001Good evening. My name is Kathleen Brown, chair of the Virginia Beach School Board, and I call this meeting to order on this 24th day of February, 2026. Madame Clerk, would you please announce the role? Thank you, Madam Chair. Present in the schoolboard chamber are Chair Brown, Vice Chair Williams, Mr. Boeingsteel, Mr. Ken, Mr. Cummings, Miss Dwire, Miss Felton, Dr. Green, Miss Melnik, and Miss Rogers. And attending via Zoom is Mr. Co Pepper. And for the record, can you um explain the reason why and where you are zooming from? Good afternoon. I'm in uh Pennsylvania on personal business. Thank you. Thank you. Please join me in a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance as you are able Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which
002it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Now, Mrs. Melnet will recognize our honores tonight. This evening, the school board has the pleasure of recognizing staff for their achievements. Our recognition tonight is for several teachers who are newly certified by the national board. Please welcome these teachers. National Board Certification is an advanced teaching credential achieved through a rigorous peer-reviewed process. Certification consists of four components: written assessment of content knowledge, reflection on student work samples, video analysis of teaching practice, and documented impact and accomplishments as a teaching professional. These teachers demonstrated a strong command of content, the ability to design appropriate learning experiences that advance student learning, the use of assessments to inform instructional decisionmaking, and partnerships with colleagues, parents, and the community. Our newly certified teachers are, and as I
003call your name, if you'd please step forward because I know there are a few missing, so I want you to get all the recognition you deserve. Courtney Bennis, Cox High School, certified in social studies in social studies, history, adolescence, and young adulthood. Tracy Doyle from Providence Elementary School, certified in literacy, reading, language arts, early and middle childhood. Shawn Duffy, Cox High School, certified in mathematics, adolescence, and young adulthood. Michelle Fischer, Tallwood High School, certified in English language arts, adolescence, and young adulthood. Kimberly Jones, Plaza Middle School, certified in science, early adolescence. Samantha Kirk, Bayside Elementary School, certified in art, early adolescence through young adulthood. Jesse Munford from Virginia Beach Middle School, certified in English language arts early adolescence. Ashley Ranken, Providence Elementary School, certified as a generalist middle childhood. Rebecca Robbins, Parkway Elementary School, certified
004as a generalist, middle childhood. Laura Rodriguez, Green Run High School, certified in science, adolescence, and young childhood. Lydia Wooten, Kingston Elementary School, certified in literacy, reading, language arts, early and middle childhood. Congratulations teachers. We are really proud of you. And for everyone in the audience, this is a really big deal. And so again, congratulations. This is really good. Congratulations. And madame chair, this concludes the schoolboard recognitions for this evening. Okay, we are now on to the adoption of the agenda. Are there any modifications to the agenda as presented? Seeing none, I call for the motion to adopt the agenda as presented. Moved by Miss Melnik, seconded by Mr. Kalen. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to approve the agenda as presented. And Mr. Co Pepper, how do you vote for the agenda?
005Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. We have 11 eyes. The motion to pass for the adoption of the agenda as presented. Thank you, Dr. Robertson. We look forward to your report and your recognitions. Thank you, Madame Chair, and tonight I'm excited to give a report. U we'll start with um school crossing guards. The school crossing guards are recognized annually in February and we thank them for ensuring the safety of our students walking and cycling to school. These dedicated individuals are on duty, rain or shine, hot or cold, to greet our students. We thank the city for providing them to our schools and formally recognizing them at last week's city council meeting. And tonight we have two representatives from four school crossing guards who are with us. I'd like them to stand so we can thank them.
006Next up, we had the Polar Plunge. These people are brave at the Polar Plunge earlier this month. And you do know it was so cold, I didn't even want to go outside, let alone jump in the water. But the Virginia Beach bus drivers team exceeded its goal again and raised over $5,000 for the Special Olympics. Not only did they take the plunge, but they raised money by having buses have bus washes throughout the year and by raffling off a gift basket at the bus driver inservice meeting. The team told me that although it was freezing, and yes, it was jumping in the ocean and below freezing temperatures was for a great cause. Okay, this was the fourth year they've participated and they're already preparing for next year. I'm not sure how you prepare for that,
007but okay. This uh demonstrates the big hearts of our transportation team who put a lot of care into safely bringing our students to and from school each day. Earlier this month, we celebrated National School Counseling Week. Our school counselors make a difference every day through guidance, care, and connection. This slide shows just a few of the faces behind the support. The elementary made signs that said, "We don't know what we would do without you." and they gave counselors their favorite types of donuts. Counselors at Ocean Lakes High School received a gift for each day of the week and Green High School provided school counseling team with lunch from Chick-fil-A. We continue to appreciate our school counselors and the impact they have on students across Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Kellum High School hosted the citywide
008PTA reflections awards ceremony on February 11th. More than 170 entries were submitted by Virginia Beach City Public School students in preschool through grade 12. The theme for this year's competition was I belong. Citywide PTA Reflections chair Rebecca Brooks and senior executive director of middle schools Dr. Jim Smith congratulated the honores. Reflections is a national program that encourages students to enter works of art in the areas of writing, music, visual, and performing arts. And I'd like to thank the Virginia Beach Council of PTAs for this event and its valuable partnership with Virginia Beach City Public Schools. The Office of Family and Community Engagement is excited to invite our families to the FACE Family Resource Fair, an afternoon of fun and learning for the whole family. This will there will be interactive workshops, community partner resource tables,
009and family games that support learning at home. Join us from 1 to 3 this Saturday at the Plaza Annex on Carriage Hill Road near Linhaven Mall. Throughout February, Virginia Beach City Open Schools is celebrating School Board Appreciation Month, a statewide recognition of more than 800 elected and appointed schoolboard members who champion public education every day. As school board members, you play a vital role in planting the seeds for student success, ensuring every student has the re resources needed to grow, thrive, and reach their full potential. And here's a short video showing the support you have from our staff and students. Because of you, we feel supported. Because of you, we can explore our talents. Because of you, we're preparing for the future. We know that from strong roots come endless possibilities. Thank you for everything
010you do. For making the hard decisions, for putting students first, for investing in our schools, for being part of our story. All right, guys. One, two, three. Across Virginia, school boards support more than 1.2 million students. Thank you, school board members, for providing the guidance and governance that shape every aspect of the student experience here in Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Your leadership is is constant throughout the year and February gives us the opportunity to shine a light on your dedication and impact. And thank you, Madam Chair. This concludes my report. Thank you. And before we move on, I just um I want to speak a little on behalf of the board. Um, thanks so much to the students that have created various gifts for us, um, meals for us, uh, during this month. We
011really do appreciate all of those touches and recognition. So, thank you so much for all that. Madam Chair, I do have one recognition to Oh, okay. Yes. So, we're pleased to introduce you to Leah Donahghue, formerly an instructional specialist in the Office of K12 and Gifted Programs, who's now the coordinator of world languages in the office of K12 and gifted programs. Congratulations, Leo. And I see you have some guests. I do. I have my Marty, my parents, Hugh and Lorie Hayes, my children Colin and my husband. Congratulations. We appreciate you. Enjoy. Okay, we are now on to the approval of the February 10th, 2026 regular schoolboard meeting minutes. Are there any modifications to the minutes as presented? Seeing none, the motion is made by Dr. Green, seconded by Miss Rogers. Any discussion? Seeing none, the
012voting board is open. And Mr. Co Pepper, have you vote on the February 10th minutes? Uh, yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. We have 11 eyes. The motion did pass for the approval of the February 10th minutes. Thank you. The school board will now hear public comments on matters relevant to preK through 12 public education in Virginia Beach in the business of the school board and the school division from citizens and delegations 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 forum to receive public comments during the schoolboard meeting. I call upon all speakers and persons and chambers to be civil in discussion and a quorum. Whatever views you wish to express, the schoolboard wants to hear from
013you 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? Thank you. We'll begin with our student speaker. Our first student speaker is Clark Barney. Good evening, members of the school board. My name is Clark Barney Mononttoya and I'm a proud Tallwood Lion. I'm an honor student. I play football. I'm in band and I was preparing for baseball triumphs this week. I care about my school and I care about my future. I'm here to have my voice heard about the ICE protest and influence policy 540. My mom and I are meeting with the principal tomorrow to follow the formal appeal process and I respect that process. But since we
014are reviewing policy 540 today, I wanted to share how this affects me personally. Before I participated in the demonstration, my mom and I had an extensive conversation at home about the root causes of the protest, specifically concerns about the immigration enforcement policies impact immigrant families and even some American citizens. We talk about the importance of understanding multiple perspectives using credible information and expressing concerns peacefully and respectfully. my mom and I had wait I'm proud of my Mexican heritage. When conversations about immigration happen, they're not abstract to me. They affect families that look like mine. And even when someone is a citizen, sometimes the way policies are enforced makes entire communities feel watched, questioned, or judged first and understood later. I participated peacefully and with my parents' permission. I did not leave campus. I did not
015damage property. I did not threaten anyone. I understand that whence directions were given to return to class, continuing to march caused disruption. That was not my goal. My goal was to use my voice. Research shows that out of school suspensions often disconnect students from school rather than improve outcomes. Missing two days, missing baseball triyouts, and missing required band rehearsal does not teach me how to engage better. It removes me from the very activities that keep me motivated and accountable. Policy 540 affirms our right to peaceful expression. I hope discipline can be applied in a way that protects order while also recognizing intent and encouraging civic growth. I want to be part of this school community and not separated from it. Thank you guys for listening. Our next student speaker is Haddie Freriedman. Okay. Uh, apologies
016for reading off my phone. Gen Z and I didn't print this out. Um, hi. I'm Haddie Freeman and I am here to talk about the rewritten studentled demonstration policy which I basically caused. Um, back in September after a tragic shooting in Minneapolis, Students Demand Action, a nonpartisan group about gun control had a nationwide walk out at 12:00 p.m. May note that during one lunch at First Colonial. Um, so I coordinated my school's admin and I had a walk out at the football field. We invited school board member Melinda Rogers to lock out because she is part of Monster Man action and we invited her on behalf of that, not because she's a schoolboard member. But someone in the community got wind of this and was very upset and made a very angry Facebook post. Um,
017and essentially led to this po policy being rewritten, which you guys all thought was fine cuz you've passed it. Um, Miss Williams, you've passed it twice, may I add. But because I let a walk out about something that she didn't agree on and she didn't like that Miss Rogers was there, here we are again is being rewritten. First colonial, we followed procedures and in this policy, you guys are trying to limit students first amendment rights which they do not shed at the schoolhouse gates per Supreme Court case Tinkerb De Mo. I also find it ironic because this new policy says third parties cannot come to these demonstrations. Mr. Ken was at first colonial's anti-ICE walk out to do the exact same thing Miss Rogers did. observe, see what's going on, advise us of our rights.
018Miss Rogers did not participate, have a sign, give a big speech. She was there to support the students. Um, anyway, nothing I say will really matter here tonight cuz you guys have probably already made up your minds of what you're going to do. But at least name the policy after me. Like, I was the reason that this policy was rewritten in the first place. So, I really appreciate 5-4 Hattie Freriedman policy so I can like put that on my resume or something. Um, anyway, have a good night, guys. Thank you. Our next speakers will be Chrissy Riggs, Cody Connor, and then Diana Loveless. Chrissy Riggs, Cody Connor, Diana Loveless. Oh, there's Mr. Connor. Okay. Good evening. I don't know if you guys read a lot of news, but I I read a lot of news.
019And interesting thing I was reading lately, um, you remember that dear colleagues letter that the Department of Education sent out last year demanding that diversity, equity, and inclusion be eliminated from schools? The one that so many of you so eagerly and urgently obeyed like scared puppies. Well, a federal judge ruled that that directive was illegal, that it violated procedural rules and the First Amendment. The governments withdrawn all of their appeals and that directive is void. So when you complied with that illegal directive, not only did you do a cowardly disservice to the students and the communities that you're supposed to represent, but you've also now made the school board solely liable for any legal consequences that result from that decision. If only somebody had been here a year ago telling you that this directive was
020probably illegal and you shouldn't comply. If only over a hundred members of the community had signed up to speak to you and ask you to protect diversity, equity, inclusion in our schools and not to comply with this directive. Oh, wait. that did happen. Do the right thing now and put diversity, equity, and inclusion back into our schools, please. Another interesting thing in the news was uh the student walkouts that happened at almost every Virginia Beach high school this last week. There's been multiple walkouts at our schools this year. We should be proud of our students for being this passionate about topics that affect them and their communities. We should even be even more proud that they've taken it upon themselves as a civic duty to organize and speak out about these topics. As a school
021board, I would think you would be listening to the students and trying to address their concerns, but instead you decided to rewrite policies to suppress their first amendment rights and silence their protests. Before you vote tonight, I'd like you to think about Rosa Parks, Barbara John's, Martin Luther King Jr., and many of the other honored and celebrated Americans whose example these students are following. I want you to ask yourself what you think American values really are. Cuz if you ask me, it's our students that are participating in their civic duty, exercising their first amendment of speech and assembly to stand up for their communities that are exhibiting American values, not the schoolboard members that are trying to silence them. Make good decisions. Our next speaker is Diane Diana Loveless, Kelly Vanilla, and then Megan Ashburn.
022Good evening. My name is Diana Loveless from District 8 and I'm the parent of three children currently enrolled in Virginia Beach schools with a fourth who will begin kindergarten in the coming years. I'm here to express my support for the budget proposal to remove individual Chromebooks in grades K through2 and replace them with shared classroom devices. Just last week, Fortune magazine ran the headline, "The US spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets. The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents." Headlines like these are becoming more frequent and the conversation around the unintended consequences of large-scale educational technology louder. Neuroscientist and educator Dr. Jared Kuni Horvitz states academic research for 60 years has shown the more time spent on computers at school, the worse students perform. I have submitted
023a letter signed by 260 parents, educators, and concerned community members to each of you via email. In the interest of time, I will briefly summarize our position here. While we understand this proposal is being considered for budgetary reasons, we strongly support this change not only as a responsible fiscal decision, but also as a sound educational and developmental choice for our students. We recognize that technology can play an important role in modern education. However, research continues to raise concerns about one-to-one Chromebook use in early elementary classrooms, specifically regarding the following: foundational skill development, reading fluency, handwriting, fine motor skills, and in-person collaboration are critical in K through 2 and best developed through tactile face-to-face instruction. Attention and focus, increased screen exposure is associated with reduced attention span and challenges in self-regulation and executive functioning during important
024developmental years. Physical health. Extended device use contributes to eye strain, reduce physical movement, and posture related concerns. Classroom management. One-to-one devices can increase distractions, limit meaningful teacher oversight, and place additional burdens on educators to manage technology rather than instruction. The cost of providing individual Chromebooks to our early learners is not only financial. It is more importantly a cost to their academic foundations, their developing minds, and their overall well-being. These childrens have years ahead of them to learn digital skills. But none of it will matter if they can't read, if they can't think critically or focus on basic tasks. K through two are the years least likely to benefit from technology. The years in which children most need to fall in love with books and curiosity to explore their creativity to connect with their teachers and
025each other, not devices. I respectfully urge the district to seize this opportunity to make a change that supports a developmentally appropriate researchinformed approach to learning during these formative K through2 years. Thank you. Our next speaker is Kelly Vanilla, then Megan Ashburn, then Natalie Bray. Good evening. My name is Kelly Vanella and I am a member of the Virginia Beach Special Education Advisory Committee, also known as the SEAK. I would like to speak to members of the school board and the community about seclusion in Virginia Beach. Last June in our annual report to the school board, the special education advisory committee recommended that Virginia Beach schools prohibit the use of seclusion. This recommendation came after hearing from division leaders about the ineffectiveness of seclusion and understanding the emotional harm. It can cause students who are subjected
026to seclusion. Based on data from the VDOE, Virginia Beach has the highest rates of seclusion in the state, reporting 271 instances in the 2024 to 2025 school year and 281 instances the year before. We learned that about 99% of those instances occurred in dedicated seclusion rooms between only two Virginia Beach schools, both within programs run by CEP. One school is Windsor Woods Elementary School and the other is at Renaissance Academy. While we learned that seclusion policies affect all students, all students in those specific programs receive special education services. In our report, we noted that three other large Virginia school divisions have prohibited seclusion. One of those is Norfick public schools, which also has CEP programs. CEP is not allowed to use seclusion in Norfick schools as it is shown in CEP seclusion policy book. We
027ask the school board to learn from those other divisions and work with division staff to prohibit seclusion in Virginia Beach period with our most vulnerable students in the front of our minds. We hope to continue this effort. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Megan Ashburn, Natalie Bray, and then Shelley Long. My name is Megan Ashburn and I am the chairperson of the Virginia Beach SEAK. As Kelly said, last year our committee requested that the school board prohibit seclusion. The SEAK is grateful for the time and effort that the school board and division leaders have put in to visiting the the two schools with seclusion rooms, discussing policy changes, and openly engaging in conversations with us over the past year. This is not an easy topic and we all come from
028differing perspectives. What I have witnessed is that keeping students at the center of our conversations has helped us move forward productively. While the SEAK stands firm in our recommendation to prohibit seclusion, last January, we ultimately landed on a first step of prohibiting the use of and removing dedicated seclusion rooms from all of Virginia Beach schools. This policy would apply to contractors in our schools such as CEP. This policy change will require oversight and training from our division leaders and from CEP leaders. As we noted before, CEP already abides by Norfick public schools policies which prohibit seclusion. There's no need to reinvent to reinvent the wheel here. We recommend learning from other divisions that already have this in place and from sees leaders that are doing this in Norolk. We also hope that you will continue
029to learn more about prohibiting seclusion from experts in the field. Additionally, the seat continues our previous recommendation that Virginia Beach school administrators who have CEUP classrooms in their buildings have an awareness of programming and practices in these classrooms. actively collaborate with CESP administrators and report any concerns to CEP administrators and Virginia Beach administrators when necessary. This is important in all Virginia Beach schools that host CESP classes and programs because all of those students are Virginia Beach students first. Thank you for your time and continued partnership with the Virginia Beach CAC and we look forward to making more progress for our students. Our next speaker is Natalie Bray, Shelley Long, and then Mindy Freeman. Good evening, Chair Brown, Vice Chair Williams, school board members, and Dr. Robertson. My name is Natalie Bray, and I live in
030District 8. All three of my school age daughters attended Kingston Elementary for kindergarten through 1st or 2 grade. I'm here to ask that BBCPS eliminate the one-to-one use of Chromebooks for K through2 students and instead provide classroom sets of 10 for focused small groupoup digital learning in school. This policy will save money for VBCPS, but it also is a great educational philosophy. My remarks tonight are based on my observations of my own kids early experiences with Chromebooks and thinking broadly about best practices for young learners. My daughter's most successful learning came from classrooms with minimal use of digital devices and a focus on tactile hands-on experiences. STEM topics were a great learning framework for invitations to build with physical materials and work with classmates to respond to open-ended questions. Use of manipulatives helped illustrate ideas
031and provided intellectual novelty. This work provoked curiosity, conversations with peers, independent inquiry, and intrinsic learning. My daughters also encountered classrooms with frequent in-class tasks and homework on Chromebook apps. The popular ones we remember were Smarty Ants for language arts, Imagine Math, a video game application, and Prodigy, a level-based math skills app. One of my daughters used these apps during school to give her access to the differentiation she needed within the classroom. This was her reward for finishing the expected classwork. She brought her Chromebook home and was fixated on getting to the next level within Prodigy in particular. At home, she begged for more time on that app because she wanted the badges and rewards that came with getting to the next level. She was 6 years old and in first grade. I have concerns about
032this gamification of learning, and I ask that Chromebooks be selectively used and monitored by teachers within classrooms, not for each individual student to take home. Without guidance and collective participation, these digital games ask for exttrinsic motivation which leads to superficial and lightweight engagement rather than deep understanding. This is not an ideal framework for introducing young learners to education. Let's focus on frequent opportunities to move in big and small ways, human interaction, guided instruction, and active engagement over prolonged device use. So, this is my family's experience and perspective on Chromebook use for K through2 and it's shared by many in my community. There are a few points I hope you keep on your radar as this discussion evolves. There are many communities served by VBCPS and their experiences and requests about this issue may be different.
033I hope their voices and concerns will be honored with this solution. Decreased use of Chromebooks may also put an increased stress on teachers who will be asked to switch gears and I hope there's some guidance for their transition. There will be more need for physical supplies and manipulatives for classrooms and not every school will have the budget time asking parents to donate. Thank you for your time. Our next speaker is Shelley Long, Mindy Freriedman and then Michael Lancaster. Good evening. My name is Shelley Long and I'm from District 8. Thank you for allowing me the time to speak about a proposal that I think has the opportunity to significantly improve the learning environment for our youngest learners. I'm a parent of three VBCPS students currently in grades 6, 5, and two, a PTA officer, and
034a proud graduate of VBCPS myself. I'm in support of eliminating individual Chromebooks for students in grades K through two, and instead replacing them with CLA classroom sets of 10 devices. There's no shortage of evidence that too much screen time, whether it's televisions, smart devices, or computers, is not healthy for children. The evidence is even stronger when younger children are involved. The need for face-to-face interaction, pencil paper writing, and experiential learning for K through2 students far outweighs the need to use a computer. Without any cap on the amount of time Chromebooks are used in the K through2 setting currently, Chromebooks can be used for classroom management during downtime and indoor recess, taking the place of more other creative hands-on activities. Since there's not currently a policy about whether individual Chromebooks live at school or with the
035student, many students, including all K through 5 students at my elementary school, carry their Chromebooks to and from school every single day. This means the Chromebook is with the child 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This presents three big challenges for many families. One, parents are obligated to monitor their young child on a device that they didn't ask for when the child is home. Many parents do not want their 5 to 8year-olds to be on a computer after school and on weekends. But the games, many of which are not educational, on these computers are very enticing for young eyes. Two, children have the ability to be on their Chromebooks on school buses with no option to be monitored by an adult during the in between of teacher supervision and that by a parent
036or guardian. Three, families are responsible for cost of damages to Chromebooks. There are not many parents who would purchase the laptop and give it willingly to a 5-year-old. They simply aren't ready for this kind of responsibility yet. 5-year-olds are known to toss in their leftover snacks and their not quite tightened water bottles into their backpacks with these Chromebooks and then heave them to the ground to go play. When damages inevitably occur, families, even our most financially disadvantaged families, are required to foot the bill. We live in a tech-filled world though and digital literacy is an essential skill and an educational goal set by the state and our school board. Replacing 1:1 Chromebooks with a classroom set of 10 for grades K through two would still allow teachers to meet digital literacy requirements while also reducing
037screen time for young learners, encouraging developmentally friendly teaching practices, and reducing the monitoring load and the financial burden on parents. BBCPS has always been ahead of the curve. Let's stay current with what research is telling us about tech used in classrooms and ensure that our youngest learners can reach their full potential. Thank you. Our next speaker is Mindy Freriedman, Michael Lancaster, then Julie Seal. Good evening. I want to speak tonight about consistency and clarity across our policies. In my view, policy 5-40 on student led assemblies and demonstrations seem to be working just fine. But this board has decided to nitpick and overcomplicate things. So, here we are. Rather than debating whether changes were necessary, I urge you to make sure that whatever is being hatched out of one policy lines up with another. Guest speaker
038rules, club procedures, and policy 5-40 should be reviewed together by the policy review committee to ensure that they are clear, consistent, and applied fairly across the board. Recently, a member of Congress visited a high school club during one lunch. I fully support hearing students students hearing from elected officials. However, regulation 6-10.1 is very clear about guest speakers, especially dignitaries. It requires written parent notification and explicitly states that student media opt out forms must be reviewed and that guest speakers must be informed of the rules regarding photographs and recordings of students. Following that meeting, um student photos were shared on the Congress members social media pages. That raises reason uh reasonable questions. Were student media permissions reviewed? Were proper safeguards followed? Similar concerns were raised not long ago when student images were shared publicly after another
039event at a high school. It was also reported that a parent was present at the club meeting where parents notified of the speaker so that they could attend or decide whether or not their child should attend. uh with the with the uh proposed revisions to policy 5-40 restricting adults and outside third parties and student led demonstrations. It's fair to ask, do those rules apply here? Club meeting should be about the students just like the studentled demonstrations. And when a club event draws a large turnout, does it become something closer to a student assembly? Now that any policy addressing studentled assemblies is being removed, maybe this policy needs tweaking because consistency matters. There's also discussion in the community that student led demonstrations disrupt learning, but many school sponsored activities interrupt the regular schedule. Field trip, drug
040and alcohol awareness programs, pep rallies, yearbook photos, lockdown drills, signing day events, and extensive testing. The real question isn't whether learning is interrupted, but whether policies are applied fairly, transparently, and equally in every situation. Policies don't exist for convenience. They exist for consistency. If you're going to tighten the rules in one area, you can't ignore them in another. I ask that the PRC bring these policies into alignment so fairness isn't selective. Thank you. Our next speaker is Michael Lancaster, Julie Cir, and then Cheryl Poe. Greetings all. My name is Mike Lancaster. I have a 8-year-old son who's autistic and non-verbal. Um, I'm here to tell you that the seclusion is really nowhere near an answer. That's the worst thing you can do for these children. I've already had a bad incident happen to my son
041that I basically gave the school transportation department a green pass. Um, and by doing that, I made a public comment in the past and then I was attacked by someone that works for the school system. So, I have no interest in my son going to a classroom where someone can shut the door, leave him in there, and go worry about their own business. I'm not sure why any of you would even think that's an answer because it's it's actually harmful. I have a very loving son, and if you were to take him and put him in one of those rooms and just shut the door, whatever you guys plan to do, it's going to destroy him. I'm speaking for a lot of people who I'm amazed that they're not here because it mostly everyone is
042connected with a child with autism. Just about everyone in this facility and I'm sure everyone that sits up there. I've actually crossed paths with a couple people who used to sit on this board who had autistic children and I couldn't understand why they were not fighting for these kids. It's kind of unbelievable. So what I'm finding the more that you fight for these children, we get backlash from the system. And that part I just don't understand. These kids are the future. I have to look at my son every day just to make sure he's had a great day to understand what's going on because he's non-verbal. So I don't think any of you would feel good if you if you knew your son was in a situation and it wasn't the best situation. I've had
043him ride home on a bus going 45 miles an hour and they let him stand up and ride the bus home. and I gave you guys a green pass for that. green pass for that. So to keep giving So to keep giving these green passes, these green passes, nothing's changing. nothing's changing. If I feel like If I feel like everything's just going everything's just going the easy way. the easy way. Let's put these kids in a Let's put these kids in a room, shut the room, shut the door, and we'll worry door, and we'll worry about it later on. about it later on. And it's no secret. I And it's no secret. I understand there's understand there's a a demand for a a demand for teachers. There's a teachers. There's a demand for demand for
044transportation folks, but you transportation folks, but you can't put can't put that on us. We have nothing to that on us. We have nothing to do with do with that. And you you you just can't that. And you you you just can't do do that. So I didn't come in here with that. So I didn't come in here with anything scripted. and I gave you guys a anything scripted. I'm speaking from my heart, my mind. I'm so passionate about it that if I have to run for one of those seats up there, I'm willing to run for one of those seats up there and recruit people to get one of those seats up there. It's extremely serious. So, that's what I'm here for. I hope you folks vote not to have that. So, thank you
045for your time. Our next speaker is Julie Seir, Cheryl Poe, and then Dr. Betty Spencer. Good evening. My name is Julie Zarell. I am not here tonight because I enjoy speaking at schoolboard meetings. I'm here because my son Joshua Andrew Sykes was secluded and my son is no longer alive. Let me be clear. Joshy was not a policy issue. He was a child. He laughed loudly. he loved fiercely and he trusted the adults placed in his life to keep to keep him safe. When we talk about dedicated seclusion rooms, we are talking about architecture. A physical space made to put disregulated children to segregate and exclude them. A place where they are thrown in when they instead need care, love, and direction. When I talk about seclusion, I'm talking about a child that is alone
046and frightened, disregulated, and physically prevented from leaving. Some children, like Joshy, have lower IQ's, and it's likely that they don't even understand why they're being placed in seclusion. They don't know what they've done wrong. They don't know that they have done anything wrong, and they don't know how they're supposed to act in order to prevent being placed in there again. And so it becomes a vicious cycle. Under Virginia Regulation 8VAC20-750, seclusion is defined as the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. Is currently permitted only when there is imminent risk of serious physical harm. If you remove the room but preserve the authority to confine a child alone against their will and seclusion still exists. It's only changing its address. That isn't
047reform. Seclusion did not teach my son regulation. It did not teach him how to cope. It did not teach him about accountability for his actions. It taught him fear. It taught him isolation. It taught a vulnerable child that when he was overwhelmed and screaming for his mommy and saying that he was a calm bear that adults respond by removing connection to him and his connection to the outside world. How scared my child must have been. But I'll never know because he was unable to tell me and now he's gone. For children with autism, intellectual disabilities, traumatic histories or communication impairments, isolation can trigger panic, self-injury, and medical crisis. Nationally and from my own personal life, restraint and seclusion have been associated with severe injury and death. And I have to live every day with the
048consequences that cannot be reversed by policy change. Nothing can bring my child back, but you all have the power to prevent this from happening again. and I plead with you to use it. I have to ask you all plainly, does this prop proposal prohibit seclusion practices or only the room? If seclusion can still occur in converted office or a quiet or calm down space or any other area, how is a child and that is time? Can I pass my time to her? I'm next. No. No. That's not allowed in our bylaws. You can read hers if you want. Okay. Okay. Our next speaker is Cheryl Poe, Dr. Betty Spencer. Um, speaker number 13 had to cancel and then would be Amanda Kimell. My name is Cheryl Poe and I'm an advocate and I'm also the
049executive director of Advocating for Kids and I'm going to finish Julie's um, public comment. What safeguards prevent this from beingcoming seclusion by another name? How will families be notified every single time their child is isolated? And what measurable accountability ensures this practice is not simply re relocated from the seclusion room to a classroom? This is not a procedural question. This is a moral one. So now I ask you, human to human, parent to parent, if you were a child alone behind that door would merely eliminate the sign on the wall feeling well enough to promise their safety. Would you sleep well enough the authority to isolate still exist? How many more children must be terrorized or die before we acknowledge that the practice itself is simply not safe? It's barbaric. This is not about punish
050punishing educators. This is about protecting children. True. Um we need to clearly state that the inclusion um that seclusion is the involuntarily confinement of a student alone from which they are prevented from leaving um and that it will not be used in this division under any circumstance. and it would invest in this work um instead some positive behavioral intervention and supports deescalation and crisis prevention training from top experts in the area co-regulation strategies adaptive no aquatic I'm sorry adequate number of staff trained with the most current data on trauma and behavioral interventions and family partnership true leadership tonight would mean choosing courage over convenience venience. My son cannot be corrected, cannot be protected, but someone else's child can. Please remove seclusions. Um, I still have 38 minutes left. Sorry, 34 seconds now. And I too
051would encourage you all to follow what Norfol Public Schools has done. And they did it a very, very simple piece. They just put um Norfolk put they prohibit in Norfolk schools the use of seclusion, mechanical restraints, phonolog um the use of adverse stimuli, the use of restraints in a manner that restricts the students breathing or harms the student including a prone or spine restraint. Those already don't do. So please thank you for allowing me to speak. Our next speaker is Dr. Betty Spencer, Amanda Kimell, and then Susan Berman. I appreciate that. Thank you. Okay, so this is disrupting the meeting at this point. Thank you. Excuse me. Am I allowed to read for her? You can read for her, but we need to continue with the flow. Thank you. Okay. Um, good evening, uh, superintendent,
052school board members. Um, I'm speaking for Cheryl Pal, advocate and executive director of Advocacy for Kids Incorporated, and I appreciate your opportunity to speak for her tonight. After reviewing the proposed policy on seclusion and restraint, um, she's asking she would like, um, I want to voice and document a concern. Language matters and policy language determine student safety. The current language leaves students and staff unsafe. As I understand it, the policy states dedicated seclusion rooms are not authorized in Virginia Beach public schools, including those used by contractors. At the same time, it also states school division personnel may implement physical restraint and seclusion of students when there is imminent risk of harm. When read together, this language does not eliminate seclusion. It removes designated rooms, but it continues to authorize the seclusion under certain conditions. Removing
053a room is not the same as prohibiting the use of seclusion. If seclusion remains permitted in your in your language, it may simply occur in spaces that are not formally labeled seclusion rooms. That creates unclear messages and creates risk. If the intent of this board is to fully protect this its students by its student body and eliminate seclusion in Virginia Beach public schools, then the policy must state that clearly and explicitly. Other Virginia divisions have already demonstrated that this is both possible and practical. Nor Public Schools has adopted clear enforcable language. Their policy is clear and states this. The following actions are prohibited in Norfol public schools. Use of inclusion, use of mechanical restraints, use of um phmological uh restraints, use of adverse stimuli, use of restraint in any manner that restricts a student's breathing
054or harms the student including prone and supine uh restraints, use of physical restraint as a punishment or discipline, b a means of coercion or retaliation, c a convenience, d to prevent property damage or in any manner other Then as provided in section six and seven of this policy, their regulation also clarifies alignment with the regulations of governing of governing the use of seclusion and restraint in public elementary and secondary schools in Virginia while still allowing the local division to adopt stronger um protections. Virginia Beach can do the same. Adopting similar language would close loopholes, ensure consistency across schools, provide clear expectations for administrators and staff, affirm the division's commitment to student dignity and safety. This is not about semantics. It's about whether a practice that isolates children will continue under another name. Advocating for kids
055incorporated respectively requests that and that is time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Amanda Kimell, Susan Berman, and then Melissa Luca. Good evening, Chairwoman Brown, Vice Chair Williams, members of the school board, and Dr. Robertson. My name is Mandy Kimell, and I'm a kindergarten teacher and VBEA school representative at Woodstock Elementary. But most importantly, I am also a parent. I have a daughter, Emma, who is a senior at Princess Anne in the IB program. It's an exciting time for her, and as my daughter is deciding whether she wants to be a Florida Gator or Georgia Bulldog, I do what most parents do and have been reminiscing about her school journey. Emma will be a product of Virginia Beach public school from kindergarten through 12th grade. As we are preparing to finish out her senior year
056and all the exciting things that come her way, I am thinking about who has helped her on her educational journey. And one of my favorite things about the end of the year is the gradwalk where graduates from our neighborhood high schools at Woodstock, which would be Tallwood and Chemville, come and walk the halls and their graduation caps and gowns while we outline the halls and clap for them. And while we probably did not have any of those students walking in the halls, they represent our students current and past. When we see those seniors, we remember. We remember the excitement of them learning how to read, the extra hugs given to ease the pain of a family member deployed, sneaking snacks to them when we are hungry, and while they may be grown, we know where
057they started from. My very first kindergarten class of Woodstock is now in seventh grade. Thinking back to Emma, I wonder how many teachers are left when she will go on her grad walk. Some have probably retired. Maybe some have gone to different schools, different districts, or different careers. While the students are at our core, it is us, the teachers and staff who are still here as their journey continues on. Where will I be in 5 years when my first Woodchucks will be graduating? The decisions over the last few years have made me wondering if Virginia Beach is where I will end my career. The lack of pay increases for staff and teachers continues to be a sore spot for our division. On President's Day, I spent the day off in Richmond speaking with our state
058legislators from both sides of the aisles. Everyone was shocked to learn that Virginia Beach is ranked seven out of seven in Hampton Roads in regards to salary. It is embarrassing. While we have had a few raises, they have not kept up with inflation and don't cover our cost of living. In fact, when cost of living adjustments and inflation are factored in, the average teacher salary in Virginia Beach is currently $200 below where it was in 2015. We have not had a true raise in over 10 years. I can attest that we are in a dire situation if Virginia Beach plans on retaining and attracting highly qualified educators. Students cannot thrive when the adults who serve them every day are struggling to make ends meet. What is Virginia Beach planning to do? Show my colleagues and
059I the professionalism we deserve and compensate us at a competitive level. Hopefully in 5 years I'll be celebrating with my former Wood Shocks as they finish their school career. Virginia Beach has some work to do. Thank you so much for your time and consideration. Our next speaker is Susan Berman, and then Melissa Lucen. Thank you. My name is Suzanne Burman, and I am the mother of three Virginia Beach public school students, the PTA president of the largest elementary school in my district, and I am thankful to be here tonight. As the board finalizes its budget for the coming year, I ask you to prioritize teacher compensation and health insurance offsets. As we all know, our educators are the heart of our school. And if we lose them, the quality of our schools will suffer. If
060the quality of our schools suffer, our city will be less attractive to families. Our property values will decrease and our economic growth will stagnate. But most importantly, our students, the next generation of our city, will not receive the education they deserve. I am deeply concerned that we remain the lowest paid school system in our region. I know of teachers who have already turned in their resignations and many others who are quietly planning to do so. I'm confident that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Young people are choosing not to go into the teaching profession in the first place because they fear they will never be able to buy a home or save for a wedding or raise their own families. Our pipeline of educators is running dry. In previous meetings, I've spoken about
061my best friend A single mom with a master's degree in education and 10 years of teaching experience, she brings home $3,800 a month, exactly half of which she uses to pay rent on her modest two-bedroom apartment. This leaves her with less than $2,000 a month for food, utilities, gas, and other basic expenses, much less saving for her daughter's future or her own retirement. In January, she had to reduce her healthcare benefits to make ends meet. her deductible is now $4,000. If anything were to happen to her or her daughter that had an extreme cost, like a broken leg or something that required extensive testing, she could be out more than a month's salary. I realize that there are many factors beyond the board's control that led to the health insurance increases. I also know that
062public schools always operate in a fiscally constrained environment. However, I urge you to prioritize our educators and staff in the next budget. This is the season when teachers decide if they're coming back or if they're going to be applying for jobs in Norfolk or Chesapeake or leaving the profession altogether. There are several proposals on tonight's agenda for teacher compensation and health insurance offsets. I urge you to support the proposals that would put more money in the teachers pockets. In addition to the financial support it provides, it would also make teachers feel like we are moving in the right direction, that they are heard, respected, and supported by this board and this city. We must show our teachers and staff that we value them and we want them to stay. Thank you. Our next speaker is
063Melissa Lucen. Good evening. Tonight is the last schoolboard meeting during Black History Month. And there is something deeply ironic about voting to apply restrictions to student demonstrations during the very month we dedicate to teaching civil rights. All month long, our schools have celebrated black inventors, academics, and civil rights leaders, highlighting marches, sitins, boycots, and student activism. And tonight, you will vote to tighten the rules around student protest. If the policies you're advancing today had existed decades ago, many of the heroes we celebrate in February would have been silenced or suspended. Student protest has always been central to civil rights progress. In 1964, black college freshmen sat down at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to move, sparking sitins across 55 cities in 13 states. They were students. In 1963, over a
064thousand black children left their classrooms and marched in Birmingham. They were met with fire hoses, police dogs, and many were arrested. They were students. Claudet Kulvin was 15 when she refused to give up her bus seat nine months before Rosa Parks. The student non-violent coordinating committee was founded by young people. And today, in our own district, our students are finding their voices at a time when people are trying to tell them to sit down, be quiet, do not disrupt. But history shows us something different. Progress is disruptive. Justice is disruptive. Free speech is sometimes inconvenient. The first amend amendment does not exist to protect polite speech. It exists exists to protect unpopular speech, student speech, your speech, my speech. Black History Month is about courage and survival. It is about disscent. It is about people,
065including young people, who refuse to accept the status quo. If those students have been told, "Fill out this form, stay in this designated area, do not disrupt instruction," history would look very different. If we celebrate Fanny Lamer and Dr. King, but punish student protest, we are teaching hypocrisy. If we honor civil rights history, but restrict student voice, we are teaching fear. If students organize around ICE abducting family members, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, gun violence, or any issue that affects their lives, will will the schools and this board protect their constitutional rights, or will you continue to make it harder for them to exercise them? Because the next civil rights movement will not come from silence. It will come from students. I ask this board to vote no on policy 5-40 as written and amended. If
066we celebrate student civil rights activists in February, but restrict student act activism in March, students will notice and they will remember. Thank you. We're going to move on to our online speaker. Uh Mr. And please unmute. Mr. Bond, please unmute. Okay, I just lost. Did I just lost all of Okay. Is he online? Mr. Ben, hold on one second. We're just having a little difficulty. Dave, can I do Okay, Mr. Bond, you're online, but we cannot hear you. David, I'm off the Zoom. I don't have Zoom at all online. I can see Okay, Mr. Bon, um, we cannot hear you. So, if you could try to unmute um, one more time. He is unmuted. Oh, he is unmuted, but we can't hear him. Who's in? Okay, Miss Lenetti, what do we do in that circumstance?
067At this again, our guidelines require that the speaker made sure that they we can hear them. They're using proper devices. I suggest we're going to comply with Tinker. We don't have to worry about rosaries or buttons. Oh, Mr. Bond, it's really Mr. Bond, can you hear me? alleys etc that are organized and I think you're going about it very very well and I'm very very grateful. So I don't see the concern about rosaries and buttons and and armbands or spontaneous uh demonstrations fitting into what is prohibited by this policy. I'd also like to to take a moment to agree with the speakers about technology um reading two books and I recommend them and I'll send the the references to you by email but the anxious generation by Jonathan height and uh it's the subtitle is
068how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness and Jonathan height is a fabulous researcher and has gone about uh defining and describing the problems with technology and I'm really grateful to the board for wanting to address this issue and the digital delusion by Dr. Jared Coney Horvath um how classroom technology harms our kids learning. Um he points out that there's a graph and that performance has gone down since the introduction of technology. And so again, I'm I'm grateful for the board taking on uh tech and seeing is it really beneficial to our kids. So thank you all very much. I look forward to joining you in person the next opportunity. Have a great night. And Madam Chair, that's the end of our speakers for this evening. Thank you. We are
069now on to interim financial statements for January 2026. And we welcome Daniel Hopkins, director of business services. Good evening, Chair Brown, Vice Chair Williams, schoolboard members, Dr. Robertson. As of January, the overall revenue trend remains acceptable at this point in the fiscal year. As for the state budget for fiscal year 26, the house and senate have made their proposals um with no material changes that to the um original governor's proposal. So I have no update at this point. We will update you as anything comes out of the general assembly. Uh the federal revenues are showing an acceptable trend at this point in the fiscal year. We've received $9.8 8 million in federal impact aid year to date. Local revenues are acceptable at this point in the fiscal year. We have received 58% of the the
070transfers from the city. Other sources of revenue are acceptable at this point in the fiscal year. We are down about $200,000 from the same time last year. This is mainly due to the jewel settlement money and the propane bus rebate we received last year. Um, it's also important to know we're supposed to receive another just under 200,000 from the Juul settlement money this year. And the stop arm enforcement program revenue is up about $320,000 this year. The next slide shows that the sales tax receipts are an acceptable trend at this point in the fiscal year. We're up about $2.5 million year to date. Um, it's important to note that the state has projected a $5 million increase from the previous year. And let's see uh the expenditures and encumbrance trend remains acceptable at this point
071in the fiscal year. And at this point, I'll be glad to take any questions. Okay, I don't see any questions. Thank you. Thank you. All right, we are now on to the superintendent's estimate of needs fiscal year 2627 and capital improvement program fiscal year 2627 through 3132. And we welcome Dr. Robertson, superintendent Crystal P, chief financial officer, and Jack Freeman, chief operation officer. Good evening, Chairwoman Brown, Vice Chairwoman Weboard Members, and Dr. Robertson. In your board documents, each of you should have received a copy of the fiscal year 2026 27 superintendent's estimate of needs as well as a copy of the fiscal year 2026 27 through fiscal year 203132 capital improvement document. The agenda for this presentation is outlined on this slide. Dr. Robertson will begin with an introduction to the superintendent's estimate of needs
072known as the SEO followed by my overview of the proposed CEO operating budget including the balancing of the budget. After that, Miss Ingram will discuss the capital improvement program. Finally, we will conclude by reviewing the remaining key budget dates and opening the floor for questions and discussion. So, Chairwoman Brown, Vice Chair Williams, and school board members, I am pleased to present the superintendent's estimate of needs for the 202627 school year, marking an important step in the budget development process. This document reflects months of collaborative discussions and presentations focused on our shared priorities as a school division. The upcoming school year marks year two of our five-year strategic framework compass of 2030. Goals one and two focus on challenging and supporting students to excel in an environment that promotes student well-being, resilience, and responsibility. Goal three
073emphasizes our commitment to valuing and investing in highquality workforce. This se outlines a plan to attract and retain talented staff through a competitive compensation package, which is a critical component of our mission to ensure every student meets his or her maximum potential and is future ready. This can contains federal revenues of 15.5 million, an increase of $750,000 from last year. State revenues of $515.1 million, an increase of $19.7 million from last year. Local revenue through the revenue sharing formula of 504.5 million, an increase of 12.5 million from the previous year. and other local revenues of 5.5 million, an increase of 1 million from last year for a total budget of 1 billion40 million480,97. The result is an increase of $33.9 million from last fiscal year. This seon supports developing strong academic and future ready skills
074necessary for students to demonstrate academic excellence and to become critical thinkers, collaborative communicators, lifelong learners, and responsible leaders. These skills are further grounded by building resilience, emotional regulation, and a strong sense of belonging in an environment highly conducive to teaching and learning. Our $1.1 billion proposed operating budget supports the diverse needs of running our school system every day. Beyond covering the essentials for students and staff, we are committed to providing the resources and compensation that reflect our community values. In the SEO, we've strategically allocated funds to address rising costs due to inflation, ensure staff are fully equipped to meet student needs, and offer a competitive compensation package that reflects the exceptional contributions of our team. For the school board and for this administration, compensation remains a top priority for the next fiscal year. We must
075be more competitive in the job market, not only for our educators, but for the support staff who provide essential functions like keeping our students fed, driving them to and from school, keeping them safe while in our care, and many other essential day-to-day operations. Over the past three budget cycles, central administration has reduced spending by over $21 million through targeted improvements, reduction in staff, and efficiencies. These funds have then been used by the board to increase staff compensation over the past three years by a total of greater than 3%. As always, Virginia Beach City Public Schools remains committed to ongoing capital improvements across the division, ensuring every student and staff member can learn and work in a learning environment designed and maintained for excellence. To support this goal, the proposed capital improvement program allocates funding for
076the health, safety, maintenance, and replacement of our facilities and sites. However, decades of funding constraints have led to the deferral of numerous projects, including system upgrades than building replacements. Recent economic conditions marked by higher inflation have further exag exagerbated exacerbated the challenges posed by historically inadequate CIP funding which struggles to meet the needs of maintaining approximately 11 million in square feet of facilities and 1900 acres of property. The fiscal year 2627 to fiscal year 3132 CIP places a strong emphasis on maintenance projects with increased funding for HVAC and re-roofing to address deferred needs in these critical areas. Although overall CIP funding remained steady over the six-year program, allocations for all maintenance projects have been adjusted annually to account for inflation. Additional funding and an increase in debt service will be required to support the modernization
077program, including the construction of new wings on Diamond Springs and New Town Elementary Schools, as well as to build a new Prince High School. The fiscal year 2627 to fiscal year 3132 CIP is designed to help Virginia Beach City Public Schools address the demands of its aging buildings and systems effectively. Despite the challenges we face, we remain confident in our ability to build a final budget with the board that will continue to deliver exceptional support to our students and staff. And this is made possible thanks to the dedication of our award-winning budget and finance team and the steadfast support of you, our school board. I am deeply grateful to serve a school division that consistently prioritizes the needs of students and staff regardless of the circumstances. With a committed focus on educational excellence, your guidance,
078the dedication of our staff, and a supportive community, we have achieved remarkable milestones. Here are just a few of the many accomplishments from an outstanding year. Virginia Beach City Public Schools continues to lead the region in a prestigious group of comparable high- performing school divisions and student performance on the state standards of learning tests. For the 16th consecutive year, VBCPS reached a record high on time graduation rate, which now stands at 96.8%, outperforming the state's rate of 92.4%. In addition, the division's dropout rate of 2.2% 2% outperformed Virginia's rate of 5.1% for their dropouts. The push to increase the rigor and opportunity to take advanced coursework for all students resulted in a significant increase and not only students enrolled in advanced placement in dual enrollment courses but also in participation and performance. More students, 7,04
079took AP courses in 2024 25 than at any time since 201718 with 73% of those students taking the corresponding AP exam, the highest exam participation rate in 10 years. In terms of advanced placement performance, 74% of AP exam test takers scored a three or higher, the highest pass rate in over 10 years. At the same time, participation in dual enrollment courses increased to its highest level ever with 2,158 students enrolled in dual enrollment class. 93% of those students earned a C or higher in the dual enrollment class, thus earning a college credit. Collectively, almost 50% of the total high school population is enrolled in an AP or a dual enrollment class. Evidence of our push to increase rigor and opportunity for all students. For the 16th consecutive year, we have been named one of the
080best communities for music education by the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation for outstanding commitment to music education. This year, 37 Virginia Beach schools earned the VDOE Purple Star designation, bringing the total to 72 schools that have been named in the past. The Purple Star is awarded to military friendly schools that have demonstrated their commitment to meeting the needs of military families. There are nearly 14,000 military connected students in Virginia Beach City Public Schools. The Office for Opportunity Achievement has focused on scaling up what has been working with students while expanding activities for staff and families. In July, the care continuum, a framework which guides stakeholders in implementing strategies to ensure that all students, staff, and families feel seen, known, and heard was officially launched. To support this initiative, the care collaborative comprised of students,
081teachers, administrators, central office staff, and community members, was created to identify opportunities for growth, plan professional development, and review areas of concern. This year, the Tide Coalition kicked off year three and high schools in year 1 and middle schools. This group of student leaders focus on solving school-based issues to create an environment that is inclusive of all students and staff. Since the industry credential program began in 2002, nearly 182,000 industry credentials have been earned by Virginia Beach City Public School students, the most in the Commonwealth. Each year, students have access to over 131 different credentials that link to career fields free of charge. Students build a resume by collecting stackable credentials that prove the professional skills they can demonstrate. During the 202425 school year, high school students earn more than 14,540 industry credentials. The Office
082of Career and Technical Education has established new dual enrollment programs in aviation maintenance and medical assisting, linking students to high demand pathways with new higher education partnerships. Virginia Beach City Public Schools is scheduled to open a third welding lab and classroom centrally located at the Renaissance Academy and Adult Learning Center in July 2026 to meet student and industry demand for sought-after welding training targeted at supporting the regional maritime training system. This new training facility represents an additional $2 million investment by the United States Navy and the Hampton Roads Workforce Council into Virginia Beach City Public Schools facilities. Programs in the new space will serve high school students during the day and adult students at night. 10 of the 11 Virginia Beach Comprehensive High Schools earned the National Gold Council of Excellence Award from the National
083Association of Student Councils in 2024. This award recognizes student councils for their records of leadership, service, and activities that improve the school and community. Kellum and Tollwood high schools both receive the Virginia High School leads Claudia Dodson Sportsmanship, Ethics, and Integrity Award for the 2024 25 school year. Only six schools across the entire Commonwealth achieve this achieve this designation, this distinction, and two of them were from Virginia Beach. Both of these schools also received the Virginia High School League Stay in the game award given the schools that had no player or coach ejections during the school year. Kellum High School led all class 5 schools and athletic excellence during the 2024 25 school year by receiving the Virginia High School League's Virginia National Guard Cup. Points are awarded to each school during the year based
084on each team's level of advancement in postseason play. Virginia Beach City Public Schools continues to lead the Virginia Beach School Safety Task Force and partner with the Virginia Beach Police Department for the School Resource Officer Program. We are consistently recognized for excellence in financial reporting from the Government Finance Officer Association and the Association of School Business Officials International. This year, we received the distinguished budget award for the first time in several years. I am confident that the collective efforts of our leadership, teachers, support staff, and you, our school board, will ensure continued success in the 2026 27 school year. And I look forward to working with you on a budget that will provide the necessary resources to pro support Virginia Beach City Public Schools as the premier school division in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Thank
085you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Dr. Robertson. So the seon provides a detailed overview of the budget development process. It's outlining the school board's funding structure, budget priorities, challenges, key highlights, and special revenue funds. It also presents historical enrollment trends, budgeted per pupil expenditure data, personnel allocations, and staffing standards and guidelines. This information may be particularly helpful over the coming month as we move through the budget workshops and work toward finalizing the fiscal year 2026 2027 budget. This seon reflects the former governor's proposed state budget. The budget currently under review by the governor and general assembly has not yet been finalized. We expect revisions to the proposal following the conclusion of the general assembly session on March 14th. Any changes at the state level will be shared with the school board for discussion and consideration. I'll
086begin with an overview of the proposed school operating fund highlighting its primary components. This this chart illustrates the revenue sources and their respective shares of the school operating fund. The largest source is state funding including the state sales tax which represents 49.5% of total funding. The city's local contribution is the second largest source at 48.5% of total funding. Federal funding accounts for 1.5% and the remaining.5% is derived from other revenue sources. When reviewing the school operating fund by major category classification, it is not surprising that instruction represents the largest share at 73.5%. This is followed by operations and maintenance at 11.7%. people transportation at 5.3%, technology at 4.9% and admin, attendance and health at 4.6%. As I note, each year these categories are defined by the state and established in Virginia code. Our chart of
087accounts is aligned with these classifications to ensure consistency and compliance in both budgeting and financial reporting. This final chart breaks down school operating expenditures by type. As is typical in a laborintensive organization, personnel and fringe benefits comprise 86% of the school operating budget. The remaining 14% supports the other expenditure categories shown on the chart. Most of these costs are non-discretionary, including contractual obligations, fuel, utilities, and other essential operating expenses, many of which continue to be affected by inflation. Consequently, only a limited portion of that 14% provides any real flexibility for discretionary spending. In the next few slides, I will review the budget balancing efforts that resulted from discussions with senior leadership, Dr. Robertson, the budget development team, and the school board during various budget workshops. Keep in mind again that all these proposals are preliminary
088pending approval of a state budget. You have seen this budget balancing slide on multiple occasions. We have previously reviewed several of the line items reflected on the next two slides and last week you received detailed descriptions of each item shown rather than revisiting every line in detail. I will focus on highlighting the same items we previously highlighted. I hope you have had the opportunity to review the complete list. As previously shared, we anticipate approximately $33.9 million in additional revenue compared to the fiscal year 202526 amended adopted budget from all funding sources. Federal revenue is projected to increase $750,000. State funding is expected to increase by $18.7 million and state sales tax revenue is estimated to rise by approximately $967,000. Of this additional funding, 12.5 million is expected from the revenue sharing formula with the city
089and other local revenue sources are budgeted to increase a million dollars. Altogether, this represents an estimated $33.9 million increase over the amended approved fiscal year 202526 budget. Beginning with the projected 33.9 million in additional revenue, this slide represents the first of two budget balancing slides. The first two lines which I are not highlighted because we've rece one and part two personnel and non-personnel cuts totaling 5.2 million. Recall from the January 13th presentation that these reductions build upon reductions already made over the past 3 years totaling approximately 16.7 million. The next line item represents the projected savings of 18.1 million due to changes in the VRS fringe benefit rates. These next two lines relate to health insurance employer contributions. The first line of approximately 9.2 million was based on Mercer's projections using claims data and the
090health fund balance as of November 2025. Per Mercer's presentation, employer contributions for the 2027 plan year over the 2026 plan year show an increase of approximately $16.5 million. So, an estimated portion of this increase for fiscal year 2027 is represented by the 9.2 million. Please note that since this projection is based on November 2025 data, it will be updated as we move through the year. The next line shows an additional 5.4 4 million being dedicated in his additional employer contribution. This additional funding will go directly to the health fund balance to help rebuild the reserve to the recommended two months of gross cost, currently projected to be approximately $22.4 million in fiscal year 2027. Moving on to compensation for the teacher pay scale. Scenario A from the seagull presentation was a 2% increase to the
091entry level and a 1.5% step increase to support a 3.5% increase for eligible employees at a cost of approximately $14.9 million. We added additional funding of approximately $7.7 million for teacher compensation shown in the next line. This additional funding would add another $1,000 to the entry level, which will flow through the pay scale, resulting in an average overall average increase of 5.23%. Moving to the unified pay scale, scenario A from the seagull presentation was a 2% increase to the entry level with a 1% step for years 1 through 14 and a 1.5 step for 15 years and above to support a 3 to three and a half% increase for eligible employees at a cost of approximately $ 8.5 million. We added additional funding of approximately $2.6 $6 million for compensation for employees on the unified
092scale. This additional funding would add an additional 1% to the entry level, which will flow through the pay scale, resulting in an overall average increase of 4.17%. On this next slide, I want to highlight several key budget allocations funded for fiscal year 2026 27 in the seon. I'm not going to go through each one, but I will take a moment to highlight some of the items we mentioned in the last presentation. Funding for unpaid student meal debt. The board has received presentations on this issue and it continues to rise. So, we have included $250,000 to assist in offsetting that debt. The next item is interactive whiteboards. While we have been utilizing a break fix system for our interactive whiteboards for a few years and using mid-year funds for replacement, we are putting them on a
093replacement cycle with funding built into the base budget. Based on the information from the Department of Technology on our current inventory for these items and age, we have included a million dollars to start the replacement cycle. McKini homeless. It has been mentioned in a departmental presentation the rising cost of the federal mandate requiring the school division to transport homeless students to their school. There is an effort to try and mitigate this cost by bringing some of these services inhouse. So, we have dedicated an estimated amount of funding in the amount of $500,000 for drivers and vehicles. While the process of estimating the exact cost of this opportunity is ongoing, it was important for us to include some funding at this time for this initiative. There's also $500,000 to fund the traditional Mckin Vento transportation program
094as those costs continue to rise above what we currently have in our budget this fiscal year. The next item is $107,000, $650 to restore early commitment incentives for student teachers. $520,000 to increase funding for statemandated indoor air quality assessment cycle testing. 410,000 to increase funding to support ADA building compliance, $500,000 to increase funding for utilities, a million to increase funding to general maintenance. Recall we have deferred maintenance projects of approximately $1.3 million, $535,855 to move security assistance from grant funding to the operating budget. $160,512 to increase funding for the Microsoft division license and lastly $146,980 to increase funding for Google Workspace. Again, we are still waiting for an approved state budget. All of these proposals are preliminary. I will now turn this presentation over to Miss Ingram to go over the capital improvement program. Thank
095you, Miss Pate, and good evening. Um, we'll now look at information related to the proposed fiscal year 2627 capital improvement program. If you recall at our February 10th CIP brief, we reviewed the currently approved fiscal year 2526 CIP, which we will again have available for you in this brief today. At the end of that last brief, we reviewed takeaways and assumptions related to this last year's work as we planned for this year's seon which again we are presenting to you today. First is addressing new construction projects. We are currently working through uh the tri campus additions and princess high school both included and fully funded in this year's proposed six-year CIP. In terms of our maintenance projects, they remain a priority in keeping our aging buildings well-maintained. Listed on this slide are some of the
096projects that we have discussed with you that we continue to work towards moving out of deferment. And a main component of our planning needs is continuing to plan for debt service. as we begin to plan for the construction of Princess High School in about year three of the proposed CIP 2028 that will have the largest impact on our debt service needs. We also shared with you two Virginia legislative bills, House Bill 334 and Senate Bill 607 that may present an opportunity if they advance in generating local sales tax revenue to be used for capital projects. if approved through local elections. What you'll also see in this year's CIP is a new capital project that is technology related and has its own self-generated funding source. The PEG fees or public education government fees is the funding
097source which is a flat fee charged to cable subscribers split between the city and schools. The new CIP project, school cable access infrastructure, will provide funds used to purchase equipment such as cameras, lights, editing tools, and similar techn technological needs in addition to needs that would support the network for government and education purposes. So taking a look at our first table, this is the one that was reviewed at our last brief. The approved funding sources for this current fiscal year 2526 CIP. Shown in the blue sections and totaled at the bottom of the table with level funding. Outlined in red in the middle of the page is PIGO, which is planned to continue to increase with an equal decrease in the special reserve fund or plan reversion shown at the bottom of the list just
098above the total. At the top of the slide in green is the debt service plan approved for this current fiscal year. So that was our current year funding sources. And now this next slide is the proposed funding sources table for fiscal year 2627 again shown in the blue sections and totaled at the bottom of the table with total level funding of 61.94 million above the total highlighted in red is the new funding source PEG public education government fees which will fully fund the new capital project school cable access infrastructure. Outlined in red in the middle of the page is PIGO, which is again planned to continue to increase with an equal decrease in the special reserve fund or plan reversion shown above the new PEG funding source. bond s bond sources which are charter bonds,
099public facility revenue bonds and energy performance contracts funding remain flat throughout the six years. As a reminder, the guidance we received was to remain in a flat funding environment which is reflected in the totals at the bottom of the table in dark blue for this year's proposed. At the top of this slide in green, figures are shown for the proposed debt service budget plan. Our current debt service budget is $50 billion. This proposed plan is similar to what was approved last year. Planning capacity for Princess Anne High School. however, now reflects fully funding Princess High School in this six-year CIP rather than having additional funding and possibly additional set debt service needed outside of these six years with Princess High School recalculated and moved up for a 2028 bid and with the need over the
100six years to reach an $80 million debt service budget. The next slide shows this proposed debt service plan uh for this 2627 to 3132 CIP in a graph format. This graph shows the six-year CIP and out two years further to show the full capacity need of all projects in the proposed six-year plan. Shown on the graph in dark green is existing debt. Light green is new debt estimated for our maintenance related CIP projects and shown as in tan is tri campus additions. All of these keep us within the current debt service budget of $50 million. Added from the graph we reviewed in our last brief is shown in blue. Princess High School new construction with a 20 28 bid or GMP. Shown in red is a debt service plan that we reviewed on the last
101slide. Six years to accomplish Princessan High School. I'm sorry. The the proposed debt service plan, the red line shows increasing the debt service budget incrementally in steps over the next six years to accomplish Princess Sand High School. starting in fiscal year 28, $6 million per year, a total of $30 million over six years to have enough capacity. This plan was derived from working with our financial consultant, Davenport, and considers input from the city with planned bond sales every two years. Looking at our new construction needs shown in the approved six-year CIP as a school modernization program. On this slide, Princessan High School is highlighted in red and will change with the proposed plan going from 2037 proposed construction start to our next slide. our proposed plan of a 2028 construction start or GMP as Princessan
102High School is currently on the street with a solicitation for a progressive design build delivery method. Tri campus additions being on track for a 2026 construction start and Bayside High School remaining in the six-year CIP. This next graph shows the the level funding sources we have been directed to work with. Again, $61.9 million broken down by maintenance related projects in green. These are capital system replacements such as roofs and HVACs. And this is compared to the new construction in the light blue or teal to the right of that. With this new construction uh portion of the funding source, we fully fund both TriCampus and Princess High School in the proposed six-year CIP. And as we get closer to construction for Princess Anne High School in 2028, appropriate over a third of the level funding to
103new construction with a corresponding decline to maintenance capital projects in the green for our existing buildings. And so our last two slides, we we look at um each project funding summary or appropriations of the six-year CIP on our approved current funding sum summary table in front of you. Uh and again we reviewed this at our last brief highlighted our Princess Anne High School for a 2037 bid at $499 million and funding needed outside of the six-year CIP. In the middle of the table, triampus additions and at the bottom of the table the lever the level funding we were directed to work with. Now looking at our next table, the proposed fiscal year 2627 CIP funding summary table. Princess Anne High School has been recalculated with a moved update for a 2028 bid at $330 million
104and is fully funded within this proposed CEO within this six-year CIP. Tri campus additions is again highlighted in red in the middle of the page and remains on track. And at the bottom of the page, the new CIP project CIP1-034, school cable access infrastructure that we spoke about in the beginning of the brief is funded with a dedicated funding source, PEG fees at $140,000 per year with the city having an equally funded uh CIP project in their own CIP and dedicated funding source of their own. So with that, I will now turn it over to Miss Crystal Pate for the conclusion of the presentation. Thank you. So, we're going to go over the remaining key budget dates um as we proceed through this process. Um we continue to share these important dates to keep them
105top of mind. Thursday, February 26 is the deadline for each chamber to act on its respective budget proposals. Tuesday, March 3rd, you will receive a health benefits update, a revisit of CIP, and a request for feedback, information on devices for K through two, and the first discussion on adjustments to Seon. Wednesday, March 4th is the deadline for each chamber to act on budget and revenue bills from the other chamber and appoint conferees as necessary. Monday, March 9th by midnight is the deadline for committee action on all legislation. Tuesday, March 10th is our schoolboard workshop and a public hearing. Saturday, March 14th, the general assembly adjourns Sendai. Tuesday, March 17th is another schoolboard workshop. Tuesday, March 24th is the schedule to be the adoption of the CEO and the CIP. Tuesday, April 14th, tenatively is the
106uh our presentation to city council. And Friday, May 15th, city council approves the city budget. If you have questions as you review the document, please do not hesitate to reach out. You may email your questions to Dr. Robertson, Miss Woodhouse, Mr. Freeman, or me. Please submit questions by Friday of each week so we can provide responses at the following Tuesday's meeting. We will continue to have weekly workshops leading up to the adoption on March 24th. Thank you for the your time this evening and this concludes the presentation. Thank you. All right. So, we've received quite a bit of information here. I know that I'm going to have a lot of questions that I plan to email in. Um so, I don't want the community to think that I'm not asking any questions here because I
107am. But um I do want to highlight very quickly um the good work that this board has done in collaboration um particularly as it has come to some of the school construction items. Um I think it was maybe last year my my timeline's a little fuzzy but um Betty F. Williams Bayside 6 was um estimated it was around 160 million180 um to to do that rebuild. Um this board has collaborated uh with staff and um this building of the wings is a a much more um fiscally responsible way to give a a new updated learning environment. And so I'm I'm happy that the board's done that work. Um and then the princess an I did I did want to um just go in on this um description and scope of the princess just because there's
108a lot of questions and information in the community. Um it says this is for replacement, renovation or modernization for Princess Anne High School to accommodate Princess Anne High School students including IB Academy students citywide special education services and outbuildings. It's understood that administration and schoolboard will revisit the ed specs for this program with an intention to find efficiencies of size and scale prior to or during the design process slash community input process. Um and and the reason I want to bring that up is because um despite the fact that the programmed funding is still quite high and higher than I would like to see um there there's probably going to be a bit of movement hopefully um for the positive here so that we can continue to move forward. Anyway, um with all that, are
109there any questions from board members at this time? Okay, Mr. Cummings. I think my only question is more of a process question and you know we've heard a lot about the K through two Chromebook use and so I'm trying to understand how that's going to take place before the board if it and I know we chatted a little bit uh the chair and I about it but I wanted just to open up my my time just to gain some understanding if we're seeing this as a policy thing, a motion thing or just direction by the the budget. Yes. So, interestingly enough, the uh K2 conversation is not a budget conversation because we our devices are grant funded. So, it's more of a discussion about philosophy around what's best for students in a K2 environment. And
110so, we have two surveys that went out that have completed. We had a parent um uh create their own survey and had some signatures. All of that will be considered by the board. We'll share that with the board March 3rd. And I'm sure that'll be a conversation that occurs over several meetings. But just to be clear, that's really not a budget conversation because that those those devices are grant funded. What What's the grant program, Mr. Den? It's extremely descriptive. It's called the technology initiative grant. Is it a federal or state or It is a federal grant. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Sure. And just as a followup since that's not a budget conversation, I have asked um and if you guys may recall a couple meetings ago that the PRC um have some conversations about that.
111So there may be a a policy conversation as well. Mr. Ken, I was left with an impression about the unpaid student meal debt that that was going to be addressed, but I see that that's continuing on and so it may have just been a misunderstanding on my part. But can you bring me up to date on whatever changes may have been? One was the discovery that the debt was much larger than 250, but we were going to be addressing it or so I thought and Mr. C will be we um did not take it out of the uh budget balancing document because last week um there was no formal action taken by the board, but that'll be something that uh you absolutely will be discussing. I'm sure it's going to be a topic on March
1123rd and there are revisions to the SEO that can be made between now and when you see it for a final time for approval and that's that's why we want to uh make sure we take the the right amount of time over the next three meetings to ensure that the board has had a chance to really uh factor in all the um priorities of the board and also what we expect to be additional revenues from the state. Okay. Thank you. All right. Thank you. And we we will Oh, sorry. Mr. Co Pepper has his hand raised. Okay. Mr. Co Pepper. Thank you for seeing that. Appreciate it. Um I get uh two questions here for uh Superintendent. I think I saw at least one on here where there's a uh a grant that no longer
113exists and we're keeping the program and we're funding it now. Um are there any others? Uh one one second. Well, we did have 15 security assistants that were funded through a grant that we're now moving to our operating budget. Right. That's the one I'm referring to that I saw on your list. Yeah. I'm just curious if there are any others. Uh Miss P, are you aware of um is the Lexia? Oh, yeah. Lexia is a state grant for a reading program. And I mean, I'm sorry, it's all in. It's an allin grant, but it's Lexi for Yeah. So, Miss uh Yes. So, Mr. Culper, it's interesting. Um both the House and the Senate budget proposals in Richmond right now include an at risk proision provision which would provide the school division additional funding. And what
114I'm hearing is it's the state's version of replacing all-in money. So, if that's the case, then that'll be funded by the state. Okay. I see you expected in there when the state actually gets our budget out. You expect to see that in there? Yes. Okay. Um and there are no others. That's it. Just those two. I'm looking at Miss Pace. She said yes. It's it's okay. You can follow up if you find others. Um I'll move on. I don't know any. My other question uh this came up briefly last time. We were discussing where the CIP gets its money from the budget. uh in this page pointed out that that comes off the top and I understood there were two lines coming off the top and that is debt service and payo. Is that correct?
115That's correct. And so I that's roughly $55 million in this budget cycle. Is that right? Yes. Okay. And the uh it comes right off the revenue sharing formula. So when you see that as the revenue sharing formula, we've already adjusted that off the top because that is a those are mandatory expenditures we have to consider. Right. Okay. Understood. I'm just trying to get my get a grasp on the CIP. After, you know, four years of doing this now, I think I finally understand that the CIP is built on debt. That's really what I wanted to point out. Uh that we're basically putting $5 million in cash in the CIP and everything else to total up to 70 million. It's debt. Correct. Correct. Right. That's all I want to say. Thank Miss Melnik, just a quick,
116what percentage of our student population qualifies for free and reduced lunch? the latest number that I saw and and Dr. Banicki correct I know you you don't have in front of you but I think I saw 42%. Yeah 42 okay thank you okay thank you all right thank you okay we are now on to multi-year support school support plans for federally identified schools welcome Dr. from Melanie Hamblin, senior executive director of elementary schools. Now, let me just start by saying I feel like as I've gone around to our amazing elementary schools, my littlest friends may have given me more than just high fives and handshakes. So, I apologize if I cough for anything during the presentation. Good evening. Good evening, Chairman Brown, Vice Chairwoman Williams, and members of the school board and Dr. Robertson. I
117am Dr. Melanie Hamlin, senior executive director of elementary schools in the department of school leadership, and I am here in partnership with Dr. Dr. Lorena Kelly, the executive director for elementary teaching and learning. This information uh that is being shared this evening follows a January presentation on accreditation and accountability results where it was shared that several of our schools were identified as targeted support and improvement schools or TSI schools. Tonight, DOS in partnership with Detail are bringing forward the required multi-year school support plans for the board approval. Each of you received access to each of the schools multi-year school support plans to review. This presentation will expla will expound on how the plans were developed and what supports were being provided to the schools at this time and throughout the year. On January 13th, 2026,
118Mrs. Legata, the director of student assessment from the office of accountability, innovation, planning, innovation, and accountability, provided you with the accreditation and accountability results for our schools, including information related to the federal identification of our schools. As you may recall, 21 of our elementary schools were designated as f as federally targeted support and improvement schools. TSI identification is based on a relative performance benchmark within the state accountability framework. Schools are identified when one or more reporting groups perform below the highest performing comprehensive support and improvement school or a CSI school. In other words, it is a moving target. As we learned in January, TSI schools were required to develop a multi-year school support plan, obtain approval of the plan through their local school board, and post the plans publicly on the school division and division
119websites by February 28th. I want to begin by thanking each of you for your flexibility and allowing this topic to be addressed in both information and consent tonight due to the very tight timeline set forth by VDOE. In an effort to continuously improve, each school develops a PCI or a plan for continuous improvement annually based on school performance data. The multi-year school support plan builds on that work by extending goal setting across three years and strengthening progress monitoring. Again, federal identification does not initiate improvement efforts here in Virginia Beach City Public Schools. It recognizes and strengthens the work already underway. As stated previously, the improvement process did not begin with the TSI identification. The timeline I outlined above began last spring as so results came in and has continued. I will give you a few
120minutes to read some of the highlighted supports provided to schools. It is also important to note an item not listed on the timeline but vital to school processes are the joint school support meetings that were mentioned by your colleague this evening earlier this evening. During our school support meetings, a partnership between DOS DETL, instructional leadership within the school, our title one colleagues, special education or OPEC, ELLL departments and others as well as gifted meet together to conduct an analysis of data and to develop action steps as a result of the data. This process is conducted a minimum of three times a year. I also want to point out that the central support departments learned of the TSI requirements through a webinar on January 13th, 2026. On January 23rd, 23rd, school leaders came together along with
121DASO Elementary, my elementary team, members of DL to include curriculum leaders, OPEC directors, coordinators, and ELLL leaders. On that day, it was spent developing the MSSP plans that you that are here for your review and to further define the work that is outlined in the PCI. When you reviewed the MSSPs, you may have noticed that common interventions were used among the schools, some with even with similar language. I want to remind you that VDOE requirements is for schools to implement highquality evidence-based instructional materials from a very specified list set forth by VDOE. You will also noted that notice that across schools several instructional priorities are evident, including strengthening literacy and numeracy, building educator expertise through professional learning and coaching, and using student data to guide decisions. Together, these priorities reflect the core instructional practices that
122drive student growth. After reviewing the plans provided to you, approval this evening affirms that each plan meets federal and state expectations and positions our schools to continue this focused work in support of our students. At this time, administration recommends approval of the multi-year school support plans. And again, I want to thank you for your flexibility in meeting this tight timeline. the plans were provided to you via email. I just saw you looking. I'm sorry. That's why Dr. Kelly and I are here to answer any questions that you may have. Miss Melnik. So, in case in case my colleagues missed a statement here, um, and for the public, Docsel Dtompia received the requirements for TSI TSI schools in a webinar on January 13th. Yes, ma'am. Okay. So, kudos to you for getting this all together. Thank
123you. Um, again, I reserve my comments for my head and um, I just thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you did to not only to get this together, but for everything you do every day. Thank you. We are we are blessed that our schools work hard all year long. clear. No. And it should be noted because that that is uh that's quite a uh fire hose, right? Thank you. Okay. Um so this is on the consent agenda. So colleagues, as I um when we get to the consent agenda here in just a second, if anybody does not want to support this or has further questions that come up, um you can move that to action. All you have to do is ask. So, um I just wanted to make sure everybody
124was aware of that. All right. Um we have a bit on the consent agenda. So, here we go. We have um the policy review committee recommendations 3-22 3-97 5-14. We have religious exemptions, textbook adoption, secondary mathematics textbook, high school, algebra 1, algebra 2, geometry, algebra functions and data analysis, advanced placement, calculus, AB and BC textbook adoption, secondary mathematics textbook, middle school, math 6, advanced math 6, pre-alggebra, math 7, advanced math 7, math 8, textbook adoption, advanced placement, human geography, Salem High School bleacher replacement, and the multi-year school support plans for federally identified schools. Are there any objections to the school board voting on the consent agenda items as presented? Okay, seeing none, the motion is made by Mr. Cummings, seconded by Dr. Green. I call for the vote to approve the consent agenda as presented.
125And Mr. Co Pepper, 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. We are now on to the personnel report and administrative appointments. I call for a motion to approve the personnel report and administrative appointments. Moved by Miss Dwire, seconded by Mr. Cummings. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote on the personnel appointments. Mr. Co Pepper, how do you vote on the personnel report? Yes. And Mr. Cummings, how do you vote? Thank you, Madam Chair. We have 11 eyes. The motion to pass for the approval of the personnel report and administrative appointment. Thank you. Dr. Robertson, do you have any appointments? Yes. um pleased that tonight you've accepted our recommendation for Michelle
126Clark, currently an admin assistant at Ocean Lakes High School to be the next coordinator of adult academic programs and the adult learning center. Thank you. Okay, we are on to policy 5-54, physical restraint seclusions. I call for a motion to approve policy 5-54. Motion made by Vice Chair Williams, seconded by Miss Dwire. Any discussion, Mr. Cummings? Yeah, thank you. Um, as many folks know, I've taken this issue and thought a lot about it. Um, and I've definitely have had a good learning journey of going through this policy and my heart is to get to eventually the recommendation of uh our community partner. But after talking to some community partners, stakeholders, um I'm hoping that the dedicated seclusion rooms are not being authorized as a good uh step in direction for Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
127And so I'll be voting for this policy with hope that we will continue to do good work uh to get to the eventual goals of where we're trying to where I would like to see us go. Um so I'm comfortable with voting for this for now. So Vice Chair Williams. Um yes, thank you. Um, I just wanted to note for the public, I know my colleagues um, realized that there were no changes since the last time that you that you saw it, but I do did want to read the first line um, that the PRC added a while back. And it reads, "Dedicated seclusion rooms are not authorized in Virginia Beach City Public School buildings, which also applies to contractors using Virginia Beach City public school buildings." Um, this was a tough policy. I appreciate
128Mr. Bowensteel and Miss Felton for working so much on this and um I think it's a good move and I hope that um we can get support from everyone. Thank you so much Dr. Green. Um thank you. Um this has come um a long ways. Um am I 100% with it? Yes. No. um in that I hope we will continue to have dialogue because I believe that this is a step in the direction of right direction but I would like to see us get to a point where we have no seclusion for any reason um and I'm hoping that this will even though we are making significant changes to the policy I hope this is the beginning of ongoing um discussions and and to our speakers that spoke to this. Um I heard you and
129I still hear you and I want us to continue to have dialogue on this topic, but we still need to do more. Miss Felton, thank you, Chair Brown. And I just like to state and reiterate what Dr. Green has said. We hear you. And going into this policy, we did not go in it with a, for lack of a better word, flipping attitude. We delve deep into it. We did our research. We had a lot of conversation and we collaborated with the school board members that that you see and we take you very seriously. Yes, we feel you. Yes. Uh children and students are a priority and we try to keep it there. But um as each generation come and as things in policy evolve, we will continue to have a conversation to do what
130is best for all of our students. And thank you for engaging and thank you for coming and talking with us. So let us hear your voice. Well, I don't want to repeat um everything that I said last meeting, but I do want to make sure that the public knows that you can go back um and review those thoughts because I kind of went through all of the inner conversations that I had and outside conversations. So, you know, like the inner monologue. Um I will be supporting this. I appreciate the policy review committee's work um across four or five months um maybe longer on this. I appreciate the special education advisory committees um willingness to have uh conversations and and work on this um with us as well. So I don't see any more discussion. So,
131with that, I will um open the voting board for approval. Mr. Co Pepper, how do you vote on policy 5-54? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. The motion did pass for the approval of policy 5-54. Thank you. Um, we are on to policy 5-40. I'm going to call for a motion and a second for the initial um document and then Vice Chair Williams is going to read a substitute. Motion is made by Vice Chair Williams, seconded by Miss Dwire. Um Vice Chair Williams, will you read the substitute, please? I make a substitute motion for policy 540. I'm going to read colleagues. I'm going to read just the changes if that's all right with everyone because the public has seen it and you have it in front of you. So, studentled demonstrations A, no changes. B, and
132that's the policy statement. B, definitions. Number three, demonstration now reads, "An organized assembly of students peacefully expressing a viewpoint or raising awareness of an issue." Four, disruptive conduct now reads, "Conduct that materially interferes with school operations or instructional time." Then the remaining of that sentence remains the same. Number five, third party now reads any individual or organization not affiliated with Virginia Beach City Public Schools, elected officials, parents or family members or employees who are not assigned to the host school or who have not been assigned to assist with events at the host school. School board school board members may observe studentled demonstrations provided there is no appearance of endorsement on behalf of the board. Any school board member observing shall not take any action that would appear to support or oppose the subject of the
133demonstration. C. Student rights. No changes. I have we have added D. permitted student expression. The following activities are allowed and are not governed by this policy. One, wearing buttons, badges, wristbands, or clothing that follows the student code of conduct. Two, individual religious expression, including prayer during non-instructional time and wearing religious clothing or symbols. Three, peacefully sharing personal viewpoints during non-instructional time. Four, distributing non-school sponsored materials before or after school in approved areas. Five, participating in approved student clubs or organizations. Six, non-destruct destructive symbolic expression. Student responsibilities is now E. Request and approval process is now F. Changes are B, date and time. and um D materials to be dis distributed. Number three, the changes come in B. It now reads no disruption to instruction. And E now reads the principal designate reserves the right not
134to approve demonstrations that are not consistent with school division policies and regulations and or which may be disruptive. G is school responsibilities. Number one remains the same. Number two remains the same. Number three remains the same. We have deleted number four. Number five is this is the notes. We're going to have to renumber that also. Okay. And then and now now number four is ensure school resources or employees agents are not used to promote studentled demonstration. Number five now reads each building principal shall have a written plan and dispersal statement for dealing with non-paceful assemblies of students. Third party involvement is now H. Prohibited contact conduct is now I. Consequences is now J. The change now reads, "Students who violate this policy or engage in disrupt disruptive conduct will be subject to discipline consistent with
135the student code of conduct. Participation in studentled demonstrations will not excuse students from any portion of class/instructional time. Non-endorsement is now K. May I make a comment now on this? Is there a second? Yes. You second. Anybody can turn the microphone for a second. Second. Second by Miss Dwire. Okay. And then we have Miss Rogers and then Mr. Cummings. I can't. May I ask the Oh, I'm sorry. as as uh as the person that's made the motion. Um, Vice Chair Williams is going to speak to it then, Miss Rogers. All right. Thank you so much. Um, so this this policy has been months and months and months. I thank the PRC, Mr. Bowensteel and Miss um Felton for working with this and um it got sent back and we worked and we worked and we
136worked. Um, Miss Felton brought in a lot of changes that we honored. I thank my colleagues, Miss Rogers, um, put some input, um, to the PRC through our lawyer. Um, also, um, a lot of input from Mr. Cummings last night and this morning and this afternoon, um, which we, um, that's that's those are some of the changes. Um, Mr. Ken, um, called and had input, and I want to thank the chair um, chair Brown for also her input. Um this was a this is a very very collaborative um piece of work. Um as you can see um we listened to the comments made from the dis and again I thank the colleagues for um discussing it with with me and with chair Brown to try to come up with something that we can all support.
137The safety of our students is paramount. is number one um in my book and we've got to make sure that we do that while of course giving them the right for their first amendment freedom of speech. Um I'm very proud of this policy because of the collaboration and because I think it does what what needs to um happen to make sure that we ensure safety for our students and and no loss of instructional time. So I am hoping that we can get a unanim unanimous thumbs up on this and again I appreciate um all the collaboration from my colleagues. As you can see um this represents a lot of different people's ideas. Thank you so much Miss Rogers. Thank you. Um I also wanted to thank uh Mr. Cummings, uh Miss Williams, Chair Brown um
138for these last minute changes. While nothing is always what one person wants, the fact that everyone was able um to really um have a say uh to make this palatable for everyone. It's not what one person wants completely, but it is enough that we can all um um get behind it um enough. So, I appreciate the collaboration and the communication that was shown today um to get this over the hump. Um and so, thank you, Mr. Cummings, Miss Williams, Chair Brown. Mr. Cummings. Yeah, I'll echo the sentiment is folks have watched at home late at night with their popcorn dinner in hand thinking, "How can I go to bed peacefully?" And they watch their schoolboard meetings um at the comfort of their home. you know, we've had some great discussion and you know, for me,
139Tinker versus De Moines is a pivotal case and I brought a few other cases and I do feel that we were able to collaborate and come up with a policy to really, I think, drive Virginia Beach and make it unique. Um I'm very pleased with the sections that you know the concerns that I had specifically with Tinker um you know with armbands to students wearing buttons knowing that students have that protection um for expressing you know expressing their first amendment concerns. I'm glad that we added in some of the permitted student experience and I'm also glad about the third party. I'm also you know when that we got a rough draft of this policy today I also am a fan of risk management as well. So, I'm glad to see that be part of uh
140the policy. So, I'll be supporting this. Um, and I think that, you know, at the end of the day, our students do have rights and I do feel strongly about the first amendment. Um, and teaching folks how to exercise their rights, uh, or giving them space, I think, is a very good aspect of the educational environment. And I think that, you know, our students have voices and it's exciting to hear advocacy turn into action from social media posts to diving deeper into issues of concern. And as I built dialogue with quite a few folks um just about some of these different things, I think there is a hunger and there is a thirst for our students to go beyond the clickbait, go beyond the algorithm and understand how they can move towards action. And so
141those are some of my personal thoughts, but I'm very happy that we were able to work together, um, hear each other out, have some peaceful and good conversations, and I I'm thankful for that as a board that we were able to get that. So, I'll be supporting this policy. All right. And I just I want to I want to thank Mr. Cummings, Vice Chair Williams, um, Miss Rogers. I've had Mr. Bowensteel Miss Dwire, I've had a lot of conversations um with members of the board um about their thoughts. Mr. Kalen, I I heard yours indirectly, but heard your second hand. Um I do also want to make sure that the community knows that at no point was there more than two board members on the phone or interacting in regards to this policy. So, it
142followed all the foy processes. Um and you know I my hope is that this really very clearly for students spells out um the process for this and you know which things could could lead to some consequences and I think there was some confusion um in recent days about that and so um I'm really happy that we've gotten to a place where every board member feels comfortable um and that's that's Great. So, um, again, that is the substitute by Vice Chair Williams, seconded by Miss Dwire. Seeing no further discussion, I call for the vote to approve the substitute. And Mr. Co Pepper, how do you vote on Miss Williams substitute? I vote yes. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. We have 11 eyes. The motion did pass on uh vice chair we substitute on policy 5-
143um five 5-40. Thank you. We are now on to textbook adoption advanced placement US history. I call for a motion to approve textbook adoption AP US history. Moved by Miss Melnik, seconded by Miss Dwire. Any discussion? Correct. Okay, Mr. Cummings. Yeah, I just wanted to echo appreciation to my colleague who shared with us that he checked out the book, took a thorough time reading it and you know I think uh provided his own thoughts on on um you know the experience reading and whatnot because it challenged me as a school board member to step up and to read the books and to really see what I see and I appreciate that initiative. Um, and so last Friday I took the the a little bit of the late late afternoon, came in, read some of the
144books, picked out five areas, did some comparison, you know, did some flipping pages just to land on something and, you know, at random, and then also looked at things like Manifest Destiny, the 1980s with Reagan, um, you know, the rise of conservatism to 2016 election to the civil rights movement. Just looking at those, how the books teach about these topics. And one of the things that I really appreciated about the AP textbook was it asked you to take on the perspective of the person that was significant in that moment. So what was Ronald Reagan thinking? Why did he come to this conclusion or you know in the civil rights era is asking questions about you know what would someone who's from an African-American experience think? What was their perspective of the system? And so in
145order to really dive into this, you know, a little bit further, I took two polarizing history books, the People's History of the United States and a Patriots History of the United States. One being one of the most progressive books of history and one being one of the most conservative books of history. And I said, well, how does this look with something like Manifest Destiny? you know, this is a very, you know, it's I'd say it's somewhat of a controversial subject depending on how you look at it. And so reading through it, you know, one side was saying like, you know, this is the frontier of American exceptionalism, exploring, yeah, there's some bad things. The other side was saying this incident pure genocide, imperialism, crossing boundaries, taking things. Um, and so I looked at that one
146issue, seeing how they presented, you know, um, Manifest Destiny, and then I looked in the AP book and was like, well, this is a good little balance of how it presents itself. And so even though I mean I looked that's just a pure anecdotal, pure empirical, through my reading, I'll be supporting the the recommendation. Um, and it was a very fun exercise, I think, to go through and just read and research and be prompted to think deeper about some of the textbooks. And I appreciate the spark from my colleague as well. But, um, yeah, it was a good good little exercise to go through and see what people think about, uh, you know, the different subjects. So, thank you, Miss Felton. Brown. Um, thank you, Chair Brown. Um, I just like to say that I
147like I respect the list of people that represented looking at this book who rep u recommended it. Uh, you had the instructors, your parents, and you had professors and most importantly, you had students. I appreciate that the students diving into this and making sure that we hear their voices and what they want to learn and what is uh relevant to them as well. Um, I had great respect respect for that list. But as I went through this book, I I want to thank you all too. The librarian came out in me and um I checked the title page. That's how we used to check books to make sure they were credible. And on that title page, you have the ISB number. That's the number that license that that's for that book. I said that's legit.
148Then I looked at uh I looked for the Library of Congress. The numbers there. I said there the Library of Congress has it. We in good shape. and then the copyright date. Um, I appreciate the book. I went through it. I scanned through it and I wanted to see if things was in there that I remember that spoke out to me when when I did not get these things until I got to college. These titles, these topics that I'm talking about did not know they existed until I got into college at ODU as a history major. And the topics that I looked up that were there was trails of tears. I said, "Yep, you got me there." The Monroe Doctrine, the woman suffocence movement, Patrick Henry, Henry, uh, Harriet Beer Sto, Dre Scott versus uh,
149Sanford and Plexie and the Spugnick. Those things rung out to me. And with those being in that book, I said, "We're on a good path." I appreciate the book. I appreciate all that went through uh getting this book and it is a great AP book. I like that it it is a resource book as well as skills that is in this book and the glossery speaks well to all that. And then they have the cross reference in this book. Great book. Can't wait. I think I'm going to order it for myself. Thank you, Audrey. Yes, Miss Melnik. I just want to commend my colleague. I know I can't talk to him directly, but I just want to thank Mr. Cummings for doing that work because he didn't just look at the book and and create
150his own opinion. He he he looked at another book and and really took the time to to compare, which I think is really important. But the biggest thing I think is I too did some research on the book and what it's doing the most important thing about this book is it's preparing these students for the AP exam. This is an AP history class um and it's being presented um in the way that students are being asked to thought to think and that that's got to transfer into that exam. And uh we we've talked about this as a board that um you know we'd like those AP exam scores to be higher. Um colleges aren't accepting ones, twos, and in most cases threes. So um I think it's great. I I thank everyone who is involved
151in um in choosing this book and um yeah, maybe I'll ask to audit the class too. Mrs. Felton Okay, seeing no further discussion, I call for the vote to approve the advanced placement US history textbook. Mr. Co Pepper, how do you vote? Yes. Okay. So, Madam Chair, we have 10 eyes and one nay. The motion did pass. Thank you. We are now on to committee organization and board reports. Do any board members have anything to report? Miss Melnik and then vice chair wings. So yesterday I attended the community roundt and I often talk about this. We meet every other month. Um I'm proud as a board member to attend, but my initial um presence on that board was not as a board member, but as a business owner and somebody who's in the trade industry.
152Um and what I have watched over the last couple years is magnificent and yesterday was no exception. Um in the room were the the regular members of this community round table and then there were others from other school divisions yesterday and it was the most collaborative insightful group um that is under the direction of Dr. Robertson examining and discussing a regional CTE program. And I I talked yesterday about regionalism largely failing in thought um in our area. We really really struggle to be um focused regionally and a lot of times it takes educators to do that and that's exactly what happened yesterday. um and I think everybody in that room um understood um not to be duplicative in in everything that we do with the with with education and that was really apparent and I
153cannot wait for the next meeting. Um Dr. Dr. Robertson did um send you all the minutes from yesterday and if anybody has any questions, please talk to Dr. Robertson. Um Worth Remix on that on that committee. So, you know, one of our city council members um you can reach out to Scott Miller, the president of Virginia Wesian University, or I'd be happy to ask any questions. But it's really an amazing group of people who just want to get stuff done. It's not a group that talks about things the same things month after month after month. There is constant and continual growth with this group. And um I commend our superintendent and as I tell him often, I do not say things I do not mean. Vice Chair Williams. Yes. Tomorrow I will be attending the
154Harbor Hope Center, a regional recovery school, a board of directors meeting at 2:00 in Chesapeake. Monday night um I will be attending the gifted advisory um board um quarterly meeting at 6:00 at the Plaza Annex. And then March 4th u right here will be the PRC meeting at 1:30. Okay. And with that, we are going to read into close session. I move that the school board recess into close session in accordance with exemptions to open meetings law set forth in Code of Virginia 2.2-3. 2-3 7-Eleven part A paragraphs 1 27 and 8 as amended to deliberate on the following matters one discussion consideration or interviews of prospective candidates for employment assignment appointment promotion performance demotion salaries disciplining or resignation of specific public officers appointees or employees of any public body and evaluation of performance in
155departments schools of public institutions of higher education where such evaluation would 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 a discussion or a consideration of a disciplinary matter that involves the teacher and some student and the student involved in the matter is present provided that the teacher makes a written request to be present to the presiding office 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 the membership of such body or board collectively. Two, discussion or consideration of admission of or disciplinary matters or any other matters that would involve the disclosure of information
156contained 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 guardian shall be permitted to be present during the taking of testimony or presentation of EV evidence at a closed meeting. If such students 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 meetings would adversely affect the negotiating or litigating posture of this public body. For the purposes of this subdivision, probable litigation means litigation that has been specifically threatened or on
157which the public body or its legal council has a reasonable basis to believe will be commenced by or against a known party. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to premit the closure of a meeting merely because an attorney representing the public body is in attendance or is consulted on a matter. A consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to permit the closure of a meeting merely because an attorney representing the public body is in attendance or is consulted on a matter. Namely to discuss A employee grievance notification regarding availability of 31026 grievance package. B student matters discussion of new student complaints and disciplinary matters. C status of pending litigation or
158administrative cases. And D consultation with legal counsel regarding probable litigation and pending litigation matters. All right. Motion made by Vice Chair Williams or seconded by Mr. Kalen. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to go into close session. Miss memes, how do you vote? Thank you. So, Madam Chair, we have eight eyes. The motion to pass to go into close session. Thank you. Heat. Now that I did understand my computer, yeah, I said I'll probably because I didn't have time to read it. Okay, you can go in. Thank you. Whereas the school board of the city of Virginia Beach has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. And whereas section 2.2-3712 of the code
159of Virginia requires a certification by the school board that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law. Now therefore, be it resolved that the school board of the city of Virginia Beach hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which the certification applies and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed, or considered. Motion made by Miss Dwire, seconded by Mr. Bowensteel. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to certify close session. So, Madam Chair, we have 10 eyes. The motion to pass for certification of close session. Thank you. It is 8:48 p.m. and this meeting
160is ajourned. Bye. That was so good. You guys are so This was the This was the like meeting that was on the hand basket. What did you do? Don't.