Stafford School Board 12 10 24

001all right I also we wanted to do it's not on here but I do want to welcome uh our new student reps Gabby and Lillian who are joining us here today um and also first official meeting with our new superintendent we have a welcome basket for you you now we can pick it up on your way out thank you very much okay now I will move forward with the results from our community engagement for Drew Middle School for the program and design okay great well thank you all um I just wanted to take a moment introduce um this is Stacy Lampman from spaces design studio and our associate Miller blacker um also with us today is Tom Lee from Saha Associates um Tom and his team for the successful um awarded uh AE team for

002the design through Middle School you may recognize them from their work on the elementary school so we're very excited about that but Stacy and Miller spent quite a bit of time with us over the last few months working through um some uh community outreach um and more recently Tom and his team have be done integrating into that um we envisioned a seamless process over the next couple months to hand off of some of the information but first we wanted to go over this with the board today um we did present to you all was about a month maybe two months ago now I've lost track um the uh potential survey questions that we were sending out so those did go out and that's what we're here to talk about today so turn it over to

003St all right great good evening esteemed members of the school board superintendent uh Dr Smith uh chairwoman is uh Dr Chase here I'm here okay I can't see it um and the facilities team um before we get started I'm going to let you know that you have a um packet in front of you for those of us like myself who um may need readers or may not be able to it much appreciate oh my gosh I appreciate it so on behalf of space of giant Studio thank you for allowing us to present the results from the community engagement efforts for the uh ever e Drew middle school project tonight we will share the insights for this collaborative process and how these findings will inform the design and programming of the new school let's begin by

004reviewing the goals of our community engagement process so this engagement is PR a larger process um it's designed to gather some valuable input from teachers staff parents and The Wider Community um the the feedback kind of focused on three key areas the type of space to be designed the size of the facility and the essential elements that will make the new Drew Middle School a hub uh for both education and Community Connection um through this process we also came to realize that beyond the Essential Elements um and standards that can be expected in a new modern Middle School uh we should also hone in on what makes uh Drew uh unique and ask how would that feedback translate into physical space within the new school during the design programming phase our approach um just to

005recap the timeline involved multiple methods um including teacher and staff meetings surveys um a community meeting uh that included parents Guardians and students uh each of these steps was crafted to ensure inclusivity um and to reflect the unique needs of Drew and we began this engagement process back in October um with the staff and teacher input meeting uh we continued into November with survey collection as well as an open form style community meeting um and these valuable insights that we gathered during this time are the subject of today's present ation um and they reflect our commitment throughout the process to transparency and collaboration but most importantly to ensure that all voices are heard before moving forward so without further Ado let's take a look at the results at our teacher and staff input meetings several

006clear Trends emerged there is a strong need for larger classrooms equipped modern technology a dedicated music wing with enhanced sound proofing and storage um and an auditorium space that preserves Drew's tradition of musical and Performing Arts Excellence additionally expanded counseling facilities upgraded athletic amenities and better equipped teacher workspaces were prioritized uh to support both students and staff these insights underscore the importance of Designing a space that meets today's educational needs while also supporting the health and wellbeing of the occupants in the community survey the results revealed three major prorities as well flexible and Innovative learning spaces health and sustainability and safety and accessibility uh respondence emphasize the need for adaptable classrooms outdoor areas for wellness um and sustainable design features that Foster a healthy learning environment most notably there was strong support for making the

007school a shared resource with accessible spaces for Community use um this aligns with the broader vision of dream middle school as more more than just a place of learning but a gathering place for the entire Community these priorities were then also echoed in our November community meeting uh which we'll highlight next but we do want to take a quick moment to say we're so thrilled with the response to the survey questionnaire um and pleased to report that with a total of 280 total responses the results can be considered statistically significant 2 that's actually a lot right that's yeah that's pretty good uh during the November 14th community meeting participants engaged in an interactive exercise to identify their top priorities as was similar to the teacher and staff meeting but this time we gave different color

008stickers to parents Guardians and then students which allowed us to take a look at the results in two separate series and the results were clear uh a theater or Auditorium ranked highest followed closely by modern safety measures an enhanced special education fac facilities um these preferences really reflect Drew Middle School's identity as a tight-nit community uh that values both safety and inclusivity alongside a strong desire for spaces that that bring people together I mean the feedback that we've gathered points to several key programming goals um including flexible classrooms upgraded technology and practical amenities like IEP meeting rooms and acceptable parking but we recognize the need to balance these aspirations with budget constraints but within the context of our community engagement efforts we wanted to identify programming goals and features that were truly unique to Drew

009Middle School beyond what can be expected in a new modern School design So within that context one of the most compelling Design Concepts emerging from this process is the inclusion of a theater Auditorium space that doubles as a community accessible space this aligns with the community's vision of Drew Middle School as a hub for education creativ ity and connection in closing the insights gathered through the engagement process reflect a community that's deeply invested in creating modern inclusive and inspiring learning environment more than anything else they are deeply invested in connection maintaining the strong Community bonds that they uniquely hold these findings will guide the next steps in our design process as we begin to translate these aspirations into tangible Solutions so thank you all so much again for your time um and your continued commitment

010to this project um and we're happy to take any questions that you have does anybody have questions at this point I had just a comment from attending the community meeting and it was just a comment about when you all initially worked with the teachers and the teachers are very much at Drew dealing with what I would call a scarcity mindset so they were like well could we have a bathroom for the teachers um my gosh they were like could we have you know I mean it was really um yeah it's it's it was kind of sad on one hand and and that they really had to be encouraged to um think bigger because they're just so used to to so will so can I ask what forum is as an option on all of these

011grids as far as features in a school so former be like a um community Gathering space within the school but just not with the formal structure of an auditorium a larger Gathering space yeah yeah is that considered form where we used to meet okay so one of the things I just thank you is very much I wanted to point out again um with Tom's team coming on board now we'll begin um doing some uh preliminary layout and programming over the next month or so and very quickly get to what we hope would be the program moving forward so that we can begin putting pen to paper and getting this thing to towards construction um so one of the one of the things that Tom and I have been talking about is is there a way

012to you know incorporate some of this into the design in particular one of the things is right this whole concept of a theater um and at least at the moment that wasn't in in the full scale and scope of what we had talked about um in terms of you know the budget so something that we would love to get some feedback from the board on if not today over the next month or so um you know is there a is there a desire to pursue that um and to what extent I definitely think you know we'll we can't say whether or not it can or can't be included today because we have yet to do some of that so we're happy to explore that a little bit if that's the direction so um I I

013was with Dr wonder when we went and looked at the middle schools and the idea of a cafetorium seemed thoughtful except for the seating perspective as an audience member of a parent to have a stage up here and the parents down here you're never going to see your kid that's in the second or third row speaking as a short person you don't see him anyways but so the seating perspective as an audience isn't very thoughtful um when it comes to maybe the musical performances now of course when chorus they're on risers and that you know gives itself a different so I would be more of a proponent of theater understand the cafetorium I would want to see better seating options and we heard about some of those second thing um when we were in also

014exploring these schools one of the things that we do have as an well I can speak for Dixon is um there is a chorus room a band room and a Orchestra room and there in the models we looked at there was not multiples of them and I would want not to see our students not have that Advantage at Drew of having being able to offer all three in their separate rooms right and to Dr Chase's previous comment there's going to be certain things that as a matter of if you will parody and in terms of how our actual program is set up at the middle school level that will be built into the base and already will build into the base budget in terms of obviously bathrooms for teachers things of that nature right um

015and I'm not 100% sure you might sure remember our program right now calls for separate course and course rooms and band rooms but um certainly that's something we'll take a close look at and you want an input I give you an input yeah Advocate a little bit um there was a hand over here question sure um could you define teacher support on the staff teacher sticker exercise results sure so that would be um any sort of teacher office spaces with cop The copier located coffee um or places where they can conduct meetings um whether it's students or parents um but you know Drew's current uh teacher support space I think is right up front it's bit undersized and bit low on the electrical infrastructure but that would be currently that is a beautiful way to

016say that awesome thank you I just um plain Devil's Advocate a little bit we're putting our very nice Auditorium in our new high school and I I agree with Miss um Randall about the separate space for orchestra chorus and band because and practice rooms because I think those are important but I'm I'm not sure I'm comfortable spending the money for a full community Auditorium oh I don't think what oh good because um I just think that uh we have a lot of other infrastructure that we still need I mean we're you know we still need two more schools Beyond this Elementary School 20 Rising Star um it's just difficult for me to to justify that expense I'd have to really look at see so so that was my I'm just going to Echo that that

017was actually what I was going to say if you can qualify for me what Theater Arts means I think there's a small difference in my mind between that in Auditorium and with high school six being our performing art school and that very far and not very far but also it's we specifically went a little higher in on that so we could have it as our community theater place so I think to if we're looking at being fiscally responsible for me it would be really defining getting the kids what they need but I'm not sure we need I don't know what Theater Arts means but I don't think that we need a you know so I'm just gonna just just just thoughts what what I heard at that community meeting was that it's great that the

018high school has a great Theater Arts and Performing Arts Center wouldn't it be nice for middle schools to have something to feed into that so um again for me it's going to be a money thing and but I don't know what the money is until we actually see what it would cost but I would also point out that given Drew's Auditorium used to be used a lot by all the elementary schools in the area um it will if it's not there anymore then where does fouth Conway Grafton um have that that ability to kind of use that space so I'm not against an auditorium I just don't know what exactly and that's where I am Theater Arts programming if that's equipment and sound and all that kinds of stuff that feels a bit excessive but

019I'm definitely not opposed to a separate a again to me it comes down to what does it C unfortunately if we had all the money in the world not correct I think that's all going to be of the design and the decisions we'll have to make because whatever we do is going to have to be within the budget so it's going to be a matter of priority I have a question um is going to be twostory building three three stories um when it's being designed if if we could make sure we check in with the other um middle schools about elevators elevators are always an issue that come up at the community meetings um particularly with respect to special education and even you know kids that have temporary cres crutches or whatever and having those

020elevators Central to the classrooms is going to be really important because otherwise they can't get their own time but I I I don't think I've been to a community meeting on a school design that elevators the location of elevators has not been been an issue and I know at Thompson for a while especially when the elevator wasn't working you know the kids you had to have a special key to use it and it would break and then how you get your you know your wheelchairs upstairs so it's just something I want to you know put in the free free thoughts I'm also not opposed to the idea of a theater I struggle with thinking about one in a middle school before we do one at North you know we talk about high schools having theaters

021and North really doesn't have a functional one right now at the same certainly not at what high school six will have I'm not even looking for that for North I'm just looking for something that's equal to what the other four High School currently have before you know what's still missing at North I know we've done some no no I'm just saying like a FL yeah I mean a lot of the stuff we've put in can be reused or reinstalled but they used to only have one stage light we've gotten them some more we've given them some um function as far as the tech theater side as far as sound and stuff but nothing that I just like to if we could get a list of what's missing it's on the C need to have to

022be one with the other schools because you know they may have the lights but you know when they're shiny in their eyes and they can't it's there's a whole lot of issues and and not to mention the Fine Arts Wing which is you know date to be determined on the CIP really my function the the Fine Arts Wing now I've been to Productions this year they did not have to tell us to turn our phones off because it used to be that everybody's phones would actually make it so that the mics and sound wouldn't work because it would be on the same Wi-Fi signal like so they did not have that so we've we've had some improvements I didn't have to put my my phone in airplane mode when I went well now we have

023bag right so if I were to kind of summarize some of the feedback I think what I'm hearing is that there's a desire to kind of continue to explore this a little bit more but obviously a big eye towards the budget constraints so I think that's the track we're heading down and um we'll plan to because it would be nice to see how many elementary schools would utilize it is it something that has that cross purpose that would benefit staff high schools yeah see so it's it's just something but again okay cost it became eventually it was no longer an option okay great moving forward to the future of the Heather thank you very much so there's no slide or um anything about Heather mfield um discuss what we I can want me to just

024kind of get started I think uh the goal here was to just get some direction and make sure we at least um discussed it in a work session uh format where where we're all on the same page for as we design through Middle School um right now the plan is to not include a separate area for the heatherfield day school and and right now that kind of the direction we've had is to we're going to rebuild Drew it's going to open in 2028 the existing Drew will stay constructed with the current area being occupied by the day school will stay there until the rising star replacement comes which it's in the CIP for just a couple years later uh right now not even our CIP it actually aligns with the county CIP for that Rising

025Star replacement but there will be two uh or three school years where Heather and fills will stay in the current Drew building now there will be as we start to look at the location of rising star we're going to have to maybe get created there and as we start to look at the layout about where on the current Drew site it would be rebuilt but the shortterm plan would be that it stays in the current Drew Middle School and the the basement first floor lower level that it is in now now with Drew actually vacating they might have a little bit more flexibility if they need an additional space or or some expansion but it's on a different level and we get into building Fallen apart right which is why there's no reasonable expectation that

026building's going to last correct so and that's why it's very short term we still need Rising Star but our current proposal is when rising star is rebuil it will have a day school component to it isn't it something we're discussing with the supervisors didn't the three on three have that discussion the three on three had that discussion and it seemed they wanted us to step up was the quote unquote words used um and when it was show told to them that this you know we were bringing this to them for their input on where should we go what should we do uh they didn't have anything so after the meeting Dr Bush and I started talking because she was kind of confused about why it was a topic and I said well when we talk

027about building a replacement with the supervisors the terminology generally means that we are turning over the keys to the old building um with no longer having access to it so to assume that we get new Drew and we get to keep old Drew even partially open would be a presumption on behalf of our board so we wanted to make sure that we and the Board of Supervisors were on the same page as far as those expectations none of us want to be you know the May before we open and them looking at selling the land or doing something with the land and us being like but what about all these kids that are going to be here we wanted it to be on the record and public that we intend to continue using it because

028of the time line for Rising Star um staff seem to believe that was the case they think everybody thinks that's the case but since it hasn't been publicly discussed it's not on the record that this is the plan moving forward especially for the families that are there like I wanted us to publicly say and talk about this this is our plan for now um in the meeting in the Board of Supervisors meeting I think it was when Jason went to talk about Drew I think they were also talking about or maybe it was at the three on three where they were like huh maybe it should have been that we approved both because now we're going to pay to keep one open was it at his so I'm hoping that maybe they find out a

029way to kind of accelerate a little bit that would be great um but for now we're not looking to disrupt or move those families uh for as long as that building functions I guess my biggest concern about like we know about keeping this building open on kind of a reduced um volume what does that do for cafeteria or are we going to just transport meals in or cuz I would think that keeping that kitchen running is a bigger yeah we definitely have concerns about the kitchen and it's not going to last long term without some Renovations but you know we're back into the short term and so some of that's going to it might be determined based on when Rising Star ultimately gets approved so the closer we get to that date um we can

030because of its location other schools we can bring uh food in we do that at Phoenix and some other smaller location many a couple dozen so keeping the kitchen open for a couple dozen students is different than a couple and from a staffing perspective for a kitchen and cafeteria more kitchen staff um it might not make sense either so it might actually be uh more economical to actually just bring the meals in that are prepared at Stafford High or even F ask so just because somebody said rising star and I get this isn't that but given the sort of updates we've had recently is that that's the conversation that we're looking to have with them again the the the Dual rebuild is that is that what you were asking before I would love I mean

031that's always a conversation until it's not until you know basically Jason says it's no longer on the table well I'm curious if the pictures of what's going on over there have been sent across the street to so that they understand we had that conversation in the as well but I know pictures since then right those are new pictures the ones that were sent to us that yeah yeah yeah with the canopies and the structural issues it's it's out there and yeah that's fairly new the actual structural failure that's going on now but and I get like budget is part of it you know they could want to do it I don't know what our debt services or what our debt capacity is you know depending on what that is they could want to do it

032all day long and until other money comes out of our debt but it can't but my concern is see seeing what we saw the other day in that bulletin like I I hope we have an emergency or contingency plan of where we're going to put these kids when that building is at total system failure because currently I'm not sure how much longer I think Drew will outlive rising star at this point rising star is a much older building the mil but it's poorly set up for it's what it's any it's it's but we do need to start finding I agree with you contingency plans for what happens when we can't put those students there it's already pretty bad when you're outside with those kids in the rain waiting for trying to get them on the

033buses and make sure their little faces don't touch the tail pipes and but I just don't know so and I mean this is probably a Dr krer kimon question like in an emergency situation what can we do because the rest of our buildings even our newest elementary school if it were completely empty doesn't meet the standard for an early childhood because of the B BS and you know kind of all that stuff so we don't really have a backup plan um move we're like looking at you like you have the answer right now we do we even get those overnight we have modular you know we got particular you know specific modular for Northstar because they could accommodate and they were approved for Early Childhood if we had some sort of you know wizard of

034O tornado come through and take care of that building overnight when it was completely unoccupied and there was no damage to other people or anything um we couldn't call Amazon and have trailers in the morning like it just there is no backup but that doesn't even help us with the kids going to help us find temporary space true and that's what we need to be thinking about you're exactly right a contingency plan and I would suggest that we ask the supervisors to participate with us in that planning and set up some type of a task force that could look at both um Rising Star replacement and and what happens if we need to do something on a temporary basis but perhaps you know equally as important as Heather mfield it's not going to be very

035practical to leave the Drew Building open with all the problems we have we know the systems are failing it will be so expensive to run that building with this small number of students that it may be more practicable to find Space somewhere that we could rent or that we could use you know in in the neighborhood so there's not you know you know a a big transfer um or change for the for the students but we need to be thinking about that but it's the supervisor's responsibility it is their day school it is operated on air premises they pay for it they are responsible for providing that education we provide it as a service to the county is that not correct Mr Fulmer we provide it as a service to the county so that they

036can educate you know the students you know in a more convenient local for the families but also at a significantly reduced cost because at this point if that building failed those students would have to be in private placement at a much larger price tag and a huge want make sure understands correct that's the way I've always understood it yeah so these these are some of our neediest students and so we're treating them uh inhouse in the OR educating them in inhouse at the day school because we feel like that is the best environment for them sending them to the private day placement is not the the best long-term solution for them so but they can't they can't be in our schools correct yes correct and in our normal school environment so this is the best

037environment for them but if they were going to go to private day they um that bill does get sent to the you know St County the county reimburses us for heatherfield does it a large portion of isn't it like close to a million now correct about 900,000 but there's not even a neily space adequate space in private day schools because critical shortage even we had to find emergency placement if we found classroom space we would transfer our students and our equipment what's our capacity there possibly but we don't we don't know because nobody's ever school or we should consider options is what I'm saying when Drew moves out public school at staff the problem that we have though is so what what you just said is what this board agrees with you know as far

038as um some of the burden is not the best word but some of the owners or responsibility is On The Board of Supervisors but they don't feel that way I mean they just they they just will not come to the table with the same we don't have the same factors when we're having the same discussion they see it as yeah y'all just gonna y'all need to just do it step out yeah step out I mean so to get them on the same page is is where we really need to start at to be quite honest with you Al so for us there's things for them they dollar signs right like money may or may not know the history of the Heather Enfield day school so the history of the Heather Enfield Day School is we

039had too much Middle School space and there was like how can we creatively keep grew open and Stafford Middle open and so Kathy Williams at that time andhe gave came up with that that Drew could offer this because of her background and special aded that we could perhaps create this day school as as a solution and so that that happened but there was I don't think there was ever the thought that this would go on forever I mean it was thought that and and I know I know um previous supervisors were very excited about it and we're going down to Richmond to sort of say hey this is a great model we should do more of this um but most of those supervisors aren't On The Board of Supervisors anymore and so you know it

040might be it would be good to have that conversation with them one of the things that they brought up is how I mean their expense for um Day School at this point is over 68 million and that's a lot that's a lot of dollars for our private placements so putting together something sooner rather than later to take care of we already have Elementary in high but also to you know Miss Sigman has often referred to the middle schools have been left out of our big picture of day schools and the state reimburses a lot of the county money for day school as well so I mean the child services act that's why why there's a committee and you know all that kind of thing because it's required by by code to have that for the

041day school but I will tell you that I understand that it was not intended to be permanent and it was a great idea at the time but the need for it now for the county is here day schools I mean there aren't enough of them we have transport students all the way up to Fairfax to Lowden to other counties um which is not great you know be on a school bus that long the little on like 70 miles or something transporting and to even get there aren't enough in this area at all so I would be in favor of I would love a much bigger Day School it so that we can beyond our stud home to be quite honest with you that's what it would be nice if we could inform both the Board

042of Supervisors and the state the cost benefit of something that we are already doing if we could expand it yes and they they have in the past that has been taken to the state and presented um could be presented again are you talking about like a tuition base like get a big enough spacee we could buy other counties in us are counties that we have we have Lowden students that bust down to schools in Stafford because it is the best fit because they all have you know different Specialties different it could become more of a Regional School like Phoenix May that's what I was thinking pointing out to them I think the total budget for the combined day school and um rising Rising Star thank you uh was around about 90 million for that facility

043but about 17 of that's the day school cost and I would be curious to know how much they would save in operating funds if you will every year by not sending those students over because we'd be expanding the capacity and transfer that over to Debt Service essentially it might be when you say the Day School portion would be 1 million about how many students are you envisioning or thinking of that because that to me just seems low but maybe I just don't I'm just curious to how many students would we me just a minute I'll thr that up for you okay thank you I think that number sounds right if it's um you know a, or 1100 students for a middle school to have a section oh no this is Horizon yeah so I I

044just think it's really important to note that we definitely need to make sure that for both rising star and Heather mville that the contingency planning for an alternate site needs to that conversation needs to be happening because I will say that we did mention um and it and or it was mentioned about using the Helping Hands Day School that has since closed on Route One and their problem with that was um uh Transportation getting in and out cuz currently it's private cars but they wouldn't be able to that's the one on Route One next to the post off yeah but it wouldn't be able to accommodate buses was their concern just real quick so that gives us 46 additional seats 46 additional additional so that Tak us up to like 70 we ALS I think

045our plan also pull up some out of Stafford High Consolidated into one larger public but our goal was to expand so some of the students that are currently at private day I know there some talk about oh it could be a regional school right now we're just trying to get more of our own staff County students back into our public day school instead of the private day school so this would be maybe cutting into about half of them that are currently in private day because if I remember correctly it on like that 80 to 90 range that are Curr for heafield right now that students that would prefer to be at Heather mfield but in the absence of space they're at private homebound are they private like if we're not operating that way then there's

046really hard to track I'm sure there are some and then it's also maybe the age range that were classroom aging point is the seats would not go unfilled one way or the other they either be filled locally or they could be filled regionally so so what we need to do is to ask the superintendent to put together a plan for us to review potential options contingent in the Advent that we need to find a another placement for Heather mfield after Drew is um rebuild because for that several year function um in between the rebuild of that and the and the rebuild of the uh Heather mfield but also a um rising star in the event that that building becomes uninhabitable which is a definite possibility I was going to say I'm pretty sure that it

047fits definition if we can if we can have that review I mean it's not anything we have to have you know next month or the month after but we should be looking forward and then we can share that with the supervisor so they know what we're looking at and I don't you know I don't think we have any space internal um not least that I'm aware of but you know what are are there options you know in the private sector or you know where um is I mean what might be an option I I don't I don't can you add that to the list we don't currently I think we we need to ask superintend put something together but then then that comes to us it and then we go we take it to the

048supervisors because this is going to require education oh it absolutely will but if I don't put it on the joint list then W forget when it time comes time to Joint meeting whether it's something we are ready to talk about or hold on our potential topic I think it's especially important for joint topics so that they can start helping us find space for hea mfield if we need it so in the interest of time because we do have a Clos session after I mean it looks like might have um I'm happy to look into that what I'd like to do is I am meeting with Bill Ashton this week actually on Friday and so I'd like to bring that as a topic to him talk with count with him in terms of County staff in

049terms of their perspective on and I've heard a couple different things here tonight around whether it's our responsibility whether it's their responsibility I'd be interested in their perspective on it and you know if we're going to put together some contingency plans want to let him know that's one of the things we're working on again if we'd like to invite their staff to be a part of that so we are working together on that so I'm happy to bring that up to him on Friday when we meet um and share back with you and if that's the direction board to put together some contingency plans around that and you want us to own that happy to do that and bring that back to you um also you're going to put on a joint meeting joint committee

050meeting when that might come up so we can have that ready do we still have we do have it I remember they kind of it us but we finally did get it took us we do have understand about I think it was years you might you know talking to Bill have the state statute on this right like according to into the state they are supposed to cover this yeah and I just think that the to Trish's point like I mean it's not something we need tomorrow but there is a certain level of urgency behind it just given the current conditions of both of those buildings and the Learners that are in them I mean that's not to say that I think any less of our high school students but there's a little bit more flexibility

051and adaptability with them so for me it's just there is a certain sense of urgency behind those buildings and and a contingency plan for one year when the new high school opens I'm like suggest we do this but for one year when it opens it's not going to be full with students it's not going to have a senior class and we have I remember when Forge opened what 25 years ago we had space that we set aside and we didn't use that space until you know the the school was had fully um filled with students so I I'm not suggesting that's an option but I I would like to explore anything that might be potentially available if the need comes up I also like to say that 3 four years ago there was a school

052board member that was on the committee for day schools at the county level they've excused us from that responsibility and I think that has led to kind of a lack of understanding and um they kicked us out you said it I was trying to be nice trying to be nice formal legal language why did they kick us out great question they didn't see a need for having us there but at the same time they still say it's our responsibility so wait get that on the record again they didn't see a need for having a school board member there about a school that but it's not just about our school it's really about private day and and public day it's about day schools in general um I'm sure there's minutes and there are School staff that

053goes but no board members is that something that the legis the general assembly could legislate that a school board representative is required to be there are current they currently enumerate who is supposed to be on that committee um it does say a representative from schools but it a staff person like Dr Bush or her appointee um rather than a board member okay okay R districting we'll go through this quickly I hope and then close yes so we don't have a formal presentation because it's nothing new what we have if we want to talk through them are the current scenarios that are up for discussion based on your previous meetings so these are the current um five scenarios and I guess the point for this is if there is an appetite to remove any of these

054we can add that agenda item at in our action particularly after our discussion here and the public hearing um this would be our opportunity to do that so if anyone has concerns or happy to move forward with all of these into the next month um does anyone have any thoughts on any of the remaining scenarios so um I don't but reading the thing that was sent out on Friday the transportation thing or whatever am my correct saying this was sort of their preference level one to 5 one being the optimal most optimal or was it just yes okay correct so F2 I believe so it's in order okay but it's also noted on each one what their rating was right right just um I wasn't sure it was just like you know if this was

055actually how they rated it five was best you know like but you know top 10 I didn't know so I was like let me dou Che and then just add to that Christ correct me if I'm wrong but I think just to clarify there was sorry I just want hear there was a pretty big distinction between number one being F2 and two through five okay so I just want to lay that out there was a pretty distinction between F2 which being their number one recommend number one and the rest of them that number one F2 they felt like was was Fe feasible doable we'd be in a good spot that after that there would be some significant challenges with um two through five so just is that right CHR correct so F2 is the First

056Choice F1 is your second choice that's frustrating and mostly it's the Woodstream neighborhood one was the third choice scenario e was their second choice but there was a big drop off from F2 to the next four I just can't believe that am I correct though that there is going to be a huge Improvement for transportation just with the opening of high school six the fact that you are not taking Stafford lates to Colonial courts anymore should ease up Transportation quite a bit yes it will my concern with F2 is it has the same kind of of numerical impact on our schools that we eliminated other scenarios for particularly the H1s and H which we similarly dismissed because of the impact on North F2 has the same impact on North wor but we're yeah or close

057but we're still kind of considering it and that's a little frustrating but the considerations is that for because of transportation's weigh in well H was was like their first choice so F2 is their second choice but it's actually very you know math like we got to pick and choose like we're going to do this I mean we're at Rock meet hard place but I just can't for me this discussion has to include transportations opinion or desires or whatever because what I don't want me to do right is to just you know put my blinders on and pick what I like and say gosh darn it send everything else can do whatever and then next year I'm fussing at transportation for not getting the kids to school on time I just feel like anybody I don't

058I don't I I absolutely agree do that I I just you know I you say blinders I don't because transportation is one aspect of it is not the aspect of it because the teaching and the learning environment which is our job number one is the aspect that I'm most concerned about and putting but we have to get them there right and I said blind just for me I said for me what I don't want me to do right I'm talk and I and I I fully appreciate the impact of or the input of Transportation but to me uh you know I got to listen to the community when they said just please a full North this cannot be and I've been in the Halls as a student of course but I've been in the Halls

059um and over the last year during class changes and they are not wrong not wrong North is tough it's already you know 14% projected at North is just I I it's just not sustainable it's just not actually I agree lends right now to in eight years another redistrict of some kind out of north have to be Brook right at that point there is no choice at% so so do we move them now well that's that's what I'm saying and because then it's it's it's certainly disruptive to have redistricting right now are 100% putting a district on the table because we're not getting high school 7 in 2032 it's not opening then I don't I don't know if anybody knows it I just didn't want I mean it's a unicorn I'd love to have it I

060just don't think we're so I feel like if we're going to really beat the drama on transportation we need to look at H or H1 or whatever again because that was their first choice and if we're no longer worried about other numbers then I I'm not going to make a decision based solely on Transportation I it is certainly an important factor but they're somewhat late being invited to the party here um we don't even know you know what the extent of the review was or what was taken into consideration and looking at these numbers we have to remember that Mr White told us this assumes 100% buildout of all the approved building sites which is unlikely which is yes unlikely is a good ad adverb but it's it's unrealistic except for the fact that you

061know going back to my husband's like FBI words if it's predictable it's preventable so I kind of this is a prediction I don't want that I don't want something even close to that I don't want yeah I don't want 110 but the other thing is is that you know when we talk about transportation I don't know if this is considered or not but we're not just opening a high school we're opening up two elementary schools which is also going to ease a little bit of our traffic burden and I also wonder if that was taken in to consideration that we're not just opening high school but three schools so I don't know if that was considered and this was the thought or how that came the the other thing is the consideration between F1 and

062F2 is essentially one neighborhood which well that's like one or two buses it's not four it's four buses but it's not going to each individual house it's it's it's several pickups you load the kids on and you move them why is that Four's a lot of kids there predom neighborh it's like 300 neighborhood but but if we if we are setting ourselves up for another redistricting that we don't necessarily have to do I agree but let me also say I don't think it's fair to say that Transportation came to the table late I think it's when we actually first they got invited late welled them day one that was a I mean we were talking about it but we didn't have them weigh in so I don't I don't think the onus is totally on

063Transportation as a um as the bigger metric the biggest metric for us to have to consider because there's so many other variables that are involved in it but I also agree that you know every year we find ourselves in the same position which is poor transportation getting the short end of the stick because they provided us with information and we didn't listen so that's that's very telling to me that they did go through the time and they put the effort and energy into telling us what does work and I think to dismiss it completely is wrong but I'm I don't think we're getting each or each one back on the table which is fine I guess but just for the record I don't think it's fair to say that so next year when Transportation does

064blow up there is going to be another conversation that has to be had which is our te system and reevaluating that and how we approach school start times or whatever because that will be the only option left at that point in the game U that's my opinion it's just what I foresee because I if we don't do this right now regardless of whether the county has buil out in 10 years or not which I seeing the way things have gone up when they want them to go up and how fast that happens I wouldn't assume that we won't be totally built out in 8 to 10 years anyway because there's a high motivation for building those lots and filling them as quickly as possible to support the county base so I'm just going to say

065that there's a big motivation to get those homes built quick and to get people moved into them fast that's number one number two I think at the end of the day the reality is we can't have any one of our schools at 80 something percent at all we just can't do it even if in eight years we we decide or determine that it's important to um redistrict kids I don't want us having to see I don't I'd rather see us have to do a few kids on like a small spot R District than having to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to move whole neighborhoods and things because that's just a headache I think no future board wants they're welcome whoever they are I'm just saying I can't do 80% I

066agree I agree okay um are we done with that are we ready to read into our Clos session [Music] we have a lot more time to talk about it yeah I think we need to yeah we know that okay um okay I moved that the board convene a Clos meeting pursuant to Virginia code 2.2 d371 A3 to discuss or consider the acquisition of real property for a public purpose Warehouse case where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body and pursuant to Virginia code section 2.2 d371 A7 to consult with legal counsel and receive a briefing by staff members regarding actual litigation specifically Stafford circuit court cases cl22 00171 0- and c231 1635 d00 involving condemnation where such consultation or briefing in an open meeting

067would adversely affect the negotiation or litigating posture of the School Board second I always want to say Amen when she does that amen a lot of stuff all favor oh I forg any okay we are in S I moved that the Clos meeting held by the school board during its work session on December 10 2024 be certified by adopting the following resolution now therefore be it resolved that the school board of Stafford County Virginia hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge one only public business matters lawfully Exempted from open meeting requirements were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification resolution applies and two only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard discussed or considered by the board second Dr Chase agree

068Miss guy yes Miss yes Miss hey yes Miss Randall agree Miss Sigman agree and Dr Warner agree M I'm sureair the motion passes okay is there any action coming out of close session yes there is I move that the school board authorize the superintendent to execute an offer of intent to purchase real property for a public purpose warehouse space on the terms and conditions as discussed during the Clos meeting here a second second all in favor I I sorry I wanted to ask a question sure do that intent did the terms include an appraisal that was the terms we discussed it was it was included okay then I say yes any opposed that motion passes unanimously uh we have a second motion Madam chair I move that the school board authorized councel to proceed with

069Stafford circuit court cases cl22 -00 and cl23 0016 35- on the terms and conditions as discussed during the closed meeting the school board also authorizes the school board chair or vice chair in the absence of the board chair to sign all documents associated with the aforementioned case cases is there a second second any discussion all in favor I I any opposed that Miss May and myself okay why didn't you pull the board just for the record yes Dr Chase I miss guy no Miss Hallstead I miss hey yes Miss Randall yes Miss Sigman no and Dr Warner yes and chair the motion passes 5 to2 thank you all right all right warm in here it was warm in here we got here to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic

070for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you very much to brookpoint High School's Army jrc members of tonight's Color Guard include Caleb Gonzalez and qara Castro the instructors of the brookpoint high school JROTC program are Master Sergeant selwin Reed and First Sergeant Jason palano Miss Hall would you please call the role yes Madam chair Dr Chase here miss guy Miss Dooku here miss holstead here miss Healey Mr dun here Miss Randall here miss Sigman here and Dr Warner here Madam chair you have a quorum thank you motion to approve the agenda second is there any discussion okay please cast your votes that motion passes 7 to zero motion to approve the consent agenda second any discussion yes ma'am um I would like to I was when

071I was reading through the consent agenda oh may I sorry yes thank you when I was reading through the consent agenda and I got down to the um the VOA School Improvement um Grant applications I just have to say I went through them and I'm really really impressed with I know that there's all kind the conditions of who can apply and whatnot but I was really impressed with um we we saw asks of 45,000 to 40 over 49,000 in asks but it was really I I know the principles had a team to help them and support them but I was really impressed with the things that they were asking for for their schools in the way of very it's like knowing your schools and we say this all the time but I think this is

072a really good example of it where um we say that uh the principes know their culture and their schools and their students and their staff but this was really uh nice to see the specific work that they were going to ask of their teachers and offer them in the way of training um some were going to do it uh I believe it was at Shirley Heim Mr Hills was going to take his kids on a field trip which I think is huge and important for all students to have and um even meeting them um but I just was very very impressed with um the applications that they put forth the time and effort um for the specific needs of their schools so I just want to say that thank you okay any other discussion please

073cast your votes that motion passes 7 to Z moving on uh we have recognition our Awards and recognitions we will start with recognition of a staff member for service to the school division good evening Schoolboard members and Dr Smith this evening we'll recognize students and staff that epitomize our values of students Integrity respect Community opportunity and Excellence will Mr Chris R Fulmer please join us at the podium as our school board chair shares a few remarks on behalf of the school board I want to take a moment to extend our deepest thanks to Mr Chris Fulmer for your exceptional service and unwavering dedication over the past 6 months when you stepped into the role of Acting Superintendent you ex embraced the challenge with both hands and set an example of leadership that has inspired all

074of us in the time since you took on this responsibility you've s faced a series of demanding challenges for managing the issues of our district to navigating the complexity of our ever evolving educational landscape to working with s very complex but lovely um personalities through it all you've remained steadfast in your commitment to the success and well-being of every student and staff member in our district your leadership has brought Cal in times of uncertainty and your proactive approach to problem solving has not only helped us address immediate needs but also laid the foundation for future success it's clear that you've worked tirelessly to strengthen relationships within the community engage with families and ensure that our schools continue to thrive whether it's the exciting prog ress of our new school buildings your efforts to advocate for

075improved resources or the way you innately Foster a positive culture in our schools and central office your dedication has shown brightly we have witnessed the personal connections you made with students parents and teachers alike and the positive impact you've had on our District's direction is immeasurable you've shown a deep understanding of the importance of listening to all voices and bringing people together toward a shared vision of Excellence the thoughtful decisions you've made Have Been instrumental in moving forward and I'm confident that your influence will continue to guide us for years to come of course it hasn't been all smooth sailing and there were moments where your resilience and humor were as much part of the solution as your leadership you've managed to navigate the complexities of school systems with pois with the Poise of a

076seasoned veteran all while balancing the many competing priorities that come with this role now while we're all thankful for the incredible strides we've made it under your leadership the time has come to hand you back your favorite tools the budget spreadsheets and the endless data after all there's always more budgets to review numbers to Crunch and plans to finalize so let's roll up our sleeves pass the torch and get back to work because there's still so much to do and with your expertise we know we'll continue to make meaningful progress thank you once again for your hard work your heart and your dedication we look forward to continuing to work alongside you as we keep building a bright future for our students in our community and thank you to your family for sharing you with

077us for all the extra time you put in so if you ladies would join me down um so we can say thank you [Applause] if you guys all want to join in we're going to take a photo real quick go without you guys go ahead I need okay everybody right here that's perect all right tonight also marks the final board meeting for our 2024 student representatives to the school board Miss Jolene Dooku and Miss Jennifer odan their dedication and hard work have brought valuable perspectives to the board making a meaningful impact on our school Community these two remarkable individuals work to create the monthly minutes sharing information out to all students in the division and Reporting back to the board regarding student voice and the impact of board decisions on our most important stakeholders your

078service and leadership are valued and appreciated thank you for all you have done in your role at this time we're also excited to introduce our 2025 student Representatives Gabriella Irish from Stafford High School stand Gabriella will serve as our student representative and Miss Lillian een from brookpoint high school will serve as our arate student representative ladies you have big shoes to fill and we know you are up to the task we look forward to the many ways you will continue to elevate student voices please join us in celebrating jolian and Jennifer's achievements and welcoming Gabriella and Lillian to their roles [Applause] thenk forward and a stward [Applause] all right we'll continue this evening by recognizing our outstanding theater students for their impressive accomplishments at state championships we'll Begin by recognizing Rodney Thompson Middle School for

079their performance of home home of the brave a play about military dependents navigating moves deployment and finding belonging this is especially heartwarming as we reinforce our commitment to military families students would you please come up to the podium when your name is cult Olivia Simon Elena Wilburn Amelia Beck Sydney Butler Avery Janssen Avery Nichols Logan Smith Zas Summerland Noella Brier Aubrey Vernon Eevee Tucker Reagan Carlile Lily abowitz Aubrey grer Liliana Howland and their director and teacher Mia gel giosi all right congratulations Thompson team bring it in we're going to take a photo real quick and then behind congratulations pleas have SE next we recognize the outstanding achievement of the tent and Gale students who ear ined a prestigious gold performance ranking at the Virginia Theater Association competition this accomplishment reflects their exceptional Talent dedication and

080commitment to Excellence in the Performing Arts please join us as your name is call Mason Schulman Sloan Miller Adrien Cruz Eden Rivers Camry Walker and their director and teacher Miss Victoria boria all right congratulations to the Gail team tonight we also extend congratulations to Stafford High School's theater company for their repeated annual achievements at the Virginia Theater Association conference their dedication creativity and hard work were recognized with multiple Awards showcasing their Excellence both on and off the stage well done to the entire cast crew and production team for this remarkable accomplishment will you please come forward when your name is called Josephine Martinez Emily harod Sophie Statler Sophia arll Sadie Barbieri Laura Huber Aiden Langley Jacqueline Stewart Charlie [Music] Turner Maddox Newman Evan barley Kyle berin Angel corus Connor crisp Abby DEA Rowan cook and

081Kendall lra Lewis Jonathan Ramirez Nadia Scarlet Jackson shenaman Natalie moleni and their fearless leader Mr Michael didario thank you so much congratulations to all our themed our esteemed theater students we are sure to to see many more great things from you in the future now you're going to have to do the cheerleader sit Neel Ben stand and bring it close together I can't superent or this gentleman here on the there we go all right everybody ready congratulations [Applause] all right we'll now recognize our student musicians for excellence in their craft will you please come to the podium when your when your name is called the following students participated in the Virginia Jazz Ensemble from Stafford High School Wright Stokes and from Mountain View High School Alexander Lindsay the following students participated in the North Central

082Regional Orchestra Jacob Scott Alec Martin Jacob is from Brook Point Alec is from Colonial Forge Aaron nanaku from Colonial Forge Rex humadi from Colonial Forge from Mountain View Julia erby Gavin Kelly ning howan from North Stafford Matt Carter Victor vioro and from Stafford High School Calvin eeler Zoe Lee Lamar sound rright Stokes and our middle schooler tonight miss Laura Ruiz from HH pool Middle School and rounding out our talented student musicians we'll now recognize those who participated in the Virginia music educators Association senior honors choir from Colonial Forge High School Mia poly Aaron Murphy and Brody Connelly from North Stafford Victor voro from Stafford Sophie Statler Kyle beeran Matthew Pucket Jackson and Jackson Henry [Applause] we're also proud to acknowledge and thank their teachers for supporting and encouraging their students your investment in these students

083is admirable and we appreciate your steadfast devotion to Excellence if you are a music educator in the room would you please join us at the podium [Applause] [Music] [Applause] all right let's squeeze in again really really tightly couple of rows you're short probably want to come to all of our student musicians thank you for sharing your immense Talent not only with Stafford schools but as representatives of our community at the state level you serve as ambassadors and role models and we're very proud of all of you we'll now recognize the AG Wright Middle School robotics team on November 9th the AG Wright Middle School robotics team successfully competed against 19 other middle schools in the annual navc competition building on their outstanding achievement of placing second last year sponsored by the naval surface Warfare Center

084dalren division this prestigious event challenged students to demonstrate Advanced skills in engineering and Technology on under the dedicated guidance of their coaches Jennifer peny and Aiden Flynn the team had been preparing since August 2024 with rigorous practice sessions learning to code and mastering sensors to design a functional and competitive robot their remarkable teamwork dedication and skill represented a significant accomplishment for the AG Wright Middle School team showcasing the strength of our students and their commitment to Excellence in stem education students would you please come to the podium when your name is called the two captains Leland hoversten and Aiden McMillan Christopher Carr Isabelle Brit Adrien weima Bentley Bolinger Jackson got Jackson septic Nicole cabarlo Madrono Katherine Mado Harrison Otis and Oliver Otis we also congratulate their coaches Jennifer peny and Aiden Flynn [Applause] there you

085[Applause] as we conclude this evening's recognition ceremony we're reminded of the exceptional Talent dedication and perseverance displayed by our students from the remarkable achievements in Arts and Music to the outstanding accomplishments in robotics each of you exemplifies the values of Integrity respect opportunity community and Excellence especially thank you to our parents to our staff members and our Educators whose guidance and encourage made all of these possible thank you for being a part of this celebration and congratulations to all of our honores thank you very much we have one presentation this evening and that is from the 14th annual band together to Fight Hunger good evening chair Sigman Vice chair guy members of the board Mr Fulmer you just left and Dr Smith um my name is Debbie Pickel and as you know I was this

086year's band together to Fight Hunger coordinator on behalf of our five high school band parent associations we are very proud to show you our final contributions of our 14th annual event I am joined this evening by our outstanding drum Majors Ian Jagger Hartman drum major at brookpoint high school Richard clean drum major at Colonial Forge High School Elise ler drum major at Mountain View High School Nicholas ganopoulos drum major at North Stafford High School and McKenzie Walker senior band member at Stafford High School also joining us this evening is Mr Dan mayor from our Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank the 14th annual band together to Fight Hunger provided an exciting opportunity for our community to celebrate both our staffer County High School marching bands and our commitment to the food insecure citizens right here in our

087surrounding communities and due to the pandemic many of our neighbors still have not recovered these months have been defined by hardship and hunger Rising food costs add to their burden making it more difficult to afford the basics our Fredericksburg Regional food bank is the storehouse for the food and other products collected these items are then distributed to our local food pantries and other uh programs in our communities this is why our event is so important to our community this year's band together to Fight Hunger was once again a major success thank to our incredible community and our business partners the program this year featured band performances from each high school and of course the grand finale consisting of nearly 400 Stafford County band students which of course was the highlight of our evening it was

088as I think I speak for all of us when I say this it was pretty awesome to get to conduct all 400 of those band members because of our amazing community and business partners we received donations totaling to $21,500 that equates to roughly 43,000 meals for our community Through the fredicksburg regional Food Bank uh some of our sponsors we'd like to thank and be we are of course grateful for our Chick-fil-A Manhattan Pizza Outback Steakhouse Carter machinery and the student Organization for change at the Academy of technology and Innovation at the University of Mary Washington we would like to thank our volunteers that helped make the night a success Alpha Kappa Alpha sority Psi Psi Omega chapter Boy Scout Troop 2220 Girl Scout Troop 15 University of Mary Washington women's softball team and the band

089parents that volunteered at various stations we would also like to express our thanks for monetary donations from Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority Psi Psi Omega chapter conventions St Peter's Lutheran church youth group power and at the P picel Family kbi Music um Ebenezer United Methodist Church corpse Solutions Atlantic uh Builders and the Mary Washington healthare or university Fleet sorry we would like to thank we would like to thank our Stafford Community who attended in large numbers with their help we collected $693 during the event this equates to additional 12185 meals for our community during the course of the event with the help of our band booster families we loaded 3,778 pounds of food onto the food truck this donation of non-p perishable foods provides an additional 3,148 meals for the fburg regional Food Bank the 14th

090annual band together to Fight Hunger raised over $7,595 in total coupled with the food donations we are thrilled to share that our amazing Community provided a total of 58,300 meals to the fredicksburg regional food bank we are proud to present the final check for the fredicksburg regional food bank to Mr Mayor band together started with the vision of one high school band director and has grown into an event we are extremely proud of thanks to the support of our local community our event has raised over 450,000 meals for the Fredericksburg Regional food bank over the past 14 years we are sure you will agree our band programs are making a huge impact in our community thank you for your continuing to support and fund music programs in our schools and we look forward to seeing

091you next year [Applause] thank you Mr Mayor for joining us would you like to come down we're going to turn around and just take a photo real quick thank you team thank you students and thank you Mr [Applause] Mayor I'd now like to recognize our student representative Mr J Lane Dooku for her comments all right um good evening Stafford for one last time before I get to the sentimental part I still of course have to make my final report um during the last month I had the honor to meet our new 20 2025 student Representatives Gabby and lilan sing right there um we were able to go to retreat down to Williamsburg and during this Retreat we were able to collaborate with many other student board members and we gained a lot of insight on

092public policy and speaking skills um a skill that I know will come in handy to our newest reps they did phenomenal over there um I want to thank Miss Osborne Miss Hall Miss guy for our safe travels and our restaurant Endeavors it was an unforgettable experience and I'm very lucky to have gone again this year um furthermore update on my survey unfortunately due to time constraints I was not able to properly administer it however I hope that these same advocacy topics will be of interest to our newest reps and maybe it will be something that can carry out who of course will always have jny and eye to rely on if they have any questions okay you guys can grab your tissues now I know I'm s um first of all I just wanted to

093say I'm extremely grateful to Dr Taylor and his supporting staff for the honor of even being selected as student representative though he's no longer with staff Rec County Public Schools if you somehow see this thank you very much um an even bigger thanks to two of my favorite teachers Mr H and Mrs S you guys know who you are thank you for believing in my potential and nominating me for such a high position although I was not able always able to perform to the sers I typically set myself to I'm equally as grateful for the learning opportunities that this that my tenure as student representative has graced me with Jennifer I'm so glad to have met you and it's been an honor being your partner in crime as well as becoming your friend though we

094are so different and we often butt heads during the this term I think more so often that our differences helped us to become stronger workers together thank you for the late night discussions and your strong will I hope you retain your amazing qualities before being the amazing person that you are and I can't wait to see a building with your last name plastered all over it to the board thank you for your warm welcomes your plethora of resources sorry I told myself phone was going cry and establishing this position in the first place I hope that in the future we'll also continue to exhibit the same degree of niceness understanding and compassion that you had with me with our future representatives and one proposal I've kind of been sitting on um I think that you

095should record the student reports in board do so that you can refer to them um easily to my predecessors Katherine moroi my teachers various brickpoint staff members friends family especially my parents thanking you simply isn't enough your constant support spurred me on even in moments of insecurity and thank you for allowing me to be so vulnerable with you thank you to the citizens who constantly come here and passionately comment every meeting making sure that even if they don't hold official School Board positions that their advocacy and wanting of a better staff for students and staff alike are considered there are tons of things to miss like random moments where I viewed board members out of school like when I saw Chris Fulmer at Chick-fil-A and when I argued with Dr Rice about whether Diet Coke

096or Coke Zero was better and while I will miss the free diet coke here and the endless office stationary at my disposal I think I'm going to most miss this little microphone sitting right in front of me giving me the power I needed to speak out it provided me with multiple learning opportunities and just let me remind you guys I started off as a girl who stuttered and gave 22 Reports look at the February meeting um I hope in the future that I will see more of you guys in front of this microphone or even that microphone and that seeing the word student representative it's on the placard sitting right in front of me will be a symbol of unity and hope Dr Smith congratulations on your appointment and though we won't have the pleasure

097of meet knowing each other over the next year I uh sincerely hope for the best term that you could possibly have and thank you for your dedication to Safford um while I won't be here formally on the Das I hope that you all will remember my name my term may have ended but my passion is endless so don't worry or maybe do worry because I talk a lot but it won't be the last time you hear from not Janelle not Jolene but Jolene thank you thank you so much for your service I'd now like to invite Jenny up to speak as our alternate rep sorry guys oh I haven't even start yet guys and I'm already coming like what okay okay okay I'm gonna stop okay okay all right good evening Stafford County my name

098is Jennifer oitan your 2023 through 2024 student alternate representative I would like to start by giving thanks to God for providing me with this opportunity guys sorry as well as the countless people who continue to fight for me whether I am there to see it or not um initially initially when I applied for this role it was a away for for me to be more involved in my community however taking on this role made it so that it wasn't just an opportunity to serve but a chance to prove to myself and to other students like me who have faced significant challenges that perseverance is inevitably leads to success for those who don't allow their circumstances to Define us okay that despite setbacks and obstacles they continue to work hard and push forward serving as a

099student representative allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone while also teaching me valuable life skills that I will forever utilize it exposed me to various perspectives which I have learned to respect with these new perspective I began to grow a community and support system when I had none it it introduced me to extraordinary individuals such as jene Jolene tuu my student representative sorry guys Jolene it has been an absolute honor to serve beside you I am beyond grateful for everything you have taught me and just as this experience as a student representative is a testament of my perseverance it also reflects the encouraging environment the Stafford County offers from the supporting and motivating staff instructors and administrators who go who go above and beyond to make sure that students like me have the

100necessary tools to thrive in and out of this community to the extracurricular activities academic programs in the strong sense of community that Stafford County offers it provides a foundation for students success and that is something that I will forever be grateful for with that being said I would like to congratulate the new upcoming student Representatives this is an incredible achievement that I cannot wait to see you do amazing things with there's one piece of advice that I would like to offer make it a point to interact with as many students as you can you'll quickly discover that they have incredible perspective and insights on life that can inspire and challenge you every student brings a unique Outlook and taking time to listen and connect will only help you represent them better but also en reach

101your own understanding of the world around you don't underestimate the power of Simply engaging with your peers this is something that I had wished that I had learned earlier to properly utilize however it's okay I would also like to provide you with with what Jolene and I objectives were in the beginning of our term and this is something that we stated in the be in our first meeting as well we stated that going into our term we have a multitude of goals goals in which can be described using three umbrella terms diversity equity and inclusion diversity is to give every student in staffer County no matter the age disability socioeconomic background or status race and gender a say in what goes on in our schools Equity making sure that every decision made in Stafford County

102School Board is just and impartial why taking into account every student's needs ideas and opinions last but certainly not least inclusion making sure that every student in Stafford County feels as though they are a part of the decision-making process giving a voice to those who don't have one or the strength or means to speak up I hope this will help you during your term and with that being said I would like to say huge thank you again it has been an absolute honor to serve you sorry guys thank you to you both I don't know how we move forward from that okay public hearing tonight is on our high school redistricting three minutes are allotted to each speaker speakers shall identify themselves by name comment shall be limited to the topic of high school redistricting

103citizen comment which is profane abusive or which threatens imminent physical harm shall be ruled out of order okay M I'm sureair we have one citizen signed up to speak her name is pascaline goens okay good evening Dr Smith Mr fmer and um Schoolboard members I was given good advice about speaking this afternoon because I wasn't sure if I could do it I was told to stick to the facts and leave the emotion out of it so I will do my best but as all of you know my heart is heavily invested in an outcome that not only leaves my community planning unit 326 in the Colonial Forge School District but for the greater good of Stafford County Schools as well you've seen my face several times along with others from my community at all of

104the community meetings where I voiced my concerns I was not able to make it to the public hearing held in November but was told that you all read my public that you all read my public digital comments that I submitted because it was part of the agenda packet you've heard from me via emails with our concerns about being redistricted in the past how V do is planning to reconstruct a vital Road our children will be traveling on posing a transportation concern and for me personally on how it would affect one of my children in particular you also are aware that our community has small numbers with no growth and actually according to your website our numbers drop in the future I even submitted a petition with 40 signatures from our community not just those who

105have children attending the school so aside from my pleading for you to hear our concerns coming up with scenarios Etc and having a recent visit with one of the board members I took the time to dive into the scenarios that are left I realize that it isn't just my community I am advocating for but other communities and other parts of our County as well I know that you can take what is left with the scenarios and tweak them in doing so you'll realize that hundreds of students collectively from Brook Point Colonial Forge and North Stafford boundaries do not have to move I am going to make this one last request to implore you to look deeper into what scenarios are left and really ask yourselves this question do they have to move and I think

106you'll find that the answer is no they don't it is not lost on me that the difficult decisions are being made and that you all have to agree to vote on the best way forward I just want you to be so sure when you do that it is what is best for the Stafford County Schools thank you for your time and I pray that a meeting is held after this public hearing to take one last look at the lives you will be affecting by this huge decision that we as a community have no control over thank you for your time I wish you all the best and a merry Christmas thank you thank you is there anyone here else here here who wishes to speak at the public hearing tonight on high school redistricting okay

107I will close the public hearing we move on to Citizen comments three minutes are allotted to each speaker speakers shall identify themselves by name speakers shall announce the purpose of their topic of their comments citizen comments which are profane abusive or threaten imminent physical harm will shall be ruled out of order Miss Hall who do we have this evening we have one citizen who would like to speak his name is shanar Connor my name is sham G Conor live in Hartwood um I'm going to try to get through this fast but I have a lot to say tonight I wanted to build on my last school board meeting with some requests but before I get to that I need to give a little history background so what I asked for makes sense at the time

108of the founding of this country we were a collection of states and colonies nine out of the 13 original states required you to be a Bible believing Christian and to serve in government and Protestant all 13 states required a declaration of Faith almost every single one of the original state constitutions Pennsylvania included El had I profess I profess Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior 55 out of 56 of the original signers of that declaration were Bible believing Church attending Christians common law is inherited from Blackstone who is Christian common law is an outgrowth of the scriptures of the Bible into the ultimate biblical principle that you shall not favor Justice for the rich or the poor which is Leviticus 19 in the Bible this is right before the most famous part of lus 19

109which says you should love your neighbor as yourself this is the idea that blind of Blind Justice that we get in the west which is also the New Testament ideal neither a slave nor Greek nor Jew you're all one in Jesus Christ which is where the ideal for human e equality comes from God was mentioned four times in the Declaration of Independence laws of nature and Nature's God the last paragraph of the Declaration reades the the prayer it says we appeal to the Supreme judge of the universe that's Jesus Christ it says in Revelation that Jesus Will judge the Earth on his throne they were praying to Christ Our Lord Deuteronomy was by far the most quoted book in the time of the founding when they were putting together Constitution Deuteronomy talked about laws customs

110and traditions John Adams said that the constitution was only written for a moral religious people it was wholly inadequate for people of any other the body politic of America was so Christian and so Protestant that her entire form and structure of government was built for the people that believe in Jesus Christ did you know that one of the first acts of Congress was taxpayer funded Bible Printing and distribution did you know that there our church services held in the Supreme Court building as late as the Jackson presidency in the 1820s we believe what the founders believed what they put in the halls of Congress what they put in the Supreme Court what they put all through all the country that 10 commandments are the core morality of how society and civilization should exist the founding

111fathers even put Leviticus on the Liberty Bill Leviticus 2519 Proclaim Liberty throughout the land which you're in if you go back if we actually go back to our Christian Roots it's America's best hope for Revival in a great future so being said the point of all this is that the parents and Stafford would like Stafford to follow the lead of Texas Tennessee and many other states now bring Bibles back into the schools and approve optional Bible infused curriculum for elementary schools just has shown the Bible is a core feature of American history and that teaching it it will enrich lessons also since this is a Christian country we would like all holidays removed the school calendar that don't reflect how this country is created if you're an immigrant here that's great no one cares but

112you are to assimilate into our culture not bring your culture here and force it on us like let's say I go to the Middle East right now and demand they change their school calendars to celebrate Easter or Christmas they're going to laugh me out of the building and they're going to even attack me okay so the other thing is if you if you do this you're going to end up getting Satanist in here saying that they want Satanist holidays in the schools and we don't want that so I ask all Christians pastors come out here and ask for this to be put in the schools thank you okay we have one AC item tonight Award of a contract in the amount of 13288 million 55 to MC Dean to replace the fire alarm at brookpoint

113high school motion to approve second is there any discussion on this it's the 1.32 I I just want to clarify this is the project that we're going to try to do in conjunction with another project correct yes Madam chair members of the board Jason to um facilities and maintenance yes so um this was originally scheduled for FY 26 funding um and we had we had an opening here during during this year so we could do it this summer as part of some of the other major work going on there Point didn't we improve this last month like wasn't this on here last month that I miss it because I not that I miss it I feel like I've approved this already is that not true no this was on the fapc agenda though and was

114recommended to the board for consideration is this the one of the items we will re use the Emer request use of emergency funds for I understand um no so last month uh brookpoint was the intercom systems oh and that's the emergency funding yes so this is separate this yeah this is completely different right yes sure any other discussion okay please cast your votes motion carries 7 to zero I am pleased to be able to recognize Dr Smith for his first superintendent report and comments all right give us one second while we get it all right here we go all right good evening members of the school board those in attendance this evening and everyone in the Stafford Community I am truly honored to join Stafford schools as your new superintendent I want to thank the

115school board for your confidence in me and the community for your openness and willingness to collaborate as we begin our journey together I also want to take a moment to thank Chris Fulmer for his service over the past 6 months and the conversations we've had over the past few weeks his work to provides stability support and Leadership during the transition has been invaluable and is deeply appreciated I also want to take a moment to thank and acknowledge our student Representatives I know a couple of them have left uh on our school board Jolan and Jenny for their service over the past 12 months and welcoming our new student School Board reps uh Gabriela and lilan looking forward to working with you I truly believe in the power of student voice and your work as stakeholders

116at the center of every decision we make is so very important thank you for stepping into this very important role as your superintendent my focus is simple I'm committed to collaborating with our staff and Community to ensure that each child feels supported valued and prepared for the future from my initial interactions it's clear that Stafford is a place where education Innovation and relationships are at the heart of everything we do I'm here to listen to collaborate and to build on the incredible Foundation that exists in our sh par Learning Community from the time between my appointment and my first official day yesterday I've termed as the pre-entry phase and during this time I met with division leadership and with board members while also reviewing many key documents including information on our strategic plan budget CIP

117instructional Services current initiatives and many many others I was also pleased to attend the Schoolboard Retreat held last month where we discussed important initiatives and goals for the school division is very help to get set the framework for our future operations and relationships as we work and learn together one thing that's been very clear to me is how much our community cares about giving every child the best chance to succeed I've seen it in classrooms I've visited over the past two days and I've heard it in my pre-entry conversations with staff and with families I've had the pleasure last night of attending Mountain View High School's Discovery night with my family last evening and it was a remarkable event that offered parents like me important Direction insight into wonderful programs and Pathways available to our

118students over the next two weeks I plan to visit every school and facility in the division to meet with our principles staff and students to begin building those authentic relationships that support our focus on each and every child I cannot wait to continue to learn more about the amazing work happening in each of our buildings I also want to hear from our teachers staff members and broader Community your thoughts and perspectives are key to shaping our path forward over the next several weeks I'll be hosting connections shared voice shared Future these sessions will be held in every magisterial District as well two as well as two virtual sessions for those who may not be able to attend in person during this session we'll take a look at our strategic plan and also answer the questions

119where do we Excel as a school system what needs to improve and what is most important to do well I hope you'll join me and share your experiences and ideas a full schedule will be shared on social media and in our staff and Community newsletters as well as on our website soon these connection sessions are just one piece of my 100 day entry plan and I'm excited to be here but it is just day two of my time in Stafford over the next two weeks I will be working with our team to fine-tune a robust entry plan that aligns closely with our division's strategic priorities in January I'll present my full 100 day entry plan to the board and the community I'll share regular updates about what I'm learning and how we're progressing over the

120winter months upon the conclusion of my 100 day plan I'll present findings and concrete action steps from the entry plan to further our shared vision and next steps for Stafford schools a sincere thank you for welcoming me and my family so warmly I'm excited about our work ahead and look forward to partnering with you to ensure every student has the opportunity to thrive chair Sigman this concludes my report thank you very much we will move forward with our board member comments Miss Randall hello um I would like to wish everyone a very warm holiday season and I hope you all have a Happy New Year as well I would also like to welcome Dr Smith for his first meeting with us and uh really appreciate you jumping in and uh going out to every school

121in two weeks that's awesome I would also like to say thank you to Mr Fulmer and the entire staff who stepped into many roles that are not yours um to help us through these last uh six months really really appreciate that we are um a a group up here that are in it all the time and you guys uh showed an immense patience with us and um you were willing your willingness to answer everything that we brought forth was greatly appreciated so thank you to our staff for just being Who You Are and it was just nice to see you guys pick up and carry so many roles for us we really appreciate it I would also like to and I know they've left um I would also like to show my appreciation for Jolene

122and Jenny uh their representation of the student voice is a constant reminder to me of the value of who we make decisions for our students so I really appreciated that and to Gabriella and Lily I'm so excited to see what you create and go boldly forth um as you build your ideas into this next year as you and work with us so I'm really excited to see what you girls do um for me uh I enjoyed our Retreat I just feel like um as different as each of us are when we come around a table together we just we work and sometimes it doesn't look like it but it's our way of working and it works so um I would also like to say for me I can't wait this for the next couple weeks

123because I will be attending some musical performances at some of the um Local Schools I feel like that is I'm an empty nester and I miss the kids so this kind of uh fills my heart a little bit and I guess I got a little bit of a jump start to it because I've always attended my kids things but then I got a call from my mother who as you know lives in my district and she invited me to her musical concert where she was going to be performing um so her and her boyfriend were performing and in in the celebrate Community they had um quite a concert they put on this week last weekend and uh you know they're part of my district they're part of our community and it's nice to see the

124performances from the little kids and the big kids so I hope you enjoy and find something to celebrate some way to celebrate and someone to celebrate with thank you thank you Miss Hy Well normally I wouldn't want to be an echo but I think these are all important things and I'd actually written them down before you started um first I want to welcome Dr Smith and say I really really really hope you stay a long long long time that is that that's what I want for for for Christmas or whatever you know if I had a wish I want you to stay because I think I think you're going to be really good for our community I think you're going to be great for the schools and and we we we need it and we

125deserve it and that's that's the message that comes through to me um most vividly is that our community wants a superintendent who will be with us and and commit to us and I I know your heart's there I'm so happy your family is here and they're happy to be here so welcome um I want to thank Mr Fulmer as well for your leadership for your patience and your support over the past six months um it's been fun huh now you have the benefit of um Dr Smith and and he has the benefit of you and I I think that that I've seen um seen growth you know in you you've always been a fantastic you know budget person you've been a great associate superintendent but I I I think having the opportunity to work with

126our talented staff everywhere is is just got to you know be such a great experience you know to have so thank you on and thank your family because I know that's it's it's taken a lot away from families for for what you've done um there's no compensation we could give you you know for for all that effort and time um I want to thank our our student reps our outgoing and welcome our incoming I think one of the best decisions this board has ever made is to to bring student reps you know into our fold and and make you part of this this school board because you have a very important voice uh and you are the spokespeople and I I appreciate the advice that your your predecessors have gone don't be shy um Miss

127Randall said you know be bold I remember their predecessor who moroi who said um she described our budget request as audacious and I said wow that's that's a lot of that's a lot of word you know I I say bold because I like little words but very impressive so so be bold and audacious and and you know don't be afraid to tell us you know what you think what your your peers think because we won't know we don't know and that's why you're here um I I want to thank the the band together uh to Fight Hunger um drum Majors that came this evening all the members of the band and and all the band families for everything they've done to support our Band program I've um you know I've I've gone to almost every

128one of the 14 I think I was out of the country for one that I missed but it it has been amazing and um I I think uh someone mentioned it was the vision of one band director and that was Mr Armstrong at at Mountain View who has been a um you know lasting impression and he came back and he was the the the um the visiting whatever drum major um and and he I asked him I thought you retired he said well I failed at my retirement so he was back to back to teaching um but the service that you provide to this community and it's not just Stafford it's the whole region because the food bank Services Spotsylvania fredicksburg I think uh Caroline you know as well um you know that's a lot

129of meals that are provided Ed and they they would not have those resources were it not for you know our band U put together and if you haven't seen it the the grand finale is um is is amazing they they they play together there's no competition it's just um it's it's it always makes me tear up when I when I see it um finally happy holidays to everyone I hope it's restful you enjoy your winter break and come back ready for that second semester which always flies by thank you Miss hon um well I was going to start with what they started with so but now I'm gon flip them because I don't want it to be redundant but I so first my first comments then are going to be on um this time of

130year in our school system you we're seeing some things on our um daily updates in our Stafford County Sheriff's officers updates where kids are getting a little antsy at the end of the school year trying to get their things so just kind of talk to your your kids about hanging in there for a couple more weeks with us and keeping things um a little bit quieter for everybody there's been a little uptick and you know kids getting itchy to get out there for spring break but it's right around the corner so if we can just get everybody to hold on and take a deep breath you'll get your two week Break um very very soon I also want to say that this meeting has gone by exceptionally fast and I don't want drct Smith to

131get comfortable with that so I plan on talking for 30 minutes I will I I don't want him to think that this is what normally happens so I'm gonna just keep she likes long words she likes short words I like a lot of words it all works together for everybody no I'm just kidding um anyway so I'll go this way so welcome to our new student Representatives we are very excited to have you on board and to see what you will bring to um this year it's been really exciting to see the last two years with just the Ingenuity that our students bring and and really what they possess um in terms of just you know clearly you guys know your audience and your crowd but it's been so important to hear and see all

132of the things that you guys have done so I'm really looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with they're not here but I will put it on the record in the event that they're one of the 37 people that watches our school meetings on YouTube I wish them the best of luck um although I I'm almost 100% certain they're not going to need it because they're just two of the most amazing girls um I mean so far no offense you have the opportunity to also be that um and Mr Fulmer thank you for your patience and your time and dedication to Stafford County Schools I have to say in the beginning I was like we're going to run him right out town he gonna be like uhuh those girls are crazy I ain't

133come back so for all the mistakes I made I apologize um but thank you for your patience and for um for really stepping up at a time that Stafford needed leadership that's just I think it was really important for the community just to have a familiar face to to look back on and reflect at a time that was uh kind of emotional for everybody so if I know it's been said enough and we'll probably said even more but thank you so much and and again I apologize if I gave you any extra headaches that you did not necessarily need they were not intentional that is my deal um and so Dr Smith welcome it is I am very excited to have you on board and to see the things that you will bring to Stafford

134County I think our families are really excited um and EO the sentiments of Miss Healey we expect to see you sitting here at your retirement ceremony in 37 years I won't be here in 37 years watch it on YouTube well yeah watch it on YouTube she'll be 39 in line I don't expect our viewership to increase no matter how interesting you are just for the record um we certainly thank you though um we are no small undertaking given all of the things that we have going on with new school buildings coming in New Growth new kids um so thank you for being willing to take on this role and to support Stafford County and her kids we we very much appreciate it on that note happy holidays be safe be merry and happy New Year

135too Dr Warner thank you madam chair first of all I I too would like to um welcome Dr Smith I'm looking forward to many years of service on Stafford County I know that's one thing the community is really hungry for is continuity and consistency um I think Mr Fulmer appreciate his ability to carry that Mantle when um Dr Taylor left and I think it helped and I think he did an excellent job and I do appreciate him and I know that I was not one of the board members it was a pain to loud oh sorry did I say that out loud um I would like to thank jool Lane and Jenny I think that the student Representatives do an awesome job of helping us keep the main thing the main thing and I look

136forward to working with Gabriella and Lily and I know that um they had good role models and joola and Jenny um so let's see I would like to thank band together for Hunger I know that it's an awesome it's such a great Community event and I think they do a great job and I think it's such a a worthy service to help um to help provide meals for our community um the board retreat is always a useful tool and I enjoy it our board is very diverse but I think that we do try to respect each other and I think we do try to work together to create Solutions and find Solutions and I think that's one of our strengths um I I would like to wish everyone a very much needed and welcome break

137I know everyone's looking forward to this but I would like to recognize the amazing diversity within our community and I think our diversity is one of our strength so matter how you choose to celebrate and what your beliefs are I hope you have very happy holiday and I hope you have a very happy New Year um I think that we reflect some of the diversity here and I think that it is one of our strengths and it's how we work together and how we learn that's how we grow and strengthen our community um so I wish everyone a very happy holiday and with that I am done thank you Dr Chase well hello um so again I have to Echo everybody else and and hoping that everybody has a great holiday season um as as

138my semester winds down uh winter break and um summer get seems to be the time that I get to get out a little bit more and see a few more people um I really enjoyed going to the Drew program um meeting to try to hear what people want the new Drew to look like um a huge shout out to the Board of Supervisors for continuing to fund the new Drew I'm very happy to to see that that rebuild is going to happen um I also got to go to Grafton with the CIP advisory committee and meet with the PTA there um and it was wonderful to to see their continued um concern about advocating for Stafford County Public Schools so that was was wonderful um I don't know whether it was a mistake or not

139but uh Chelsea Tron the principal of Stafford High invited me to Shadow her for a little while um I think she said that in the summer I don't know if she believed that I would actually put it in my calendar and follow up with her so I got to Shadow her a little bit um last week um I had the joy of doing bathroom monitoring um as students came in um it's been a long time since I uh taught adolescent psychology but the imaginary audience is alive and well every girl needed to check how she looked before she uh got too busy um so that was kind of fun um it was also great not to see any cell phones out and about so shout out to staff for continuing to really make that that

140happen I think it has been a huge thing for our students um and then I got to meet with the new principal at fouth elementary um and was uh really excited to hear that she had unwrapped the science equipment and is actually having the students at Falmouth get to do Hands-On science so that was was really really wonderful and and what that brings me back to is um I just want to say Dr Smith you have an amazing group of principles here in Stafford County and the reason that we have done just fine for the last several months in addition to having Mr Fulmer's great leadership is we have amazing building leadership in our schools and we have amazing staff um at central office so I think I think I'm hoping you will like it

141here because you really do have amazing people um making Stafford County public public school is the wonderful place that they are um and then I also want to welcome Gabrielle and Lillian I got to meet Gabrielle at Stafford schools when I was visiting there shadowing um Miss Trion and I know both of you are going to do great so thank you Miss guy thank you um good evening everyone I want to start by thanking Chris Fulmer for stepping up and doing a great job as Acting Superintendent and I hope you enjoy my hi coup um I I'm really um I'm not happy that Dr T left but I'm really happy that I got an opportunity to see you um shine and just more I guess I was ignorant to all your abilities you know I

142thought you were just a really great number cruncher kind of guy and you made math make sense which is amazing because math don't math with me um but I got to see you um just shine with so many other parts of how to run this community in our our schools and I didn't know you were I just didn't know you had those those tools and those skills which I mean that's my fault I'm sorry I just you know you're always talking about numbers and when I hear numbers it's like Greek so you know you just say what you say yeah no it's a total compliment I'm I'm saying I think yes anyway so thank God for you um Dr Smith with an eye I am very excited that you are here is it not with

143an eye it's with an eye yes exactly listen we're going to get along great okay I'm very excited you're here I do hope you enjoy your time here however long that is I'm not going to put any pressure okay all right I will move on and I would just want to shout out all of our staff um in particular the staff here at central office but just all of our staff turnover isn't easy and the reason why Stafford County Schools is still fantastic is not because of the school board and usually it's not the superintendent it's all of the other thousands of staff that are here you guys stay and you work overtime you're just amazing I try to keep up with y'all I cannot I appreciate you so much even when I make mistakes

144I know I cause headaches and I apologize but that's why they have Advil but I really I I absolutely appreciate all of you um and I I just can't say enough about how great I think you are um to our student reps I am very excited um I love seeing the growth every year and you know um I think she said I was saying her name wrong Miss Miss Dooku she mentioned how she was giving like 20 second speeches and you know now she's very comfortable and I can't wait to see what growth you guys have you guys talk okay so because I went to dinner with y'all I know you're not afraid to say stuff so I'm like oh my goodness what are we going to get but I'm excited I'm I'm going to

145embrace it I know you're going to do well I'm very excited for your future into our outgoing reps I know they're going to do phenomenal they are amazing women um young ladies excuse me okay women is good okay because they're still they're still minors okay um I just want to say happy holidays to everybody whichever way you celebrate holidays one of the most proudest things that I've done is vote to expand our holiday calendar I am very proud of that I come from a very diverse background um my family lived in Israel we're black American Christians um I've got Jewish in my family and everything else you could think of and we celebrate it all honestly at my house my Christmas tree is right next to where the manora and art tour is so I

146am incredibly proud of the diversity in this community I will always Champion that I will always stand on that I will die on that hill and I just want to say whichever way you celebrate this season God bless you I just I hope it's great I hope you thrive I hope you have have a great great new year as well um one of the things I learned last month at vsba I always learned something different but it really resonated with me it's something we all know our um keynote speaker he mentioned it he said attitude is everything and no matter what you're going through whether you're happy with your co-workers whether you're happy with an election whether you're sad with your co-workers or sad for an election or sad for the house you live in

147or like we just brought a new car last month and then my husband crashed it a week later right but it's okay it's attitude right it's your attitude will will set the tone right I you know I could have killed him I could have killed him but I did not I had a great attitude because I went to that no seriously but I did I'm like you know what that's what insurance is for you know it's not a big deal and that's what accident forgiveness is for um and I say that to say but I'm just I'm doing for her um so I say to say you know guys you know redistricting is here it's there's there's a little bit of stress for all of us but you know bring your best attitude because we're

148all trying our hardest here even though I don't know what we're gonna we're going to end up deciding and that's it just have a great New Year and and bring a good attitude into 2025 thank you um it has been a very busy month here as you guys all know um I want to thank every everybody who participated in take your legislators to school day that was a really fun event at Mountain View High School uh where our students um and really our legislators got to uh participate with our students we got to have school lunch we got to field a whole lot of questions uh from students in our schools um and even for those of us who kind of do school all the time it was really eye openening and I learned a

149lot so I can't imagine like what a Mr mildy or a Dr Young might have experienced as someone who is not doing school all the time um so I hope it was as eye opening for them as it was for me I also attended the Middle School model un day at Dixon Smith that is always amazing to see you know 12 and 13year old kids volunteer to give up an entire Saturday to do extra research extra papers and wear business casual on a Saturday um all day and it was great because uh some of these kids you know knew each other from elementary school and maybe went to different paths from middle school to see them reconnect uh in Dix and Smith Deb that day it was it was fantastic um as people as Miss

150Randall said there's a lot of concerts coming up uh Forge is having a concert on Thursday North Stafford High School is doing an improv night on December 11th um check any school website or calendar I am sure that they have some sort of holiday music or uh chorus performance uh or theater performance that you guys can go and check out I know that they would love to see all of you uh also had a great night at a great time at our board retreat we got a lot done in um and had a lot of really important conversations in just one day uh it was great uh I also attended the High School discovery nights um our second child is getting ready to move up to high school and so we didn't have these when

151my oldest went to high school we just kind of flipped a coin or threw a dart or we just kind of figured it out and it was much much easier uh now with our second to be able to go we went to a couple different campuses to kind of get a feel for things and to talk to different teachers and see the different opportunities that are available to her um we have another high schooler coming up two years later and there will be more schools and more programs open so I'm really excited to see what that might look like um holidays uh I am very excited for this holiday season but I did want to kind of on the in the vein of band together to Fight Hunger if it fits your budget and your

152shopping schedule to please um think about what our community might need most of our schools are having angel tree uh needs still left unmet um a lot of community organizations are also having uh angel tree type activities to meet the needs of our the people in our community I know the serve suit food pantry which you can access right here from the Schoolboard parking lot um has a very increased need during this season so if you have if you accidentally buy extra stuff for your holiday meal or have the propensity to purchase uh a little bit extra uh in the way of non-p perishable food items household supplies personal hygiene items uh I know that the food pantry would be very very grateful um to have those for families in need this season I also

153wanted to welcome Dr Smith I will put the pressure on our youngest Sigman child starts kindergarten next year I would like to see your signature on his diploma just putting it out there uh so welcome to you and your family and we are very glad you're here I wanted to thank the rest of the Stafford County School staff I think after Dr Taylor's departure you know so many people offered to help and just let me know what I can do because they knew that there was a lot to be done on our part on their part on the part of all of all of the students we have here um and I think really just anything that needed to be done got done probably by someone who didn't know they would be doing it when

154they woke up that morning so I'm really really grateful for everyone who um helped especially Mr Fulmer I'm also going to apologize for whatever Miss holed did wrong because I did nothing wrong at all that is all I have for my board comments does anyone have any committee reports no okay so upcoming board meetings January 10th 2025 joint meeting with the school board and the Board of Supervisors to discuss the schools fiscal year 26 through 35 Capital Improvement and three our planning needs we do not have a start time for that event yet so to be determined also on January 14th 2025 is our annual organizational board meeting at 7 pm to be preceded by a reception and Foy a training for Schoolboard advisory committees at 5:30 p.m. this meeting is adjourned