Coraggio Consulting
Hanover County School Board Meeting, Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Date: Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Place: Hanover County School Board, Virginia
Length: 4h 18m (video)
Official meeting video (CivicClerk): https://hanovercova.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1510/media

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] Mr. Coleman. Yes, Madam Chair. I move to enter closed session in accordance with Code of Virginia, Section 2.2-3711A1 personnel, review recommendations of the superintendent for resignations, appointments, transfers, assignments, promotions, terminations, salary adjustments, and leaves of absence for teachers and other employees, Section 2.2-3711A2, consideration of request for religious exemption

[00:00:31] from compulsory school attendance 2.2-3711A3 discussion or consideration of the acquisition of real property for a public purpose where discussion in an open okay finish off okay all right starting right there we go there we go uh correction section 2.2-3711A2 student disciplinary matters and consideration of requests for religious exemption from compulsory school

[00:01:06] attendance thank you uh mr coleman um for your motion do i have a second second uh thank you dr schroff all in uh is there any discussion all in favor say aye aye all those opposed okay we are now in closed session sorry that was my bad

[00:07:11] It is hot in here, I don't think that's cool going on.

[00:07:38] Yeah. I think that's more than a long day than it's stupid. But I thought it was going to still be cold today. Like, I thought the weather turned yesterday and it was going to be very cold.

[00:07:52] It's cool outside, not in here.

[00:08:21] I get to take a panic before I go to this for a cleaning.

[00:08:43] Once the chair goes back, if I'm not medicated, I'll have a panic attack when the back chair goes back.

[00:09:43] Yeah, they do that just for cleanings, too. yeah it's a mental thing i know but yeah i'm gonna go look for readers then i'll be up i think i

[00:09:56] have a pair of my truck okay good evening um we are at seven o'clock and today is tuesday january

[02:16:11] 13th uh 2026 and we are going to come out of open set of out of closed session so i need a motion for open session to go into open session madam chair i move to return to open session thank you dr strofe to have a second second thank you mr coleman any discussion all those in favor say aye all those opposed we are now in open session okay we um mr coleman do we have a certification of the closed meeting yes madam chair i move the board will certify the following whereas the hanover county school board has convened closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmation

[02:16:51] recorded voted and in accordance with the provisions of the virginia freedom of information act and whereas section 2.2-3712d of the code of virginia requires a certification by the school board that such executive meeting excuse me meeting was conducted in conformity with virginia law now therefore be it resolved that the hanover county school board hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by virginia law were discussed in the executive meeting to which this

[02:17:26] certification applies and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the executive meeting were heard discussed or considered thank you mr coleman i have a motion on the table do i have a second second thank you dr shelpe um is there any discussion seeing none all those in favor say aye aye all those opposed okay we have certified our closed meeting. Now we are going to go into, now Dr. Schroff's going to do our invocation and then

[02:17:58] Hanover High School will do our Pledge of Allegiance. As we come together after the winter break, we pause to reflect and reset. The season invites us to return not only rested but renewed, bringing with us a fresh perspective, steady resolve, and a recommitment to the work before us.

[02:18:20] The midpoint of the year reminds us that while much has already been accomplished, there's still important work ahead. We ask for wisdom as we continue to make decisions that shape classrooms, schools, and lives. Grant us patience in moments of challenge, courage in moments that require difficult choices, and clarity to keep students at the center of all we do.

[02:18:41] We lift up our students as they reenter their routines and expectations. May they feel welcomed, supported, and encouraged to keep growing academically, socially, and emotionally. We give thanks for our educators and staff who return with dedication and perseverance, renew their energy, affirm their purpose, and remind them that the quiet, unseen moments of their work carry lasting impact.

[02:19:03] May our schools be places of safety, belonging, and opportunity. As we move forward together, let our actions be guided by compassion, integrity, and a shared commitment to serve every child. May this guide our work. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Dr. Shrove.

[02:19:18] Okay, and now we are going to be saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Please rise. 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.

[02:19:42] Thank you. Okay, we need approval of the meeting minutes. Do I have a motion? I move that we approve the minutes of the recently held meetings.

[02:20:00] Thank you, Dr. Shelp. Do I have a second? Thank you, Ms. Lynn. all those or is there any discussion okay seeing none all those in favor say aye all those opposed okay um we have approved minutes now we have a lot of special guests for our um uh announcements and um recognitions thank you mr whitley thank you madam chair members of the board it is always a pleasure to bring forth the great news and accomplishments of our students and staff for our first three recognitions of the night please join me in welcoming the principal of

[02:20:38] Hanover High School, Mrs. Chris Reese, who will recognize the 2025 VHSL Class 4A State Boys Volleyball Champions, the Class 4A Volleyball Player of the Year, and the Class 4A Coach of the Year. A very quick programming note for our students who will be recognized at this time. Once all the recognitions are over, please go to the lobby to receive your certificates. Take it away, Mrs. Reese.

[02:21:07] Good evening, Madam Chair, School Board, Dr. Penny Cuff, and senior staff. I'm honored to be here tonight to celebrate the boys volleyball program at hanover high school the 2025 hawks volley boys volleyball team completed a remarkable season with an 18 and 6 overall record including postseason play along the way the team captured the class 4 western sectional championship setting the stage for an impressive state tournament run in the postseason the hawks defeated lakeland high school and patrick henry high school and to advance to the state championship in a thrilling final

[02:21:44] the hawks defeated at lee high school with a score of three sets to one securing the program's first ever state title this championship season reflects the dedication resilience and leadership of our student athletes and our coaching staff we congratulate the entire team on this historic and unforgettable season i'm going to call your names and you guys can come on up front

[02:22:08] Slade Alexander, Landon Davis, Evan Phan, Seth Gatewood, Ryler Mantell, Kenneth Marshall, Landon Nielsen, Aidan Oberg, Alexander Powers, Joshua Seifert, Zachary Seifert, Carson Sims, Aaron Sparrow, Hudson Toon, Phillip Turner Jr., and John Williams.

[02:22:52] Our managers, I don't believe, are here this evening, Riley Lawrence and Riley Totten. Our assistant coaches, Ron Fitch and Carter Riddle. And, of course, our head coach, Hillary Castle. Congratulations.

[02:24:35] Tonight's a big night for Hanover. Tonight we're also recognizing junior Joshua Seifert, who had an exceptional 2025 season finishing with 429 kills 239 digs and 35 aces. Josh was a huge part of the Hawks success competing at a level of intensity that consistently set the tone for the

[02:25:11] entire team. His strong technical skills brought stability in both practices and matches and his leadership pushed those around him to elevate their play. In recognition of his outstanding season, Josh earned first team all state honors and was named the VHSL class four state player

[02:25:32] of the year. Congratulations. I'm not trying to take up the whole night, but last but certainly

[02:26:18] not least, we have Hillary Castle. She is the class four state coach of the year. Coach Hillary Cassel has led the Hanover Boys volleyball team for 15 years, longer than I've been there, and was named the VHSL Class 4 Coach State Coach of the Year following the program's first ever state championship in 2025. Coach Cassel has also been recognized as Region Coach of the Year in both 2024 and 2025. Her leadership has built a program grounded in hard work, positive attitude, and genuine support among teammates.

[02:26:57] That culture is evident in the many players who continue to return and eager to stay connected and give back to the program that she has built. Congratulations, Hillary. We're so happy to have you as a part of the Hawk family.

[02:27:10] Madam Chair, if I may, I think that deserves a big Hawk yeah.

[02:27:45] Everybody behind me will join me in a Hawk yeah. Congratulations again. Allow me to put my readers on. Okay, our next recognitions of the night go to the 2025 REB Teaching Excellence Award recipients.

[02:28:05] Nominated by students, parents, and colleagues. We're going to take a brief intermission because I feel motion behind me. Cue the Jeopardy music.

[02:28:27] Hawk, yeah, I said, hawk out of here. You're flying the coop.

[02:28:56] Phlox. Okay, we're going to back up, and we're going to start from the top. Our next recognitions of the night go to the 2025 REB Teaching Excellence Award recipients. Nominated by students, parents, and colleagues, this program recognizes outstanding teachers who demonstrate a sincere passion for teaching while also serving as mentors, coaches, and champions for their students.

[02:29:16] They are awarded with cash grants that are used for professional development, including travel, advanced degrees, and other projects that will personally and professionally enhance and enrich their recipients. This year's three recipients are Mrs. Lauren Churchill, a librarian at Ashland Elementary School, received $10,000 to experience a guided safari in Kenya, and you can come forward at this time if you're not already, where she will experience lectures. Wonderful. She will experience lectures with the Kenya Wildlife Service, witness the great migration, and be immersed in conservation

[02:29:53] work. Congratulations. Ms. Churchill, if you will stay up front, please. Wonderful. You're not getting away that easily. Our next recipient is Mrs. Megan Stanlick, a music teacher also at Ashland

[02:30:29] Elementary School received $14,100 to explore the history and traditions of children's choral music in England and New Zealand. Congratulations, Ms. Stanliff. And last but not least, Mrs. Marianne Veach, a math teacher at Hanover High

[02:31:04] School, received $12,400 to explore the origins and practical application of calculus concept in London, Paris, and Geneva. Congratulations, Mrs. Veach.

[02:31:26] Okay. Now for our next recognitions of the evening, which go to nine remarkable teachers who completed the rigorous process for achieving national board certification status, which raises our division total to 104 national board certified teachers. That is impressive.

[02:32:20] This is a rigorous endeavor that enhances the effectiveness of teachers. Through systemic examination of their teaching practice, teachers deepen their knowledge of subject matter and become more skilled in daily classroom instruction and student assessment.

[02:32:36] This certification indicates that a teacher has met the highest standards established for the profession. These outstanding teachers are, and when I call your name, please come forward, Molly Balderson, Laurel Meadow Elementary School, Megan Benton, Atlee High School, Kristen Corbin, Atlee High School, Paul Rosecki, Atlee High School, Brittany Shepard, Cool Spring Elementary School, Veronica Washington, Hanover High School, Candice Wilcox, Roll Point Elementary

[02:33:14] School, Alicia York, Atlee High School, and last but not least, Carrie Zadacker, Oak Knoll

[02:33:22] Middle School. Congratulations to our newest NBCTs. Along the same lines, we also want to recognize

[02:34:29] the following 10 national board certified teachers who achieved renewal of their certification this winter who were equally outstanding. Tracy Call, Chickahominy Middle School. Ella Dillard, Oak Knoll Middle School. Diane Francis, Atlee High School. Tricia Hurtless, Chickahominy Middle School. Jennifer Johnson, Liberty Middle School and Patrick Henry High School. Amy Cuddy, Laurel Meadow Elementary School. Jackie Minter, the Hanover Center for Trades and Technology.

[02:35:06] Karen Priolo, Washington Henry Elementary School. Melanie Savage, formerly of the Georgetown School and our Prep Path programs. And finally, Teresa Smither, Laurel Meadow Elementary School. Congratulations to all renewal recipients.

[02:36:21] Madam Chair, my final recognition of the night goes to one of our own.

[02:37:03] From the Cold Harbor District to Dr. Bill Shroff, who was named and recognized by the Virginia School Board Association, who served as a delegate member in the 2025 VSBA Delegate Assembly.

[02:37:16] congratulations, Dr. Shroff. Okay, that was a lot of recognition. Hanover High School had a good

[02:38:23] night. So I also wanted to announce too that Mr. Landon Davis gave our Pledge of Allegiance and he is from Hanover High School. I did not announce him and I apologize. So we're going to go on to board announcements before we do that I just wanted to let everyone know that we are announcing our budget presentation public hearing or the budget presentation will be 120 the public hearing will be 127 and the work session

[02:38:57] will be two three if we if necessary so now we're gonna go on to board announcements, and does anybody have any board announcements? I have two. Okay, thank you, Dr. Schell. All right, this week is Virginia School Principals Association Week and Appreciation Week, and this week and every week we honor and celebrate the amazing principals for their exceptional leadership, dedication, and vision that they bring to our schools every day. As we shared in October, the

[02:39:33] The school board extends its deepest appreciation to all of our principals for their tireless efforts in advancing the mission of our schools and supporting the success of every student. We encourage our community to show their appreciation for our school principals on the Hanover County Public Schools social media pages where our communication team is highlighting their terrific work.

[02:39:59] And also, the Hanover Education Foundation hosted its annual Excellence in Education Gala on December the 18th. The gala celebrates our Teachers of the Year award winners and more. The celebration included a moving speech by last year's Teacher of the Year, Lauren Davis, of Patrick Henry High School.

[02:40:24] Thank you, Dr. Schelp. Does anybody else have any? Okay. Mr. Seifert? Okay, I'll go ahead. First, I want to recognize the Girls on the Run Foundation. I know some of our elementary schools have that. I'm going to let Ryan Martin say more about it.

[02:40:41] He had a daughter in it, right? And I actually saw him running there. I went to the event, and I thought for a second that I could run with him, and then my wife told me, no, you can't, and held me back. So very impressive organization. I encourage everyone to get involved with that elementary school, you know, the children.

[02:40:58] And then very impressive for Mr. Martin to run in the event, so setting a great example for his children and all their children. I'd also like to recognize the Atlee High School Macy's Day Parade. We had seven of our students from Atlee High School head up to New York City and participate in that.

[02:41:14] And that's a big deal, obviously, and I watched it on TV. The students who participated were Meadow Proud, playing the alto sax, Luke Harnden, alto sax also, Jacob Teller, Gard, Ashley Green, Gard, Sam Clyburn, tenor sax, Mason Rezecki, trumpet, and Mattis Begert, trumpet of Atlee High School.

[02:41:32] And they performed with the Macy's Great American Marching Band. So, Dr. Wheeler, great job. Your band's there and your kids being able to take part in an activity like that. And then also, Mr. Wawrink is here. And I want to recognize him and the great things that he's doing at the Center for Trades and Technology.

[02:41:50] They held their annual Ready, Set, Hire event, providing students the opportunity to learn about various businesses, as well as take part in mock interviews with local business leaders. So just love to see the hands-on preparation for our students. And it's a trademark event.

[02:42:06] It's one of the many career preparation events that the Hanover Center offers. So congratulations again to our Center for Trade and Technology. That's all I have. Thank you, Mr. Seifert. Karen, or Ms. Lynn, sorry. I do. I have two.

[02:42:22] AJ Young of Ashland Elementary School is headed back to the Grammys. AJ is a family engagement support specialist. He is fabulous. He wrote two songs for a Grammy-nominated project that is in the running for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album.

[02:42:37] And along those lines, kind of, I was able to see three of the winter musicals. Mechanics will all get there, but I didn't make it this time. And I wanted to give them each a shout-out because they were fabulous. Hanover High School did its production of Annie. The choreography had great musicality.

[02:42:55] Roosevelt's request for harmony gave me goosebumps. I was impressed that they could fit 6'7 into a 48-year-old musical. And Tommy, who was Sandy the dog, was a scene stealer. So that was fabulous. Raider Players did their performance of Murder in the Knife Room.

[02:43:12] This was a sharp performance, produced mostly by the students themselves. As an avid murder mystery reader, I was positive I would be able to guess the correct suspect. However, I could have read a squillion books to prepare and still not guessed correctly.

[02:43:29] The wacky stereotypical characters kept, the unexpected twists coming, and the flying Twinkies were a bonus. Patrick Henry did a production of Peter and the Starcatcher, which I had never seen. The brilliant scenery, it was amazing, transported me to the docks and ships of Victorian England, and I am always impressed with Mr. Lawson's ability to play two instruments at one time and flip his own sheet music.

[02:43:57] The players filled the stage with humor and imagination, and the experience showed the magic of storytelling at its finest. To Smee and Captain Blackstache, if you're listening out there somewhere, your banter and creative use of the English language kept me laughing till the end.

[02:44:16] And I, too, find myself surrounded by lots of nonversations. Job well done. Lastly, as we head into budget season, I will leave you with this. The fine arts departments in Hanover County do amazing things with minimal budgets.

[02:44:33] Imagine what could be done with a healthy budget. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Lynn. Does anybody else have any? Yeah, Madam Chair. Before I go, could all the principals that are here stand up so we can recognize you?

[02:44:48] I know there's three in the back. Everybody? Oh, yeah. Thank you. Of all the JROTC units across Virginia, Atlee High Schools was chosen to provide the introduction to the Commonwealth of Virginia's Veterans Day ceremony at the Virginia War Memorial that aired on CBS 6.

[02:45:15] And the introduction was filmed after school and was aired as the lead-in to the ceremony, which was hosted at the Virginia War Memorial and attended by many dignitaries, including the governor. So congratulations. Thank you, Dr. Shrove.

[02:45:31] Does anybody else have any? OK. Yeah, I have to. Thank you. Yeah, mine are mine from November, but we didn't meet in December. So I've got some leftovers that I wanted to go through. I wanted to give a shout out to Sarah Salvedo, who teaches special education at Mechanicsville High School. Every year she works hard to provide underprivileged families with food at Thanksgiving time and this year with community donations, as well as some school board donations.

[02:45:57] I know even Mr. Bob May, who's no longer with our board, gave some to the cause. She was able to provide 12 families in need with a full Thanksgiving meal, as well as breakfast, lunch, and snack supplies for the whole week. So I want to just say thank you to her and her kids.

[02:46:12] They do a lot of great work over there, and she deserves a shout-out for that. Secondly, Mr. Seifert hit on the girls on the run. Just to expand on what it is, it's a running program after school for girls grades 3 through 5 to help young girls grow strong confident and capable and to inspire them to build confidence through interactive lessons and physical activities they stay after school for about eight weeks twice twice a week um my my two daughters did did participate and got a lot out of it in total we had 50 girls from mechanicsville elementary washington henry and beaver dan participate um a total of 13 coaches participated over those three teams and all of them work at

[02:46:52] respective schools as either a teacher counselor support staff i believe we even had one school resource officer that participated a huge thank you to them because they gave their time for free and and it meant a lot to the kids and i really wanted to thank them for that emma rogers who is a hanover young lady runs this program i would encourage any of our other schools that are interested to look into it because it's a great program so i just want to say thanks to them mr seifert i was not going to mention my record breaking 5k but thank you for the recognition

[02:47:26] thank you thank you mr martin mr coleman i mr seifert i need video evidence of mr martin running because the only time i've seen him run is when he's chasing a golf ball into the woods and making sure a squirrel doesn't get it my wife saw it also if that helps i need the i need video i'm sorry i'm just i'm not gonna believe it i got a neat story uh from um beaverdam elementary School as a custodian surprise. Before winter break, Beaverdam Elementary School organized a special surprise for a student. The student loves helping the school's custodian and chooses that

[02:48:01] as his reward. He says he wants to be a custodian when he grows up and had been wishing for his own cart for Christmas. So Beaverdam, with the help of the Hanover County Public Schools custodial services team, made that wish come true. And it was recently featured on the NBC12's One Good things segment i think that's amazing i mean as young as i am still trying to figure out what i want to do i i think this young man is off to a fabulous start that's all i got thank you thank you mr coleman um i have one other announcement but i also wanted to thank you to the principals

[02:48:36] and staff that are here tonight um we know you have very busy lives with your own families and so we appreciate you being here and hopefully we will be able to have food and fellowship sometime soon. But I also wanted to talk a little bit about the volleyball success that Hanover County has had for the last couple years. Hanover County was once again the volleyball capital of Virginia this year. Three of our four teams in the Boys State volleyball semifinals were from Hanover. In 23-24

[02:49:08] and 24-25, all four teams were from Hanover. Hanover High School took the top honor, obviously, winning the state title match against Atlee. So we're very excited and thank you all for your support and keep going at it with the sports.

[02:49:26] So thank you so much and thank you all for being here. We are now done with recognition and announcements. And so we will move on to approval of the consent agenda. So do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda?

[02:49:43] I move to approve the consent agenda as presented. Thank you, Mr. Seifert. I have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Schroff. Is there any discussion? Okay. All those in favor, say aye. Aye.

[02:49:59] All those opposed? Okay. The motion passes. Next, we are moving on to our very exciting instructional highlight, the Veterinarian Technician Program with the Health and Science Center. So, welcome. Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the board, Dr. Pennycuff, senior staff.

[02:50:26] I'm Ben Saunders, and I'm the proud coordinator of the Specialty Center at Hanover High School. I'm pleased to be here this evening to highlight Hanover County Public Schools' brand-new program in veterinary science. The mere existence of this program is a Hanover County Public Schools success story.

[02:50:43] It's a truly collaborative effort that was spearheaded by the most important people in our school system, our students. So let's begin with how it started. In the 23-24 school year, students in grades 7 through 11th grade, from all four of the middle schools, all four of the high schools in the county, were able to participate in a student interest survey.

[02:51:07] This student interest survey was made up of potential new CTE course descriptions, and the students very simply would read the description and come to a conclusion about whether or not they would have an interest in taking that course. I do have to give a special thank you to our CTE director, Mr. Justin Rohrink, not only for his work on the student interest survey during that time, but for his efforts throughout this entire process.

[02:51:29] So thank you, Mr. Rohrink. Results showed an overwhelming yes. There were over a thousand students that took that survey that said that they would be interested in a veterinary science course.

[02:51:45] So once student interest is there, you have other considerations that you have to stem from at that point. Justin Rohrink and myself went on numerous visits to other veterinary science programs across the state garnering information. I had conversations with numerous veterinary clinics in Hanover County locally to gather their information. So you ask yourself things like what equipment is needed? Once you know those things, is there a space in the county that we even have available for a program like this? Do we need new construction? Do we need renovations, et cetera? The cost is always a factor when you're starting new courses, especially in CTE.

[02:52:24] Not only the startup costs, but what are those sustained recurring costs from year to year? You also have to look at staffing. CTE staffing can be extremely difficult to find endorsed teachers that are able to come over to teach these courses. And you also have to look at business community needs, like where are these students going to go? Is there a need for this particular profession or workforce? So the big question, is this feasible? We were able to ascertain yes, and we found answers to all of these questions through that planning phase. So after this planning took place, next steps. We had to garner support from several different places. So if you look at these three little bullet points from the school level.

[02:53:04] I would be remiss if I did not personally thank the principal at Hanover High School, Ms. Chris Reese, for her support and open-mindedness for this entire program. I can tell you it is not an easy sell to walk up to a building level principal and say, hey, how about we put animals in the building too with your children? But she had unwavering support from the start and was a part of that process. So thank you, Ms. Reese. Central office. Every single one of those departments that is listed there had a part in bringing this program to fruition now I will say

[02:53:39] that the school nutrition one not exactly all right reason being they're not feeding our animals and we certainly are not providing animals for them to feed they do a great job but for this particular class not so much but business and operations Terry Stone and her team were a part of this construction renovation from start to finish it was done very quickly over a summer to get things all well prepared a special thank you to lee finch ricky sylvia from the maintenance team that's for putting in countless hours dedicated to this process human resources thank you to

[02:54:15] maryland parker and her team for their work in the hiring process and helping us to find a phenomenal instructor all right gretchen hedges has been a great addition to our program the instructional team thank you to jennifer gray thank you to bob staley and their team whenever you have a new course that's brought into a school system there's going to be many instructional decisions that have to be made whether that's through the planning resources curriculum etc so thank you all carla allen and the school counselors they're the ones that help promote this program because the program is available for students from all four of the high schools so thank you with animals in the building with a brand new entrance to the building as a

[02:54:55] result of this program we also had to bring in school safety had to be utilized so thank you to carrie wright and her team technology needs for the new classroom terry heckler and her team as a part of technology were great as well even transportation which you might not think about but adrian fryerson and his team now had additional students that have to take the shuttles back and forth between the schools so we thank them as well and the last one up there but not least certainly even is the school board quite simply none of this would be possible without you all your efforts and your overall support were instrumental in approving this program through

[02:55:33] different stages and allowing it to move forward so now let's look at where we are success at the start of this school year we were able to offer a double block class consisting of veterinary science one and veterinary science two it's available to students in 11th and 12th grade from all four of the high schools and at the start of this year there were 46 students enrolled for next year they're under that process now of uh garnering student interest and i foresee those

[02:56:03] numbers actually going up as well as you can see there some of our students a couple little animals that's hippo there in the middle right the large rabbit but this entire process is just one more example of why i am proud to be a part of hanover county public schools this stemmed from student interest which should be the reason that all of us are doing what we're doing in public education they are the focus but from that point every single individual every group that contributed

[02:56:37] to this program becoming a reality saw that desire of our students and the community to have this program and quite simply they made it happen so we heartfelt thank you to everyone involved once again i appreciate your time this evening i'll be happy to answer any questions that you that you may have thank you mr saunders it's a very exciting course that we have and i i have to say miss reese was um very excited to show this when we came to the school very excited to show us the

[02:57:10] the new um space it's amazing what was created out of a space that was currently being used and you got you got to repurpose it so it's very exciting um i don't have any questions except for thank y'all for everything that you do i think this was a very quick turnaround greg and i were on the the board when we've voted this course in and i was it last year yes okay it was early last year i guess so i guess four of us were on the board then so anyway um does anybody have any questions

[02:57:43] no i got i've got one matter chair outside um access to local vets and do the kids have the opportunity to go and visit and participate do do any of the the clinicians or techs or anything from these vet locations come in and provide additional support or any kind of hands-on i just i've recently had a lot of experience with a vet because my dog got hit by a car so i spent a lot of time visiting and i'm thinking i know one location that would oh absolutely benefit our kids from just from a knowledge standpoint so i was just curious yeah absolutely one of the benefits

[02:58:20] are the instructor is a vet tech and she has some connections etc and one of the benefits of this program is it does kind of put them to the top of a list for students that are looking for a job or profession in a veterinary clinic these students will have the opportunity to become vet assistants with a certification at the end of this school year but having this on there one of the things that we garnered that information visiting the veterinary clinics is the fact that there have this course on their transcript and the experience with that and is going to open doors for them that wouldn't normally be there and we do have partnerships with local ones that are come in for guest speakers even the kind of a humane society and animal control, et cetera.

[02:59:00] I just wanted to say, we had a chance to visit the program in early December, I think, and I was very impressed and surprised to hear all about it and very thrilled because my own experience with veterinarians has been extremely positive and I was glad to see that a path is being made, you know, in this area.

[02:59:20] My question, you know, veterinarians break into two pathways, small animal and large animal and Hanover is the fourth largest county in terms of horse population in Virginia we have a lot of horses here and so I was wondering you know I didn't see a horse in the lab here so I asked yeah but is there any is there any involvement in the large animal both horses cattle all the you know big commercial yeah obviously as you can see the pictures in the space we don't have

[02:59:57] any of those larger animals on site there are various there's an equine right off of in the Patrick Henry zone right off of Glen Road so there are opportunities for these students to go to those places and being the first year of the course itself with the curriculum you're gonna see some of the different students that have different interests some are taking this course quite honestly because they like animals and they enjoy caring for them some of them taking this course because they want to be veterinarians when they're done and some want to specialize in kind of the farm the other equine cattle that type

[03:00:37] of thing so we're gonna see all those types of interests that are that are presented there by the students a lot of large animal vets work out of their truck yes they're mobile and they're mobile and travel around and I see one at least twice a month and was thinking similar to like ambulance riding to be to spend the time going around with a vet visiting on farms and whatnot to me it would be a real addition to the program and motivation absolutely absolutely thank you for all you're doing thank you do we have any other questions all

[03:01:15] right thank you mr. Saunders all right appreciate it okay we're moving on to the information discussion and we have several topics the first being the right at School update. Dr. Reams, welcome. Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the board, Dr. Penny Cuff and senior staff. Tonight you will be hearing the details of our on-site after-school care program

[03:01:50] to begin later this spring in six of our schools. It is my pleasure to introduce Colin Farrell who will provide a brief overview of the Right at School program. Bless you. I am going to make a request that the next time I come up here you don't make me follow the championship volleyball team and hippo the bunny rabbit. It's a tough act. My name is Colin Farrell. I'm the manager of school partnerships with Wright at School here in Virginia. I have asked my colleague Jonathan, who I may call up to join me here in a little bit, I want to tell you a little

[03:02:26] bit about our after school program. Just some very, very brief background. I know this is not necessarily new information because some of you guys have heard this before. I'm a father of two boys. I'm a former high school history teacher. My wife is still a high school English and special ed teacher and trying to find affordable after-school care and when they were much younger daycare options that we actually felt safe leaving those kids, leaving my kids in those facilities with those folks. Trying to check those two boxes was exceedingly difficult, again, both when they were before school age and when they were at school age. So years later, I've been in the

[03:03:06] teaching industry for for about a decade I find myself working for right at school and it's really come full circle and that I get to do this thing and take care of this this challenge for so many parents across the state of Virginia or the Commonwealth of Virginia where at right at school we're not just offering all the way in the far left you'll see just babysitting service yes we are safe yes we're gonna be an affordable program but we're gonna take it far far beyond that we're looking at programs that while parents can afford them we're also going to introduce a high skills curriculum working on durable skills in leadership working

[03:03:40] on relationship building having that stem focus curriculum and be able to offer that throughout the entire school year not just in the after school space we're going to continue to look to grow and expand our programs to serve the families here in hanover county public schools again all at a rate where families can afford it and they're not going to be stuck on a wait list for six weeks or six months that when they need the care they can sign up and within the week or two they could be in our after school care program when we partner with school districts we such as handover we have a three-part promise to our students the families of our students as well as the school division

[03:04:17] partners you'll notice in that three-part promise there's some significant overlap when it comes to both safety and joy if the kiddos when they show up after school in our program if they don't feel safe with the adults in the room, if they don't feel safe in that space, and if they're not having a really great time, having a ton of fun. All those other things that I mentioned in that previous slide, the relationship building, the durable skills, service and belonging, all that kind of stuff is going to be exceedingly difficult for us to accomplish if we haven't checked those first two boxes. So our program is going to be characterized by both safety and joy. As we continue

[03:04:53] to grow and establish ourselves here in Hanover, we do plan to grow well beyond just the after school care space. While that is our kind of flagship and our bread and butter, we call it Right Club. We also have a Right Club Junior that is our pre-K program. It's similar, but the curriculum is designed for pre-K through first grade students. We also have non-school day, non-instructional day programs, whether that is a professional development day, whether that is President's Day, what have you. If school is out and parents are still working, we're going to be able to start providing full daycare from first thing in the morning until 6 p.m. in the evening.

[03:05:30] That also includes spring break camps, summer camps, fall break camps for a week. I was just speaking with my colleague Jonathan. Even over the course of a two-week Christmas break, we're going to provide programming on as many days that we possibly can. So if mom and dad still have to work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day or Thursday, Friday, we still can provide that programming for the first half of the week.

[03:05:52] So families still have access to that. so again we can provide wraparound services throughout the entire school year in addition to that we do have what are called discovery clubs these are similar to electives we will partner with local businesses whether that is a local taekwondo studio a dance studio the 4-h club what have you so we can add some additional enrichment kids will cycle out of our program attend the elective that discovery club and then cycle back in before dismissal at 6 p.m.

[03:06:20] there's a lot of things that I think set right at school apart the thing that I think really sets us apart more than anything else is our curriculum. We are not a babysitting service as I mentioned before that's just the bare minimum. We go far and above that. We have a durable skills focused STEM curriculum. We have a curriculum team made up of current and former educators who put together literally hundreds of activities every single year so that if a kid is in school we can actually do two different STEM focused activities for 180 school days and never repeat a single one across that full school year.

[03:06:59] So these kids are not getting exposed to the same thing every month. It's just rinse and repeat. We're going to have new activities from the first day in August until the last day in May or June. I say durable skills. We've made sure that our curriculum and programming is aligned with Virginia's profile of a graduate with regard to the five Cs, creative thinking, critical thinking, citizenship, communication, and collaboration.

[03:07:25] Those are, we say durable skills because they last a lifetime. They can transfer from one industry to the next. Whether you work as a large animal vet or a teacher or a rocket scientist, these are skills that are going to be transferable from one industry to the next and across time and space.

[03:07:43] Just as a quick example, we have a student here that's, he made a back scratcher, which on his face seems like just a silly, fun little activity. But in the course of that 30 or 40 minute lesson, he was engaging with all these other skills and working on developing everything from curiosity, adaptability, problem solving, spatial reasoning, planning and design, adaptability, a growth mindset, innovation, just a host of other things that are layered into this activity where he just thought he was having a good time making a back scratcher, all while working on these really pivotal, durable skills.

[03:08:17] This is a basic rundown of what our daily schedule tends to look like for our K-5 students. We do say that as often as we can that we are locally inspired, so we can adapt this to meet the very specific needs of Hanover County Public Schools.

[03:08:33] And what is true at one elementary school, let's say Mechanicsville, might not be true at Pearson. So our on-site school-based teams are going to meet with those principals to make sure that the things that we do from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. are going to mirror what's happening from 7.30 to 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the afternoon.

[03:08:49] We start each afternoon with town hall and snack. This is a time to kind of level set. We're going to go through our expectations for the day. Our students actually have a hand in setting the expectations for program. So it's a lot easier for us from a classroom management and a space management to say, hey, remember at the beginning of the school year when we all agreed that these were the expectations at the beginning?

[03:09:08] So let's all abide by them throughout the day. We do provide snack to the kiddos. We're also going to do attendance and make sure that everyone that is on our roster, is there for the day. They're going to go to the bathroom, all those kinds of things. And again, that's our hard break between end of school day and the start of our program. We then get into right moves, which is just a quick five minute, let's get up, get the wiggles out. It could be hula hoops, it could be yoga, it could be all sorts of fun things. We just need to get some activity out of these kids before we get started with our academic portion of the afternoon.

[03:09:40] After right moves, we transfer into our foreign language component. Last year, our language Adventures was American Sign Language. This year, it is French. Our pre-K kids are currently engaged in a Spanish foreign language program throughout this school year. From there, we move into our flexible enrichment block, which includes homework time, play-based learning, and our playwright fitness. Homework time being exactly what it sounds like. If the school has mandated time for the kids to be on their school-issued devices, we'll provide time for that. If that's not a part of their after-school routine, there will not be any devices in the program space, and we will not have have any screens available to them. It'll just be traditional homework. Our play-based learning

[03:10:19] is that STEM-focused, durable skills-focused activity. We can do up to two of those every single day. And again, not repeat a single one throughout the entire school year. That could be building a Roman aqueduct. That could be the back scratcher activity. That could be a variety of things. But again, it's going to rotate every single day. And playwright fitness is weather allowing going to be outside pretty much every single day as often as we can. Sometimes this is hyper-structured activity like kickball or soccer or basketball other times it is unstructured playtime for the kids to go play in the playground there is value and lessons to be learned in both of those settings so we will rotate

[03:10:56] between those two finally most kids by this point in the afternoon have been picked up by their parents or guardians however any kids that do come back to the program space we will have some self-directed inquiry arts and crafts plenty of drawing materials magnet tiles a whole bunch of age-appropriate activities for them to be engaged in until they do get picked up in the afternoon we have a full inclusion and support team it is their job to make sure that all families in hanover county public schools feel welcome in our program space and we mean that in a few different ways first of all when it comes to enrollment and pricing we have flexible enrollment options if families do not

[03:11:34] need us for five days a week they do not pay for five days a week we have one two three and four day options drop-in care as well as monthly punch cards and they can change their schedules every month. We offer discounts to staff, active duty military, sibling discount for those students that are eligible for free and reduced lunch as well, and we have our inclusion team that is there to make sure our curriculum is fully accessible to all the students here in Hanover County as well.

[03:12:01] To kick things off, here in the spring we are launching at Pearson's Corner, Laurel Meadow, Elmont, Ashland, Washington Henry, and Rural Point Elementary Schools. We are right now chatting with the school leadership to see what other schools might want us to start up in the fall, and we are excited and happy to engage in those discussions and look forward to doing that.

[03:12:23] And the last thing I'll cover with everyone is our after-school pricing. We never want to come into a school division and say, hey, the next closest viable partner is X amount of dollars. We're X amount plus 100. That doesn't make the school look good. It doesn't make us look good.

[03:12:39] It doesn't make the board look good. We want to come into a space and offer a value add that families can actually afford uh so we are a few dollars less per month than the next closest competitor at our five day a week rate and our average rate is over 30 percent more cost effective and you'll see on the right hand side there we have a variety of different discounts including 50 off for all district employees not just the faculty and instructional staff but all teacher but all staff in hanover county public schools and mr martin you too um with that uh i'll leave it

[03:13:15] to you if you have any questions i'm happy to do anything i can to answer them thank you we're very excited um and we have a question sorry i just thought of something new and that's great something different every day uh but how about next year uh you know when the same thing whole new curriculum for next year okay so shouldn't oh okay good um i mean there might be one-off activities here and there but if you look at our create i know i'm happy to share it out our curriculum calendar from last year to our curriculum counter from this year vastly different yeah and and great activities probably like to be you know done again and that so yes some of them are our fan favorites so we

[03:13:53] don't want to disappoint but our curriculum team is their job to make sure we have a whole new curriculum year after year thank you i think we have a couple more questions mr martin uh maybe more of a comment uh than it is a question thank you and shout out to dr reams for for getting this um to our division that's this is very exciting um i i'm excited for families to have this option but I'm also excited for our teachers because I think one that that the opportunity for them to stay and continue to work and maybe supplement their income doing something they enjoy is a great opportunity or work part of your program but the 50% discount for a staff member is significant and I think

[03:14:30] that that's going to be very popular and well received by our our staff members right good job and thank you thank you thank you any other questions comments and we do have a couple information sessions right zoom information sessions what should just host our first one for parents I have one now right one's going on now and then one in February February 10th February 10th okay so one's going on now so you can tune in now and then one February 10th which probably will be

[03:15:07] better for you to catch um so and then this is slated to start mid-march march 9th is the current target date target date march 9th okay all right thank you very much thank you very much we look forward to hearing how great it is and how much everybody loves it okay next up we have a review of proposed um new revised policies by ms haman thank you madam chair um as you have before you we have an edit to the student records policy. This policy is a pretty heavy lift. It's got a

[03:15:42] lot of information in it. So what I have done while I was updating the policy to be more in line with state code and with VSBA recommendations, I also went through and cleaned up a lot of things to make them more user-friendly. So you're going to see a significant number of edits, but the substantive changes are updates to include the new provision from the General Assembly that allows foster parents to keep their address confidential. I updated some language regarding

[03:16:21] confidentiality of those who homeschool to be more in line with what the code does say. And other than that, this really is, I'm excited to have it more cleaned up because it is more user-friendly now.

[03:16:38] And I'm happy to answer any questions that you have. But as I said, the substantive information really goes towards confidentiality. Okay, thank you. Do we have any questions on this policy?

[03:16:56] No? Okay, thank you. And then you have another one. I do. And both of these are on for first read. Yes. So I don't need the board to take any action. and I will be asking you to adopt them when we come back next month. The second policy that you have in front of you is a new code requirement regarding opioid antagonists.

[03:17:19] So the General Assembly has decided that these types of things must be kept in school buildings, and so because of that, we are required to set up policies and regulations that outline maintenance, location, how we will refill when we run out, things like that.

[03:17:41] So what you have in front of you is the policy. So that is the kind of the high level of what we're doing. And then there is a regulation that will be attached to it that goes into a lot more specifics so that our staff can be really clear on where things go what they need to do when to reach out for refills things like that okay do we have any questions on this policy okay thank you thank you okay and now we have dr.

[03:18:18] Parker with convocation survey feedback oh I'm sorry good evening madam chair Mr. Coleman, Dr. Pennecuff, board members, my name is Nate Wiedenhoff, Director of Human Resources. I am returning this evening as a follow-up to the November work session, which due to snow seems like forever ago. But during that session, if you recall, we

[03:18:56] provided data, but there was a low response to the survey that we completed annually after each convocation and so we went back on the advice of the board we went back to our staff and we also included the great tool of parent square to try to get out to as many staff members as possible and you will see that our response rate with just one additional survey question which was what format would you prefer for convocation for 2026 we had 814 responses and

[03:19:34] so 79.2 percent answered that virtual with an in-person convocation occurring every other year in person similar to convocation 2025 so this was open up to all staff members because all staff members are welcome to attend convocation I will say that this represents about 56% of our licensed staff members in terms of responses in terms of numbers of total employees and so based on this information again to still honor the response and the input and feedback from our staff we would

[03:20:13] continue to support a recommendation to our convocation committee to hold a virtual convocation for fall of 2026 and then moving forward on even years having virtual conversations and then odd years um having an in-person uh convocation and i will be happy to take any comments or any questions that you may have thank you do we have any comments or questions none okay thank you mr we thank you we appreciate it okay um next we will have an enrollment update

[03:20:53] with um miss mckay larabie hello again uh thank you madam wells um board members uh dr penny cuff my name is mckay larabie here with mgt impact solutions to give you an update on your 2025-26 forecasting student forecasting and implementation of your proof boundaries so just as a review of where we've come from um we've been working with you for a while now back in august of 2024 we

[03:21:29] started initiating the process for a boundary review we went through preparations and into boundary options about a year ago and then got attained community feedback and then we provided final boundary options um that you all approved in May of 2025. Now for this fall we started a new forecast to check those change areas that were presented in the approval and level set so I'm

[03:22:02] here today to present those findings. Just as a reminder the guiding principles that we that you all used for the boundary review they're really important they were your framework for decision making, so just wanted to review them quickly, to balance utilization of the current five and ten year forecast trends, to minimize the number of students and families impacted by the adjustments, working to maintain neighborhood schools, considering transportation impacts and minimizing disruption and impacts to special programs or special populations.

[03:22:39] Here's our boundary review framework. We wanted to make sure that it was transparent, collaborative with those community input forums and online surveys, that it was iterative, went through a lot of iterations, a lot of scenarios before we arrived at draft and final scenarios, that it was informative, that the public understood the need for it and the goals behind it, and that it was data-driven.

[03:23:02] So it included forecasting factors so you could look in the future and see what challenges you might have in the future as well. Here's just a review of those final approved boundaries. any of the hatched areas the striped areas are changing from one elementary school attendance area to another the color block underneath is the new approved boundaries this is to be implemented in fall of this year with one exception there's a little call out there there is an area of the

[03:23:36] giles neighborhood that is set to move to washington henry from cool spring elementary the fall of 2027 once the capacity is is built out there here is a brief look at the middle school and high school modifications with those hatched areas those striped areas most moving from Chikhaminy and Attlee to Hanover Oak Knoll and a small smaller area moving from Hanover Oak Knoll to Chikhaminy Atlee the main reason for the middle school high school modifications is to

[03:24:16] essentially create true feeders in all but one of your elementary schools you have very clean feeders but there were some some of these areas that were smaller splits for the elementary students here's an example of that the your current feeder has four splits at Elmont Mechanicsville Pearson's Corner in Kersey Creek. With the new approved boundaries, you will just have one split, elementary split at Mechanicsville along Mechanicsville Turnpike. That is because you have a large density on either side

[03:24:52] of that turnpike, and so it's very difficult to take in all those students to one or the other middle school and high school. So why is it important to update student forecasts? With a lot districts that I work with that do boundary reviews they don't look at their forecasts the next year and we always recommend it highly because trends will change and we have seen some differences in the trends of last year as opposed to this year so I wanted to go through some of those some of the some of those updates we utilize birth factors so updating that every

[03:25:32] year with a new set of births from 2024 gives us a concept of what kindergarten or class size you might have in 2029, five years later. We look at the mobility factors, which is your grade progression ratio, how many first graders actually show up to second grade and third grade and so on and so forth. And then finally, your student yield factors. We look at your student yield factors in the in the guise of your updated planned residential developments. So we do an update of all the residential developments that are happening within your county and then we apply those student

[03:26:08] yield factors for growth in the future. A couple of the outliers that we ran into this year, one was the capture rate of births to kindergarten. Last year you can see you had a really high capture rate births from 2019 you had a really high kindergarten class in 2024 last year so five years later you've had a fairly large capture rate this is because you have inward mobility of resales and such of families moving in so you're

[03:26:47] capturing all of the births that are numerically tagged in your county plus a another uh 10 to 23 percent from last year we expected that you'd have a capture rate of 113 percent that was actually 109 so much lower than we anticipated we do anticipate that this capture rate will continue to climb slowly over the the next 10 years so wanted to go through that as well And then the other outliers that we found, I put them in boxes over here in the red.

[03:27:27] These are your actual enrollment patterns for the last four years, including this current year, by grade. And so if you can see it in those boxes, we're looking at the change, the one-year change, the two-year change, and the three-year change. And we see that there's quite a large drop in kindergarten, as well as the other one that I wanted to point out, patrick henry high school had a fairly large drop of 145. some of these other outliers are just outliers that had greater losses or lesser gains than we expected and so this is an important piece because those trends do change we

[03:28:04] are finding that they're potentially two two impacts to your county one could be the boundary review and having a long a long runway implementation in 2026 may have have families making different choices than they would without that because it is a lot of change we also don't know if some families are holding on to some of their kindergartners waiting for full implementation to bring to enroll them into the school the other piece is that we are seeing enrollment declines across the nation and we are finding anecdotal data of

[03:28:44] possible impacts from immigration enforcement throughout the country we are seeing declines across the board in areas where we and in areas where we have increases we're seeing less increases so we're not sure if this is going to be a pandemic level outlier or if we're going to receive some bounce back next year we have to wait until September or October of 2026 so when we put all of our forecast factors together this is your district-wide forecast by grade and then grade group at the bottom there these are just your resident students we can see that there was a

[03:29:23] large drop this year especially in that k-5 line we do expect a bounce back over those next two years because of the large birth rates that were happening five years prior in 2021 and 2022 it's a really big boost that you can expect in your kindergarten cohorts next year and the year after so you will receive some lift from that from those cohorts and as the smaller covid cohorts work through the system you'll have an increase with a peak anticipated in 2031 for

[03:29:55] your k5 for 6-8 it's fairly steady with a little bit of a decrease and then pops back up in that 2032 year forecast year and that is mainly because those larger kindergarten cohorts that we're expecting next year and the year after are actually grading up into the sixth to eighth grade grade group. The other thing to note is that high school we do expect a slight decline there and that is mainly because you have outward mobility in your high school grade groups which is fairly normal especially when you have a lot of choice or parochial schools or private schools

[03:30:33] as options for high school students. So on review of the final approved boundaries we found that Last year, the board approved the comprehensive boundary review using the best available data and housing data at the time.

[03:30:51] As part of this regular planning cycle, we updated the student enrollment forecast using the newer data on October 1st of 2025, the most stable period of enrollment in the school year. We updated the forecast. The updated forecast confirms the majority of the board's approved boundaries.

[03:31:11] They remain appropriate and aligned with long-term enrollment trends. However, there is one specific boundary adjustment that no longer appears to achieve the original planning objective under the updated student data and the board's guiding principles. This is the area of change from Cold Harbor Elementary to Battlefield Park Elementary, and I'll review those now.

[03:31:34] So why was this change made? What we had is, you can see Washington Henry at the top left. There's an area where the arrow is. That area was moved from Washington Henry to Mechanicsville to be implemented this fall.

[03:31:50] That is because Washington Henry has a large amount of students that they need to take on from Cool Spring because we needed to relieve Cool Spring Elementary. Because that large population moved into Mechanicsville for this fall, we needed to modify the Mechanicsville attendance area at the southern end that area was approved to be moved from Mechanicsville to Cold Harbor. That large population, the move there, led the board to move that area that is circled in the yellow

[03:32:28] from Cold Harbor to Battlefield Park in order to get that evened out in utilization at the time. So some things have changed since the approval. One is that the Battlefield Park, the actual capacity that we were working with last year during the approval was 481 capacity.

[03:32:52] That was modified to 450, and that's to reflect the similar capacity formulas for your newer buildings like at Ashland and at Washington Henry, while you also have Cold Harbor with a much higher capacity so moving a population of students into a larger building is less of an impact than moving a population into a smaller building with 30 seats less apparently than we did prior also in addition to that this year's forecast did show slightly larger gains in the future

[03:33:28] predicted at Battlefield Park that's likely because of uptick in resales and also some developments letting loose there. And then we also noted that Cold Harbor had a lower than anticipated kindergarten cohort, meaning that there's more capacity at Cold Harbor currently than expected. So the image on the left shows what would happen with our new forecast if the board maintained the approved boundary change from Cold Harbor to Battlefield Park.

[03:34:04] If that happens, Battlefield Park with the new capacity is predicted to be at about 99% utilized in the 2030 school year. And that would bring Cold Harbor down to 75% utilization in the 2030 forecast year.

[03:34:20] If the board decides to reconsider this change and leave that area, that circled area, the five study areas, at Cold Harbor, our predictions are that Cold Harbor will be around 84% in school year 2030 and Battlefield Park will be at 86%.

[03:34:43] And the numbers there on the bottom are the number of current students living there as of October 1st, 2025, and the grade breakdown of those students. There are a handful of PK students in there as well. So in summary, MGT has conducted a student forecast using the new data from this school year.

[03:35:05] While the division is forecasted to grow overall, the growth is now expected to be minor rather than moderate, with slight losses at the high school grade group. Birth rates are going to give you a lift in that kindergarten, expected to give you a lift in that kindergarten over the next two years. And you are still benefiting with this inward mobility, especially in grades K through 8.

[03:35:26] And so that is likely due to the resales that are going to continue on in your county for the foreseeable future. The updated forecast confirms the majority of the previously recommended boundary changes remain appropriate and aligned with the long-term enrollment trends.

[03:35:43] And we recommend that the board review the approved boundary modification, specifically the change between Cold Harbor and Battlefield Park. Our recommendation, we've reviewed the board's approved boundary adjustments and updated the information, including enrollment projections, which include your student mobility, birth rates, and planned housing developments.

[03:36:04] We find that all the approved change areas for May of 2025, with one exception, remain aligned with the long-term enrollment trends And are expected to result in a more balanced utilization across the division over time and we recommend that the school board maintain its Previously approved boundary adjustments with the exception of the change area moving from Cold Harbor Elementary to Battlefield Park Elementary And I'm happy to take any questions Thank you, Miss Larrabee. Do we have any questions comments? Yes

[03:36:39] Just a quick one so that mechanicsville kids are still going that that block of mechanicsville kids in Cold Harbor can still take them without the 64 moving to battlefield am i understanding that correctly that's correct yes and that is because cold harbor has such a larger um capacity than the other schools okay thank you that was it yeah thanks all right any other questions okay we're good thank you very much thank you so much um okay now we have mr bauer and ms stone um coming up to

[03:37:15] give us and i mean you come every meeting all right so give us a capital construction update okay um good evening uh madam chair of the board um dr pennycoff and senior staff thank you for giving me the opportunity to present and give you an update on four very important projects uh the first two is going to be beaver dam and battlefield park uh giving you an update on the construction um and then on the professional development center and washington henry we'll we'll give you an update on where we are with contracts and getting that moving forward.

[03:37:52] Okay, so as I said, we're going to be giving an update on Battlefield and Beaver Dam on the construction updates. So we're going to start off with Battlefield Park. So we did give the contractor a notice proceeded on March 13th of last year. It's still hard to believe it's last year. Like I'm still in 2025. So the project is going quite fantastic. This is Howard Shockey and Sons. This is the general contractor. They are doing truly a wonderful job on the project.

[03:38:17] If you had an opportunity to drive past the building site every day, there is movement, and it's a new, exciting experience. I have to say that this is my 27th year, and of all the projects I think I've ever done, this is the most noticed project ever.

[03:38:35] I have, like, random people come up to me like, dude, Battlefield Park. They say, dude, Battlefield Park is amazing. You know, and I'm like, you don't even live in Hanover. Like, yeah, but I just drove by. So again, this is getting a lot of, this is receiving a lot of positive attention from people even outside of Hanover.

[03:38:52] So the elevations, the pictures on the top row show the elevation for 360, kind of give an idea of how the brick is coming together. The brick is really fantastic. And with the existing building remaining, what you start to get a flavor for is our intention of having the commonality and making this a campus, you know, and having the buildings look very familiar.

[03:39:16] The water table, the lower portion, there was a Titan block, which is a little bit darker of a gray. And then what you'll see is that lighter stripe, both at the top of the block and then along the bottom windows. That's a precast. So again, the building is really starting to take hold. The remainder of the building, the contractors continue to work with the brick.

[03:39:33] You see the spray foam in the middle picture on the bottom, the spray foam insulation that gives you both your air barrier and also your insulation on the walls. Really a fantastic material, really high R value, will give a great long-term value. This building is going to be super, super energy efficient, which is always a positive.

[03:39:51] If you look at the bottom right, then, that is the image of that. That's a rendering that we did. Not for the next meeting, but pretty close. We're going to get to the point where we're going to show you the picture and show you the rendering and see how very similar they are together. As we look at the, the contractor was kind enough to provide us some drone photos.

[03:40:12] So the one on the right-hand side is actually the shot that you see from 360. So that is, as you see, the administration and the gymnasium and then the music. And then, again, the building is starting to take hold. On the one on the left-hand side is moving closer towards the front of the building.

[03:40:28] You can see the media center kind of popping up that second-story piece right after the admin. And then over to the right is the two-story classroom wing. What is really exciting, when it was just there last Thursday, They said, every time we go, we're there once a week, twice a week, the evolution of the project continues.

[03:40:46] And they said, this is my 27th year, and I still, still get giddy every single time we go on a construction project. These are a couple of interior shots. The one in the middle I want to focus on for a second here, this is Main Street. So I talk often about Main Street, and Main Street is the space where you go from the classroom wings into those larger common spaces.

[03:41:04] And this is the most amount of traffic that's happening here. This picture is on the second floor. So on the left-hand side would be that picture which we've all seen at Ashland where you look down into the gymnasium. So that's that space. On the right-hand side is looking to the exterior, but you start to see the gabled roof coming through.

[03:41:22] And we designed a special structure for that. So that is going to be exposed all through the building's life. So what we have is we have some acoustical panels up there, but you're going to see that structure and that evolution of that coming as it comes out and hits the front entrance. Very, very exciting time.

[03:41:38] And then on the left-hand side is the Learning Stair. Learning Stairs are always an amazing space, fits up a little over 200 students. So imagine having four or five classes here right off of Main Street, and it's a collection space. So what's great about this is you can have multiple classes together without taking away the gym or the cafeteria space.

[03:41:56] All those functions are happening in there. So the evolution of the Learning Stairs is super exciting. When I come back and when I'm invited back, we'll be happy to show you updated photos. One thing that may be great is maybe we throw some boots on.

[03:42:12] We'd love to take you guys for a tour. As we're getting now, we're getting close to being close on the roof, be a little bit more safe environment. Maybe we can maybe map that out in the next couple of months. Yes, sir. So Beaverdam.

[03:42:28] No, so Beaverdam is just exciting. So this is Gulf Seaboard who also does an amazing job for us. So one thing I want to note on both projects is that the quality of craftsmanship and the care for the projects is paramount with both of the contractors.

[03:42:45] They're doing such a fantastic job, and the love is on both of these projects. At Beaverdam Elementary, you can see the elevation or the evolution, you know, of the building with the brick coming up, the spray foam. You can see the front entry, and what's important is that I took these pictures last Thursday, so not even a week ago, and today we had our construction meeting, And almost the entire elevation, the front elevation, has that spray foam on it.

[03:43:12] And the bottom center picture shows the cafeteria side elevation. You see all the spray foam there. As of today, just in a couple of days, almost that elevation is done. They said they'll have the whole thing done by the end of this week. So every single time we drove by, every time we arrive, there's more and more evolution of this.

[03:43:30] The contractors are doing such a great job for us. see on the bottom right hand side that is the again soon we'll be showing you the the picture of the rendering and then the picture of the final product which is which we expect to look exactly the same and so the um it's really really coming together fantastic interior wise um i i don't want to say i have more something more favorite than the other i i love the schools with the houses i i really do the house systems are just fantastic the center photo if you look there you can look up in the top there that is the beginning the framing of the of the house of the of the the cabin or the the tree house that's happening that's the beginning of the slide what was super exciting

[03:44:09] today is now is they have it almost all framed out and now you can start to get a feel for how there's a reading room there's benches going to be all the way around it and it's going to be a space not just for the slide because the slide is used this much this is going to be a great space for student activities and small groups and getting together and then the um and when i don't have a a photo of actually you can almost see it so if you look in the stair um see that large window there so on just beyond the tree house we have a large we have a large collab space that has a really fantastic window that looks out over the entire back part of the property oh my goodness

[03:44:44] it would when ed and i uh ed and i had to spend time with me today too so so as we got there and we got up to the top of the stairs we walked back and we're like oh the tree house looks amazing this is great. And we turn around like, oh, the window just is amazing. And the amount of daylight that's coming in, it's wonderful. So as I said, both of the projects are really, are really coming along beautifully. Contractors, again, I can't say enough good things about the great job that they're doing.

[03:45:09] And I'm only excited to be able to show you guys and then have the students walk through the first time. So are there any questions on Battlefield or BVM? I know I'm not really an excitable guy. So if you want, I can, I can elaborate a little on that. Okay. Wonderful. So, so professional development center so so this is so the the um uh retired john m gandy school okay we kept two of those buildings which was the the admin building and then the gym building uh so the the gym building uh we put it out for bid in september um and we received bids we had six bidders which was fantastic in this climate uh norman company which is which is a relatively local company uh

[03:45:48] they they did uh they were the lowest responsible builder fantastic uh reputation we're super excited to get started with them. They have the contract. We have the funding for the project, not just the funding for the project. What's important is that we were able to get the funding together for all the floating partitions. So the gymnasium, the gym for the students is actually where we're going to have the conference center. So the majority, it's going to be one big, large conference room.

[03:46:13] Well, imagine you've been to hotels before where they have those large floating partitions that allows you to go from this huge room down to something smaller. Well, we have that as part of this project. So not only are we going to have larger conferences, but then also be able to break it down into smaller pieces. Not saying anybody's excited, but some folks are really excited here tonight. Adaptive reuses are always amazing. And as I love reusing the buildings, and this is going to be a fantastic, fantastic use for the division to be able to let outsiders be able to come into space. It's going to be fantastic. Our original goal was around this week to be able to do the NTP. Contractor said, hey, Josh, if you'd give us a little bit of love and give us a couple weeks

[03:46:52] before we get started. We're getting our subs on board. So we're looking to have the pre-con and get started more like the first week of February, which means that we're looking to occupy in September. So it's going to be perfect from a timeline standpoint. So we'll continue to update this, you know, update you on this project as the construction evolution happens. And last but certainly not least is Washington Henry. So we did receive bids in December, in the middle of December, just before the holiday. Again, received six bids, which was fantastic. The contractors that have recently been loving on us between Southwood and Shockey and Gulf Seaboard and others.

[03:47:31] The numbers were all very, very close, which means they were looking at the same documents and we feel great about it. Southwood Construction, who constructed Ashland Elementary School for us, is the lowest responsible bidder. We were a little bit over the budget, about 8%, and we are working with Southwood to look at options for cost reductions, and we feel really, really good about where we are currently at as far as getting us close to those numbers that we need to be able to start construction.

[03:48:00] And that's kind of our biggest key right now is making sure that we have the dollars to be able to fund the construction project. The next steps then are going to be furniture and the playgrounds and other pieces. But construction is where we need to focus on right now. We feel really good that we're very, very close to that number to be able to start that. Our key is to get the notice proceed out most likely next week, at least by the end of this month. And why is that important? That's important because we have about 470 days in the contract. So if we wrap, if we start construction, you know, by the end of this month, that finishes up before the end of May of 2020, of 2027. And again, I know it sounds like a

[03:48:37] lifetime away, but it's, it's this close. Why is that important? It's important because we have a very complex phasing for Washington Henry Elementary School, very similar to, to, to Beaverdam, but more so here, because here's the challenge.

[03:48:53] We're going to be constructing the new school. And the new school, we're looking to get wrapped up by the end of May of 2027. That is in the top area in blue where it says phase one. The challenge is that we can't demolish the existing building, which is the space in yellow, until after we get occupancy of the new building.

[03:49:10] So our goal is to obtain occupancy, get the furniture in, move out of the existing building into the new building, and then we can start the demolition process. The challenge is we have things like stormwater, we have utilities, we have the parking lot, we have other pieces.

[03:49:26] So what's going to happen is in the purple, which is on the left-hand side where it says phase two, we're going to be building a temporary parking lot for the first month, maybe two months of school of the 27th school year. So that is going to be a temporary parking lot while we're finishing up the demolition of the building and getting the new drive and the new parking lot in.

[03:49:45] Could we get done faster? Yes. But we are trying to get a worst-case scenario to make sure that we have the variables in place these are all in the contract and it's all timed as as good as we could as we as we can make it once the the the new building is is there the exempt sorry the existing building is demolished we get the parking lot drives in then we're going to take out that existing part the new the temporary parking lot and finish the five six playground we have we have the existing play or the the temporary playground the temporary five six playground are all part of of our of our math and part of the project so this is you know so what's going to happen is the new building will

[03:50:21] be absolutely 100 percent operational uh for the august of 2027 school year um will be fully functional the there's going to be a little bit construction that's happening outside of that building you know for august to september um and then we're wrapping it up october and everything will be off of off the project site uh so but again so what's important and going back to the the notice proceed is is january this month is we really ideally need to have that notice proceed for the contractor by the end of this month to maintain all of this schedule does that make sense for everybody um so so while we want to get done earlier i'm giving you the scenario that is

[03:50:58] the the worst case scenario so that way you say hey when we get done earlier you're like great great job everybody um and what we feel is 100 is that southwood is going to do a fantastic job for us on this project because they delivered ashland um they did a great job for us so we don't expect anything different on this one so i know that was a lot to throw at you in seven minutes um does anybody have any questions on on washington henry on the pdc center or the um or battlefield to beaver dam um do we have any questions comments okay mr josh if you get tired

[03:51:35] of this architecture thing i've got some friends in kentucky they would love for you to come up there and be a horse horse race announcer just just say that's all i do oh boy okay well um thank you mr. you did a great job and kept us all excited about our four projects they're wonderful projects yes we all enjoy the rest thank you so much all right after that very exciting information and discussion section we

[03:52:07] now have public comment so mr. Coleman do you have some statements for us procedures for public comment the school board conducts the public comment segment of its meetings to receive information from the general public on matters related to the Hanover County Public Schools. Per board policy, the total time allotted for public comment will not exceed 60 minutes. Speakers who wish to address the school board are requested to follow these guidelines. As each speaker is recognized by the chairperson, the speaker is asked to clearly

[03:52:46] state the speaker's name, magisterial district, and the subject of the speaker's remarks. Speakers are asked to address their comments to the board and not to the audience. The board requests that the audience refrain from responding to speakers' comments with applause or other audible expressions of approval or disapproval. Speakers are allotted three minutes to address the board. Each speaker's elapsed time will appear on the screen. Speakers will also receive notification from the chairperson when time has expired. Although the board does not permit the use of slideshows or other projected materials during this segment, speakers are invited to

[03:53:22] provide printed copies of such materials to the board. The board requests any person with a complaint about a school division employee to first address the concern to the division superintendent in accordance with board policy. Comments targeting, criticizing, or attacking individual students are not permitted during this segment, and speakers should refrain from using personally identifiable information in connection with an individual student. Speakers should be aware that while the board allows speakers to address any matter within the board's purview, speakers may be held legally responsible if they make statements that violate the legal rights of others including threatening or defamatory statements made against staff members students

[03:54:02] or parents the board expresses its appreciation for the public's input and cooperation during this segment of the meeting thank you mr coleman you have our list yes first up is miss melissa vessels president hanover education association next up is miss holte good evening chair welsh members of the board dr pennycuff these remarks were initially scheduled to be made at the December 9th meeting, which was canceled due to snow. HPE has surveyed its members. They have

[03:54:42] ranked their priorities and shared their thoughts through hundreds of comments on topics spanning salaries, insurance, planning time, and work-life balance. Most HPE members are appreciative of their salary increases last year. However, our members indicated their highest priority continues to be a significant salary increase for the upcoming year. As insurance costs have skyrocketed, the advances made and salaries were muted. Understandably, the second highest priority among members is the cost of health insurance. Therefore, HPE is asking for a minimum 6%

[03:55:17] effective pay raise for all school board employees and for the school board to absorb any increases in the cost of health care benefits. HPE applauds the efforts of the board to improve the work-life balance of its employees. Our survey indicated that increased planning time is a priority. We request that all HCPS teachers receive a truly unencumbered daily 45-minute planning period, one that is teacher-driven and free of other duties or any types of meetings.

[03:55:51] Most respondents express dissatisfaction with their work-life balance. Excessive expectations are overwhelming and unsustainable. HPE is asking the board to create a data-driven plan to measure and ultimately reduce teacher workload. HPE supports the review of job families that include instructional administration group, the clerical group, the OT, PT, SLP group. We ask that these salaries be brought up to market levels. Many of our survey respondents indicated that instructional assistants are significantly underpaid. Even with the recent job family

[03:56:29] salary review, HPE continues to advocate for increased IA salaries. Our bus drivers prioritize establishing a safe driver bonus, giving drivers a day off when children are not in school, and installing air conditioning on more buses. We also request to increase prep compensation to at least 10% of retirees' final salary. We ask that all dual enrollment teachers be paid a stipend commensurate to the um to those paid by other localities 30 seconds we continue to request

[03:57:04] eight weeks of paid parental leave upon the birth or adoption of a child in conclusion we want to thank you for all of your continued support for hanover students teachers and we look forward to working with you as the budget process continues happy new year thank you miss halty after miss Ms. Holti is Ms. Patricia Hunter-Jordan.

[03:57:30] Good evening, Chair Walsh, Vice Chair Coleman, School Board, Dr. Pinnacuff, Administration, and Public. I wish I could generate some of Josh's enthusiasm right now. I'm just a little too tired. I want to wish everybody a Happy New Year.

[03:57:48] Like I said, I am Kristen Holti of the Cold Harbor District, which I am very proud of. We should all be proud of Hanover and what it has accomplished, both in the sports area and academically. Let there be peace on earth and let it all begin with me. There have been many trials and tribulations over the last six years, but the school board is on the correct track and should stay the course. Please do not be distracted or deflected from what has been accomplished over the last few years. Like I said, please stay the course. Please continue to protect parental rights

[03:58:25] and have the parents informed of any issues going on with their child for it is their child. I am a Christian first and have courage in my faith, which I make my purpose and mission. Let's see.

[03:58:42] I totally get that it is difficult to please all, especially in the rezoning aspect, but you are doing the best you can. Thank you for all that you do. I do think that the youth need to be held accountable and responsible for the wrong actions, No matter what race, white, black, etc., when the youth can get away with wrong actions in younger years, they then feel entitlement, no accountability or no responsibility for such actions when they get older.

[03:59:13] I see a lot of entitlement from youths and adults, and they not wanting to be held responsible or accountable for their true actions. I know we need to honor Martin Luther King's birthday this coming Monday.

[03:59:30] And I'd like to finish off with James 1, verse 22, which says, Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. It emphasizes the importance of acting on what is heard, warning that being a hearer without being a doer is a form of self-deception.

[03:59:54] The verse calls for people to not only listen to God's teachings, but to put them into practice in their lives. And I just want to continue to say that I'm very proud to live in Hanover County, and please continue the course.

[04:00:10] And thank you for your time this evening. Ms. Hunter-Jordan. Good evening. Glad to be back. I am Patricia Hunter-Jordan, and I reside in the Cole Harbor District.

[04:00:31] And I am grateful that MLK was recognized today. We must all learn to live and be that dream because our kids look up to us and our kids see what we do, not only what we say, but what we do.

[04:00:50] And if we want to look at scripture and Matthew, it does tell us that whatever you've done for the least of them, you've done unto him. And so what can we do for the least of them in our school systems that we are currently not doing?

[04:01:06] For me, I find that the disparity in our test scores for the economically disadvantaged and others is a place that we can start. This has been like this for some years, and I think we need to put something in action to start working on fixing and bringing that together so that all of our students will be educated equally.

[04:01:36] We can educate our kids who use racist remarks in our schools. They love being suspended. And so why not put in a class where they can be taught why what they've done is wrong?

[04:01:54] And while we're doing that, we need to also work with our different committees or chairs that we have in our school systems that are parent-led, because some of those are honestly using racist comments and remarks at people. And Mr. Coleman, I think you've seen some of the reports that show you these remarks are being made in the schools now. Mental health counselors,

[04:02:27] that's another area that I really think we need to focus on. We understand that there has been a lot of misbehavior, but a lot of it comes from circumstances, COVID and other circumstances.

[04:02:44] We do need mental health care for our kids, and we need to take some of this money and put it where it is needed more. I see too much going toward athletics. I sat here tonight, and I didn't hear anything about where are the fine arts kids where are the drama kids where are all of those kids but we had I don't know how many playing sports here today and so we need to recognize equally

[04:03:19] 10 seconds and if that means taking recognition to the schools instead of at the business meeting I think that might be what we need to do and I love seeing the REB awards here thank you okay thank you for all to thank you to all of our speakers tonight and now we are going to move into our action agenda and miss han is making her way to

[04:03:54] go over the revisions for 4-3.5 educational facility specifications yes thank you madam chair This policy, you may or may not recall since it has been a bit of time before, or excuse me, since we last met.

[04:04:11] So this was on for first read in November, and so now it is on for action this evening. This update brings our policy in line with state code requirements. um the general assembly felt very strongly that the language regarding our consultation with local building officials and fire marshal's office was important enough that it needed to be included in the policy so that is why it is in there uh even though i believe we likely already did that okay

[04:04:46] thank you miss hon do we have any questions for miss hon okay um then i'd like to ask for a motion to approve the revision of the policy. Madam Chair, I move to approve the proposed revised policy 4-3.5 educational facility specifications.

[04:05:07] Thank you, Mr. Martin, for the motion. Do we have a second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Shroff. Do we, or is there any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed? Okay, the motion passes. Thank you very much, Ms. Hahn.

[04:05:24] The next, we have proposed legislative, the proposed school board legislative agenda. Do I have? Madam Chair, I make a motion to adopt the school board 2026 legislative agenda.

[04:05:40] Thank you, Dr. Shrove. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Coleman. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed? Okay, we have a legislative agenda.

[04:05:57] Next, we have our proposed 26-27 school calendar, and we, well, hello, Ms. Disfrin. It's the moment you've all been waiting for. We don't care about buildings.

[04:06:13] We got that calendar anyway, and you've waited over a month for it to be presented because it was supposed to come before you in December, so I hope to contain the excitement. So now I'll start my formal presentation. Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the board, Dr. Penny Cuff and senior staff.

[04:06:33] Tonight I'll be presenting the proposed calendar for the 26-27 school year for your consideration. This is just an overview of the process that we've been through to date.

[04:06:48] I came in, gosh, it was November, and then presented the original calendar. Actually, can we go to the next slide? Thank you. And the big change that's happened between that meeting and now is we opened the calendar for public comment.

[04:07:07] We were open for three weeks, approximately three weeks. It closed on December 1st, and on December 3rd, the calendar committee came back together to review the public comment. So in the original calendar, this is just a list of what we have.

[04:07:28] Monday, August 24th, and Tuesday, August 25th is our start of the school year. Friday, October 23rd is originally proposed. It's the end of the first nine weeks. It was proposed as a student holiday, professional learning in the morning and clerical in the afternoon.

[04:07:49] Monday, November 2nd was a student holiday, parent-teacher conferences to be held on that day. Tuesday, November 3rd, a student holiday and professional learning for teachers to be held at schools that do not serve as voting precincts.

[04:08:06] November 23rd through the 27th would be the full week of Thanksgiving off. The winter break would be traditional December 21st to January 1st, two full weeks, three full weekends. Friday, January 22nd, would be the end of the first semester and an early release day for students, clerical for the teachers in the afternoon.

[04:08:31] Monday, February 15th, would be a student holiday, professional learning in the morning, clerical in the afternoon. March 29th, 29th, would be our spring break, which does match the spring break in Henrico. May 24th through June 4th is the SOL administration window.

[04:08:51] And again, this is new for this particular school year, that we are only allowed to administer the SOLs in grades 7 through 12 during the last 10 days of school, instead of this longer window that we've had previously.

[04:09:11] June 1 through 4 would be secondary final exams. June 1 through 3 would be full days. And then Friday, June 4th, would be an early release date and the last day of school. Saturday, June 5th, would be graduation, and we have 177 days of school.

[04:09:31] That was the information that was put out for public comment, and these were the major themes. The top five themes that we received back from 178 respondents. End the school year before Memorial Day. Shorten Thanksgiving break.

[04:09:49] Make Election Day a teacher holiday. start the school year earlier in August, and more clerical time and less professional learning. Those were the top themes. So there are some non-negotiables within those themes. The first is we are not allowed to start school any earlier than 14 days before the first day of September, or 14 days before Labor Day. Therefore, Labor Day happens to be on September 7th this year,

[04:10:27] which is as late as it can be. Meaning we cannot start school any earlier. We cannot come to school before August 24th. So it pushes the calendar back and there is no way that we can end before Memorial Day. And honestly, our calendar, whether we could open early or not, getting out before Memorial Day, there's just not enough days in the year to make that happen. Memorial Day is also the

[04:11:01] last day of May. So everything got pushed back. The combination of Labor Day, this is exactly what I just said. It's probably written better there. But the combination of Labor Day and Memorial Day being late stretches the last week of school into June. And while we understand that people want to be done by Memorial Day, there's no way that we can do that and have the correct number of days in the school year. The testing, this is also a non-negotiable. Historically, the last week of

[04:11:39] school, we have early release days. And it's a perk for teachers. They can get grades done and take care of their rooms. However, with this new rule that we cannot administer the SOL test in grades 7 through 12 until the last 10 days of school, it changes the landscape for that last week of school. And we need the full days in order to be able to offer retakes and make sure that

[04:12:11] students aren't taking more than one SOL test on a day. So we have to have those three full days, but we are maintaining that the Friday remains an early release day. That's another non-negotiable.

[04:12:27] Professional learning. We have so many state requirements with, you know, the VLA work that's done in the elementary schools we have teachers working with students with greater needs and because those students have greater needs we do need more professional learning time for teachers and we also have rising standards with our new accreditation system so taking into account what the teachers are saying or what we're hearing from the public what our non-negotiables are

[04:13:04] and what can we do this is what the committee proposed and by the way a lot of people don't think that we really read all the comments we go through all of the comments so that we know what people are saying um friday october 23rd we originally proposed that as a half professional learning half clerical day in order to give our teachers some time which is what they're asking for We are proposing in this calendar tonight that we take that day and make it a full clerical day

[04:13:41] and teachers can work from home or they can work at the school. We just felt like that was the right thing to do based on the comments we received. And we wanted to be responsive to those comments. And then the week-long break, a lot of the comments were about child care during the week-long break.

[04:14:07] However, we believe that the presentation you heard earlier could be a response to that as well for parents who have to work that week. Oh, I think I, did I just touch something? Okay. Anyway, so that is the calendar. That's the main change in the calendar that we're presenting tonight from the calendar that you looked at in November.

[04:14:29] Are there any questions? Thank you, Ms. Disherin. Do we have any questions for the calendar? No. I just want to say thanks for all your work on this. I was on that committee and attended one meeting and then I fell off a ladder. and so uh literally to not come to the meeting i heard but yeah it's pretty drastic but no i know it's a difficult task and so i really appreciate the work you put into it well we enjoyed having you on the committee and hope you had fun it's calendar it's fun except for the latter part the latter part you could have done without that yeah all right so um let's get this approved

[04:15:08] since you've waited so long and we're a little behind so um can i get a motion for the 26-27 proposed calendar school calendar oh thank you miss i move to approve the 2026-2027 calendar as presented thank you miss lynn i have a motion on the table do i have a second second thank you Dr. Shrove do we have any discussion okay seeing none all in favor say aye all those opposed okay

[04:15:43] the calendar is approved thank you okay so you have your fiscal status report and your facility usage reports and your packets and calendar related events dr.

[04:16:01] Thank you. During the scheduled topics for our next school board meeting would be our two policies that Ms. Hahn discussed tonight will be coming back for action. And additionally, we will ask that you reconsider the change area from Cold Harbor to Battlefield Park for action at our February school board meeting. Okay, wonderful. Thank you. And do we have any board-related events on the calendar coming up we do we have the um our two by twos we have our school board

[04:16:39] presentation of the school budget coming up and that's 120 right yes yes and then we have let's see budget presentation yes thank you i'm sorry and then i'll i'll i have two right in front of So we have the public hearing on 127 and then work session, if necessary, on February 3rd.

[04:17:08] Trade school, that's right. Yep, I did see that somewhere. And then our next meeting is February 10th?

[04:17:31] Yes. Yes. Okay, sounds wonderful. Okay, well, thank you for that, Dr. Pennycuff. and it looks like it is time to adjourn our meeting so Mr. Martin do I have a motion to adjourn to adjourn our January 13th 2026 meeting thank you Mr. Martin do I have a second second I thank you Dr. Shroff um is there any discussion thank you if if all if you're in favor say all in favor say aye aye all opposed thank you and we are adjourned

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