001Good evening. My name is Kathleen Brown, chair of the Virginia Beach School Board, and I convene this um formal meeting at 6 PM. Madame Clerk, would you please announce the role? Thank you, Madam Chair. President in the school board chamber or Chair Brown, Vice Chair Williams, Mr. Bowensteel, Mr. Ken, Mr. Co Pepper, Mr. Cummings, Miss Dwire, Miss Felton, Dr. Green, and Miss Rogers, and presently online is Miss Milnik. Thank you. Please join me for a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance as you are able. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. This evening, the school board has the pleasure of recognizing students and staff for their achievements. We
002thank parents and community members for being a part of this celebration and ask you to remain seated until all students and staff have been recognized. First one. Who's first? Our first recognition is for the first place winner, an original oratory at the Virginia High School League's class 5 speech competition. Please welcome Bethany Wilmont of Salem High School. Senior Bethany Wilmouth has been a member of the speech team since her freshman year. She qualified for states as both a sophomore and a junior. And in her junior year, she placed second in original or oratory. This year, she came to the table with the same hard work and dedication to prepare her speech on political polarization in America. She worked through several rounds of revisions throughout the season, always approaching feedback with a growth mindset. In the
003preseason, she placed third at the Tidewater Forensics League Tournament of Champions. At the Virginia High School League regional, she placed third again. At Super Regional, she placed second. At states, she continued to climb the ladder and secured a first place win in original oratory. Congratulations, Bethany. We are proud of you. Our next recognition is for the first place winner in impromptu at the VHSL class 5 speech competition. Please welcome Taylor Beichchum of Bayside High School. This is senior Taylor Beichchum's fourth consecutive first place win this season. She was first in the Tidewater Forensics League Tournament of Champions as well as her VHSL regional 5A and super super regional 5AB speech tournaments. In impromptu, students are given a choice among three prompts and have seven minutes to prepare and deliver a speech about anything related to
004the prompt. Speech judges always note that Taylor is confident, energetic, and well organized in her speeches. She combines personal anecdotes with meaningful cultural and historical connections to develop a memorable and impactful impromptu speech. Taylor joined Bayside speech team as a freshman and has shown tremendous growth over the years. Congratulations, Taylor. We are proud of you. We will, excuse me, we will now recognize the Area 5 drill athletic and academic champions. Will the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps from Green Run High School please come forward? back in here. There you go. Green Runs Navy Junior ROC competed with eight teams from Virginia and North Carolina at the area 5 drill athletic and academic championship. Our cadets took first place in academics, sit-ups, push-ups, armed exhibition drill, unarmed exhibition drill, unit personnel inspection, and armed basic
005drill. Now, we will hear from the commander, Curtis Brown, who's a senior naval science instructor, who will introduce us to these students and give us more information about their achievements. Thank you. It's a pleasure to celebrate Green Runs in Gerald TC. The cadetses are Tyion Alanos, Landon Boore, Alexis Deleó, Isabella Doer, Tyson Dunn, Emma Farnsworth, Rain Foreman, Christian Gabborio, Ronuk Haidider, Leila Harvey, Gabriella Hordeski, Carl Igus, Raymond Johnson, Katherine Kuranka, Marggo Leoose, Robin Larkin, Alexa Lyman, Darham Martyr, Damian Modazzo, Michaela Mcrae, Francesca Resurrection, Franklin Resurrection, Tmaine Rodney, Jacob Cisnero, Danna Walker, Caleb Winters, Zylia White, Landon Wittmann, Sean Yansy, and in addition to myself, we have Master Chief Courtney Barber, naval science instructor. As you stated, the cadets took first place in academics with Raymond Johnson, Robin Larkin, and Landon Brewer taking first, second, and
006third place individual honors. First place in setups with Damen Modazzo, and Caleb Winters taking first and second place male individual honors. and Michaela McCrae, Diananna Walker, and Alexa Lyman taking first, second, and third place individual female honors. First place in push-ups with Jacob Cisneros, Franklin Resurrection, and Carl Iggas taking first, second, and third place male honors. Emma Farnsworth, Vanna Walker, and Michaela Mcgra along with Kate Karanka taking first, second, and third place female honors. We took first place in armed exhibition drill commanded by Danna Walker. Unarmed exhibition drill commanded by Margot Leuth. Color guard commanded by Jacob Cisneros and armed and unit personnel inspection and armed basic drill commanded by Franklin Resurrection. We also placed third in unarmed basic drill which was also commanded by Marggo Leoo. We took first place overall athletics, first place
007for the overall meet for a clean sweep in every major category. We were able to go down to Pensacola, Florida at the end of March. And the kids did a great job. We took first place in the 16 by 100 relay, and also first place in push-ups, fifth place in sit-ups for first place overall athletics. So they were the national champion for push-ups and for the 16x100 relay and for the athletics. Also third place in academics, third place in color guard, fourth place in unit personnel inspection, and fourth place overall for Navy Nationals. Kids did a great job. Thank you. Congratulations Congratulations, Green Run Navy Junior ROC cadetses. We are exceedingly proud of you. This concludes the school board recognitions for this evening. Other than that, it was just a so performance. Yeah. Feel like
008we need a push-up demo. You're not volunteering, huh? Oh, sounds good. That's All right, that brings us to the adoption of the agenda. um we do not need to modify the agenda to return to the workshop because that is already covered here under um 17 and so and we only have um consent and one action item here for personnel appointments. So I don't think that it'll really save any time to move it um for staff there. So are there any modifications to the agenda as presented? Seeing none, I call for the motion to approve the agenda as presented. Moved by Mr. Callen, seconded by Miss Dwire. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote on the approval of the agenda. Miss Milik, how do you vote for the adoption of the agenda? Yes. Thank
009you, Madam Chair. We have 11 eyes. The motion did pass for the adoption of the agenda. Thank you, Dr. Robertson. We look forward to your report and any recognitions. Thank you. Good evening, Madam Chairwoman, members of the board. Here are a few items of interest for you and our families. The Virginia Department of Education recently named five of our leaders as principles of distinction last week. Actually, I welcome our five honores who are w with us tonight to stand when I call your name in just a moment to share more information about the award. The statewide principles of distinction program recognizing recognizes outstanding principles and supports their professional growth. Selected applicants demonstrate strong leadership in student achievement, instructional practice, and school culture. Chosen by the Virginia principles of distinction selection committee. Participants attended a symposium
010completed a capstone project over six months. And I'm proud to congratulate the following individuals. And please stand and remain standing when I call your name. Uh, Miss Micah Delo of Thood Elementary School, Miss Stephanie Hos of Rosemont Forest Elementary, Dr. Mark McCovic of Lancetown Middle, Dr. Daniel Manni of First Colonial High School, and Dr. Ryan Shuart of Prince Anne High School. These five leaders are among only 25 from across the Commonwealth to be part of the inaugural class of distinguished principles, giving Virginia Beach the most number of principles selected from the divisions with representation from the over 131 school divisions in the state. Thank you principles. You make us proud. Thank you. Next up, members of the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority Board and staff recently visited Harbor Hope Center, our region's recovery high school, serving
011students who are navigating substance use challenges while continuing their education. The board is an independent body that that abates and remediates the opioid epidemic through financial support, treatment, and prevention. During their visit, board members observed how Harbor Hope Center is more than a school. It's a safe, supportive environment where students can pursue their academic goals while staying committed to their recovery journey. They express pride and supporting Harour Hope Center and the life-changing work happening within its walls every day. The Pearls of Wisdom Oyster Roast earlier this month was truly one for the books. About 400 guests joined the Virginia Beach Education Foundation to celebrate and support Virginia Beach City Public Schools enjoying great food, beautiful weather, and live music from the intangible cats. The event raised more than $19,000 supporting programs that benefit students and
012teachers across our division. Guests were also inspired by our wonderful student showcases, highlighting the talent and impact happening every day in our schools. The Virginia Beach Education Foundation thanks the more than 30 event volunteers and the foundation's annual sponsors whose generosity makes events like Pearls of Wisdom possible. Their continued partnerships ensure we can keep investing in innovative programs and meaningful opportunities for our students. More than 4,000 people attended the Celebrating Children event at Mount Transport on April 18th. And here is a two-minute video explaining how families learned about pre kindergarten opportunities and resources from the office of student support services and the office of family and community engagement. Celebrating children is an event put on by Virginia Beach Public Libraries, Grow Smart, Virginia Beach City Public Schools just to celebrate children. We want every child
013in our community to have a healthy, happy childhood. The vendors here have mental health resources, pre-K resources, we've got bubble activities. We've just got a lot of different things here to support children as well as the whole family unit. In the office of student support services, uh there's myself and Martha Crawford co-lead the mental health task force. They are here with us today handing out drug-free VB apparel as well as different mental health resources that are available through Virginia Beach City Public Schools. This is our prek booth that's celebrating children and we have all kinds of books and activities for children of all ages to choose when they come over and visit us. We try to do a really good job about communicating the opportunity for prek in the city. Um we have websites, we
014have social media and flyers. However, we've had plenty of families come up to our booth today that had no idea that Virginia Beach even had a prek program. So, this event is vital to spreading the word to all families so they know about this wonderful opportunity. And we have a ribbon cutting here today. So, we're going to do a countdown on three, two, one, cut. Yeah. The Beacon is our new mobile resource truck. This truck is going to be out in the communities to provide resources for our families. The idea is for us to partner with our offices in Virginia Beach so that we can make sure that parents has the resources that they need. We had a contest uh for the mascot and the winner of our mascot was Shel the Sea Turtle. So,
015she is now going to be the Beacon's mascot for the duration of the truck. But we're extremely excited to be out in the community and provide resources for our families. This event is super important for the school system to partner with because as a part of the greater Virginia Beach community, we just want every child in the community that's coming into our schools and those kids that are in our schools to have a healthy, happy childhood and everything they need to have that as well as their families to feel supported in that endeavor. Yes, most definitely. Our talented students from Larksburg Middle and Green Run, Kimsville and Tallwood high schools performed at the event while the Princess Anne High cheerleaders encouraged the funr run participants. And we'd like to thank our partners, Grow Smart and
016the Virginia Beach Public Library for organizing this this rewarding event for our families. And thank you, Madam Chair. This concludes my report. Thank you. Do you have any recognition? Do have a recognition. Yes. Um, I'm pleased to introduce you to uh Matt Fisky, formerly the principal at CATC Elementary School in Achievable Dream, who is now the new director of student support services in the office of student support services. Mr. Fisky, I see you have a guest. I do. Thank you, Dr. Robertson. Deborah, this is my wife, Deborah Fisky. everyone. I I'm not going to hear you're not going to talk about your wife. No, I'm just kidding. Don't let me get you started, Matt. CHD. She has all the athletics training. Yes. See, I thought you would give her a shout out, man. She's trying
017to trying to help you out. Thank you. Appreciate you. And that's all. Thank you. We are now on to the approval of the April 14th, 2026 regular schoolboard meeting minutes. Are there any modifications to those minutes as presented? Seeing none, the motion is made by Miss Dwire, seconded by Mr. Cummings. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to approve the April 14th meeting minutes. And Miss Melnik, how do you vote on the approval of the minutes? Um I obtain um as I was not present and to be honest, I watched the video, but I did not read the minutes. Okay. Thank you. So, Madam Chair, we have 10 eyes on one abstension. So, the motion did pass for the approval of the minutes from uh April 14th. Okay. Thank you. The school board
018will now hear public comments on matters relevant to preK through 12 public education in Virginia Beach. And the business of the school board and school division from citizens who signed up with the schoolboard clerk prior to noon today. The purpose for the public comment section is for the school board to offer an orderly form to receive public comments during the schoolboard meeting. I call upon all speakers and all persons in the chambers to be civil in discussion and decorum. Whatever views you wish to express, the schoolboard wants to hear from you and to ensure that all viewpoints and perspectives are heard. The best way to do this is for all of us to strive for civility and respect. Madame clerk, would you please introduce the first speaker? Um, Madam Chair, just want to make a
019note that speaker number one asked to be removed and speaker number four also asked to be removed this evening. So, we'll start with Diane Musk, then Alicia Willilifford, then Dr. Betty Spencer. Good evening. It's good to see everybody. And that celebrating children look like a wonderful event. Um the National School Chaplain Association announces criteria in the newly passed bill Alabama House Bill HB8 allowing public K through2 schools and public charter schools in Alabama to accept campus chaplain starting in the 2026 2027 school year. The state of Alabama recognizes the importance of chaplain in K through2 schools. The people have spoken and the Alabama legislators delivered. Last action HB8 delivered to the governor on April 8, 2026. Alabama joins Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and Missouri in passing school chaplain legislation. Over 30 additional states and growing already
020have school chaplain legislation in progress. Now, Alabama joins this movement spreading across America. This is great news for schools because chaplain are already serving in other state, federal, and marketplace sectors like police departments, prisons, congress, etc. The school experience needs and deserve the same spiritual care to be available upon request, not mandated, but readily accessible for those who desire it. In today's educational environment, the importance of faith and hope cannot be overlooked. Students and educators are navigating increasingly academic pressures, social challenges, and emotional stressors. Faith and hope, when offered in a voluntary, respectful, and non-coercive manner can serve as a powerful source can serve as powerful sources for encouragement, resilience, and stability, helping to support the whole person, mind, body, soul, and spirit. One of the stipulations of this Alabama bill is that chaplain complete
021recognized training. The National School Chaplain Academy provides such trusted training. NSCA already has proven experience and evidence-based outcomes in providing school chaplain in 23 other countries as well as here in America. You can find out more at national chaplain national school chaplain association. NS NSCA also agrees with Alabama that chaplain do not replace professional mental health counselors. Chaplain certainly do fill a void especially when other care is un unavailable. Chaplain provide spiritually, emotional, and safe environmental support as an addition to the professional secular team. Texas has especially embraced school chaplain. A particular school superintendent, having enjoyed the significantly positive outcomes since hiring their chaplain, sends recommendation letters to other schools stating that you don't know how much you need a school chaplain until after you have one. Every child is our is our shared responsibility.
022So, let's work together and change the hearts of people starting at a young age like kindergarten. Thank you. Our next speaker is Alicia Willilifford, then Dr. Betty Spencer, then Candy Mason. Good evening. I am a parent of a student who attends New Town Elementary. And I stand before you tonight out of fear and necessity because I have watched my son repeatedly be failed by adults entrusted with his safety, dignity, and education. My son has an active 504 plan, which is a federallymandated protected accommodation. That plan entitles him to breaks and deescalation support. However, this school year, that plan has been repeatedly ignored. This is not just a policy failure, but a potential denial of his right to a free and appropriate public education. In October, my son was denied access to a restroom, which resulted
023in him having an accident on himself. Despite this, he was forced to continue in PE visibly soiled with stool. The nurse then made him walk through the school to retrieve his clothing from his classroom. Upon his return to the clinic, he was told, "If you mess my bathroom up, you have to clean it up." My son was a child in crisis. He deserved compassion, yet he received humiliation. On April 13th, while already in distress and crying, a security guard allegedly grabbed my son by both his arms with enough force to leave marks and lingering pain. My son begged for staff to call me, but they told him they were not authorized to. My son reported that staff made comments to him, um, such as, "All that yelling doesn't face me, and y'all need to stop
024babying him." All while another one threatened to bring back that very same security guard if he did not stop crying. I learned about this information from my son, not the school. Children in crisis need compassion, not intimidation. My son's statement was delayed 10 days. The security guard remained visible at the school. So imagine being the child saying that someone hurt you and then being forced to walk past that very same person every day. At this point, this no longer feels like isolated incidents. It feels like the culture, a culture of dishonesty, a culture of intimidation, a culture of punishing children in distress instead of supporting them. The gaslighting and adult bullying must end. What I have described is a documented um pattern of physical harm, failure to notify parents, and repeated disregard of section 504
025protection. Under 504, FAPE, and Virginia law, this school board has an obligation to act. I am requesting a district level investigation of 504 compliance review and accountability for all staff that was involved. I do not need another apology. What I need is structural change. Every child in this district deserves safety, dignity, and honesty. I am asking this board to ensure that no other parent has to stand here tonight fighting for what should automatically be guaranteed. Thank you. Our next speaker is Dr. Betty Spencer and then Candy Mason. Good evening. Um, with teacher appreciation week approaching next week, I'm here this evening to publicly thank our teachers and staff for all that they do for our students, families, and community. Teaching is not just a profession. It is a calling rooted in dedication, commitment, and an
026unwavering love for students and their families. Our teachers show up daily not only to instruct but to inspire, uplift, and nurture the potential in every student they encounter. They are creative problem solvers, constantly adapting to meet the diverse needs of their classrooms. They are effective communicators, building strong bridges between school and home. They are lifelong learners, many holding advanced degrees, continuously seeking the latest and best practices in pedagogy to better serve our students. But what truly sets our educators apart is what they do beyond the classroom. They show up. They attend sporting events, concerts, and performances, cheering on their students along with the school day long after the school day ends. They support families and strengthen community connections. They visit students in hospitals. They stand along families during life life's most important moments. Celebrating a
027bar at bar mitzvas, baptisms, graduations, and weddings and offering comfort and compassion during times of loss. This is not just teaching. This is a deep commitment to people, relationships, and community. And along with that commitment comes sacrifice. Teachers spend their own money on supplies. They give up evenings and weekends to plan, grade and prepare. They pour over their students not just academically but emotionally and socially. They the that level of dedication builds trust, trust from students, trust from families and trust from the entire community. And it is that trust that divi that drives my belief that every student should be known. That is why we must prioritize smaller class sizes to increase contact time and lower the student teacher ratio. We must ensure competitive pay in order to attract and retain the most highly qualified
028educators. Every student should be valued. That is why we must recognize that one size does not fit all. We must ensure every child is seen, supported, and understood for who they are. Every student should be future ready. That is why we must prepare students for success beyond high school. They must ensure we must ensure um they have the knowledge, skills and opportunities to pursue college, career or path or military pathways. This work is only possible because of the incredible educators and staff who bring to life every single we bring who bring this to life every single day. As we celebrate teachers, we also celebrate everyone who supports our schools. our paraprofessionals, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, parents, students, and community members. Thank you. Our next speaker is Candy Mason. Hello. Thank you for taking the
029um allowing me the opportunity to present myself in front of the school board this evening. Um very concerned about situation that has occurred at Bayside High School. My daughter Olivia Mason is an 11th grader at Bayside High School and she recently completed a class in January, the astronomy class at Bayside High School. Mr. Kuro's um her astronomy teacher violated Olivia Mason's IEP accommodations, which was extended time and break work into manageable parts and penalized Olivia's disability that resulted in a final astronomy grade of 63, which is an F, one grade below um a D, one grade above a D. Mr. The heroes continue with the same workload and failed to institute the necessary support, resources, and interventions to level the playing field, pretty much nullifying the IEP. Tests were administered with 28 choices per question
030instead of the typical four qu um choices. Um that increased cognitive load and workload. Olivia was penalized for lateness caused by overload, volume of work, and non-compliance of IEP accommodations, which also included chunking work into manageable parts. Lakework was consistently capped at 50s. First report period 64, second, third, and fourth report period without review for correctness. He did not grade anything for correctness. He just put a flat grade on that. Tests were administered before assignments were completed. I personally observe Olivia spending several hours completing six to 10 page Gizmo assignments. All of the worksheets were pretty much 6 to 10 pages long. Um, overburdening repeated entry of data into gizmos due to gizmos not saving the data entered. For example, one chart had 70 entries, which it ended up being 140 data point entries that
031she had to repeat because it didn't save it. Olivia was not provided detailed corrections or opportunities to fully understand mistakes before subsequent assignments. Mr. Carol's penalized um so you had district compli non-compliance. Um they violated the free and appropriate public education by not u following the IEP accommodations. Um the right to free and appropriate education. um there was impact of improper grading. This is her notebook. So imagine you have a a a person who's done all the work. The IEP um is for extended time. The teacher gives the student extended time but yet penalize that student for extended time by capping grades at 50 and 64s and justify the syllabus for that which the IEP which is a federal um thing is in place to prevent such measures from happening. because of that, she failed
032astronomy and now Basa High wants her to take an additional science class due to the fact that they violated the IEP and they're covering it up. Um, and I am requesting that the board I'm um I'm seeking corrective actions to appeal the astronomy grade and ensure that these legal accommodations are consistently implemented without penalty moving forward. Resend all astronomy late fees um late penalty zeros and recalculation of the astronomy grade. No one is listening to me at the school. The principal won't even meet with me. Thank you for your time. And Madam Chair, that was our last speaker for this evening. All right. Thank you. Uh we are now on to the interim financial statements February and March 2026. And we welcome Daniel Hopkins, director of business services. Good evening, Chair Brown, Vice Chair Williams,
033school board members, Dr. Robertson. In your packets this evening are the February and March interim financial statements. This presentation is going to concentrate on March. In the first graph shows that the overall revenue trend remains acceptable at this point in the fiscal year. The governor did approve the fiscical year 26 direct aid budget with very little changes from the proposed budget back in December. The primary changes from the or the original budget to the direct approved direct aid budget are as follows. The state basic aid decreases by $3.2 million. Sales tax decreased by $200,000. English learner teacher payments decreased by $500,000 and the budget also included an SOQ bonus that was added to the budget for $6 million. The overall impact is an increase of $388,000 from our original budget. Federal revenues are showing an
034acceptable trend at at this point in March. We have received impact aid payments of approximately $10.2 2 million year to date. Local revenues are acceptable at this point in the fiscal year. We have received 66.7% of our transfers from the city and other sources of revenue are acceptable at this point in the fiscal year. We are down about $175,000 from the same time last year. This is mainly due to the jewel settlement and the propane bus rebate we received last year. Although we are receiving another $195,000 in jewels settlement money which came in in April. That'll be on the next interim financial statements. And the stop arm enforcement revenue is up $580,000 from the same time last year. The next graph shows that the sales tax receipts are an acceptable level. We are up about
035$2.9 million from the same time period of last year. And the last graph shows that the expenditures and incumbrance trends remains acceptable at this point in the fiscal year. This concludes my presentation. I'll be glad to take any questions. Okay, I don't see any. Thank you. Thank you. All right, we are now on to our legislative update. Welcome Joel Andress, leg legislative liaison from Kimber Consulting. Good evening everyone. It's good to see you all. Thank you for um having me. Um I'm going to talk through make sure I got this right here. Uh just the past uh general assembly session which um adjourned back in March and then we just finished uh veto session last week. So um starting kind of from the beginning it was I think you we've already talked about this a
036little bit. It was a 60-day session. Um we had veto session on um April 22nd and then the general assembly went into a special session the following day. Um as we'll talk about here in a few minutes, um the budget still remains to be resolved at the end of the day, which hopefully will be coming uh before too long. Um there was just from a veto session standpoint, there was a number of governor's um recommendations that came down. number of them the general assembly accepted, a number that the general assembly did not accept. Um, all those that the general assembly did not accept, the governor then has 30 days to make a final decision on those bills, which would be then to sign or veto those bills. Every year we always have sort of a
037theme along with um session and I would say the themes this year sort of centered around affordability and cost of living. Uh, energy and data centers was a hot topic. um labor and workforce was also a particular uh point of interest. And then finally, as we've been talking about for a number of years, continued sort of budget and revenue pressures um uh that we see out there um both this current bianium that we're going to be entering on July 1 as well as bianiums in the future. So, while I would love to be able to sit here and talk through all about 325 bills that we were tracking, um I don't think that you really want me to get into that level of detail. Um happy to talk about others, but I thought I would
038highlight a few of them uh that we were of probably most interest to you all from this past session. Um and just, you know, talk about those things and then at the end we'll give you a quick budget update of kind of where things stand as of right now. So the first one was so reform or sometimes as I like to say so reform reform. Um back during the 2025 general assembly session uh the general assembly passed pretty extensive changes to the SOS particularly really on how they are administered not necessarily what is in the tests. Um those that legislation posed a number of really specific challenges for school divisions in terms of how it was implemented. And so we went back this year and cleaned up a number of pieces in that bill. One
039of the most I think interesting parts is that um the through growth year assessments that the general assembly put in place several years ago that would just became a real challenge for school divisions to administer. Um great idea at the outset but problem once it got the administration side. We got rid of those. um a lot of clarifying language specifically around students with disabilities, students who are taking AP or IB exams because there's a limit on end of year um testing that could be administered. Um more flexibility on timing of for middle school students for when those tests have to be administered. Um as you all know there um some of those middle school SOS so tests um are are administered over multiple days and so giving a little more flexibility there. And then one
040po point that I think a lot of people were interested in was the 10% of the students grade from I'm sorry 10% of the students grade being part of the SOS. Um that was pushed out and so a little bit more context for that. Um currently the state is looking to reprocure the so assessment contract. Um they're hoping to have a probably a new vendor selected later on this year. That's going to come with a lot of changes to the SOS and what the tests actually look like. And so the intent was if we are going to have students grades count towards the um so scores count toward the student grade, let's push that off until we get new assessments in. Let's evaluate those assessments and then let's make a decision on that um down
041the road. So that has been delayed um for for at least probably a year if if not two years. diabetes management. This was also legislation that we have seen over the last couple of years. Uh there was legislation again introduced during the 2025 general assembly session that was then uh kicked to the school health services committee. Um there's a lot of challenges with the legislation that we saw in 2025. Um and so the school health services committee spent about you know six or nine months studying this issue. Um and so the new legislation um incorporates a lot of changes that were part of those discussions. Um it does require schools to have a divisionwide plan on administration of students with diab diabet diabetes. Um it adds immunity language for studentu for teachers who are helping
042um students uh with diabetes. Um and it also clarifies sort of how the insertion and resertion of pumps can be handled if a teacher chooses to do it. But it all has to be done with the accordance with the American Diabetes Association standards of care. So there's a lot of guard rails um along in in that component of the bill. Uh moving on to something that I think is probably of interest is uh collective bargaining. Um so the legislation that passed the general assembly um sort of takes out the optional component. Um it establishes a public relations and uh rel public public employees relation board also known as the PERB. Um which is sets up the kind of statewide administration of collective bargaining agreements. Um there's a a lot of different components in that bill.
043The governor sent down a number of amendments to the bill in the form of a substitute. Um the the primary changes is it it really moved a lot of the components to kind of the administrative process. uh it also pushed out the implementation until 2030. Those recommendations were then rejected by the general assembly. So that bill is back on the governor's desk for her for her action. The current bill though that did pass to the general assembly is delayed until 2028. Uh, a couple things just to note that um were out there, not in the K12 space necessarily, but things that um you probably just want to be kind of aware of in the next couple years. Uh, paid sick leave um, which does require one hour of paid sickly leave for every 30 hours
044worked. It can't occur to more than 40 hours and you can't take more than 40 hours at a time. Again, the uh, the governor sit down sent down a number of recommendations. Those recommendations were also rejected by the general assembly. uh but that doesn't go into effect until um 2027. So there's a year delay on that. And then paid um family and medical leave also um which was signed by the governor that has a delayed effective date until 2028. So again, couple things that are kind of out on the horizon just to be aware of. Uh going back to some other K12 bills, we saw a couple of bills kind of impacting teacher contracts. The only one that I would say that was of probably the most significance was a leave of absence um for
045um the V the local VA person who's on the executive level who can get up to two years um I'm sorry, four years of um of unpaid leave. Um there was also a slight tweak to the continuing contract that was really just more clarifying in nature. Um, I think there was some confusion about how the continuing contracts work and so this bill was really just a cleanup bill. I know we've talked about mental health um, a lot. Um, obviously we were just talking about it a few minutes ago. Um, they made a couple of changes to the already existing and required mental health training um, to really focus it on uh, high-risisk youth populations. So that's now a component of the um uh mental health training. Um it doesn't require necessarily new training, but this
046is now a component of that training. Um AI was a also a pretty interesting topic this past session. I would say at the end of the day, the general assembly was really not sure what to do with AI. um they know that it is certainly a very fluid and fastm moving and involving technology that is being used um in lots of different places. Uh one of the earlier pieces of legislation would have potentially prohibited the use of any type of AI in in the classroom or any type any structural environment. What they ended up doing at the end of the day though was have VDOE and consultation with school divisions to create a framework of guidelines um and not really sure what they want where they want to go with this. Um but it also
047establishes a pilot program that is that will doesn't launch until 2030 also pending funding from the general assembly to have piloted and school and and select school divisions who volunteer. um you know, different types of use of AI and what that looks like in the instructional material. What is very clear to me though is that the general assembly wants to do more and they feel like they should do more in the AI space. They just aren't sure quite what their role is in this world. um they're kind of balancing the not wanting to be too restrictive, understanding that it is technology that exists out there and and everyone is using it, but also making sure that there are appropriate safeguards out there for both uh teachers and students. So while this bill may not have
048done a ton in that space, I would anticipate that for the coming months and certainly into 2027, I would think that um the use of AI and instructional settings and lots of other settings for that matter will become a really significant topic for uh the general assembly in upcoming sessions. Um, and the last one that I just want to highlight real quick is cell phone use in schools. As you all recall, um, uh, Governor Yncan had sent down an executive order, uh, that was followed by legislation, uh, from last year. Uh, there was clarifying language that passed this year on a pretty bipartisan um, vote that really made it clear that cell phone should be restricted from bell to bell. Um and so without exception that is what the in that's what the general assembly
049said our intent was and so they had the legislation that they have out there clarifies that that is what they intended to do is to restrict cell phone and usage from bell to bell. One of the earlier versions of the bill um could have potentially restricted complete possession on on during the school day. um they sort of made a little more flexibility there so students could still obviously on the bus they need to coordinate rides home, sports practices, after school activities, things like that after you know the school day ends. Certainly, you know, they can still have their cell phones to do things like that. So, real quick on the budget status currently, um budget negotiations are continuing to be ongoing. Um, a couple of highlights though that I think are good even though we
050do not have a budget. You know, fully funding rebenchmarking is always a high priority for us. So, that was included in the introduced budget. Um, also included in the introduced budget was uh funds and the authoriz authorization language um in the budget for the introduced budget that remained in both the House and Senate proposed budgets. So I I have feel pretty good that that will probably remain in the final budget that is out there. The House and Senate also proposed pretty significant increases to K12 in slightly different ways. Um one of them the House put in a big pot of $400 million of flexible spending that was contingent on um additional 2% teacher salary increases. Um the Senate however and that was one time the Senate however put in more reoccurring funds um in different
051pots of money that sort of add up to be roughly the same maybe a little bit more but again re reinccur uh reurring money. Um again the budget is still ongoing. Um I hope that we'll see um a budget within the next couple weeks. I don't see any world in which we go past uh June 30th, but that is something that is still pending out there. And certainly as I have more information on um those talks, I'll be sure to let you know. Um so that that is where we stand on the budget and um but I think all overall relatively pretty good news in the budget from that perspective. So, that was very brief and I'm happy to um answer any questions or if there's a bill that I missed that you've heard about,
052happy to uh chat about that one, too. Mr. Co Pepper. Hey Joel, good to see you again. Good to see you. Thank you. Hey, um as you guessed, uh collective bargaining is a is a hot topic. Um, I just want to make sure I understood this because I've heard several variations of what actually has been decided. So, your your first bullet says repeals current prohibition on collective bargaining for public employees. Who's who uh constitutes public employees? Is that state and local? State and local. That's right. Yeah. Um, you said something different though when you read that bullet. You said mandated something. So, yeah, it it is it's a little bit confusing the statute. So the statute right now prohibits collective bargaining for public employees but allows a local option. So what the legislation does is
053allows employees um state and local employees to form collective bargaining units. So the prohibition that was repealed was the prohibition on allowing them to form collective bargaining units. Okay. Yeah. But there's no requirement for one. There's no requirement for for employees to join one there. Yeah. that that's if they choose not to join um they would not have to join. Okay. Yeah. The other one was set the requirements on how public employees uh employee organizations negotiate. Do they make any estimates or did they discuss what what that'll cost to implement? Uh there was some um ranges at the state level. They never really had good data certainly at the local level. Um, but at the state level it was, you know, it was a pretty significant amount of I can't remember the the number off
054the top of my head right now, but it was Can I ask you, Miss P, have you have any do you have any estimate? Have you thought about how you'll budget for that? It would be extremely preliminary to to give you an estimate, but what I can tell you from the things that we've looked at over the time that this has been in discussion, um, you would likely have an initial implementation because you're going to have to increase your HR staff and you're going to have to increase your legal staff and that could range depending on the number of collective bargaining units that could range anywhere from a half a million dollars to $3 million per year. the initial implementation I think then you're going to end up with annual cost which is going to
055be the cost of your new staff there'll probably be additional legal review there'll probably be arbitration mediation so that would be something probably half of the initial which would be like 250,000 to maybe 1.5 million depending again how many collective bargaining units we have and what that entails and then obviously your greatest impact is going to be on a multi-year if this goes full force there's the contracts that are negotiated um for those collective bargaining units that'll be your full impact and that can be in the millions of dollars each year. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Civ. I'll just tell you for my colleagues who've done this, the initial implementation for the legal bills is multi-millions of dollars for outside legal counsel for that. And I've heard estimates as high as $10 million to get everything
056established and running. and you will need an entire team that handles this and they're fairly high level employees that you're talking about well over $100,000 for at least um the couple administrators that do this type of work and that's consistently what I've seen with my colleagues who've already implemented this in their districts and and I'm I'm sorry Madam Chair, Mr. difficult by one more thing I would add is part of the legislation is you you enter into the bargaining discussions and come to an agreement of some kind. It is still up to the appropriating body to approve whatever dollars that have to be appropriated to implement that. So if if salary increases were a component of that, it would still be up to city council to provide sufficient funding for that piece of the collective
057bargaining agreement. Okay, that's an important point, isn't it? So it's not a closed deal until there's actually money to to back it up. Okay, thank Miss Rogers. Thank you. Um I will say that I in the community especially amongst our students we got a lot of we still are getting push back on cell phone usage. So that was kind of a interesting proposal there that got pushed through. Um, and I guess my only other big question is, um, this collective bargaining is still up in the air at the moment because we have to wait for the 30 days. Correct. Yeah, that's right. The governor has 30 days to take final action on that legislation. So, we don't have anything right now at the moment. Yeah. And I have no No, I'm not asking you first
058of all. I just mean that there's nothing set in stone yet. She has not signed the bill. Correct. Right. So, we have nothing set in stone yet. So, I just wanted to make sure that was clear. Thanks, Miss Dwire. So, it says right here establishes a public employee relation board. So in other words, if we had our if we had teachers going on strike, that could even prolong the process longer if it has to if there's a board established. Could you explain that to me? So I I believe striking is still prohibited in the the legislation. So I don't believe that is permitted. the public relations uh public employees sorry public employees board is um designed to set up a statewide framework um I think the intent there is to make the process easier at
059both the state and the local level they also have authority to um set up the collective bargaining units um it's also interesting because the collective bargaining units are also sort of some of them are enumerated already in statute. So, they have some work to do, but I think um what their actual authority is on that I'm I'm not entirely clear on. Um but there that's that's what their role is. The actual negotiations as I understand it would still be between um school board and um you know the the various units. And so I was, you know, there's in a particular teacher union, um, there are fees. Would they also pay the board fees as well? I don't believe so. And then what was the governor's recommendation that was rejected? The governor made a number of
060recommendations. Um, three of them were probably more policy oriented. Um the only one that really impacted local governments was the extension of uh to 2030. Um most of her changes were really much more about setting up more the process through the public employees board versus putting a lot of that in the statute. And uh you said that this is a potential to be to to start in 2028 or 2030. The governor's recommendation was 2030. The current timeline with the legislation is 2028. Okay. Thank you. Mr. Kalen, is my understanding correct that the employees of the members of the general assembly would be exempt from the effects of collective bargaining? I I believe that is my understanding. Okay. Just want to clarify that. Thank you. Mr. Cummings, you mentioned uh 30 days for it to be
061signed. What's what's what's our timeline right now that we're waiting on? So the uh veto session was on the 22nd, so 30 days from from there. Okay. So end of uh you know roughly twothirds of the way through May. Okay, perfect. Well, I did hear some numbers dropped around and my only hesitation when I hear numbers is that I prefer to actually have concrete examples and not guesstimations. So I would caution us utilizing that as a framework for the cost of implementation. we do have tangible pathways forward uh for at least coming up with models of financial commitment if this was an issue and I prefer that we when we receive information that we're receiving accurate you know cost of projections and whatnot that's my only ask as we talk about this not to speak
062from things that we may or may not have heard uh I'm glad to see that we're looking to provide that the state is looking to provide avenues for our workers to have a voice as Well, and so I appreciate the update and look forward to hopeful this becoming legislation for us. So, it looks like we're ahead of the curve there on the cell phones because we already implemented our cell phone policy. Um, you know, it was my my position at least that that was the intention. And so, I am glad that the general assembly, you know, clarified that. Um and I am glad that they it looks like they removed the part about prohibiting on school grounds. Okay, that is correct. Yes, I I Yeah, it I believe it says restrict use I think is
063what uh it's restrict prohibit use while on school property. So, you can't use it, but you can have it because, you know, we have high school students that drive and so, you know, they can't even leave it in their car or whatever. That's kind of a little bit of a challenge. Um, I have two high schoolers myself, so that's a concern. Um, the I think it's interesting that there was some conversations about AI and uncertainty surrounding it because, you know, we grapple with that as a school board as well. um this paid and sick uh family medical leave. Um is that so that's going to be a payroll deduction? Yes, I I can tell you. Yes. Yeah. What are you getting from? That's correct. Yeah. Do we have any idea what percentage that payroll deduction
064will be for our employees? Not yet. No. Will it require matching for on our end? still not made clear to us. Okay. You will not have control there will that will go through the um Virginia Employment Commission, you know, and I I think it's important, you know, when people need FMLA that they take it. Um but I am also concerned that I want continuity in education for our students. And so, you know, I kind of wonder whether or not the general assembly is going to um give us the funds for some of these unfunded mandates that they have approved. Is there any conversation about that? I will say not necessarily specific to some of these bills. There are ongoing conversations certainly around K12 funding formulas and increased funding for K12. Um while not finalized yet,
065um both the House and the Senate um propose some funding, a little bit of funding, different amounts of funding to restart the joint subcommittee on K12 um funding. So hopefully that work will start to get done. Um again, that's been put on hold the last couple years. So um I am I'm optimistic about um future funding for K12 obviously dependent on revenue and budget uh outlook right and I I think my my specific question is you know in a profession where you know we have lots of mothers you know and rightfully so they want to take time to be off with their babies. I understand that. um you know, we may have to have long-term subs in those classrooms that we wouldn't have had to have had. And so my and I I don't know
066how much this would end up being an impact, right? But my fear is that we won't be prepared for the sticker shock of that. Um and so that's that's my question, but um I understand you don't have the answer. Yeah. So I would say the the fortunate part is that is delayed a little bit. So there is a little bit of time to prepare for whatever that impact. Okay. And I'll I'll be looking forward to finding out, you know, what type of matching we have to, you know, budget for and, you know, we're going to have to put that in our budget. But I appreciate that and thank you for everything that you do. Absolutely. Thank you so much. Appreciate the time. Okay. We are now on to the use of facilities proposed fee structure
067changes and we welcome Crystal Pate, chief financial officer. Good evening, Chairwoman Brown, Vice Chairwoman Williams, school board members, Dr. Robertson. As many of you know, you receive a report um monthly that goes over the school rentals that we um enter into and so that you have that information. Um tonight with me is Steve Leak. He is the division's risk manager. We have made some changes to that process and to the and a proposed fee structure and he's going to share that information with you. All right. Good evening everybody. Uh to start off here. Oh, there it is right there. All right. Going over the agenda uh introduction and purpose of the new system, the facilitron system, key benefits of this actual system, the proposed pricing structure changes that we are proposing, uh user group tier
068classifications as well, pricing change examples so you can better understand um the groups and the tiers and any questions, comments or discussions uh uh that we want to have afterwards. So, all right, we implemented a new online school facility use system called Facilitron back earlier this year, January 16th. This system provides a full paperless process, improved user experience both from internal users and external users. A storefront style photo interface with real time uh availability for our areas in our school and real-time pricing. Um when you go from paperless to online, you got to have training. So we have ongoing online training for administrators, student activities coordinators, and our book bookkeepers. Facilitron rate retains 10% of our rental revenue and our custodial overtime. We don't have any upfront costs with them. So if we do well,
069they do well. One thing that we uh in going from paperless to online and this is very important is the applications must be submitted at least 10 working days prior to the use or the use date and in the past that's been a problem and it slowed things down. So it is it has been uh very beneficial to go that route. Uh key benefits of it, improved user experience because a renter out there can access our facility reservations 24/7. As I stated before, we have a photo storefront with descriptions, capacities of the gymnasiums, the auditoriums in our schools, instant pricing estimates, and online payment capability. And from the staff in the risk management department, uh we've got increased staff efficiency because we're processing and approving quicker than we have ever had in the past. Uh
070reduced reliance on emails and manual tracking and improved risk management compliance. And what do you say that is improved risk management compliance? Well, five years ago, school rentals was not a part of risk management. and we wanted to bring it over to risk manage because when we have renters in our schools we need to ensure that they have appropriate insurance and what better way to do that and to fall under risk management. So we have a certificate of insurance tracking within facilitron and that's a COI and we also have nonprofit status verification. So that's easily we will determine what tier that renter is in. All right. The proposed pricing structure um our proposal date is going to is going to be July 1st of 2026. And since Facilitron takes 10% of the re rental revenue
071and the custodial overtime and our pricing structure hasn't changed in many many years. uh we felt that this was a good time um to do this. Um we are we have the introduction of the new standardized pricing tiers uh which will eliminate a outdated fundraising category from our existing regulation. We're going to restructure groups two and three which I'll go into here. Uh it's it's some of the future slides we have here. The main change is transition from peruse fees to hourly fees in many of our areas particularly with groups four and group five. And the other thing we're going to do is we want to increase uh uh the cost of to the renter of 10% of our custodial and cafeteria overtime costs. Uh the cafeteria cost will happen if a renter wants to
072use the cafeteria kitchen to warm things up. We would have to have a cafeteria manager on site for that. Now I want to go in and maybe this is the first time you've looked at the school rentals and the different groups that we have. So, I'm going to go over all five groups just so you get a a a very good understanding of what uh organization falls under each group. We have group one, which we're naming BBCPS internal, and it's basically all school division activities, classroom, athletic based, afterchool programs, parks and recck, any agreements we have with other local municipalities. and no facility fee, no service fee, and no utility fee, and no COI COI is required because it's the school division. Group two will be expanded. And what this is is parent volunteerrun programs
073that benefit the schools such as PTA, school committees, band boosters, athletic boosters. Then you have the civic leagues and the homeowners associations. The facility fee for the odds down the road here. Um, we're going to have a a slight increase with uh use of gyms, kitchens, and uh grounds. The service fee is basically the custodial overtime. Uh we do not charge custodial overtime until after 6:00 p.m. on the weekdays, weekends, and any holidays that are being used. from a group two. A utility fee is if they use our uh stadiums and we charge for the stadium lights only. And of course, the certificate of insurance is a requirement for any group above group one. Group two is going to be your recreation leagues, uh little league, pony leagues, any types of cheerleading organizations. And the
074facility fee is a discounted fee because they are a community youth nonprofit. Um service fee, utility fee, and COI all stay the same. would be a nonp a community adult nonprofit such as religious organizations conducting religious services on our property um such as churches, school, sports leagues, any type of political groups that have meetings. And the facility fee here would be a direct cost. And where this comes from is Facilitron, who does this for a living, they um help us. They gave us recommendations on what fees we should and we also looked at the surrounding school divisions as well. Service fees, utility fees, and COI are pretty much standard and uh in moving forward. Group five would be the commercial or private businesses or private schools or entertainment groups. The facility fee would be fair
075market based on the facilitron cost analysis and also we also looked at surrounding school divisions as well. And of course the other stuff facility fee utility fee and COI is required. Now to give you even a better understanding of this, these are the pricing change key examples that we have here. So with group one, I've mentioned that it's internal. We do not have any pricing changes whatsoever for this particular group. But group two, we have a uh an increase in price uh in our gymnasium, a an additional charge to use our grounds and our kitchens. As you can see on the uh PowerPoint presentation to give you a understanding of an example here, a civic league, most of the civic leagues or homeowners associations, they use our schools, they use our cafeterias or caftoriiums. Um
076we don't charge before, we're not going to charge afterwards uh for for the new pricing. uh boys and girl scouts, they usually use our cafeterias as well, but I think once or twice a year they do the pine derby in our gymnasiums and they use our gymnasiums for four hours. So before they would we would charge them for four hours, $50, it would raise to $60 per event. So it's no big change. Uh, group three, the community youth nonprofit. There are some changes here and this is based on a recommendation by our um, rental facilitron company. Um, and a good example of this is a USA cheerleading class that is conducted all week, two hours uh, two hours a night. And we usually charge them $24 per day and it would increase to $40 per
077day. So it's really no uh no big change in um in financially there. Group four is where it starts uh it starts uh getting a little higher and these are the community adult nonprofit uh such as our churches that we have in our schools. Um, a good example of this is we're going from a peruse fee to an hourly fee. Okay, your typical church uh is in our auditorium for five hours on Sunday and some of the churches use our classrooms for five hours as well. So, if you use the auditorium, it would be $150. Currently, it would raise to $375 and our classrooms would be $25 to $125 per classroom. Um, the last group is group four and these are private organizations and also the same going from per use to per hourly. Uh
078a good example of this is a sports tournament that uh took place uh last month in our in one of our gymnasiums for 10 hours. We only charged $250 for that. Uh looking at the per hour charge, it would be $1,000 for this outside private organization for this. Facilitron, as I stated before, just takes 10% of uh the rental fees that we have come coming in. And the this fee structure has not changed in the 27 years that I've been working for the school division that I know that I know of. So, with that being said, I hope I gave you a brief understanding of the school rentals process, the proposed pricing. So, I'd like to open the floor up to any questions uh that you may have. Thank you, Miss Rogers. I just have
079one quick question. Um, on the group two expanded, the grounds went from no charge to $25 a day. My concern is that we have a lot of athletic and um other boosters and these groups may use the grounds for fundraising and we're asking them to pay for fundraising that they're doing that directly benefits the staff and students. So I like it might not seem a lot but if you're using the ground several times a year that's money coming out of the money that they're actually I mean the point of a booster is to support the staff and students who want to do the clubs and that sort of thing. So my concern is if this is like if you're going from no charge to every time you use the grounds is $25 and that's not
080something they used to do that that might be a lot for a booster. Does that make sense? Yeah. No. And that's my only concern because like I said the 1250 to $15 an hour it's minimal you know that's nominal but I think the the grounds charge from 0 to 25 when you're talking about a booster club that's there specifically to support the students and their activities that might turn out to be quite a bit and might actually um eat into their fundraising profits and their ability to actually give the kids their after school or their extra activities that they're doing. So that's just my my big concern there. All right, Mr. Cummings. Yeah, thank you. And I absolutely love how much you describe technology solves a problem. Um, I think you, you know, we see
081going from a very tedious beer be bure, you know, process to seamless experience for the user I think is great and I appreciate, you know, the use and implementation of technology. I further like how you discuss about you know how the company has skin in the game you know uh we're not just paying for a product they have in order for them to make money they have to provide a good product as well that's seamless to the user so I I appreciate those two uh the way the way that you frame the discussion I really do um I would say probably for myself as a school board member I would need to have before I'm comfortable voting on this um and these are probably could be general questions Um I assume some of my folks
082have up here is just understanding how many groups are in these different buckets. Um you know looking at you I think when I'm trying to understand how we get to the the hourly number is that marketbased is that what we see peer institutions doing how did we come up with that number? peer institutions. We uh I surveyed um the surrounding school divisions and Facilitron is a national company and they looked at their clients that are equivalent to us in size and that's where they came up with this re these recommendations. So like within the 757 specifically or just uh nationally and within the 757. Okay. I think that's also just seeing that a little more um in detail would be probably something I'd be interested in just looking at. Uh I'd also say just understanding
083like you mentioned the example of the church shifting from before and after model you know trying to understand how many of those are in our our school system and what that financial impact could be. I do think, you know, we do need to charge money for utilization of our our property and utilization of our our our facilities. Um, and so I'm curious just what that right number is, but also how many folks that's going to impact. Um, because it seems like the cost would go up significantly for those for those. Yeah, we we currently have 11 churches in facility right now. Okay. Um, other than that, I'm I'm probably that's probably the main questions. I would just want to dive a little deeper into understanding what we ex where revenues at now in the totality
084and where with implementation in these models we would be at if we had this put in into place. just so I could see a bigger picture, but also really knowing how it's going to impact the folks who use our school. I mean, it one of the things that I I absolutely love about our schools is that we can utilize them when they're not used um and they become a a good common space and making sure that it stays affordable and accessible, I think, is important to me. But also, you know, it costs money to operate and so figuring out that medium is is is a great discussion. that I think the board we should engage in. Mr. Ken, I see that the fee for retaining the rental revenue is 10% for Facilitron, but why would
085it include custodial overtime as well? That would seem to be something that's strictly born by the school system. And what role would Facilitron have in the role that the custodians play? I asked the exact same question when we uh decided to go with Facilitron and they said that that's how they do it. Didn't really give me a rhyme or reason. Oh, that's good to know. But that's why we were this proposal um um shows that we are passing that uh 10% custodial overtime fee to the renter because we are charging 10% more per custodial overtime. Sounds like we'll charge it because we can. Well, I don't mean to make an issue. I'm just trying to understand. Yeah. I mean, yeah. Okay. Thank you, Vice Chair Williams. Um, I know that you said that we've kept
086these rates for a long time. Did So, were we breaking even? Were we losing money actually because of the extra custodial costs and all that? No, we were not breaking even. We were creating some revenue. Yeah. Okay. So, we were creating Oh, yeah. Okay. Um I was also kind of surprised at some of the increases from, you know, 250 to a thousand, you know, that's a that's a big increase. Are we able to accommodate? Because I know about a year or so ago a church contacted me and I sent them to, you know, wherever they were supposed to go. I forgot now to fill out the forms and they fill out the forms and um they were not able to accommodate because they couldn't find the custodians to Is that pretty typical or because it's
087hard to find people obviously to come in on a Sunday? I mean, do we have to turn down a lot of people or uh we we turn down some applicants because we do not have uh the custodial staff that to work overtime. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I would think that would be difficult um to um All right. Well, I kind of, you know, with my colleague the questions that he had, I would be curious as well to find out exactly how many are applying and which groups are in which bucket as well. Thank you. Thank you. Um I I too um I have concerns especially when we are creating and generating revenue. um with an increase so large. Um you know, and a couple of them that stick out to me are and you know, I
088I recognize that this is a small amount, $25 a day. Um, however, you know, little league, pony and cult leagues, cheerleading organizations, you know, a lot of those groups also benefit students that live here in our city. And so, you know, striking the balance for me of the community really owns these buildings, not us. and but also making sure that we're protecting the resources that are meant for education. Um, and I I think that's a challenge and I know that that isn't an easy balance to always find, but I would be curious um what types of revenues we are seeing from each of these groups or losses as well. Um, so that you know we can further look into that. So um I I do thank you for bringing it. Um, and how long have
089we had these fees in place? I know you said it's been a while, but you know, 20. Well, I mean, at least I've been here 27 years, and I've never seen a fee change. Okay. All right. Well, I mean, and the costs are going up um of the resources that we use to operate our facilities. And so I recognize that the costs are going up, but I think um I'm a little bit concerned about the amount for some of these. So, all right. Well, this will be on action next meeting. So, thank you. All right. Thank you. All right. There is no more public comment. So, we are now on the consent agenda. We are going to be voting on policy 3-1, 3-55, 3-56, 3-64, 3-72, the Carl D. Perkins grant, the Diamond Springs Elementary
090School and New Town Road Elementary School classroom addition and renovation, Bayside Middle School Foundation Repair Phase 3, and general fees schedule 2627. Are there any objections to the school board voting on the consent agenda items as presented? Okay, seeing none, the motion is made by Dr. Green, seconded by Mr. Cummings. I call for the vote to approve the consent agenda. Miss Milik, how do you vote on the consent agenda? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. We have 11 eyes. The motion to pass for the approval of the consent agenda. Thank you. So we are now on to our personnel and administrative appointments. Is there a motion to approve the personnel report and administration administrative appointments? Motion Bris Rogers, seconded by Miss Dwire. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to approve the administrative appointments.
091Miss Melik, how do you vote on the personnel report? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. We have 11 eyes. The motion did pass for the personnel report. Thank you. And Dr. Robertson, just to confirm, there are no appointments to announce tonight. No, they're not. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. We are now on to committee, organization, and board reports. Do any of my colleagues have anything to report? Dr. Green. Thank you, Madame Chair. Um, last week, I know the division um celebrated and honored our um community volunteers and different partnerships. And so I wanted to take this opportunity also to highlight um a group that has worked very closely with Bayside Middle School uh with mentoring uh and it's uh the men of faith group and and I know Dr. Robertson we've been working with them a
092long time um and Mr. Ron Taylor has been instrumental in helping establish that partnership at Bayside Middle and they do a lot of things in addition to just mentoring our students uh in school. They also take them on field trips most recently last week um outside of school time. uh they went to Gloucester um to look at some historical sites and they do many other things um to ensure our student um success. So I would like to thank them uh men of faith, Mr. Ron Taylor for all the support that they do give the Western Bayside community as well as myself. So thank you for the opportunities you all provide with our partnerships as well. I know that falls under uh Miss Live's uh department also. Thank you, Miss Felton. Thank you, Cher Brown. I
093just like to say on last Thursday along with myself, Dr. Green and Miss Rogers, we attended the VSBA Tower Region Regional Forum and while we were there, we were uh met with a great surprise because the VSBA board of directors, Tower Regional uh scholarship recipient was announced and it was hosted by uh the Tower Regent Chair and North City School Board member uh Miss Tiffany Moore Buffalo. But uh the VSBA acknowledged one of our students. The Virginia Beach School Board Association proudly announced Dashmaster, a senior at Princesane High School in Virginia Beach City Public Schools as a 20 26 VSBA board of directors regional scholarship recipient for the VSBA Tower Water Region. He will receive $5,000 scholarship to support his postsec postse secondary education at JMU in political science in the field of public uh
094policy. Mr. Masters has served on multiple committees just to name a few. He served on the president and vice president uh of the uh mayor's youth leaders in action, vice president of the national English honor society, the third precinct citizen advisory committee, the summer residential governor school for humanities and the NASA Virginia Space Coast Scholar Summer Academy. He was recognized by the Virginia Beach City Council for three years of community services. When asked what this scholarship means to Mr. masters. He wrote, "Receiving the VSBA board of directors regional scholarship means that my efforts to lead excels in the classroom and service to my community are recognized by other, inspiring me to continue striving for excellency in everything that I do. The scholarship has reinforced that I am on the path to on the path to
095becoming a champion for impact. one of my life goals and has shown me that dedication and hard work lead to significant results. Let's congratulate Mr. Dash Masters, a senior at Princesen High School in Virginia Beach Reach Public Schools at the 2026 VSBA board of director regional scholarship recipient for the VSBA Tower Water Region. Thank you. Yes. Thank you, Miss Rogers. So once again, I want to just reiterate how great it was at celebrating children and thank all of our partners and staff that made that day amazing. Um last Friday, I also had the pleasure of going to Parkway Elementary with Mr. Kalen. We got to see the 40th tree planted by um Virginia Parks and Rex and by our mayor at Parkway Elementary for Arbor Day. And the students were so informed about how to
096make composting soil and gave me all the information that I cannot use meat and sandwiches that I have to use fruits and vegetables for composting and leaves and all of those other wonderful things. But it was really a great u morning. And then after that meeting I got the opportunity to go over to Strawbridge Elementary where they have a pep rally. And at Strawbridge, you um the Strawbridge Sharks are put into four different houses based on whatever they are um are sorted at their kindergarten year. And they keep that house throughout all five six years of elementary school. So they have the Makeo House, the Tiger Shark House, the Hammerhead Shark House, and the Lemon Shark House. And I am officially a tiger shark. Still have my bracelet on. So, I really appreciate all of
097the work that's going on over at Strawbridge to um make that such an inclusive place for all the students. The pep rally was decibel 200 and it was awesome. Great. Thank you. Seeing no more, um like to have Ryan, Dr. Ryan Goldberg come back up. And I have the list here of what I believe was the order. Um, so we'll just go ahead and order here. Um, Miss Dwire. So, um, my some of my concerns were the vetting process. You said there was an approval process and I was wondering if you could elaborate on that some more and how how we vet for AI. Sure. thing. So for an instructional application, and this is not just for AI, this would be for any instructional application that teachers would like to use, they would go through
098an approval process where they would reach out first to their instructional technology specialists in their building and they would explain the why behind why they would like this program or application. The instructional technology specialist then goes to their principal, takes that information and shares. So whatever instructional purpose that tool is going to be used for. From there, the tool goes through an application approval process through us where we take it and we look at alignment to our curriculum, alignment to whatever tools we already have. So, for example, if there's a tool that we purchase that meets the same needs, we would not approve that. Um, some of the tools, as an example, are more directed towards different content coordinators. So, looking at Mr. Lovejoy, he's our social studies secondary coordinator. If there was an application
099that was social studies in nature for secondary, it would go to him or Mr. Quinn's team to approve. Then Mr. Quinn would approve it. Once it makes it through us for the instructional piece, then it goes to Mr. Den's team, Department of Technology, where they approve it for security and the pieces that he shared earlier. It's a a strenuous process. Okay. So, um I I I'm guess one of my concerns is maybe we're just moving a little too fast. Um and I do share my concerns with uh my my colleagues about middle school. Um and um I'm I'm wondering if the high school students currently I mean we do a process on the teachers. Can we do a vetting process on them? I mean, for lack of a better word, um to uh maybe monitor
100them a little more closely in in use of AI. Um yeah. And so, uh, I'm I'm listening and I think we all are. And it's it's just a lot. It's a lot. Even though we're we're hearing some positive input and that's encouraging and we definitely want our students to go forward, we don't have to h we don't want to hinder them in any way, shape or form. and we want them to be technology savvy and ready. Um maybe I guess my concern is maybe we could slow down a little and um just keep the lines of communication open here. Thank you, Mr. Co Pepper. Thanks for hanging out for this. Uh my recollection is somewhat similar to uh other what other members of the board have already said which is that um when we previously
101discussed this um the board was very cautious even about implementing it uh in high school. Um and I certainly we definitely did not discuss or I don't recall discussing at all implementing it in middle school or elementary school. I certainly don't think that was implied. So I do think that if we're going to continue down that path I think the board needs to express that explicitly. Um my colleague made a comment about uh what you call it again and hallucinations. I'm sure we've all seen that and and the reason we've seen that is because we have a basis of knowledge to look at an answer that's wrong and go well that's wrong. You know I've used AI for some very basic things at times. you know, ask it basically a legal question, for example, one
102time and it gave me an answer that was that I knew was wrong and I told it that's wrong and it comes right back and says, "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. Here's the right answer." And that's why I'm very dubious about it in middle school and elementary school, uh, because they don't have the knowledge base to reject that bad information. And I think that puts them in grave danger of developing knowledge that's wrong. And then later later on in life, now they now they're even worse off. they're totally confused and don't have a knowledge base from which to reject bad information. Um, my other colleague expressed that, you know, we've implemented this in high school and I think we should and I think we need to, you know, they're at a stage in life where a
103they've they do have a basis of knowledge and b they better figure it out now because they're going to be out of school fast and it's going to come at them whether they want to wanted to or not. Um, but I do think we're in a position where we should allow what we're doing in high school to mature and for us to learn about it uh before we race ahead and implement it in middle school and elementary school. Thank you, Vice Chair Williams. Yes, thank you. Um, I have the same concerns that you know that we've all stated up here. Um, but I do have a question with the feedback. It says review of stakeholder feedback parents 15 PTA meetings. So what level of PTA meetings were attended by staff? We went to all different
104levels, elementary, middle, and high school. Okay. And so so we don't have any of that feedback though, the exact feedback. Yeah, we don't have I mean, yeah, we we really don't have anything any feedback. In my presentation, I provided an overview. I know there was a question about providing more detailed feedback which we can probably can provide if you would like that. Yeah, because I mean all we see here is community awareness um expectations appreciation to give feedback. Um yeah, because I would have liked to have seen if did you did you ask specifically ask what do you think about AI at the elementary level? What do you think about AI at the middle school? So I would just, you know, if if we could just have that more detailed, but I I guess a
105big concern for me too is we've only been doing this for 10 10 weeks basically, right? Since I mean this usage chart is started in January 28th. That that's just the data for that time. Yes, we started November 5th for high school students. Okay. So it's it's new and we already have these power users which I agree with a colleague earlier that I think that's going to get bigger at this grade level and I think it's going to get bigger at the at the middle school. Um, but I guess probably my my greatest concern is the feedback from the teachers, the resource overload and but this one they already see the need to prioritize the use of AI to elevate rather than diminish learning. So I think that we've got some room to just be
106cautious. I think at the at the retreat we all were very cautious about implementing this at the high school level. I too like my colleagues thought we were just talking about high school. So I would like to see us, you know, pause at the middle school and really take a look at this and and take a look at this feedback from the teachers about the overload and about diminished learning and um make sure that we're doing it correctly before we move on to other grade levels. So I I um I would strongly suggest that we we stay at the high school level um for right now. Thank you. And Miss Williams, one of the things about the resource overload that I just wanted to share, one of the benefits of selecting an instructional platform to
107share with the board is that we would provide a tool that we would recommend for them to use versus the thousands that are popping up on a daily basis. So by providing that tool, we would give them training and professional learning around that which would in hopes kind of eliminate the need of that resource overload to allow them to have one that we recommend. Yes, certainly there will be users who are using many different ones across different platforms for AI, but that would help solve that problem for teachers. And I just want to draw the board's attention to the fact that the recommendation for middle school is very different from high school vers because we're not recommending Gemini. So they will not be prompting to the level they're using on Gemini. Understood. Thank you, Miss
108Rogers. Thanks so much. Um, and thank you for letting me circle back. I just wanted to circle back on a couple of things. So, first of all, we talked I you know talked about some high schoolers concerns and um one of the things that I didn't get a um well I didn't um touch on was if there was an alternative assignment if if educators are giving uh students an assignment that they want the students to use AI and the students are not comfortable with that but it would take us one student 15 minutes if they use AI and another one an hour and a half. Is there an alternative for that student that they're not having to spend an hour and a half on an assignment that another student is spending 15 minutes on so
109the entire class can move forward? Does that make sense? Because if a student doesn't feel comfortable using AI, is there an alternative? For example, there's a book assignment and a parent or a child doesn't feel comfortable with the book, there's an alternative and then they can do that assignment. Are we doing that with AI? What I can tell you is those type of circumstances have been handled at a school-based level. So, it hasn't risen to the attention to where we're having to make a decision that large for our district at this time. Like our schoolbased administrators are handling those questions most of the time. The teachers are able to provide an alternate assignment or the students able to work through it. Okay. And then the other question that I guess I had because we were
110just at the very end of everything. You were talking when we were talking about those power users and you said it's a lot of prompts. How are we educating the students then to ask an appropriate prompt if they keep asking the same one over and over again so that we don't have power users? If you're finding that your data is showing, oh well they have to keep asking to get the assignment. How are we then teaching them to better ask the questions? Because again, I am concerned about the power users. So if you're saying the data shows it's prompt after prompt because they're trying to get the correct information, then how are we teaching them to ask the questions better of AI? Because AI is also learning from what the input they're being given. I
111think it's a great question. And we've spent a lot of time in some of our professional learning teachers teaching our teachers how to do effective prompting which would then in turn they could take that and teach their students. When we do look at those power users we've looked at broken it down to the student level. Most of them for an example could be prompting because they looked at something and there was a hallucination and they're trying to correct something. So they're not asking the same questions over and over again. They're doing it to revise to get a different output. Okay. And again, if that a hallucination though is an anomaly, correct? It's when the when the AI generates an incorrect information in the output, right? So, but it wouldn't be that you would have a
112power user with all of these incorrect I mean I is that what you're saying is that that's one that's one example. So typically even when myself when I prompt AI to give when I prompt Gemini to give me something where I am working on a project or a task oftent times I'm going to reprompt to continue to build my output and continue to make my product stronger right but is that then going to create you with the one hallucination into a power user or no so that's my concern is that we have these continued prompting and if it's not because of a hallucination. If that is a not an everyday occurrence, why do we have 2% of our students asking all these questions if it's not always because of a hallucination? Do you see what
113I'm saying? I I was just giving hallucination as one example. I think in a way you could consider it in a different lens outside of hallucination is that we're teaching our students to think even more critically because they're analyzing and vetting their outputs and then reprompting again to get a better output and continue to analyze the results. And again, I I understand what you're saying and I feel like we're talking in circles, but my question is, how do we get that 2% to not be a 2% usage power usage? I don't want to have our students using the AI tool as I'm just not interested in what the teacher saying, so I'm going to ask AI a million questions because I'm bored. And that absolutely does happen because I have teenagers and they tell me.
114So again, that's my concern with AI. And I realize that we're analyzing the data after the fact, but I don't want this to become a problem that our high schoolers, we are taking the students that are already, you know, possibly having issues with their grades or whatever, and we're giving them a toy that should be used as a tool. That's that's my concern. Mr. Bowsdale. Yes. Thank you. Um, I'm not a fan or I don't want to put the AI in middle school, but uh I'm going to try and be nice how I say this. I really don't appreciate the fact that we haven't even got through this school year and you're already trying to push it on middle school. And for that reason alone, I will not support this. So, I think I'm going
115have to weigh in. Yeah. Well, and Dr. Robertson. I'm I'm actually going to request, you know, we've had six board members express seven actually concerns and I I do believe that it's appropriate for the boards to take a vote on that. Yeah. So, I I think I might have to weigh in in that our proposal is to move into the middle school November of next year, which will be one full year. And I would ask this board if I've ever brought anything to this board that caused harm or risk to kids. And if the answer is yes, well then you guys got a decision to make. If the answer is no, then let's take a little bit more time to consider this and wait until the summer when we have a retreat. We could pull
116the trigger then. But everything I've heard tonight is opinion-based versus what the educational staff is telling you and the what approach we've taken is delivering what we are hoping it will deliver. We would never put our kids at risk. Thank you, Dr. Robertson. And um you know I I appreciate what you're saying, but I also think that the board is elected to to make decisions for the community. Um Mr. [ __ ] yeah, I recognize that the the conversation about AI is difficult because there's a depth of understanding of folks who utilize the tools. You know, there's media perceptions and then there's also people who use it on a day-to-day basis who are experts in it. And I think the diversity of utilization perhaps on the board, you know, could probably lead to some just differing opinions,
117which is fine, right? Like that's discussion is messy. AI discussion is messy. There's reason to VD always probably putting their work off for several years and the why we don't see great federal guidelines for coming out. You know, it's it's a difficult ever growing evolving technology. Now, my I don't have a strong opinion on middle school yet. Um, but I will say what is the role of education, right? What is the role of our schools? We should walk into the conversation assuming that these kids in middle school are most likely using generative AI on their phones, right? Like they're taking photos with chatbt, asking it to edit different things. You know, we see different examples coming out. they're probably taking photos or asking homework questions. And so I think it puts the school in an
118interesting position is how do we teach how do we understand ethics within the realm of AI? How do we have you know uh teach people to be moral technology users? Now it's a difficult conversation and I know that we see uh we've received messages about security not working. I know we see Chromebook use in middle school. It's a I recognize the the difficulty of that conversation, but I do think it's something worth exploring is, you know, at the middle school level, can we teach our our students the proper utilization of AI? And I want to say that I did have a great conversation with folks months upon months ago where I wanted a little more deeper knowledge into AI work and how it worked in our schools. and they gave us some really good uh
119examples of what what's the fancy word AI resilient pedagogy or what's what's the fancy word for it? Well, you and I spoke about AI resistant versus AI assistant and how we're using that in high school. Yeah. And so I do think there is curricular design where it could potentially make sense because we're teaching computer science and coding in middle school, right? Okay. So an example would be say I write a program in Python and it's not working and I need to debug my program. Do you all know how to debug any any code software? You copy and paste into AI and it could give you direct feedback. Okay. So that's a technological utilization of how AI can be used. And I'm not saying I'm not putting positive or negative. I'm just saying that there's the
120conversation is so messy and so all over the place that the risks I definitely hear the risks and I agree with a lot of those risks but at the same time you know I think there's also some learning opportunity uh as well. So I do look forward to the discussion. Um, and then I would say just thinking about the reprompting issue. Um, I've been trying to think about that 2% because if you look at my AI AI logs, I'd be like a super super super super super super power user. My prompts are hundreds upon hundreds conversations wrong along, you know, not hundreds of prompts, but there's just lots of back and forth with trying to pull out the information that I'm trying to pull out from documents I upload to if I'm building a program
121or if I'm building a process improvement automation. You know, there is a lot of back and forth conversation. Um, and so I think for me this comes back to the importance of AI ethics and being that being integrated into our curriculum. Um, and maybe that's just what it looks like at the middle school level. I don't I don't know. But I definitely do hear a lot of thoughts on the the opinion. But I do think there's some uses with our computer science and middle school where generative AI can be extremely useful. Um, and I think our students probably might be missing out if we have a strict ban on that. That's what my initial gut is telling me. Uh, but I'm definitely open to the conversation as I don't have a firm opinion on the
122on the topic yet as I hear multiple folks speaking. Miss Rogers, thanks. Um, Dr. Robertson, I did want to just address what you had said. I don't think anybody on here would ever say that any decisions are harming children. I think that we're looking at the data that we're being provided and we're saying and ban I think is a strong word Matt we're not banning it. I would feel better if we spent another year in high school only and then saw a complete look at the data because again I'm seeing things that are concerning me maybe ways that we can improve what we're doing at the high school level before we go on to the middle school. This is one year brand new. It's not that, you know, it doesn't take anything away from the
123staff's hard work. Doesn't take anything away from your hard work. It just is saying it's okay to pump the brakes and take a look at another year of how we're implementing this so when we do put it in the middle school, we do it right. That's what I want to see. I don't want to say, well, we've done it and it seems pretty successful. Let's do it in the middle school. And there are things we haven't considered. And there's always going to be things that you're not going to know until you know. But I do think it's this is so important that our kids not only get the education, but that we do it at an age appropriate level, in an age appropriate way, and that we understand exactly the pros and cons, the good
124and the bad at the high school level before we move it on. That's all I'm saying. I think not a full year of data is just not enough for us to make really good decisions for our sixth to eighth graders. And I personally I I appreciate Matt what you're saying about the students. My son didn't have a cell phone until 8th grade. So he wouldn't he didn't do any of that. And and there's going to be a lot of parents that want that those brakes pumped as well. And I think it's having that balance of of we want to introduce this, but we want to do it with caution and with intention. And that actually is what this whole presentation started with is selective and intentional. And I just want to see it be really
125intentional when it gets to middle school. That's all I'm asking for. I'm not saying we don't want to have it in middle school ever, but that I would like more information at how we implemented at the high school level. How did it affect our students, their grades, where did we have problems? I think it's so new that we're not even aware of all the problems yet. You know what I mean? And if we wait another year that some of those will pop up and then we can problem solve those before we go to the middle school. Does that make sense? All right. I appreciate that. Thank you, Madam Chair. What? Did you have your hand up, Miss Melnik? I did. I did. Um, so sitting at home and watching a schoolboard meeting on Zoom is
126different than sitting in that chair. And I've heard a lot of I thinks out of my colleagues. Not that I mind uh not that I don't agree with a little of everything that everybody has said, but nobody sitting on that dis is a curriculum developer, right? They don't write curriculum. We are I I know we've we're elected to do a job, but I really appreciated Dr. Robertson's words. Um, I think I think we need to be presented some more information, but I also think we need to be mindful that we have professionals who are developing this curriculum and they're doing it for a reason. Um, and perhaps this board just needs more information. But I this is the second time in a short period of time where we we have a lot of very strong
127opinions about um some curriculum opportunities for our students. Right or wrong, I'm I'm not saying either. I'm just saying it sounds really different on this end. And so I'm asking for more discussion, but not being so forceful in our our nose about what we think might happen. Um, I know that part of Dr. Robertson's contract is exactly this. Um, and so I'm interested in that piece as well, like where do we cross the line um, with his contract. Um, so we can talk about that later. I don't think that Mrs. Lenetti needs to weigh in on that tonight, but um, it does sound a little different on on this side. Um, not that I don't have concerns, but perhaps um some more information and this not I don't know. I encourage you all to watch
128the video. It is just a little different on this side. All right. So, Dr. Green has not spoken yet. So, Dr. Green then Mr. Hold that one. So my my my and they're not I I have one question Dr. Goldberg, but that's easy. But but I feel from having sat on both sides again that that my perspective I to me this is a u also about a trust factor in that we hire staff to be the instructional leaders of the school division for making recommendations. I get it that some of you may not be comfortable with it, but again, I I mean, we hire staff to do instruction and unless we going to do deep dives and studying and researching, you know, I think we give them the guidance, you know, in terms of how
129you want it to roll out, but just to say no, we don't want it, I some of us don't have that expertise. So, Dr. Goldberg, my question because I'm I have not made a decision either way. And those of you that know me, I I do my research. So, I would appreciate if you could provide me. I had started googling different books to read um pro and con of AI. So, if you could in the next week or so provide me some reading that I can do in preparation pro and con because I do want to read both perspectives uh so that when we have the discussion um I may feel a little bit more comfortable going into it. Um I appreciate a lot with Mr. Cumins uh his perspective on you know how possibly
130uh I'm not at a hard no. So if I could get some resources yes we can do that. Thank you Mr. Co Pepper. Thank you. I just want to come back around and say this. I'm 100% sure that everybody up here and everybody out there is trying to trying to do what's best for the kids in our schools. I'm 100% sure of that. The fact that we have different opinions on how on what is best, that's normal and that's okay. We can argue about things. That's what we're here for. Um I was actually going to say some some things very similar to what Miss Roger said. Um but I'll just say this. There was one thing I forgot to say when I was talking before, which was I I did understand that you had written
131in there that there are different guard rails in middle school and elementary school. I think all of us are just having a really hard time understanding what those are and whether they're effective uh and that implementing at that implementing AI at those levels will be an improvement upon education. So I won't say I'm a hard no either, but I need an answer to that question before I can before I verbally answer one way or another. And what I expressed to you before is my concerns uh that need to be addressed before I can say yes. So, Miss Lenetti, I have a procedural question here. Um, so the consensus of the board appears to to not be 100% in consent with this and the the problem that I have with waiting until the retreat is that
132staff is doing even more work to roll this out all the way until the retreat. And we already know that we have board members that aren't going to be able to be here. Um, and we don't vote at the retreat on retreat items. Um, those come back later. So, how does the board get more information and provide direction? Will we do an information and action? Right now, the way that you don't have anything before you to act on. And I will say I'm a little confused because I keep hearing staff saying it's a recommendation. A recommendation assumes that you're going to vote on. Is it a recommendation? The way I read the presentation was this is how they're going to do it. If you look at policy 641, you've given it to the superintendent to
133develop regulations. His regulation 641.1 doesn't lay out in this level of detail. And I'll be honest with you, what I can see in VDOE does not give you the guidelines specifically. Nothing seems to say at this age or that age. I do know I did go back and look at the retreat from last year. They were talking about high school. Right now, if you look at it on the website, it says high school. what I'm what I took the workshop presentation was the superintendent's next steps are going to be doing this um and that's it. If you don't want him to do that, you're going to need to change that right um the policy or give him some guidance or you're going to need to bring it back for a vote. You have no vote
134for you were not asked to take a vote. You were just being given information discussion tonight. So, you need to come back um at another meeting with a motion to either change a policy or ask him to do something different or take a vote to tell him that you want him to not have middle school or whatever your direction or wait a year. So, that's what I'm asking is would we do an information where they give us more information and then an action on a different meeting? What I'm hearing it sounds like you want more information you've asked for information. So, I think you probably do need an information, but I think you need a specific what is you're looking for and then make a decision whether you're going to go to action and what
135what you're going to be doing. Does the board want to do an information presentation and then determine if we want to take any action in our next meeting information? Is that enough time to compile that? Dr. Robertson, the information I was thinking, so I think there's an easier I think there's an easier approach. Um, so I appreciated Miss Rogers summary comments because quite frankly, you were 100% accurate. Um, full disclosure, two days at the state superintendent conference and sessions, I'm worn out. Uh, so you might have got a little fatigue in that answer. Um, and then the fact is in my tenure as superintendent, I've never taken an approach that the board didn't support. I'm giving you and bringing you our best thinking. I use the term recommendation because quite frankly, we know that this
136is uncharted territory. Um, and Miss Roger, you eloquently said, you don't know what the issues are going to be until you you're in the in the middle of it. Right. If you ask me April the 28th, do I think we're on a good path to be ready to in a closed environment November 5th at middle school? I think we're on the right path. That could change. Right. Clearly, I have absolutely heard tonight that the majority of this board is uncomfortable with what they don't know. Right? So there are things we need to come back and bring to you between now and the retreat in terms of let you see what that environment looks like to see if it's you're comfortable with it. Um and then it won't be too late at the retreat to walk
137back um anything we were going to roll out in November because we're still preparing staff. So it is I don't think we need to overengineer this. I think we need to get bring you back more information, have the conversation at the retreat. At this point, what I have heard is you guys are uncomfortable with middle school next year. Okay? So, unless I hear differently between now and the retreat that you're now comfortable with it, we will be couching November 5th of anything to do in middle school. I don't think you need to go to a a formal information action agenda. Okay. So, I'm going to suggest we have the discussion at the retreat and you know, if a number of you all still want to take any action or or something like that, then we
138can talk about that after the retreat. And so, that's how we'll move forward there. All right. Well, thank you for the rigorous conversation and Dr. Robertson, I appreciate everything you do and staff, I appreciate everything that you do. Um, and you know, I flagged you down in the hall and I also told Dr. Goldberg, you know, sometimes um my opinions are different and so, you know, it's not a lack of appreciation. I know that you guys do a whole lot. Um we are going to read into close now. I move that the school board recess into close session in accordance with exceptions to open meetings law set forth in code of Virginia 2.2-3711 part A paragraphs 1278 and 29 is amended to deliberate on the following matters. One, discussion, consideration or interviews of prospective candidates
139for employment assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining or resignation of a specific public officers, appointees or employees of any public body and evaluation of performance of departments or schools and public institutions of higher education where such evaluation will necessarily involve discussion of the performance of specific individuals. Any teacher shall be permitted to be present during a closed meeting in which there is discussion or consideration of a disciplinary matter that involves the teacher and some student and the student involved in the matter is present provided that the student that the teacher makes a written request to be present to the presiding officer of the appropriate board. Nothing in this subdivision, however, shall be construed to authorize a closed meeting by a local governing body or an elected school board to discuss compensation matters that affect
140the membership of such body or board collectively. Two, discussion or consideration of admission or disciplinary matters or any other matters that would involve the disclosure of information contained in a scholastic record concerning any student of any public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth or any state school system. However, any such student legal counsel and if the student is a minor, the student's parents or legal guardians shall be permitted to be present during the taking of testimony or presentation of evidence at a closed meeting. If such student, parents or guardians so request in writing and such request is submitted to the presiding officer of the appropriate board. Seven, consultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members or consultants pertaining to actual or probable litigation where such consultation or briefing and open meeting would adversely
141affect the negotiating or litigating posture of the public body. For the purpose of this subdivision, probable litigation means litigation that has been specifically threatened or on which the public body or its legal counsel has a reasonable bias to believe will be commenced by or against a known party. Nothing in this subdivision should be construed to permit the closure of a meeting merely because an attorney representing the public body is in attendance or is consulted on any matter. A consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice such by such counsel. Nothing in this subdivision should be construed to permit the closure of a meeting because an attorney representing the public body is in attendance or is consulted on a matter. 29. Discussion of
142the award of a public contract involving the expenditure of public funds including interviews of biders or offerers and discussion of the terms of scope of such contract where discussion in an open session would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body. Namely to discuss A new and pending personnel matters, B new impending student matters, C Princess Anne High School CIP project discussion on RFQ and design build status, D status of spending litig pending litigation or administrative cases and E consultation with legal counsel regarding probable litigation and pending litigation matters. All right. Motion made by Vice Chair Williams, seconded by Miss Dwire. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the votes to go into close session. So, Madam Chair, we have nine eyes. The motion to pass to go into close session.
143Thank you.