Coraggio Consulting
Chesterfield County School Board Business Meeting, Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Place: Chesterfield County School Board, Virginia
Length: 1h 20m (video)
Official meeting video (Swagit): https://chesterfieldschoolsva.new.swagit.com/videos/354891
Official minutes (BoardDocs, on the Oct 14, 2025 agenda for approval): https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/chesterfield/Board.nsf/pfiles/DMUKYJ5427B7/$file/DRAFT%20MINUTES%20-%202025.09.09%20Business%20Meeting.pdf

Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting.
Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-10-24. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:00:00] aye the motion carries good evening everyone i'd like to call the september 9th 2025 school board business meeting to order before we begin the meeting this evening i would like to thank everyone for attending the september 9th school board business meeting and remind the audience that comments to this board may only be made at the podium during the public comment period comments from the audience are prohibited and are in violation of section 18.2-415 of the code of Virginia, Disorderly Conduct in Public Places, in School Board Policy 6141. I appreciate everyone's

[00:00:38] patience and understanding so that we can conduct the business meeting in an orderly fashion. We will now have invocation by Mr. Paranto, followed by flag salute by Mrs. Chatters. Heavenly Father, I come to you this evening in asking for wisdom for this board and direction that you would have us go. Give us the wisdom that is needed to grant policies, Father, to oversee conversations, Lord, to steer the direction of our division. Lord, we yield to you in knowing

[00:01:14] and thanking you for this opportunity to lead our children, our staff, and our teachers in this school year. Father, thank you so much for what you do for us each and every day. I humbly ask all of this in your son, Jesus's name, I pray. Amen. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

[00:01:45] Tonight's consent agenda includes agenda adoption, approval of the minutes from our August 12, 2025 work session, and our August 12, 2025 business meeting, memo number 114-25, recommended personnel actions, memo number 115-25, acceptance of donations, memo number 116-25, 2026 health and dental contracts, memo number 117-25,

[00:02:32] FY 2026 transfer funds to major maintenance memo number 118-25 adoption of additional funds and reappropriation of reserves for the Appomattox regional governor school memo number 119-25 appropriation of general obligation bond net premium memo number 120-25 deed of gift donated books from 2nd and Charles, a used book retailer. Memo number 130-25, approval of participation

[00:03:11] in proposed settlement of opioid related claims against eight opioid manufacturers. Memo number 131-25, appointment of members to school board advisory committees. Are there any additions or corrections to the consent agenda? Madam Chair, there are no additions or corrections to the consent agenda.

[00:03:32] Are there any requests from a school board member to separate an item from the consent agenda for discussion or individual action? Hearing none, may I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented? I make a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented.

[00:03:49] Is there a second? Second. Madam Clerk, would you please call roll on the motion? Dominique Chatters. Aye. Stephen Pronto. Aye. Lisa Hudgens. Aye. Ann Coker. Aye. The motion carries. Next, we have awards and recognitions. Mr. Smith. Madam Chair and board members, we have a number of recognitions this evening.

[00:04:09] For our first recognition, we have the Stay in the Game Award. If I could ask Carver College and Career Academy and Melothian High School to come forward this time. Congratulations to Carver College and Career Academy and Melothian High School for winning the Stay in the Game Award from the Virginia High School League for the 24-25 school year. Celebrating fair play and good

[00:04:47] sportsmanship, the award recognizes schools that had no players ejected during the fall, winter, and spring seasons. A total of 66 schools across Virginia achieved the Stay in the Game Award this year. Please join me in congratulating these two schools. So I don't know if the Stay in the Game Award, that means no one got ejected at all from any game for the entire year.

[00:05:20] That is a huge deal. That is a huge deal. So we played the game. We won. Mid-low, two state champs. Two. No ejections. I'm just saying this is character. For me, this is almost more important. Not more. Yes, more important.

[00:05:37] It's the character that we are instilling in our students, and that is, I'm very proud, and that allows us to really hold our heads high. So thank you. Do you guys want to say something about what this means to you or how hard it was?

[00:05:54] Did you have to hold yourself back? Working with students who are passionate about sports, We understand emotions run high, the students, the crowds, the family. So we're extremely proud when every team has a moment when the students need to step up and hold their composure.

[00:06:10] And we're really proud when they're able to do so. And I just want to speak on how proud I am of the coaching staff and the group we have there that models the behaviors that we want our students to have. We have a great coaching staff all around. Coach Gittins here, part of our volleyball program, and just really proud of the example we set and how our kids followed it.

[00:06:31] Everything these two gentlemen just shared, and I will just share, you said, almost as or maybe more, it 100% is more important. And we, as you mentioned, had a great year last year, a couple state champions. This year we're off to a great start. And the thing, though, that resonated most with me is with the end of the game last Friday night after a nice victory in football, I was talking to six referees at the end of the game, and not one, not two, but all six commended our student athletes, our football players, and said, you guys, your players demonstrated the best sportsmanship we have seen so far this season.

[00:07:05] It was a pleasure to work here. We're looking forward to coming back. And that meant a lot. And it really does to know that your student-athletes are representing your school, their families, and themselves in the manner in which you hoped, and you supported them along the way. So thank you. Thank you.

[00:07:22] Congratulations. If I could ask Falling Creek Elementary to come forward this time,

[00:08:22] congratulations to Falling Creek Elementary for being recognized as one of America's healthiest schools. This achievement reflects the school's commitment to creating a healthy, supportive environment for every student, staff member, and family. Falling Creek Elementary is the first school in Central Virginia to ever be recognized as one of America's healthiest schools.

[00:08:40] There are nine categories of recognition within the America's Healthiest Schools program. Falling Creek Elementary was honored in two categories, improving nutrition and food access, and strengthening social, emotional health and learning. Please join me in congratulating Falling Creek Elementary. So if y'all missed that, he said the only and the first.

[00:09:07] So I don't know if y'all know how great Falling Creek is, but now you know, right? So y'all are hearing it for the first time. I've known it for a while. But I am so proud of all of you and the work that it takes to feed our children, to make sure they have access to meals. We know how hard it is for some of our families, and you guys are standing in the gap, and I appreciate that.

[00:09:26] I see you have your partners here that are also helping you with this project, so I appreciate everything you're doing ladies of Alpha Alpha Alpha Sorority Incorporated and I just want to say thank you I'm gonna give this to you and then you can just explain what motivated you guys to like take it a step above good evening Rashad Johnson principal of Fallen Creek this is truly an honor to accept this award not only to be the first school in central Virginia but only I think out of 1,100 plus schools so this is a huge accomplishment for us and I want to thank this

[00:10:03] entire school community who up here today this is just a few people but we focus on the entire child not just instruction but we make sure that students have that social emotional piece and also introducing them to healthy meals so that way they can be healthy when they grow up so we definitely want to say thank you guys and i'm gonna pass it on to miss terry kidney hi I'm Yvonne Terry Kidney and I think I'm the lady that when he is interested in something he passes it to me because he knows I don't tell him no one of the most exciting things for us the last

[00:10:42] two years at Falling Creek has been building an outdoor classroom and working closely with our food service program and our community partners to not just make sure that our children have that gap met for now but so that they understand they can be empowered to grow food at home to grow food on their patio to grow it in a straw bale or in a bucket anywhere you can put a seed in the ground and get it going you can grow your own food and we have an amazing food service department and an incredible building full of teachers that you just wouldn't believe who are willing to let us bring

[00:11:18] the food that we grow into their classrooms with the master gardeners and the virginia master naturalist and learn to cook with it and it has just been such an exciting program and in that outdoor classroom we've been focusing on the social emotional well-being of our children and i'm going to pass it off to miss bailey to talk a little bit about that yes so i'm one of our school counselors we're fortunate to have three school counselors and i've we've been able to access the outdoor classroom for small groups, for meeting with students, also very

[00:11:55] thankful to Mr. Johnson as we were the second school to have a therapy dog, so Daisy is also a part of our work with students and also to the Chesterfield Education Foundation with a grant I received in order to do yoga in the outdoor classroom and with classes And it's a specific yoga for classrooms program.

[00:12:22] And it's wonderful to have the outdoor space, the indoor space, and the support of our administration. Ronnie, did you want to? Sure. Hi, I'm Ronnie LaFell with Food and Nutrition. And I just want to say that we are very proud to be on Falling Creek Elementary's team and that we were recognized for our breakfast, lunch, and our after-school programs that met the strict criteria of this award.

[00:12:52] So we were very proud to be a part of that and to just have a lot of fun. We enjoyed working with Mr. Johnson and Yvonne and, of course, our manager, Jennifer. Let's give them another round of applause. Thank you.

[00:13:11] Next up, we have our career and technical education success memo.

[00:13:36] I'm going to break that up in two different sections. The first part, we're going to do the Creating Excellence Awards, so I'll call up Dominion Energy, Matoka High School, and then the Career and Technical Center Courthouse for the Agriculture Advisory Council.

[00:14:19] Career and Technical Education programs within Chesterfield County Public Schools won three awards this year in the Virginia Department of Education's Creating Excellence Awards. The annual awards recognize exemplary programs in Career and Technical Education. Dominion Energy won the statewide and Region 1 Secondary Business and Industry Partnership Award for its support of Chesterfield County Public Schools.

[00:14:38] Matoika High School's Technology and Engineering Education Program won the Secondary CTE Exemplary Program Award for Region 1. And the Agricultural Advisory Council at the Career and Technical Center at Courthouse won the Secondary Advisory Committee Award for Region 1. Please join me congratulating them for these awards.

[00:15:00] You have to bear with me, and I apologize. We have some unique gifts here that I want to make sure we get in the right hands for Dominion Energy, Matoika High, and our Ag Advisory Council.

[00:15:17] So I might be a little biased with Matowoka High. I'm just going to say that right now, okay? Go Warriors. But the reality is our goal, right, is always to exceed the expectation.

[00:15:35] You know, we need to meet it, but obviously we want to exceed it. And we do that with great partners, with Dominion, fantastic staff within our schools, and the leadership of the schools working together. And so on behalf of the Chesquiel County School Board, thank you for what you do for our children.

[00:15:52] every day you set the standard for them to follow and if you may not think that they're paying attention or watching I assure you they most certainly are and so just a few words you know with Dominion what does this mean for your company to be recognized in partnership with CCPS it's absolutely a pleasure to be recognized Chesterfield makes it so easy to work with you have amazing faculty amazing students and we're eager to continue to build pipelines that will power this community for the years to come I didn't know I was gonna be

[00:16:26] has to speak. The building of the technology and engineering education program, Matoka High School, that journey we started eight years ago. And I've been blessed with a support system that I would consider unmatched anywhere else. It starts with great CTE support and it continues on with great school administration. I've been lucky enough to work for two of the greatest principals in my mind that I'll ever get to work with, starting with Dr. Murray and now Dr. Baber.

[00:16:58] Without them, this recognition doesn't happen. This recognition is an example of our community at Matoka High School. Our students, our families, our administrators, our staff. I'm just the person up here receiving it, but in reality, they're the reflection of this award.

[00:17:18] Good evening. Thank you. My name is Trista Grigsby, and I'm the agriculture teacher, and I'm accepting this award on behalf of the Advisory Council. Our Advisory Council spans the field of agriculture, which is broader than just the farmer on the tractor, and we're really excited to build those bridges because those are the people who will employ these students in the future and who believe in the work that we do.

[00:17:44] So thank you. Just a quick note from me, Brian Russell, the principal of the Tech Center. So Trista came on board several years ago, And when I first arrived at the, about 10 years ago, the plant science and the ag program was somewhat of a dismal array for things, mostly because we were attracting students who wanted to do landscaping.

[00:18:08] And we have evolved in so many different areas. And so when we talk about our ag program, we talk about not only food and nutrition, but we also talk about food sustainability, which is so critical for our students to learn. And so as they walk into the building, they come in with this idea, and they grow into a concept that they can take care of their own food insecurities or their own food needs in their house.

[00:18:29] And so it's just been a great pleasure to see how Trista has evolved that program. Thank you all very much. Thank you. Next, if I could ask to call up our career and technical education student organizations, and students come forward this time.

[00:18:53] Career and Technical Student Organizations provide students enrolled in career and technical education courses opportunities to apply academic, technical, and employability knowledge and skills.

[00:19:40] Cheshul students consistently win awards and competitions organized by Career and Technical Student Organizations. We have a large list this evening, which is a very positive thing, that includes student successes from the 24-25 school year and statewide competitions. First place winners were invited to attend tonight's school board meeting.

[00:19:57] However, I would like to read all the students who have been listed. First up is DECA at Meadowbrook High School, teacher Kristen Wettstein, Chandler Randolph, first place in school-based enterprises exploring presentation, Melissa Alcarone, second place in business growth plan, and Maya Tinsley, second place in the business growth plan.

[00:20:16] Future Business Leaders of America at CTC Courthouse, Peyton Chichester, teacher, Nulon Nguyen, second place in help desk, Richard Bates, second place in networking infrastructures, Eli Bisonio, third place in management information systems, Robert Thompson, third place in Management Information Systems, and Ryan Makshar, third place in Management Information Systems.

[00:20:39] Future business leaders of America at Melothian High School, and I did want to note that Melothian High School had 93 students who placed first or second at their spring regional conference. They then had 23 students placed in the top five at the state conference, including three first place winners. And for the seventh year in a row, Melothian High School had students placed in top 10 in the nation. Tonight, we have with us Kiri Yun, who placed fourth in the nation for introduction to marketing concepts, and Ryan Paris, who placed fifth in the nation

[00:21:14] for accounting one. As well, Mason Captain, first place in accounting two and third place in banking and financial systems. Cole Caffel, second place in financial calculations. Taylor Boschel, second place in client services. Jonah Devereen, second place in agribusiness. Andrew Henry, second place in intro to business concepts. Colin Leahy, second place in accounting two.

[00:21:40] Towns Linkowitz, second place in personal finance. Benjamin Reeves, second place in public policy and advocacy. Porter Boyles, third place in intro to business procedures. Natalie Wang, third place in broadcast journalism. Monica Ramirez, third place in broadcast journalism.

[00:21:56] Reese Richardson, third place in intro to parliamentary procedure. Benjamin Singleton, third place in banking and financial systems. Cooper Wallinas, third place in banking and financial systems. And then from the FFA organization at Thomas Dale High School, Brian Sheets, teacher.

[00:22:15] Sammy Dolan, Jose Ortiz Jr., Harrison Sheets, and Caden Stancil, first place in turf grass. From the hosts of future health professionals at CPC at Courthouse and CPC at Hull, Amy Purnell, Tim Day, and Ashley Harward, teachers.

[00:22:31] Brooklyn Laney, first place in occupational therapy statewide and eighth place nationally. Kiera Ferguson, first place in sports medicine. Erica Figge, third place in sports medicine statewide and sixth place nationally. Cohen Richardson, third place in physical therapy.

[00:22:50] Emily Strickland, third place in pharmacology. And from HOSA Future Health Professionals at Monacan High School, Amanda Hilliard and Kate Doctor Teachers. Cheyenne Coppage, first place in clinical specialty. Braden Delaney, first place in interviewing skills.

[00:23:06] Connor Dutton, first place in biomedical debate. Carolyn Hugenberg, first place in biomedical debate. Carissa Nichols, first place in biomedical debate. Luke Brill, second place in parliamentary procedure. Reagan Canada, second place in sports medicine.

[00:23:22] Shalo Cardi, second place in medical math. Ava Clayton, second place in parliamentary procedure. Ella Delaney, second place in job seeking skills. Anna Elliott, second place in medical innovation. Raleigh Ezebich, second place in emergency medical technician.

[00:23:38] Yasmin Garcia-Banks, second place in research persuasive writing and speaking. Paulo Gonzalez, second place in mental health promotion. Owen Greger, second place in parliamentary procedure. Alyssa Martin, second place in life support skills. Kendall Mason, second place in mental health promotion.

[00:23:55] Elise Matthews, second place in parliamentary procedure. Braden Polinsky, second place in emerging medical technician and second place in parliamentary procedure. Braden Patterson, second place in Parliamentary Procedure. Zoe Purnell, second place in Prepared Speaking. Jael Santiago, second place in Medical Innovation.

[00:24:14] Aidan Smith, second place in Parliamentary Procedure. Aubrey Snipes, second place in Health Career Photography. Caitlin Wickham, second place in Medical Innovation. Max Batten, third place in Community Awareness. Emmy Fitzgerald, third place in Community Awareness.

[00:24:31] Tamiya Forbes, third place in CRT Skills. Nora Mapp, third place in Community Awareness. Maya Ritter, third place in community awareness. Julianne Schindler, third place in community awareness. Abby Tarpley, third place in CERT skills. Sarah Timblake, third place in community awareness.

[00:24:48] Helsi Vicente Lopez, third place in research, persuasive writing and speaking. Layla Ilytalo, third place in occupational therapy. And from SkillsUSA at CTC at Courthouse and CZ at Hull. Joe Henderson and Marsha Cox, teachers. Gabrielle Jordan, first place statewide and fourth place nationally in automotive.

[00:25:08] Maya Morris, first place in nail technician, and Charisma Pippen, first place in nail technician. And Technology Student Association at CTC at Hull, Randy Burt's teacher, Abigail Frias, third place in on-demand video, and Aaron Salinas, third place in on-demand video.

[00:25:25] Please join me in recognizing these students.

[00:25:36] Now, Mr. Smith, you said we had a few. You said we have a few. First of all, on behalf of the Chester County School Board, and I apologize, I want to see all of you at the same time, but it's kind of, let me do this. There we go. congratulations we heard a whole list of names and everyone standing up here was first in their category right absolutely something to be proud of and i hope that you are because as a school board i can share with you that we are very proud of you and your teachers and the accomplishments the time and effort that has taken this is not something you just walk into and go oh uh sure

[00:26:13] let me go ahead and compete you have to have a passion for that and it's very evident with the list that Mr. Smith wrote off. Not only our first place, you know, placeholders, but who was fourth in the nation? I don't want to embarrass you. And anyone else? I think there's somebody else who was fifth in the nation. Outstanding job. Congratulations. So real quick, if you want, this is your opportunity. I don't want to, I don't want to steal your thought. She's shaking her head. No, please don't. Not me. And that's okay. You don't have to. But you've earned it, right? You've earned

[00:26:51] it and teachers as well you've earned to brag uh for your students and so um you know what is it here's here's my question uh if you like the answer that's great and if not that's okay too um what is it about your passion that has driven you to where you are today well what is that motivation for you so I'm Yvonne Mullins the FBLA advisor at Midlothian High School in 2006 I took my first FBLA trip with Meadowbrook High School took a kid to nationals didn't know you could win at nationals and then i come to mitlothian and my first year going to nationals there i had three

[00:27:26] out of my four girls won in top 10 and we've been winning ever since and it's studying like i say who wants to study because we don't go for the experience it's a great experience it's competitions it's conferences but you're gonna i expect you on stage and i told ryan and kerry i said i couldn't go with them this year to california because i had a prior family commitment but when they came home with two trophies it's like yeah it's so worth it. So I teach accounting and this is our second year now where we've had a top 10 in accounting one at the nation. So we're doing something right in mid-low we've got 150 kids in accounting and it's it's going on fire and so

[00:28:03] we love our FBLA club. Okay well I guess my passion is just being able to learn new things and meet new people. I competed in FBLA for the first time this year and I was in intro to marketing concepts so being able to learn something new and teach myself all of those new concepts was really fun so for me it was like much of the same i had accounting with mrs mullins and she asked me if i wanted to compete and i did and i'm thankful enough to be given i was thankful

[00:28:40] enough to be given the opportunity to compete at the state level and national and also be given all the materials and resources i needed to succeed thank you hi there i'm ashley harwood physical therapist and teacher at the tech center for pt and ot and kira is probably not going to want to speak so i will speak for her just in case she doesn't but our students at the tech center put so much time and effort into learning actual skills that they will use one day when they're practicing as a health care provider and so yes the competition is important but what kira and her classmates did was perform skills that i didn't do until i was in graduate school when i

[00:29:18] When I was 22, 23 years old, they're performing those types of skills in a competition at 16 and 17 years old, so no matter if they win or not, just the ability to do that in that setting, in that high-pressure setting, they should all be very proud no matter what they place.

[00:29:34] Great job, Kira. I don't mind speaking. My name is Brian Sheets of Thomas Dale. These guys are from the FFA program. This is our fifth year, our very first time competing at the FFA turf grass competition.

[00:29:52] These guys won first place, so we were very proud of that. One of the things that we really strive on is turfgrass management. And if you did not know, turfgrass science is the largest crop in the state of Virginia. So, yes, that's one of those random facts that a lot of people did not know.

[00:30:10] These guys went out. They go everywhere from doing courtyards in our building. They prepare all of our sports fields. They use the turfgrass science that they use with the FFA curriculum. So if you don't realize how much goes into preparing a sports field and the science that goes behind it, these guys studied it all, it's college and career ready, so we're pushing.

[00:30:33] We've got 100 kids in the program this year, and we're just making leaps and bounds in our program, and I cannot speak enough of these kids of how hard they worked to put our program on the map. Thank you, guys. Hi, I'm Kristen Wettstein.

[00:30:49] I am the deck advisor at Marybrook High School and also the coordinator for the specialty center. I guess my biggest thing is I just want to say that I'm so proud of Chandler of taking our new SBE last year and hit the ground running with it and actually taking it and presenting it as an exploring SBE.

[00:31:08] And that's what her first place award was in at DECA. So it was all learning last year, but she took it and went by herself and she, you know, knocked it out of the park. So I'm so very proud of her. Hi, my name is Chandler Randolph, and I think one of my passions is accepting the challenges Ms. Westein throws at me and putting my best effort into it and just seeing the outcome regardless of the, if it's good or bad, just knowing that I put my best effort in and did the best I could.

[00:31:50] Okay. All right, so I am Marshae Cox. I am the Nail Technology and Entrepreneurship Instructor at CTC et al. So my two students here are really why, is my passion, is why I graduated from a program just like this.

[00:32:06] I had a teacher that I am aspiring to be to them that I still communicate with to this day. And so just seeing them excel, like with Charisma here, Charisma was our actual nail tech that went and competed and won the first place for the state.

[00:32:22] And she was a cosmetology student and a nail tech student. So she had two things going for herself. She was preparing for both tests at the same exact time, around the same time that all of this is happening, within the month. This is all happening for her. And she still went out, and she rocked it out, and she did such a good job.

[00:32:39] She's excelling in her career. Then we have Maya. Maya has been right by her side as her model. And honestly, I think being the model is a little bit harder than being the tech because you have to be alert. You have to make sure that you're prepped and you're ready. So taking on that task and that responsibility was huge.

[00:32:56] to be able to do that. But for her to support Charisma and her journey through SkillsUSA was really commendable of her. So I'm very proud of both of them. They're doing very well. And so that just keeps me going, keeps me working to be the best instructor that I can be to bring more and more students. Charisma also participated in the state fair where she was second place for that one too. So she's been competing, competing, competing, everything that I throw at her. She takes it. She's like, yep, I want to do it. So I'm just very proud of them. All right. Brian Russell again from the

[00:33:36] Tech Center. So Ashley with physical therapy and occupational therapy and Marshae with Nail Tech and then Peyton, who is not up here right now with our IT program. The one thing that I can echo with what Ashley said is things that our students learned at the Tech Center far excels what they would have done if they had gone the traditional route.

[00:33:58] And so giving them that head start in the building is really what we do. And so we're going to have more of those conversations at our advisory night on October 21st at 630, if any of you are coming. I'm just putting that plug in. But, yes, this is what we do. We make sure that we give our students that head start for their careers.

[00:34:17] I'm Brandon Delaney, and my passion, like, why I do what I do is probably just, like, speaking. I love to talk. I love to meet new people. I think I'm good at talking. I mean, talking is how people get united. So, yeah, it's pretty important. Pretty important. Appreciate it.

[00:34:33] Well put. I'm Ben Shinnler, principal of Monacan High School. I feel privileged to work with such a great group of students at Monacan. You heard the long list of names for second and third places. It's just an amazing program with students that are really well-rounded.

[00:34:49] So many of them are involved with upper-level classes, with sports, and with competitions like this where they are really just pushing themselves to excel, and it's just a privilege to work with them. Can we give them a round of applause, please?

[00:35:08] So as you exit, if you'd exit towards where I'm standing, students, we have a small gift for you, and teachers, if you would see Elke here, she has something for you as well.

[00:35:24] Thank you so much.

[00:36:08] Celebrating partners. Our next memo this evening is celebrating our partners. If I could ask Dominion Energy and Sentara Health to come forward this time.

[00:36:42] Public education is the foundation of American democracy, and the work of Cheshire County Public Schools teachers and staff members demonstrates the transformative and uplifting power of education in our community. But Cheshire County Public Schools does not operate in isolation as we work to educate 64,000-plus students and help them find their path to success.

[00:37:00] Our schools are robustly supported by community organizations, businesses, and individuals who support us and work with us in partnership. Tonight, we recognize Dominion Energy and Sentara Health for their generous support of El Libertazo. Dominion Energy is in its second year as the event's title sponsor, and Sentara Health joined this year as a significant sponsor as well.

[00:37:21] These generous partners demonstrated their commitment to literacy and opportunity by making it possible in 2025 to give more than 12,000 books to young people from every zip code in Cheshire County. Their support for this event reflects Dominion Energies and Senator Health's dedication to investing in the intellectual growth and potential of future generations.

[00:37:40] Please join in thanking both of these organizations. Ellie Bertazzo is a highlight for our students in Chesterfield County. And thank you for partnering with us and the Chesterfield Education Foundation for being a sponsor of that and ensuring that we are kicking out illiteracy as much as we can by providing over 12,000-plus books to our students at every grade level.

[00:38:11] It was open to whoever wanted to come out. And that is a possibility because of our partnerships. Mr. Smith, I think, said it very well. We would not be able to do what we do or be who we are without the partnerships from our community. And so for Dominion and Sentara, on behalf of Chesterfield County School Board, thank you so very much for what you do for us and for our students.

[00:38:33] Next, we have recognition of outstanding drivers. Dr. Fry.

[00:38:57] Good evening, Madam Chair, board members. Mr. Roberts, it's my pleasure this evening to present to you our Drivers of the Month, as well as our 2024-2025 Driver of the Year.

[00:39:15] There are many drivers who could be recognized this month, but each transportation area manager had to make the tough decision of selecting a single bus driver who exemplified excellence and dedication to represent their area. We would like to recognize and honor the following bus drivers.

[00:39:33] Shantae Jasper, Area 1, Bus 706, two years of service. Shantae has shown that she is a team player by cross-training in the office, mentoring drivers over the summer, and being on standby for summer school routes.

[00:39:56] Shantae has embraced the challenges of the new school year with kind words and a smile. Phillip Lee, Area 2, bus 734, one year of service. Phillip is a team player willing to do anything he can to assist students in team transportation.

[00:40:20] He greets others with a positive smile and words, making them feel valued and respected. Jermaine Garcia, Area 3, bus 714, two years of service. Jermaine says, being a bus driver for my community is truly a rewarding experience that I take a great pride in.

[00:40:44] Jermaine states, seeing a consistent, caring face at the start and at the end of their school day shows students that they are valued and their education is important. Kiana Hewlett, Area 4, bus 37, nine months of service.

[00:41:07] Kiana is a great asset to team transportation as a mentor and runner. She is always available to pick up students with a smile. Gregory Russell, Area 5, bus 598, seven months of service.

[00:41:27] Greg says he loves to see our students at every stop. He shows them and their parents that he's happy they are riding. Parents know that their most precious possession will be treated with kindness, respect, and that their safety is his main concern.

[00:41:44] Now, our driver for the 2024 and 2025 school year is Charles Barrero, bus 849, two years of service. Charles Barrero became a bus driver on August 4th, 2023, and excelled in his role quickly.

[00:42:11] Charles was utilized for double backs on a regular basis and showed that he could adapt to change while remaining professional and a positive attitude. His area manager received numerous phone calls from parents praising Charles for taking such good care of his kids.

[00:42:29] And Moseley Elementary gave him the nickname Superman. Charles was the January Driver of the Month last school year and received the Game Changer Award in April. Charles competed in the April 2025 CCPS Bus Rodeo and was the overall winner.

[00:42:52] He went on to compete in the Virginia State Rodeo competition that was held in Newport News in May and placed second in the state. Charles has proven to be a great bus driver, putting the safety of our students at the top as top priority and a positive representation of not only transportation, but our entire school system.

[00:43:18] Charles has recently been promoted to auxiliary trainer and is now helping train our new drivers. Congratulations, Charles. Ms. Roach, his former area manager, has something special for Charles.

[00:43:34] Present to him this evening.

[00:43:53] Congratulations to all our drivers. So as a mom of four kids with four different schedules at one year, it was four different bus routes, four different schedules, four different schools. We know how important, my family especially, knows how important it is what you do, and we're grateful for what you do.

[00:44:12] You're the first face they see, so you're either calming them down, getting them relaxed so they can go into the classroom, or you're keeping, you have all the secrets too, by the way, because I know they just talk and talk and tell all our business. So thank you for keeping our secrets. We appreciate that and what you're doing for our children every day because some of us can't do it and we need you. And I'm so grateful that you chose Chesterfield to serve in and we're so proud of you. Congratulations.

[00:44:40] Second in the state. We got a lot of state champions in the room today. Like let's give it up for our bus drivers please you don't have to speak but i want to ask what's the best part about being a bus driver i wasn't prepared to say anything i'm just speechless i'm proud i'm honored to be part of ccps as a bus driver for our schools being a representative of area three now being part of the transportation team showing and trying to provide the best of my knowledge to

[00:45:17] our new drivers, making sure our kids get to school, home safe, and being a good defensive driver and just be safe and appreciate what you guys think. I think for me, the best part is I get to put into practice the things that God has taught me. He's helped me to be loving, patient, even safety conscious. God is very safety conscious. He had laws that his people were to follow to make sure that they were safety conscious and so that's a big thing for me it

[00:45:56] always has been and just trying to be uh trying to communicate that you're okay you get on my bus you're okay now you're safe that to me uh i give that glory to god i think that my favorite part about driving and coming to work every morning is the kids i have two kids that are school age in elementary school and running out of different schools I always hear hey you're Ava's mom or you're Devin's mom or you're back so it always feels good that you know you're making a good

[00:46:33] impact on the kids. Yeah that's a ditto with her the first thing when I joined to be a school bus driver it was my way to get into the school system because I want to be a teacher and being able to manage 50 60 plus kids on the school bus I think that was a great way to get my foot in the door it's like having two classrooms and in a moving in a moving building but just like her I wanted to do something positive for the children and my community and at the end of the day I learned

[00:47:09] something majorly this this past year they have an amazing positive influence in me and my family so I get to go home with a smile on my face to see my kids my wife because those kids just transfer that positive energy to me, and that's the biggest gift that those kids have given me.

[00:47:32] Very quickly, I guess, you know, the kids, like you were saying, the kids are the first ones we see, but I always, like in the afternoons, I always ask, hey, how was your day? Half of them will look at me puzzled, because, you know, they've got earbuds in or whatever, but most of and said, my day was good. How was yours? So that tells me that, you know, you can make a positive impact by just asking them, how was your day? And then some, you know, you could find some things

[00:48:09] out if they didn't have a good day, and then maybe you could talk about it and, you know, have them get some help or something. So I think we just make a positive impact on our kids. And I think once we do that, I think everything will just fall in place. So I would say for me, building the relationships with these kids.

[00:48:32] They really do trust us. And being lucky enough to get the ones that they graduate and then they see me at their new school, and they're like, Miss Tay. I'm like, oh, they miss me. And other than that, they think I'm a celebrity. They see me in the grocery store, and they realize, like, she's a regular person.

[00:48:51] Oh, my bus driver is at the mall. And I'm like, yeah, it's me, it's me. And they are in shock. So I would say it's super rewarding when you realize that these kids, they trust you and you become a part of their family. They trust you with things that they don't tell anyone else.

[00:49:09] And we keep those secrets. We keep those secrets. Next, we have recognition of outstanding food service employees, Mr. Dunbar.

[00:49:35] Good evening, Madam Chair, board members, Dr. Murray, Mr. Roberts. Thank you, as always, for the opportunity to recognize some of our outstanding food nutrition services team members. New school year often brings about many changes, and we thought we would take that opportunity to change up our employee recognitions a little bit moving forward.

[00:49:58] So for the last several years, our field supervisors have highlighted individuals from their areas that they felt exemplified what it was to be a Food and Nutrition Services team member. As we move forward, we want to hear from our team members themselves. Our honorees will be selected now from nominations received from coworkers, other food nutrition services team members, delivery drivers, supervisors, central office staff, and other CCPS staff.

[00:50:22] We have so much good happening in our kitchens every day, and we're very excited to have others tell us what they're seeing. So we had two honorees with us this evening. One was unable to join us, and that is Melissa Banks. Ms. Banks is the assistant manager at Reams Road Elementary School and has been with us for three years.

[00:50:39] Her nomination included the following. Melissa was of huge assistance this year in helping a new manager with the opening of her school. She assisted with the initial kitchen cleaning, reorganization of the kitchen, and setting up of the serving lines. She is also assisting the new manager with orders and helping the team get ready for the school year.

[00:50:56] Melissa has also given the new manager a lot of encouragement and support in her new role. Ms. Banks says of her position, It is very important to me to make sure that every kid gets at least two healthy meals a day because I don't know what they're going to get at home. I feel that a healthy meal is key in order for children to be able to learn and to not have to sit in class and wonder where they're going to eat next.

[00:51:17] And with us this evening is Linda Lassen. Ms. Lassen is our cafeteria manager at Bellwood Elementary School, and if my math is correct, she is entering her 30th year with us. So Ms. Lassen's nomination included the following.

[00:51:34] Linda was the first manager to utilize our new point-of-sale system. Not only did she learn the system quickly, but she became a resource to assist her peers as they began using it. Linda is consistently a positive role model for her management peers. Ms. Lassen says of her position, what I enjoy most is knowing that as a food service employee, we make a difference in the lives of our students every day, not just by feeding them, but making their day brighter.

[00:51:56] Even if it's just a smile or a little wave, it matters. So, not so fast. So, congratulations. Usually there's a whole bunch, and today we've winnowed it down to a superstar, so congrats.

[00:52:14] Thank you for, I love the last little bit about just you can give a little smile, get a little smile, do just, it does, so please tell us. Well, I'm on my second generation of students now. I have, when I first year I went to Bellwood, I had parents used to come through quite often to have lunch with their students, and I had a parent look at me and he went, oh my goodness, you were my lunch lady.

[00:52:44] And I said, yes, I was, which made me feel very old because now he had his own children there. And it does make a difference. Just being there, I mean, the smallest part of our job, I think, is, you know, we provide them tasty meals, healthy meals.

[00:53:01] But if we can be there for a smile for them, a safe place for them, because they don't owe us anything. They don't owe us homework. They don't owe us assignments, spelling tests. They can just come in and feel safe and feel loved, and that's our job. Wow.

[00:53:17] Thank you so much. On behalf of Testerfield County Schools, we are so proud of you. Thank you so much. Next, we have public comment.

[00:53:36] For this meeting, citizens were given the option of submitting their comments online or in person. Comments submitted via the online form were sent to the board prior to the start of tonight's meeting, posted to board doc site and will be included in full as an addendum to the meeting minutes in-person comments will be summarized by the board clerk and included in the official meeting minutes document documents submitted along with in-person comments will upon request be distributed to the board but not included as a part of the board's official minutes madam clerk would you please

[00:54:12] announce these this evening's in-person speakers madam chair we have three speakers this evening They are Michael Mullins, Rob Hamill, and Mike Karabinus. Each speaker will have four minutes to address the board. There's a timer set up on top of the podium that will turn green when you begin speaking, yellow when you have 30 seconds remaining, and red when your time has expired.

[00:54:32] As a reminder, no personal belongings other than a cell phone and speaker notes are allowed at the podium. Please have your materials organized in a manner that as you arrive at the podium, you are prepared to start speaking. Please note that comments equivalent to campaigning for any public office or a violation of school board policy 1110 are prohibited.

[00:54:50] May we have Michael Mullins. Rob Hamill.

[00:55:10] Hello, school board members, colleagues, and friends. I hope the first few weeks of the school year have gone smoothly for everyone.

[00:55:27] We have had a good start to the year at the Chesterfield Education Association. We've picked up quite a few new members since our new teacher orientation. And we've also signed quite a few collective bargaining cards, especially at Providence Elementary. Go Bears! I got to attend a training for new local presidents back at the beginning of August, and I can confidently say that I have a much better idea of what I'm supposed to be doing than the last time that I addressed this body.

[00:55:50] So, CEA is working on opportunities for training our staff and keeping our certifications up to date. We're going to be offering a CPR class at our office just down the road on October 9th. The class will be $60 for non-members, $30 for members of the CEA. We hope this will be our first of many offerings this year to help retain our staff and prevent turnover.

[00:56:10] So we're hearing from members that our special education teachers' caseloads are increasing. And we heard the same thing at the beginning of last year, too. And that means our SPED teachers have even less time for all of their duties and responsibilities. Working in special education is a complicated job. You have to write IEPs, manage social and emotional learning, monitor and document behaviors, act as a career counselor, all while teaching children with wildly different ability levels.

[00:56:33] The majority of our current open positions seem to be in the SPED department. So we know that the solution is ultimately to hire more staff. Of course, we are working on that as we speak. But in the meantime, the Virginia Department of Education has a very interesting course this winter for our SPED teachers.

[00:56:48] If you refer to the flyer that I have provided, you can see that the course will show teachers how to use AI tools to make some of those myriad SPED responsibilities a little bit more manageable. We would like to ask that you allow principals to grant professional development leave so that our teachers can attend these two daytime training sessions.

[00:57:07] there's one in October and one in January. So we hope that equipping staff with some process-oriented skills might help to reduce burnout and make all those responsibilities a little bit easier. So next I have some feedback from members of the union. One member at Meadowbrook expressed concerns that their new schedule might put the school under the required seat time. They believe that putting the new social and emotional learning lessons exclusively in Block 2 takes away enough instructional time that the school could be out of compliance. Our member has not been able to get a good answer for this on their own, so we would respectfully ask for a review of Meadowbrook's schedule to check for seat time compliance.

[00:57:48] Next, I have a few questions. I'd like to ask about Bellwood. If Bellwood does go back to the traditional school calendar, would we anticipate layoffs? Will some staff be assigned to other buildings? When would that stuff be decided? Finally, we noticed that the cost of our health and dental insurance will soon increase, and so we'd like to know how those additional costs will be applied. Will staff absorb them through higher premiums? Will we get raises to offset the higher cost of benefits? What's the timeline for that going into effect? And when will our staff get informative details? So as always, I thank you for this

[00:58:25] opportunity to participate in the democratic process, which governs the education of our children. Thank you for allowing me to speak. Thank you. May we have Mike Karabinos. Typically, I like to get the last spot to respond to any comments that were made. And I really have nothing to say in response to that except for yeah always been a friend of the vea um and now my notes in

[00:59:02] case of that are a little bit disorganized um obscene comic book no no that was the 1950s communist infiltration no that was the 1950s dungeons and dragons and satanist oh no that's the 1980s hold on i got the right panic here the trench coat mafia that was the 1990s hold on uh Violent video games like Mass Effect.

[00:59:26] No, that was the 2000s. Tide Pods. No, that was the 2010s. I apologize. I don't have my notes on the current panic. I can't keep track of which irrational panics we're dealing with. So I don't have the notes for that right now.

[00:59:41] So I'm not going to waste your time with anything but that. So thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chair. That concludes this evening's public comment. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Next, we have this evening's superintendent's report, Dr. Murray.

[00:59:59] Thank you, Madam Chair. Tonight we have one presentation under the Meaningful Moments segment of the meeting. This presentation will share some recent highlights. Schools on the traditional schedule opened for the 25-26 school year on August 18th, and we now have more than 64,000 students back in classrooms ready to learn, grow, and achieve.

[01:00:23] I've been fortunate to visit 55 of our 68 schools already, and it's been encouraging to see and hear all of the positive energy as everyone settles in

[01:00:34] to routines. This short video offers a glimpse of the first few days of school. Enjoy. Thank you,

[01:02:00] Dr. Murray. Board members, is there any discussion? Next, we have action items. Dr. Wattica. Good evening again. Early this afternoon, the board received a presentation regarding the redistricting for Bensley and Fallen Creek Elementary Schools. With the opening of the replacement Bensley Elementary School in August 2026. There is an opportunity to balance enrollment between Falling Creek and Bensley Elementary Schools. Construction is continuing at the new Bensley Elementary School, and we're looking forward to that great new facility. Just a couple

[01:02:39] of pieces of information. Currently, the Falling Creek Elementary School is operating at over 130% of program capacity. The new school will provide additional capacity to allow us to balance that space and reduce the number of students who are being educated in our trailers at Falling Creek.

[01:02:55] So this provides a great opportunity to move students into a classroom and would affect 119 students from Falling Creek that will now attend Benzel Elementary if this is adopted. Can I take any questions you may have? Thank you. Board members, may I have a motion to approve Memo 125-25 as presented?

[01:03:15] So moved. Is there a second? Second. Board members, is there any discussion? There has been a motion and a second. Madam Clerk, would you please call roll on the motion. Dominique Chatters? Aye. Stephen Pronto? Aye.

[01:03:31] Lisa Hudgens. Aye. Ann Coker. Aye. The motion carries. Next, we have memo number 126-25 from Mr. Smith. Madam Chair, board members, the school district's 41st elementary school is under construction on Westerly Parkway next to the new Deep Creek Middle School.

[01:03:52] Informally known as the West Area Elementary School, it is scheduled to open in August 2026 and is part of a community facilities bond approved by Sheffield County voters in 2022. The school's design is based on the school system's elementary school prototype, with the community selecting the building's exterior colors.

[01:04:08] Located in the Matoaka district, the elementary school will accommodate up to 1,000 students in grades K through 5. School policy 6160 gives the board the prerogative to name schools. When choosing the name for the DeCreek Middle School earlier this year, the school provided several opportunities for community input before selecting the school's name.

[01:04:25] Based on this previous community input and conversation, and because the new elementary school is located next to DeCreek Middle School, It would be reasonable to name it Deep Creek Elementary School. Additionally, the new elementary school's geographic location within Chesterfield County and its proximity to the middle school, Tier 1, and future high school on Tier 2, and the school district's desire to efficiently plan bus routes means that the new elementary school is best suited to be on the Tier 3 schedule, which is 9.25 a.m. to 3.55 p.m.

[01:04:54] Recommended action for this evening, it's recommended that the school board name the new school Deep Creek Elementary School, informally known as West Area Elementary School. It's also recommended that D.P.J. School follow the Tier 3 schedule, which is 9.25 a.m. to 3.55 p.m.

[01:05:11] Thank you, Mr. Smith. Board members, may I have a motion to approve Memo 126-25 as presented? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Board members, is there any discussion? There has been a motion and a second.

[01:05:29] Madam Clerk, please call roll on the motion. Dominique Chatters. Aye. Stephen Pronto. Aye. Lisa Hudgens. Aye. Ann Coker. Aye. The motion carries. Next, we have memo number 127-25 from Dr. Fox. Okay, from Dr. Booth.

[01:05:59] Hello, everyone. For memo 127-25, it is for the two CCBS elementary schools to return, not two, to return Bellwood Elementary School to a traditional calendar.

[01:06:20] The research and evaluation team provided and evaluated outcomes for the year-round school for the past few years and shared that information during the work session. It is our recommendation to return Bellwood Elementary School to the traditional school calendar for the 2026-27 school year.

[01:06:40] Thank you, Dr. Booth. Board members, may I have a motion to approve Memo 127-25 as presented? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Board members, is there any discussion? I just wanted to state, for those that weren't tuning in to our work session, to watch the work session.

[01:07:02] does have all of the information that was provided from staff and yes two years ago we were looking at the same decision but based on and I appreciate staff continuing to to look at the progress of the year-round school but it is it's hard for one school to be technically solo in the year-round school when we are such a large school division so I appreciate staff for taking the time to look at the information over the last two years and getting the feedback that

[01:07:39] we received today at the work session so I just sorry madam chair just to add a little bit more so that you don't have to watch the entire work session some of the data points that were pointed out earlier is that the progress for our students scoring wise was not enough it was going down so we weren't progressing in that arena and we were still similar to our traditional school systems and then also the detriment to our faculty without getting the professional

[01:08:15] development week that our traditional schools were getting because they're in school at the time they're not able to participate so that's another just two of the main two of the reasons that were discussed during the work session that led us to the decision to vote on that today i just wanted to give y'all just in case you didn't want to watch the whole work session the highlights thank you miss chatters so there's been a motion in a second madam clerk would you please call roll on the motion dominique chatters aye stephen pronto aye lisa hudgens aye and cocker aye the motion

[01:08:46] carries. Next, we have memo number 128-25 from Mr. Smith. Madam Chair and board members, staff recommends revisions of policy 5431, employees and applicants for driving positions. To articulate the policy changes, the policy was revised to reflect our current practices, but more importantly, revised to reflect new requirements related to a county-owned vehicle traveling 10 miles per hours or more above the posted speed limit in the school zone. School Board policy 1200 provides that, quote, if circumstances warrant immediate action of proposed policy regulation, the

[01:09:26] school board may suspend its rules and bring the policy or regulation up for immediate adoption following a first reading, end quote. Therefore, it's recommended the school board to suspend its regular rules of policy adoption by waiving a second reading of the policy contained from random and approved following the first reading. Proposed changes have been reviewed by the school board attorney.

[01:09:42] If approved, the revision will become effective immediately. Madam Chair, you have two recommended actions. Thank you, Mr. Smith. Board members, may I have a motion for the board to suspend its rules and waive second reading? So moved. Is there a second? Second.

[01:09:58] Board members, is there any discussion? There has been a motion and a second. Madam Clerk, would you please call roll on the motion? Dominique Chatters. Aye. Stephen Pronto. Aye. Lisa Hudgens. Aye. Ann Coker. Aye. The motion carries.

[01:10:15] Board members, may I have a motion to adopt the policies to become effective immediately? So moved. Is there a second? Second. Board members, is there any discussion? There has been a motion and a second. Madam Clerk, please call roll on the motion.

[01:10:31] Dominique Chatters. Aye. Stephen Pronto. Aye. Lisa Hudgens. Aye. Ann Coker. Aye. The motion carries. Next, we have items for board review. Madam Clerk, would you please read the items for this evening? Madam Chair, tonight's agenda includes the following items for the board's review. Number one, Magisterial District Improvement Funds FY 2026. Number two, FY 2025, June, preliminary expenditures versus appropriations unaudited.

[01:10:59] Number three, FY2026, July expenditures versus appropriations. Number four, budget change requests across summaries, categories, July 2025. Number five, board committee reports. Number six, pre-K update, June and July 2025.

[01:11:16] And number seven, memo number 129-25, awareness of technical edits to the 2025-2026 program of studies. Thank you, Madam Clark. Next, we have this evening's superintendent's remarks, Dr. Murray.

[01:11:32] Thank you, Madam Chair. That video was a good tee-up as well as all of the recognitions that just filled the room with joy and reminded each of us of our why. And it's the kids and what they're capable of when we release them to their true potential. So to that end, I want to thank Everybody who made probably our smoothest launch to a school year in the post-COVID era possible.

[01:12:03] Of course, everybody from our facilities teams who have our buildings shining bright, to our food and nutrition services, to our bus drivers who have been doing the best job as far as a school opening is concerned when we are so used to many more hiccups.

[01:12:26] There have been much fewer, and we're actually, our evening times where we're returning kids home is in line with how we finished the year last year. So to think that we're only going to get better from where we finished, which was in a good place last year, makes me very happy.

[01:12:46] I want to thank my cabinet and their council, as well as our principal leaders, the support or the assistant administrators, but then the people who make the magic happen each and every day, our instructional staff, the teachers, the assistants, the front office folks, they are truly remarkable in releasing our kids to curiosity and creativity.

[01:13:13] So I just wanted to say, come from a grateful place and saying thank you to them. I do want to reemphasize something that was mentioned in work session, and that is that there is an upcoming community meeting pertaining to redistricting for the now Deep Creek Elementary School.

[01:13:32] And that will be, Steve, make sure I don't miss this, September 30th at 6 p.m. at Deep Creek Middle School. How'd I do? I apologize. are close to the finish line on hiring our own traffic controller. Many folks know that traffic pressures are something that bring a lot of community members concern. It also costs us a decent amount of money to apply additional personnel. This was a creative solution where

[01:14:11] we can cover at least three sites in the morning and afternoon at a much more affordable rate. and then have access to that individual for the two hours in the middle of the day to conduct evaluations elsewhere for support. If it goes as well as we think it will, we look forward to bumping that out to an additional position.

[01:14:33] The CTC at Hull renovation is underway, and we're excited about the 650 new seats and the many more new or expanded programs that Chad Macklin and his team will be able to provide as early as next year.

[01:14:53] And then I just wanted to highlight the importance of our students getting involved. I think that that is when we become much more proud of calling our school our second home, and it commits us to doing better while we are there.

[01:15:11] There are a lot of ways that students can get engaged, whether it is participating in after-school activities They're cheering on classmates who are participating themselves. But I wanted to highlight that at LC Bird, they have a fishing club that has been going on for many years, and they participated in their fishing tournament, which is huge.

[01:15:33] They're actually the reigning champions. They were on the James River bright and early at 6 a.m. this past Sunday. I look forward to hearing from Crystal Barker, the amazing sponsor at Bird, as to how they did. But those are the type of activities that people might not consider that our adults are sponsoring and coaching.

[01:15:57] I also want to thank Laura Height and the Chesterfield Education Foundation. I'm glad she was able to present earlier today. But for those who didn't tune in and are tuning in now, 58 either innovation or classroom grants that she and her team were able to raise funds for.

[01:16:19] and then give it away. She'll tell you she doesn't raise money to hold on to it. She raises money to give it back so that our kids can be better for it. I also want to celebrate the eight National County Awards that the school division staff uniquely won, just their continuation in helping Chesterfield be one of the best counties, not just in the Commonwealth, but across the country, to live, work, and learn.

[01:16:50] The Game Changer link has gone out. We'll begin recognizing Game Changers next month. With 11,000-plus employees, there are a lot of folks who are worthy of recognition. So with a great start to the school year in mind, please consider making a thoughtful nomination of a staff member who has either positively impacted your child or you.

[01:17:16] We look forward to recognizing them. And then lastly, in one of my visits to Midlothian High School, I was speaking to a class and to the young man, Abdullah, who will graduate this year, who made a silly wager with me because he's a Detroit Lions fan against my Green Bay Packers.

[01:17:33] You now owe me lunch, and I'm not going to forget about it. It was your bet. I shook on it, and I look forward to door dashing to Midlothian High School very soon. That's all I have, Madam Chair. Thank you, Dr. Murray.

[01:17:50] Next, we have announcements, communications, and school board comments. School board members, are there any announcements or comments this evening? Mrs. Chatters? I just want to reiterate, specialty center fairs are happening soon, so all of our middle schoolers, I would recommend 7th graders attend as well.

[01:18:07] If you did not get all the dates and information, it was in the work session, and the dates are September 30th at LC Bird and October 8th at Monacan High School. That's your opportunity to see all the things that your child can explore. They can find their passion now or figure out that that's not really what they want to do so we don't waste time when we graduate, right?

[01:18:28] So this is an opportunity for them to explore. We have so many programs available, so please come and check it out on one of those two dates. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Perrante. Thank you, Madam Chair. Dr. Murray stole my thunder, but that's okay.

[01:18:43] Well, I'll just repeat it again. September 30th at Deep Creek Middle School will be the community presentation for the two options for redistricting for Deep Creek Elementary School. And so we greatly appreciate the community coming out.

[01:18:59] Definitely want to hear the thoughts and be able to answer questions from a transportation perspective, from a population perspective, and looking at the numbers and why it makes sense that we settle on either option one or on option two.

[01:19:15] But also to say to the community, when we're looking at an elementary school to redistrict, especially in this case to where we have so many elementary schools that are right next to each other, practically, you can only draw the line so far, so wide, so high, without truly impacting everybody else in that particular area.

[01:19:36] And so, you know, I really appreciate staff and the time that they spent in presenting these two options for us to review and present to the community, and I look forward to the community's feedback. Again, September 30th, 6 to 7 p.m. at Deep Creek Middle School, and I will see you all there. All right. The school board will hold a work session on Tuesday, October 14th, 2025 at 4 p.m. here in the public meeting room. It'll be followed by a business meeting at 6.30 p.m. If there's no further business, we need a motion to adjourn. I make a motion to adjourn.

[01:20:14] Madam Clerk will you please call roll on the motion. Dominique Chatters. Aye. Stephen Pronto. Aye. Lisa Hudgens. Aye. Ann Coker. Aye. The motion carries. The September 9th 2025 school board business meeting is adjourned.

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