001I call to order the York County regular school board meeting for December 9th 2024 this will be our last meeting of 2024 it's already been a busy evening as we had our work session earlier and I'm sure we're all looking forward to the holiday um a break and the opportunity to spend time with family and friends we hope that everyone has a wonderful ful and restful holiday season thank you for being here this evening and I'd now like to share our ycsd mission statement the mission of the York County School Division is to ensure every student is valued supported and challenged through learning experiences which prepare them for a successful future please join me if you will in a moment of silence now I will share some information about our pledge leader Harbor Sanderson a
002fifth grader at Yorktown Elementary School it is my pleasure to introduce Harbor Sanderson tonight's pledge leader from Yorktown Elementary School Harbor is a creative and thoughtful student who brings her unique energy and enthusiasm to everything she does she enjoys crafting especially crocheting and loves the thrill of skateboarding in her free time at home Harbor's a great help with her siblings and she cherishes family time playing board games together Harbor is an active member of the stem Club she has Big Dreams of helping others by creating Innovative strategies or excuse me Innovative storage solutions that are both affordable and practical her goal is to support people who might feel overwhelmed by their belongings an idea that shows her compassion and forward-thinking approach in the classroom Harbor's kindness shines through she's always ready to lend a helping
003hand to her peers creating a welcoming and supportive environment as a military connected student Harbor brings the resilience and strength that comes with being part of a Navy family with her dad currently deployed Harbor eagerly looks forward to his return this spring please join me in welcoming Harbor Sanderson as she leads us in the Pledge of Allegiance tonight I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all we will now recognize our seniors of the month for each school when your name is announced please stand along with your family members as we hear about your accomplishments our first senior of the month will be from brutin high school and Mr schaer will tell us
004about him yes Sebastian pressure Lake go ahead and stand up and all your family go ahead and have them all stand yeah yeah and and uncles too and brothers and all that stuff yeah I told him I was going to do this to him SE Sebastian's unique upbringing as a son of a diplomat has exposed him to diverse cultures and environments across four continents making him adaptable and resilient in the face of change his involvement in the Boy Scouts is a testimony to his commitment to service whether it's preparing meals for the homeless or building Trails he finds joy in knowing his effort his effort benefit others this altruistic Spirit extends to his work with food drives organized by his church driven by a desire to help families in need Beyond this humanitarian efforts Sebastian's
005entrepreneurial uh spirit shines through his ownership of a lawn care business and his Venture into an online business his leadership extends to extracurricular activities as well where he served as co- captain and later captain of the Esports team and participated in the chess and computer science clubs Sebastian's sociable nature allows him to connect with people across various backgrounds fostering an inclusive environment wherever he goes his ability to embrace diverse perspectives enriches his worldview and encourages those around him to do the same congratulations [Applause] Sebastian all right next we will hear from uh Mr pich about one of our Grafton students yes I would like to invite Jude yambu and his family to please stand up thank you Jude yambu is a natural leader and model student at Graton High School academically he has excelled in
006a rigorous Advanced and college level courses showing exceptional motivation and pride in his achievements as vice president of the National Honor Society and Matt Honor Society Jud demonstrates his ability to balance academic Excellence with meaningful extracurricular involvement judee's leadership goes beyond academics he has been Key Club Treasurer since 10th grade contributing to community service projects and co-president of the Clippers crazies fostering school spirit he also represent Grafton on the blue crab bowl Marine Science team and has competed in track and field since freshman year excelling in both intellectual in athletic Endeavors in addition to school Jude volunteers at the Victory YMCA serving as YMC leadership Club president since ninth grade his four years of service have instilled a deep sense of purpose and responsibility judee's commitment to academics leadership and service makes him an exceptional
007student and a deserving recipient of Grafton High School senior of the month award congratulations Jude thank you we also have another Grafton senior of the month who was not able to be here last month and we're going to recognize her this month and Miss Fairman will tell us about her yes if Kelsey Hurst and her family would please stand and I apologize for my voice it's going in and out it's still recovering Grafton High School is proud to announce Kelsey Hurst is our senior of the month Kelsey is a dedicated student athlete and Community volunteer who has made a lasting impact at Grafton she has been a key player on the field hockey soccer and track team since her freshman year earning recognition at Regional and state levels and breaking two Grafton records in indoor
008track Kelsey's leadership shines through her roles as track MVP both indoor and outdoor and field hockey team captain her teamwork communication and dedication in Inspire her peers Beyond Athletics Kelsey is an active member of The Fellowship of Christian athletes where she develops her leadership and public speaking skills Kelsey is also committed to giving back to her community through school and local volunteer work her dedication work ethic and role as a positive influence on others make her a deserving recipient of senior of the month congratulations Kelsey and now Mr Richardson will tell us about our tab High School senior of the month yeah tab High School senior of the month is Landon Howard a feed stand with everybody brought with him stand up to please your support people there perfect so tab High School is pleased
009to announce Landon Howard as our senior of the month for December Landon is the definition of determination leadership and heart and his story at tab High School is one to be remembered Landon came to tab his freshman year as a 90b hopeful football player who was transformed in what coach Aiden Byron describes as the heart and soul of the team Landon now a captain in 165 PBS is not only a talented player but a guiding force his passion kindness and work ethic set the tone on and off the field he has mastered the art of perseverance despite setbacks and obstacles all while in encouraging and inspiring those around him whether he's rallying up the team during one of his midgame speeches or simply saying hi in the hallway Landon has a way of making others
010feel welcomed and valued outside of football Landon's courage and grit has resulted in academic success and a spot on the New Horizon's fire science program where he is preparing for a future career as a firefighter additionally Landon spends a spare time working at York County's Parks and Recreation serving our community this winter Landon will also perform in tab's upcoming winner play finally he was just named to the All Region first and now I have the honor of telling you about York High School senior of the month Michael Harris would you and your family please stand York High School is pleased to recognize Michael harth as our senior of the month for his numerous contributions and achievements Michael is dedicated a dedicated student at New Horizon government school for Science and Technology and he has served
011as guardian of the James River through the James River leadership Expedition demonstrating his commitment to environmental stewardship he is a proud member of the National Honor Society as well as the math science and Spanish honor societies showcasing his academic Excellence his leadership skills shine as he created and led an elementary school garden restoration project making a positive impact on younger students and the environment Michael served as graduation Marshall at yhs demonstrating resilience as he participated on crutches due to a leg injury his in his inventive Spirit earned him a top placement in the broad Cal Master sigh fair and second place in the regional science fair for His Brilliant fog harp project with a bright future ahead Michael harth E exemplifies hard work perseverance and Leadership making him a role model for peers in the
012community like we are proud to honor him as senior of the month and can't wait to see all the great things that he will achieve in the [Applause] future all right Dr Shandra would you like to go down front for the next set of recognitions so we will be combining our award recipients according to their school so I will ask Dr Kristen Bolam York Town Elementary principal to step forward and remain upfront while information is shared about both the student service award recipient and the volunteer of the month for Yorktown Elementary first we have our student service award recipient Sage Henderson I am pleased to tell you about Sage as he comes up [Applause] front this year's Yorktown element student service award recipient is Sage Henderson Sage is the model student who positively influences those
013around her every day she exemplifies respect responsibility and kindness always ready to lend a hand whenever needed whether it's stepping in to clean up without being asked or modeling positive behavior Sage demonstrates an admirable willingness to serve and lead by example Sage's impact extends beyond the classroom a dedicated member of the yees Falcon course since third grade she now mentors younger course members this April she will proudly represent our school as a member of the all Virginia elementary chus a remarkable achievement Sage supports her classmates offering help when needed and fostering collaboration during group activities to ensure everyone feels included her positive energy motivates those around her and her proactive approach whether assisting her teacher or embracing challenges to enance her learning sets her apart Sage's dedication kindness and initiative make her an inspiration and
014a truly deserving recipient of the student service award now we have our volunteer of the month for Yorktown Elementary Miss mateline barley Miss mine barley can you please join Dr shander and Dr Bolam up [Applause] front it's an honor to recognize mateline barley as Yorktown Elementary's volunteer of the month of of the Year excuse me mateline exemplifies a True servant's Heart dedicating her time energy and resources to bettering our school and community over the past three years she has single-handedly chaired our beloved Halloween dance organized teacher appreciation events and coordinated parent shifts during SOS to ensure our teachers had well-deserved breaks her commitment extends to our students as she secured donations of healthy snacks for all students during State Testing clothing supplies and even a piano for our music program meline and her husband's generous
015contribution of funds and materials brought us a brand new Gaga Ball Pet creating joy for our students during recess for years to come despite her busy schedule meline sered has served on the PTA nominating committee coordinated activities for our Spring Carnival and consistently gone above and beyond to enrich the experiences of every Falcon family mine's kindness selflessness and passion for serving others Inspire us all we are truly grateful to have her as part of our Yorktown family thank you meline for your unwavering dedication you you are a gift to your Falcon [Applause] family okay now I will ask Dr Shannon Butler York High School principal to step forward and remain upfront while information is shared for both the student service award recipient and the volunteer of the month for York High School okay right Mr
016Richardson yep thank you if Riley Jones could step forward and come up [Applause] front York High School would like to recognize Riley Jones as our student service award recipient Riley is a remarkable High School senior who has dedicated over 300 hours to making a difference in her community as a member of the yhs student council she helped plan and organize school events and is always ready to lend a hand and encourage her classmates furthermore her volunteer work includes contributions to York High School youth volunteer Corp where she participated in organiz organization of local projects and improved our school's involvement in community outreach at Hampton Baptist Church she has been a reliable volunteer assisting in the so all may eat program which provides nutritional assist nutritional assistance to families in need most notably her summers are
017spent as a camp counselor with Jamestown 4 where she inspired Ires and mentors younger campers by Leading activities and promoting teamwork and friendship her dedication to 4 has made a significant impact helping campers learn and grow during their time at Camp through her service Riley Jones has not only given her time but also developed leadership empathy and strong sense of responsibility she truly embody embodies the spirit of volunteerism and community service congratulations Riley okay we will now have the volunteer of the month okay so next uh Sarah Browning if you would come forward York High School is proud to recognize Sarah Browning as its volunteer of the Year Sarah has been a study Presence at York High School for the past six years as her youngest of three daughters graduates this June this recognition is
018special because we are not just recognizing her work this year but her abundance of work over the past several years beginning in 2018 Sarah has been a vital contributor to the athletic booster club serving as president for the last three years she has also willingly served on numerous committees for both the York County School Division and York High School as a leader of the athletic booster club Sarah has dedicated countless hours to various activities that have significant significantly benefited our school and Community she has been instrumental in raising funds to support our a letic teams ensuring that they have resources they need to succeed her efforts include organiz organizing and managing concession sales where she not only buys and stocks the necessary items but also coordinates volunteers to help Runs run the stands during events
019Sarah's creativity shines through her design of spirit wear which she had helped Foster school spirit and pride among students and supporters alike in addition to her her fundraising and organizational skills Sarah has been proactive in reaching out to local businesses and sponsors securing additional support for our athletic programs her enthusiasm and dedication are evident as she cheers on our athletes at virtually every home game working tirelessly in this concession or spirit wear table Sarah's ability to Rally the community and her unwavering support to our students have made her an invaluable asset to York High School congratulations Sarah we now have presentation uh by the York foundation for public education and Mr schaer will tell you about that okay like to invite Mr Jimmy Ruth uh York foundation for public education member to step forward and
020assist Dr shandor as he presents gifts to each of our award recipients please come up front when you hear your name called congratulations to Harbor Sanderson a fifth grader from Yorktown Elementary School for reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at tonight's meeting we would also like to recognize tonight's student service award recipients Sage Henderson from Yorktown Elementary School and and Riley Jones from York High School we also congratulate our seniors of the month Sebastian Pressel from uh Bruen High School Jude yambu from Grafton High School as well as grafton's highest November senior of the month Kelsey Hurst Landon Howard from tab high [Applause] school and Michael harth from York High School a special gift from cookie text and edible tweet is being presented on behalf of the York foundation for public education in partnership with their
021donor Jean foka of cookie text and edible twe tweet join me and congratulating all our award recipients wel [Applause] at this time we are pleased to recognize several of our schools who are receiving the Virginia distinguished purple star school award Miss Cheryl par associate director of student services will now come forward to make this presentation honored to recognize the efforts of several York County School Division schools for receiving the 20242 purple Star Award this is from the Virginia Department of Education and the Virginia Council on the interstate compact on educational opportunity for military students the purple Star Award is a three-year designation which recognizes students Educators and administrators for their work to create a supportive learning environment and to remove barriers to the academic success for children of military families this award is being presented
022to numerous schools in Virginia and we're very excited that five ycsd schools have been selected the purple star designation is especially meaningful to ycsd as we continue to have the most military connected students in the state of Virginia this is either the second or third time that these five schools have achieved this honor and this evening they join all other ycsd schools who carry this designation already with this recognition ycsd is now one of three purple star school divisions in the state which means every school in our school division has achieved purple star status something to be proud of receiving the award for the third time we have from Coventry Elementary principal Lisa gal and councelor Allison vdus and they will come forward [Applause] now next we have from Grafton bethl Elementary School assistant principal
023Lindsay CTS and counselor Christen wicker from tab Middle School we have principal Amore Michael and counselor Carrie [Applause] Dukes receiving this award for the second time is from McGruder Elementary principal Lisa ruier and counselor Carrie Sanchez and also from brutin high school principal Aon mcquillin and councelor Chara Moss Gregory at this time I would also like to ask Jamie o Conor one of our military school liazon from the Yorktown Naval weapons station to join us at the front Jamie along with her liaison colleagues from Joint Base Langley Eustace who could not be here with us this evening continually partners with ycsd concerning military matters we appreciate the efforts of Jaimie and our other Liaisons and also thank our military families of course for their continued service congratulations to these schools and to all ycsd staff
024who greatly support our military students and families thank you team I will now ask Miss Courtney Gonzalez Vega STEM Science specialist to the podium to introduce our next two Awards good evening Madam chair members of the board and Dr shandor tonight I have the pleasure of presenting two competitive Grant Awards the School Division recently received the awards will start with the advancing computer science education grant by inviting Dr shandor and Dr Skinner to accept the award the Virginia Department of Education advancing computer science education grant is a competitive funding opportunity designed to support the integration of computer science with the new 2024 Virginia computer science standards of learning their division has been awarded $74,500 enhancing Hands-On learning experiences in computer science at the elementary level [Applause] congratulations the second competitive Grant is the school security
025equipment Grant I would like to invite Dr Carol to join Dr shandor in accepting this award um also Mr millin if you can come to the stage the 2024 25 school security Grant from the Virginia Department of Education is authorized under the public school security equipment Grant Act of 2013 these School Grants were competently awarded based on the criteria developed by the Virginia Department of Education in collaboration with the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services at this time I'm happy to announce that brutin high school is receiving $160,000 for SEC school security equipment congratulations to Dr Carol and his team and brutin High School this concludes my award presentation thank [Applause] you all right next we have a presentation of two Awards to Mr Bill Bowen Chief Financial Officer Miss Heather mcelliot payroll supervisor Miss
026Allison Brandon budget and financial supervisor and Miss Margaret Kirk accounting and finance manager could they please come to the front Mr pich will you tell us about the award fiscal year 2023 annual comprehensive Financial report Awards uh it's presented to your County School Division fiscal year 23 uh it was awarded to certificate of excellence in financial reporting award from the association of school business officials International and certificate of achievement of excellence in financial reporting award from the government finance office Association of the United States and Canada to meet the standards for the acfr award the acfs acfr must be efficiently organized and satisfy generally accepted accounting princip in applicable legal requirements the acfr award are the highest form of recognition awarded in the field of government financial reporting this is the 26th consecutive year that
027School Division has earned this award [Applause] congratulations all right at this time the board's going to take a short resar to meet with all the award recipients and their families all right we will now reconvene the meeting Dr shander did you have uh something you wanted to add I did uh thank you very much um Miss Goodwin board members so we have um one minor language change in policy JFC uh to clarify which Bell Begins the new bell to Bill cell phone policy uh it's basically going to involve about four words so um this change will provide Clarity to students parents and staff members so if we could if the board could consider add to the agenda Madam chair I'd like to make a motion that we add um or amend the agenda actually to
028add uh policy JF CF uh to section 16 so we can have some discussion on this when it comes up second I will second okay how a motion was made by Mr Richardson and seconded by Mr pich to amend the agenda to include JF CF into sec in section 16 Mr Richardson yes Mr Schaefer yes Mr pich yes Mrs Goodwin yes Mrs Fairman yes the motion passes 5 to zero all right um we're going to go to unfinished business we have three topics for discussion under unfinished business this evening the topics were tabled at the November 25th regular board meeting um the first one is regarding the Freedom of Information Act and Dr shander would you like to comment on that yes I had just um one comment so the division received a foyer request
029uh which included a request for communications to and from board members and our division regulations state that the public relations and Communications officer has been designated as the division's Foya officer and will coordinate responses to Foya request the division's practice is for the foyer officer um to request email records from our information technology department and coordinate a time to review records on ycsd as well as personal devices with each individual noted in a foa in June we had four members four board members complied with these practices while one refused to do so instead chose to review their own records to determine which if any were responsive um this is violating the Foy officers um process for records identification and review so as superintendent I I just want some clarification I'd like the board to let
030me know if this is an acceptable practice for staff and for you as a school board I think I can make the first comment um we need to follow the law um and I think when it's uh it's not followed it needs to be brought up so the public knows and I think in this in this case it's being brought up the public knows um that we had a board member that didn't uh participate I I participate whenever I get a phone call from you or or Miss uh the community for you officer to bring my phone in or even miss Barry um that I bring my phone in and they look at that look at it and see if there's anything they need to to download or take a picture of or whatever uh
031and we require employees to follow this and I think it's uh there's a problem if we have our employees following this and we as board members are not so that's my position um I would like to defer to miss Barry and get your intake your int your input excuse me on this uh the Foya law does doesn't address the uh how the division would collect it however it leaves it to individual divisions on how to collect it and as this practice has been a long-standing practice uh with the division it's um it's the division's practice and I will note that the board norms and protocols does require board members MERS to adhere to the division practice in Foya so I think my take on that would be um so you're saying under our policy basically
032so again I go back to if we have policy I mean what's what good is having a policy if you don't follow policy if you don't want to follow that policy then the policy should be amended and voted on that we're not going to do that but it hasn't so therefore logically it would seem like we would need to follow the policy that that's how I I interpret it until such time as we decide as a board that we want to do something different with the policy um so that's kind of where I rest on that okay is is there any legal or um consequences to uh not following the Foya law I mean is it a States or federal or what is it Miss Barry the requestor could file uh with the courts for
033um violation of Foya that's always an option um so it could place the board in Jeopardy liability and do we have any uh consequences that we could impose on as a board uh under the norms and protocols uh you do have uh consequences for violations of different um norms and protocols you have I believe it's it's in the uh board docs uh Library the last um one that was approved this past August and there is a list of different violations so my take on is on a fo any that I I think we do need to obey uh and follow the fo foil rules because it's part of the job that we sign out for um I don't know uh what the policy do we have exact policy with the language on there stating what
034exactly is expected to be done do we know I I don't know the name of the policy our policy uh puts the um information officer in charge of it okay and then the practice has been uh that we do certain things and the practice is that if there's a request for text messages the only way to get a text message is to see the phone and so the phones are brought in and the uh information officer sits with the board member or the staff member and they review it together the other thing I will say and this is just from leadership perspective I never asked people to do something that I wasn't willing to do myself so if I'm going to ask you know if I'm leading and I'm asking my staff or whoever to
035hey you have to do this then I as a leader need to do that as well and that's where I go back to if we as a board um aren't adhering to a policy that you know is on our policy guidelines then we're not setting the example for everybody else who has to adhere to that as well um and then I go back to saying with that said if you know if it's not acceptable there's something wrong then we discuss as a board that we need to alter or change it well I think also in the spirit of transparency that uh that we should follow it because if someone doesn't then it automatically uh casts doubt on on the whole board excuse me as I understand um the use of it and I did go
036through everything and and check to make sure you know if something fell underneath it and nothing was you know I I turned in what I had and checked my personal phone from my understanding uh with elect officials they are under basically the guideline that they are to check their personal items and turn it in and I had requested the name of uh the person who had filed uh the Foya and so I was waiting for that you know to see the actual foyer request rather than just a 3x5 card that just had words written down on it um that I wanted to see the official for you and that that was just a simple request and then once I saw that I turned in what was requested as my understanding the elected officials are responsible
037for abiding by the the policies and and regulations and practices of whatever body they serve uh and in this case it would be the practices that Miss goof has established uh so each search is is individualized there are certain Search terms that need to be looked for according to the the request and Miss goof is best suited to do that kind of search to maintain equality between all searches of all phones to make sure everything's done the same for everyone I guess at this time I guess as a board we need to I mean we have the policy in writing as it is there you know and I'm hearing most of us feel like is there anybody that does not feel like we should be doing that but we should not be adhering to the
038policy that we have written and that we adopted what is the policy number or letter you know the kba K kba my only request would be that as Miss Fairman stated that elected officials can look at their own phones and make those decisions for what they turn into what they don't my my question would be if that's going to be the expectation for board members you if I have a principal that's Foyd am I gonna or a athletic coach or an athletic director am I going to tell them to review their phone on their own first as well before they contact the Foy officer I think it has to be consistent I don't think that we can have one rule for us and one rule for other people I mean I think we all have
039to have the same the same standard I'm I'm not comfortable with having a rule for the board to be able to review and bring in and then saying everybody else has to do it the way we have our policy written I just don't that doesn't sit well with me well it's not a good way to build trust in the community either you know if if we don't like it I mean if it's not an acceptable practice then that policy needs to be changed but then it needs to be applied but then we get into you know what is is that the best is that the best practice Yeah that I'd say that uh you can't have rules for thee and not for me that's not how it works and that I think that we should
040all abide by it I mean if you don't have anything to hide then what difference does it make uh essentially if you don't comply then you are saying there could be something wrong here I'm not being going to be transparent uh and quite frankly I would say that if uh if we don't follow the policy then we do need to be disciplined uh to the fullest extent of the that the board norms and protocols allows to happen I I think over here is that the question is not like know are we following or not absolutely we need to follow it uh I think it's just the procedural thing that it's not clear uh exactly what's the process because uh you know through the training that I had about fo I think I've been through maybe
041two or three already something like that uh and it's clear with the officer what their duties are and everything but like know this the first time that I encountered like know as far as like know which device and who needs to who has access to it right and that's not listed I'm looking at kba right now no I read the same thing it's not on there um I I I absolutely are for transparency and in all of our communication just don't know is it something that we miss Melanie do we need to clarify within the policy the records so can I ask just a quick question I'm sorry Mr pich sure I think the the middle part is is pretty clear officers employees and members of the school board who failed to provide public records
042as required by Foya because they altered or destroyed the request records with the intent to avoid the provisions of Foya are subject to penalties in their individual capacity of up to $100 per record altered or destroyed I think that's pretty I don't I think that's pretty clear it doesn't say the procedure though that's the issue and I did check everything and I turned in what I had and noted what I did not have you know the if if a device doesn't have something it doesn't have something with the information was sent to you on Tuesday July 9th that you requested and you you responded July 16th and if I could point out under policy kba third paragraph it states the Foy officer serves as a point of contact for members of the public and requesting
043public records and coordinates the school board's compliance with Foya so as she's coordinating the compliance she's the one who has established a practice and that's why it's a practice and not a policy she's established a practice and the practice is you bring your phone in and you allow her to search it as she searched all the other phones to keep it a consistent and Equitable search at all board members phones and I would add that the request in July or June when this happened wasn't the first request that the board has received you guys unfortunately had to endure January February March and routinely turned your phones in so this was outside of the scope of how that happened so the the practice was working for several months and then in this case it did not
044well I think it was when it was found out that um other divisions and other elected officials do not get summoned into the office they are sent what the Foy is so they see the actual foyer request the form uh or how it is received via email and then um the elected official turns in if they if they have a device the York County device so that's that's not an issue of checking checking that and you all have access to the the emails and then it's up to us as elected officials with our oath that we check our personal devices and turn in what we have and if we don't have it we respond saying we don't have anything on the personal device so if if I could ask my forye officer to come to
045the podium so she could share her perspective on sure the process I think Miss goff's been here for 12 years and I'm not sure if she's been the so I guess yes sir I have 18 years of experience as a Foy officer okay so I'm going to speak from experience um why we do what we do and why I have done this with the board members um with this board and prior board members in that um a as Miss Barry has stated it's Equitable practices we do this together you can tell I'm looking at you sat next to me right while we did the search in fact most times you held the phone in your hand I told you what to look for you continued that search within the last 3 years we have actually
046been part of a different foyer request in which records were requested and when they were submitted and it was not this board but we were conjoined to the request one elected official turned in emails and texts from their devices in the scenario that was brought forward that they checked their own it included Communications with another board member and that board member did not locate or turn in those devices that chain of communication we establish and follow our practices to ensure one individual does not miss something another individual shows therefore as Mr Schaefer has shared indicating a potential Mal inent in withholding a record so we've had the personal experience of this this is why we follow our practices so I think what I was hearing Miss Fairman you were saying is it it sounded like
047the you're not on board with the practice you don't like the practice and that maybe the practice you want change but I don't think we I don't see that we can just go arbitrarily and just do something differently without going back first and changing well it looks like we it looks like we don't have the practice in policy the practice isn't there it's just kind of it's what we've always done right so other other divisions do it a different way so I guess we're going to do whatever they do instead of doing what we do here in York County no just keeping track uh because also checking with our Board of Supervisors with our local um officials in the general assembly um that they are asked what it is and then they turn in it's
048up to them as elected officials it is their responsibility to go through and make sure everything is turned in it just doesn't show good Integrity I don't I don't think but that's just me I just no I thought it was working I mean four of us did it all this time and all of a sudden boom it just stopped with one person what was the problem just checking to know how elected officials are treated and respected it's the public or the community that's asking the questions for for you not me and it's up to each elected official to make sure that they turn that in which I did and you know I looked at looked at my things and what one of the things that was interesting is there was a Foya training uh at
049the spma um impower Ed and it was Megan Ryme I have to look up her name again I'm sorry but hang on one moment and I will get that for you she is she's a specialist in fo you just a second Megan Ry um the Virginia Coalition for open government um she is an attorney uh she has championed open government in Virginia since 1998 University of Colorado Colorado Law grad and advocates for transparency organizes Foya seminars and um works with Foya inquiries from the public and media and with the general assembly okay uh you know I really don't care how lden County does it Spotsylvania County does it anyone else does it we've done I've been here for five years and followed every fo request who was ever uh asked of me and I think
050if you aren't then it shows that you have a total lack of respect for your constituents that you uh could be potentially hiding something no I did follow everything I just asked for more information that I was I found out that I was allow in your phone I don't turn in your phone and by law that's not required your personal phone it is up to us as individual elected officials to look through our phones didn't you get a complaint about noise from a constituent from tab Middle School in your personal phone I will have to look I really think what we need to do here is oh I know what you were talking about follow just just a I really think what we need to do is like you know we do have a pro
051process Miss go that you you're following and I would suggest that we put that in writing to systematically put what exactly is going to be done and Implement that into our policy so we don't have any more questions and issues about this thing yeah I I would offer that the Foya process in law has been around for quite some time yes the policy has been in place for quite a long time this count I've been here for 10 years Miss goof has been my foil or our foil officer for a decade and that's a practice there's a difference between a policy and a practice correct Miss Barry correct so the it's when when there's a fo you done with the phones because it's happened to me multiple times since I've been here as Miss Goff
052said from the podium that's how the that's the practice it's she doesn't even want to hold your phone I mean she's done it with many of you she'll sit there and say pull this up type this in because there's specific well yeah there's specific searches that are involved so I I don't know if the answer is put the practice in writing because we just explained the practice I mean truly we just explained the practice so the the expectation would be that if the voy officer contacts any staff member because she it's a timeline right don't we have five days to respond so we have five days to respond and when that comes in we contact board members you come in that day or you know as soon as you can because we're she and the
053division are on a timeline by law to provide those documents or the division is in trouble or there would be a consequence for the division correct so to me a reasonable expectation would be if you receive a Foya for your phone or whatever that information is comply bring the phone in I don't think I don't think it's asking too much that's just my my opinion because I have 2,000 staff members here that if they're Foyd that's what I would tell them bring your phone in come in and principal AP ad whoever that's the expectation if it's a coach bring it in right and so that we can look for the information do our due diligence and move on to the next situation that we're dealing with so I think the the issue or the problem
054comes in when when you don't comply to the rules or the practice that we've always done well I can just say for myself like know I do believe and I do comply so it's up to you guys I have no issue with it I mean I I think it's a good practice um again I feel like I have nothing to hide so why I why won't I share the phone I mean I mean and it it's worked it's worked up to this point well and and furthermore the the the board members have phones that are paid for by the public so if if the Foy officer comes and ask for your your work phone so to speak your ycsd phone the answer should be I'll come in in an hour I'll come in tomorrow or
055I'll be in the end of the day because it takes five minutes it's not like it's a you know a long session for this information especially when the device that you're using for public business right is paid for by the school division right and you already have uh immediate access to the emails it's basically just the text messages if there's anything there correct so then are you you're okay with bringing in your phone and that where we I still say elected officials uh it is up to you to to check it you you have your thing and if if you want me to drop off the phone you know sometime or whatever and I will stay with it but the the issue is is that for immediate checking check the the text messages I can
056do that okay no one's ever asked and I have no one has asked you to drop off your phone we've said just come in so that we can follow the same process that we followed in January February March April and May I would I wouldn't just drop off off the phone I obviously would stay with it in that case but with with the school phone once again it is still up to the elected official to check it where is where is that written I will have to look that up maybe that would be helpful if yeah we can get our hands on something where it says that to so we can have it and we can look at it that would probably be a good idea you can certainly look that up wouldn't that wouldn't
057that go away from the spirit of what Foya is I mean if if the whole point of Foya is for the public to request information from elected officials or school officials or government officials then why would they give you the option to check it yourself right I just I don't understand that reasoning I would say let's go by the fouryear process if it's not followed and we knowingly disregard it then we should be disciplined by the uh board I don't think we should knowingly disregard it I don't think that's yeah right at all so and we have I mean we have a policy that or protocols that outline that okay so I would like to make a motion that we comply with our original practice of how we're handling request so point of order I
058think we need to have everything in writing first so we can actually take a look at it and review it I would pull up policy kba because it's in writing the procedure is not in kba the Foy officer serves as a point of contact for members of the public and requesting public records and coordinates the school board's compliance with Foy the Foya officer receives training at least once um during each consecutive period of two calendar years beginning on the date on which the Foy officer last completed training session by the school board's legal council or the Freedom of Information advisory Council so if if we want to pra if we want to write two sentences that say the Foy officer will call Board member board member will bring in phone I I personally think that's
059it's a given that that's a given request um if if that's something that the board wants to spend time on and put in writing then that's that's again that's your prerogative as board members um however again if the board is going to because your job is policy my my job is practice so I I fully understand the practice and I think that um the majority of the board understands that practice but the board isn't responsible for writing the practice you're responsible for the policy actually yeah I agreed that the board is responsible for the policy and then the superintendent is for uh implementing that particular policy and I know with our other policies we make sure things are written down it is not just floating out there as well we've done this before we make
060sure that it's written specifically in policy and so I think it needs to be uh followed for this one in particular if we're going to do that thank you so I guess the question begs if if if a parent calls the school should we write a practice specifically designed so the principal knows how to call back a parent and respond to a question or information that's requested by a parent do we need a practice for that let's not get ridiculous I think I think we're already there we're already there sorry I mean if we're going to have a practice for a two-step process again as as a superintendent that we're we're managing you know 13,000 kids and 2,000 staff members to ask for a to write down a two-step Pro process is exactly what the
061word that you just said in my opinion okay in response to your motion I'll second okay I just uh just discussion I just want to say that um I think that we should move forward with it keeping things that you know as we have done them so that we can continue the practice if you want to go ahead and you know get policy and we can Circle back we can definitely look at it but I think moving forward we have to have some kind of solidarity on what we're doing we just can't kind of leave it out there it doesn't sit right with me um it's I I have no problem with it I think most of us don't have a problem with it right now and if we like I said want to look
062at it later bring it back you know um personally there's a million and one things that are important to folks on and while I'm not saying this is not important I don't think this is the highest level of importance that we need to focus on at this time and I would I would remind the board you don't and just just to clarify one of the word you said solidarity you don't need solidarity you need majority right you know what I'm saying like really majority three of you again solidarity is great love to have solidarity but right right now we need majority right so um you seconded M Howard a motion was made by Mrs Goodwin and seconded by Mr schaer to comply with original practice for foyer requests Mr Richardson yes Mr schaer yes Mr
063pich yes Mrs Goodwin yes Mrs Fairman no we need it written the motion passed 4 to one [Applause] okay our next topic is board rules and responsibilities I'm going to defer over to Dr shander yes thank you and um so this is related to school board norms and protocols we had a situation Mr Richardson began to mention it earlier during the discussion where a citizen contacted a board member um and according to the board's norms and protocols the citizens should have been referred to the school however the board member sent a video and a phone number um with a name to contact with the board member summary of the concern I then asked for how the information was received it was shared that it was a personal text so I then asked for the personal
064text as IT addresses public business regarding the School Division and this communication is public record so my question this question is now from Miss Barry for clarification is a personal text message to an elected official related to the business of the school division considered a public record and if so is this a foer violation the key to a public record is it's in the course of public business did the text message have to do with public business if it does it doesn't matter if it's on a personal phone or if it's a personal included in a personal message it's public business and it's foilable and if that uh information is not provided it would be conceived as a forya violation and I'll just just say that in my training and years on the board I've
065had people contact me on my personal Facebook page about school board issues as soon as I read the first line it says Schoolboard I reply back please text me at this number and I give him my Schoolboard phone number with your information that way it's documented on a Schoolboard device and I don't have to worry about having my personal stuff uh fory you um and that's the way I've been handling and I've only had it happen like maybe once or twice I think in my my years on the school board uh but that was something that I learned during foia training that that's a way to do it to keep keep your personal stuff separate from your Schoolboard stuff but that's just just me I believe I passed along the information to Dr shandor you
066know following how you know we're supposed to pass things on to you uh when we get issues like that I will have to go back and look I thought I had passed along the um the the video and the information you you did you passed the video her contact information and then you wrote a separate narrative about noise pollution I emailed you back and I said please send me I said was it was it a person how did you receive it an email a text message or whatnot and you said it was a personal text and I said please for forward me that information so because when we're when I'm having Staff address concerns and issues which as board members you know you receive you know whether it's a instructional issue or a pothole in
067a parking lot I mean you're you're sending those those that information so I have to then share that with appropriate staff members so they can contact folks and we can work I will have to go back and look to see if I screenshot what or if I did a copy and paste to send you the information on that but I was open in who had sent it she had said to let you know the information sent the video and pass that along I I don't think I would have to go back and and double check on that but it I did not deny any information that I know of I wouldn't know because I never received the response and email from you so I don't I don't know if there was additional information or what
068you put in there was accurate I wouldn't have that information because I didn't get the issues directly from the constituent well and that's what she said she wanted to go into more detail with whoever could call her about that and that's why she said please pass along my personal information so that they can get the the details which is what I did and I would caution the board members when we receive citizen complaints or citizen concerns a lot of times the foia request it's it's hidden inside that that communication because they don't have to say this is a foer request and that's what Miss GF is trained on and so by sending the exact message forwarding it Miss golf could then look at it and and tease out the exact request and that way that
069ensures the division is not violating fo you and we're answering exactly what they need I mean I think that's smart practice anyway I mean a lot of times I get uh texts or emails from you know citizens in the district and you know I don't know the context and everything behind it so my first you know uh way of handling it is to reply and say you know thank you for your concern I'm going to forward this to my superintendent who will make sure that the appropriate person receives it and can deal with it um um you know I think that's the best way it's just here here's the information and I really don't if somebody's going to send me something and that they want me to handle but tell me not to share it
070I can't do anything with that I mean I you know I have to be able to communicate it to somebody who can do it because I'm not I'm not out I'm not there 247 I don't see what's going on and know all the background stuff so I think it's just good practice that's that's what we do we send it on well if if you look at the fifth um if you go on to board norms and protocols and you look at the fifth item it's responding to staff or Community complaints um outside of Schoolboard meetings it just says board members will refer the Community member through the proper channel of communication which as I mentioned in this case should have been the Principal at this particular Middle School um that's it's stated in the student
071handbook and conduct code addressing concerns and the family engagement and Communications section right and then let the superintendent know of this conversation um and again we've we've tried to encourage you know board members to use the let's talk platform however I feel like um you know the majority of you that receive a any type of concern uh typically you'll you'll respond to the person and just copy me on it and and that I think that's worked very well because then we have the information directly from the Community member parent business owner whoever it might be that has a question or concern you'll quickly send that to us and then we can make sure the appropriate person responds to it however when we don't have all the information it it makes it difficult for our staff
072members to try and work through things if you try to if you try in your attempts to interpret what they were saying just just send us send us what they said or refer them to the person it just it makes things um direct you know the direct problem can go to the person who could solve the problem versus having it get something missed again it's it's number five on the board Norms of protocols so are we all good are we all good with that protocol I mean that's four of us are four of us four of us signed the board norms and protocols so one did not so I guess that's where we're at so we need to move on he's not going to comply it's but I did think that you were okay with
073it this was that's what I want to ascertain is that a no I did I did not sign the norms and protocols um because um we're governed by our oath to the Virginia and US Constitution and Virginia law that's right that's it yep the you know that's that's true but you know we have board norms and protocols and I understand your hesitancy with it in a way but it does provide some guard rails for us as a board I think that are useful and for I mean we were all in agreement when we voted on those that they were useful and we had the opportunity to strike any add any or change any that we didn't think really work for us um I don't think there was anything in there that you know wasn't actually
074useful is there a law that requires us to have a norms and protocol and follow it there there's no law it wasn't about having a law it was about a again like a best practice Madam chair I think we're wasting our time on this so can we move on to the next topic I'm good we don't need a vote or anything do we to do we need to to vote on like we did the last no we've already voted I have one request yes we don't we and the board does not need need to do this now but I'm aware that the board members have seen my contract and many of the people in the community have seen my contract I would ask the board members to review my contract under where it says how
075complaints are handled so I I have a contract with a board right that states in there how that's supposed to happen so I would encourage board members to read my contract because it is the board norms and Protocols are just are guiding practices it's best practices right this board this your County School Board went years without I remember having protocols didn't imp and the board chose to implement them when they needed to implement them meaning they had to start it so we had some guardrails and and so we're doing things consistently because some folks you know were having a hard time with that so um I don't think it's asking too much I don't either I mean I I think they're good I you know it's helpful thank you okay so I'm gonna hearing nothing
076else I'm going to move on uh we're going to go ahead and uh go to to policy a foundations and basic commitments um this was something that we tabled last time because some of us just you know we're wrestling with some of the language so it says are we going to do a right to vote or discussion first then vote okay before we go to motion first and second is there any discussion that we want to have right here about that policy or do we want to move just to vote that's point of order I believe with Robert's Rules you have to have a motion first and then discussion you have a motion second and and then you have discussion before the vote can do it either way I think well I we can certainly
077do it that way I don't have a problem with it can I get um the motion would be uh a first and a second to approve revisions to policy a foundations and base the commitments Madam chair I'll make a motion to uh accept the changes as provided or presented for section A foundations of Bas and basic commitments okay do I have a second I'll second okay now we can have discussion okay wouldd like to have any discussion centered around I'll go ahead and start the discussion because I I had some questions about the the language and the the wording and the verbage that was being used uh but after some discussion with Council um found out that these are basic things that are in the law and we swor an oath to follow the law
078and think we need to follow the law if someone doesn't like the language then they would need to approach the general assembly or the federal government uh to get them to make those changes but we have to at at this level at our level we have to follow the law and all this does is protect uh 18 and older students and uh also employees that are in a protected class about the law so that's all I have regarding that uh I'll go ahead and I'll read uh there was a legal memorandum given to the board members I believe at the October meeting um from Fring freedoms Law Center uh the question that some citizens presented was is the York County School Board required by law to add the phrase sexual orientation or the phrase gender
079identity to its list of protected classifications for its students the answer is no nothing in Virginia or federal law requires the school board to adopt such a policy this is the analysis that they gave title 22.1 education of the Virginia code covers all matters involving education in Virginia's public schools except for Charter Schools no statute within title 22.1 offers or requires any special non-discrimination protections for students on the basis of either sexual orientation or gender identity in Virginia's public schools and no law requires the school board to adopt such a policy Virginia code 22.12 3.3 does direct the Virginia Department of Education to develop model policies quote concerning the treatment of transgender students in public elementary and secondary schools unquote on seven specific topics and it requires school boards to adopt policies consistent therewith the
080yunan Administration has developed those policies entitled mod quote model policies on ensuring privacy dignity and respect for all students and parents in Virginia Public Schools and quote moreover the Virginia Human Rights Act VH which generally prohibits discrimination on certain bases in certain context does not apply God bless you does not apply to miners in places of public accommodation and significantly the VH does not wave sovereign immunity so it cannot be enforced against Public School District for all these reasons the law does not support a contention that York county is required to add the categories of quote sectional orientation unquote or quote gender identity unquote to its non-discrimination policy and I think the only part I would argue is that if we don't apply this it makes it look like in our other policies we have
081it but in this one we're not so we're singling out uh employees or or people that are 18 or older um by not identifying them I don't I don't it's it's verbiage it's wording um of a specific class that was that was protected by the government um and and again I think by not changing the policy but having it elsewhere in the policy again it makes it look like we're singling out this class and we're not going to protect them and it opens us up up to liability I agree with you in in some respect my I would say my only concern and I know our students are protected under policy so a is umbrella we've got J J for the students for the students receiving equal education and then policy is it K or
082g g yeah for the person for harassment protection and free for harass JB JB is for the educational opportunities that nobody will be discriminated against those policies and then for uh JF ha or GBA it's for harassment and retaliation so those are two policies that already reflect sexual oration our students are protected and that's my main concern I want to make sure there's protection and so they are but when it with policy a and I see policy a as a broad policy my only concern is there's no guardrails around those terms and when you look at if you look at the uh the CDC definition I think even the code we looked up code of Virginia I think too it's Broad and I would just like to see more more guard rails around that because
083I worry that somehow there's something we're missing we don't see that opens us up down the road so I would like to mend a motion actually for this uh the only language that I believe that it doesn't truly reflect uh and it's specific enough for us to be able to be specific on on on this issue it would be gender identity um by the CDC as you mention uh the terminology for where I'm having a very hard time and issue with uh like know disting this that it doesn't Define actually what it is because General identity according to CDC is individual sense of their self as a man woman transgender or something else yeah what is something else so the something else is I I don't know what I understand like know the man woman
084transgender but that something else is what I'm having a issue with so I would make motion for us to remove that because uh it just is not defined so your motion is to amend amend language to remove the gender identity out of this non-discrimination Clause Mr pich would you take a friendly amendment to that and include the sexual orientation phrase also to be removed for like sexual orientation for me is like you know it's something that's personal uh and what I'm seeing is like know even CDC reflection of it is refers to person sexual emotional attraction to another person and the behavior or social affiliation that may result from this attraction example lesbian G or bisexual so for uh for me that's something that like say it's a personal and it's defined in like how
085they feel about uh themselves so the I I I just don't see that that language personally would be reflecting the like my belief that would be I believe it's open open-ended you know I'm okay with sexual orientation I'm not comfortable and I said with the the identity because it's too broad I don't know you know we have guard rails around things for a reason I feel like there needs to be some kind of a guard rail that's all so you you want your amended policy is to have the gender identity remov removed and at least we can get some guard rails or something yes because it's just undefined something else it could be brought it is brought what does our Council have to say about it to bring up the lunch thing he knew it
086was going to come to you yeah she I would caution the board uh we have the Virginia Human Rights Act which applies to 18 and older um which includes students and staff because we have 18yar old students we have 20y old students um the Department of Agriculture that runs the free and reduced lunch and breakfast programs uh we sign uh a form that says that we will uphold their non-discrimination practices and I agree with that because I read read through them like no uh their policy says we nobody will be denied their benefits correct on this discriminatory policies which we don't we according to Dr shandor and our staff including you we did not have any discriminatory allegation ever in past based on any of this issues so for us to uh work with them
087and actually uh there was a complaint for the USDA that you have to be discriminated against correct to comp alleg discrimination exactly and uh it still doesn't like reflect on us that we will be denied their services and their uh program well it would be a facial challenge so were their their allegation is that on on its face the fact that we don't have this in our policy shows that we're discriminatory against them so it's it can open us up to liability they might not win but it's still open I understand but I don't see like reason why would somebody be denied in our school system for any reason to receive the free meal yeah we wouldn't deny anybody miss we follow law Miss Barry point of order um when Mr pich made his motion
088there was never a second for the discussion okay correct we'd have to have a second for the amendment um I would just have concerns and maybe we put a definition of gender identity maybe we put definitions of some of the terms in our policies that's what that's my guard rail that's the guard rail I'm think I'm looking for okay so so is the definition is the definition of gender identity the hold up and it's because it says gender transgender whatever then it says or anything else no it's not it's not even transgender it's like what it is it's individual sense of their self as a man woman or something else or something trans or something else so if we took the sense of right anything if we made our definition and took or something else
089out with that like I it's just a identity like itself the word like so what are you trying to do you have to put you would have to add in terminology I think to that's what I'm saying that we're talking about saying would that make it I think that we could get there but I don't think some of us aren't comfortable adopting it as is because how broad so miss Barry if we were to if we were to come up with a definition of gender identity that was palatable for all the board members is that possible I was looking to see if the Department of Agriculture had a definition of gender identity they don't um because they had pretty much everything a person's internal sense of being male female or something else such as G
090agender binary gender fluid gender non-conforming gender career or non-binary if we could just refer to if they have a definition if I can find it we could just refer to that definition that's what I was asking if but we need to do a little time yeah maybe we need to do some more research before we uh we vote on this and do it in January so can we then make a motion we we've been dealing with this policy now for about what two months two and a half months resar every meeting so like well we're naring it down weing it down we come back with a better definition I understand that but I'm just talking about like no we're doing more research more research every time that's why I'm saying I was saying do we
091make a motion to move it again to unfinished business in January giving time to take a look at that get some clarity some guard rails around that would that be acceptable I'm okay with it mind we're okay with the motion okay so motion to table I'm making a motion that we move this policy a foundations and Basics basic commitments to unfinished business at our January work session or it would be the vote would be at the board meeting we could do it at the work session too could we we don't typically vote we don't typically do it but I mean we we've let it go can you can make that a special meeting okay we can make it a speci meeting and that way we'll have some time to get to research board members can
092be contacted by the attorney with the definition they all everybody can put some guard rails around it right okay I'm I'm okay with that so that everybody feels good about what we're voting on I'm okay with that is that okay okay so can I get a second I'll second that all right great Miss Howard we did have an original motion a first and a second so I'm wondering do we no we had a first we never got a second well we had a first by Mr Richardson to approve and then a second by Mr schaer oh I'm sorry was amending it discussion so the discussion was to amend so we need to vote on it then deny it and then move it on we have to vote and deny it and then make it or
093no you have to second that is yes I'm amable to that correct yes with the substitute motion yes right did you get all that I'm sorry folks I I I'm learning this is my year of chair learning Robert's Rules of Order so there's it's a big book there's a lot to it I'm learning too to move okay here we go a motion was made by Mr Richards or I'm Sorry by Mrs Goodwin and seconded by Mr Richardson to table policy a to unfinished business to our January work session yes Mr pich yes Mr Richardson yes Mr schaer yes Mrs Fairman yes Mrs Goodwin yes the motion passes 5 to zero all right thank you all right thank you for your patience folks um we have no presentation so we're going to move on to comments
094of citizens we have two opportunities to speak this evening the first is for General topics and the second is a forum specifically relating to comments regarding the Capital Improvements program and operating budget before I open for public comments I will share some remarks the school board provides a public comment period for the public to comment on topics gerain to business of the school board the school board expects that each speaker will be courteous modeling Civility and respect for our students we ask that speakers direct their cont comments to the school board as a whole and not to one individual speakers will present their comments at the podium each speaker may speak up to 3 minutes a timer is visible to speakers from the podium and speakers should conclude their remarks when the red light comes
095on the yellow light will come on first that gives you about 20 seconds before the red the timer will begin after you state your name and District if a concern is brought to the board's attention a staff member will reach out to you to follow up okay I now open the public participation for comments of citizens okay start with okay um I think that's on the wrong card but there's no okay it doesn't matter I'm just make I would use the White cards correct yeah White cards yes but that's not a public hearing is it I think she oh okay okay I just want to make sure I'm doing it right all right our first Speaker tonight is Miss Pam push show from District 4 Community which was named after the confederate general John B
096McGruder this community was home to free Le slaves and their descendants but the federal government twice confiscated their property and relocated them to the Grove area John McGruder was a slave owner and as a soldier for the Confederacy burned most of Hampton to the ground to prevent Contraband slaves from living in the community please correct me if I am misinformed I have not heard about any discussions about changing the name of this school does this reflect a lack of caring or a lack of belief in the truth about how the name came about or that you just prefer to keep the name in place to honor a slaveholder and a traitor to the US who killed American soldiers the people of York County deserve to be told what each of you think about this matter
097and why if a name changes to occur may I suggest a more neutral name such as equality Elementary or Freedom Elementary to reflect the 52% minority student population or better yet ask students and faculty to make suggestions and not a committee that allows a handful of people to make the decision for the many let everyone get involved who wants to be part of the solution there is always a cost of a name change to consider besides the name of the school on the exterior all other items where the name appears can be changed over time as the items need to be replaced or reordered changing the name of the school is in the best interest of the students and the county let's not honor those who have done nothing to deserve it and are in
098fact a disgrace to humanity and on another another issue I realize it's controversial but honestly why does a school board care who loves who how they identify sexually it is absolutely ridiculous these are human beings consider them human beings don't worry about their sexual orientation it's [Applause] ridiculous sorry our next speaker is Dr Alan Kennedy good evening uh members of the school board uh my name is Alan Kennedy and I am a proud resident uh and taxpayer in District 1 um and apparently I pay for a phone uh for Schoolboard members including Miss Fairman um who refused refuses to turn over that phone to retrieve the text messages in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act which is a state law so I'm paying for that phone and Miss Fairman is refusing to follow the
099law now miss Fairman just a few minutes ago tried to make a whole bunch of different excuses for why she is refusing to follow the law and she said that she said it was she got this idea at a at anma now remember the spma is an organization that this District does not subscribe to uh and does not endorse um but it is an it is a right-wing organization that Miss Fairman belongs to um and she said that there was a training by Megan Ry well after she said that I called Megan Ry and Megan Ryan said that's not what she said Miss Fairman misinterpreted Megan ry's advice because Megan Ry is a lawyer who understands the law and Megan Ryan said she said she actually told Miss Fairman that nothing compels turning over a
100personal phone uh if it if it uh doesn't have public business on it but it does compel turning over the government paid phone um if it does have with public business on that and it's it's and she also she also advised Miss Fairman at Miss fairman's uh uh request for clarification U Miss Fairman asked for asked well what if there are four key word keywords and one of them three about public business and one about Trump now I think she's I think Miss fairman's referring to a foyer request that I made some months ago um Miss Ryan Megan Ryan advised that the that Miss Fairman does not have the legal authority to decide in advance what is and is not public business that is the province of the Foy officer so miss Fairman would you
101um be willing to correct the record now that we all know that you did not accurately reflect uh your conversation with Attorney Megan Ryan the question that I asked was dealing with uh in generalities and the issue was when you're given just words how do we know if it's uh dealing with um public issues or if it's a personal one and that's the one that you take a screenshot off and and you send it in if there's question of whether it's dealing with Schoolboard policy thank you Mr Kennedy thank you okay our next speaker is Mary Lasser good evening u i uh lived in James City County but we went to Frederick Douglas for our entertainment our Recreation during the summer and that school name was changed to muda Elementary and Frederick Douglas was a
102safe haven to us because we were not allowed to go to muda elementary to uh use their facilities back in the 50s and the early 60s and the village of we have Camp Perry that has verified in their pamphlet that the school that the village of McGruder was named after John B McGruder and it says um the village of McGruder was named in honor of General James B McGruder and they they it encompassed the land that is now uh um Camp Perry and I don't think that York County can dispute with the Navy United States Navy what that previous name was and I want to re reiterate some points that were made last week that newspaper article of 20121 it stated that um some historians had been um contacted to um give their opinion on
103whether that um school name should be changed and when we met with some school administrators they could not really tell us uh what the uh historians said I doubt if those historians were even familiar with McGruder I believe one there was no name given but I believe that one was maybe an expert on um slab Town another one had attended uh segregated integrated schools back in the60s he uh and I spoke with one of his friends she said that he didn't know uh that much about the McGruder area and so when you have a meeting like that and you're getting historians to give their input and you put it in the paper you should tell what those reasons were and what who those people were it should be some notes made somewhere but that was
104not presented to us okay the people of McGruder do not feel lost that is not a true statement those people were displaced um some of them were displaced back in 1918 so they definitely were had um established reestablished themselves and that was just a tagline that a uh student at women Mary had used in his dissertation about the Lost tribe in McGruder so that's just a fallacy okay McGruder was in the uh brutin District as early as 1920 the students were moved to Penman Road um and um the new school was built in 1951 and is stated in the Daily Press and in 1954 that the school was named in honor of John B McGruder and you can't say 72 years later that the school was named in honor of a predominantly black um Community
105that's like saying I'm going to have a birthday party but you're not allowed to come to your own birthday party uh black students were not able to go to mcgruden cler [Applause] at this time is there anybody who is not signed up to speak that would like to speak yes okay just state your name and District good evening denil Francis District 2 my child niece and nephew or York County um students um I wanted to um address some of the things at the board meeting tonight uh I would like to request um immediate sanctions for Linda Fairman um anyone having sat through the Virginia state foyer training recognizes the dilemma here uh recognizes the Hostile Spirit recognizes that the intent of the foia training is not being acknowledged and this is not professional and this
106is contrary to how any group of people should be working there should be immediate sanctions there should be immediate action to rectify this if not the entire board should be held accountable rules and guidelines are in place the guard rails you speak of so that we have functioning bodies and groups that can complete business the Antics the obstructive Behavior the unprofessional behavior the lack of transparency is ridiculous this has to stop there need to be immediate sanctions moving forward if not this entire board is accountable the second point that I'd like to point out is nobody needs to look through uh defining uh defining gender identity or sexual orientation uh Miriam Webster's done that their human rights groups that have done that uh this information is out there please educate yourself let's stop vilifying people
107let's stop making things dangerous that aren't dangerous There's real work that needs to be done our taxpayer dollars are paying for you all to meet many of you ran on a notion of fiscal responsibility I have yet to see that I have seen time and energy wasted taxpayer dollars wasted oh when we pay for cell phones that we then don't have the right to the information on those cell phones this is absurd please meet pull yourselves together and let's behave like grown-ups moving forward conducting business in the best interest of our students thank [Applause] you okay all right I now close the public hearing um excuse me part I'm sorry I now close the public participation for comments of citizens okay we will move on to uh the public hearing on 20 FY 26 superintendent
108recommended Capital Improvement plan um Dr Shandra do you have any remarks before we begin yes just just a few um so uh this evening is an opportunity for the community to give us input and feedback related to the capital Improvement plan as you recall board members Dr Carol presented on November 18th the at the work the facili master plan which uh was if you recall a descriptive Report with all kinds of numbers including capacity at our schools um excuse me and and all of the projects um and where they are the projects that we've completed let me let me show that and the projects that are sort of on the horizon if you recall he also added in a I think it was an appendex or a section in there that lists all of the
109projects that have been done in every school I think that was very helpful ful um for the board members and I think that's very helpful for our community it clearly shows what projects are next right um and this evening Mr Bowen our Chief Financial Officer pres presented information on elementary middle and high school projects in the school division as well as some division level projects he shared those earlier at the work session um and if you look at um the proposed CIP which is the FY 26 year is what what you'll be eventually taking action on um the total capital projects for the for that year FY 26 would be um over $20 million the total capital projects in cash would be $3 million so the net for the um the amount that to be
110funded and financed by the county would be um just over $17 million so that's the information I have to share I don't believe anyone was signed up for the no uh we do not have anybody signed up at this time uh for the public hearing on recommended Capital Improvements so with that said I now close public hearing on FY 26 superintendent recommended Capital Improvements program and we will move forward uh with the rest of our agenda we'll move on to Matters by board members um and I'll start with Mr Schaefer to share any marks that he has thank you I will be brief tonight uh last week was uh the SOA swing dance and if you've never been you miss something that is just uh fantastic the Williamsburg uh classic Swing Orchestra performed and the
111SOA kids uh showed off their dancing skills and it was just a great time last Thursday now uh we've got um uh band concerts this week I would like to point out that uh brutin becoming the uh uh purple purple star school once again uh was a great thing and that uh that uh along with McGruder Elementary and it's nice to see that all all the schools in your county are purple star schools that's something to be proud of really is thank you all right Mr pich yes I will be also brief uh it's just been a short couple weeks since the last meeting um last week I attended in a Grafton High School uh choir concert Christmas concert and I would like to just uh extend my congratulations to miss Jared for her effort
112in developing uh course um I'm not sure for ground up but like she done amazing job uh there was 85 students on stage and there they just uh sang beautifully it was a just a treat to listen to them so thank her from bottom of my heart for being such a great teacher and uh putting our kids first um also just want to say thank you to all of the parents and everybody present here tonight for being here and supporting our students in our schools our administrators and our uh teachers this has been amazing year and would like to say Merry Christmas Happy New Year I wish every one of you guys the wealth health and prosperity in the new year and I'm looking forward to the next year for all the challenges and successes
113we all going to share together thank you okay um Mr Richardson yes thank you so um I just like to tell everybody just remember what this uh what's important during this holiday season and to spend time with your family and your friends and uh thank you to the families and staff and administrators of our division for everything they they always do for us every day and Merry Christmas to everyone and happy holidays thank you Miss Fairman hi thank you and I apologize for missing the November meetings due to illness uh it's not fun if anybody's had it uh what's going around it definitely laid me up and my voice is still not quite back um I also unfortunately missed the cak the special ed advisory committee meeting um due to the illness the beginning of
114this week and we'll have info at uh that at the next regular meeting um some things to um to go over I attended the spma Empower Ed training last Thursday and Friday uh presenters included Virginia's Secretary of Education Amy gadera uh several members of the Virginia Board of Education and we had special guest speakers who gave um informative talks and also took a lot of question question answers was governor Glenn yunan lieutenant governor winom Sears and attorney general Jason mies um so that was great that they came out and they recognized uh the school board members who were in attendance and spoke with us about uh important items along those lines um I can go into more details because I know it's getting to be a long um long evening also wanted to um bring
115up again that I'm requesting that um the York County and the the School Division employees who get free tuition for their students if they live outside of York County that it be listed as a benefit on their um financial statements because it that's quite a chunk of change and if anybody lives outside and wants to come into York County they have to pay several thousand dollars in tuition and I think it's only right that we uh recognize when that's given free to non- York County residents who are employees of the county or of the school division that we at least acknowledge that that is an added benefit that not other employees um get and um I think that will be it for now because we're short on time thank you very much thank you and
116uh I would just like to say that I wish uh everybody the students the staff administrators and teachers teachers the happiest of holidays uh whatever you celebrating um just make sure to enjoy the time off and um you know just get some rest recharge for the new year I know these last couple weeks it's like the home stretch um in my line of work this time of year it's very busy and I too am looking forward to December 20th um so I just want everybody to to just hang in there it's two weeks we go by fast and it'll be here before you know it and just to uh enjoy that time off all right and now to the really fun stuff I'll ask Mr Schaefer to discuss financial [Laughter] matters oh consideration of approval
117of claim certified for payment significant expenditures for November uh for instruction total approximately $481,000 and uh the main cost there was for $99,800 for CH Children's Service Services act to student tuition payments for technology related items total $174,800 and the bulk of that was to CDW $121,800 Services School nutrition expenditures total $955,000 and uh the bulk of that of course went to sedexo for food service operations for $620 $7,500 payments related to construction and maintenance total approximately $85,100 and included the big one was uh Simpson unlimited $343,900 for Bru and high school replacement uh roof replacement uh payments for operations total $219,500 and included uh payments to Dominion Energy for 28,400 uh they were the big one there payments for transportation totaled 17520 and uh was the big one there was King more supply $1,920
118for 177 passenger bus and for the in installation of AC units on two buses payments for administration total 10,300 uh to uh to Versa for work uh workman's comp claims okay uh significant changes related to the operating budget for November was uh state revenue increase 1.5 million in uh November fiscal year 25 when compared to fiscal year 24 actual balance is off by about $3 million due to the timing in which State funds were were received and posted to the finance system for November federal revenue is uh approximately 7.7 million less in fiscal year 25 due to expiration of onetime stimulus grants for expenditures expenditures for instruction are approximately 2.8 million higher in November 25 than November 24 due to the increases 5 a half% increase in salaries increase in health premiums and additional positions
119added in fiscal year 25 significant changes related to the uh School nutrition budget federal revenue is 261,000 less in November this year compared to last year due to the timing on which our Revenue was received and there's no significant changes in expenditures for school nutrition uh resolution 24-20 76 requires a board's approval authorizing procurement of more than $50,000 there are four items on a resolution totaling 5.14 million the details of which can be viewed on board dos Madame chair I now move to approve financial matters as listed do I have a second thank you Miss Howard a motion was made by Mr schaer and seconded by Mr pich to approve financial matters as listed Mr Richardson yes Mr Schaefer yes Mrs Fairman yes Mr pich yes Mrs Goodwin yes the motion passes 5 to zero
120okay I'm just going to briefly go over the consent calendar I have an approval of personnel actions approval of minutes from a work session on November 18th 2024 and a regular meeting on November 25th 2024 approval of revisions to the student handbook and code of conduct approval of consent calendar as listed can I get a motion I make a motion to approve consent calendar is listed I'll second are there any questions Miss Howard I oop excuse me I just had one question I was curious why there were so many substitute resignations or am I not reading that correctly cleaning them up I could ask Dr Wes to please come to the podium I know there are and Dr Wes you can share this better than me but I know there are certain times of the
121year where if if are certain if they review and substitutes haven't worked in a long period of time and then we contact them and then they they come in batches I think we've done that in the in the past so this past August we required all of our substitutes to take a training before they came on to our list so that they understood our policies of not putting hands on students and all of our expectations that we have placed in our classrooms so we actually went through all those lists and if they have not attended those um trainings they no longer were placed on our substitute list moving forward as far as subbing in our classrooms so we reached out to them and that's how a lot of them we were able to take off
122of our list because they did not do that required training okay thank you how are we doing on the numbers for Subs we're doing well on substitutes we hire um anywhere between five to eight a week um and then of course uh some of our substitutes who we have a requirement of how much you have to work as a substitute if you don't meet that requirement then we no longer have you as a substitute but we're doing well and we seem to have a a fairly good quote of meeting on a daily basis so we're getting classroom coverage all right yes ma'am okay thank you you're welcome thank you Dr rights okay Miss Howard was that Mr Richardson or Mr Schaefer on the second Mr thank you a motion was made by Mr pich and
123seconded by Mr Richardson to approve the consent calendar is listed Mrs Fairman yes Mr Richardson yes Mr Schaefer yes Mr pavich yes Mrs Goodwin yes the motion passes 5 to zero okay um we have that Pol policy that we want to bring forward yes 16 go ahead Dr Carol thank you so Dr Carol's just as a review we added this topic to the agenda uh we have a few um super minor um adjustments to make to this policy in the hopes of clarifying it for our students our parents and our staff members Dr Carol yes board members thank you for adding this to the agenda so as our principles are working on implementation plans for the cell phone free environment that we're going to have in January late last week it became apparent that we
124had we had some either confusing language or didn't work with the way the high schools want to implement the policy on their campuses and um because what they want to do and what has been proven to work at tab High School is that when students enter the doors in the morning that's when the devices are put away so uh but the way uh the definition for Bell to Bell reads it says the first sentence Bell to Bell means from when the first bell rings at the start of the school day to begin instructional time until the dismissal uh dismissal bell rings so um instructional time is a specific term that Dr Skinner can elaborate on uh how we uh track the carneg units and the time that we have in school and that's what comes
125into play when we have snow days and that type of thing so uh the bells ring or the the doors open a bit earlier than that so the high schools would like to ring a bell when they open the building for students and therefore have the students put their phones away therefore staff is proposing that you strike four words out of that definition of bell tobell and that is to begin instructional time therefore it would read the fir uh when the first bell rings at the start of the school day until the dismissal bell rings and it continues and so we ask that you consider that thank you any questions or comments well Madam chair I I'd just like to say one quick thing it does make it simpler uh by removing those four words
126after reviewing that at the beginning of the meeting and I can understand how it could become confusing during the day while instructional time does that mean during lunch period does that mean during this you know it just clarifies it even more so um I'm willing to make a motion and then we can have more discussion if there are any other questions or discussion um I'd like to make a motion that we accept the um the changes to the student cell phone policy by removing to begin instructional time from the definition of bell to Bell um that would be my motion I will second it all right we have a first and second Miss Howard was there a discussion I'm sorry I just is there any discussion before we move to vote right thank you for
127catching me a motion was made by Mr Richardson and seconded by Mr schaer to remove the phrase to begin instructional time from policy JF CF to clarify Bel to Bell Mr Richardson yes Mr schaer yes Mr pich yes Mrs Goodwin yes Mrs fman yes the motion passes 5 to zero all right we have um no policy reading first or second reading so we will move on to the report of the superintendent Dr shander yes uh thank you Miss Goodwin uh just a couple things tonight board members um one I wanted to um quickly review policy FFA and the title is school names so if if our and our I think a few of our citizens that presented on this this evening have already left but I did want to share this for the record so
128the policy reads and it's brief um it is the responsibility of the County School Board of York County Virginia to determine the name of schools in the division the school board will solicit and accept input from the public regarding school names but reserves the right to make the final decision regarding the name of any school suggestions regarding the name of a school must be in writing must State the name of the person or group making the suggestion and must must State the reasons supporting the suggestion the school board May rename a school or um school facility Upon A determination that is appropriate to do so the procedure for renaming a school or school facility will be the same as the procedure outlined above no school shall be named after a person living um or deceased
129so I wanted to make sure that I read that specifically related to the suggestions regarding the name of a school must be in writing piece so I think that's important for our um community members to hear uh the second item I wanted to um talk about just really briefly to um Miss fairman's request related to our um our employees who bring their children to our schools as a as a benefit um I can certainly look into that but I will share with the board that I contacted every school on the peninsula every School Division on the peninsula and every School Division has the same process and practice that we do there if you're if you're an employee of the School Division and you live outside the county or the city you can bring your child
130to school um tuition free um I did want to share that there was some misinformation that was shared from The Joint board meeting that we had with the supervisors and I explained this during the joint meeting um I I I either said 270 or 250 I cannot remember what the number was um because I did not have those statistics with me um and I said said please don't quote me on that but unfortunately that information went out in a newsletter to um to many of our community members so what I what I will share is that we have around 250 is it students Dr Carol or staff 250 right so there's 252 total employees um two of them are County Employees the rest of them are our employees and I could share this in Friday
131notes with the board if they would prefer 147 of those already have three plus years so if you recall many years ago you had to um work here for three years or pay tuition for your child once you work three years then you can bring your child to school tuition free and the board chose um based on our recommendation a few years ago I can't remember the exact date that we are in the in the largest national teacher shortage in the history of this country and we need to do everything possible to attract uh staff members So currently we only have I'm sorry we have 105 students who are under three years I'm sorry emplo staff members or students students so we have 105 students who are here under um the three-year Mark and it's
132also important to to share that as we shared in the work session this evening you understand the dollar amount we received from the state I think Mr bow you said $6,300 $6,500 so when those numbers were communicated out to the community it was $ 270 times 10 10,000 which came up with a 2.7 number which is not accurate so that number um because of how we're funded we only get 6,300 per child so yes it's 105 um but I will tell you um being fully staff as the question was this evening around substitutes and other every other position that we have is one of the most important things that we can do attract and retain the best people to work in the school division whether they work in the maintenance department they're driving a bus
133they're a teacher assistant they're a teacher they're a principal whatever their role is everybody contributes to our success our finance department that was here this evening receiving Awards you know if they live outside of our County and want to bring their child to our school that is a fantastic benefit for us for us as as a division working through there are divisions that have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of vacancies for multiple positions it it will take a simple Google search to to show you that um one of our divisions in our region lost 35 elementary teachers by the by the beginning of October just this year they lost 35 Elementary teachers so put having this in in place is a good thing for this School Division in my opinion it's a great thing for
134our staff members that we could attract them and and it's provides a great experience for their children um because we're here for um our community but we're also here for our employees which is extremely important to remember but I'll certainly check with our other school divisions to see if they um if if they have a process or practice as Miss Fairman suggested earlier last but not least I just want to uh I did want to recognize Two Gentlemen just really quickly I have I have an email oh I had it pulled up I'm sorry give me one second so uh Darren kersch and um Eric musle White they are leaders of of the band and band programs over at Grafton High School their kids came and presented at vsba they played Friday morning the breakfast
135they were lights out they were they got a standing ovation from about 3 to 5 00 people who were there they were simply amazing and um I just wanted to make sure that we recognize them this evening um we should all be really proud of our all of our all the programs that we offer but um the BAM program they were they were quite amazing so much so that multiple superintendents came up and were just blown away by our kids and by um just the performance that they put on so I can't say enough about them other than that I hope everyone has a Wonder Wonder F and restful holiday season I think everyone's ready for for a break but we still have a number of days to go two and a half weeks or
136however many days we have left I'm looking forward to it I think everyone I thank everyone for their work their dedication to our kids and wish you a restful restful restful holiday thank you okay all right we are now in need of a closed session can I please have a board member make a motion to take us into Clos session I'm move that the York County School Board me in Clos session section 3711 A1 of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act consideration and discussion regarding prospective candidates for appointment to the special education advisory committee as matters addressed in close session are confidential no minutes or recordings are permitted seconded Miss Howard a motion was made by Mr schaer and seconded by Mr pich to approve the school board meeting and Clos session as stated Mr
137Schaefer yes Mr pich yes Mrs Fairman yes Mr Richardson yes and Mrs Goodwin yes the motion passes 5 to zero you're now in close session okay thank you for your participation and input this evening and have a a wonderful holiday season and we will see you next year