001good evening I would like to call to order the regular meeting of the Newport News school board for Tuesday March 18th 2025 on behalf of the members of the school board and Dr Mitchell I welcome each of you present this evening and those of you watching on TV and online a quorum is present to transact the business of the school division please note that the chair person Mrs surles law is absent due to being out of town we will begin tonight's meeting with the invocation and the pledge to the flag here to do the honors are two students from Hilton Elementary School Charlotte Thornton and Jason lewitz Le lewitz first Charlotte thank you will come forward and deliver the invocation Charlotte please come forward and tell us a little about yourself before you get started
002my favorite color is purple I like animals and I'm the president of my student body I also do soccer and gymnastics good evening I'm Charlotte Thorton from Hilton Elementary As We Gather today to discuss the important matters that impact our school Community let us take a moment to reflect on the values that guide us may we be inspired to approach our decisions with wisdom kindness and a commitment to the well-being of all students and Educators let us remember the importance of collaboration understanding and respect as we work to towards creating a positive and supportive learning environment May our actions be guided Guided by a shared vision of growth opportunity and Unity thank you thank you thank [Applause] you and now Jason would you please come forward and tell us a little bit about yourself and
003then you begin to play u my name is Jason I play soccer my favorite color is blue and I am sort of like the class clown or the school clown okay but I do get really good grades all right all right I mean I take it take that so now please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance 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 you may be seated thank you Charlotte and Jason thank you very much you did a wonderful job supporting Charlotte and Jason tonight are their family members and their school family please stand and be recognized [Applause] the board appreciates your encouragement that you have given these students and we
004thank you for bringing these students tonight the next on item on the agenda is School Board recognitions but before we do that we do have delegate Shelley Simonds I would like to recognize her she's an attendance tonight she worked very hard for us in the general assembly and she is a former School Board member so she has a special place in our heart so the next um item on tonight's agenda is School Board recognitions Dr Dr Mitchell please join me at the podium thank you good evening I have the honor and privilege of recognizing some outstanding members of our community this evening our first honorie this evening has just completed a very special experience in the service to the Commonwealth of Virginia Desan Foster Jr Desan foster Jr served as a page in the Virginia
005general assembly for this year's session in January and February Desan is an eighth grader at Booker T Washington Middle School Desan would you please come [Applause] forward he spent two months at the state capitol immersed in this year's session as part as the 2025 Virginia delegates house page program pages are described as a huge part of the policy teams daily operation with responsibilities that include running talking points to the legislators observing committee meetings and managing daily calendars students gets hands-on experience in the policy World while getting a front row seat to how our state legislature Works congratulations Desan [Applause] we would also like to recognize his family and supporters who are in the audience with us this evening if you could please stand and be recognized thank you next we would like to acknowledge some
006Community Partners who are doing great things for our students members of the kiwanis club of Greater Hilton are being recognized for their contributions to Carver Elementary School since 2010 the club and greater Hinton Foundation have supported the academic and behavioral achievements at Carver of Carver students under the guidance of the school's Administration and faculty club club members have volunteered and provided monetary support for numerous initiatives and programs recent efforts include funding and installing a Teachers Lounge and helping with the school's efforts to lower chronic absenteeism the club continues to support soundscapes provide a monthly fifth grade Pizza luncheon collect school supplies donate free books and give end of marking period Awards awesome awesome at this time we ask that the following Foundation members come forward to accept this recognition Al rort [Applause] Mary Smith okay
007Joe Allen okay Josh Davis Leroy and Kathy [Applause] Griffin yes Bill Platt Mick Platt come on up and Don West Morland Don West Morland come on [Applause] up okay the principal of the uh Carver Elementary School and be recognized come on up engag specialist okay I'm going to uh congratulate the whole entire family thank you so much thank you so much for your 15year commitment to making contributions to carver elementary school community and Newport News want to thank you for your continued support of our schools thank you thank you we're going to get a picture we want to come for come to the middle will all the members of the kuas club please stand and be recognized thank you [Applause] you our next honores are very intrical to the operation of our School Division and
008has become particularly near and dear to us during this month of March as we prepare our budget for the next school year our budget team has once again receiving an award for its outstanding work the government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada has awarded the distinguished budget presentation award to the Newport News school board for its annual budget document for the physical year beginning July 1 2024 the award is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental budgeting and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management according to gfoa the award reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting please come forward to accept your Awards Chief Financial Officer Scarlet Scarlet Mento budget supervisor Irene Cooper senior
009budget analyst lesie m [Applause] pleas Newport News family unable to join us this evening are members of the budget team senior budget analyst Casey Spencer and position control specialist Aaron Reed congratulations again we also like to thank their supporters in the audience this evening thank you for all so much for being here here to support our uh Financial team so now we're going to get picture details next we'll move into recognition in the area of outstanding athletic activities program War High School athletic director Lucas Brown has been named the 2025 Virginia inter Scholastic athletic Administration administrators Association class 56 athletic director of the Year congratulations Mr Brown if you could please come forward [Applause] awesome awesome Mr Brown was hired at war in July of 2024 after nine years as athletic director at Katan High
010School in Hampton he currently serves on the Virginia High School league executive committee and VI IAA board of directors and is athletic director chair of region 5B as as well as the peninsula District the vi AAA athletic administrator of the Year Awards have been given since 1974 and the recipients represent the very highest level of Education to student athletes in Virginia Mr Brown's commitment now joins the extraordinary Legacy of excellence and esteem company of those who have come before him we want to take a moment to acknowledge his family members and school Community who are present this evening would you please stand to be recognized War come [Applause] on also want to recognize administrators War principal Tiffany Thompson assistant principal Jessica White Ottoman and Michael Edwards as well as the Director of Athletics Lee Martin
011let's give them all a hand all right you want to get a picture with me Mr Brown our next honores are Regional champions for the winter Virginia High School League season tonight we are thrilled to recognize the achievements of these talented students and athlete as we ask that each of you please remain at the front until your photo is taken with the group in wrestling Demby High School Peter Byron won the region 4A championship at 113 pounds Peter please come forward dem's uh wrestling coach please come forward as well ois Westby are you here both please come forward [Applause] congratulations from war High School Joshua barart is the region 5B wrestling champion at 144 pounds also from war Robert Tucker earned the region 5B wrestling championship at 665 PBS Warth wrestling coach is Michael Norton
012would you all please come [Applause] forward Woodside High School Nehemiah mix is the region 5B wrestling champion at 190 PBS woodsize wrestling coach is Cameron mix would you please both come [Applause] forward we do want to take a moment to acknowledge their family members and supporters who are present with us this evening would you please stand to be recognized oh come on stand thank you we also like to thank their principals assistant principls and athletic directors who may be with us this evening I see Dey High School Woodside thank you Heritage ah thank you for being with us this evening next oh let's get a photo I'm sorry next we have individual event 5B swimming and Diving Champions all whom are from Menchville High School please join me and congratulating them as their names are
013called for them to come forward Jose mccaulay for boys diving Bernard Kim for boys 100 yard breath stroke Kaden Rogers for boys 100 yard butterfly Sterling Rogers for boys 200 yard freestyle the boys 400 yard Freestar relay team of Sterling Rogers Andrew Ramel Kaden Rogers and Bernard Kim the girls 200 yard medle relay team of Caitlyn Wilson Grace Holland M Madison wolf and Brooke Ferguson Caitlyn Wilson for girls 100 yard butterfly Caitlyn Wilson for girls 100 yard backstroke the girls 200 yard freestyle relay team of Rachel Gils Rel Harris Brook Ferguson and Caitlyn Wilson Madison wolf for girls 100 yard breath stroke the girls 400 yard freestyle Relay Team relay team of Rachel Gils Grace Holland Ryland Harris and Madison wolf Menchville swim and dive coach Fallon Sherwood come on up mfield swim and dive
014assistant coach Scott marari we want to take a moment to acknowledge their family members and supporters who are present this evening would you please stand stand [Applause] up and we do want to again recognize uh their principal Dr holler holler all right so we come forward and let's get a picture our final group to be recognized this evening is Woodside High School's theater team who won the 5B championship for one act play please join me and congratulating the team members as their names are called for them to come forward kayle Armstrong Jacqueline Bard Paris Brown Gabriella cartright Logan shelen Taylor Coleman Savannah dkas Jenna elini NAA Gwen sis Hicks Ana Johnson Carmen Laura Sandoval Isabella Lawson ABIA Maxfield nichaela Nome Alexandri NZ okay Bria Rose Pollock ammani Prince Autumn Richard come on up hi ladies
015come on around join me NAD ponti Chloe Ross Kiren Shaw Akira Schuler Jude Terry Michela Vinnie Mary Wells Javon Wilson Williams we also would like to ask to come up Woodside arts and Communications magnet Pro uh program director Amy Insley we also would like to come up Woodside theater coordinator Cadia Taylor and Woodside theater assistant K Wright again congratulations to all of tonight's honores give them a hand of [Applause] Applause we all good okay so at this time we're gonna miss Kelly is going to organize us for group photo so let's move this way thank you [Applause] and again um congratulations to all of our night honores um newor news family will take a short break and during this time our viewing audience will have the opportunity to view this month's School Board Spotlight at
016that time if those of you who would like to leave may do so at that time but in the words of Michelle price you may stay if you like to so we'll stand in recess for about six minutes thank you students enrolled in dual language immersion are building a lifelong love of learning by exploring language and culture at 6 Newport News public schools from preschool to high school students can participate in dual language immersion classes where they receive daily instruction in both English and Spanish to properly support their preschool and Elementary age Learners at home families were invited to a Superhero by literacy night at Katherine Johnson Elementary families from Denby Early Childhood Center Watkins ECC Johnson and Saunders Elementary Schools were invited to gain valuable literacy strategies and teaching tools from some super Educators
017who have the power to teach in two languages n NPS leaders along with Educators with the William and Mary literacy lab shared engaging and practical learning methods so families can assist their students multilingual literacy development outside the classroom families were also able to gain more personalized instruction and ask questions in small groups with discussions led by their students dual language classroom teachers afterwards families and students were welcome to tour a wealth of resources and literacy activities that can be replicated at home students enjoyed the opportunity to showcase their learning through fun and engaging Hands-On activities while families took home a wealth of knowledge and materials to help their Scholars Excel as bilingual Learners students at Menchville High School explored the rich cultural and educational experiences offered through historically black colleges and universities for the third
018year Menchville devoted School counseling department hosted an HBCU experience for students during their lunchtime students were invited to the media center to meet with representatives from 11 HBCU from six different states they were able to talk about academic courses Athletics military training programs and campus culture they also spoke with representatives from historically African-American fraternities and sororities commonly called the divine nine to explore scholarship options and community service opportunities for the students who attended mv's HBCU experience was an informative opportunity to better understand the diverse options available when choosing an institution of Higher Learning with skill and accuracy Newport News students are hitting the bullseye in February Newport News Public Schools hosted the annual National archery in the schools program Regional archery tournament at an achievable dream middle and high school the dayong competition featured over
019150 archers from 10 area schools including nine schools in Newport News fourth through 12th graders shot three scoring flights from 10 m away before moving further back to let loose from 15 M between flights students displayed sportsmanship by assisting archers from different schools to accurately tally their scores and a number of student and teacher volunteers were happy to assist the young archers and ensure a safe tournament in a repeat of last year's tournament this year's top winners in their divisions were Rich Neck ele Elementary Fitzgerald middle and minville high schools these three schools were joined by teams from Charles Elementary and Gilder sleeve middle along with individual archers from Yates Elementary Denby and Warwick High Schools who all qualified to compete at the Virginia state tournament in early March competing against the best student archers
020from across the Commonwealth students from Charles richneck Fitzgerald and minville qualified for the chance to compete at the US Eastern National Tournament in May through a unique blend of Art and literacy students are encouraged to transform their interpretation of artwork into a creative and personal poetic response for the 31st year over 100 Newport News high school students participated in artistic verses at the Toler Fine Arts Center on the campus of Christopher Newport University in December select English students from all six high schools were invited to the Toler for an engaging workshop with accomplished performance poet published author and head coach of the Hampton Roads youth poets Nathan Richardson during their time together the creative writing students shared their own poetry while Richardson challenged and equipped them to begin looking at art through an imaginative lens
021to ultimately write a poem that explores and articulates their unique interpretations and personal emotions students were free to tour all of the Galleries at the torl including the main exhibit that showcased how different artists used a variety of materials to reflect light in amazing ways once the students selected the piece of art they connected with they used their writing talents critical thinking skills creativity and self-expression to shape and submit their poems for judging in February mayor Philip Jones welcomed students families and Educators to a student readings and awards ceremony at the tler on a Saturday morning thanks to a grant from the Newport News Education Foundation honorable mentions and top contest winners all received a cash prize students from an achievable dream Menchville and Woodside were the top contest winners with the first place award
022going to camaron Brown from Woodside all participating students were recognized and encouraged to the audience with their literary interpretations as they learned firsthand how to communicate through the blending of visual art and poetry in early March the 15th season of Middle School volleyball wrapped up after an action-packed regular season four different schools survived the single elimination postseason to compete for the girls and boys Citywide championships at Warwick High School on the girls Court the passage Panthers were pitted against the pgal Jazz this was passage's first trip to the big dance since the second season of Middle School volleyball in 2011 in the first set the Jazz pulled ahead early but the Panthers roared back hoping to win the set but strong serves from the Jazz closed the first set in the Jazz's favor the Jazz
023rode this momentum dominating the second set while only allowing five points scored against them this is Fitzgerald's seventh championship title overall making them the winningest girls team in Newport News over the past 15 Seasons longtime Fitzgerald coach and now retired educator Jane Marino enjoyed leading a balanc team full of talented student athletes this season for the boys Tournament game the Washington Bay Savers were looking to repeat as Champions as they faced The Guild re Seahawks the Seahawks won the first set and Washington eak out a second set Victory to set up a decisive third set with both teams exchanging the lead Gildersleeve survived to capture their fifth Citywide title Gildersleeve coach and special education Lead Teacher at Menchville Laura stook credited her team's unity and Trust in each other creating a bond that ensured victory
024for the Seahawk volleyball family I hope you enjoyed this month's School Spotlight School Board Spotlight during our regular meetings we provide time for the public to address the school board these opportunities are scheduled in the early part of of our agenda and towards the end of the meeting as advertised citizens May submit comments via email up to 30 minutes prior to our meeting time to be included in the official meeting record for those of you joining us in person the board considers this an opportunity to listen to your comments please understand that we will consider your concerns we ask that you comply with our three minute time limit as you begin your comments a green light will come on a yellow light signals that you have 30 seconds remaining and a red light and beep
025indicates your time is up as your name is called please come forward so we will begin with Reverend Natalie Chamberlain and she will be followed by delegate shelle Simons good evening members of the school board Dr best and Dr Mitchell it is always a privilege to be able to be here in front of you I am Reverend Natalie Chamberlain my pronouns are she and her I'm part of a broad Coalition of citizens who have been attending these meetings for more than a year and a half now we support equality and the respectful treatment of all children including trans and other lgbtqia plus youth I've been coming a lot and I can't think of anything else to say that hasn't actually already been said on the topic of the policy jbp I know you want the
026best for the children in your care so do we we are here to advocate for those who are being targeted by federal administrative actions and the people in our community who are feeling empowered by those actions these children and youth are not concepts for discussion but Flesh and Blood people deserving of the same respect and care as every other child in the district where asking for your assurance that you are doing everything in your power to protect the queer community and especially those who are trans in your District we're here in a visible way because they are not always so visible in these dark and darkening times you have the ability to offer light and hope will you thank you sound good evening thank you so much for letting me come and just bring some
027news um from the Virginia General Assembly I'm delegate Shelley Simons I represent the 70th District in Newport News in the Virginia house um one of the the reasons I ran for the house is I was so upset about cuts to the support staff that we had in 2009 um those cuts were never restored finally I'm really happy to tell you that this year we restored the funding for support staff in the budget so it's really exciting um in in addition um we successful we were successful in increasing special education funding providing bonuses for teachers and staff on top of the state portion of a 3% raise effective July 1 2025 these are victories for every student and every educator in the Commonwealth key key TW K12 investments in the conference budget that um have been
028submitted to the governor include lifting the support cap um an additional 223 million next school year across Virginia to fully eliminate this harmful cap a special education add-on uh a new $53 million investment to better support students with disabilities teacher and staff bonuses the budget includes the state share of funding for a one-time $11,000 bonus for teachers and other s soq funded School staff providing much needed recognition for their hard work and finally a bill that I carry that I'm really excited about for math Improvement targeted math support $12 million of new funding is provided to improve student performance in math helping address some of the worst P post-pandemic related learning loss in the country and ensuring Virginia students receive the resources that they need to succeed so I'm really excited about the budget that
029passed the Senate and the house it's on the way to the governor's desk um I'm hoping for more good news at after we we wrap up on um April 2nd with our reconvene session but um thank you so much for bringing greetings and letting me tell you what's going on in Richmond okay thank you thank you delegate s and we love to hear good news really good news thank you next we will have Miss Jackie Batterson and she will be followed by Mr Adam marrow good evening my name is Jackie Batterson and I am a resident of Newport News this evening I wish to express my deep frustration with the fact that for all the months I have been coming to these meetings and asking you to change your procedure jbp to match your policy
030JB there has not been one thing done to acknowledge our request there has been no public discussion by members of the board and there has been no open vote to allow the public to see how each of you views all the students in the school system it's as though the transgendered youth in this school district do not deserve an acknowledgement of their existence in regard to their preferred pronouns and selected names by which they would like to be addressed this would align with tonight's budget priorities of Cent CL and culture promoting an environment of social emotional and physical well-being a study was conducted online between March 13th and December 2nd of last year it was based on a random sample of 22,26 adults in all 50 states 34s of the American people support non-discrimination protections
031for the lgbtq UIA people this included 89% of Democrats 62% of Republicans and 78% of independent voters it's unfortunate that the leaders in this state and in this country are so at odds with the American people whether it's out of fear ignorance or just bigotry I can only guess James Baldwin was a writer and civil rights activist whose right writings I was fortunate enough to study as a teenager my concern today is that students will not be knowledgeable about writers and authors such as he because their works are being taken out of school libraries and classrooms I will end with a quote from Mr Baldwin we can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my Humanity and right to exist this is what our transgender
032youth are asking of you the same humanity and respect shown to every other student and the acknowledgment of their right to exist when you ignore their requests to recognize who they are you are in essence denying that they exist they are frightened enough right now do not add to their burden thank you than you [Applause] uh hello good evening ladies and gentlemen of the board people of Newport News and especially a good evening to the teachers and support staff of the Newport Public Schools who work so hard to help educate the children of this city um firstly I'd like to Second my predecessors predecessors up here who have called for the dignity and protection of trans students that has been which has been so grievously neglected um secondly I would like to praise the board
033for one group for not neglecting that same dignity for immigrant students and acting to protect them from the vile abuse that they have been threatened with by Jack booted officers who have been empowered to seize them from schools and third and finally I'd like to read an excerpt from a statement I've read twice before to bodies of workers of Tidewaters who have both times responded with overwhelming support to this statement from the Hampton Roads Public Employee collective bargaining Coalition and since I only have three minutes I'm just going to read a little of it the Hampton Roads Public Employee collective bargaining Coalition stands United in our commitment to ensuring that every worker has a voice in the workplace through the power of collective bargaining we believe that workers are the backbones of their communities and
034is through their dedication and labor that our cities schools and essential Services Thrive by standing together we Elevate the rights and dignity of all public employees ensuring that their contributions are valued and rewarded fairly our Coalition includes the dedicated firefighters who risk their lives to protect our homes the paramedics who provide Critical Care in moments of Crisis the education professionals who inspire and shape the future of our children the sanitation workers who keep our communities clean and Safe Water and Sewer workers who provide us clean drinking water and the Parks and Recreation workers who create spaces for leisure and Community engagement we also proudly represent all other public employees who serve tirelessly across various sectors from public health to Transportation libraries and Beyond each and every worker plays an essential role in the smooth function
035of our society together we stand for the belief that every worker deserves respect fairness and security together we are stronger together we rise for workers for families for Hampton Roads the collective voice of public employees is our greatest strength and throughout solidarity and through solidarity we will continue to advocate for a future where every worker is valued thank you next we will have Chiron small followed by Gabriel Marquez hello good evening hi my name is shiron small I am a teacher with newort News public school and I'm also the vice president of the Newport News Education Association good evening Dr Mitchell Vice chair Dr best and members of the board the nnea has been working toward winning contract negotiations for nnnps employees in order to give our hardworking staff and teachers a seat at the
036negotiation table teacher and staff working conditions are student learning conditions so stronger contracts benefit our students as well the nnaa is also advocating for the $ thousand bonus for staff and teachers through match funds from the proposed General Assembly budget the general assembly budget includes a line item for recommended 1K bonuses for all state employees which includes nnps teachers and staff after Dr Dr Mitchell presented the proposed nnps operating budget to the board on March 4th the nnaa created a survey about the proposed nnps budget in order to get feedback from staff and teachers over 250 employees submitted survey responses the survey responses were mailed to the school board and the superintendent and I want to share some of the highlights about 87% of the respondents strongly support the 3% raise for nnps employees about
03764% of the respondents strongly support increase in the starting teacher pay from 55,000 to 56,000 a year about 49% of the respondents strongly support sign-on bonuses and high need licensed positions about 9% of the respondents strongly support the proposed health insurance increases about 94 of the respondents said that they strongly support the 1K bonuses for staff and teachers in summary the $1,000 bonus for nnps staff and teachers had the most support of any item on the survey followed by the 3% increase the health insured increase in signing bonuses for high need licensed positions had the least support I would like to share the highlights from a free response portion of the survey many employees Express concern about the 3% raise being able to address the rise in cost of living many respondents also expressed gratitude
038for the proposed 3% raise but also said they would like to see a larger raise that would have more impact on their monthly finances many employees said that the nmps should prioritize retention bonuses and compression adjustments over signing bonuses in order to better value veteran Newport News public school teachers survey respondents said they do not support the increased Health Care course because they partially offset the pay increase especially for those that are hourly employees this makes the 1,000 bonus even more important for classified staff please follow the spirit of the general assembly's proposed budget which is a recommended 1K bonus for all state employees including teachers and School staff if money is being spent on signing bonuses for select new teachers our hardworking nmps staff and teachers also Reserve the, retention bonus thank you for
039your time and [Applause] consideration Gabriel Gabriel Marquez hello uh good evening to Drs Best and Mitchell as well as the rest of the board my name is Gabriel Marquez um again I'm sure you know me at this point I'm once again here to speak on behalf of the tidewater chapter of the DSA of which I'm co-chair I'll again be speaking on human rights and workers rights um it's been more than a year again and um the public has still not heard any progress on policy JB and procedure jbp which discriminate specifically against transgender students I've returned to ask the board act immediately to ensure all of our minorities are protected in our rapidly deteriorating political climate I also ask that the board heed the demands of the n&a and support collective bargaining rights they deserve
040to have their voices heard and their needs met as do all workers uh thank you for your time and your consideration thank you next we'll have David brakman followed by Kenya Nelms good evening I'm david brakman good evening I'm David brakman I Call On The Board to revise procedure jpp or its overriding policy JP to recognize the safety and dignity of trans students I continue to hold out hope that someone on the board will lift a finger and then the other attached four digits to to move to strike from jbp's section 3g2 the phrase quote that promote the child's privacy and safety end quot encouraging people to not use a bathroom that a trans person was ever in does nothing to promote anyone's privacy or safety your implication that trans kids just trying to live
041themselves are instead some kind of predators is a disgusting and wholly unsubstantiated lie repeating it does the opposite of protecting every kid and by instead encouraging a hostile environment state law which you ignored the first time and could do again only gives Youngkin the authority to set model policies for activities and events that do not include Athletics it uses one out of its whole 10 sentences to specifically exclude Athletics strike procedure JB PS section H and instead defer to vhsl policy 28 a-8 D1 which even after accommodating Trump's executive order is less exclusionary than nnps is so eager to be no thanks thank you [Applause] good evening uh my name is Kenya Nelms um this is my first time being a board so I apologize if I stutter um my daughter she has been going
042to Saunders Elementary School for about 2 years now uh last year my daughter's entire braid was ripped out of her head from the scalp my daughter has gotten sent home not once but twice with bruises on her arm I didn't receive a call and my daughter she's you know a little on a melanated side um but you can see those bright bright circles she was being bullied class got changed three times within two months as well um I didn't receive a phone call or anything however if I were to send my child to school looking as though they she was uh neglected proper actions would have had to been taken um I'm just requesting that someone just take a look at the board uh not the board I apologize of administration um I have gone
043through the chain of command because I'm very big on that before doing anything else um when I went to the magistrate's office to go and get a restraining order against that said child um they went ahead police went to the school and I was informed that the school did not not want to comply with giving the address even though I provided them with the uh name date of birth everything because they actually used to live right behind me but they ended up moving um there is a lot that has gone on within the school um pertaining to my child um and actually other students as well um just from hearing about the parents at my children's daycare um Mrs Pipkin I've tried speaking with her multiple times and it kind of just gone nowhere um
044my even requested well she put in for administrative transfer I did call the Board of Education to follow up on it and I was informed that they never received it uh when I tried to follow up with her she stated that she did everything that she could or whatever and I kind of just had to drop it at that point in time because there's nothing else for me to do uh Lottery tried that and everything um for a very long time my daughter was scared to even put braids in her hair uh the child held on to my daughter's braid and said I'm going going to pull your weave out and proceeded to rip the braid from her head and I was handed a Ziploc bag with a bead still attached with my daughter's natural
045hair in there with a very big bald spot in the back of her head so that is very upsetting as a parent and I understand that everyone has to they do as best as they can with what they have I completely understand that I very open I am understanding I just would like communication um when it comes to my child I have two children that are there and the only one that is um seems like they have a Target on their back is my daughter um I we she has a substitute teacher now who basically went to admin and said this is the notes that I was left by X Y and Z teacher and this is the child that I have and I've only been here for a month um she kind of just
046shed some light and made me drop my wall when it came to communicating with the school so that's all I have to say and thank you guys so much for your time thank you are there any of the cards thank you for your comments and thoughts this evening we will now move on to section three the consent agenda which includes 3.1 minutes from the work session February 18th 2025 3.2 minutes from the closed meeting February 18th 3.3 minutes from the regular meeting February 18th 2025 3 Four Financial reports including revenue revenue and expenses reports for February 25 2025 and Child Nutrition reports for February 2025 3.5 the Personnel report 3.6 school board meeting calendar date change at this time can we have a motion to approve the consent agenda mam Vice chair I move to
047approve the consent agenda as presented second Miss Buffalo please call the roll alger for aman Brown for best for motion passes 60 thank you we will now move to section four action items proposed FY 26 operating budget Dr Mitchell thank you very much Dr best at this time Scarlet m will come before you to give you a brief overview or a reminder if you will of the proposed budget thank you miss m good evening Madam co-chairs members of the board and Dr Mitchell tonight we bring to you the superintendent's proposed Vis school year 2026 operating budget for board consideration this spending plan will support the goals and Visions set by the superintendent's five F Focus areas and the priorities we have identified during this budget cycle um a budget plan of this magnitude could not
048be completed without feedback and support and everyone pulling together to make a difference in the lives of our students at this time I would like to thank all our stakeholders for their feedback I would also like to thank the school board and Schoolboard members and the superintendent executive and Senior leadership the Newport News City Manager City budget staff Newport News budget staff and our human resources for all their support during this budget planning process as we determine the best way to ensure our limited resources are used most effectively to ensure our students graduate college career and citizen ready this is our current Revenue projection for fiscal year 26 from all sources we are projecting a total increase of 6.4 million in Revenue over fiscal year 25 for a total of $46.3 million in revenue for
049fiscal year we continue to Monitor and manage our staff salaries to ensure we attract and retain the best staff for fiscal year 26 the superintendent's proposed operating budget allocates funding for 3% salary increase for contracted employees we will continue to maintain our salary scales increase associate teacher pay increase teacher starting pay in line with the 3% increases and we will maintain competitive compensation for all staff we will work to provide signon bonuses for our high need license positions this is an overview of the superintendent's proposed Staffing plan for fiscal year 2026 a total F uh FTE of 38955 which includes teachers and instructional assistant positions totaling 21545 FTE or 55.4% of our total full-time equivalent positions balancing the budget to summarize we are projecting an increase of 6.4 million in new Revenue increases in expenditures
050total $8.9 million and include salary increase of 3% support staff Market adjustments sign on bonus for high need licensed positions increase health care costs increase in New Horizons fuel utilities uh increase in fuel utilities operation and maintenance of schools and Facilities a decrease of 12.5 million in expenditures used to balance this budget includes a reduction of 12.2 teaching positions in line with the projected decrease in student enrollment asking their employees to share in the cost of health insurance increases a decrease in their City pension liability and vs Debt Service a decrease in Contract Services a decrease in online software materials and supplies and recognizing non reoccurring cost and projections of savings for turnover and attrition so total increases 18.9 million minus total decreases 12.5 million each equals 6.4 million to provide a balanced budget at
051this time we will need the school board to consider for approval the following amounts for fiscal year 2026 General fund 46,2 77,500 workers comp 1,672 595 textbook fund 8,182 252 Child Nutrition Services $28 m845 for a total School Board adopted funds of $444,999 158 this uh ends their presentation and I would be happy to take any questions any questions board members any commentsa Harris I Rina D Harris a member of the Newport News school board do hereby de clear pursuant to section 2.2 d3112 point a and section 2.2 3115 pointf of the Virginia state and local government com government conflict of interest act that the school board regular meeting of March 18th 2025 one there is an action item on the agenda identified as proposed fiscal year 26 operating budget two pursuant to the VA
052code section 22 1-92 the transaction involves a Schoolboard vote on the approval of its proposed fiscal year 26 operating budget for submission to the Newport News City Council for approval three I have a personal interest in the transaction by virtue of my marriage to city council member marcelus L Harris III and for I am disqualifying myself from participating in the trans transaction any other comments any other questions at this time we'll entertain a motion to approve the budget and I'll read this after I move to approve fiscal year 2026 the fiscal year 2026 proposed operating budget in the amount of 444 m984 58 you have a second second is there any discussion Madam Vice shair U one just uh point of question in terms of when we approve this budget tonight and should the general
053assembly have some changes that we uh potentially anticipate uh what would be our next steps just in terms of educating the community can we get some um a few words on the process that the board would have to take should there be some adjustments from the general assembly so once we get an approved budget we have to do a budget update in public and then you would have to vote on that again okay and so I just wanted to iterate tonight that while we are planning uh for this budget that we have there's dependency of that plan that city council has to approve and the state has to approve correct the budget in order for what we're voting on tonight to be concrete so uh while we're we're really excited about I think we I
054think we're all really excited about the vote we're going to take tonight and we're proud of the work that we've done uh there's still some anticipation left after we vote tonight thank you and thank you Dr Bon I have a statement to read on behalf of Lisa suros law our board chair who is not able to be with us this evening I regret that I am unable to be with you in person today as I am out of town celebrating my father's 80th birthday however I want to take a moment to express my appreciation to the leadership team and Dr Mitchell for their diligent work in preparing the 2025 26 operating budget balancing the budget is no easy task and I am grateful for the thoughtful consideration given to the district's needs I especially appreciate
055the inclusion of board priorities that directly support students and staff while ensuring the responsible allocation of resources in particular I have great appreciation for the effort reflected in the review of staffing needs and the assessment of unfilled positions for the division I commend the work done to optimize existing resources and operate within previous funding to meet the next year's needs additionally I want to recognize the articulation in the budget that provides for teachers requests for professional development funding to help us achieve our literacy goals this is a budget we all have contributed to and my hope is that it receives a favorable vote thank you for your dedication and commitment to our District's mission thank you is there any more are there any more questions or discussions Miss Buffalo call the roll please Harris just
056hunter for aler for Aman for Brown for best for motion carries five1 estain thank you we will now move to section five I'm sorry we'll now move to section 4.2 the 2025 26 proposed calendar Dr Mitchell thank you as you recall Miss Tracy Brooks has presented to you the proposed uh calendar for next school year Miss Brooks meets with her colleagues in the surrounding districts we have um given staff an opportunity to email Miss Miss Brooks with their feedback so at this time we we would uh like you to vote on whether you approve this um uh new calendar if you will as presented by Miss Brooks there no other questions are there any other questions for Miss Brooks I just wanted to confirm there haven't been any changes since we had the presentation yeah
057well at this time we'll entertain a motion to approve the 2025 26 Calendar proposed school calendar so moved second second and is there any any discussion any comments no clear who who who made the main motion Mr Brown who second it you may call okay Harris for Hunter for alger for aman for brown for best for motion passes 60 thank you we will now move to section five reports and information 5.1 special education annual plan Dr Mitchell thank you so much Dr best tonight we have a presentation from Vivian lulo she is the director of special education services and as a part of our federal requirements under the individuals with Disabilities Act we conduct an annual review of our special education funding and um um we we really look to ensure compliance Effectiveness and more
058importantly meaningful outcomes for our students so this evening Miss lulo will walk us through the proposed spending plan for 2025 2026 the special education Federal annual plan and application she will highlight some key funding allocations as well as our ongoing efforts in professional development and postsecondary transition planning she will also highlight how we work collaboratively with our Community Partners to create a supportive educational environment for students so please join me in welcoming miss viian vula good evening Vice chairman best board members and Dr Mitchell tonight I am presenting the proposed spending plan for Federal grant funds allocated for special education local education agencies are required to submit this application each year pursuant to the federal provisions of the individuals with disabilities Education Act of 2004 as well as the Virginia state regulations governing special education
059and related services for students with disabilities prior to the submission of the plan the Virginia Department of Education requires that the local division present its plan to the local school board for approval and for review by their local special education advisory committee the annual plan serves as a formal agreement between the local school board and the Virginia Department of Education for implementing federal and state laws governing special education services accordingly we are required to provide certain assurances related to the provision of these Services specifically we're required to assure that we are providing a free appropriate public education that each student's program is designed for them and is documented on an individualized education program and that students are educated in an inclusive environment to the extent that their educational programming permits finally we must maintain a
060structure that prevents the overidentification of students in special education in general or in specific categories in addition to the assurances the annual plan requires that the division submit information on expenditures and some selected programs for maintenance of effort eligibility we make sure that we are budgeting at least the same amount on speci special education supports as was spent in the year maintenance of effort was most recently met included in the selected programs is the local jail program where services are provided by licensed special education teachers to students with disabilities who are currently incarcerated another component of the plan is the supports for students with disabilities parentally placed in private schools including homeschooled students for which we offer special education services it is important to note that the administrators from the private schools collaborate with our
061staff to identify the provisions of special education services to be made available to the parentally placed student our agreement has been to offer speech language services to those students who are found eligible in addition we collaborate with these programs to offer professional development and engage with families to meet child find requirements of idea which requires schools to identify locate and evaluate children from birth to age 21 who reside in our district and may require special education services the last component is the funding expenditures it is separated into two sections 611 for prek through 12th grade and 619 for preschool special education only we are currently serving students in 12 of the 13 disability categories as reflected in the graph the disability categories with the most students is specific learning disabilities followed by autism we do
062not currently have any students whose primary disability is De blind our federal funding allocation is based on the number of students with disabilities receiving services on December 1 on December 1 2024 we were serving a total of 383 students with disabilities as of March 1st we are serving 3,940 students which reflects an increase of 13 7 students over the last four years we have seen a steady increase in the number of students with disabilities served by Newport News Public Schools since 2021 we have increased by 346 students the two disability categories in which we have seen the most increase are autism and developmental delay which is a less specific category used for children up to the age of seven special education program are supported by federal state and local funding IDEA Part B are federal
063funds that provide financial assistance to school divisions serving students with disabilities the individuals with disabilities Education Act 611 and 619 combined represent nearly 7.3 million of the overall funding we are proposing to continue to utilize this funding for personnel including a parent resource coordinator which is required by the state and extended school year services for those qualifying students students approximately 121 positions are supported by these funds I would like to close out this presentation by sharing some of the highlights from the office of special education and student Support Services during the 20124 2025 school year professional development opportunities include in-person and On Demand options for all special education teachers instructional assistants and long-term substitutes in-person professional development focused on strengthening skills in the identification and implementation of specially designed instruction first and second year special
064education teachers participated in the New Year in new teacher Institute which includes multiple full day sessions I also want to highlight Our Community Partnerships through project search and in partnership with Sentara and Fort Eustis we continue to provide our students with authentic experiences to develop workplace skills intern participating in these programs boast a success rate of nearly 90% in gaining competitive employment upon completion of their internship our Partnerships with the Department of Aging and rehabilitative services enables us to provide our students with both virtual and in-person participation in their career exploration Pro program through which students explore career interests develop Independent Living skills and complete a vocational assessment the special education education training and and technical assistance center at the College of William and Mary partners with us to provide our students our staff with
065targeted professional development focused on specially designed instruction and implementation of our move plus program supporting transition activities for African American males with disabilities during the next board meeting on April 24th we'll be seeking your approval for the proposed plan and will submit it to the Virginia Department of Education no later than May 9th this concludes my presentation and at this time I am happy to respond to your questions and note requests for additional information board members do we have any questions Mr Brown I'll ask the I'll ask a question even though I don't particularly want to um so the individual with disabilities Education Act that's a federal law is that correct yes so if the federal US Department of Ed education were to dissolve is there still a requirement to do this Ed this annual
066plan so in other words are we doing this annual plan because the federal government requires it or because the state government requires it the state government requires us to submit an annual plan um under the federal government there's special education regulations State special education regulations mirror the regulations for the federal government both of which require us to continue to provide free and appropriate public education to all of our students okay and then I guess the next follow-up one is of the of the funds that are available to us what mix of federal versus state are the are those funds in this item 611 and 619 so 611 and 619 are specifically federal funds okay so that's what potentially would go away yes and locally we would have to absorb all of that cost notionally right
067we would have to work with our school division to make sure that we can continue to meet the regulation requirements yes okay thank you thank you thank you anyone else yeah I I just have a couple of um just uh I guess nice to know kind of questions um twice exceptional um how many students do we have in our division that may have that and I I know you may not have that answer I can get you that information okay yes that' be great to know and also number of uh El students that are also identified as special needs I think that that would also um you know to kind of paint a picture of the um to go along with the other information that we have um and also with the um the parent
068resource coordinator is it just one position or yes it's a part-time position it's a part-time position yes and I think it's a vital position because of um the needs that we have with our families uh especially with the increas increasing number of you know students with disabilities I'd like to for us to consider you know possibly um to have even a fulltime if if possible but we certainly can consider that we can we can and I and I do want to share we are very fortunate that and we're one of the few that has a former Special Education team teacher as our parent resource coordinator so she really really knows special education that's great but we certain can can look into yeah because that's such a great need and with the increasing number I think
069we we need more support um and also lastly with the workplace skills does that count towards the accountability as far as um you know the right yeah so the way the uh course is coded is it's coded in such a way that it can it contributes towards that data so that it's identified as students who are participating in internships okay so that's a really important piece that could be helpful as far as accreditation yes okay also some of our students are able to obtain um certifications through Workforce Development which also count towards the uh accreditation requirements thank you thank you any other questions question thank you thank you so thank you for that report and it's nice to have also a superintendent that's a former special education um director as well uh 502 the attendance
070reports 503 membership reports and 504 construction reports board members have you received board members you have received I'm sorry a copy of this report are there any questions hearing none we'll move on to item 505 which is comments by the superintendent Dr Mitchell thank you very much Dr best I will tell you I am tired today so I would like to begin by sharing that today we had 1,600 seniors from Newport News public schools high schools gearing up for graduation in June um they gather together for motivation and celebration at Newport News um as Newport News public schools held its very first senior rally this morning at Christopher Newport University in the Freeman Center so we certainly thank Christopher Newport for allowing us to use that amazing facility Dr Adolf Brown served as a guest
071speaker with a very inspiring message for all in attendance as they prepare to launch from high school to their next chapter the high energy Gathering also featured DJs games lunch and vendors for each of our seniors as they make decisions about their future it was an electrifying event today 1,600 seniors it was pretty it was very loud but very engaging Warwick High School's team won the blue crab bowl of 2025 you might say what is the blue crab bowl so it is Virginia's Regional competition of the national ocean Sciences Bowl this was held on March the 1st at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester it showcases some of the Commonwealth's most talented science students as they display their Mastery of um ocean knowledge Warwick High School finished first among the participating teams and
072I think it's important to note that the participating teams included public private and Governor schools so our students came in first place and we are extremely proud of Warwick high school so they will now advance to the National ocean science Bowl competition that will be held May 17th and May 18th and it's really interesting it's going to be held on Zoom so that's a little interesting but we are super excited um about our students and the achievement the major achievement that they've been able to accomplish next we have Newport News Public Schools archery teams and individual archers had a very strong showing at the Virginia National archery in schools program state tournament it was held March the 8th every year it's held in Doswell and we're proud to say every year we have students that
073compete qualifying for the US Eastern Nationals which will be May the May 8th through the 10th in Louisville Kentucky we had numerous individual Arch and teams from Rich Neck Elementary School Ella Fitzgerald middle school and Menchville High School so we are very proud of our students and we know that they will do well in this next round so we now have another student she is a ninth grader at Menchville High School SE Hera this vanton she was selected as the winner for high school students in the 2025 distinguished Trailblazers in Sciences competition her winning entry was actually a video presentation about two University of Pennsylvania professors who won the 2023 Nobel Prize in medicine for research that enabled the platform used to rapidly develop life-saving vaccinations um amid the global uh covid-19 pandemic so she
074is the winner um out of many many I don't have have the number of students but I was told across the country so she is the 2025 distinguished Trailblazers in science winner so we're are super Menchville High School continuing on as always we have lots to celebrate students read their poetry submissions and place winners were recognized at the artistic versus student readings and awards ceremony that was held February 15th at the Mary M Toler Art Center at Christopher Newport University just another example of how Christopher Newport has truly partnered with us the 2025 first place winner was Woodside High School student Cameron Brown for her poem entitled candid uh let me get this word right candelabra confinement which was inspired by some artwork so we are super proud of her super proud of all of
075them I believe you were in attendance and miss miss s law okay all right moving forward our Master teaching Master teaching artist from Wolf Trap Institute for early learning through the Arts so we really work with our early Learners through Arts as well have been working with our preschool students and teachers again this year this partnership is in its second year and it is funded by the Virginia Department of Education through a grant it provides learning experiences for our preschool students and and uh both in class and program-wide professional development for our preschool staff this year their partnership grew to include family workshops for bilingual students and families in the Dual language immersion program super proud of the work that they are doing together we all know that March is not only all about basketball
076March Madness but here in Newport News March is music in your school's month activities have taken place across the School Division and each mon Monday in March we have a different musical group from one of our schools perform right here for our staff in the administration building in this very room it's been a wonderful way to start off each week on a positive and musical note upcoming on the calendar Friday April the 4th will be a half day for students with a teacher work day in the afternoon April 7th through April 11th will be spring break with all of our schools in office is closed and Monday April 14th schools will be closed for students but it will be a full teacher planning day Dr best this concludes my comments and remarks for this evening
077thank you thank you Dr Mitchell we will now move on to item six another opportunity to hear from the public Miss Buffalo are there no cards okay well we we'll move the agenda to Matters by school board members but we will Begin by our student um representative Mr rasan B thank you thank you Dr best um I just wanted to start by confirming what Dr Mitchell said how electrifying our senior I wanted to start by confirming what Dr Mitchell said about how electrifying our senior rally was and I wanted to thank her for all of that um also uh last month I participated in the first meeting of the school division strategic planning steering committee when we begin our work on setting the priorities for the school division for the next 5 years the consultant
078will be conducting a focus group with students at our student Advisory Group meeting next week and I'm looking forward greatly to that session we will also be recruiting a student from each of our six high schools to serve on the School Division student rights and responsibilities handbook committee which will begin to meet in April since we are approaching the time to begin the process for selecting a new student representative to the school board I also plan to share my experiences with the group at our March meeting and encourage students to VI for the position in May in closing I would like to wish my student my fellow students a very happy and safe spring break thank you thank you Mr Hunter um Mr chairman I have no comment tonight thank you just happy uh Easter
079spring break okay thank you Miss um no comment just enjoy right great all right Mr Brown all right well you know I always have a comment I'll try to be less than five minutes M uh so so first I want to congratulate Mr Verde on uh you know of course uh we're looking forward to several more months with you in your position but wanted to let you know that in your role in your position uh at the state level uh there has now been discussion about having uh M having more than one opportunity for the student reps across the state of Virginia to get together so through the work that you did with other student reps at the annual conference uh the uh Virginia School Board Association has decided to continue additional sessions for other
080student reps so I want to thank you for your leadership and thank you for the impact that you've had so you have a legacy that you are leaving behind as our student rep so congratulations on that uh also want to say congratulations to all the student athletes uh that we saw and got a chance to honor here tonight really excited to see the Investments that we've made um in uh Athletics and extracurricular activities really paying off in a in a big way that we could really see uh these young people come forward and they're receiving Regional and state level championships so that's what uh you know that's that's really very encouraging to see I believe as a as a board and then now we've uh of course finished up our well hopefully we finished up
081our operating budget we know the last two years we've had to come back and revote on it again that's why I made my my comment question tonight uh but hopefully we we've wrapped that up but um as we have learned during this session and during this year uh one of the challenges for us is really as a board taking on the work of optimizing our Transportation uh while I want to thank Dr Mitchell and her team for making optimal use of the resources that we have and doing less with more constantly all the time uh what we do I think as a board now on our end to need to take on his work is with the resources that we do have given that we have historically had um an app ation of positions but
082not necessarily had all those positions filled but with the actual positions that we do have what is the right um workflow and and the right throughput that we should have throughout our division so I want to really um ask the board to take on that challenge and that work uh over the next few months so that we can uh reduce the level of of impacting stress that we've seen on our transportation department and really um make uh the best experiences that we can for all the students so that thank you all and seniors uh and all the other students remember to finish strong you're coming out of the you know rest up a little bit during Easter but during Easter you should be thinking about all the assignments that you still haven't finished yet get
083those turned in uh get your studying done get your work um get yourself studied up and ready for your final exams so that you can shine and have the kind of good summer that you want to have or you of course you can see me during summer school because I love seeing uh young people during summer school coming by shaking your hand and patting you on the back when to see you in summer school so either way if you if you U want to see me and that's great for you you know look look forward to seeing my smiling face or get all your exams uh done the way that you the way that you uh hope that you can get them done thank you thank you Mr Brown Miss Al yes um I might
084take a little bit more time you did take up yeah I did take up a lot of time okay so I'm gonna okay I just want to say uh today the senior rally was incredible it was a great visual one of the things that I thought was really important and something that I want to know if you know um in terms of on time graduation when I looked around today and I was looking at the number of seniors that potentially are graduating on time I want you to know that the students from last year the senior group from last year um the percentage was above state level and the state level was if in case you didn't know this 92.8% but for us it was 93 so we were above and I expect after looking
085at what I saw today that it would be even higher and I think that's something for us to celebrate and to know um because it's the it's the good news we need to pass around so my expectation my expectation is 100% there you go we have said to our students if you are credit deficient right now we have opportunities for you to be able to take an online class if we have to do a night school we will do a night school the expectation is 100 everyone sitting in there needs to know that they are going to walk across that stage in June that's it that's it and and today was a great reflection of that expectation so thank you the other thing I want to share too I've been spending time with different uh
086communities in particular the uh Latino Community um I've gone to a class in Menchville to talk to students um from uh the Spanish uh bilingual classes to talk to them about the importance of language and being bilingual uh and the benefit to that um and this past uh week um I was invited to to speak to the um to go to Watkins to meet families that are in the pep program and these are uh Latino families and to discuss with them about their resources in the community and the biggest thing for them to understand my role and our roles as far as being a me es and it's important um of the folks in our uh community and the importance of inclusivity so I want to make sure that you know about that uh because
087it's important to to to keep our circles wide and open thank you thank you m Miss h yes I want to Echo um my colleagues um in regards to the senior rally um I did attend today my first one um this was the first this was the first one so um yes very electrifying um lots of energy lots of familiar faces um the energy from the students was top tier um I I feel like things like this need to continue um it needs to be uh a situation where they're talking to their friends about it and they're excited uh to be a part of it um the following year and so on and so forth I even wore my shirt that we got um I'm very excited I love love a free t-shirt um and
088so yes wanted to shout out all the administrators and the participants and everyone who was involved in putting that together um I also attended on Saturday uh on on the 15th uh Safe Haven Community Center had a family fund day um and this was a Consortium of different um uh external vendors that were there to offer resources to the community uh Thrive was there giving out um fresh produce I mean avocado it was fresh fruits and vegetables and things along those lines the clothing closet was open for families to partake in in in clothing items um and then there was of course the after school program for enrichment there were tons of Newport News public school students and families that went through those doors um and so I think it's important important for us to
089remember the external factors that affect our our families and to give them access to resources and knowing what um they have available to them right in their backyards um and so it was it was it was something uh nice to see um and they also offer therapeutic services there as well for their after school students um hopefully they will be a a designated spot um on the transportation for next school year um so that students can leave straight from their schools and partake in that after school um uh programming that they have there so I wanted to shout them out as well and enjoy your spring break seniors you're almost there don't get stuck in that senior slump the light is right there at the end of the tunnel um so I encourage all of
090our students to again um finish finish strong and finish well um and that's all I have thank you and I'm going to be very brief I'm just going to Echo my colleagues that were at the um senior rally today um it was just you had to be there to experience it it was it was electrifying it was positive it was amazing it was energizing it was motivating and I just enjoyed the fact that from a conversation with Dr Mitchell it materialized until this event and if you attended the event it seemed to have gone flaw flawless I don't know what might have been happening in the background but it seemed to have gone on Flawless and I was standing there just looking around and I said all the people that it took to make this
091a success and I just want to say to thank you because it's probably so many that we didn't see or even know about and and we just wanted our boys and girls to take a moment it was originally scheduled um earlier in the year but we had a snow day but it actually worked out today was much better it was perfect just for the seniors to stop and reflect and to reset so that they can walk across that stage it wasn't all fun it was fun but it wasn't all fun it was a purpose for the fun so again thank you Dr Mitchell and of her staff and then for spring break week I plan to get some rest I encourage all of my board members get some rest I encourage all of our employees
092students and families get some rest take a minute and enjoy each other and enjoy each other and with that this meeting is adjourned thank you