001Okay. Good evening. I call to order the York County regular school board meeting for March 24th, 2025. Our first action is a consideration of a motion to amend the agenda as posted to remove matters by board members for this meeting. Do I have a motion and a second for this item? I would like to make a motion to uh amend the agenda uh to make an agenda as posted to remove ma matters by the board members from this meeting. I'll second. Okay. Discussion. Yes. I would like to speak against this. This is silencing free speech of any of the board members. And instead of teaching our students how to respectfully disagree with colleagues on the board, um, unfortunately, this is just silencing them. That if you don't like someone's speech or what they're bringing up,
002you're just going to silence them completely. And I don't think, one, that's not American. Two, that's not who we are. And three, we need to be teaching our young people um better. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Noted. All right, Miss Howard. A motion was made by Mr. Pyovich and seconded by Mr. Schaefer to remove matters by board members from the agenda for this meeting. Mrs. Fairman, no. Mr. Schaefer, yes. Mr. Pyovich, yes. And Mrs. Goodwin, yes. The motion passed three to one. Okay. Well, good evening everyone and welcome to this evening school board meeting. Um, I hope you're all enjoying the nice spring weather and I think we I can officially say it's going to be around for a little bit, but don't get too excited because you know that hot, humid weather is
003coming real soon. So, enjoy it while you can. Um, Dr. Shandor is not with us tonight. Um but he in his absence um because he's at a conference, we have the pleasure of having Dr. Jim Carroll up here with us tonight. Tonight we are also excited to be joined by some special guest, Grafton High School's outstanding athletes, also known as state champions. Thank you for being here this evening. I would now like to read you the uh YCSD mission statement. The mission of the York County Division is to ensure every student is valued, supported, and challenged through learning experiences which prepare them for a successful future. Would you please join me in one moment of silence? Now I will share some information about our pledge leader, Arman Teague, a kindergarten kindergartner at McGrder Elementary School.
004Army is an enthusiastic and respectful kindergartener at McGrder Elementary School. Army comes to school each day with a genuine smile and a positive attitude. He is always one of the first students to offer help to the teacher or to any student. He is consistently on task. He's focused and works hard. When his teacher needs anything, she knows that she can count on Army to get the job done correctly and cheerfully. Army is very busy when he's not in school. He plays goalie for his hockey team, the Yorktown Whalers. He sings in his church choir, and plays te-ball. He has a wonderful supportive family which includes his mom, dad, two sisters and a brother. His siblings all go to McGrder and his mom is a great volunteer at the school. His dad is currently serving in
005the United States Army. The Teague family is a wonderful example of hard work, kindness, and perseverance. Please stand as Army leads us in our pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, for liberty and justice for all. We are excited to recognize Grafton's Grafton High's boys indoor track team as well as a state champion swimmer. Dr. Carol, would you like to share the accomplishments of these athletes? Thank you, Mrs. Goodwin. Yes. Tonight, we are here to recognize the outstanding achievements of the Grafton High's boys indoor track state team as well as Ryan Griffith, state champion swimmer. We're incredibly proud of Grafton High's boys indoor track and field team for making school history by capturing their first ever
006indoor state championship. The victory was a full team effort with points being scored in every area of competition, sprints, middle distance, distance, field events, and relays. With points earned in 15 different areas, every athlete played a role in this achievement. individual standouts that accounted for 47 points. First of all, Aaron Wadi led the charge with 24 of those points, claiming first in the 55 meter dash, third in the 300 meter, sixth in the 500 meter, and fourth in high jump. Then Connor Lahan added nine points with a second place finish in the 1,000 meter and eighth in the 3200 meter. Kenai Widing earned six points by placing third in the 1000 meter. And actually, why don't you guys stand up? So, Aaron, Connor, Kenai, very good. Zeke Hurst, there you go, Zeke. Grabbed four points
007with his fifth place finish in the 500 meter. Aiden Younger scored four points with a strong fifth in the shot put. Jude Yamu contributed one point with an eighth place finish in the 55 meter hurdles. And then the relay the relays contributed 16 points. The 4x400 relay team of Jude Yamu, Kenai Widing, Male Barnett, and Zeke Hurst dominated the field with a first place finish. And the 4x800 relay team of Connor Lahan, Zeke Hurst, Justin Shannon, and Kenai Widing brought home third place. There you go. There's your championship team. [Applause] Unfortunately, our swimmer Ryan Griffith couldn't be here, but I do want to share or he's on his way. Oh, he just he just he just arrived. All right. Well, go ahead and keep standing, Ryan. In the pool, Ryan Griffith won the state championship
008in the 100yard backstroke with a blistering 48.90 seconds, earning all-American [Applause] honors. Oh, wait. You got to stand up because there's more. Apparently, he also places second in the 200yard freestyle at a time of 1 minute seconds.95 and helped lead the 200 medley relay to a second place finish. Next year, Ryan will continue his academic and athletic career at Duke [Applause] University. Congratulations to all our athletes on an incredible championship season. You made history. You did it together. I'd now like to invite Mr. Steve Gavin, the high school Gravton High principal and coaches to the podium so they can say a few words. at 12. Um, he's a state champion now and I can't wait to see what he does at Duke. So, thank you guys for coming. I'll let the coaches speak. Just reiterating
009uh what principal Gavin said. Uh we truly appreciate the uh thanks and the congratulations that we've received from the school board. Um but one thing we want to definitely do as a team is to praise the bridge that brought us across and that's our wonderful families, our parents, the community of York County in general. You've done nothing but support our team. Whether that's through u making sure they're at the bus on time, they're getting to practice and meets or whether it's the community coming out and helping us raise funds in a car wash or anything. Um, York County has stood behind us and we are truly appreciative of what everything uh the York County community has done for this team and for us as a school district and a community. Thank you. I'm super proud
010of the kids. It's a great group. Um, and we'll be sad for the few that are moving on, won't be with us next year. Um, but this is an awesome season. A highlight. Yeah. [Applause] So, I've been lucky enough to watch Ryan the last three years and it's been such a joy. He is one of the most humblest athletes I've ever gotten to see and he's been a great role model for all of our freshman, sophomore, juniors coming up and I'm just excited to see what he does at Duke. [Applause] So, as you can tell, we are all very proud of our athletes and they all help make every day a great day to be a Clipper. Thank you, [Applause] Madam Chair. If I could just go ahead. Uh, would like to say thank you
011to the team as I saw you guys earlier. Uh, very proud what you guys done. You made our community, your county community, very proud what you've done, including the Brutin uh high last month. Uh we we're a testament that as a community we can raise great children by having a great parents to support us. Uh just want to say thank you from bottom of my heart for what you've done, for bringing this to us, to our community. Uh we're so proud of you. So congratulations and looking forward to your future. [Applause] Okay. So, at this time, uh, we're going to take a short break so we can get some pictures with the team and coaches. So, first, if we could invite the indoor track team and coaches up to the front to get pictures with
012the board and Dr. Carol. And then after that, we'll have Brian Griffith and coach come up and do the same. We will now recognize our seniors of the month for each school. When your name is announced, please stand along with your family members while we hear about your accomplishments. I'll ask each board member to announce and read about their students. So, we're going to start with Brutin High School. Yeah, there you go. Everyone, everybody. Yep, there you go. Uh, the senior of the month for April 2025 of Brutin High School is uh Joseph Downey. He's here with his uh parents, Mark and Kristen. And Brutin High School is proud to present Joseph Downey as our selection for the senior of the month. Joseph is a persistent, goal oriented, motivated, kind, and friendly student who is
013respected by peers, faculty, and staff. Joseph has a passion for outdoors, particularly uh water related activities. This passion led him to become a trusted lifeguard at our local community pool, serving as a mentor and supervisor for new lifeguards and ensuring the safety and enjoyment of all visitors. This passion also extends beyond the pool as evidenced by his active participation in William Williamsburg Boat Club rowing program. One of Joseph's most admirable qualities is his commitment to environmental stewardship stewardship. Recognizing the impact of waste on our precious landscapes, Joseph took the initiative to organize a trash cleanup along a section of the Colonial National Historic Parkway. Rallying classmates, family, and community members. He demonstrated not only his leadership, but also his ability to inspire others to take action for a greater cause. Joseph is an exceptional student
014whose determination, resilience, and community spirit make him an outstanding choice as Brutin's senior of the month for April. Congratulations. [Applause] Okay, next we'll hear about Grafton High School senior of the month. Yes, I would like to invite Brooke Fredenberg and her parents Susan and David Fredenberg to stand up. And I have one more and I don't have a name. So, welcome. Grafton is proud to recognize Brooke Fredenberg as our senior of the month. Brooke is a charismatic, respectful, and driven student who truly exemplifies what it means to be a well-rounded Clipper. Throughout her four years at Grafton, Brooke has made a lasting impact both in and out of the classroom. She has excelled as a student athlete competing on the varsity field hockey, indoor track, swim and dive, and varsity soccer teams, serving as a
015three-year captain in soccer. Brooke is also dedicated member of multiple honor societies and a four-year member of Grafton's superior ranked band. Beyond school, Brooke volunteers as a livery live church and with vacation Bible study school school programs. She is pursuing a future in a healthcare and is currently earning her CNA certification through the New Horizon program. Her academic excellence in character have earned her over $45,000 in scholarships to Liberty University where she will major in nursing. Congratulations, Brooke. We can wait. We cannot wait to see all the amazing things you're going to do. Thank you. All right. Now, we're going to hear about Tab High School Senior of the Month. Hey, could I have uh Malan Darnney's family stand up with her? Wonderful. Tab High School is excited to announce Melanie Darnney as April's senior
016of the month. Melanie embodies the qualities of a well-rounded student, and she presents these through her exemplary academics, commitment to the community through her volunteer service, leadership both within the school and community, and her constant drive for new experiences and ideas. As a student of the governor's school for science and technology, Malan has taken initiative to pursue her passion of working for a biotech corporation. She attended Virginia's highly competitive summer residential governor's school where she mentored at the research facility Jefferson Labs. Melanie won a full ride to UVA through the Jefferson scholarship. She competed against students worldwide and went through multiple intensive interviews for this highly regarded award. Malanie entered the opportunity to enter the international science and engineering fair in California and had her research recognized by university professors. Malan's extraordinary achievements have earned
017her the recognition as TAB High School's class of 2025 saludiatoran. She plans on attending UVA as a Jefferson scholar and pursuing her passion in biological engineering. Melanie is compassionate toward her school and community while also being a strong leader. She was the founder of a club named Operation Smile that assisted people with surgeries they couldn't afford and the club partnered with local hospital and foreign countries. She was also a leader in model UN and the medical club. All the clubs she was a part of have reached out and accomplished amazing things for others. Her drive, creativity, leadership, and dedication are evident in everything she does. Tab has been very proud to have her as our student. Congratulations to Melanie Darnney. Wonderful. Okay. and I have the honor of telling you about uh York High School
018senior of the month. Would Alice South and her family please stand? We are thrilled to honor Alice South as our senior of the month. Alice is an outstanding individual whose dedication and achievement set a remarkable example for her peers. As a prominent member of the IB program, she exemplifies academic excellence and a commitment to learning. Alice is also captain of York High's York High School swim team where her leadership skills foster team spirit and excellence moing her motivating her teammates to achieve their personal best. Alice's dedication to making a difference and willingness to serve others is evident through her extensive involvement in community service such as participation on the York County Youth Commission, teaching swim lessons for dolphin swims, youth volunteer corps, and her time spent in Nicarag Nicaragua, spreading hope to those in need.
019In addition to her athletic and volunteer commitments, Alice has taken on leadership roles in our student council association and multiple honor societies. She was also awarded our CTE student of the year in 2023, which is a testament to her hard work and passion for career and technical education. Her teachers have consistently praised her for her work ethic, integrity, and ability to uplift those around her. Congratulations on this welldeserved recognition. [Applause] Okay. Next, we have our student service award and volunteer awards. Dr. Carol, would you like to go down to the front? And I will ask Miss Lisa Ruff Rufier, McGrder Elementary principal, to step forward while information is shared about the student service award recipient for McGrder Elementary. Yeah. Come on, Lisa. You're not going to be left out here. Okay. Oh, go ahead. Oh,
020yeah. I was You have an intro. Go for it. Go for it. The student service award recipient for McGrder Elementary is Sylvie Burquist. All right. And Mr. Schaefer is going to tell you all about Sylvie. Yes. McGrder Elementary is proud to recognize Sylvie Burkquist as the recipient of our student service award. Since starting at McGrder in kindergarten, Sylvia has consistently brought positivity, compassion, and generosity to our school community. In the classroom, Sylvia is a thoughtful, enthusiastic learner and a supportive peer. She regularly volunteers to help classmates and offers encouraging feedback as seen during a book club project where her uplifting attitude helped her group stay motivated through the challenges. Her classmates describe her as loving, caring, brave, and a great friend. Sylvy's impact extends into school clubs where her leadership and kindness shine. In Panther
021Chorus, she's known for her passion for music and serves as a positive role model. In Battle of the Books, she helped lead her team to a second place finish with praise and encouragement that fostered true team spirit. In Sketchbook Club, she's recognized for her consistently kind and supportive presence. Beyond school, Sylvy's generosity continues. She welcomed a new kindergarten neighbor with a thoughtful card and sign. And during her performance in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, she regularly celebrated and uplifted her fellow cast members. Sylvia is a shining example of service, leadership, and heart. We are so proud to honor her today. [Applause] The volunteer of the month from McGrder Elementary is Miss Amy Burrquist. And Mr. Schaeer will tell you about Miss Burquist. Could have had y'all both come up at the same time. [Applause] Oh, McGrder
022Elementary School is proud to nominate Miss Amy Bergquist as volunteer of the year for her outstanding dedication and meaningful contributions to our school community. This year, Amy played a pivotal role in launching the Eco Club, a grant-f funed partnership with William and Mary that provides students with hands-on experiences in nature, introduces potential careers in conservation and sustainability, and highlights the role of the environment in their lives. She has been instrumental in securing uh engaging speakers, leading a recycling lesson on transforming old t-shirts uh into tote bags, and coordinating a field trip to York River State Park. Amy has been a consistent presence at McGrder since 2019, volunteering weekly in classrooms, helping coordinate events such as the fall celebration and art reception, and supporting the PTA through teacher appreciation initiatives. She has organized school beautifification projects
023with her Girl Scout troop, quietly provided support for students in need, and even arranged a memorable kindergarten field trip to the White House. Oh, wow. Yeah. Uh through all her work, Amy brings warmth, insight, and care to everything she does. Her quiet leadership and genuine commitment continue to strengthen and uplift the McGrder community. Thank you. Okay, now it now I would like Miss Amore Mikl, Tab Middle School principal, to step forward and re remain upfront while information is shared for both the student service award recipient and the volunteer of the month for TAB middle school. Oh. Oh, sure. Okay. Thank you. Sure. Thank you. Okay. The student service award recipient this month for TAP Middle is Alexander Popoff Sanchez. Miss Fairman, will you uh share some information about Alexander? Absolutely. Alexander Papov Sanchez is an
024eighth grade student at Tab Middle School. His teachers and classmates describe him as a responsible, trustworthy friend who brings positive energy and a sense of humor. His leadership shows in a variety of roles, including National Junior High School president, yearbook staff member, and a member of the TMS Chain Reactions Club, a club that supports new students entering Tab Middle. In addition to serving in these roles, Alex is also a member of the JV cross country and soccer team at Tab High School. When Alex is not in school, you can see him volunteering in the children's ministry at his church or playing soccer with the VA Rush Peninsula team. Please give a big round of applause for Alex and his accomplishments and representing the Tab Middle School community so well. [Applause] The volunteer for the month
025for Tab Middle School is Miss Carrie Howser. Miss Hower, would you please join please join Dr. Carol and Miss or I'm sorry, Miss Chow up front while Miss Fairman shares some information about you. Thank you. Carrie Howser is the volunteer award winner for TAB Middle School. She is currently PTSA president for TAB Middle School. She can often be seen helping with a variety of school events that support the culture and climate of TAB middle school, including the TMS dances, roar store, teacher appreciation week, and the eighth grade carnival. When she is not supporting TMS in her PTSA role, you can find her setting up meals for the boys basketball team and cheering in the stands. Carrie does all of this while also maintaining an extremely important job of working with cancer patients and survivors. Her
026kindness and dedication to students, staff, and community does not go unnoticed. Please give Carrie a round of applause for her hard work and dedication to the Tab Middle School community. We also have our March volunteer of the month for Grafton Bethl Elementary here with us this evening. Miss Humble, would you and Miss Margie Reese come up front while Mr. Pyovette shares information about Miss Reese. Welcome. Tonight we have the privilege of recognizing a truly outstanding volunteer whose dedication and enthusiasm have made a significant impact on our students. It is with great appreciation that we honor Margie Ree, our volunteer of the month for her incredible leadership in guiding our Battle of the Books team for the past two years. Miss Ree has gone above and beyond to inspire a love of reading in our students.
027She has spent countless hours encouraging, coaching, and preparing the team, fostering not only a deep appreciation for literature, but also teamwork, critical thinking, and confidence. Her ability to make reading exciting and engaging has motivated our students to challenge themselves and support one another. Thanks to Miss Reese's leadership, our Battle of the Books team has not only grown in knowledge, but in camaraderie, learning the value of perseverance and sportsmanship. Her commitment to our young readers has truly made a difference and her passion for education shines through in everything she does. Miss Ree and Miss Stafy, our school librarian, successfully led the team that placed first in the division battle and the third at the regional battle in the Williamsburg in Williamsburg. On behalf of the Grizzly faculty, students, and families, we extend our deepest gratitude to
028Margie Ree for her dedication, time, and support, her efforts in shaping the next generation of readers and thinkers, and we are so grateful for her contributions. Please join me in congratulating Marjgerice, our well-deserved volunteer of the month. Okay, congratulations to all our award recipients. We are now going to have a presentation by the York Foundation for Public Education and Mr. Schaefer will tell you about that. Miss Glennice Ellis, hey Glennice, uh York Foundation for Public Education member to step forward and assist Dr. Carroll as they present gifts to each of our award recipients. Please come up front when you hear your name called. Congratulations to Army Teague. A kindergartener from McGrder Elementary School for reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at tonight's schoolboard meeting. We would also like to recognize tonight's student service award recipients, Sylvie
029Burrquist from McGrder Elementary School and Alexander Papoff Sanchez from Tab Middle School. We also congratulate our seniors of the month for this month. Joseph Downey from Brutin High School. Brooke Fredenburg from Grafton High School. Milani Darnney from Tab High School and Alice Sal from York High School. Special gifts from Cookie Text and Edible Tweet are being presented on behalf of the York Foundation for Public Education in partnership with their donor Gene Fioa of Cookie Text and Edible Tweet. A Sweet Frog gift card is also being donated by Derek Mahan from uh Sweet Frog. Join me in congratulating all of our award recipients. [Applause] There you go. The board is now going to take a short recess to meet with our award recipients and their families. Okay. All right. We will now reconvene the meeting. Um,
030we do not have any unfinished business, so we're going to move into presentations. And tonight, uh, we have the 2526 annual plan for the title 6-B federal funding. Dr. Carol, do you want to introduce our presenter? Yes. Thank you, Mrs. Goodwin. Uh, I would like to invite Mr. Mr. Maine Hopkins, Director of Special Education, to the podium to present the 2025 2026 annual plan for title 6B. Dr. I I am before you to share information about the Special Education Annual Plan, the provisions of the 2004 Individuals Disabilities Education Act, also known as IDA, and regulations governing special education for children with disabilities in Virginia requires local education agencies to submit an annual plan for providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. The annual plan serves as a formal agreement between the local
031school board and the Virginia Department of Education for implementing federal and state regulations governing special education. Additionally, annual plans must be reviewed by our school board as well as our local special education advisory committee. As a function of IDA, we are preparing an annual plan for use of federal funds, specifically title 6B, section 611, and section 619. Section 611 serves as the umbrella of the grant funds as it covers ages 3 to 21, whereas the section 619 specifically addresses preschool age children with disabilities. In developing the annual plan, we are required to provide notice of the child find process as well as special education supports available to students with disabilities who may attend private school or who are homeschooled. As such, my team provided written notice to all private and homeschool families within our locality.
032This notice afforded private and homeschool families an opportunity to participate in a virtual or in-person information session which was held on March 5th. Also on March 18th, this proposed annual plan was reviewed by our SEAK board committee on the 18th. When applying for federal funds, school divisions must certify that they will comply with several requirements outlined in the grant and address any barriers to equitable access for students with disabilities. I'd like to highlight a few areas of the grant asurances for you here. As noted, we certify that we have in effect policies, procedures, and programs which are administered to comply with IDA and its federal implementing regulations. YCSD must also report progress on the previous year's annual plan, which I'll speak to further on the future slide. Additional certifications of the annual plan include providing
033special education to students who may be in jail. However, there are no local or regional jails within our county to serve students with disabilities. Finally, when required by the state, some school divisions must set aside 15% of their federal funds for coordinated early intervening services. I am proud to report that we are not one of those divisions as we are not a school division identified as having significant disproportionality as it relates to overidentification of students with a disability or over identification of students with a particular impairment. As I mentioned on the previous slide, when applying for grant funds, school divisions must report how they have implemented the previous year's funds. The information before you illustrates YCSD's use of the section 611 funds from last year. Funds were used predominantly for the salary and benefits of
034the positions recorded here. As note, as a note, the funded column does not represent YCSD staffing in totality. rather we have much more staff to support our programming which is represented on the far right column. While CSD's implementation of the preschool section 619 grant was also used as we indicated it in the grant application. This grant helped to fund 1.5 FTE pared educator salary and benefits. Additionally, materials and supplies to support curriculum were purchased. Proportionate set aside is a component of the grant that requires school divisions to set aside funds for parentally placed students. Parentially placed students are those who are homeschooled or those who have been placed in a private school by their families. The Virginia Department of Education uses a calculation tool to determine the set aside amount associated with providing special education
035or related services to students who are parentally placed. The York County School Division is required to set aside $3,083 for parentally placed students. U for several years, those funds have been used to provide speech language services to those students who may require it. The title 66 6B grant also requires school divisions in Virginia to meet a maintenance of effort obligation often referred to ase.e requires that YCSD spend at least the same amount or greater on special education services that was spent the previous year. YCSD has consistently mete requirements. As I shared earlier, the grant funding is divided into two areas. section 611 and section 619. Like many of the grants we receive, the Title 6B grant has a two-year award period. For example, the grant funds we are applying for now will be effective July
0361, 2025 and must be spent down by September 30th, 2027. The graph before you illustrates our proposed plan for use of the 611 funds in the amount of $2,500,426. This is down 81,000 from the previous year. As you can see, the majority of the funds are used for salary benefits, employee salary, and benefits. The specific allocations of these funds are for 19.4 special education teachers, 16.5 PAR educators, one registered behavior technician, one interpreter, two oral communication facilitators, one speech pathologist, and one special education coach. Board members. Yes. I'm sorry. Could could I ask what is a restricted indirect cost? I'm gonna get there. Okay. So, board members, you may notice in your executive summaries that there are some additional PAR educators, but please note that I am only reporting the number of PAR educators that
037will be funded through the fiscal year 26 grant award. Restricted indirect costs represents the administrative costs to the implementation of our programming. So, for example, professional development. This cost is calculated at 2.5% of the grant award totaling $60,986. You're welcome. This chart shows the funding request for section 619, the early childhood special education grant funding in the amount of $54,39. This is a $257 decrease from last year. As you can see, the majority of the funds are used for employee salary and benefits totaling $38,180 for 1.5 pair educators, materials and supplies in the amount of $5,118 for preschool curriculum and equipment and also restricted indirect cost at $1,325. I also believe it is important to share the total costs required to fund special education programming in our division. As reported in last year's annual school
038report, special education programming expenses totaled nearly $27 million to cover those expenses. Funding from federal, state, and federal budgets were utilized. As you can see, the majority of the special education programming is covered by local funds at 18,718,773. 20% of that funding from state at 5,262,454 and 10% from federal at 2,710,344. In closing, our next steps are to obtain consent from the school board as presented to you in tonight's agenda and submit the application to the Virginia Department of Education by May 10th as 9th, sorry, as required. The information that I've shared tonight, I hope that you found to be clear and comprehensive. But at this time, I will take any questions that you may have. Miss Hopkins, I have a couple questions. Okay. Uh so let me just get back to that slide. Uh
039section 611 you said we getting 2 and a half million in funding and it's down 81,000. Uh what's the difference? Why did we lose that 81,000? So while I can't tell you the exact reason, the state does give us the amount at which we can apply for but there are factors such as student enrollment. Um, I do believe your poverty count, things of that nature influence the amount at which you are provided. Is that uh like $81,000 equally spread in percentages kind of like know it's like just certain amount of money for each category for salaries, benefits, and restricted indirect costs or it's specifically into the salaries or in benefits. So, it's just that total overall award amount that we received last year was 81,000 more than the 2.5 million that I reported tonight. Okay.
040And uh on uh FY24 annual school report, the first uh sped, we had 26 almost $27 million with the local government giving us 70% in amount of like 18 almost 19,000. Uh do you know maybe Mr. Bowman can tell what is the what is the amount that we have for the FY25 for this bet? Thank you, Mr. Povich. Um, so it's it's not an amount that we specifically budget for the program itself. Um, we we know it's going to be at least $26 million and of that it's going to be the same about the same for local expenses. But as you as as what's challenging with the special education program and that maintenance of effort where we're having to at least maintain the same level of expenditure effort, that's assuming that we have the same
041number of kids with the same number of disabilities. Well, that's not always the case. We we have changing enrollment and changing disabilities and so those costs fluctuate. And for us, we've seen a continued increase in those special education uh students and we've seen an increase in costs. The we have to provide the services. We have to incur the cost to provide those services and that's why the majority of it comes out of the local local. So this is basically we will meet that you're talking about with this numbers from the previous Okay. Yes. So to just reiterate um what Mr. Bowen was saying that we will need to spend at least that nearly 27 million next year because that's about what it's costing us presently. Okay. So, thank you. You're welcome. I just have a
042quick question. Yes. Um I noticed in there we have uh budgeted for the behavior technician. Yes. So I know we have special ed pairs. What is behavior technician's role? How does it differ from your Yes. So our registered behavior technicians are credentialed, right? And so they have taken coursework and had uh supervisory training and hours to become an expert if you will on behavior regulation, behavior management, things of that nature. Our pair of educators, while we do provide training if they work with higher needs students, they aren't required to have the same credentiing um to support behavior the way the registered behavior technicians are. It is a fairly new position I would say in our division and that we found it to be an extreme benefit presently in our elementary schools and so that's presently
043how we're using them that and that's the difference. Do they have to are these ABA certified or is they don't so they're not but they do follow that principle. They fall under the guidance of our lead BCBA that um behavior analyst and so she's their supervisor if you will. Okay. And so the principles at which that they're going to um uh utilize are under the ABA guidance. Okay. Yeah. Could you give an example or some examples of what the behavior technicians actually do? Yeah. So at the elementary school presently they're used in a variety of ways and we really look at the data and needs in our building. So um I will say Dr. Dr. Butler and his team does a great job of making sure that we have the data that really tells us
044where our needs are. If you know there's a particular student that needs some additional support, you know, with behavior regulation or if there's um a program in that uh building. So, we have communication support programs or we have behavior support programs. And so, oftentimes we allow the data to determine where it is that resource is best met. Um there are students that you know just need that kind of check-in checkout process or an individual to start their day to you know get themselves regulated or to be refreshed in a day just to have that moment kind of a cool down period if that's necessary and so we utilize those individuals in that way as well. Thank you. Mhm. I'd just like to comment that this is a uh federal program that's mandated and yet the
045federal government gives the least amount of money for it. I'm just saying, you know. Yeah, we um appreciate the funding that we receive, but there often needs to be more. So, you're welcome. Thank you. Thank you very much. there. Next we have our HR update and that Dr. Carol who's all right. Thank you Mrs. Goodwin. Dr. David Wrights, chief human resources officer is bringing us an HR update which relates to our strategic plan priority for highly effective talent. Dr. Wrights. Thank you Dr. Carol. Madam Chair, members of the board, it's been a few months since I have brought you some HR updates. So, I've saved some up so we could have a nice robust um update for you this evening. On this slide, the position of an adaptive PE. So, it's no addition to our
046pay plan, but this job description will be adjusted to reflect this specific position. We also have the benefits enrollment window. We are changing that from a 30-day window, 31-day window to a 14-day window for new hires and qualifying events. And this will reduce our employees from having to pay catchup deductions. And this will benefit um our employees in case catch-up deductions are necessary. Bus assistant 8hour position. We are adjusting um this to a seven or eight hour day for our bus assistants. And currently the pay plan um our bus assistants are six and a half hours and this adjustment will mirror what our bus driver's daily rate is for those um positions. We also have a custodial supervisor. We're changing from non-exempt to exempt, a grade 17 to a grade 21. And we will take
047the current manager of custodial services vacancy and distribute those job responsibilities to the three custodial supervisors. And this in turn will also give the division a savings of about $45,000. We have a dual enrollment pre-calculus teacher proposal for FY26. This is in the teacher plan, but this position will provide more opportunities for students by having this option. Um, and adding it to the pay plan allows for the hiring process to begin for this very hard to fill position. And lastly, we have a CT instructional specialist. It's on the teacher pay plan 26. and instead of two career coaches and due to the current VDO VDOE expectations proposed for YCS proposed YCSD will hire one CTE instructional specialist to support the division's secondary CTE programs and initiatives and this will also give the division a savings
048of about $45,000. And that is it for all the HR updates this evening. You like that? Robust. Robust. Are there any questions for Dr. Wrights? All right. Thank you, Dr. Writes. Thank you, Mrs. Goodwin. If I could just add. Sure. Uh, the change with the bus driver assistance, it mirrors what we did with the drivers a couple years ago, and we found that that has helped with the retention that we've had. So, we're hoping that brings us the same type of retention because we do have openings in that area. And I'd also like to thank Dr. rights for leading the work on the other uh retasking of those positions, those two positions. That brings back a $90,000 savings. Good. All about saving money. Okay. All right. Now, we're going to go into the comments of
049citizens. Before I open up public comments, I'll share a few remarks. The school board provides public comment period for the public to comment on matters related to the business or duties of the school board and school division. Schoolboard policy KD/BDDDH governs these public comment periods. I would encourage citizens to review this policy prior to speaking before the board. Briefly, the school board expects speakers to refrain from any speech or conduct that is a clear violation of the law, such as abusive or threatening language that incites criminal behavior or that creates an actual disruption to the meeting. We ask that speakers direct their comments to the school board and not to members of the audience. Violations of schoolboard policy KDBDH may result in a warning or termination of a speaker's time by the chair. This sanction
050is immediately appealable to the whole board at the speaker's option. Each speaker may speak for up to three minutes. Speakers will present their comments at the podium. A timer is visible to speakers from the podium and speakers should conclude their remarks when the red light comes on. The timer will begin after you state your name and district or area of residence. I now open the public participation of comments by citizens. Our first speaker this evening is Pam Pushau. Good evening. I'd like to make a public service announcement before I begin. The food bank is in desperate need of donations. They've lost a lot of federal funding. So, anybody out there who has either the funding or food, whatever, please donate to the food bank. Now, back to the work at hand. Uh, my name is
051Pam Fusho. I live in District 4. This Thursday, May 1st at noon, is a national day of peaceful civil disobedience, rallies, and demonstrations. Students and staff are encouraged to walk out of school for at least 15 minutes to protest the Trump administration's attack on education, health care, jobs, reproductive rights, civil and human rights, immigrants, due process, and the destruction of our economy, the environment, and using the Justice Department for personal revenge. Your voice matters. Stand up for democracy. The Title Six Civil Rights Act prohibits the president from telling schools what to teach and can't withhold funds without due process. School boards are being extorted. Obey or lose funding. Trump and his Department of Education's deadline requirements for all school boards to sign a certificate certification of compliance to stop the implementation of all of Trump's
052misconceived ideas was postponed until April 24th by a federal judge's restraining order. While I have read many of the Hampton Road School Board's decisions, I have ner I have heard nothing about whether York County has agreed to Trump's extortion. The Department of Education should not be in the business of delivering ideologically driven threats from a federal administration bent on weaponizing the term DEI to harm the very students those efforts are designed to support. If you have given in, then we might as well quit teaching. I found it interesting that one requirement was to forbid teaching students anything that might accuse them of being oppressors in a racial hierarchy. How do you teach about slavery, the genocide of indigenous people, concentration camps, World War II, Japanese American internment, Jim Crow, women's rights, or civil rights? These
053were promulgated by white Christian males. Students are not responsible for the actions of their ancestors. Keeping students ignorant of painful history serves no purpose. We need to celebrate the successes of not only white men, but women, immigrants, and minorities. Virginia once closed schools rather than integrate. Now, schools may not discriminate against race, color, or national origin. What is not mentioned is gender, sexual orientation, religion, or immigration status. Apparently, discrimination is still legal. We are all human beings and should have equal rights under the law. If the school board has signed this agreement or plan to do so, you are giving up your rights to the federal government exchange for monetary protection. This is the absence of consent by the governed and submission by the frightened. We deserve to know what you did and why. Silence
054on this matter is not acceptable. Extortionists rarely stop with their first demand. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Our next speaker is Miss Yvon Johnson. Good evening. I am Yvon Johnson and I own a home in district one, Mark Schaefer's district. And I just wanted to say first of all, ditto owe to what Pam said. So, some of the comments I wanted, some of the comments I wanted to make, she brought out. But one of the most important school disegregation cases came after Brown versus Board of Education. And it happened right here in our backyard when ordered. I type on my tablet today because I didn't have access to my laptop. When ordered by the courts to integrate schools, instead of integrating schools, they came up with freedom of choice. Green versus New Kent County
055challenged that because it ruled and the courts ruled that freedom of choice plan was not a sufficient method to achieve integration. Students tended to choose the schools that they were already going to. And so, white students continue to go to white schools. Black students continued to go to black schools and this trend and was everywhere during that time. Children who attended McGrder then and today were not aware of who John McGrder was. Children today can't comprehend what it was like to grow up when like I remember the separate water fountains, the water fountains and the swimming pools, the movie theaters that were labeled colors. The children do not know that. They aren't taught that in school. So they weren't taught about John McGrder as well. That was a very painful time in our history. Our
056parents shielded us just like the parents today shield their children. And parents have a lot of say. So a lot of things are being whitewashed. they're still not able to comprehend what it was like. So when children don't know their identity, they don't have something to feel good about them. Parents don't want their children to learn about things that make them feel bad or lowers their self-esteem. What about the children who are forced to go to those type of schools? A lot of people say it costs a lot. That cost has been paid. This nation was built on slavery, free labor. So that and this community has bounced back each and every time supporting each other, resilient, and trying to lift up. I don't have any doubt that there won't be a way to fund
057this. So do the right thing and rename McGrder. Thank you. Okay, our third and final speaker is Mary Lacier. Good evening, Mary Lacader, Brutin District. Uh, the report from the York administration uh the report from the York administration's regarding changing of the name of of Brutin I mean not sorry of McGruda Elementary has several conjectures. There is no reasonable conclusion that a segregated school for white children would be named for a village that was predominantly black. There was a very low percentage of white residents. Most importantly, McGruda school built in 1920 was in Bigler's Mill rather than McGruda. This is a fact from the report that the Dr. Carol and Dr. Butler uh presented to to the superintendent. There is a map from 1906 that shows the proximity of Bigler's mail to McGrut to McGruda.
058That would have been a more suitable name, but they wanted to honor John B. McGruda just as Thomas Newman did in naming the post office in 1895. JB McGruda did not name the area as York as insinuated uh in that report. Um Donald L. Smith presented documentation regarding the naming of the post office. Thus, the area took the name. The school was named McGruda Elementary and not the McGruda Elementary as referred to in the report. He was well known and revered by southern whites because of his murdering acts against blacks and Africans, burning down houses in Hampton to hinder the safety of said people. There was a McGruda school in Newport News, a McGruda Boulevard, a McGruda voting district, all named after JB McGruda. No first name was necessary. Frederick Douglas and James Weldon Johnson
059were not even named in 1951 when McGruda School was built. Frederick Douglas and James Weldon Johnson opened in 1954. In 1952 in the daily press these schools were fer were referred to as Brutin Elementary School for Negroes and Consolidated Negro High School and Elementary School. So what bearing that had on the name of uh McGruda School? None whatsoever. Dr. Butler's dissertation Dr. Butler's dissertation is not relevant to how the schools how the school was named. McGruda School for Colored Children was established in 1868 and is not related to a segregated white school built approximately 52 years apart. There is no proof in that the area was referred to as McGrder in 1876 as stated in the report. I checked with SW swim to see why the research award wall would say that there is a
060dissertation written by a women marriage student that stated Mount Gilead Church was established in 1876. Thank you. All right. I now close public participation for comments to citizens. We'll ne we will now proceed into financial matters and I will ask Mr. Piovich to discuss financial matters. Madam Chair, thank you so much for allowing me to present financial matters. Uh we do have claims certified for payments for March 2025. Uh we have significant expenditures for March. uh instructional related expenditures totaling approximately $458,665 and includes payments to Allied Healthcare, Beautiful Mind Speech, Care Staff Partners, Emily Hannes, Maximum Health Care Services, New Horizons, Plan B Academy, Purple Communications, Scenario Learning, SI Shiver Varsity, The Fisen Center, Stepping Stones Group. payment for technology related items approximately $274,560 and includes payment to CW uh CDW uh Cox Communications, Microsoft,
061She Communications, and the VA Business Systems payments for operations and maintenance totaling $520,880 and includes payments to Belffor Group, Dominion Energy, Grinder, Hampton Road, Sanation District, Newport News Waterworks, ODP Business Solutions, Reliance Acquisitions, Republic Services, Riverside Paper, Train Incorporated, and Virginia Natural Gas. Transportation related expenses including payment to King Supply which include 155 passenger special education bus and some miscellaneous supplies. Payments for school nutrition services totaling $450,510 and includes payments to Maid Special, Sedesco and the Metuse Group. Payments related to capital projects totaling 1,10,330 and includes payments to APT acquisitions which is for the TAB high school turf field and lights mobile lease Simpson Ultimate Varsity Brands. That's it. Consideration of approval of financial reports for March 25 continued with significant changes relating to the operational budgets for March revenues. Uh state revenues is approximately
0628.2 million higher in March FY25 when compared to March FY24. The change is due to increase in student enrollment at risk funding and the state's portion of the 5.5% compensation increase for FY25. federal revenues in approximately 2.1 million less in FY25 due to the expiration of the one-time SR stimulus grant in FY25. For expenditures, expenditures for instructional are approximately 4.5 million higher in March 25 when compared to March 24 due the due to the 5.5 increase in salaries, increase in employer health premiums and additional position added for FY25. Expenditures for transportations are approximately 1.1 million higher and expenditures for operations are about 1.3 million higher higher in FY25 due to the increase in salaries and increase in employer health premiums. Expenditures for technology have increased about 1.1 million due to the increase in salaries and
063benefits and a transfer out of $700,000 to the technology reserve funds. uh significant changes relating to the school nutrition budget for revenues and expenditures. School nutrition revenue is slightly lower in March FY25 when compared to March 2024 due to the number of inclement weather days and fewer meals being served. School nutrition expenditures are about $650,000 less in March 25 due to the timing in which Sedesco invoiced are received and payments are processed. I am presenting consideration of approval of resolution 25-9. Resolution 25-9 requires the board's approval authorizing procurements of more than $100,000 and change orders greater than 50,000. There are three items on the resolution for FY25 totaling 1,7,000 and nine items on the resolution for FY26 totaling 7.5 million. the details of which can be viewed on the board docs. Madame chair, I now
064move to approve financial matters as listed. I'll second discussion questions. Great. Miss Howard, a motion was made by Mr. Pyovich and seconded by Mr. Schaefer to approve financial matters as listed. Mr. Schaefer, yes. Mrs. Fairman, yes. Mr. Pyovich, yes. And Mrs. Goodwin, yes. Motion pass four to zero. All right, we have no action items. We don't have a policy discussion. We do not have a policy first read. We do have a policy second read action. Um, this is policy B, school board governance. Mrs. Goodwin, I'm sorry. We need the consent calendar. Consent calendar. Number 13. Going right ahead. Sorry. I apologize. Let me back it up. So, you need a motion for it? I'll make a motion. Yeah, I would like to make a motion to approve consent consent calendar as listed. I'll second it.
065Okay. Okay. Um, Mr. Pyitch made a motion and was seconded by Mr. Schaefer to approve consent calendars listed. Mrs. Fairman, yes. Mr. Schaefer, yes. Mr. Pyovich, yes. And Mrs. Goodwin, yes. Motion passed four to zero. Just testing. I was just testing to see if you would catch that. Okay. Now, uh, let's see. We have no first reading. No first reading. That's where I left off, but we do have the policy, second reading, school board governance and operations. Um, Miss Barry, are there any changes since the last reading? No, there are no changes. Does anyone have any questions or comments? Again, I'd like to make the comment that we need to keep the board matters on the agenda so that all of the board members have the freedom of speech to be able to speak about
066any concerns that they have for their district or the overall York County School Division uh at any school board meeting so that we are fully transparent to the community uh the parents, the students, and the taxpayers as well as those who are concerned about York County Schools. Okay. Okay. Can I please have a motion and a second to approve PO uh policy B, schoolboard governance and operations of the York County School Board policy manual. I move that we approve policy B, school board governance and operations. Second. Okay. Thank you, Miss Howard. A motion is made by Mr. Schaefer and seconded by Mr. Pyovich to approve the revisions of policy B, school board governance and operations. Mrs. Mr. Fairman. No. Mr. Schaefer. Yes. Mr. Piovich. Yes. And Mrs. Goodwin? Yes. The motion passed 3 to one.
067Okay. And now we will have the report of the superintendent. All right. Thank you, Mrs. Goodwin. Once again, congratulations to the Grafton students recognized earlier for their athletic achievements. I also want to thank everyone involved in the Special Olympics Feet Meet that we had last week. Mrs. Hopkins and her team did a wonderful job and we had a great day for it weatherwise and I think everybody had a great time. Uh, finally, we have roughly 30 school days left in the school year. Uh, these are important days for two reasons and we're going to need our families to help us out. First, it is testing season and so please be aware of the tests your student will take and make sure that they are coming to school with a full stomach and a good night's
068sleep so that they can perform at the level that is reflective of the work they've put in this year. Also, division's accreditation is measured partly on the level of chronic absenteeism and the reason for that is attendance matters. So chronic absenteeism includes all absences for a student excused and unexcused. So let's please make sure our students finish the year strong and attend every day. Thank you, Madam Chair. That concludes the superintendent's report. Okay. Well, I know our teachers are probably eagerly counting down those days as well as the students. Okay. Okay. At this time, um, is there anyone who wishes to speak now that did not get a chance to sign up before the meeting? Okay. Well, I'd like to thank everyone for your input and for being here this evening. Our next meeting will
069be a work session here at your call on May 12th at 6 p.m. We do have a closed session this evening. Can I please have a board member make a motion to take us into close session? I move that York County School Board convene close session pursument to Virginia Code 2.2-3711A1 of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act for consideration and discussion regarding specific candidates for appointment to the following advisory committees. Gifted education advisory committee and special education advisory committee as matters addressed in close session are confidential. No me meeting no minutes or recordings are permitted. Second. Okay, Miss Howard. A motion was made by Mr. Schaefer and seconded by Mr. Pyich to approve the York County School Board to meet in close session as stated. Mr. Schaefer, yes. Mrs. Fairman, yes. Mr. Pyovich, yes. And
070Mrs. Goodwin, yes. Motion passed. Four to zero. You're in close session.