Hampton City Schools - Hampton School Board Meeting - March 4, 2026

001Heat. Heat. Good evening everyone. >> Good evening. I now call the March 4th, 2026 meeting of the Hampton City School Board to order. I would like to thank the viewing audience and those of you with us in the gallery for indulging us as we had to shift our meeting to 8:00 as we had a we've had a long day uh with the governor, the state superintendent, and the secretary of education uh today. And so we thank you for bearing with us as we had to pivot just a little bit for today. So at this time, Miss Penny, will you please call the role? >> Miss Afana >> here. >> Miss Cherry >> here. >> Dr. Banks Gray >> here. >> Mr. Samuels, >> present. >> Mr. Kilgore >> here. >> Dr. Woodhouse >> here. >>

002Dr. Mason >> here. Let the record reflect that all board members are present. At this time, I'm going to turn the meeting over to our student rep, Mr. Caleb Lucas for our opening. >> Thank you, Dr. Mason. Uh, today with us we have Miss Payton Robinson, an 11th grade student at what some call the best high school in Virginia, Feebas High School. Um, Payton will lead us in the pledge. If you all would please stand. 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, Payton. And uh you have a poem for us. Is that correct? >> Yes, I do. >> All right, the floor is yours. One quote that inspires

003me is education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. This quote is meaningful to me because it reminds me that education is not just about learning information but about preparing ourselves to make a difference. The lesson we learned today gives us the tools to build our future and positively impact others. I would now like to read a short selection. Success is just not about big achievements but about the effort we give each day. It is about learning, improving and not giving up even when something is difficult. School gives us opportunities to discover who we are and who we want to become. Every lesson and every challenge helps us prepare for our future. That's it. Awesome. Pay um can you let us know um just a little bit about you?

004So first, what is uh your favorite subject? >> Um my favorite subject right now is my API class. >> Awesome. And what academy are you a part of at Feebas High School? >> Hospitality and tourism. >> Awesome. Um what are your future career goals? >> My future career goals are to graduate from ODU and go to pharmacy school to become a pediatric pharmacist. >> Awesome. Fantastic. And finally, um, can you let us know who you have with you today? And, uh, when she says your name, please stand to be recognized. >> Um, I would like to begin by recognizing someone who has played an important role in helping me get to where I am today. My mom, Porsche Robinson. I am very grateful to share this moment with her. I would also like to recognize

005my amazing principal, Mr. Kley and for creating a school environment where I feel supported, motivated, and encouraged to succeed. I am also grateful for my assistant principles, Dr. I and Mr. Crawford, Mr. Wood, too. I'm very sorry for that. I would like to thank them for their continued dedication to helping us grow both academically and personally at our school. >> Awesome. Thank you. And one more question I forgot. Are there any um hobbies or activities that you would like to highlight uh for the school board today? >> Um now that I'm in season, I am worried about softball out of school. >> Awesome. And we wish you luck. Thank you. >> Thank you for having me today. >> Oh, you're welcome. All right. Thank you very much. You want to introduce your siblings? >> Know

006who they are? >> I'm sorry, y'all. I'm sorry. We have No Thompson right here. Get up. >> And we have Noel right here. Say ahead. >> Thank you all so much. We couldn't leave them out. They took their time to to be with us this evening. also. But thank you all for for being here and thank you Payton for sharing with us some words. Um because you could have been anywhere at this time, but you chose to spend it with us. So thank you very much. Let's give Payton another round of applause. And thank you, Caleb. All right. All right. So next up, we have the adoption of tonight's agenda. What's the pleasure of the board? >> Mr. Chair, move approval of the agenda as presented. >> Second. It's been properly moved and seconded by

007uh Mr. Samuels that we adopt tonight's agenda as presented and it was moved by Mr. Kilgo. I don't think I called his name so make sure I call Mr. Kilgo's name. Any discussion? >> Miss Penny, will you please call the vote? >> Miss >> I. >> Miss Cherry, >> I. >> Dr. Banks Gray, >> I. >> Mr. Samuels, >> I. >> Mr. Kilgore, >> I >> Dr. Woodhouse, >> I >> Dr. Mason. >> I motion carries. Right. Next, we have the consent agenda for tonight. Item 2.01, personnel report 26-4. 2.02, minutes of school board meeting of February 18th, 2026. 2.03, school board consent to receipt of donations for March 2026. And what's the pleasure of the board? >> Mr. Chair, I make the motion to approve the consider agenda as presented. >> Second. It's been

008properly moved by Dr. Woodhouse and seconded by Dr. Banks Grade and we approve tonight's consent agenda as presented. Any discussion? Miss Penny, will you please call for the vote? >> MissA, >> I. >> Miss Cherry, >> I. >> Dr. Banks Gray, >> I. >> Mr. Samuels, >> I. >> Mr. Kilgore, >> I. >> Dr. Woodhouse, >> I. >> Dr. Mason, >> I. Motion carries. And at this time, I'm going to turn the uh meeting over to Miss Gorl for recognitions because that's why we're here tonight. >> Well, thank you, Chair, Dr. Mason, Vice Chair, Miss Jackson Aphana, members of our Hampton City School Board, Superintendent Dr. Haynes, and member of our Hampton City Schools family. Would Miss Cherry actually please proceed to the microphone on the stage to assist with tonight's recognition? And also, would

009Coach Bion join me down front by the podium? I'm gonna brag on you just a little bit before you go up on stage. Is that okay? >> Certainly. >> Perfect. >> All right. So, tonight it is our privilege to recognize and celebrate a true legend of Bethl High School and of high school athletics across the Commonwealth, Coach Craig Bion. For 30 seasons, Coach Bion served as the head boys basketball coach at Bethl High School, building a program defined by excellence, consistency, discipline, and heart. Over the course of his career, he compiled an extraordinary 437 to 291 overall record, securing his 300th career win in December of 2014 and his 400th win in February of 2022. And what I've been told is a milestone reached by only six coaches in the entire 757 region and VHSL

010history. That deserves a round of applause right there. So, Coach Bion has been pretty successful. His team has achieved eight Peninsula District Championships, eight seasons with 20 or more wins, two state championship appearances, finishing as state runners up in 2008 and again in 2017 with an additional deep postseason success in 2018. But while these numbers are impressive, and they are, they really are, the true measure of coach Bion's legacy cannot be found on a scoreboard. So, I'm gonna let you go up on stage with Miss Cherry so she can talk about that. >> You know, as Miss Gor stated, Coach Bion's legacy and his impact cannot just be measured on victories, on wins, on championships. actually is being measured in how he has impacted generations of students and student athletes who have all left Bethl

011better than when they got there. So, it's been said that you have provided discipline which a lot of times you don't see. You don't a lot of times you don't even see it in a home. But when you have someone who cares enough to provide discipline, that speaks volumes. And that's why these young men and women, because you also impacted a lot of young women, including my daughter, I know they can go out and call themselves true Bruins. Now, under your leadership, it didn't just stop at 1067 Big Bethl Road, okay? because more than 80 student athletes advanced to play college basketball, including notable alumni such as Corey Barnes, Jamal Mlean, Duke Cruz, Jontel Evans, and Oie Silki. More importantly, countless young men left his program prepared not only for the next level of athletics,

012but also for life beyond the game. And what I always remember, and Dr. Haynes and I talk about this all the time, is one time when we had citizen of the month lunchon, he had a team, the starting five, all had over three point GPA averages. Everybody on the peninsula love this team. We had them for citizen of the month come speak. Do you remember that, Dr. Haynes? We talked about that. when they left, they couldn't even get on the bus because the students wanted their autographs. Little ones were getting their autographs. And that's because of how he did things. Second thing I remember is that every time Bethl boys went into a stand, I don't care where it was, they were dressed, they were polished, and they were disciplined. So, Coach Bion, you have

013been a mentor, a teacher, a motivator, a steady presence in the lives of generations of Bethl Bruins. You've demanded, not asked for, not suggested, but demanded excellence. You have modeled integrity and instilled values of perseverance, values of accountability, and the true value of teamwork. lessons that extend way beyond the hardwood. So on behalf of the school board, our chair, Dr. Mason, Superintendent Dr. Hayes Haynes, the entire Bethl community, and the many students lives you have not only touched but shaped. Thank you, Coach Bion, for your dedication. Thank you for your decades, decades of service, 30 years to be exact, and the legacy you leave behind. You are truly an inspiration and a legend. Can we hear it for coach Bana before I present you with some very special things? you you have uh we want

014to present you with um your last game on the south side where you you all had to play that team and the referees. Um you won't see it but I will because I know what I saw and that picture in the middle that's at your last game. See it? Okay. I took that shot only because the lady who was behind me was telling me to stop yelling so loud. So I started taking pictures. But I'm going to tell you something. I took that picture and I immediately sent it at the end of the game to our superintendent and I said, "Beth fell short, but they handle it with such class." This is what he text me back and you need to know. He said, "Nice picture. Bethl has consistently shown class. It's a reflection of

015their leader." Superintendent sent that. Let's have another round of applause. Amen. >> This is it. Okay. Got this nice plaque and I'm sure you've gotten so many. But this is presented to coach Craig Bion in recognition of 30 years of dedicated service as the Bethl High School boys basketball coach Hampton City Schools 2026. We got that for you. >> Thank you. And this is a collage that you see there of the pictures that you have had taken of you doing what you do best over the many many years. And this is a coin. Nobody else would give you that. This is Hampton City Schools coin that tells you we love you. Okay? There's no value on that. Okay? Except in your heart. Okay? All right. Now, if you would like to say anything, we would

016like you at this time. I can hold all that for you. And Miss Gore told me to make sure you get that box because this can either hang on your wall or it's a little stand. You can put it on the table or something. Okay, I'll stand. >> Okay. >> I want to thank everybody uh for attending tonight to help celebrate this special moment for me. I want to thank the school board uh for their strong leadership over the years. I've seen a lot of things happen in 30 years in Hampton City Schools. Uh great leadership. I had opportunity in 2009 to leave. I actually was offered a job at Graby High School when I came to central office one year and uh Butch Harper spoke to then superintendent Dr. Russo and they kept me

017here. And I'm so thankful for the 30 years of relationships uh with the administration uh in Hampton have been great to me. more importantly the students that I serve. I love my players. Uh for the last 30 years, it was really hard decision for me to give up basketball. Uh but like I said in my ceremony at the game, uh my health the last four years hasn't been really good. Uh this last time 11 months ago, I had stage four cancer again. Went through chemo for eight months. Uh they removed half of my lung. Uh the doctors encouraged me not to come back even to work, but I wanted to come back and be with the guys at least one more year, and that's what I did. So, every time I get a chance to,

018I'm going to give God the victory. I'm going to speak what he did to me because I I I didn't have to be here. So, I certainly want to thank the school board for their kindness and love and support and leadership over the years. But I also want to thank uh Miss Stevens and Dr. Haynes and Dr. Kajiano. They came to school. When they come to school, they stopped by my office just to check on me, to say a prayer for me, to let me know they were thinking about me. Miss Stevens also did the same thing when I was out. And I know others, countless others did the same thing as well. My school administrators, academy principles, uh, principal Dr. Howard were checking on me constantly, and I was in a bad way for

019a lot of months this last time. But the patients and just to say to me, don't worry about Bethl High School. You take care of yourself first. This job will be here when you get back. we've got your back. I appreciate that love and support from them as well at all the games. I've got some teachers here and our bus driver that came out tonight, too. Thank you all. I love you all. Would you all stand? You all stand? Uh, two of my all my players were going to be here tonight, Coach Boyd said, but the time change kind of messed up their schedules. But I do have five players that showed up tonight and two of my assistant coaches. Would you all please stand as well? Thank you guys. I'm certainly going to miss

020you guys, but I'm going to support you next year. I'm going to do one more year in the dean's office and then I'll go into retirement. But I'm certainly going to follow you guys and support you all the way through. My mom 83 years old right there. my aunt Vanessa to the right there. My niece Lauren right there. And of course London right there. And Phoenix, he's the little baby making some noise back there as well. further >> without them, you know, I I probably would not have made it. I I was talking to Dr. uh calendar today and he also checked on me as well. Uh this time when I was going through chemo, this little voice would come into my head uh from time to time when times are really bad, kind of

021telling me to give up, stop. Uh, but it took my mother and my family to go to all my chemo treatments and be there with me to support me and change that narrative, that conversation, and it kept me positive and and so I owe a lot to them for what's going on. But Hampton City Schools, you all have been great. I thank you all for your love and your support and I'm going to do one more year with you all uh to help these kids in the city of Hampton make better decisions the best I can. Thank you for your support tonight and thank you for this recognition. That's the mark of a true champion. Before he returns to his seat, the players who stood, the bus drivers, the family, and everybody who came here

022tonight to support Coach Bion, would you please stand so we can recognize you? His falcony, his staff, his There you go. His principal, and I'm sorry, I forgot Daki Kroom, my athletic director back there. Richard Fortune, the athletic director for Hampton City Schools, and Coach Hor, >> I got you, Coach Porter, our football coach at Bethl High School. Thank you guys for showing up tonight and supporting me as well. Thanks so much. >> Thank you. This is the kind of recognition that Hampton City Schools really likes to do and we like to do it for one reason only. Because we always talk about the portrait of a Hampton graduate. This is the portrait of a Hampton Scholar. This is what integrity looks like. This is what dignity looks like. This is what excellence looks like.

023And as I take my seat, I would just ask that each of us, if we can take one iota of what coach Bion brings to the stage, and not just this stage, the stage of life, I think we will end up being better tomorrow than we were today. Thank you, >> Chair Mason. That concludes our recognition for this evening. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. Any comments from board members? >> Any other comments? >> You should go ahead. >> Just wanted to pick it back off of Miss Cherry. There's not much more to say because she said everything so eloquently, but I wanted to personally thank Coach Briani. Coached my son for three, I think maybe three plus years. And I just wanted to piggy back on um it was just more than just

024a game that that for him, but he was just so supportive of him. He was a quiet boy, big tall boy, but quiet, not wanting to say much. And he was coming from JB. He said, "Mom, I don't know." Because everybody tell me, "Coach Bion, it's so hard." I said, "That's what you need. That's exactly what you need." And it benefited him so well. And he's do not only did well in school, but in life. And so I'm just so appreciative of that. And thank you so much and good luck in retirement. Thank you so much, Coach Bion, for all you've done, and we can't say enough about you. So, thank you very much. All right. >> Thank you. >> All right. Moving along. Item number four on the agenda, superintendent and staff reports 4.01,

025one community, one transformation, the strategic plan update. So, I will turn the rest of it over to uh Dr. Haynes. Thank you, Chair Mason, Vice Chair Jackson Afan, board members, uh, division leadership team, and the Hampton community. For our first presentation this evening, Dr. Kajiano, our deputy superintendent and chief of staff, will present a summary of outcomes from the Hampton City Schools 2021 2026 strategic plan. The hard copy report you received this evening provides a five-year review of progress across our six focus areas and highlights the measurable impact of work on our student achievement, staff support, school climate, operational effectiveness, and community engagement. Among the key outcomes are full accredititation across all schools in current recent years. Well, in current years, continued growth in literacy and graduation results, expanded dual enrollment and career pathway opportunities,

026strengthen student support systems, and improvement in staff recruitment and retention. The report is also intended to help inform our next phase of work as we begin development of the 26 through31 strategic plan. Stakeholder feedback supports maintaining our six focus areas uh with the priorities of master plan 2.0 in themies of Hampton fully embedded within the next strategic framework rather than operating separately. Our guiding mantra one community one transformation excellence with intentionality will continue to anchor this work. This evening Dr. Kajiano will provide a highle overview of these outcomes and outline our path forward. We look forward of always as always to your feedback. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions as you have had the chance to review the report in detail. >> Good evening, uh, Chair Mason, Vice Chair Jackson Afan, members

027of the school board, Dr. Haynes, and viewing community. Thank you, Dr. Haynes for setting the stage for this presentation this evening. As Dr. Haynes indicated primary objective is to provide a highlevel overview of some of the uh progress made and outcomes achieved during the last five years under the current strategic plan and as Dr. Haynes also mentioned of course setting the stage for where we're going from here. So 26 2031 strategic plan is in the works and being developed. So taking a look at the agenda for this evening, this particular presentation, highlighting again some of those key outcomes across those six focus areas, sharing some of the measurable progress over the five years and identifying some areas for continued growth and again that preview of of where we're headed as a division. These are the

028six focus areas for our our framework for our focus model for the strategic plan. And what you'll see in the presentation this evening are uh snapshot snippets of some of the success falling under each one of those. As Dr. Haynes mentioned, you have a booklet at your table that provides a very detailed comprehensive view of this report and this also will be posted online for the viewing audience at home. So taking a look at some of the division highlights overall. So again, pages 3 through six in this particular booklet, 100% of schools accredited 2023 through 2000 through 2026 and most recently taking a look at student performance on the 2425 school year. 27 of 29 schools as the board is well aware with the new state accountability framework having a score of 80 or plus.

029So again uh meeting expectations on time graduation rate uh ending the 5-year plan at an all-time high 98.88% 88% and the dropout rate at an all-time low for Hampton City Schools. Again, two other areas of celebration, dropout rate of 2%. In the report, we also highlight the ongoing work with the four next generation learning K12 and and being named the first school system in the nation with a designation of a K12 designation. That also occurred within the last 5-year period. Dual enrollment credits continuing to grow in Hampton City Schools, particularly with the ongoing collaborative partnership with the Virginia Peninsula Community College. 52,173 dual enrollment credits earned to date. And then another big highlight, teacher pay has increased considerably and is now highly competitive. And so on page 50 of that booklet, we go into to

030detail and setting the stage for that. And certainly I know Dr. Hannes very appreciative of the board's leadership as our employees in Hampton City Schools and the collaborative of ongoing relationship with the city council. So just for comparison purposes looking back to the 18/19 school year and where Hampton ranked. And so what you're seeing in blue is where Hampton ranked five-year increments comparing ourselves our teacher salaries to salaries with neighboring school divisions. And you can see in many cases aside from starting teacher and first five years that we were toward the the bottom of of the heap, if you will. So, uh, looking at again, this has been a priority for the school board and supported by city council over the last number of years, really dating back to 2016, employee compensation and and remaining

031competitive in the marketplace. And so, you can see 38 percentage increase in points as far as uh percentages over that period since 2016. And for the viewing audience, I think it's also important to state that these were raises that were given to all employees in Hampton City Schools. On top of that, the board over the last five years has committed an additional 11.7 million of recurring funds that were distributed strictly toward the teacher scale. And so what that does did to put things into perspective, going back to where we were, what I just showed you, take a look at where we fared uh this current year. So, in every single area, with the exception of one where we're down by $200, um those additional funds going toward the teacher scale have have made us very

032competitive when it comes to to hiring the most highly qualified teachers. Student success indicators on pages three through six. Again, just some highlights here. 100% on-time graduation class uh with the class of 2025 for students with disabilities. Again, that ongoing partnership with Virginia Peninsula Community College, 226 students having graduated with an associates degree prior to earning their high school diploma. Expansion of middle school sports programs, which is another initiative of the board that continues to grow uh each school year. The dual language immersion program, you'll hear tonight when uh Miss Branch presents the proposed budget that this will be the final year as far as growing that program. And we've been adding two teachers a year as a cohort of students at Langley Elementary has moved up from kindergarten. And then uh that'll be the

033first close out of that graduating class, so to speak, moving on to middle school, fifth grade next year. And for the viewing audience at home, dual language immersion if you were to walk into one of those classrooms at Langley Elementary. Uh half the classroom approximately English language learners, other English speakers. But when you walk into a language arts or mathematics lesson, it's it's fully taught in in Spanish 100% of the time. again organizational impact looking at the enterprise fund with some of the success that we've seen in uh student achievement outcomes the board has encouraged us to share some practices with others and so we now actually sell uh some of our services to include our curriculum so over 30 divisions now have signed up with our curriculum throughout Virginia and that is an ongoing

034revenue generator for us here we have approximately $675,000 coming in of annual revenue a lot of that money goes back to enhancing the curriculum a lot of it also goes back to our employees who are creating it uh somewhat of a golden handcuffs from a retention strategy that has uh paid dividends. Association of School Business Officials and the work Miss Branch does around uh leading the budget team and uh continued being recognized for uh being good stewards of of taxpayers dollars recently and Mrs. Ruth I know is very proud of this as our director of HR being recognized on the Forb's list of America's best instate employees. Purple Star Division 100% of our schools and the work Dr. Oliver is leading and now that um we are recognized as as one of a few divisions

035particularly given our size that 100% of our schools all 29 have earned that distinction in Virginia. The hits just keep coming. I could I could stay up here all night. Again, this is a high level view and I won't I promise Dr. Mason, I know we got off to a late start. Looking at literacy progress in and teaching and learning as it should takes up the bulk of this booklet as you'll notice when you peruse through uh reducing high-risisk K through three readers. successful transition to the vowels uh system, the Virginia language and literacy screening system and we are seeing some very strong uh fall to spring growth in reading ability. Uh a perfect example and these bands of readers with the data when it spits out and teachers administrators are looking at whether students

036fall into high, moderate or lowrisk bands and then how they grow throughout the school year based on instruction, based on what parents are doing to support literacy in the home. Perfect example, last year we had kindergarteners coming in and 30% of those kindergarters at the beginning of last year were deemed to be in a high-risisk category when it came to basic literacy benchmarks. Uh by the end of the year on an assessment much more rigorous than the fall assessment. So spring assessment for example we had dropped that number down from 30% to 18% again on a much more rigorous assessment and benchmark. The so performance has consistent progress. We know the state has changed some things. One of the things I'd like to highlight in this is a few years back we used to report

037scores that showed some bonus points if you will students had the opportunity to earn growth scores and so they would count as passing. We wanted to be completely transparent with the viewing community and you can find this online as well. There are no bonus points here. These are just outright passers. So students who took the test and passed the test and you can see uh percentages across all four core content areas continue to grow under uh Dr. Harris's leadership leadership working with Dr. Bro and Miss Pard, school leadership and and the three of them working in tandem. You can see we're continuing to trend in the right direction. Uh everything is headed in the right direction with our four core content areas. And on home again, you can log on to the VOE's website and

038see how we fare in comparison to other school divisions as well. And I think you'll be pleased uh with with your the investment of your tax dollars. Uh closing gaps for students with disabilities. We do want to highlight and as you'll see probably moving forward we're getting recommendations and and as we're as we're hitting you know a number of metrics on all cylinders there are certainly opportunities for growth and students with disabilities is one uh that will continue to be an area for growth for us and an opportunity. We also have a number of highlights for students with disabilities where things are working really well. We're reducing particularly in comparison to a number of divisions the K through three high-risisk percentages are coming down. Uh subgroup tracking implemented uh we now not only monitor student

039data across all students but we've started to be specific and intentional about student groups. So when Miss Deetsz reports out student data for principles, for example, at at the end of the quarter, they're able to drill down and see how did our our school fare as a whole, but also how did our students with disabilities fair in comparison to non-disabled peers. Grade 10. And you see that when students with disabilities, we heard this today from Colonel Anderson at Langley Air Force Base, when students with disabilities stay with us, the longer they stay, the better they perform. And so we're closing gaps. And this is very indicative of that. a great example that by 10th grade and where we were five years ago as a school division 23 percentage point and gain at the high school

040level on the reading assessment for students with disabilities. Dual enrollment growth again that partnership with VPCC um Miss Pard working with Dr. Harris working with Dr. calendar credits have grown. We've continued to grow this initiative 5,627 5 years ago to almost 10,000 annually now. Participation. So for the p the number of high school students on an annual basis who are in a dual enrollment class that has grown from 8% to this year and they said don't hold us to it but I believe we can already say it to over 20% at the end of the 2526 school year. tuition support has increased teacher credit uh credentiing. And what we mean by that for the viewing audience is that uh it takes sometimes a little bit extra when it comes to courses and being able to

041be certified to teach a college level course. And so we've kind of sweetened the pot so to speak, so to speak, that if teachers are interested that we're also coming out of pocket financially to ensure that we're setting them up for success and ultimately impacting our our students. The relevance and engagement. Uh we now have personalized academic career plans. We've started with this K through 12 continuum where students as early as pre-K kindergarten are learning about careers. But once you hit seventh grade in our school system, a counselor is sitting down with you having an individual conversation about where you see yourself, what opportunities lie ahead beyond uh the the graduation stage. So really looking at it K16. Uh we've gotten a lot of positive feedback from parents on on this particular initiative. of Hampton

042Advisory Board continues to expand and so we have the opportunity to continue to provide more relevant learning opportunities. I know Caleb would agree with that and um getting more folks around the table to impact the curriculum from outside the educator lens. Signature learning experiences again working with the community. So helping students even at the elementary level to understand how the surrounding community supports their efforts. And so these are are very uh specific themed uh experiences for students at each grade level. And Dr. Herd and again Dr. Harris uh leading the charge there. A portrait of a graduate now is embedded. It's not just a high school thing anymore. Uh students at the elementary level, educators at the elementary level and middle school levels, they now see the connections based on the work of kind of

043backwards mapping it. So if this is what a a successful graduate looks like, what does that look like for me as I move from fifth grade to middle school or from middle school to high school? Student support systems, quarterly K12 risk. We used to run these just at the high school level and look at how do we be strategic about uh improving dropout rates which we have and we said what's good for high school is probably good for elementary and middle. And so over the summer, for example, our administrators get uh K through 12 risk lists. So, if I have a fifth grader, for example, who had some issues with attendance, if I'm a middle school principal, before the school year even starts, we can call the family in and uh look at a targeted

044plan of intervention prior to the school year starting. Response to intervention, we're just here talking about data systems that we have in place and we used to have them under multiple roofs. Now, we have them under one shop, uh, one roof, making a little bit easier for teachers and administrators to access. And then we've talked a little bit about literacy already and we go into depth and literacy again in the booklet. We do administer a climate survey to students on an annual basis. These are three of the items on the survey that we pay a lot of attention to. Uh we analyze all of the data, but this is one that that trends that shares how our relationships moving in our school division. So, as you can see, uh as of last year's data, 87%

045of our student respondents supports report supportive relationships. 89 indicate a positive learning environment and 74% of our respondents report a sense of belonging. and uh Miss Hatcher and her team leading the charge in the area of school climate behavior and attendance 96% met behavior expectations so no suspensions no in school suspensions and then chronic absenteeism 7% so the state defines chronic absenteeism if you're absent more than 10% or more of the school year and so we've continued to be very strategic here our principles receive monthly updates on attendance so we don't wait till the end of the year and then they're able to intervene in a timely manner working with staff so Again, that translates into obviously a tier one attendance of 93%. Staffing and retention and uh the work that Mrs. Ruth and her

046department are leading uh working along with, for example, chiefs of school leadership and others, uh 94.6% to 99.3 uh staffing 99.73% over the last five years. So basically for the viewing audience, as the board is well aware, uh we're staffing all of our positions uh at the beginning of the school year as opposed to starting the school year with a few vacant classrooms. Turnover has decreased considerably. Uh we believe that's for several reasons. Uh one in reference to the board's initiative around compensation, another one about leadership, and I'll get to that in just a minute. And our approach, which is I think a unique one, again, which I'll highlight in just a moment. Uh retention is is at an all-time high. uh 92% for us. And so it was a good thing when schoolboard members

047and others walked into new teacher orientation this year and saw some empty chairs. Uh that is a good problem for us to have. The one I mentioned I'd share later is the stay interviews right here. So rather than waiting for an employee to exit and perhaps uh leaving Hampton City Schools for whatever reason, uh moving, chasing money, etc. Uh we now hold stay interviews. So why not sit down with teachers in advance and find out what's working? Why do you continue to choose to stay in Hampton City Schools? that then has translated into best practices, sharing of best practices amongst building administrators and again contributing obviously to the retention rate. Uh we started this initiative about three years ago uh working with Dr. Kim Richardson and her work around new teacher induction which is a

048second bullet there. Uh state superintendent governor we're here today as was mentioned earlier along with secretary Smith and one of the things we talked about with that retention rate is people choose to stay often because they're getting support. Mr. Samies and I had a conversation earlier about teachers leaving a lot of times two, three years is what the data shows around the country. But if they're have supports in place, you can have such a high retention rate as we do. Professional identity and belonging there are opportunities for continued growth for them and again competitive uh compensation. Uh workforce strategy this is this graph is also in the booklet. It shows a couple of things. Uh one I mentioned earlier as you see the big blue bars moving left to right that 99.73%. So over the

049last five years, uh, this is the highest on time as far as starting the school year staffing rate we've had. You can see nice the the red line indicating the downward trend, which we're looking for with turnover there. So down to a low for us since we don't know when, of 8.2%. Instructional uh support systems, we have still have that toolkit and statewide relationship. So just for the viewing audience, our curriculum is sold to other school divisions throughout the Commonwealth. We have over 30 that partner with us as I mentioned earlier generating that revenue and we benefit from that as well. If you're selling something it better be good and it's kind of forced us to up our game to ensure that folks are getting a quality product and so it's benefited our teachers. It's

050benefited our students as well. We continue with the digital learning one at onetoone access. Over the last five years we've increased the number of Chromebooks. It used to be for example at the elementary level we had a cart per grade level. Now we've got one Chromebook per student. And so when we have inclement weather and we can now hold virtual learning and not wait to look for a makeup day. And so uh we appreciate the board's uh focus on that as well as the additional funding to support that initiative. And then again with data integration and real-time monitoring we have a great pulse on learning not just at quarterly on a quarterly basis but throughout the school year. Mentioned this already in reference to uh fiscal stewardship stewardship and the only thing I'll I'll talk

051about here is the sustainable program expansion. And I think you'll hear that tonight in the budget presentation, very thoughtful approach to designing a budget and ensuring that it can be sustained. Um, as opposed to, for example, using grant funds to to hire folks, knowing the grant's going to expire and then you've got to find other opportunities for funding if you're going to keep those positions. And a shout out to Dr. Oliver. I don't think I mentioned Dr. Oliver and other members of the division leadership team and and for her work around um purple star schools and Dr. Bowling for all of his work around uh transformation of of learning spaces. I think I I mentioned every DT member. What we learned coherent framework Miss Gorl and around public relations I think what we learned as

052far as the last five years again high level summary coherent framework drives results. We see that a systems approach is still what we um what really defines us as as as as a division. Early identification is critical whether that's attendance, discipline or literacy. um that we want to inter intervene early for student success. We don't wait until students are starting 12th grade to talk about whether they have what they need. We start that even at the elementary level. Partnerships expand opportunity. Uh staff support improves outcomes. Miss Branch, if you wouldn't mind. Thanks, Dr. Strategic alignment moving forward. It certainly is our mantra and we it will continue to be one community, one transformation, excellence with cont intentionality will continue to guide our work. Master plan 2.0 will be embedded in the strategic plan. Uh we've

053had kind of two two plans, right? We've had a master plan 1.0 with themies of Hampton and now master plan 2.0 as we're moving as a K12 continuum. But now uh looking at the fact that master plan 2.0 really does drive our work, it makes sense to mel the two. And so we will have one overarching comprehensive plan that takes into account certainly everything that's in master plan 2.0 and the academy themies integrated into the core division work. Uh moving forward again as I mentioned earlier you you can never take your eye off this prize and that is strengthening literacy that so that will continue to be a focus for the division as we know it's a gatekeeper for our students expanding post-secary pathways and opportunities. Uh we're very excited about not only the dual

054enrollment numbers increasing, we have one associate degree program at one high school and the goal really is to move to a position where we can have one at each of the four high schools. So again, continuing to work closely with VPCC use of data from state interviews. We talked about that already as far as expanding best practices. And then lastly, you know, I mentioned the team on purpose this this evening and it really is and we have so many teams in Hampton. We are one large team as a division and one community one transformation but the strength of the team is each individual member and the strength of each member is the team. So uh with that that concludes this presentation again high level view and at this time I'd be happy to entertain any

055questions. >> All right thank you so much a very thorough presentation. Any questions from comments from B Mr. S I mean Mr. Kilgore. Uh yeah. Um you know, I I step back and listen to this presentation and it's perfectly clear why the governor and the secretary of the education and >> and the state superintendent wanted to come here. I almost wish they could. They gave us their whole day for the most part, but I really wish they could have seen this level of detail. I know they were blown away with what they did see, >> but this is the details about excellence with intentionality. And you know, one of my every one of those slides is great, but the one that I really liked was the one that had what we learned >> and it

056talks about, you know, coherent framework drives results and all the things that everything's moving in the right direction and um just a a really great presentation to do right before you get your budget. So this this is awesome. So anyway, thank you very much. Excellent. >> That's the intentionality piece. Yes, >> absolutely. >> Thank you, Mr. Kilgore. And with that, I'll turn it on back over to Dr. Haynes to move on into the next presentation, the budget. >> Just one more thing. I I failed to mention one member of our team, and that's our superintendent. Dr. Haynes, thank you for your continued leadership. >> Thank you, sir. Mr. Chair, it is my pleasure tonight to introduce the superintendent's recommended budget for fiscal year 2627. I am mindful uh that this is one of the most

057significant responsibilities we undertake and that the budget is not just a series of numbers. It actually represents our commitment to our students, teachers, staff, and of course the broader community. Our budget team has worked diligently to develop a recommended division budget based on the board's top three priorities which are directly aligned with the division's current strategic plan and they are attract develop and retain staff of course competitive compensation being at the top maximizing every child's learning and creating safe and nurturing schools. Additionally, we surveyed and engaged internal and external stakeholders in our community. Feedback from more than 1,300 respondents and identified the following top three priorities: competitive compensation, school security, once again, tutoring and remediation. So, as we await the final state budget, tonight's recommended budget is based on the previous governor's introduced state budget

058released to the school divisions in December. Any subsequent changes to revenue will be communicated and brought to the school board for approval. So before I turn the presentation over to Miss Branch, our chief financial officer, like to highlight a few key areas under employee compensation through careful planning, we are recommending a 3% compensation increase for employees, of course, exceeding the level included in the governor's proposal with no projected increase with no projected increase in employee health care insurance premiums. Sustainability. Despite the expiration of two large grant programs, the division has prioritized sustaining critical investments, including school security officers, English language arts resources, instructional staff, and other essential student supports that directly impact achievement. So, repurpose savings, savings resulting from adjustments and required contributions to the Virginia retirement system have been strategically reinvested to support the

059vision's priorities. And lastly, under special education, additional resources have been allocated to support special education services through continued partnerships with the New Horizon's Regional Education Center and the Department of Aging and Rehabilitation of Aging and Rehabilitation Services, also known as DAR. Funding has also been included to maintain special education instructional positions where grant funding is uh projected to be insufficient. And it is important to note that Hampton City Schools continues to provide staff for our students with disabilities that is well above and beyond the state's expectation for staffing for this group of students. And in our proposed budget, you will see that we are increasing the amount of resources allocated for students with disabilities even further. This recommended budget reflects thoughtful decision-m alignment with our strategic plan goals and a continued commitment to meeting the

060needs of our students and staff. Of course, I would like to sincerely thank the school board for your ongoing support, leadership, and engagement throughout the budget development process over the past several months. our bud division budget team and I have greatly valued your thoughtful questions, insight and feedback. Your direction Yes, sir. Your direction has helped and it was passionate too, Mr. Sams. Your direction has helped ensure we remained centered on our core mission and aligned with established budget priorities. And I am confident the community will see that alignment reflected in the recommended budget. Uh, I would also like to extend our appreciation to city manager Bunting, Mayor Gray, and the members of the city council for their continued collaboration and partnership with our school division. In the city of Hampton, we truly embody one mantra,

061our mantra of one community, one transformation, excellence with intentionality. At this time, Mrs. Branch, Mrs. Brittany Branch, our chief financial officer, will provide details of our work to date regarding fisc year 27 budget. Mrs. Branch. >> Thank you, Dr. Haynes. Good evening, Dr. Mason, Vice Chair Jackson Aana, school board members in the Hampton community, and definitely our teachers and the staff and our students. It is with great excitement that I am here to share the details behind our fiscal year 2026 2027 budget recommendation. So, let me set the stage for our budget development process. So when it comes to developing the budget, we actually take um over 10 months to pull everything together from planning um providing information to our departments and our schools on how to submit budget requests, looking at enrollment projections, looking

062at revenue projections, looking at what the governor um budget looks like for the next school year, and coming together as a budget committee to really talk through and see how these requests really um help us to push forward our strategic plan for the next school year. So much of the work and really all of the work that's been performed since August will be presented tonight in more detail. So again, the school board's priorities as part of us surveying um you all to know what the plan should be going forward. Um under attract, develop, and retain exceptional staff, keeping our focus on competitive compensation and retaining and recruiting um the best staff here at Hampton City Schools. Maximizing every child's learning, making sure that we continue our focus on student achievement and themies of Hampton Master

063Plan 2.0. and under create safe and nurturing environment continuing to enhance our safety environment and also mental wellness. For the second year again we surveyed our community because we want to hear um what our community not only our internal stakeholders but also our external stakeholders how would they prioritize the funding within the school division. So I'm happy to share the results of that survey which you can see on the slide. But we had over 13 responses from the community and over 900 actually came from teachers and staff and we had over 370 parents and guardians to provide feedback as well. So when you look at the top three priorities, you see competitive compensation, school security, and also tutoring remediation. So you can definitely see the overlap between what the board identified and what our community

064prioritized for next school year. So just a quick review for the public, we do have six different funds that we budget for within Hampton City Schools. Our fund 50 school operating fund, which is the primary fund for teaching and learning and our operational activities, food nutrition services, cafeteria operations across all of our schools. And this would include all 208 positions that um support our students with nutrition. Fund 60 reimburseable projects. Um this includes all grant awards um within the division and the most famous grant that you always hear about Title One. This is where we account for those dollars. Fund 65 rental income. We do have a few spaces um in former school buildings that we actually rent out on a long-term basis to organizations. fund 93 student activity funds. Um this accounts for fundraising

065activities um at each school level and this also directly responds to the proposed student fee schedule that you do have in board docs. Um those fees are accounted for within fund 93. And just a note for you all, there is a recommendation to add two new fees at our middle school level for two new clubs. And then our last fund, fund 95, is the instructional toolkit. And again, this is where we are selling our guaranteed viable curriculum to other school divisions. So, when we look at all six of these funds, you can see a total projected revenue number of over $369 million next school year. And I've broken down for you um by each fund so you can see the difference and where the changes are projected for next school year. We'll spend much of

066this presentation on fund 50, the school operating fund. So, I would directly just talk through um our remaining five funds. So, for fund 51, uh we are projecting over $17 million next school year. We're expecting consistent revenue um just a slight increase based on revenue from donated food items from the USDA. For our reimbursement projects fund, we are projecting over $25 million. You do see a decrease there, but again, as Dr. Haynes has shared, we do have two grant programs that are scheduled to end at the end of this school year. And also we are recommending to move the majority of our television station or CPEG program to fund50 next school year. Rental income fund we are projecting over 152,000 next school year. Fund93 student activities over 1.1 million and our instructional resource toolkit over

067$660,000. So, taking a deeper dive into fund 50, our largest fund, and it actually represents 88% of the total budget. So, here you can see a breakdown of all of the revenue sources that make up our operating fund, fund 50. Majority of the funds do come the from the state government at a projected $218 million. Um, this projection is based on Governor Yncan's budget that was released in December. And that is because at this point in the development process, that is the budget that we have the most details on from VDOE. And then you can see for local funds, uh we are projecting right now a flat amount of $99 million. Federal funds, this does not include any grant awards is 739,000 next school year. And then our other funds is projected to be over

0687 million. So for a total increase of about 12.1 million of additional revenue is what we will um discuss tonight and how we would utilize those funds. So within Governor Yncan's budget, it did include revisions to estimates around enrollment and sales tax lottery proceeds and then other required updates for the rebenchmarking process that happens every two years. We also do have a recalculation of our local composite index that is a required calculation and that measures an um locality's ability to pay for the standards of quality costs. Governor Yncan's budget also included um decrease in funding um due to changes in the Virginia retirement system contribution rates and that is because a portion of those costs are um supplemented by the state government. The budget also included a 2% compensation increase for standards of quality funded

069positions with an effective date of July 1, 2026. And there was a reduction across the Commonwealth for preschool slots based on historical usage. So, taking a further dive in state revenue, I do have some key metrics to share. Um, first being our average daily membership. Um, this is a main factor for state funding. A lot of the state programs are based on the number of students that we have and the number of students actually being in seats attending school. So for next school year, we are projecting a average daily membership or ADM of 18,432. That is an increase, I'll say it again, an increase of about 79 students. Um there's many divisions across the Commonwealth that are experiencing declines. So, it's good to see that within Hampton City Schools, we are projecting an increase for

070next school year. Our local composite index, it is um calculated to be 25.25%. Um we are currently at 25.79%. So, there is a slight decrease there. Um so, technically that would impact state funding, but based on some other factors, um we're really not seeing a large impact from that change. And then when we look at the standards of quality funded positions, um the standards of quality being the minimum education requirements. So the states lets us know at a bare minimum you should have this many positions. And that number for next school year is 1,871.74. So you can definitely see that it is a calculation with the 74. And then for our preschool slots under the Virginia preschool initiative, we are projected to have 561 slots for next school year. So again, when we look at

071our local funds, um currently at this stage in the process, we do plan on level funding from the city. So $99 million is our current contribution. So that is continued um for next school year until we hear from city council and know what the final action will be. And again, um just for the viewing audience, within Hampton City Schools and the city of Hampton, um the city shares with us 61.83% 83% of tax revenues to help fund the education within the city. Then looking at our federal and other revenue um just to provide sources for these numbers. For federal revenue, we receive money under the federal impact aid program. And then we have military reimbursements um from the Jun Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp or JOTC. Other revenue um again that $7.1 million figure, you

072can see that 3.2 2 million is actually generated um from our Hampton City Schools employee pharmacy and those dollars directly relate to the expenses that we incur to operate the pharmacy as a benefit for our employees. And just as an added note, um we do have about $395,000 of athletic fund revenue that we are projecting for next school year. So again, we do have a projected $12.1 million of additional revenue next school year and we are required to allocate those dollars by major expenditure classifications which you can see on this slide and you can see the majority of funds are allocated for instruction because that is our core business of teaching and learning and that's about 216 almost $217 million of the total fund50 budget. So, we'll talk about uh how we're utilizing to utilize

073those additional dollars. So, again, we are recommending a 3% compensation increase for employees and that is 1% higher than what Governor Yncan included in the state budget. That has a total cost of $6.4 million to fund 50. But it is also important to note that this same 3% recommendation is included for our grant-f funed positions and for our cafeteria positions as well. Then when we look at other compensation recommendations, we want to continue to maintain 30 steps on our teacher scale. And then we looked at select um positions that required or we believe needed to be reclassified. And we looked at stipens and other compensation adjustments. And one item to note within that figure of $697,000 that does include um a new stipen for new teachers that enter into Hampton City Schools as part of

074their participation in new teacher orientation. We are recommending to pay them a stipen in August um just to provide compensation for the time that they are committing to come in and learn Hampton City Schools. And this would allow them to get a paycheck in August um before their first official paycheck um in September 15th. And that is something that we have worked on in coordination with the Hampton Education Association. Moving on to benefits. So when we look at our health care costs, um we are projecting an increase in health care. Um, but I will go ahead and say that is employer costs for health care of about 7.5% for next school year. And what that translates to is an additional $1.3 million. But as you can see, we are not and I will say that

075again, we are not we are not recommending to increase our employees health care costs for next school year. So when we talk about recommending a 3% raise, that means it will not be taken or reduced down by any increases in health care costs for our staff. Then when we look at the Hampton Employee um retirement system or the HERS program, um we are projected to see a slight increase in comparison to our total budget of over $200,000. And that is just based on some changes in actuarial calculations based on mortality tables. So if we continue on and look at fund 50 position change recommendations, you will see on this slide a lot of fund fund 60 our reimburseable projects. Um but that is because one of the major decision points or expenditure pressures that we

076had was really looking at how did the end of those two grant programs, the all-in funding and one of our school security officer grants, how that would impact our operations. So we are recommending um that within this budget to move eight school security officers from the fund60 grant to fund 50. We're also recommending to move four reading specialists, eight future learning experience or the flex program that we commonly refer to it as and one restorative practices coordinator from those grant programs. So essentially this will help to ensure that we have more permanent funding for these positions going forward due to the grants expiring. Then when we look at the next couple of bullet points, two special education teachers, six special education instructional assistants, one director of elementary. Dr. Kajiano um alluded to this when we

077talked about um the strategic plan and the work that we do in the fiscal management area. We do look at the sustainability of our grants. We project out what revenues will look like next year and bounce that against what are the costs that we think we're going to incur. And just based on some projections of a potential shortfalls, we wanted to make sure that we continued to support our special education um program by ensuring that we had funding for the teachers and instructional assistants and also for our director of elementary. So those positions are recommended to move to the fund 50 operating budget for next school year. And then when we look at new positions, the last two bullet points on the slide, we are recommending to add an additional school security officer. And that's

078specifically for Bethl High School with the addition of the science wing. And then the tool to excuse me, dual language emerging teachers we are recommending to add for next school year. looking at some other recommendations when fund 50 and I will say I'm almost to the end you all. We are recommending to move in English and language arts instructional resources um from again fund 60 to fund 50. Again we want to make sure that we are continuing to fund those essential resources for our students. We want to continue our partnership with the community service board to provide services to students and also our partnership with communities and schools. We're also looking to provide a another pathway. We've actually started it last school year um to ensure that we do have um opportunities for our students

079to receive certifications. So, we are recommending to invest over $300,000 for welding and electrical program through VPCC. We are expecting some increases in our New Horizons tuition. Um, and mainly that's specifically in the area of the autism program which supports our students with disabilities. And then we're also looking to continue investment in the department of aging and rehabilitation services. Um, that helps our sped students making sure that they are college and career and life ready. and we are looking to earmark about $150,000 and that supports high school students in grades 9 through 12. And then also within this budget, you do see the last um bullet point, one-time school projects. We do have an intentional focus of transforming our learning spaces. So, we are looking to continue that specifically focusing these dollars in our elementary

080schools. So this budget does not only include um additions to the budget, we also have some savings. So again, because of the changes in the retirement um required contribution rate for retirement under the Virginia retirement system or VRS, we are projecting to have about $4.2 million of savings and we were able to repurpose those within the existing budget to help fund the recommendations heard tonight. And we also are um projecting to have about $800,000 of salary and benefits costs just based on who we have hired salary rates um and just changes in what budget versus actual results were for payroll. So again, we are able to repurpose those dollars within the existing budget. So that actually concludes the budget and I will um turn it over to Dr. Haynes in one second. I just want

081to highlight um not only for the school board but also for the public that um we've been intentional within our finance department to try to make a budget book that's typically over 300 pages more digestible. So I am happy to um publicly introduce that there is a link to our digital budget book um for the school board and for the public as well. And kudos to kudos to my team because they worked diligently to make sure that this was ready to go tonight. And again, you do have a copy of the budget flyer at your desk and in board docs and a copy of the proposed fee schedule in board docs as well. So I will turn it back over to Dr. Haynes to close us out with next steps. >> Thank you, Mrs. Branch.

082We will continue to monitor the final state budget and await the final local contribution amount from the city uh for any additional state and local revenue received. Of course, one of the top priorities from the board will be to set aside funding to make further adjustments to the teacher salary scale. We'll also look at an increase to the 3% raise if there is an increase in the raise proposed in the final state budget. Two public hearings are scheduled uh one next week on March 11 and one the following week on March 18th. These meetings will also serve as opportunities to provide updates as new information becomes available. school board of course will vote uh currently scheduled to vote on the budget uh March 25th. And as always, thank you for your support from the school

083board, the city of Hampton, uh, division leadership team, finance and human resources department, food and nutrition services department heads, principles, financial specialists, administrative support, and the entire Hampton City Schools community for your dedication and partnership in the development of the fiscal year 2627 budget. Thank you. Thank you. And at this time, we would be glad to answer any questions you may have. >> Thank you so much, uh, Dr. Haynes and and Miss Branch. Excellent presentation. Uh, any questions from board members? >> Mr. S, >> just a follow-up question. Uh, Miss Branch, in in in reference to the governor's proposed um 2% salary increase and we are proposing adding an additional 1% to that if um if it is if this budget is approved. So can you explain to the view viewing audience how are we

084able to um afford that? >> Yes. So, um when we are developing the budget, um we do have, you know, the different revenue sources being state, local, and other. And, um with what we are projecting for next school year, we're able to repurpose some local dollars in order to provide that additional um percentage increase for our employees. It's also important to um notate that we are very strategic when we do our budget. Um not every cost that is needed within the school division is recurring. So, we're able to repurpose um dollars that were previously spent for one-time needs and we're able to redirect those into um the compensation increase for next school year. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Any other questions from board members? >> Miss, >> Mr. Chair, thank you, Miss Branch,

085for that presentation. Is always so plain spoken, but at the same time, high level, I don't know how you managed to do it. I uh I was particularly interested in the additional supports in the budget for our students with disabilities. Of course, I'm a champion for all students, but specifically I I I tune my ears, my tener goes up when we um begin to talk about some of those additional supports that are in place for our students with disabilities. I was especially pleased about the DAR um addition so that our students with who may be on applied track who can continue to have those project based learning and work-based learning experiences again like you said so they could be career and life ready. Can you tell us a little bit more specifically about what those

086supports look like for our students with with disabilities in the budget? >> Yes. So, um, within the budget, we actually invest over $40 million, um, for our students with disabilities and our special education program. And that covers, you know, teachers, instructional assistance, um, a lot of, u materials and supplies, and actual services um, for our students. And those services could be speech service, um, occupational therapy or physical therapy services. We ensure that um anything that's required within the IEP that we do have the funds allocated to uh meet those needs. We also again I just want to point out that we were making sure that we were intentional about making sure that those positions that were supplementing our special education program continued to have a funding source um based on what we were seeing a

087shortfall within our grant. And that grant is projected to provide um $5 million to our special education program next school year as well. And we also make sure that you know this is the budget development process, but you know we don't have a crystal ball. So there are things that come up especially with our students with disabilities that we have to react to during the school year. So we're intentional to make sure that if we do need an additional instructional assistant to meet the needs of a student, we don't wait till, you know, we get here formally. we make sure that we meet that need immediately. >> Thank you, Miss Branch. I'm very pleased to hear it. >> Anyone else? Miss Cherry. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um I saw um in the presentation and

088we also talked about it before that health care costs are rising just like everything else is. And um 7.5% is that what the Okay, that's a lot. That's a big amount. Um I I don't think I've ever heard a budget presentation where health care costs have fallen. So um I don't recall that, but it it continues to rise. But with a 7.5% and your recommendation, superintendent's recommendation that we pick that cost up for our employees, could you just give once again just a brief overview on how impactful that is? >> Yes, absolutely. So again, you know, with an increase of 7.5% um many organizations, you know, we'll probably look at how can we, you know, not pass on 100% of that increase to um our employees, but typically, you know, it's not unheard of to

089provide or pass on a percentage to our staff. So, when that does happen, what if you do have an increase, you know, let's say you're going to receive, you know, an additional $1,000. I'm just using um a very high level figure. If you're going to receive $1,000 increase in your pay, but we're um passing along a percentage of healthcare increase, and let's say that's $500, then you're truly not seeing $1,000. So when we talk about absorbing and taking on the entire increase for our health care costs, we're making sure that in my example that that employee truly sees $1,000 at the end of the day. Okay, that that's a very good explanation. But I think there's also another narrative and that is not only is there a recommendation to pick up the entire healthc care

090increase, but also to do that on top of recommending a raise, wait for it, that's higher than what the governor is saying. So I think that's another narrative we need to look at as as well when we explain how committed this um school division is to it human capital if you will. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions from board members? >> All right, Dr. Okay. Our next presentation or our third report this evening will be presented by Dr. James Harris, our chief academic officer, who will provide an overview of the school improvement grant applications and pending schoolboard approval that will be submitted to the Virginia Department of Education to support and strengthen services for students with disabilities. Dr. Harris. >> Good evening, Chair Mason, Vice Chair Jackson Aja, members of the

091Hampton School Board. I am providing a brief update on Hampton City Schools school improvement grant application to be submitted to the Virginia Department of Education. You receive packets with the multi-year school support plan and proposed budget. This application supports seven federally identified schools who were identified under every student succeeds act due to performance gaps among student groups, particularly our students with disabilities based on indicators within the Virginia school performance and support framework. As required, each school has developed a multi-year school support planed in a comprehensive needs assessment and evidence-based strategies. A key component is specialized instruction bridge training in partnership with Stson and Associates, providing professional learning and coaching to strengthen specially designed instruction in inclusive classrooms. Our grant proposal focuses on strengthening tier one instruction, expanding targeted interventions, and improving outcomes for students with

092disabilities. If awarded, the division leadership team will oversee implementation, monitor progress, and ensure fiscal compliance. This grant represents a strategic investment in accelerating achievement and in closing identified performance gaps for our students with disabilities. Additionally, these requests for funds will require board approval. >> Any questions from board members? >> I just have a comment. Uh Dr. Harris, that that was a large packet. Mhm. >> took it upon myself after our meeting at Bethl uh this morning just to review it and I don't have any question. I think it's very thorough. Thank you, sir. >> Thank you. Dr. Haynes, >> for the last presentation tonight, Mrs. Brittany Branch, who just can't get enough of presenting this evening, will present the business and finance report for January 2026. >> Yes. Good evening again. Um tonight's board report

093is for the end of January 2026. Um our operating budget um remains at the $328.9 million. Um we spent by the end of January 55% of the budget. Um our total revenues were 163 million. Um largest funding source again being state funds and we received um over 108 million at the end of January. um our local contribution, we've received 35 million um year to date um as of the same time period of January 2026. Um 69% of the budget um has been spent for payroll costs, which is in line with what we projected um for this school year. And we do not have any further updates for our average daily membership. So we will continue to monitor our state funding um as we get closer to that magic date of March 31st, 2026. And again,

094as always, you do have a report that includes the transfers to and from the technology classification for the month of January. That completes tonight's report. >> Any questions or comments from board members? >> All right, as always, thank you. >> Thank you, >> Dr. Haynes. >> Mr. Chair, that concludes superintendent and staff reports. >> All right, thank you very much. So, moving right along to item number five, items for action. 5.01, 01 superintendent's recommendation for employee grievance matter 2026-02 and 5.02 superintendent's recommendation for employee grievance matter 2026-03 and what's the pleasure of the board >> Mr. Mr. Chair, >> I move that the recommendation of the superintendent in the case of employee grievance matter 2026-02 be upheld. >> Second. >> It's been properly moved by Mr. Fona and seconded by Dr. Banks Gray that we

095uphold the superintendent's recommendation um for employee grievance matter 2026-02. Any discussion? Miss Penny, would you please call for the vote? >> Miss Afan, >> I. >> Miss Cherry, >> I. >> Dr. Banks Gray, >> I. >> Mr. Samuels, >> I. >> Mr. Kilgore, >> I. >> Dr. Woodhouse, >> I. >> Dr. Mason, >> I. Motion carries. >> And for item 5.02, what's the pleasure of the board? >> Uh, Mr. Chair, I move that the recommendation of the superintendent in the case of employee grievance matter 2206-03 also be upheld. >> Second. >> It's been properly moved by Mr. Fger and seconded by Dr. Woodhouse that we uphold the superintendent's recommendation for employee grievance matter 2026-03. Any discussion? >> Miss Penny, will you please call for the vote? >> Miss I. >> Miss Cherry, >> I. >>

096Dr. Dr. Banks Gray. >> I, >> Mr. Samuels, >> I. >> Mr. Kilgore, >> I. >> Dr. Woodhouse, >> I. >> And Dr. Mason, >> I. Motion carries. Next item on the agenda is hearing of any delegations or presentation of any written communications or petitions. I have none presented before me and I'm getting the nod that we don't have any. So, we will move on to item number seven, which is items for information. 7.01. Next meetings, we will have public hearings for the proposed 2027 fiscal year 2027 budget on March the 11th and March 18th right here at Jones Magnet Middle School. Any other items for information from board members? Mr. Samuels. >> Yes, Chairman Mason. I just I'm very excited uh to say that our Hampton Crabers have advanced to the state semi-finals which

097will be held this Friday at Heritage High School. Um Miss Cherry and I attended the last game and Miss Stephanie Alonser and we had a VIP uh seating and we're looking forward to the Crabers um going to the championship game which will be held in Richmond after Friday. >> All right. Thank you very much. We're proud of all of our schools, but we know you can't crush a crab. >> Can't crush a crab. I was about to say it, but you beat me to it. >> All right. Any other comments from board members? >> No. >> I would like to congratulate our our student rep. Caleb Lucas um for receiving the Harry Fird Leadership Scholarship for Virginia's third congressional district, which amounts to about $30,000 in scholarship. Congratulations, Kayla. We're certainly proud of you. Now,

098any comments for information from you? >> I want to thank you all for your continued support um of our students, our staff, and our families. I'm looking at that uh great presentation of our five-year plan coming up. I'm excited to uh be looking on the outside in on what Hampton City Schools has to offer up until 2031 and beyond. >> All right. Thank you very much. With no further business to be brought before this board, I Oh, do you have anything, Mrs. You've talked enough, but anything you want? >> Any information? I have a few things. >> Okay, Mr. Superintendent, >> I thought you were just changing the order today. >> We are honored to share that today Hampton City Schools was selected as the first school division to kick off the Commonwealth listening tour.

099That's great. >> Governor Spanberger, Secretary Smith, and State Superintendent Conway visited Bethl High School, the home of academic excellence where we had the opportunity to showcase themies of Hampton Master Plan 2.0 and the exceptional teaching and learning across our schools that occurs across our schools each day. During the visit, they toured themies and participated in a roundt discussion with a wide range of stakeholders including administrators, teachers, students, parents, community members, and schoolboard members. Later in the evening, Kickotan High School, the home where everyday greatness is the expectation, hosted Secretary Smith and Superintendent Conway for a public listening session, allowing community voices to be heard. We are grateful, of course, for the opportunity to serve as the first stop on the governor's tour and proud to share the voices, experiences, and innovative work of our students,

100staff, and community with state leaders across Hampton City Schools. We continue advancing in innovative teaching and learning experiences and for students in grades preK through 12. Beginning this week, our eighth grade students are showcasing their learning by formally presenting and defending their capstone projects at building level exhibitions, highlighting their growth, critical thinking, and progress towards the portrait of a Hampton graduate as they prepare for their next educational milestone. Next week, our fifth graders will step into the spotlight through a reverse career fair where they will present future career interests supported by research on salaries, budgeting, and real life decision making. At the same time, eighth graders have been exploring real world community challenges and developing potential solutions, demonstrating how classroom learning connects to meaningful civic engagement. That concludesformational items from the superintendent, Mr. Chair. >>

101All right. Thank you very much. Anything else from any other board members? All right. So, now we're going to declare this meeting adjourned with no further business to be brought before tonight. Thank you.