School Board Work Session - May 12, 2025

001Good evening. I'd like to call to order the May 12th, 2025 work session of the York County School Board. The yet end of the year is quickly approaching and this time is always filled with a mix of reflection, celebration, and preparation for what is ahead. Um, we know how full everyone's plates are and we appreciate you being here this evening and for the presentations that you have prepared. So, we will go ahead and get started. But before we dive before we dive into the presentations, I have just a statement from myself as chair that I want to read um pretty much for our members of our community. Um, I want to thank the school administration team and our school security team, the resource school resource officer and the York Possen Sheriff's Office for responding quickly

002and appropriately to the initial report of a possible weapon at Grafton Middle School just over a week ago. Their calm and professional actions helped maintain order and ensured everyone's safety while they handled the incident. I also wanted to commend the student who reported the situation to an adult in building. As a parent, I understand the fear and uncertainty situations like this can create. I also understand the desire to know more about the incident, our response, the investigation and consequences for the student involved. For safety reasons and privacy legalities, specific dates or details, excuse me, cannot be shared. But I do want to assure our community that the decision-making process during an emergency is made in close coordination with the York Sheriff Office. We are fortunate to have a strong collaborative relationship with our first responders

003who work alongside our division staff daily to maintain ser learning environments. Dr. Shandor and his team remain committed to communicating as quickly as possible with the most accurate information they have at their disposal while also protecting student privacy and the integrity of the investigation. They also review every situation to identify any areas of improvement. Safety is not just a core value in our strategic plan. It's a commitment to maintain environments where all students feel secure, supported, and ready to learn. And this has to be a collective commitment with families, staff, and students working together to help prevent these situations. If you know or have reason to believe there is a safety concern affecting our schools, alert the sheriff's office and the school. Remember, see something, say something. Thanks. All right. Now, with that said, we

004have a number of presentations, so we'll get started. Our first presentation, I believe, is on budget. Dr. Shandor. Yes. Thank you, uh, Miss Goodwin. Good evening, board members. Uh, we have, uh, uh, seven presentations this evening and, uh, one discussion topic. So, we're going to lead off this evening with Mr. Bowen, our chief financial officer, and Dr. Wrights, our chief human resource officer, with a presentation on budget. I will turn it over to Mr. B. Thank you, Dr. Shandor. U Madam Chair, members of the board, and Dr. Shandor, before I begin the presentation this evening, I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the finance staff. In particular, um I want to recognize budget supervisor Allison Brandon, budget analyst Beth Hall, and payroll manager Heather Heather Miguel for their contributions over the

005past several weeks. We've had to incorporate some significant changes to the budget within a very short time frame and um their efforts were critical to this work. So, thank you. I'd like to begin this evening uh just with a overview of the budget update and remind u everyone that the governor did approve the final state budget on May 2nd. Um in doing so provided funding for staff bonuses um and to the community uh to staff. If you haven't already heard that the board approved the budget uh the bonuses on Friday, May 9th. Um and it's providing $800 for a pre-tax bonus for full-time employees and a $400 pre-tax bonus for part-time employees. and I'm happy to report that the bonuses will be paid this Friday, May 16th. Um, our average daily membership projections have been

006revised based on the latest data available and I will share the updates for both FY25 and FY26. And finally, I'll walk you through the updates to revenues expenditures as we reconcile the final budget for FY26. So, let's begin with um the FY25 original budget. This was approved in May 2024 and was based on an ADM of 12,966. In December, the governor proposed budget included an increase of 176 students to our projected ADM. And at this time, the staff had expressed some concern about this number. We thought it was uh maybe a little bit too high and so we contracted with the Welding Cooper Center to validate that estimate. Um ultimately though, we decided to use our internal projections. Um and at that time in through December it was trending closer to an ADM of 13,061.

007And so that was the number that we used for the um for the expected school board proposed budget. Um however, our actual March 31 ADM, which is the number we use, it's the number that is used for final state funding, came in at 12,978, which was um another 83 students fewer than I expected. and it was only 12 more than our original budget projection. So this variance prompted us to revisit the ADM estimate for FY26. So again when we start we always look at the previous year's um original budget and that was 12,966 for FY25 and then the governor released his proposed budget and VDOE had our projection at 13,367 um an increase of 401. that what gave us a little pause here was the fact that this would have been our single largest increase

008in any year outside of COVID recovery. So again, we went back to the Welding and Cooper data and um they were there was some discrepancies between their data and what VDOE was was providing. So we decided to split the difference. In doing so, we reduced it by 99 students. And then h however when we we saw the 25 numbers, we felt like we needed to go further and deeper. And so we reduced the ADM by another 217 students. So how we came up with this number is that we looked back what our change was was from 24 to 25. It was 85 students. We were only off by 12. So we felt that going another 85 increase was probably the more responsible thing to do at this point. Now, if our enrollment comes in higher

009than 85, um we will use that additional state revenue for uh additional staff and positions. Uh if it comes in under 85, we have three um teacher FTEEs currently built into the budget that would be removed. They would not be filled. So, we do have some flexibility if that number comes in. And we don't know why is this number so much higher like 41 that they're proposing and and talking to them uh and talking to several folks there it looked like our fall enrollment was was high. Our number in November was trending internally at 13,081 and then when we got to de December we saw that number at 13061. We have seen that number drop every month since then. And so we um we felt like there's a trend going on here that we are

010not aware of. Um we think it's military moves. We haven't confirmed that yet, but we still feel that the responsible thing to do is to go with a more excuse me conservative number. So these are the um these are some of the revenue changes that we have looked out through at this budget process. We have here the governor's proposed budget that again that came in high at 13367 with ADM and provided us with funding of $110.5 million. When we revised that number down uh by 99, we saw the number change to almost decrease by about $715,000 to $ 109.7 million. And then in the final budget, what we'll see here is a further decrease in ADM by 217, but you'll notice that the revenue's gone up. It's gone up to 111 million. and total increases

011of 1.44 million when you compare this what was approved by the school board in March to what's now we're proposing as a final budget. The reason we see this increase is because the general assembly's adopted budget provided a little more than $3 million to K12 at least for uh YCSD K12. Um and but we're not seeing three million here. The reason why we're not seeing three million here is because we had the significant reduction in ADM. So that loss of 217 uh we lose about $ 1.56 million and so the net of the change in revenue but the increase in funding from the state and what was ultimately adopted by the governor is $1.44 million. So still on the plus side. So we're really happy about that news. So let's look at the changes in

012revenue. So as we started um with our presentation in March, we had $4.8 million in total funds available. We've seen a net increase in the state revenue and that comes from the go the latest calc tool 1.44 million. Then we also staff looked at other state revenues and see how we're trending for the year. And what we noticed is that we're seeing um an increase in our CSA reimbursements to the tune of about 300,000. It's actually to the tune of about 450,000 but we felt comfortable including 300,000 in next year's budget. Additionally, what's happening with CSA? The governor signed um legislation to increase the reimbursements for schools and localities. So, this number should increase again, but we don't know exactly what that reimbursement is going to mean to us. So, those changes will be incorporated

013in the budget process uh in the F126E budget process next uh budget session. So, do we get dollar for-doll reimbured or there's a percentage? There's a percentage. Percentage is percentage reimbursement. Kind of like SOQ. Could you let everybody know what the CSA stands for? Yes. CSA is the Children's Services Act. Those are students who are who are privately placed. Um and then it's very costly, but the state um aids in that and the in that cost and reimbures not only the school division, but also partial reimbursement to to the county for their um for their work. Thank you. And then we've also seen Medicaid increase. So um we feel comfortable increasing the Medicaid side of reimbursements by 25,000. And then finally, we also had an increase in county revenue. So when the superintendent proposed his

014budget, we were working with half a million dollars. Now that the county has adopted their budget, uh they've increased that to a million. And so we're adding that additional 500,000, which increases our state and local revenue to the tune of $2.2 million, almost $2.3 million. And so as we work to balance our budget, um we see the additional revenue, but we had to make some adjustments to expenditures. And in doing so, we reduced the raise that was in the superintendent's proposed budget from 4% to 3 and a.5%. And that that reduced our expenditures uh to $629,570. And we also had a reduction in the number of new FTEEs. You'll recall that when we started the budget process, we were looking to add uh 16 new teachers and then um that was on the high number

015of the ADM. We reduced that to 12 and now since we revised it even further, we're eliminating another nine FTEEs, teacher FTEES. These are new FTEEs and and it's all tied to ADM growth. And so this because we have reduced it and lowered that number, we're eliminating nine. We still have three in the budget, but that that cost savings is $675,000. So, total reduction of expenditures is $1.3 million. This um slide comes from my March 10th presentation. And I just wanted to remind uh the board and remind staff we had a budget gap of 3 almost $3.6 million. So, how do we reconcile to the FY26 budget? So, we had the budget gap of 3.57 million. uh we had a reduction in expenditures of 1.3 million and then we had an increase in state and

016local revenue to 2.268 million um and that balances our budget. So I'm happy to report at this point we have a balanced budget for by 26 and that concludes my budget presentation this evening. Next week I will bring a formal resolution to the board for them to adopt those changes to FY25 and FY26. Do you expect any changes like any surprises that come down from the state? I don't expect any changes at this point. What the numbers have been finalized. What we will need to continue to watch is what's happening with the economy. Um it was a little bit of a warning from Richmond that um they're they're starting to see an economic slowdown. So the only thing that could change are the numbers. Sales tax could get worse, which means there would be an

017a budget adjustment when the governor releases his budget in December. So, we'll watch watch that very closely. And if I understood you correctly, we don't know at this time what it is that caused the reduction in the ADM. We're not really sure what that's that 217 you said, right? Well, our the enrollment that we reported in September was was relatively high. So, we had a high enrollment in September, but then we started to see that um that reduction. Well, one thing we don't see um that we need to I think watch a little closely, watch more closely is um the the deductions for our uh for our number. So, we have students that are placed in other programs, students that attend New Horizons. um those are all deductions to the ADM and so we have

018students that go to various programs and that's one thing that our internal number hasn't been uh has been picking up on but we're working with it to uh to capture those deductions to to tighten that number up a little bit. Mrs. good one. I talked to two of the three principles with the largest decreases and they felt it was just PCSing from military and then you know the rest of it's five here, six there. So it's it's just feels like it's just normal movement. And uh as far as like those students you were talking about with the New Horizons, do we know approximate number by any chance? Like roughly? Um I I don't know that number off the top of my head. However, what what happens with New Horizons for those kids that are in

019the um special education program, we receive special education specific funding for those students through regional um tuition. And then for governor school, we receive um governor school funding. And so um so that that part needs to be fixed. The other part is just, you know, looking at our trend and and kind of staying on top of that. Typically what we've seen is we've seen the enrollment grow in the fall and that number continue to slightly pick up through the remainder of the year. This has been a new trend for us that we've seen this year. So not not expected. Are we seeing any trends um with students leaving for homeschooling and private school? I have not seen that trend. Okay. Any no differences from the past or No, ma'am. Any other questions? Mr. Wrights, excuse

020me, Dr. Writes has information to share with you about insurance as well. So, I'm going to just continue on with this slide presentation and talk to you about health insurance rates coming up. So, YCSD has two health plans. They have the POSOS 25020 and then they have the high deductible um POSOS 3500 with the 0%. So, those are the two plans. The most popular plan is the POSOS 250. on this slide. This shows the 25 2025 employee plus family uh regional comparison and it's become very difficult for us to compare our benefit plans with our surrounding districts due to the varied options available when considering the insurance packages. Um so when we are looking at a district analy an analyzing it um not all the data is readily available uh for us in the same

021manner. So for example you can look up on the screen or the slide WJCC has uh key advantage with their dental. So we don't know how much of their percentage is the dental and so they don't tell us that. So, we really have to um either guess or just continue to um dig deeper, but the information available is is kind of difficult to to get to to find out how much all those and the difference between the the different districts. So, I'm bringing to you this evening to share some factors related to the health and dental insurance and costs for the calendar year for 2026. First, we recognize from retention and recruitment perspective, providing competitive competitive benefits package is our top priority. And so, also keeping employee health and dental insurance rates at or below

022the regional average keeps the insurance accessible as well as sustainable. And lastly, the proposed rates were made in advice of our USI consulting services. So we will have a 5% increase with the advisement of USI consulting and this chart shows the division and the employee impact. So the first column is the current monthly rate for the calendar year 2025. And then the next column shows the rate for employees for calendar year 2026 with the 5% increase. So for example, an employee plan for $125 currently in the 5% proposal increase, their monthly rate would go to $132, which is increase of $7 to that employee. And just reminding that YCSD contributes more than 80% of the plan premiums for the high deductible plan. You can see that the for the 2025 is $35 proposed for 2026

023is 37 which is a $2 increase for the 5% increase. And then for our dental plans and our rates, we have uh no changes and so no changes for dental um for our employees this coming year. And this is our Delta Premier dental rates with no changes also. And that is it for our health insurance for next year. Any questions? All right. Thank you guys. Next, it looks like we're going to move on to capital projects next. Yes, Dr. Carol is going to um run through um the capital projects. He actually has the next presentation after that, but we'll let him pull that up. I think it's relatively brief. All right, Dr. Carol. All right. Thank you, Dr. Shandor. Madam Chair, members of the board, here is your capital projects report for May. Uh so,

024uh we are almost done with Ruden High School and finishing that roof repair and coding. Uh the school sign has now been installed on the front of the building. The school sign at the back near the gymnasium. We installed the roof hatch safety rail. The only thing that is left on this project is some ladder two ladders that need to be fabricated and then installed. Did have an error on the first set and so those were rejected and now we're waiting for those to be corrected and installed. But that's the only thing that's keeping us from having a completed project there. So here's a picture of the front end and of the gymnasium. And so you can see the siding and how that that new siding looks really good there. And there's our safety rail.

025And that that complete completes our presentation on this project. All right. So, we are gearing up for the secondary school auditorium refreshes and upgrades. So, everything has been ordered. The curtains, the seats, the soundboards have all been ordered. The stage lighting and the house lighting are all on order. And all remaining scopes of work, uh, flooring, you know, carpet carpeting and some concrete work that has to be done in the TAB project to make sure that it's ADA accessible. Uh, all of it has been ordered and POS have been issued and we are set to go. Work begins on June 16th and we anticipate being completed by the time school starts. And then we have Astra Turf at Tab High. We completed the field installation. Uh, the lighting is in a bidding process and we've

026started pricing fencing. We want to make sure that we have the lighting priced so then the fencing will go around. that might make some uh might put us in a position where we might have to adjust some of the um size on the fencing. And here's pictures again from the uh end zone or the 10 yard line back towards the other fields. You can see how how you know beautiful it looks and then from the 50 yard line from the back towards the tennis courts. Students are already using this and um uh it it's just fully useful right now. It's just we need to make some changes to get the uh the lights going. Also, we've had a lot of talk lately about the Tab High additions and renovations project. We have awarded the A&E

027design uh contract so that they are off and running on on design and we've been having conversations about how to adjust the scope of that project. The LED lighting conversion is out to bid and we're looking for that to be that was outside of the uh what will be the contractor's work and looking for that to be done this summer. Uh we did have some bad news. We had gone out for bid for the geo thermal wellfield installation and uh the bids came in double what we were expecting what we had been um what had been estimated by our engineer. So we've made the decision we are going to abandon uh geothermal on that project. It does two things. I mean first of all when it's all done we will not gather the savings from

028geothermal on our operating budget. However it does take 2.5 million off the top of that project of what we had estimated. So we already have have started that reduction in project total project cost. And um as we work with the A&E firm, we're look we've set some limits for them to push for lowering the um the scope of the project, but but where we could look for design choices so we can drop the total cost. And then with this, if we're not going geothermal, then we're committed to going to solar on the roof, making sure that's part of the design and so that we can get some reduction in energy costs there. And that concludes my report. I welcome any questions. Okay. I have one for you, sir. Back on slide number four. Okay. I

029don't think it's the brutin bathroom, is it? No. No. So is bathroom. No. No. We aren't talking bathrooms. Oh, it should be. This one says four. The gym is what I'm talking about. Gym. Next one. Gym entrance. That's the type of entrance that we talked about. Uh that was going to be for TAB, right? It'll be similar. Yeah. So, it's not going to be the Taj Mahal as was uh said at the meeting a long time ago that uh the uh problem was with it that it didn't even need to be so nice and great and everything that this is what it's going to look like, right? Well, the the thing that TAB will there will be some addition to the building. though it would uh give you the opportunity to have some enhancement on

030that back entrance. It's also going to be in a slightly different place but um no we are not looking to build a Taj Mahal. We are not looking to win an architect any awards. We want something that has utility for us but um but enhances the aesthetic of the building. Now are we still going to be walking through the dump through the dumpsters to get to the if we can get the if we can do it differently? No. Okay. Yeah, we're looking to close off that yard and go right behind it. Gotcha. Good. Thank you. Dr. Carol, is um geothermal completely off the table right now or is it something that down the road we might look at again? We might be able to build in the capability for the next time we come around,

031uh we might be able to make some design choices so it's already ready to go. And so, but that'll depend on cost and design and we'll work on that. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Carol. I think you have the next section, too. Right. He does. So, we'll um Dr. Carol is going to now present um an AI artificial intelligence update. I'll give him a second to get some assistance to find his presentation. All right. There. There you go. All right. So board members, you'll remember a few months ago I came to you and gave you updates on three executive orders from the governor. One of them was executive uh executive order 30 about artificial intelligence or AI. Uh this I want to remind you as I said that night that uh this was an all of

032government direction on artificial intelligence. it didn't just apply to education even although there was some separate um uh guidance that came along with that. So uh one of the things I'll talk about is guiding principles and we wanted to tie that to our core values and when I talk about that I think you'll see those reflected. So I wanted to remind you of those of integrity, safety, engagement, growth and innovation. You'll see all of those reflected in the guiding principles when we get to talking breaking those out separately. But back to the guidance. So in u the guidance that we received for executive order 30, we uh were responsible for developing three things. One, a set of guiding principles. Those will be the things that we are basing all of our AI decisions on. Uh

033the strategies for success. what are we going to do uh to harness it to have effective integration into education with for our staff and our students and then the roles and responsibilities and that goes from the state all the way down to localities and schools. So for our guiding principles um as I said we built this off of our core values and we selected these five areas. First was safety and security and our statement there has to do with privacy regulations our acceptable use policy or AUP you've heard that before um how it's used with data management and with learning environments then with uh second uh bucket per se is ethical use so this comes to digital literacy societal impacts intellectual property and I think something that's been on everybody's mind is fairness and accountability

034with things like plagiarism. Third is instructional innovation, which is kind of the goal that you've been hearing from both the governor and the president lately about harnessing the power. And so we want to be able to empower students to be able to use this correctly, to use it to um enhance critical analysis, enhance productivity and learning in the classroom, and for professional growth for our staff. The fourth bucket is communication and collaboration. Want to make sure that we're transparent on how we're using this and how we're um how we're rolling this out and engaging stakeholders in the integration planning. Finally, the last bucket is accessibility. We want to make sure that everybody has equitable access, has the same resources and training available to them. So part of what we've been doing is the VDOE partnered

035with the Virginia Association of School SE Superintendent and created a a program of uh learning called Virginia Gen AI and we in this region three divisions uh took part in this to help us build the framework for this. This is a technology that's moving so fast and it's easy to get um behind but they helped us build a framework to work from. So the work that we've completed already is we've created those guiding principles as I just listed. We've reviewed our existing um applicable policies our SOPs for any revision that was needed. We reviewed our current AUP. We've reviewed the student handbook and the employee handbook. Um, curated content for the YCSD web page and we've reviewed the accessibility language. The work that is happening now is now filtering down to our edte staff and

036getting into Dr. Skinner's area uh where they're refining all the documents that I've discussed above and starting to really like get down into the detail from the kind of the steering committee continuing to work on a teacher handbook for AI working towards an AI software approval process because that's one of the things going to happen is everybody hears about chat GBT but there's all these little spin-off programs and we're going to have to have um an AI software approval process for that uh developing teacher professional development and developing content for the YCSD website. And so the next steps are um you'll see approval of minor changes to the student handbook. Uh Dr. Butler will mention that in his uh his presentation later and then you'll you'll be you'll have the ability to approve that in

037the regular meeting. We're also going to continue to develop language for our employee handbook revisions and members of the instruction department will share updates with the board throughout next year as we start to roll out um all of these things that I've discussed and especially um rolling out changes for students and for staff. And that uh completes my uh presentation. I'll take any answers or any questions that you have. try to answer more answers. We try to answer. Sounds like it's a work in progress then. It is. Yeah. But I feel good about where we're at. Like I said, we were one of, I think, three divisions in the region that took part in that training and I think it's really helped us build a a logical framework. You know, thank you for all the

038work so far on that. All right. Okay. Next, we are going to talking about I think we already said the handbook. Yep. So, next we have Dr. Aaron Butler who is here for his yearly uh student handbook update. So, I will turn it over to Dr. Butler. Madame Chair, members of the board, Dr. Shandor, thank you for this opportunity to present before you proposed provisions for the 202526 student handbook and code of conduct. Per Virginia code, school boards are required to annually review and revise their standards for student conduct to align with the Virginia Board of Education's model policies. While not required by state law, YCSD also provides families with information concerning academic safety, operational, and financial procedures along with related policies. Schoolboard policy CZ, student handbook, stipulates that the regulations in the student handbook

039have the weight of schoolboard policy. It is important that parents and students review the student handbook each year to ensure they are aware of important information concerning safety, behavior expectations, academics, and division procedures. The presentation this evening is relatively short since there are only a few proposed revisions and changes for next school year. Currently, our handbook is broken into six sections based on related content. Um, I will not present grammatical or minor language changes, but I will share annual updates, revisions that align with current practices, revisions recommended by staff or division level committees, and revisions that comply with state and federal law and regulations. So, in our first section, which is about us, there's a few changes that we make every year. So, the message from the school board chair, the message from Dr. Shandor,

040our school directory that lists all of our administrators at the different school levels. And then just a quick reference, student calendar. Those will all be updated and you have seen that in board docs on section one. In section two for general information and notifications, uh there were some fee increases that were recommended by committee. For middle and high school instrument rental fees, uh there's a proposed increase from $30 to $50. Uh for high school band uniform fees, there's a proposed increase from 20 to $50. And then athletic participation fee proposed increases for middle school from $30 to $50 per season and high school from $40 to $50 per season. And again, these just reflect increases to maintenance and uses costs. Under your information for bus stops, uh the committee recommended that language should be clarified

041about the time frame for when students arrive and wait at the bus stop. Uh this information was in a previous um student code of conduct, but it was somehow removed. So, it was important to add it back in so families and students know this information as well as the distance that students may reasonably be asked to walk to the bus stop um was also added. Under student learning and success, there were several changes, some uh that align just with state and federal laws and regulations. So, under the history and social studies um section, there was language that was added to reflect the newly adopted history of social studies curriculum standards that have been approved and adopted by the Virginia Department of Education. Uh and you can see that in that section as well under um

042success resource classes language was add to clarify the opportunities available to students related to fine arts and STEM and that was just to improve readability and clarity. There wasn't any substantial content changes but you will notice several red lines and crossroughs to update that section for our fine arts magnet and math science and technology magnet. Both of these sections um have deletions and additions. And again, this is just for clarification. There was not major content, but there was some significant writing to make sure that when families open the book, they really understand what is the focus of those two programs. for our career and technical education or CTE advisory committee. Portions of the section were rewritten for clarity, but also there was a section that directs them to the division website so they get information

043about applying to serve on that committee. Under our counseling services information was deleted and added to clarify services that are provided by our school counseling staff and that is just again no major changes but just for improve improvement of rehability and clarity under our family life education section. There was some additional language that was added that shares that there is anformational section for community members that is provided so that they can review um information that is provided in our schools and that just aligns with our current practices for our special education advisory committee very similar to the CTE advisory committee. There was information that was added so that families are directed to the York County School Division website where they can find the most up-to-date information about that committee but also how to apply for

044membership. for our English learners or EL program. There was language that was revised to align with the Virginia Department of Education requirements for screening English learners. And again, this is just to align with state regulations. For our gifted education advisory committee, there was language that was also used to direct families back to the website. So, this is something that we're trying to push because we have made some revisions to the website to increase readability and make it more accessible for families. And so that language was added under plagiarism. This goes into more detail with what Dr. Carol was sharing about AI. So language was added to provide guidelines that determine what violations were in place for academic standards when people use artificial intelligent content. And this aligns not only with our division practice but also

045with executive order 30 for the implementation of standards for the safe use of artificial intelligence across the Commonwealth. Under our student health and safety section for child abuse, there was language that was added to align with state and federal law. In Virginia code, it requires that whenever there is any type of report of child abuse or neglect, that it is reported to child protective services and they are responsible for doing the investigation. And so there was some um mis language in that section that may have seem as though our school-based school social workers conducted that investigation, but that is not correct. So we made sure that we aligned that language with code under food services. The name for food services was changed to parallel language adopted by Virginia Department of Education. Now it's it's called

046school nutrition services and I know Cheryl Parr will be presenting to the board next month to talk about more information about that. We also have some information where language was used to talk about the process for submitting free and reduced meal applications. There's a few changes that the state made and so that was clarified in that session. Under health services, uh language was revised to clarify that clinics are staffed by registered nurses and also to clarify um how they identify symptoms of illness. If you looked in the past, we actually had that we had some of our clinics that were staffed by licensed practicing nurses, but that is not our current practice. All of our nurse all of our clinics are staffed by registered nurses. And so we had to make sure that that language

047was clarified for families. In that same section under health services medication language was added to provide clarification for the administration of medication in school. We already have procedures um that again if students have medication they're supposed to take it to the clinic. Parents are supposed to sign off for that. We just made made sure that the language mirrored our current practices for that. And then our final section was the student conduct code. under bullying, cyber bullying and reporting. We had to add some additional language to share share that artificial intelligence generate content can be considered cyber bullying if it meets that definition and it was clarified under the executive order number 30, but it's also in our acceptable use policy for the division. Under tier system of support, there was some additional language added so

048that we would align with the model policies from the Virginia Department of Education. uh they go into detail. Currently in the handbook, we talked about tier one supports, but the model policy goes into more detail about what are tier 2 supports and tier three for students when they're having difficulties with behaviors. And so that information was added to that section. But it also made sure to clarify that in addition to supports, we also have to ensure that there is disciplinary consequences issued when students violate the code of conduct. So we had to make sure that language was also fleshed out and make sure that it was included so that it would parallel our practice as well as Virginia code for level responses to student behavior. This goes back to the artificial intelligence updates. So BAP3

049which is scholastic dishonesty language was added to share that artificially generated content is also governed under this rule and there are consequences when you use that and present that as your original work. for level responses for code BSO13. There were some things that we needed to clarify as far as the unauthorized use of cell phones, smartwatches, iPads, and tablets on school property. And that goes back when compliance with Executive Order 33 establishing cell phone free education to promote the health and safety of Virginia's K12 students. It also aligns with our current AUP. Under level responses to student behavior, there were several codes that had to be revised. So BS13, which was the elementary code, BSO 11, which is a secondary code, and BSO 12, they were increased in the le level severity. Um, so that

050they would be level three offenses, meaning that students could receive up to a 10-day short-term suspension from school. This has come from a recommendation from the student code of conduct committee. When they looked at the severity and the offenses they had been witnessing over the course of the year, they felt that it did need to be higher than just a level two, which is a school-based um infraction, which would have been something like after school detention or in school suspension. They felt that suspension was warranted in some of the cases they had seen this year. So, these were increased. Virginia code allows school divisions to do it. We can be more stringent um than Virginia code. We just can't be less stringent. And so that's why that was done in this case. Under BSO5 for

051drugs, we had to add some language to clarify that sharing of control substances on school property and on school events is a violation of Virginia code. One of the things that we had in the original policy is that it just said that if you had possession, but many students sometime will possess it and give it to another student and it just was not clarified in the code. So to make sure that it was clear that it's a violation to give someone something as well um as well as have it. So we just had to make sure that was added under level responses. There was another code that was modified. So PD or persistently dangerous code three sexual assault language was added to make sure that we parallel the Virginia Department of Education definition of that

052code. So it used to be back before they made some revisions to the model policies. All of our codes align with Virginia Criminal Code and it was called the Discipline Crime and Violence Report. When they revised it back in 2019, everything now is supposed to align with the Every Student Succeeds Act and and also the BDOE guidance that they give out on an annual basis. So, we just had to add some language to really clarify what a sexual assault is so that it would mirror and align with the every student to see that. uh under video surveillance u language was added to parallel federal regulations in the family educational records protection act known as furpa concerning the use of video and photo images um when students are in our school and at school events. So

053when they're in our buildings you know all of our schools are equipped with a closed caption video camera surveillance system but there are certain guidelines when you use that in certain circum circumstances that then becomes a student record. So, we had to make sure that information was provided to families and that we did align that information with federal regulations. Also, for behavioral threat assessments, so in all of our schools, we're required by Virginia Code that the superintendent is to ensure that we have a threat assessment team that evaluates and examines whenever there's any type of verbal, electronic, or physical threat to students or staff. Uh this language was not in the handbook, so it was added to the handbook to make sure that we're aligning with both Virginia code, but also our practice because we've

054had threat assessment teams uh for many years in York County. This isn't something new. It's just something that was not in the handbook before. So, thank you for this opportunity to present proposed revisions to the 2526 student handbook. I'm available for questions at this time. I have a question. Um this is not directly related to this but it's kind of indirectly related. Um you had some supporting documentation to accompany um your slides and one of them is the uh general information and notifications. Under that on page seven under driving and parking it references the code of Virginia requires students to provide evidence of a valid driver's license or privilege card before officials can issue a parking pass on school property. How long have we had that in place? Do you know roughly? I believe the

055general assembly I believe passed back in 2021. Yes, ma'am. So that's what the Virginia code said and it was 2021. So we've had it in place then. Do you know if I mean is that practice being adhered to in the schools for looking at these um driver license before issuing to your knowledge? Yes ma'am. So Dr. Hartley in my office, he works very closely with all of the high schools and they had to make sure that they had revised application forms that when students applied that they not only filled out the form, but they had to make sure they put down the numbers on those applications. So, it's a very um intentional process that's put in place and it's form driven. So, students do not get or should not be receiving parking passes on our

056campuses unless that form has been filled out and they have verified that that student has the credentials that have been stipulated in the code. I just want to confirm. I mean, I know my son was here during that time and he had to show his license and go through that process as well as my neighbors who were driving age, but I just wanted to verify and thank you for that. Anybody else have any questions for Dr. Butler? Oh, good. Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. Thank you, Dr. Butler. All right. We have Yeah. Our next uh presentation is the FY2327 strategic plan student connections update and uh Miss Huddedler is going to present this information to you. So I'll turn it over to Michelle. Thank you so much. Thank you Dr. Shandor. Madame

057Chair and members of the board, I am very thrilled to have the opportunity to talk to you this evening about student connections and the benefits of student participation in clubs, activities, and sports. And so of course student connections is a key performance indicator from the supportive culture priority of our strategic plan. Learning environment is one of three areas of focus. Accentuating a positive student centered learning environment through student voice, access to instruction, and school connections in a safe, supportive, and well-maintained environment. This evening's focus is on student connections, but later in this presentation, I will talk to you about student voice and school culture points of data that were integrated to help shape a more comprehensive picture of a positive school environment. And I'm happy to address any questions that you have at the end

058of the presentation. And you can see featured on this slide, the Queens Lake Middle School K9 Club. So why is this a priority? You can see that uh the national center on safe supported learning environment says that there is a strong connection between school climate and academic achievement of students. Some of the benefits of being involved in a club or activity or sport is improved academics. Of course we we love to see them um improving their socialization skills and increased attendance which is a correlation to what Dr. Butler presented back in March at the board work session with the multi-tered systems of support. Other life skills include leadership, goal setting, goal setting, and problem solving. So there are three different ways that we measure student connections. And so these three categories you can see on

059this slide. Extracurricular refers to clubs and activities that are not directly affiliated with the formal learning program. Co-curricular refers to an extension of the formal learning process such as classes like chorus, band, or even DECA through the CTE program. And then athletics and scholastic refers to any Virginia high school league league or VHSL sponsored middle and high school sports and even scholastic bowl. Featured on this slide, you can see the Queens Lake Gaming Club, which is actually sponsored by the school security officer. On this slide, uh, is a a snapshot of the data dashboard. What I'm going to do is review FY24 data in preparation to do a comparison to FY25 data, but I'm just going to train your eye as far as what is actually displayed on this snapshot. So you can see along

060the left in the white box for FY24 is the overall percentage of enrolled middle and high school students participating in school organizations, clubs, and teams. That was 67% for FY24. In the gray box, you see students with multiple connections. And again, these are middle and high school students participating in multiple to more than one um organization, clubs, and teams. In the gold box you see represented 42% of secondary students participating in extracurricular activities. Just a reminder, not affiliated with the formal learning program. In the maroon box, you see that 17% of secondary students were involved in co-curricular activities. And finally, 32% of student of secondary students in the blue box which were affiliated with athletics and scholastic. So moving now to uh extracurricular participation. You can see that the top three performing uh schools were

061York River Academy, TAB Middle School, and TAB High School. And some of these clubs involve uh fishing club, the art club, the running club, chess club, and crochet club to name a few. And some of these activities actually there are students who are very particularly interested in a a topic and will have to go through the process of finding a sponsor and then there is another process in order to get a club or activity approved. And on this slide you can see the co-curricular particip participation rates by school. Again, top three performing schools there would be Grafton Middle School, York Middle School, and tied for third, uh, Brutin High School, and TAB Middle School. Moving on now to athletics and scholastic participation. Again, this is these are the activities sponsored through the Virginia High School

062League. Top performing schools there would be Brutin High School. Tied for second, Grafton High School and York High School. And third would be Tab High School. And this is a snapshot of participation by demographics. Um this is important. This is an important slide for us. Um we have typically taken this information. Principles have taken this information and they're able to kind of go into that that systems of support that um Dr. Butler had spoken about earlier. So when we see that we want our students connected and when we review academic data as well, we look at our school improvement plans and we see where we might need to help support um different uh types of students. This is where we uh really focus. The other piece to this is, and I'll get to this a

063little bit later, too, is we send that type of information. We pull a report, send the information every four and a half weeks. Dr. Shandor and I actually review that sends principles to see that they are a breast of the information and that they have reflections that they have to submit to us and come up with next steps. And so I just want to take a moment and applaud the efforts of our administrators, our teachers, staff and coaches who sponsor a club activity or sport. As you can see on this slide, some of our uh clubs and activities are multilevel as evidenced by the Grafton High School DARE elementary school mentor club. And again, some some schools create new clubs based on student interest. Although many sports club and activity sponsors may receive a stipen,

064many of our sponsors purely do it by volunteer. They understand the importance of being involved with students and they do that of their own time. And you can also see the Yorktown Middle Environmental Club. So that was secondary. And now we'll delve into elementary school. And on this slide, you can see the Seabird Elementary Military Kids Club. Okay. So for elementary school, I'll just review again. Um the dashboard for elementary school looks a little bit different, not quite as involved, but for FY24, we had 43 students overall connected in elementary. And again, this also shows the um breakdown by demographics. And finally, you see the extracurricular participation by school. Now I'm going to point out there's an elephant in the room. You can see that Dare Elementary School and also Seafford Elementary School have very

065high percentages and that is because they've come up with very creative ways to build uh clubs and activities during the school day. Now, you might say, "Oh my goodness, we're not taking away from instructional minutes um from any any type of in in any type of way." Because we have we have exceeded instructional minutes outlined by the state. These two schools have established creative ways to come up with times. Um an example would be say the student advisory club. Um I know that principal Nagel uh she pulls them periodically to do some problem solving within the school. They're also part of committees in the school and and serve handinhand with some teaching staff. So and if you can recall too we featured that in the October accent on academics. So that's one of the creative

066ways that were able to fit those clubs into the school day. And so that lead that led us to the following strategies and action steps. So in October 2023, the first three points that you see in in green with the check mark were uh strategies that we implemented starting in October 2023. First of all, we needed to ensure that the data that we had in Aspen was accurate. And what we did was we built in um periodic checkpoints during principal meetings to accentuate the fact that we needed deadlines for people to be able to get that data into Aspen. So for example, if I'm a coach, I need to make sure that I have the names entered into Aspen for the different sports teams. And that goes for clubs and activities as well. And that's

067really important because our middle and elementary schools often offer quarterly clubs and activities. So you don't have to belong to one club the entire year. You can switch your offerings every quarter which offers a a variety of uh experiences for students. The second point is that we needed to monitor student connections data. Again going back to what I spoke about previously was that we sent this data every four and a half weeks. So students student connections data, we sent chronic absenteeism rates, we sent discipline data and I'm missing one more the DF list. So the academic piece so the multi-tiered systems of support data along with DNF rate in English or math and those were sent out and again principles had to take that information they needed to connect with their student connections coaches as

068far as are we connecting the right students do we need to do more to reach more students in particular um reporting categories and so they had to give us reflections and I will tell you the evolution of how detailed these reports and reflections have come back to us are actually very impressive. Um the third point was the student connections coaches which is I mean they do an amazing job looking at the data with their principles trying to get students connected especially when you talk about reviewing attendance data. We need to give our students a reason to come to school. And of course, prim the primary focus is academics, but if we can get them caught in, hey, let's go, let's go do the fishing club, then we can start to work on those academic pieces

069while building those relationships with those sponsors. And so the fourth point, I was happy to collaborate with Dr. Aaron Butler and Dr. Doug Hartley in the student services department. We talked about the student connections data. That was one piece, but we didn't want to just look at that in isolation anymore. We wanted to look at a more comprehensive view. So, one of the things that we did is uh they were able to provide in March the Power 10 school climate survey um that was distributed to students. So, then we were able to pull that out. Now, that hasn't had a formal presentation yet. So, I don't want to jump the gun and and put that information up for you. That'll be at a later presentation. So we had the student connections then we had the

070school climate survey and then we also did a student voice survey in during the months of fee during the month of February. And so this survey the principles took a small group of students approximately 15 students and the survey was designed so that it asked them questions like rank the top attributes that you think an effective teacher should have and so they were able to answer that. They did the same with administrators. What do you think administrators what what characteristics should administrators have? It also asked what what activities do I enjoy most at school? And so they were able to answer that. But it also asked the student what is my primary role at the school? And so I was happy to see that so many of the uh free response answer answers were I

071need to do my work and I need to to get better at learning. And so that was really great. So we took those three things and and kind of triangulated that data in order to come up with some next steps. So in our March principles meeting, we were able to provide all of that data to the principles. And then I said, well, it's March. We still have time until the end of the school year. Let's come up with some next steps right now. And so it's important for them to share that information with their faculty. But not only that, going back to those student advisory groups where those students are plugged in to solutionoriented thinking, have them be a part of the process. And so we'll have an update on that at the principal meeting

072on Wednesday to see where they are. But in addition, the last part that we are going to have, and I think I'm jumping the gun, but um the last part we will have is we're going to develop that into a school climate goal um for the following school year. And I'll talk to you a little bit about that, too. Okay. So, what was the data for this past school year, you may ask? So this is the dashboard for secondary students. It's the same dashboard that I showed you before, but this is for FY25. And I am happy to report that in all categories down the left hand side, all of them increased except for athletics and scholastic, which was down just 1 percentage point, but overall connected up two percentage points. Multiple connections up four

073percentage points. Extracurricular was up by 8 percentage points. and co-curricular was up by a percentage point. Um the highlights in the participation by demographics uh economically disadvantaged increased by 5 percentage points and students with disabilities increased by 8 percentage points. schools to celebrate. Grafton High School increased extracurricular participation by 20 percentage points and York River Academy, TAB Middle School, and Queens Lake Middle School all have the top extracurricular participation. And so in the elementary school, overall students connected went up by 8 percentage points. And so I want to just applaud uh Coventry Elementary School who in increased their club participation by 21 percentage points. And again you can see that um DARE and uh Seafford still have that built into the school day. Yorktown Elementary Grafton and Bethl and Tab elementary schools increased their extracurricular

074participation by at least 14 percentage points. So, a lot of dedication on the part of the principles, the staff, the faculty and um coaches. So, I kind of went into detail with this, so I won't take a whole lot of time with it talking about triangulating that data for for our next steps for this next school year. where I want to call your attention. I've talked to you about student advisory, taking that information to student advisory to problem solve for the remainder of this year, but I'd like the school leadership teams to develop a school climate goal for the FY26 school improvement plan by triangulating that data and coming up with a goal for FY26. And to con conclude my presentation, I'd like um to just uh let you know that we have a video

075featuring the Waller Mill Elementary School melody makers. And that's kind of dipping into collective commitment because this is a partnership with the Williams Williamsburg Youth Orchestra, the Williamsburg Regional Library, and the Williamsburg Community Foundation. So, I hope you enjoy. Hi, I'm Tanya Song, the executive director of Williamsburg Youth Orchestra. WIO's afterchool outreach program is called Melody Makers. It offers free violin instructions 2 hours per week currently at Wallill Elementary School. WIO's vision is to expand this program to our local schools. Thanks to our partnership with Williams Regional Library, students have 3D printed violins to use in the classroom. I'm Mrs. Chenin. I'm a violist with the Williamsburg Symphony and I teach violin class here at Waller Mill Elementary and for the very first time for me too we are using uh 3D printed violins. I

076am Benstrom and I am program services director here with the Williamsburg Regional Library and we are in the program services workroom today which is where I make all the violin parts. This program introduces students to the joys and benefits of music at a fundamental level, offering pathways to progress as their ability and interests grow. I like violin club because we get to have fun in it and we can learn new notes. I really enjoy playing the swallow jig because my best friend taught me. My favorite song is Oh to Joy because I like the notes. Sometimes I have to pause and think, wow, this is where I started. Melody Makers. Hi, I'm And that concludes my presentation on student connections. I'm happy to take any questions you may have at this time. Well, I'm going

077to start with a statement. Uh, I wasn't able to attend their little concert, but I I was there when they had a uh a practice. Fortnite I heard him play Oud Joy and some others and I mean when you think about the inventiveness of let's do 3D violins you know I mean how cool is that uh and it it's a great program but you know on another note whenever we go into student disciplinary hearings and Mr. Dr. Dr. Butler can attest to this. The very first question I ever ask is what are you involved in in school? Correct. Okay. And the vast majority of them are not involved in anything. So if we can establish those connections to the school through clubs, through sports, whatever, theater, whatever. Yes. Whatever it takes. And and you're absolutely

078right in the sense of and in that student voice survey, it did ask, are you connected to an adult in the school? And so really wanting to know that people have somebody that they can go to. I think parents really feel better about the fact that parents can't be with their children at school, but do you have that person that you can rely on at school? So there and uh see for they like I said they find creative ways to engage their students. Is there something that we can do as a division learn from them and kind of spread it across? I I knew you were going to ask that question and so I was baffled about you know do you you highly encourage you cannot make someone do that but the other thing is

079if they are utilizing let's say that they are working on a particular area for um you know so needs or literacy needs and they feel like they need to spend more time with that then I'm not going to discourage someone from you know spending the time wisely but it's certainly worth a look and we We certainly want to share those ideas and continue to have conversations about it doesn't have to look exactly like it does at Deer or Sea, but what could it look like at my school and make it make it your own? So, great question. I think this is it's it's really nice that we're offering so many different things. I know when I was going through school, I was a joiner uh for the different things. So, so was our son. Um,

080I do have questions when when you talk to a student who isn't um that type of joiner because some kids are shy and that's their natural state. I want to make sure that we're not pressuring them or anything or making them feel that, well, I have to do this. No, we certainly won't guilt our kids into these things or push them into it. It's really trying to find a natural connection, a natural fit, finding out what their interests are. Um, you when when you when you walk down the hall at York High School, outside of their cafeteria, there's just a you there there's a list of of clubs and that number has grown significantly in the last probably three or four years, especially with this new strategic plan that we've really put some emphasis on

081this. So, couldn't be more proud of the work that our not just our principles are leading, but quite honestly, it's every adult in the building. So when you have a security guard leading clubs at your schools, that's a win. I mean, it's an absolute win. And you know, there's there's kids that we will continue to reach. The other part is, you know, we have a high mobility rate due to the military. So as kids are, you know, coming into us where we're having to get to know them pretty quickly at Bethl Manor Elementary or Tab L or Tab Middle um or TAB High School specifically. So certainly not pressuring them, but trying to find a way for them to feel comfortable and want to come to school. I guess I was just kind of concerned

082looking at, you know, we're focusing so much on data and increasing this and increasing this and increasing this that it doesn't turn into that pressure. I I think that you know it's nice to look at the data but then when you look at how it's broken down for example I'll go back to that student advisory group that um principal Nagel runs that is such a small intimate group of kids that she has definitely talked about how this person may not have had the confidence that they needed but they see their value in being connected in such a way that it you know some clubs and activities are huge like you think about your sports teams being these huge teams. Not everybody is wired that way. And so it's not about the percentage. Of course, we

083like to look at that as a a way to see um measure progress, but it really is about the creative and innovative ways that staff and administrative staff, faculty create these ways so that students feel like, "Oh, they care about what I like." You know, that's fantastic. that's the area and it's not any no one is pressuring you have to be in this club. It's hey talk to me a little bit more about what you're interested in so we can give you a reason to be you know plugged in at school. Students are in the schools far longer than they are at home. So we want that to be a second home to them. Okay. And the other question I had was and I remember this from teaching full-time. I was um one of the

084adviserss for um yearbook one year in another school division and then did uh for student government at Tab Middle. Um, I'm concerned about the weight being put on the shoulders of the teachers because they're already handling so much with with doing their lesson plans and doing planning for, you know, multiple classes and then making sure that the students are preparing and doing everything for the SOS and you know that improvement. Um, you only have so many hours in the day and so much energy. How how is that divided out amongst faculty and and the expectations? I think part of understanding that is that the majority high high high high percentage of the teachers or staff they want to do the these are their interest areas. These are their right I mean I was going to

085say when I when I taught I was sea sponsor I I sponsor different um sophomore class senior class all those things it's you see the incredible value in knowing these students outside of the classroom and what talents they bring to the table just being there for students. So I was there at the games anyways. I was, you know, participating and attending because that's what we do as responsible educators. It doesn't mean that you go to someone and force them to do anything that they don't want to do. They they really have a true interest in the development of the whole student, which is extremely important to us. Yeah. Is is there a quota that the teachers are told you need to sponsor at least one thing or anything like that? No, no, no quota. Yeah,

086I'm I'm I need to attend the knitting club because I'd love to know where that is. Crochet club. Sorry, crochet club. Yeah. No, there's no no pressurees put on them. And I think that our teachers and staff actually when we rolled out this strategic plan, so many folks came to us and said, "This absolutely makes sense. You know, you have to you have we I mean I have teenagers and one who went to college. you know the that yes they have to go to school yes they have to take all their classes but they also have to feel connected to the adults there and being connected to the adult there doesn't have to just be about you know talking about the class that I'm taking or the paper that's due it should be about other

087opportunities and you know if you ever if you have an opportunity to get to a a theater performance or a musical in our schools you really get to see a collection of kids that they're not just all you uh particularly theater theater kids there there's some theater kids there you have some athletes there you have students who are working the lights the sound the you know stage crew the whole deal so what an awesome example of a way to get kids involved that's just one small you know one small activity that happens at a school but I don't know when you think about that I think our our staff has jumped at the opportunity of oh I do woodworking and I can show kids who are interested in this this or you know the gaming

088piece. Absolutely. Fishing club. Fishing club was a great example. I I you know coach Rush who's at York Middle as a teacher at TAB High School started the fishing club. He thought he was going to have 10 to you know 12 kids show up and there were like 95 that showed up. So we had to contact Miss Skinner who knows some folks at some marinas and some other things and and it was awesome. They donated tons of equipment to use. So it's it's to me this is a difference maker in getting kids to come to school. Right. It's it it 100%. Y not about the numbers, it's about the children. Y good job. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Great job. All right. Uh we have two um presentations left and next is going to

089be our 2627 calendar survey report and Miss Goff is going to share some information related to that. Miss Goff. Dr. Shann, good evening. So, it was back in January that we spoke to the board, Dr. Butler and Miss Beasley spoke to the board about our calendar development. So, very quickly before we get into the survey results, wanted to share again the background of how we got to be discussing our a change to our student calendar. beginning with 2019 when the general assembly approved the law that allowed school divisions who did not previously have a waiver to begin prior to Labor Day that they could begin up to 14 calendar days prior to Labor Day so long as the Friday before Labor Day remained a non-instruction day. YCSD was one of the first in the area,

090if not the first, to implement a pre-LOR day start in 2021. uh we went with the seven days prior at that time which was actually fell on I think August 30th of that school year. So in that discussion the board members at that time through all those discussions indicated an interest in us eventually pursuing the full opportunity available to us with the full 14 days. So in January again Dr. Butler and Miss Beasley as they shared the 202526, they provided the board with two potential options uh for starting the 26 27th school year up to 14 days earlier. Be noting that this is an optimal opportunity with Labor Day falling on September 7th. It gave us more time within the summer to adopt that implementation again. And then with the consensus of the board during

091that meeting um we wanted to move we move forward with the stakeholder survey to gain additional feedback to guide the board in their next deliberations. So those results now I can share with you that we u had the survey available from March 13 through March 23rd to promote interest and participation. It was communicated in the YCSD digest. Our school's weekly newsletters continued to share the survey while it was open. It was posted on all division school websites and our social media accounts. And then just prior to the March 23rd closing date, we sent a text reminder. We had about just over 2,200 total responses. And as you can see broken down there, 65% of the participants are families identified themselves as families. And then we also have the separate categories where if you are an

092employee with no children currently enrolled in the division and then employee with students enrolled. So you can see that nice mix. Also breaking it down, we saw that there was strong representation across elementary, middle, and high school uh families and staff in there. So let's move in to the first question that our respondents were offered the opportunity to provide feedback on. So we asked the participants to identify their preferences for two calendar options. Option A being the start on August 24th, which would be a similar start date to this current school year as well as the 25 26 school year, but it would be two weeks prior to Labor Day. Ending on or around it was a tentative start date with like a little more leeway on the end date. And I'll get more into

093why we say end on or around June 9th for that one. And then option B, August 31st, beginning a week prior to Labor Day, ending on or around June 16th. And in those results, you can see option A did have 59% of respondents indicating as a preference with about 7% saying they it really was not a preferred option for them. They could go either way. Then the next question we wanted to find out because this is an impact about what those proposed or tentative end dates are was between an 11week summer break with fewer student holidays during the year. And that would bring you back to pre20 2020 calendars. That was kind of standard that we had an 11week summer. Then it was a 10-week summer break with a few additional student holidays during the

094school year and a nine-week summer with more student holidays throughout the year. And then of course, as always, they could indicate no preference. So we did have a higher percentage uh looking at that 10 week and then almost like a split between make it longer, make it shorter in that 11 or nine weeks. From there all participants were given the opportunity to provide any open-ended suggestions, comments or feedback. And we saw some similar trends that we have seen in previous years. That would be the twoe winter break with three weekends. That has been a consistent feedback we have received um about our calendar. Then again, another trend that we hear often is alignment with regional calendars. And it's important to share that right now on that alignment feature. We know that Hampton City Schools has

095already released a proposal that would bring them back to school in 2026 27 on August 24th. And we understand other school divisions calendar committees are investigating and exploring the option now as well. So next school year will be a time where more will be determining which direction they're going. And then we also found a trend that um they wanted to it it aligns with that response of 10 weeks the 10 week summer break as I shared many years ago it was more of an 11week break and then over the last two to three years we have added in we've sprinkled in a few additional days. You can think of the October date that was added in the January wasn't this year, but in a previous school year, we had the January work days coming out

096of winter break and then a March work day um replacing those from the early release days. And so the data, the open-ended comments show that our families and our staff found that the breaks during the school year supported their well-being. It supported the ability to get work done, taking some stress off because they had those opportunities throughout the year. And um I think it's important to show that this is why the other part is. So when we added in the January or the October or the March, it pushed the last week of the school year into a half week. So really right now we've been doing a 10 and a half week summer. And we have gotten some feedback that that partial week, we know that attendance-wise, the partial week can create issues for us.

097And it also becomes an issue I think with some child care, some daycare camps, other things that don't allow you to start midweek. So, I think our families were looking for that more solid ending that we used to have to the school year going through a week instead of ending on a Tuesday. So, those were some of the feedback we got there. And we did again a request in several of the comments to bring back the Monday after winter break. That was a very popular move for our staff to have those days, but it doesn't align every so that is the data that we have. And then we look at our next steps. Uh we began with having the calendar committee come back together recently. They reviewed the data that we had and then they

098worked through a modified potential problem analysis or potential opportunity analysis where they looked at what can we gain if we make a switch to the additional week early. What does that do for us academically with um IB and AP courses the international balora advanced placement where we know that their test dates are across the board they're set so districts across the country and across Virginia who can begin earlier than us their students are further into the curriculum before our students are when those tests come along they looked at those as well as other um obstacles or issues we might need to address prior to adopting it. So the hope was tonight to get the board's consensus of a tentative start date for the 26 27 calendar when be continue looking at the August 24th or

099look at August 31 so that the committee we could a communicate in our next digest which would go out this week to our families to say we are working towards one or the other and then that the calendar committee could come back in August and immediately begin work so that we could bring a draft calendar the to the board as early in the school year as possible. So that those are the results and Dr. Butler and I are both willing to answer any questions, able to answer any questions you have about the calendars. So this year Labor Day is falling deep into the September following year. How would that look? So it's the 2026. So the 20 this upcoming school year that I believe Labor Day is around the second, third, it is the following

100year. So about every six years, Labor Day falls as late that very last possible date that it could fall. And this is where we're approaching again. So ideally, um, if we were to ever make a switch, we know that we would want to do it at a time where the summer would be its potentially longest. That allows more time for summer academy, which is another factor that we looked at, but we would have to make sure we have time for our summer programs, for our summer constructions, and all of that. So that is why in looking at it, the fact that se the Labor Day falls as late as it does in September makes it a lower impact year to make the change. Not that there won't be impact. But then from that point on,

101even if Labor Day falls on the first, it would then be two weeks prior to that if that was if that was the way the region and the school district chose to continue. Yes. Right now it's only Hampton is the one that committed to the they have committed to a draft that my understanding as well sir right yes similar to they would take it to their boards where they've done a draft that they have presented um to share that's not something that they have totally voted on to move forward with yet. Do we have indication Newport News what they're going to do because the new horizon follows the Newport News calendar. So when the regional calendar committee um got together, they they try to make sure that they do annual calendars, but they they do

102want to have conversation because of multi-year. So they're having the same discussion. So they're waiting to get feedback from us to see what direction we were leaning in. Um Newport News has a similar process, but they're a little they're not on the same um speed that we are right now. They're still trying to figure out a couple of dynamics, but they do look for input from us, from Williamsburg, and also from Gloucester. Same thing with the governor's school. Have they set theirs or they're they're just looking at it now? So they would be following the lead of the school districts once we moved and I will share the year that we moved we were the we went out alone. I remember that we went we went there. Uh it it there were some challenges of

103course um with students but currently the way the new horizon's calendars work this actually would not because if we began and they did not students would not be missing any and they typically do end at a time frame okay that they would still be done when our school start. So if so when this occurred um five six years ago when we first did this the we began and a week later New Horizons began. So our students who are in those programs simply went to school for their portion of their day that they were at their home school in York County at the end of the school year. New Horizons programs end about a week prior to the rest so that they can complete all their work. So it actually works out if that had to

104happen that they they would end at the same time as their current. It would not extend beyond our ending. But if we starting a week later, then that would if we began a week later and Newport News and Hampton both made the switch, Newport the New Horizons, my understanding, am I speaking correctly, they would follow two of the three, if two of the three school districts with the largest participation shift their calendars or are open or closed on any given day of a school year. How snow days, right? Yes, it applies to any. Yeah. We also have a lot of students who are in virtual Virginia. Virtual Virginia starts sooner than we do every year. Right now it's about two weeks. Dr. Kel, next year I think I mentioned it to you when I was

105sharing about the high flex classrooms. They'll be two weeks ahead of us. So this would allow us to have our students to start a little sooner because our students who are enrolled in virtual Virginia actually begin their classes before they actually step foot to start their two weeks earlier. That means like beginning of August they're starting school. Not beginning of August. usually at the end of at least the end of the first week. So sometime in the second week, second to third week is the latest they would start and the same will happen with our dual enrollment courses and that could change but right now that's been their pattern. That's because the schools out west start early because of the snow and stuff. Right. Correct. And I know the goal of the board back in

106the day was to originally try to bring us back two weeks and we knew we'd have to do it in increments because there were more positive or pros than there were cons and starting the school year earlier with for example the IB program was one example and that the board has some extensive discussions about it then but we knew we'd have to do it in increments. Um I mean I'm okay especially with the survey even being to proceed with the calendar committee to continue to look at the earlier start date the option A starting on the 24th one 24th. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's great. I mean I wanted I I want to vote according to like what what did the students the teachers the parents lot what works for them. Um and it seems

107like that's and it is about the same level of participation we've had in previous calendar surveys. We know that any change you make to the calendar, there will be those who favor it and those who do not. Absolutely. But if if that is right, so I believe we've heard from two just to get the consensus again tentative. This does not have board approval until you vote on it. It could change. Yeah, we could get something from the calendar committee that certainly amends this and says, "Oh, this isn't a good idea." And we'd want to hear it. So certainly, right? And just a quick question on like on a 10 week nine week some breaks uh with a few and more of the student holidays like know right now they're on this schedule of 10 week

108it's currently 10 weeks and two days with this calendar um one two years ago this prior school year we had um two days that we went beyond and and creeped in past the 11 week and again what the feedback is telling us is they're seeing the value of that. They originally the sentiment was if we began early, let's end early, a week early, but now they are starting to see the value of being able to have a break or whether it be a student staff workday or even a full holiday for all staff in those time frames in October and March that if we do not provide if we try to end at the 11week mark, you lose those two days. We we just can't do them all. So I think people are starting to

109come along to see the value of and interestingly enough amongst the students the um the 10 week we saw we broke down and looked at the various categories and 10 weeks with more holiday. Like this school year resembles that this school year. So the be 25 26 or the current one we're in current that we this summer I believe will be 10 and a half 10 weeks and two days okay is what the summer as far as the student holidays student for it's a student summer break they would have 10 weeks and two days before we begin the next school year and it will be the same the summer of 2026. It wouldn't be this till the summer of 2027 that we could if the calendar committee recommended it adopt those additional two days and

110go to just a 10 week. Chris going back to what you said on the percentage I saw that you know students had input into this too. I mean was this something any student who wanted to have input could click on? They could typically speaking um depending on the topic. So we had about a hundred students participate but it wasn't like select it wasn't a random selection. It was open to open to anyone who saw it on the website, saw it on our accounts. The reason why I asked is because when I when I did my town hall, I know that this that was a question that they had asked and and I know that we give them ample opportunity for input. Um I was kind of surprised that nobody nobody else had said, you know,

111oh well, I got to, you know, for because this was in May and that that was or excuse me, April and that was survey was in March. So it may might be worthwhile as the calendar committee comes back next year to try and get additional feedback when we're doing that simply because I believe that issuing a survey in March of 2025 for a 26 27 calendar might have been too much for um for folks to like put yourself that far out. Yeah. But part of it is we always want you we always we've struggled in the past to get the calendar out early enough. Right. So that's sort of the that's the thing that the community will say was, you know, you guys wait forever to put the school calendar. Now we're trying to get

112two years ahead of it. Yeah. And we're too early. You know, we're asking too early. So, you know, it's one of those. It's a delicate balance. We're trying to get their attention. So, do we have consensus? Are you all okay with us moving forward to at least begin investigating? Works. Okay. Thank you very much. Wonderful. Thank you. We have uh we have reached the seventh presentation of the evening and as you know, we saved the best for last. So, um Dr. Dr. Kaggel who promised not to come back to you uh related to the program of studies a few months ago. Um she does have some information to share tonight. So I'll let Dr. Kaggel share. Thank you so much. You are welcome. Good evening madame chair, members of the board. Um I'm here tonight

113to bring to you a slight change um to next year's program of studies. You may recall that back in January uh Dr. Evans, our coordinator for school counseling, and I shared with you some changes to the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps courses due to House Bill 98. That's the last time I'm going to say Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps courses tonight, just to shorten this presentation, it's going to be JOTC. Okay. Um, so since that time, our school counselors have been extremely busy enrolling students for next year. And they've discovered a few things that have resulted from the proposal and the approval of what happened in January. And I want to share that with you tonight. So this is just a slide that we shared with you in January. I just wanted to refresh your

114memory on House Bill 98 where the bill states that students who participate in JOTC can use as a fulfillment for any physical education requirement for graduation. So, VDOE or Virginia Department of Education provided us with some guidance at that time saying that if we um used um the JOTC course to fulfill the physical education requirement, then we needed to offer a separate health course. So, that's what we proposed back in January. And if you remember, we proposed two health courses, health 9 and health 10. Those are semester courses. So instead of meeting the PE and health graduation requirement, this takes care of the health part of that. These two courses, if you remember correctly, and these are only for our students who are participating in JOTC who want to count JOTC as a physical education

115graduation requirement. So would otherwise they would count that JOTC as an elective CTE elective. Okay. Exactly. So what we adopted were those health new health courses but also that JOTC1 if a student selects could fulfill the PE9 requirement for graduation and JOTC2 would fulfill the PE10 requirement. So, um, as I stated that our school counselors have been busy enrolling students and what they have found out is there are some implications to this. So, you'll see the implications on the left. So, if our students choose for JOTC1 and JR and to choose JOTC 1 and two to fulfill those PE requirements, then they also have to take those health semester courses. So they're actually earning three credits. Now if they're just a nonJRTC student, it only takes them two credits to fulfill that. So So that

116provided some inequity. So also because they're counting JOTC3 as a CTE elective, then to count as a sequential elective for graduation that they're starting that in 11th grade. So if they all of a sudden change their mind and maybe JOTC isn't the sequential elective they want to do and they want to do maybe cyber security or programming or something that doesn't they they kind of are late to start on that pathway. So that was another that was another concern by the school counselors. And the last bullet there isn't really about graduation requirements but I think it's something you should be aware of. Every year we report to the state our uh number of CTE finishers and it that requires students to take two CTE sequ um sequential electives except for JOTC. They have to take

117three in order to be counted as CT finishers if they're taking JOTC. And if they're counting one and two as PE, they can't count those as CTE. So they can't meet that um CTE finisher requirement. So why is it three for J Oc. That's just requirement. Yeah, it's just a state. It's written in there. And yes, I'm not sure why. I looked. I promise you I looked to see if there was a reason, but I did not see that. So, so as you see on the left, that's what we proposed in January and adopted that JOTC1 would count as a PE9 one credit. JOTC2 would be PE10 and then the health would be two semesters that would count as another credit. So that again as I stated our students our JRTC students who opt to

118go this way are earning three credits where previous you know our other students only earn two. So with our new proposal we want to fix this and what we want to do is JOTC1 we want to count um to fulfill PE9 and PE10. We looked at the standards by taking those health standards out and teaching them in a separate course along with driver's education. Um we're able to teach the PE9 and the PET10 standards in JOTC1. So that will mean that our ROC students will will take two years of health and PE just like our non JOTC students. They'll get it in one year. They'll get the PE in JOTC1. Yes. Right. And then JOTC2 can be counted as a CTE elective. So then they can do both. Yes. I was wondering like how can

119you get around that? Okay. Yes. And that will help with those sequential electives or if they change their mind. So that kind of you know earning having to earn three credits as we see on the left that really took away an elective credit for them. So we don't we don't want to do that. So um you're going to re you have a red line of this change in the program of studies and the documents that we shared on board docs and it will come before you um in consent um next week. So it just I just wanted to share with you so you would understand but I'll be glad to answer any additional questions that you have and I promise the last if not she'll be back June 2nd. Yeah that's it. Yeah. Thank you

120Dr. K. That's that's good. Thank you very [Music] much board. At this time we are going to have brief presentation uh by Dr. Carol kind of just a review and then we're going to have some discussion. Thank you Carol. Thank you board. Um yeah as as um madam chair said Dr. Shandor asked Dr. Dr. Butler and I to give you a quick summary as a preface to your discussion tonight. And so u just a broad timeline. Uh in the fall we had public comments and information shared by Mrs. Lacader and her associates and some of that included information we had not seen or heard before. Uh we then received in the early winter a written request for a name change for McGreder Elementary. And later in the winter, Dr. Butler and I reviewed and verified

121some of that information that included a visit to the swim library at William and Mary and um and then just followed some other kind of leads, if you will, from from those documents. And then in the spring, specifically March 12th, we submitted a report to Dr. Shandor and to uh the chairwoman and um you all I believe it was at the March regular meeting, you know, set a schedule for a discussion tonight. So I'll turn it over to Dr. Butler just to kind of hit the highlights of the report summary of the report that we um submitted. Thank Carol. And so as Dr. Carol had shared, we did engage in some investigation. We started first with the York County um footprints book that was published back in 1983. It was a collection that was done

122by current educators, retired teachers, also some community members in York County and Williamsburg, as well as some assistance from a professor from Old Dominion University. When we reviewed that document that tried to chronicle the history of public education here through 1983, they mentioned McGrder, but they did not give the origin for where the name came from. that was not included. Um, and then of course we did receive the documents that Mrs. Lassador had presented to the board. Uh, we reviewed those at the swim library. So all those things that were in the Smith paper, we were able to verify those documents uh by working with swim library. When we continued to do some additional limited investigation, there was multiple schools that were named McGrder. Some were just called McGrder School and then later McGrder Elementary

123School that and then there was of course the Fort McGrder uh school that was run uh by the federal government back in 1860s. Um and as it says when we looked at the sources so Fort McGrder itself um the source John John McGrder who was a general Confederate army was the one that uh that fort was named after. And then of course York County, they start operating a school in that McGrder area uh which was taken over by Camp Perry uh later on. But that area there's they give a description of a place called Bigler's Mill and different areas in that McGrder zone which is current like I said Camp Perry occupied property now. Uh and so then York County did open a McGrder school on the current site in 1951. uh that was still

124in operation when the footprints book was published in 1983. Uh in 1954 um there was a back to school article that showed several schools that were being built uh in York County. Uh they included that at the McGrder school site there were some additional classrooms being added to that building. They also shared that there was a building James Weld and Johnson which is current Yorktown Middle School but that was being built at that time and then Frederick Douglas Elementary School which is the um Griffin Yates um center now up in the Brutin zone and they provided pictures for that. Um on the picture for the McGrder School it did say that the school was named after Confederate general. They did mention when we went to the swim library that back in the 1950s when construction

125of these buildings were under replaced there was some heightened racial tension in the country uh due to some things going off the civil rights movement. So as as we said this was a limited investigation but we did reach a conclusion and first there is the fact that every school in the history of that footprints document other than James W. Johnson and Frederick Douglas did not have full names and therefore the only conclusion we could reach was that McGrder was not directly named and I mean directly named for the general. However, u all other indications are that the school was named for either Fort McGrder or the village of McGrder that was displaced by Camp Perry. The fort in the area were most likely named for the Confederate general. Therefore, the conclusion is that the school

126is indirectly named after General John B. McGrder. And that was the conclusion that we reached. We're happy to take any questions, but otherwise uh the discussion is yours. I also wanted to point out that um and thank you for this that those documents and their research was included in Friday notes. I don't know if you'll remember reading in Friday notes, but you could also refer to to that as well. [Music] What is community is saying about this? Any words as a whole? Um, all we can we have not heard anything other than the public comments that you've heard. So, we we don't have a sense of the community as a whole. I've gotten a I've gotten a couple emails. you know, you you probably seen I think they were sent as to the whole board.

127Maybe a couple of us got individually. Um but that was a question um you know, what does the community and that's something as a board we can look at to like do we want to do some kind of a survey? Yeah. And see kind of what what does the community say so we have more data or more information. I'd like I'd like to see one of a survey done of like the the teachers, the families and uh my district. Well, and that's the other thing. Do we just want to isolate it to McGreder or do we want to open this to I think that needs to Huh. I think that community right there, right? Yeah. Right. District one. Yeah. But the other thing to consider, this is, and I'm not one way or the other

128putting out things to consider, um, that when you change school, there's costs involved. Not that that's a highest priority. I got some emails on that, too. Yeah. But that does affect your whole community, not just the community, because everybody pays taxes that go to support the schools. So, it's just something you we have to think about as well when you think about who should we include in that. And again, I'm not saying to or not to, just something to think about. Have a question. Um, I know it was brought up several times that we have a policy that states that we cannot name a school after an individual. What policy is that? Oh, geez. I'd have to look that up, but yes. Oh, no. Actually, I think which one is it off the top of

129my Let's see. Yes, I have it. That is policy FFA that was adopted in 2012 and it says that the school board u the responsibility for schools to determine the names is with the school board. Um, school board may rename a school or school facility upon a determination that it's appropriate to do so and that the procedure would be the same as the procedure outlined above which was when you're naming to begin with and that no school shall be named after a person living or deceased. Okay. Along that line, I did some research um the fun part of being an English teacher. um and researched. I was curious about different names of schools in the division and learned that in my district is TAB and that particular area actually comes from Mary Octavia Smith Tab.

130She was born in 1845. Um she married Alexander Tab in 1871 when she was about 26 years old. She's actually gotten um kind of famous in the history areas. I want to uh see if I can order this book. She wrote a diary journal that recounted her experiences as a young teen girl during the Civil War. And parts of the book, I read one review of it. It remembers dead friends. It talks about optimism about Confederate morale. Yankees search the house. There's s Thanksgiving for victories. And apparently there's a section that discusses the morale after Gettysburg and Vixsburg. You know what you would consider someone living in that time period, what they were, you know, writing about in their diary or journal. Um her husband died at a very early age, uh leaving her with

131three children ages five and younger to care for. So she had to do something to make a living. And this was uh after the war. her brother actually ran a store that doubled as a drop off for mail across from today's Tab High School in the area and Mary Octavia Tab decided to run a post office across the road from her brother's store. Um these are just notes that I took on the research that I did. uh she used a window that opened onto her front porch as the post office window and after the war ended she was named the postmaster and this area became known as tab recognizing Mary Octavia Smith Tab that's Smith farm uh running the post office and repeating her work um I think this is a similar situation that the

132schools are named after the area but the area was named after you know recognizing an individual. So my issue with this is it we're not just looking at one school possibly that and I am not for this because it would be renaming Tab Elementary, Tab Middle and Tab High School if we interpret the McGrder that it's it wasn't after the McGrder area. It was after the McGrder individual himself who was the general that if what you do to one equal across the board in interpreting the policy, you would have to end up changing tab elementary, tab middle, and tab high for that equitable um use of that particular policy. I'm not for that because of the fact that TAB was not identified the area. We don't identify it as Mary Octavia Smith Tab. We don't

133identify the schools with her full name even though the history shows that it that name came from her. And I believe it's the same situation with the McGrder area that the area may have had that connection that you found with the pictures with an individual, but the schools were named after the area which did not have the individual's first and middle name or title or anything to it. I I would like to see us um get some feedback. I mean, I would like to see what that feedback is from the community. However, we want to direct executive team to go forward to gather that information. We decide as a board that's what we want to do. I don't know which direction, but I kind of feel like that's an essential piece that I would like

134to have before landing on a decision. I don't know what your what are your thoughts, Mark? You're part of the community. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I'm part of the community. You're right. Um I I think I'd like to get more more feedback because I've gotten it from all demographics. I've gotten uh uh emails from across the district uh that are in favor and those that are not in favor. I mean, some said, "No, I want to mcrder. I want to keep it there." you know, and it's like, uh, I understand that it's not going to change the academics in a school or the academic performance. I mean, that's been noted up in Richmond where they change the schools and performance has steadily gone down. Uh, but I think when I first came on board 2020, uh,

135and this first came up, the first person I called was Barbara Haywood. I said, "Let me call Barbara because I know that if if there was anything wrong with the name McGrder, she would have t she would have taken issue with it." and she told me that at that time that it was named for the community of McGrder uh which was an actual historic place. I mean they even had their own uh post office and stuff. So I said okay. So then that's what I told everybody. And uh um since Miss Lasser has come out with uh with some additional information and all uh I think I'd like to hear what the community says. I think it's all on your perception on you know what you look look at. You know was it named after

136the John B. Mcrder? Was it named after the area? I think I need to look at I need to look at that. I mean, it's like this and I need more information to kind and I'd like to hear the comm the whole community's feedback too before I commit to a decision as well. So, you think the whole community or Yeah, I think the whole county the county county only and and I because it may affect other schools, you know, mayffect other issues and it's it's not just people's money that does contribute to these changes. So that was my So if we do the whole survey for the whole county, can we make sure that they specifically say which county like part they're coming from? Yeah. Which district they're in district? Yeah. So I would offer

137um again this is completely your decision but we have used let the let's talk platform. We've used it for budget to get feedback. We've used it for resoning. So we have we have done these types of things before. um you know what we can do is potentially work up a draft for you of what that would look like. Um because you just mentioned you know kind of segmenting it and you know that may be a good way to do it where people can send us the information through let's talk versus if you get a survey and you're just clicking you know do you want to rename it or not no no no no or yes yes so you want to get some authentic feedback. The only question I have in relation to that is and

138I think that's a great idea but people can also send anonymous hidden and I think you have to have a real name because what stops somebody the same person from sending 20 anonymous re people who don't live in the area right so how to make a regular survey would probably be better because of that and now my question is I don't know all the in intricacies of let's talk is it possible to limit it to where you have to name let us do let us bring you a draft. I'll get with the team. I can get with Miss Goff and Mr. Short who, you know, work with Let's Talk in all of our surveys. We'll come up with a couple options for you and try to bring that to you potentially Monday. I don't want

139to promise because this is a quick turnaround. This is like five days that we have to bring it. If we can't bring it to you Monday, what we can certainly um bring it to the June 2nd meeting, okay? Because you know, we have a work session and then a backtoback, so it's gonna be a long evening. We can certainly bring you a few options there to consider. Does that work? Mr. Shandor, if we could, just to make sure we're clear. So, the the things you want to hear from that are questions about cost, questions about just their general interest in changing the name. Yeah. The community. Is there anything else that you want? I would say it would be important to let them know that if we interpret the policy with McGrder in this manner

140that it has the potential to affect three other schools, Tab Elementary, Tab Middle, and Tab High. And I have not done research on any of the other schools. So, I was mainly looking at my particular district. Yeah. If if we could if I could just suggest this if you want to um talk to me this week about I think we have three or four items to go on. Um if there's a again as you think about it this week if there's other uh ways that you want us to frame a question or whatnot. Again, we have some survey experts on how to how to ask a specific question if that makes sense. But if there's if there's a particular topic that you would like, just reach out to us during the week and we'll or

141if if you want them to send you that information. Yeah, if you could let's do that. Send it to me. That's fine. Yeah, that' be perfect. Then I can share that that way. And we'll try to get it to you Monday. I can't make any promises because there's obviously it's we have 20 days left and there's a lot going on right now. If not, if not Monday, we will certainly bring that to you to um sort of have you uh review that and we could finalize that survey before it goes out. Yes, that sounds good. Anything else on that topic? Because we want to do what's right. Okay. Right. I think this would be the best way to do it. All right. No other questions? Thank you everyone that presented tonight. I appreciate your time.

142Do you know the Memorial Day, our next regular meeting is going to be next week, Monday the 19th at your call at 700 pm. Okay. Meeting is Thank you.