's next we have the instruction committee meeting report Mr Bell yes sir thank you Mr chair a meeting of the instruction Committee of the Frederick County School Board was held on November 11th 2024 the meeting was called to order at 5:45 p.m. and a copy of the minutes has been provided to each board member during the meeting M Mrs Kaufman discussed the special education advisory committee SC sorry seac Dr Meyers reviewed the program of studies Middle School gifted courses this included requests for a name change from gifted exploratory for middle school or gems to gifted academic program or Gap transition to Middle School the addition of gifted Academic Program Gap research one to the program studies

149for the 2025 20206 school year and the addition of a partial credit of 0.5 for the gifted Academic Program Gap research to for the 2025 2026 school year she also gave an update on the secondary grading Coalition which included grading scale practices in Virginia the meeting adjourned eared at 6:42 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 about information shared at the instruction committee meeting held on November 11th hearing none we have a couple of action items for to be exact number one I move the board approve the request for the name change from gifted exploratory for Middle School for gems to gifted Academic Program Gap and problemsolving research and independent study for Middle School prisms

150to gifted Academic Program Gap research 2 for the 2025 2026 school year second motion has been made properly second it any discussion hearing none all those in favor signify by saying I I any oppose motion carries second I move the board approve the request to add gifted academic Gap research one to the program of studies for the 2025 2026 school year second motion has been made and properly seconded any discussion hearing none all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed motion carries and third I move the board approve the request to add a partial credit of 05 for the gifted Academic Program research 2 for the 2025 2026 school year second motion has been made and properly seconded is there any discussion hearing none all those in favor signify by saying I

151I any oppos motion carries and finally I move the board approve the minutes from the instruction committee meeting held on November 11th 2024 second motion has been made and properly seconded is there any discussion hearing none all those in favor signify by saying I I any oppos motion carries next is the Personnel committee meeting report I believe uh Vice chair Klein is going to read that for us yes sir I am uh normal chair Mr funis is having some Voice issues tonight so I'm going to pinch it for him so I'll be reading the Personnel committee report on his behalf a a meeting of the Personnel Committee of the Frederick County School Board was held on November 18th 2024 the meeting was called to order at 4:32 p.m. and a copy of the minutes has

152been provided to each board member during the meeting Miss freakley thanked the members for serving on the Personnel committee and shared her appreciation for all FCPS staff and their hard work Mrs Campbell gave a staffing update which included professional vacancies vacancies support vacancies as of November 8th 2024 professional vacancies filled as of November uh November 8th 2024 and years of experience of new hires Mrs Rinker shared the celebrations of recruitment efforts the approximate cost of onboarding teachers with 26 plus years of experience in the divisions in which they previously taught and are Recruitment and Retention update Mrs freakley shared the results of the benefits and incentive survey for 2025 26 that was previously sent out to FCS FCPS employees and gave an update on the employee code of conduct Mrs Knight discussed the in instruction

153annual Staffing and talent report which included the standard of quality s soq information the local raos for elementary schools elementary resource classes Elementary School size reduction and Title One local ratios for middle schools and high schools and the classes exceeding s soq guidance Mrs freakley shared the licensed and classified staff for 2023 24 and the current school year and the teacher years of experience for 2024 2025 and the top reasons for staff leaving FCPS in 2023 2024 she also announced substitute Appreciation Day on November 22nd 2024 and thanked all substitutes Dr Hummer thanked the team for putting all of this information together for the committee the committee adjourned at 5:23 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

154board members about information shared at the Personnel committee meeting held on November 18th seeing no questions there is one action item I move the board approve the minutes from the Personnel committee meeting held on November 18th 2024 second motion has been made improperly seconded is there any discussion hearing none all those in favor signify by saying I I any oppose that motion carries all right last up is board member comments do we have any board member comments for this evening I would oh go ahead if you're I'm sorry yes Mr chair thank you Mr B um first thank you so much uh to our students who were honored this evening uh for the hard work that they've done it's seems like every board meeting we see the a program front and center which I love

155very very much so thank you very much for the hard work that you have done as well as your teachers have done on your behalf um and I want to also say thank you to everyone and I mean everyone who came out to speak this evening you gave us a lot to think about a lot to take in and a lot to process and I truly appreciate that um there is a couple of things I do want to address um number one one I want to apologize for some of the behavior that uh did occur this evening in tonight's meeting and the hatred that was spewed I do apologize for that I I I didn't do it myself but I I feel that it's necessary to make that apology um I also want to apologize

156because in the Board of Supervisors meeting when we were waiting patiently for the fourth High School information the the whether or not we were going going to get the funding we had to sit through a 15minute slideshow that was absolutely ridiculous and had no place in that particular meeting whatsoever so I'm very sorry for those of you that had to experience that thankfully I went home otherwise I might have joined one of the other residents in this Gallery being kicked out of that meeting at any rate um I do want to leave you with a singular quote that I hope sums up how I feel about everything that you've said and it's from one of my personal Heroes Dr King love is the greatest force in the universe it is the heartbeat of the moral

157Cosmos we who love our participants in the being of God thank you all right Mr chair Mr Atkins um I want to go ahead and uh start off with the students say and say thank you um for all the inspiration from the FFA students um they those kids get like so many awards and pictures I don't know if they have space on their parents wall anymore uh I mean they crush it everywhere not only in the county not only in the state but you heard tonight they went National and just did wonderful things um shout out to shando I I'm not trying to pick a favorite here but I mean they really put put forth I know I saw the jacket um but yeah they uh they they really uh have a top tier program

158over there um the keer cares um by uh miss our one of our FCPS students uh going down and helping out hurricane victims um I I spoke with him before the meeting and uh wanted to reiterate something that we've talked about here on the board we have um over at facilities um extra gear um you know old desk stuff like that that might be able to uh set up a classroom down there so I hope that they reach out and uh can probably take some of that stuff off of our hands and free up some space um it it we go to a 501c3 so um you know it is within regulations and we've done posted it up a couple times on the um on the auction site I want to congratulate Miss Penny um

159you know for her great management I mean what an Accolade that was you know to have no uh negative marks uh within um our school nutrition uh program um I also wanted to uh let everybody know we do have lgbtq clubs if anybody does want to participate in those those are an after school program uh if your school doesn't have one I encourage you to start one um I know that I think last meeting um I spoke on that as well and um along with any other clubs if you want to have a Christian Club if you want to have a Muslim Club if you want to have any kind of Club after school a that's that's awesome that you're right and it's legal by law um oh and then lastly thank you to the

160board our Administration the Board of Supervisors and the community as as a whole um I know a lot of you have reached out to your Board of Supervisors you've reached out to us about the fourth high school I'm sorry it's taken this long you know um but we've got it passed now and hopefully that that relieves a little bit of stress from our teaching staff and from the students so they can learn a little bit better um I hope that that the community members get involved with this we will be putting fourth uh committees that anybody can sign up to be on uh I don't know what the space capacity is for that but we want to hear your input on that um what we can have in this school how to make it better

161uh learn a Better Learning environment to our students you know we want the teachers involved they're the ones going to have to walk those Hol Halls um so any any Community feedback that we can get please send it our way thank you Mr chairman I just want to add one more thing and I apologize I did this last time and I won't do it again or probably will um I just want to say thank you to you the way you handled tonight's meeting the frustration that you clearly had and we all had and the and the group out here has had um despite all of it we we were able to get through 35 36 different comments and we still managed to accomplish the business at hand so thank you very much Mr chairman for

162the work that you've done tonight any other uh comments I appreciate those words I I wasn't going to say anything but uh I will mention one thing on Veterans Day I was honored to uh go to the breakfast at milbrook high school and and students from all three high schools help prepare that thing and when I first got there I texted Dr Hummer and said I'm in my 60s and I'm the youngest veteran in this room thankfully thankfully younger veteran showed up so but of all the things that I've done in my life and I've done quite a bit father husband grandfather published author um correctional officer 36 years rising to the rank of Lieutenant um musician other than being a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ being a veteran is the one thing

163that I look back on and I I I don't know if pride is the right word but the one thing that I look back on fondly in all the times that I spent in the Army and with the folks that I served with and it's just been a priv one of the biggest Privileges and Pleasures that I've ever done to serve this nation and wear the uniform and that's one of the things that I'm most proudest of but uh after that breakfast was over and they had a wonderful program the element School across the way and I believe it's red bud run that is correct thank you I was hoping I wasn't going to screw that up every student in that school came out to the road and they were going to wave and thank

164the Veterans as they drove by and one of the veterans tapped me on the shoulder and said we need to go over there and I walked the whole entire length of students out of the school and was able to shake hands and fist bump and a couple of them gave me hugs but I'd never experienced that in my life all those young kids waving American flags and and screaming thank you at the top of their lungs to all those people and there were some people in that room that I was in awe of uh I remember the one guny Sergeant walked in in full dress and I know it's been a while since he wore that dress uniform I can't wear my dress uniform so but I thank the the students that that honored the

165veterans and U because it's the veterans are are near and dear to my heart so that's all I wanted to say so our uh we have one announcement and that is our next school board meeting is on December 10th 2024 at 7M so with that said do I have a motion to adjourn Mr chair I move that we adjourn the meeting second it's been motioned and properly seconded any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed we are adjourned