001like to welcome you all to the May 22nd, 2025 regular monthly meeting of the Portsman City School Board. This meeting is now called to order as you please stand now for a brief moment of silence. You may be seated. We do have some very special guests here with us on this evening. I ask him Dr. Bracy would come forward and introduce them at this time. Thank you, Chairman Patillo. And good evening, everyone. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. All right, that's more like it. And welcome to our board meeting tonight. We're pleased tonight to have Churchland Preschool join us. Let's give them a hand. Now, I see Principal McIntyre getting getting the students together. So, our students tonight are Delvin Huggin and Zoe Cox. Now, I will start with the intro on each. I will give
002the bio, but parents of each of the students, if you want to go ahead and get in position so you can have a better spot up here to take pictures, feel free to come up front. That's not a problem. So, I'll I'll start with Delvin. Delvin has three teachers at Churchland Preschool. Miss Hammond, Miss Woody, and Mr. Gracie, he has two He has two He has two favorite foods, pizza and tacos. And he loves playing PlayStation 4. Specifically, his favorite thing to do is to play games with his brother on the PS4. He's involved with his church and when he grows up, he wants to be a police officer. Delvin's parents are Mr. Delvin Huggin and Miss Betty Johnson. If you all are here, please be recognized at this time. Next, Zoe, who will provide
003us with the school statement at Churchland Preschool. Zoe is in Miss Little and Miss Brown's class. Her favorite food is cupcakes. That's a great answer. She likes playing with dinosaurs and her iPad, but her favorite thing to do is to play with slime. When she grows up, Zoe wants to be a firefighter. Her dad, Mr. Joshua is Mr. Joshua Cox and mom is Miss Linda Rivera. And you all please be recognized as well. All right. At this time, I will turn it over to you, Miss McIntyre, and then we're ready for Delvin with the pledge. Good. I will say it. [Music] My name is Hag. Please go do it. Mr. B class, please [Music] cl to the flag of the United States of America to theublic als nation and under God and a friend for
004living and just for all. You may be seated. That's the way you Dr. Patillo school Dr. Patillo, school board chairman, Miss Atkinson, vice chairwoman, school board members, Dr. Bracy, superintendent, ladies and gentlemen. Good evening. My name My name is Zoe Cox. I am a prek student in Churchland Preschool in Miss Littleles and Miss Brown's class. A day at Churchland Preschool is so exciting. Here is what we do. That's so inviting. We come to school every day because attendance matters. We are on our way. We eat yummy breakfast, just to name a few. Cereal, juice, and milk always gets us through. Announcement time is so divine. Listen to our pl line by line. I am a church preschool panda. Gentle and kind. I learn to share, care, and use my mind. I work hard every hour
005because I have paired the power. [Music] Learning time is so much fun with the Frog Street curriculum. We are not done using technology to brighten our future for each day. Using technology to learn our way to brighten our future for each day. Our Thanksgiving lunch with family and friends showed us how we are loved again and again. Community supporters and people like you helps Churchland preschool stick together like glue. The administrator, teachers, and staff, they love us. So they guide our path and watch us grow. And while we won't stay little for long, for now this is where we belong. Church le preschool, your present, your future. Thank you. [Applause] one. Miss McIntyre, can you he hold them for one moment? Delvin and Zoe, Zoe and and Delvin can come up for a moment. Uh
006board member Miss McWain will have a a token she wants to give them at this time. Thank you. He said, "Put your phone. [Music] [Applause] If you don't mind, could I please have my um Churchland pandas to please stand? They are very highly supported this evening with our director and our support staff and all my teachers. Thank you. board members and have any comments at all. Thank Thank you again, Miss McIntyre, for you all coming out and starting our meeting off right. Let's give them another hand. [Applause] Agenda. Agenda item 3.5 is our school board mission statement. Miss McWain, the mission of the Portland Public School Division is to engage all students in learning that will foster academic excellence and responsible citizenship. Thank you so much. Agenda item 3.6, attendance. Roll call. Madam clerk, Miss
007Atinson here. Mrs. Boon, Dr. Cotton, present. Miss Futrell here. Miss Mcwain here. Mrs. Cessence here. Mrs. Shoemate here. Dr. Walker here. Drill here. Thank you so much. Agenda item 3.7 is consideration of the agenda for May 22nd, 2025. I entertain a motion at this time. Move for approval. Second. Motion made by Miss Futrell. Second by Miss Shoe. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, roll call. Madam clerk. Dr. Yes. Yes. Yes. Miss Shoemake. Yes. Dr. Walker. Yes. Thank you so much. Item 4.1 is a budget update for fiscal year 2526. Dr. Bracy. Thank you, Chair. Um Mr. Faulk will come up to get this give the initial report. Good evening, Chair Patillo, Vice Chair Atinson, school board members, Dr. Bracy. I stand before you tonight to give the public an update on the status of our
008FY 2526 budget. Uh, as you know, on May 13, 2025, Portman City Council approved their FY226 operating budget. Within that budget, the city council approved our operating budget. However, our operating budget was not fully funded by council at that time. Therefore, our budget currently has a deficit of 1,943,454. So, approving the budget with that $ 1.9 million deficit, the city council presented PPS with several options that they asked us to consider to balance that budget deficit. First, they proposed that we use attrition savings from positions uh in FY2526. Second, they proposed that we borrow $1.9 million from their fund balance to eliminate the deficit in in our next year's budget. However, then we would have to pay those funds back with any remaining UNC unencumbered funds from this current year 2425. The third option was
009to uh have PPS to determine the best method to reduce uh the budget by that $ 1.9 million. And with that, I'll turn this presentation over to Dr. Bracie, and he'll provide additional information in relation to our process for closing that $ 1.9 million deficit. Thank you, Mr. Faulk. At the May 8th meeting, as you know, we outlined several possible options of programmatic cuts we can make in order to meet the 1.9 million in funding necessary to meet the needs of our budget. Specifically, giving our staff members the competitive pay we've been promising for the past two years. Since that meeting, we've had questions from both board members, members in the community about how programs were selected for consideration to be cut. I'd like to provide some additional context for our options that we were
010that we compiled. At its simplest, we looked at supplementary offerings or programs in our budget that would not impact any foundational instruction delivered into our classrooms. With that list, we then looked at the largest expenditures that impacted the fewest students. For example, our dual language immersion program is a new division initiative this year which we were thrilled to launch and we were hopeful to grow into a thriving K6 program. We recognize that there are no foreign language SOS which align to the program but we felt there was a great benefit to building students cultural awareness as well as their bilingual and biiteracy skills. However, at this time there are 41 students enrolled in it this year and eliminating DLI would save the division 732,000. Another program the division in the in our division is our
011alternative education center new directions. It is recognized that students who are not succeeding in a traditional classroom setting can be successful with different supports and environments. However, the state does not require an alternative program education within divisions. Student enrollment is harder to estimate for the as the enrollment is a is dynamic throughout the year, but typically there are about 100 students in the center. By not offering new directions, we could place students in a virtual environment and a huge savings of more than 1.37 million. Starbase has always been a long-term partner with PPS and parents in our division can speak to their own experiences at Starbase as students as well as having their children take part in it. However, it cost the division an estimated $850,000 to run the program each year. The program is
012only for students in grades four through six and there's no alignment with the state science SOS for grade five. There are no science SOS in grades four and six, meaning that this does not support student achievement on state assessments. By re-evaluating Starbase's role in the division, we would also save $300,000 in mobile classroom costs at Victory Elementary School where the program will be housed. Another partner that we have with a long history is with communities and schools. That program brings in community staff to actively engage with parents and guardians, helping them to connect with vital support systems and tools to contribute to student achievement. That is important work, but again does not directly address classroom instruction and only support select families and select schools. Discontinuing the partnership would have a savings of $200,000. Other items
013that again did not immediately and directly impact instruction, minimize the number of students involved included things like middle school sports, after school activity, transportation and security, field trips for the divisions, performing arts students. We have in essence looked under every couch cushion to see where we could find the funds. I want to make it clear that no one on this das or in these seats is happy to be in this position. However, we know we have to retain and recruit staff to run our division each day. Since we did not get the funds we needed locally, we need to make these hard decisions. If we're not competitive with our salaries, we'll be in a critically challenging, unsustainable position professionally that we cannot allow. If the board has any other questions at this time, you know,
014I'll be happy to take them. Do we have any questions from board members? Um I guess I that's what the easy way to say is it appropriate to use unspent funds. That's more for Mr. Faulk I believe. Sure. Uh Dr. Cotton in relation to your question. So, the options we were presented, the the couple options we were presented would use uh either unspent money from this current year or use potential unspent money from next year. That's not a good way to balance a budget with one-time funds. If you have a budget that has recurring money. So in other words, if we use one-time funds to balance the budget next year, the following year, we would start that year in this particular case 1.9 in the whole before we even started, which meant you would have
015to find that every year if it wasn't funded. So, it's not a good budget practice or manageable budget practice to use one-time funds to um cover a deficit from year to year because that deficit is going to continue to go forward if you if you use those one-time funds for recurring items. Thank you. And I was asking that question because it was proposed and you know, I just want to make sure I was in line with the answer that I gave. Thank you so much. Vice Jackson. Thank you, Chair. I just want to piggyback on uh Dr. Cotton's question. So, what is the projected amount that we plan on sending back this year so far? Well, we don't know that right now because we have a number of contingencies that are out there for this
016year. um things like esser funding for example the federal government took funding away from us in ESSER that we had planned to use within grant funds but the federal government stopped those programs so right now we're in a appeal process to see if we can get that money back that that number depending on how much the money that the federal government will reimburse if any at all we have to have that out there as a contingency uh for this year that's the biggest contingency so I couldn't give you actual number uh for the rest of the year because of those uh things that are out there. We also are still waiting for the state budget calculation tools to come out which includes this year's calculation tool because they make changes to the FY2425 count tool
017as well every time they do a budget. So we haven't seen those numbers either. So until we get those final revenue numbers based on enrollment, we wouldn't know what our total revenue picture is going to be. Gotcha. So, um, and and I'm and and like, uh, Dr. Bracie said, I think we all have heartburn with these particular cuts. I'm just thinking of, you know, other options outside of, you know, what we were presented with. So, if we were to go into this pot in which Dr. Cotton me mentioned, um, it would be a one-time thing and we would have to find it the next year. Is that is that what that is? Yes, ma'am. because you would use one-time money this year to close the gap. So, when you started the budgeting for next year,
018that gap would still be there because you use one-time funding to close that. You wouldn't have funding to support that as you went forward. And they're recurring costs every year. Those costs would recur. You're not When you use one-time funding, that's usually for a one-time project or something that you do one time. You don't allocate one-time money to recurring things. For example, if if I gave a raise this year and I used onetime money to close the hole for a raise, well, that raise would be there for next year as well. So, when I started my budgeting, I'd have to find that money to cover that raise for next year and the following year and the following year and the following year if the money wasn't there. So, that's why it's dangerous to use onetime
019money to cover a deficit. Okay? So, it wasn't an option like, "Hey, school board, if you find a 1.9 this year, then we'll fund it the following years." No, ma'am. Okay. Thank you. And can I say this to Dr. Brazil? I guess the question would be where does this large pot of money come from that that we're that we're discussing and that's from vacancies. You know, there's a national teacher shortage that I'm sure everybody's aware of. So when you are not able to hire all the positions that you have allocated that creates vacancy savings as is just the term that we use. So that's how you accumulate the amount of money that's there. So it's not like we didn't plan or budget for it but when you don't hire the staff that you have planned
020for that creates a large amount of savings. So that's the that's the piece I wanted to make sure everyone understood. So it's not that we're not managing the money that we have. We have money that's allocated for personnel that we can't fill. Miss Schumate. Thank you, chairman. Um, and this is just a statement, not necessarily a question, but I think it's good for people also to understand that with the vacancy savings, you also have incumbrances. And I would love for you to explain what that is because sometimes people think because the funds are there um you should be able to spend it but when you have encumbrances and there's different situations why you will have encumbrances. So everybody knows that when you're trying to purchase something you may not can purchase it right then and
021there. Um, if you have a RFP out for something and you plan on purchasing, say, cars, well, the cars aren't available until next fiscal year. Is it smart to spend that money? No, you're still going to need it because that's an incumbrance. So, a lot of times people are looking at um the budget as a whole, but they're not looking at it from a breakdown perspective. Also, when it comes to grants, certain things that we have, you have to match it or they're reimbursed. So, we get the money, but it's a reimburseable situation. So, I think sometimes people don't necessarily understand um a budgetary perspective, and I'm I'm not I'm not trying to downgrade anybody's understanding. I just think sometimes when it comes to budget, um people look at a pot of money or a
022a good um amount and say, "Well, you guys have this and you have that." But there's different situations that come into play when it comes with that money. Um you can't just spend it. Um we have certain things with the state as well as the federal government that we have to adhere to. The city is not like that. We have to um account for every fund that we have. And so we don't get to play with our money. we have to be accountable for our money that we have and we have to be good stewards of the money that we have as well. So that's the only statement that I had. Thank you so much chairman Miss McWain and then Miss Trail and then Dr. Cot. Okay. Thank you chair. Um Mr. Faulk, could you
023dwell on the effect that it would be if we borrowed the 1.9 million from council because I know people think that oh these were some good ideas but u would you dwell on that? Sure. uh the the the option to borrow as I said before would be a one-time uh item where we would borrow the money based on funds that we think we would have left over at the end of this year and or next year and then be obligated to pay that money back with the the contingency that oh by the way when we start our budget we would have to find that $ 1.9 million again. The difficulty for schools is that we're fiscally dependent. We're dependent on other governments to provide funding for us. We can't generate our own funds. We can't
024raise taxes. We can't go out and sell this that the other. We're fiscally dependent on local, federal, state, and other agencies to give us money. And it's a a finite amount of uh resources. So, we have a small amount of resources. It comes and it comes from other people. So, we don't have the ability to go out and generate. And so that's why it would be difficult to use onetime funds to cover a balance when you don't know if you're going to have those onetime funds in the future or not. Miss Futrell. Thank you, Chair. So I just want to be clear um Dr. Faulk. So Mr. Fox, it's it's prophetic I guess. I don't know. But um when we look at budget, right, just as a regular person that all of us should have
025a budget and we're looking at ours in particular, we came into this thing already in a deficit. We came into it already in need. Um and so everything that we've asked for hasn't been so that we can do anything extra. It was so that we could maintain and improve what we currently had. Is that correct? Yes, ma'am. Okay. So when we don't get it fully funded and then we are charged with the options that we were given um the same day within a few hours to make that harsh decision and we're not able to do that. It's not because we don't want to. It's because it would put us in an even worse situation. Yes, ma'am. Okay. And then the other part that I wanted to ask um is when we talk about this money
026um because of course we we've all been hit with these sidebar conversations and I'm sure the public has as well those in-house and those watching um with the idea that school board gives back so much money you know every budget and you know every year they just give back so much money they're being fiscally irresponsible because they give back so much when they could be spending that. What happens when we don't give the money back that was already allocated for the specific things and we tend and we want to use it for something we shouldn't? Well, we we always have to give it back. Every year we give a report to city council usually in September that says here's what we have left over and then in in in past years we've said and here's
027how we want to use those funds. And usually what you will find is that we're using them for one-time items because we're not obligating ourselves for something beyond that one-time item for monies that were left over. And as Dr. Bracy said, normally that relates to vacancies that we've had within the budget um based on the teacher shortage that we've had nationwide. Um, so yes, we we always go back to city council and ask for what we want to use those funds for and then they approve or disapprove or whatever the case may be and then we use them in the way that they've asked us or told us that they want us to use them for. Okay. And we provide city council with our budget yearly. Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Dr. Cotton. And then vice
028ch. My my question that I asked was kind of rhetorical and I didn't know to who did I direct it to, but thank you for explaining that. But I guess to pick up where um Miss Shoemake left off and kind of where you left off, thank you for pointing out that any finances that we receive come from government. Uh not taxes or anything of that nature, not a casino or uh and we do get some grant money, but that was what I wanted to point out. I was hoping that our liaison were here tonight, but I do want the public to know that you cannot run a school division like the city has run. Uh the governances are different as well as um we receive money from what is given and most of our governing
029uh council ran on public education and that we really we really need to come together and figure this thing out. But I thank you for explaining it. It's just certain things and to what Miss Tamara said is not to anyone's ignorance. Some things we just don't know. And as your elected board members, we want to make sure that you are fully aware of where our finances come from. Uh what this this budget crisis I'm going to call it, that we're in has put all of us in some sense of frustration trying to figure it out to better serve not just students but also staff. So, I just want to thank you for those who have been concerned, those who have emailed and called us. Thank you so much, vice chair. Thank you, chair. Uh, Mr.
030Faulk, so um just for transparency, can uh you explain to the public what encumbered funds are and unencumbered funds? And then uh secondly, so um just hypothetically just throwing out an example, if we were to send back let's say uh 7 million um and we already made program cuts, you said we can use reallocations for one-time expenses, correct? So So let me take the first part and I'll come back to the second part. Encumbrances are in in simplest form something that you have contracted to buy, but you haven't received it yet. So, you've put out a contract that says, "I'm going to buy $1,000 of instructional materials. It is encumbered, which means that subtracts from the balance that you have out there available." Those materials might come in in a month, but you've already encumbered
031them. So you know in your balance that that a th000 is not there anymore. You've encumbered it. When those items come in, then you're going to pay for them and that a th000 is going to be subtracted from your bank account and then it hits your expense side. So you see that the reason why you have incumbresses is because you don't you want to make sure that when you're contracting something your account that has already been spent and that you don't that you do not have a record of it before. So that's what encumbrance is to to follow that. We also have to get approval from city council at the end of the year for the encumbrances that are out there at the end of the year. And most governments have encumbrances, things that they
032haven't received at the end of the fiscal year that may come in a month, a month and a half, but they're out there to show these funds are obligated and that you've already spent them and so they need to be reallocated for the following year. Your second part of the question was so for example if we say and I'm just throwing it out there um because it was on a previous list Porttown Magic 42,000 we decide to cut Porttown Magic and then once we hey send money back to city council for reallocation we can't say hey can we reallocate these funds to pay for Porttown Magic to come back. I mean, you could, but again, you're looking at a one-time situation because at that point is one-time funding. It's not permanent funding. And if we're
033going to pay for that for Porttown Magic every year, that's still not permanent. Thank you, Mr. Fallie. Mr. F. Um, the one area I think that Miss Atinson was had mentioned was about the the 7 million and what do you do with the funds? I think the the piece that we need to remind everybody about is that the city put in place um an agreement that with any funds that are that are returned there's a seven we can put up to $7 million per year for up to a total of 21. So basically they established that during this fiscal year to say any funds that you have that will be placed into a CIP fund because we don't we don't have the the ability to fund our own CIP. So that's something that they've already
034put in place agreeing to 7 million being able to go in there. So I would hope we don't have that much because you know we have projects that are ongoing that we will try to spend. But let's be realistic and anyone that knows anything about good finances knows that we're not going to spend it down to the last dollar. There is a a general contingency that's always there in finance and we will have money that will go back. But up until that 7 million that goes into a CIP and that's understood. So hopefully if we're there it won't be any back and forth of you have this money because we all agreed that if it's 7 million that's where it will go. So I just wanted to make sure that everybody understood that that piece
035was in place that from this year. Thank you. I guess Mr. F, if there's a a small slimmer of bright light is that we have not received a count two uh back from the state. So there's a possibility that we could get more uh from the state than what's currently in the budget. Correct. Yes, sir. Yep. We're waiting for those COs. They I think they'll be available sometime in June from what the state is telling us. And what that is is once the state approves their budget, there's a calculation tool for schools because we can't just grab a budget and say this is what we get. The state gives us a calculation tool that says here's your revenue based on all the factors that we have in our formula and here's what you receive. And
036we use that to build our budgets, our our proposed budget and then obviously our final budgets. All right. Thank you. Any more questions from board members? Thank you so much, sir. Thank you. Agenda items 5.1 and 5.2 is public comment on non-aggenda and board agenda items. Madam clerk, do we have any speakers? concern regarding Portsouth public schools. If you wish to address the school board, you must register with the clerk of the board ahead of the scheduled meeting start time. During public comment, each speaker will have five minutes to share their comments with board members. Speakers are not allowed to yield their time to another speaker and they are not to make any formal resolutions, declarations or proclamations as part of their comments. Speakers are reminded to ma maintain a quorum and respect while addressing
037the board. Specifically, no individual personnel, student or family should be named in comments as speakers are at their own risk of violating confidentiality laws and/or defaming the subjects of their comments. Neither the school board, the superintendent nor school administration will respond publicly to any comments by by speakers. A written copy of speaker's comments can be left with the clerk of the board and any other matter requiring a response will be directed to the superintendent and school administration to address as needed. As the board opens to public comment, the audience is asked to be respectful of all speakers. Our speaker is Lisa Downey Hood. Good evening, Dr. Patillo, Miss Atkinson, Dr. Bracie, and members of the school board. I am Bel. Lisa Downey Hood, executive director of Starbase Victory Incorporated. When the members and supporters of
038Starbase Victory please stand. I'm here today to speak on behalf of those in the community who strongly believe in the value of Starbase Victory and the Portsouth Public School Partnership, which has been for over the past 23 years one of the most forwardthinking and impactful components of our school's educational offering as it relates to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through experential learning and development opportunities. I understand the district is facing a $ 1.9 million budget shortfall. These are in fact difficult times and we don't take lightly the gravity of this situation. But by cutting Starbase program, I do not believe it's the solution. I believe it's a step backwards at a time when we should be moving forward. Your previous support of Starbase 2.0 was clear evidence of that. You enthusiastically endorse expanding the program
039to the middle school and high schools, creating a complete pipeline for the exploration, discovery, and development of students for future STEM and STEM related fields. This program doesn't just teach science, technology, engineering, and math. It integrates them with real world application, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. skills that are not only essential for future careers, but for lifelong problem solving. Students aren't just memorizing formulas. They'll building prototypes, coding software, designing sustainable solutions, and engaging with mentors from local industries. This program brings learning to life. The data is clear. Students who participate in experential STEM education show higher levels of engagement, better academic performance, and are more likely to pursue STEM career fields that are not only in high demand, but are vital to our local and our national economy. with the numerous career opportunities that are
040available right in our own backyard. maritime, healthc care, manufacturing, construction, technology, and data analytics. We run the risk of a workforce development opportunity that reduces our students in preparation for the high demand fields that are contributing both to your strategic plan, expedition 2025, continuing to promote and expand access to technical and career awareness programs and the city's strategic goal of offering highly skilled, welleducated workforce to support these opportunities. Eliminating this program would widen the opportunity gap and send a troubling message that these goals are now optional. I understand the gravity of having to make cuts when funding is not readily available. But certainly 23 plus years in a collaborative partnership speaks to the commitment that both PPS and this community believe in our students through a unique program that focuses on preparing a workforce through
041progressive and experential learning opportunities at the earliest stages of student development. Starbase program is not just a luxury. It's an investment. Cutting it may balance the budget today, but it will cost our students, our workforce, and our community far more in the future. The one thing that I am certain of is that this board and the PPS division works diligently every day in developing today's students to become productive, workforce ready citizens for tomorrow. We believe Starbase Victory is an integral part of that work. I pray we'll be able to work together to find a smarter path forward. Thank you. Thank you so much. Only speaker. Thank you. Agenda item 6.1 is our student representative report. Mr. Peterson. Good afternoon, school board chair, Dr. Batillo, Vice Chair Miss Ainson, Superintendent Dr. Bracy, and other school board
042members. As we gather for this meeting, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the incredible journey of this school year. It has been a year of growth, learning, and resilience. Together, we have navigated challenges, celebrated achievements, and strengthened the foundation of our school community. Many students have demonstrated passions and perseverance. Our educators have inspired and guided with unwavering dedication and our families have been a pillar through support of every milestone. Whether in academics, sports or the arts, we have seen remarkable progress and unforgettable moments. Beyond the achievements inside the classroom, we have fostered a spirit of collaboration, inclusivity, and innovation. We have adapted new challenges, introduced exciting initiatives, and built connections that will serve our community well in the years to come. The dedication of our teachers and staff have made all
043the difference, ensuring that every student feels valued, supported, and encouraged to reach their fullest potential. This school year, I had the goal of increasing student connectivity, and I believe I was able to achieve this goal. From the beginning of the school year to present, I feel that the amount of students interacting with each other has grown by magnitudes. From the cafeteria to the hallways, these schools now have a new life and energy within them. And I'm proud I can say this. I also wanted to take a moment to recognize my fellow students who have made this school year truly special. Throughout the ups and downs, you may you have shown incredible dedication, determination, and support for one another. Whether excelling at academics, stepping up as leaders, or finding ways to uplift those around you, you
044demonstrated strength and a character in ways that inspire me. Seeing the passion and resilience within our students bodies fulfill me with confidence that our futures are is in great hands. In 16 days, many of our students are nearing a very important part of their life. I am happy and excited for all of our upcoming graduates. But this thanks also extends to all of Porsche public schools workers who allow all the students an opportunity to be the greatest versions of themselves. On behalf of the students of ports of public schools, we thank you all for your help in the building of our futures. As a as I close this chapter, as your student school board representative, I'm filled with grat gratitude for the teamwork, commitment, and heart that makes this community so special. The future is
045bright, and I have no doubt that the legacy of excellence and compassion will continue to flourish. Thank you for allowing me to serve this role. It has been an honor. Here's the continued success of our schools and the bright futures ahead and the continued development of Portland schools future leaders. Thank you. Thank you so much, Devonte. And I'm not sure if board members have anything, but I just want to thank you uh for your loyalty and your dedication uh to this work. And uh I personally know how uh dedicated you've truly been uh to the fact you were willing to walk to and from the meetings uh when we had them and that that that spoke volumes to me and I just want to thank you for your dedication and commitment and it's truly unmatched.
046Uh uh you are one of the best that Porzouth has to offer and and I'm excited about your future. Thank you uh Miss Petra. Thank you, chair. And I just wanted to say congratulations. Um you were definitely one of our what was it 30 some students that we had graduating re um the other week? 3 what? 39. 39. Yeah. So you one of 39 that graduated from TCC with your associates. So we definitely want to congratulate you for just shining like PPS does. Excellent work. Thank you, vice chair. Thank you, chair. Um, congratulations again, Devonte. I think um, what you accomplished during the school year speaks volumes considering, you know, a lot of, and I know you don't mind me, the hardships, um, dual enrollment, student representative, like chair said, walking to and from schoolboard
047meetings, not taking our ride opportunities. Um it it speaks volumes to what type of of man you are becoming. Um I pray that you you know use those life lessons and carry it um in the future because that's where it's going to humble you. That's where you're going to get your drive. That's where you're going to get your passion. And I always tell kids, don't forget where you come from. Always come back to give back. Thank you. Thank you. I also wanted to thank, you know, Miss Nasco. She had my email 247, you know, reminding me about meetings, asked me about my my statements. But thank you all. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Agenda item 7.1, consideration of expulsion discipline case 2024-253. I entertain a motion at this time. Move for approval. Second. Motion made
048by Miss Schumate, second by Vice Chair Ainson. Any discussion? Seeing none, roll call vote. Madam clerk, yes. Dr. Cotton, yes. Mrs. Futrell, yes. Miss McWain, yes. Mrs. Cessums, yes. Miss Shoemake, yes. Dr. Walker, yes. Dr. Patillo, yes. The vote is unanimous. Thank you so much. Consent agenda items 8.1 through 8.5. I entertain a motion at this time. Move for approval. Second. Motion made by Miss Futrell, second by Vice Chair Ainson. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, roll call vote. Madam clerk, Miss Atinson, yes. Dr. Cotton, yes. Mrs. Futrell, yes. Mrs. Mcwain, yes. Mrs. Cessims, yes. Miss Shoemake, yes. Dr. Walker, yes. Dr. Patillo, yes. The vote is unanimous. Thank you so much. Agenda item 9.1 is our recognitions. Uh we're excited to honor the latest set of Shining Light Award winners. The Shine Light Light
049Award program is the division's employee recognition initiative that works to highlight the true shining lights in Portsouth who go the extra mile in their work and help ensure that we are in fact shining brighter together. This school year, 22 individuals were selected to be honored in their schools and offices. Tonight, we would like to formally recognize them here. When you hear your name called, please make your way to the front of the de. And excuse me if I mispronounce it. First from Brighton Elementary School, Shadessa Gainor. Also from Brighton, Felicia [Applause] Davenport from Churchland Academy, Ashley Belton and Hillary Davis. [Applause] from Chen Preschool. Jennifer [Applause] Cypos from Chen Primary Intermediate School. Vicky Sanchez Tiller also from Churchen Primary. Janine Morris from Kraott Middle School. Michelle Dion [Applause] Berner from Douglas Park Elementary. Denita [Applause]
050Quero from the Department of Curriculum Instruction. Jennifer [Applause] Thomas from Lake View Elementary. Andrea Daniels from Manor High School. Shawn Bill from the Office of Human Resources. Shauna Ames from the Office of Information Technology. Waverly [Applause] Phillips from Olive Branch Preschool. Mallette [Applause] Lindsay from Park View. Corus [Applause] White from Simonsale. Jodie Hoffikler. [Applause] Also from Simonsale. Taylor Rouse. [Applause] from Victory Elementary, Andrea [Applause] Samuels. Also from Victory, Hannah [Applause] Finnoff. And from West Haven Elementary, Deja Mercer. [Applause] Ladies and gentlemen, please give our 202425 Shine Light Award winners a round of applause. Now, our honores were presented with their awards throughout the past school year and they were surprised in front of their students or colleagues by Dr. Bracy or another member of the superintendent's cabinet present them the division certificate as well as
051a PPS writing pen and lapel pen. But we have one more surprise for them tonight. At this time I'd like to welcome members of the Porsche Schools Foundation board of directors to come forward. Tonight we have President Charlotte Ki Hardy as well as Dr. Wayne Williams, also principal of Victory Elementary, and Vincetta Dickerson, director of internal audit at Rivers Casino Portsouth. Let's give them a [Applause] hand. Good evening, Chair Patillo, Dr. Patillo, Vice Chair Atinson, board members, Dr. Bracie, and school board guest. On behalf on behalf of the Portzum Schools Foundation board of directors, it is my honor to recognize this year's recipients. This award highlights the exceptional staff members within the district who go above and beyond their roles by providing a nurturing and supportive environment, building meaningful relationships with students, and also managing
052to do your work and any other work that's thrown your way with grace. I am joined tonight by Dr. Wayne Williams who has been on our board for several years now. Um he's the principal at Victory Elementary and Vincetta Dickerson, the director of internal audit with Rivers Casino. At this time, the foundation would like to present each honore with a $50 token to show our continued support and appreciation. As I call your name, please come receive your gift. Andrea [Applause] Daniels. And if we call your uh the person's name and they're not here, we'll make sure they get their money. Andrea Samuels from Victory. [Applause] Ashley Belton, Churchland Academy. Coralus White, Park View Elementary. Denita Quirro, Douglas Park. Deja Mercer, West Haven. Felicia Davenport, Brighton Elementary. Victory Hannah Finnoff, [Applause] Hillary Davis, Churchillin [Applause] Academy,
053Churcheland Primary and Intermediate. Janine Morris, Churchland Preschool. Jennifer [Applause] Seas IRC Jennifer Thomas Simons Jodie Hoff [Applause] stickler Kraok Middle School Michelle Dion Bernier Mlette Lindsay Olive Branch Preschool [Applause] school. Shardessa Gainor, Brighton [Applause] Elementary. Shauna Ames, Office of Human [Applause] Resources. Shaun Bell, Manor High School. Taylor Rouse, [Applause] Simonsale. Vicky Sanchez Tiller, Churchilland Primary and Intermediate. Waverly Phillips, Office of Teformation and Technology, IRC. And last, but certainly not least, Zia Quick. That concludes our portion of the program, but I'd like to leave you with this quote. When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves. Keep shining your light. Thank you. Uh, congratulations again to our shining lights. You can read their full nominations by visiting the Shining Light Award page on ppsk12. us. Thank you
054again. All right. Before I go on, Mr. Who who who's that guy sitting beside you right there? Huh? Who's that? You You know you know him as your dad. I I I know him as Coach Wolf. You know, I was he he had a a great way of humbling you as a young man and I played baseball for Caval Manor W for a long time. You know, I was a superstar there. So when when when I was in ninth grade, I decided to go play JV for IC Normal. You know, I was I was a superstar coming to the JV team. So, you know, I was sitting there. He said, uh, he announced the starting lineup. He said, "But tell you, you riding the bench." I said, "How? I'm riding the bench." He said, "Boy,
055you got a golden glove, but you just can't hit." No, but I I thank uh your dad. He was an inspiration to many of us growing up and and in sports and athletics, and I'm glad to see you're continuing and carrying that torch with our students in PPS. And thank you for all that you do. Thank you, Dr. Till. Dr. Patillo, no, you can't speak. Agenda item 9.2 is the VSBA student art contest. Am I am I am I skipping something, Clue? I'm right. Oh, art contest 2025 Tower Water Spring Regional Forum Art Contest. Dr. Dere, good evening. Chairman Patillo, Vice Chair Atinson, school board members, and Dr. Bracie. Exciting news tonight. Every year, three students works are selected to represent Portsouth at the VSBA, Virginia School Board Association Student Art Contest, which is held
056in conjunction with the annual VSBA Spring Regional Network Forum. This year we had three um students who were selected to represent the various levels. Each of these students deserves recognition for their artistic merit. Their hard work, dedication, and inspiration is communicated in their beautiful and thoughtful works of art that they created. Two of which you could see right here. So on your way out, if you want to take a look, our uh art coordinator, Miss Taylor Martin, has displayed them for you. It takes bravery to create artworks and to share this work with the community. So we commend each of them for their amazing work. We also celebrate their teachers for their constant support as they work to attain their artistic goals. So, with that said, um I've got some certificates here. I'm not sure.
057Do you want me to hand them out or is one of you want me to hand them out? So, this year, um and if you're here, if you could come up, we would love that. Ellie May Reynolds was selected for the elementary level. [Applause] and her artwork is on display. Melanie Velasquez was selected for the middle school level. Not sure if she's here tonight, but her artwork is on display over there as well. And uh the young lady selected to uh represent to the high school level winning first place this year was Kayn [Applause] Jones. So Kayn's artwork is currently not here because it is actually on display with the VSBA and she is now going on to the state competition I believe um to represent Portsmith. So congratulations and we wish you luck. Thank
058you chair. Thank you so much. And I would like to say uh Kayn's portrait is displayed at the VSBA office for the entire year and she is one of the few students in the entire state that's going to the state competition and if she wins the opportunity to win a $1,000 scholarship uh from the VSBA. So, but we're rooting for you. Agenda item 10.1 is the monthly report from the superintendent, Dr. Bracy. All right. Thank you, chair. I'm thrilled to open my remarks with some great news. Um, our own director of school counseling, Lorraine Slicky, has been named the 2025 Virginia School Counselor Association Leadership Award recipient. The leadership award recipient has had a proven positive impact on the school counseling field and Miss Slicky certainly fits that bill. She helped two of our schools
059earn recognized ASCA model program status for 2025 and she worked to elevate school-based mental health services and expand professional learning opportunities for counselors in our division. Congratulations again to Miss Slicky. Next up, as our students, staff, and families know well, we're in the midst of so testing. I want to wish our students the best as they continue in these tests. We know you're doing a great job in showcasing that all you have learned this year. Parents, you can help support your children by making sure they have a good nice rest and any test that they can get a good breakfast on test days that counts to making sure that they get the breakfast at school. I want to also acknowledge the tireless efforts of our teachers administrators, specifically the office of assessment and accountability for
060their work in navigating the demands of this testing season. Thank you for all you do. Families, in addition to SOS, we're also getting ready for the 202526 school year. If you have not already, please remember to complete your school check-in for next year. Families can log into their parent portal account and follow the steps to complete the school check-in. All students need to have a school check-in completed so that we can plan such things as bus transportation for students as well as have up-to-date contact information and forms on file. Families are asked to complete the school check-in by to by tomorrow, May 23rd. If there are any questions or issues assessing the school check-in, you can contact your child's school for assistance. Finally, we have our last holiday break coming up. All schools and administrative
061offices will be closed Monday, May 26 in observance of Memorial Day holiday. We'll certainly be thinking of all of our families who have lost someone while in service to our country. Thank you again, Chairman Patillo. That completes my report. Thank you so much, sir. Agenda item 10.2 is a board member comments or concerns. Do we have any board members at this time? Of course, Dr. Cotton. No, I just wanted to echo uh Dr. Patillo, thank you uh Coach Wolf for all that you instilled on us. I I'm not in us. I'm not going to correct any of his statements. I'll just say thank you for allowing me to be a part of the starting nine. God bless you. Do you have any worthy comments this evening, Miss Schumig? Thank you, chair. I'll make this very
062quick. um to the citizens um and if you have a child that's um in school, please make sure that you have a close connection not just with us but with your representatives, whether it's a delegate, senator, um write to your uh secretary of of education. Um, I know some of you may already know, but next f next school year, um, 10% of your child's final grade, um, will be determined on them passing the SOS. That is very disheartening. Um, I know for me, one of the things when I first um, got elected, I wanted to see if we can do away with SOS. And if you're not too familiar with how SO started, uh I was in school, high school from uh 1996 to 2000. So it started during that time. And um what they
063did was provide a um assessment throughout the state of Virginia to students and to see where they were. Majority of the black and brown students did horribly on math and science. Then they created the SOS. They didn't change the curriculum. They didn't try to delve in to see what could help our students do better. They created a standard where you have to pass a test knowing that most people are not good test takers. The previous Secretary of Education, Atif Carney, um who I sincerely miss, um was an advocate for getting rid of the SOS as well and focusing more on curriculum and uh making it more uh understandable and critical thinking for our students. We no longer have him as the secretary of education. So now um instead of the SOS being an an option
064to take and it's not necessarily punitive towards your child, it is now going to be punitive. Please advocate as much as you possibly can because this is not going to help our children. When we're talking about budget cuts and everything else, we now have to make sure that we are focusing more on curriculum-based programs. and curriculum based entities so that our children can get all of the information that they need in order to pass these SOS. Now, I know it hasn't been a big issue in the past. The the only issue that I've heard consistently was from teachers, of course, because they are at the front line of SOS and they feel as if it's not helping. They are teaching to help the students pass the SOS, not necessarily teaching so that they understand the
065material, which is an issue all in itself. I just urge everyone to please contact your representatives, write to your board of education, write to your secretary of education, and express your deep concern for this nonsense. I'm trying to make it as PG as I possibly can. um this is not going to help our babies at all. It didn't help them before and it's not going to be um any help to them moving forward. So, I just wanted to put that out there to let you guys know what's coming in the near future and hopefully it would change with new administration, but as of right now, next school year, that is going to be the course of action. Thank you so much, chair. Thank you uh Miss Futrell. Sir, thank you sir. And so I um
066as well as Miss Schumank, we both sit on the HR committee and we had a really great meeting this month and I just wanted to with permission from Dr. Bracie um asked Miss Jackson to really speak to those vacancy numbers. I think that that's definitely something as as loud as we can scream it and as much as we can say it, I'd love to definitely highlight you and and your team for your hard work this year. Oh, sorry. And with that, um, ADHD, pray for me. Um, can you come up, please, and just speak to those numbers and let the world know how PPS is shining in the HR world? Absolutely. Good evening to all. Um, I started with Portsmith Public Schools October of last year and just kind of pulling the carpet up, just
067kind of seeing where there were needs and we truly needed a recruitment team and as such in creating that recruitment team, we've had an opportunity to create a robust marketing plan. we've just spread to the world um through social media platforms in terms of openings that we have and as a result of doing that we've been able to attract uh caliber candidates from all over the world and we're continuing to go on that trajectory to ensure that we can find caliber teachers as well as classified employees too. So, we're proud as to what we're doing, but it's momentum. We will continue to do what we're doing to ensure that every single position is filled within Portsouth public schools, but the caveat to it all is retaining all of them. So, we're proud. Yeah. Miss Jackson,
068what's the numbers? Talk talk to us about those good numbers compared to last year, where we started and where we are now. Absolutely. So I will start with January. So we had 160 teacher vacancies and as of last month we only had 89. So there is truly momentum. We will continue again doing what we need to do to find qualified teachers. You're welcome. Miss Walker. So just to echo the sentiments of Miss Schumick that that so pass rate also includes our students with disabilities and as she stated that you know you also need to be able to contact those representatives. We also have a local group in each school division which is SEAK which is the special education advisory committee and we don't oftent times have a lot of participation from parents or for anybody
069that wants to support that community. So now is the time for you also to go and support that meeting as well because historically um as a special education teacher then a lot of times our special education students don't always pass within that so for that particular time and especially in high school if they have those retakes. So as a local option um the next meeting for SEAK is June the 17th and it's at SH Clark. So for all of those parents that have students with disabilities or do not come out and support that group um because they also go to lobby at the state and federal level as well. Thank you. Thank you so much, Vice Chair. Thank you, chair. So, so in summary, uh throw the whole SOS away. Make teachers great again. So,
070um make sure you do contact uh your delegates. But I would be remiss if I didn't thank uh Bons Secor. Um they recently partnered with us for kids and griefs and they have the opening of um their women's imaging center on June 9th. They're also going to have a special guest uh Star Jones as well and that's going to be at the women's club in Portsouth on June 9th. I think women's health is an issue that we don't talk about as much. Um women's health issues is one of is a priority um in my life. I I preach about it. um I advocate for it. So, it's great to see um a women's imaging center in Portsouth, especially with um the age gap or as as I would say um women my age dying um
071to breast cancer. Um so, thank you Porsouth, thank you Bon Securus for opening up this women's imaging center. I know it's going to uh save some some lives. Are there any more comments by board members? Miss McWain. Thank you, chair. Um, first of all, I want to say thank you to Starbase for coming out and speaking. And I want to encourage um our parents to come out as well um to give some of, you know, some of their opinions about what's going on in the school system. We need to get more active. I also want, speaking of the SOS, I want to um just talk to our um educators, all of our educators because we're all included. Um please uh we're going to take care of you. Y'all know that Dr. Bracie, Mr. Folk been
072working hard to make sure we do that. And um I I ask that you dig deep. Yeah. Dig deep next year and um pour all you have into our kids so that 10% um of their school grade will not hinder them. um know that we are here for you and to support you. And I'll be remiss if I don't end this night just thanking you all for all that you do. I know it's not easy, but you're certainly appreciated. Thank you, chair. Thank you so much. If there's no other business to come before this board, this meeting is now adjourned.