Coraggio Consulting
Hanover County School Board Meeting, Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Place: Hanover County School Board, Virginia
Length: 1h 17m (video)
Official meeting video (CivicClerk): https://hanovercova.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1516/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 2026-10-23. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:08:09] good evening how's everybody so let's get back started to our meetings so um we are gonna go back into open session do i have a motion to go back into open session uh madam chair i move to return to open session thank you mr seifert i have a motion on the table do i have a second thank you dr shrove um is there any discussion seeing none all those in favor say aye all those opposed motion passes um mr coleman do i have a certification of the closed meeting yes madam

[00:08:47] chair i moved moved to uh certify the following whereas the hanover county school board has convened closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmation recorded voted in accordance with the provisions of the virginia freedom of information act and whereas section 2.2-3712 d of the code of virginia requires a certification by the school board that such executive 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

[00:09:24] in the executive meeting to which this 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?

[00:09:41] Thank you, Dr. Shrove. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. Welcome to our Tuesday, July 14th school board meeting. We appreciate all that are attending, and I see several principals in the back. Thank you all very much for being here.

[00:10:01] I think it's probably for some of our recognitions that we have tonight. We have a moment of silence And I'm gonna read this before we go into a moment silence and then we will have the invocation by Dr. Shrove and then mr. Coleman will lead us in our Pledge of Allegiance So if you will please stand with me if able Please join me in a moment of silence for the recent passing of miss jewel H Benjamin She was a valued member of our transportation team for the past 11 years.

[00:10:42] Our thoughts and prayers are with Ms. Benjamin's family, friends, and colleagues at this difficult time. Thank you.

[00:11:07] ... eternity to serve our community and the children entrusted to our care. As we gather for this meeting, grant each member of the school board wisdom to make thoughtful decisions, courage to do what is right, and humility to listen when open minds and respectful hearts.

[00:11:23] Help us to remember that every policy we consider and every vote we cast has the potential to shape the future of our students, staff, and families. As we celebrate the blessings of July season and reflect on the freedoms we enjoy as Americans, we may also remember the responsibilities that comes with those freedoms.

[00:11:41] To serve with integrity, to treat one another with dignity, and to seek the common good above personal interest. We ask your blessing upon our teachers, administrators, support staff, bus drivers, and volunteers as they prepare for the new school year. Protect our students, encourage our families, and strengthen our community as we work together to provide every child with the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.

[00:12:05] May our discussions this evening be guided by wisdom, marked with civility, and focused on what is best for the children we serve. We ask these blessings in your holy name. Amen. 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.

[00:12:35] Thank you. You may now be seated. So as we start a new fiscal year, we have some business to take care of for the start of that year.

[00:12:53] and the first thing is electing a new chair of the school board for the 26-27 year. So at this time, the floor is open for nominations for the position of chair. Do I have any nominations? Madam Chair, I nominate Ms. Wells for the chairperson for the 26-27 school year.

[00:13:15] Thank you, Dr. Shroff, and I will accept. Do we have any other nominations? okay hearing none nominations are closed um now we are going to vote uh on the chair so all in favor of miss welsh for the position of chair please signify by saying um aye aye all those opposed okay thank you um and i will gladly serve as the chair for the 26-27 thank you very much for the nomination and the support um now um at this time the floor is open for nominations for the

[00:13:55] position of vice chair. Do we have any nominations for vice chair? Madam chair, I would like to nominate Dr. Shroff for vice chairperson for the 2026-2027 school year. Thank you, Mr. Coleman. Dr. Shroff, do you proudly accept? Okay. Are there any other nominations? Okay. Hearing no more nominations, the nominations are now closed. Now we will have a vote for the vice chair position.

[00:14:23] All in favor of Dr. Shroff for the position of vice chair, please signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed? Okay, the motion passes and Dr. Shroff is now our newly elected vice chair for 26-27 school year.

[00:14:44] So now we're going to do a little bit of a seat change. We're going to have Mr. Coleman and Dr. Shroff switch places.

[00:14:57] Yeah, okay, so every year we have a VSBA convention and at that convention we have a delegate and alternate that represents the school division so tonight we are going to

[00:15:38] Elect a VSB a convention delegate and alternate Most of the time it is the chair and the vice chair. Is there any opposition from the board for that? Okay So do we have a motion for?

[00:15:56] The nomination yes, I nominate Chair Walsh and vice chair Shroff as delegate and alternate to the VSBA convention. Thank you. Dr. Shelp I have a motion on the table. Do we have a second? Thank you. Miss Lynn. Is there any discussion? Okay seeing none All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed. Okay, the motion passes Congratulations on being delegate and alternate So the next is going to be we always every year we adopt

[00:16:35] The VS be a code of conduct for school board members and you should have that in the in your packet board members You also and it has not changed. You also have the Hanover County school board protocols and guidelines that also have not changed this year, so Please refresh your memory with those but at this time we need a motion to adopt the VSBA code of conduct Do I have a motion? Madam chair, I move to adopt the VSBA code of conduct as presented. Thank you. Mr. Martin Do I have a second second? Thank you. Dr. Shrove although is there any discussion?

[00:17:15] Okay, seeing none all those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed. Okay. We have adopted the VSBA code of conduct Next we will need a motion to adopt the Hanover County School Board protocols and guidelines. Do I have a motion for that?

[00:17:33] Madam chair, I have a motion. Okay. I move to adopt the Hanover County School Board protocols and guidelines as presented. Thank you Mr. Seifert is do I have a second for that second? Thank you. Dr. Shrove. Is there any discussion? Okay, seeing none is all in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed?

[00:17:52] Okay, we have adopted the Hanover County School Board protocols and guidelines So we have business taken care of for the start of the year Next on the agenda is approval of the minutes. Do we have a motion for approval of minutes? Yeah, I move to approve the minutes for the recently held meetings Thank you. Dr. Shelp. Do I have a second second? Thank you. Dr. Shroff. Is there any discussion? All those in favor say aye All those opposed Okay, the motion passes we have approved meeting minutes Now it is the Chris Whitley show we will go into recognition and announcements

[00:18:31] Thank You madam chair members of the board dr. Penny kiff It is always a privilege to bring forth the great news and accomplishments of our students and staff Don't we have several tonight as you can see behind me? They are wearing a certain color that you might recognize I don't know if you wanted to pause for a moment to come down front and join us

[00:18:57] All right, our first recognition of the night goes to the VHSL Class 4 Girls State Outdoor Track and Field Champion in the 3,200-meter run from Attlee High School in Raider Nation.

[00:20:00] Please join me in congratulating Carissa Ambrose. Getting away that fast.

[00:20:22] You might be a runner, but we're not letting you run.

[00:21:11] And speaking of Raider Nation, and you will hear a lot about them tonight, Our next recognitions go to the VHSL Class 4 girls soccer team state champs from Atlee High School who won in a decisive 4-0 win to capture the title. Congratulations goes to, and when I call your name, please come forward.

[00:21:30] And I do understand from Dr. Wheeler that many are unable to attend because it is summer and people are vacationing and participating in other things. Isabel Anderson, Angelina Catania, Madeline Cochran, Joseline Ellington, Sadie Erickson.

[00:21:55] All right, we have a winner. Thank you, Sadie. I was feeling lonely up here.

[00:22:03] Olivia Francesca, Mackenzie Gathers, Lauren Gill, Maddie Jeffrey, Mia Johnson, Lacey Neff, Brooklyn Reed, Sydney Roberson, Ella Ross,

[00:22:46] Peyton Seward, Rory Shelton, Julia Williams, Lauren Woolard.

[00:23:07] Head coach is Steve D'Adamo. Assistant coach is Bruce Lovelace, Jeremy Seward, Aaron Michael, and manager Tina Fisher. Congratulations.

[00:23:34] All right, big smiles right over here.

[00:23:59] Congratulations, y'all.

[00:24:10] Okay, our next recognition goes to an exceptional athlete from, you guessed it, Atlee High School, who earned the distinction of being named as the 2026 VHSL Class 4 Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

[00:24:39] Congratulations goes to a recent graduate from Raider Nation, Lacey Neff.

[00:24:52] Next recognition is from Raider Nation as well, but we will have to postpone this one until the August meeting

[00:25:33] because he is away playing baseball. Okay, while our next recognition is not from Raider Nation, it is from right next door at Chickahominy Middle School. congratulations goes to the 2026 virginia association of school librarians administrators of the year who won excuse me who was recognized for supporting the development of exemplary school library program and for making an outstanding and sustained contribution advancing the role of the school library program as an agency for the improvement of education principal mark beckett

[00:26:06] congratulations next recognition of the evening goes once again to atlee high school who for the

[00:26:49] third year in a row earned the top state award for a combination of academic and athletic success during the 2025-26 school year the Virginia high school league's coveted national guard cup

[00:27:01] presented by the Virginia army national guard congratulations raider nation chair school board

[00:27:47] members dr penny cuff our communications team has once again been recognized at the highest level nationally each year the national school public relations association recognizes school divisions throughout the United States who produce outstanding communications materials.

[00:28:05] As part of this year's national competition, the HCPS communications team of Brian Capaldo, Rebecca Holbrook, Justin Mattingly, and Chris Whitley received six recognitions. The team has now been recognized 20 times nationally.

[00:28:23] I'm going to repeat that. The team has now been recognized 20 times nationally since 2019 among a host of other regional awards. Specifically this year, the team received two awards of excellence, the highest award class, one for the Be the Eye in Kind social media campaign, and another for the fiscal year 2027 budget presentation.

[00:28:50] Additionally, the Why I Teach social media campaign received an award of merit, while three videos of Convocation 2025 all received an honorable mention. The moving reunions between teachers and former students, the We Are Family Feud game, and the "We Are Family Members" segments.

[00:29:10] Congratulations to our communications team for their continued success.

[00:30:34] - Hey, I get the pleasure of recognizing two of our very special members of our team that are taking a break from this side of things. I'm not gonna say that they're gone because we're hoping that they're not gone.

[00:30:50] So they're just taking a break. So the first is gonna be Anne Huckstapp. So will you please come up here? So after 40 years of dedicated service, so I'm going to say that again.

[00:31:18] After 40 years of dedicated service, including 27 with Hanover County Public Schools, Ann Huckstep is officially about to begin a well-deserved leave.

[00:31:34] Not retirement. As the Instructional Leadership Administrative Assistant and Deputy School Board Clerk, she has been the engine, keeping the ILS team running, managing every task with a rare blend of precision and heart.

[00:31:52] Ann's legacy is defined by her loyalty to this community and the absolute confidentiality she maintained in her roles. She is the ultimate teammate, ready to offer a hand, and her kindness made everyone who entered our office feel valued.

[00:32:09] Most of all, her sense of humor was the secret sauce that got her team through many stressful days. Now, Ann is trading board packets for life jackets and bleacher seats. We know she'll be happiest spending her time at the river or cheering at the ball fields alongside her sons, daughter-in-laws, and grandchildren.

[00:32:32] While we are losing an irreplaceable colleague, her family is gaining a full-time meemaw. And there is no greater promotion than that. Anne, thank you for your steadfast, steady hand and your friendship.

[00:32:48] You will be missed immensely, but you have earned every sunset on the water.

[00:33:32] Okay, Ms. Greif, can you please come up here?

[00:33:53] Yes, well, I'm just recognizing that I might need some readers, although I do make the print really big so that I won't have to wear readers.

[00:34:13] So, thank you. All right. This evening, it is my distinct honor to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary career and lasting impact of Ms. Jennifer Greif, who is retiring, or just leaving for a little bit, after nearly three decades of dedicated service to Hanover County.

[00:34:40] three decades. Jennifer's career in education began as an English teacher in Roanoke County Public Schools, where she quickly distinguished herself as an educator and leader, serving as an English department chair before joining Hanover County Public Schools in 1998. From her early years as an English teacher at Lee Davis High School to her roles as department chair and senior teacher, Jennifer demonstrated a passion for teaching and learning that would become the hallmark of her career. Her leadership journey continued at Lee Davis High School, where she

[00:35:17] served as assistant principal before becoming principal of Atlee High School. In both roles, she made a profound and lasting impact on students, staff, families, and the broader school community. Jennifer later transitioned to division leadership, serving as director of accreditation and accountability before being appointed assistant superintendent of instructional leadership and chief academic officer in 2016. In this role, Jennifer has been instrumental in shaping the instructional vision of Hanover County Public Schools. Her extensive expertise in curriculum

[00:35:55] instruction assessment and accountability has helped ensure high standards of teaching and learning across the division. She has been a thoughtful, reflective, and steadfast leader, always focused on supporting educators and creating learning environments where students can succeed and thrive. Beyond her leadership, Jennifer has developed systems, structures, and processes that have strengthened our schools and positioned the vision for continued success.

[00:36:25] And as anyone who knows Jennifer can attest, she has always appreciated a strong through line, ensuring that our work remains purposeful, connected, and focused on what matters for our students. Throughout her career, Jennifer has been known for her integrity, commitment to excellence, and ability to inspire those around her. She has mentored countless teachers and leaders, many of whom continue to carry forward her influence in classrooms, schools, leadership, positions across our division. Her legacy is reflected not only in the programs and initiatives

[00:37:04] she has led, but also in the people she has developed and the lives she has impacted. Jennifer has a remarkable gift for building high-performing teams and cultivating instructional leadership capacity.

[00:37:19] She leaves behind an impressive leadership tree that continues to flourish, and we are deeply grateful for her unwavering commitment to coaching, mentoring, and empowering both current and future leaders.

[00:37:38] On behalf of the School Board of Hanover County Public Schools, We extend our sincere gratitude to Ms. Jennifer Greif for her exceptional service, visionary leadership, and steadfast dedication to students and staff.

[00:37:54] While her retirement marks the conclusion of an extraordinary chapter, we know her passion for learning and growth will continue as she pursues her doctoral degree in education research at the College of William and Mary.

[00:38:10] Please join me in congratulating Ms. Jennifer Greif on a well-earned retirement and in thanking her for the remarkable contributions she has made to Hanover County Public Schools. Her influence will continue to be felt for generations of students, educators, and leaders to come. Thank you.

[00:38:29] And once we are done with this picture, we're going to do board announcements, and then we'll do a short recess so those that don't want to stay with us can decide to exit stage left or right.

[00:39:50] all right there we go please pause three of you and there we go big smile everybody

[00:40:52] okay thank y'all for helping us recognize and celebrate such great successes and some um very

[00:41:49] sad parts of ways but we know it's just it's not a retirement it's just a leave you're going on vacation for a minute um i also want to make one another announcement before we go into our regular board announcements um Mr. Salvedo, can you please stand up?

[00:42:07] Thank you so much. So we're very excited to announce Mr. Stephen Salvedo as our next Liberty Middle School principal. And we're glad to have you here along with your wife, Sarah. So Sarah, if you want to stand up. So thank you so much for being here, and we're very excited about it, and congratulations.

[00:42:26] Thank you. Okay, and now we're going to go on with board announcements. Do I have any announcements from anyone? - Ms. Lynn?

[00:42:45] - Sorry, I didn't know I was still on. Ms. Lynn? - You're fine, I've got two. - Okay. - Members of the class of 2026 across our four high schools earned a total of $9.2 million in scholarships this year. That's amazing. And the second one is all four of our high schools had their yearbooks selected for inclusion in Varsity Yearbooks portfolio, a showcase that celebrates the most exceptional yearbooks in the U.S. printed by the company.

[00:43:12] They are among only 686 schools nationwide chosen for this recognition. Congratulations. Okay, Mr. Seifert. Yes, ma'am. I have two announcements. One is for a Mechanicsville High School gymnast.

[00:43:28] Giannis Stratman, a student at Mechanicsville High School, has been named the 2026 Most Positive Gymnastics Athlete in Virginia by a positive athlete. So that's an awesome accomplishment there. And then from Hanover High School, we have an honor for an FFA member.

[00:43:46] Ainsley Davis of the Hanover High School FFA chapter has been elected to serve as the Virginia FFA state president for the 26-27 school year. As president, Ainsley will help lead the state convention, host chapter visits across Virginia, and guide local members through the FFA motto, learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, and living to serve.

[00:44:08] So, great accomplishments. That is, and I'd have to add a little bit to Ainsley's next steps. So she is, I think there's been a 20-year gap since Hanover has had this role, and so we're very excited. I actually went to school with Ainsley's father, and we were good friends, and he also had this role with the state.

[00:44:32] And unfortunately, a couple years ago, he passed. So I know that he is watching down on her and very, very proud of her. So we can't wait to see what Ainsley has in store for Hanover, but much less the statewide FFA. So thank you for sharing that. Okay, do we have any down here?

[00:44:51] Mr. Martin? Yeah, I do. First to the ATLE group, congratulations. As an ATLE alum, 21 years ago, we didn't win many state titles unless you ran track. And it seems every meeting we're recognizing another ATLE team for winning a state tournament. So congratulations.

[00:45:07] Great job. Mr. Jenkins, no pressure. The state titles are part of your performance review, so we expect you to no backing up there. The Hanover Education Foundation held their annual golf outing, their 28th golf outing in June.

[00:45:25] Proceeds from the tournament support various educational initiatives within our public schools, such as scholarships that Ms. Lynn mentioned, as well as professional learning grants. The weather was great. We were very grateful. We had some great sponsors, honored guests.

[00:45:41] Senator Ryan McDougall was there, members of the Board of Supervisors, the Commonwealth's Attorneys. We had a lot of great special guests, many volunteers to put it on and raise a lot of money. My team played. There were not enough mulligans in the world for us to win, but we tried our best and had a great time.

[00:45:57] So thank you. Thank you, Ms. Martin. I do believe he helped out the team a little bit. I know Bob will love that one. Yeah, I carry on. Okay, any other comments? I have an announcement that really has special significance for me personally.

[00:46:13] But Mike Herity, a teacher at Chickahominy Middle School and a football coach at Atlee High School, recently biked from Mechanicsville to Key West, Florida. I was born on Key West, Florida. I can tell you, it's 150 miles to Miami.

[00:46:34] The last 90 miles are at sea level, virtually, literally, as you ride the first 90 miles of Route 1. Route 1 starts on Key West at mile zero, and to ride there by bicycle is quite phenomenal.

[00:46:55] And so Mr. Herity says you're capable of more than you give yourself credit for. I would agree. And Mr. Herity's quest was featured on both CBS 6 and WRC, RIC 8, and so I give him my own special conch shell award for this accomplishment.

[00:47:17] That's great. Thank you, Dr. Shelton. I like the added award, too. If you ever fly into Key West, it's a very short runway, and there's only two gates, literally two doors when you get off the plane, and the sign across the top of the building says, welcome to the conch Republic I love it I do like Key West too okay do we have any other board announcements no we're good okay well we will take a quick five minute recess and those of you that want to stay we welcome you and those that

[00:47:57] are ready to get out of here and eat ice cream we thank you for coming and

[00:48:02] congratulations okay back to our agenda next on the agenda is going to be ours

[00:51:41] consent approval of our consent agenda do we have a motion madam chair I move to approve the consent agenda as presented thank you mr. Martin I have a motion do I have a second second thank you dr. Shrove is there any discussion seeing none all those in favor say aye aye all those opposed motion passes we have information to discuss. You just magically appear. I've been down here the whole time. So what you have in front of you is a first read policy update for

[00:52:17] hours of employment, workday, staff time schedule. So this is a complete rewrite primarily to provide clarification, to explicitly state some of the things that that were not previously in the policy so that everyone is aware of what they are.

[00:52:37] No more gray areas that could have been there in other situations. One of the things that you will notice is the title of the policy. You will see that it has GAA in parens at the end. So you will be seeing more of that so that we can more easily identify which ones correspond with particular VSBA policies.

[00:53:01] So this is something that will save, Dr. Penningup, I don't even know how much time we'll save. But it is something that we are very excited about, but it will take a little bit of time. But I wanted you to know what that is when you see it. And I'm happy to answer any questions that the board may have.

[00:53:19] Thank you, Ms. Hahn. Do we have any questions for Ms. Hahn? Any questions? Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. All right. So moving on to public comment, I believe we have a couple people here for public comment. And Dr. Shroff is going to read a very long statement, and it is his first time reading it out in the public, so please bear with him, it's long.

[00:53:45] The school board conducts the public comment segment of its meetings to receive information from the general public on matters related to 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.

[00:54:05] Each speaker is recognized by the chairperson. The speaker is asked to clearly state the speaker's name, magistral 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.

[00:54:25] 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 provide printed copies of such materials to the board.

[00:54:45] 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.

[00:55:07] Speakers should also be aware that 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, or parents.

[00:55:24] The board expresses its appreciation for the public's input and cooperation during this segment of the meeting. Our first person is Jeremy Shields.

[00:55:48] Hello, my name is Jeremy Shields. I'm from the Mechanicsville district. Was there any other information I was supposed to give? Or is that?

[00:56:04] That's it. Okay, cool. I would not like to say anything in particular. I just wanted to take this time to showcase my talents that I gained in elementary school to help propel me towards my future. That was Hot Cross Buns.

[00:56:34] This next song is called Mary Had a Little Lamb. Let's begin.

[00:56:51] I messed up.

[00:57:09] Can I have a round of applause, maybe? Thank you. Ms. Holti? My public comment is very short.

[00:57:35] Good evening, Chair Welsh, Vice Chair Dr. Schroff, congratulations. School Board, Dr. Penning Cuff, administration and public. I am Kristen Holti of the Cold Harbor District, which I am very proud of. I thought I'd bring the 4th of July to you tonight.

[00:57:54] I continue to celebrate it. The only thing I want to bring up tonight is I believe the Hanover County School Board need to monitor student vaping and illegal drug use because I do fear that it will become a bigger issue as time goes on.

[00:58:18] Stay strong in putting the welfare and education of the children first. That is all I have to say. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Okay. So We have completed public comment and we are moving on to our action agenda our first action item is a Is consideration of proposed and revised or and or new policies?

[00:58:46] And miss on has magically appeared again Yeah So these policies you saw at our June meeting for first read I have made some edits to the Section 504 non-discrimination policy. After speaking with staff, I got it, basically it was Hanoverized, if you will, so that we were able to take what VSBA had put together and work it a bit to make it more user-friendly for our, excuse me, our school division. So it is a little bit

[00:59:26] different language but it is still the same process so what I have done is I have taken some of the information out of that policy and I've put it into a regulation this is consistent with what other divisions have done and I think is a lot easier and more user-friendly for our folks that are doing this work so I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have about that particular policy as there have been some changes since the last time you saw it. But otherwise, I am very excited because we have essentially taken, you may recall that most of these things were all in one policy.

[01:00:05] And so we've actually been able to separate them, make them more clear and easier to understand for both staff, students, and the public. So I would ask that these are approved so that we can get in place. Thank you, Ms. Hahn. Do we have any questions for Ms. Hahn on any of the new or revised policies before we get a motion on the table? No? Okay. And I know we have a very long motion coming up because I think we have five or six policies that are new or revised. So do I have a motion?

[01:00:44] Madam Chair, I have a motion to approve the proposed revised and/or new policies 5-1.2.1 equal employment opportunity slash non-discrimination 5-1.2.2 prohibition against harassment and retaliation 5-6.1 suspension of staff members 7-1.2 equal educational opportunity slash non-discrimination 7-1.2.1 section 504 non-discrimination policy and 7-1.2.2 prohibition against harassment and retaliation. Thank you Mr. Seifert for the motion. I have a

[01:01:23] on the table do I have a second second Thank You dr. Shrove is there any discussion seeing none all those in favor say aye aye all those opposed motion passes thank you next we have a couple budget amendment motions and I know you're gonna put them on the oh you're going through your presentation right now right I will brief I will quickly okay okay thank you and madam chair school board members i know we discussed this in detail during our work session but we

[01:01:57] will walk through the information again just as a recap of our process the school board approved on their budget the fy 2027 budget in february the board of supervisors approved their budget in april we were back before this board in may where we adopted the fy 2027 budget and then in June the General Assembly approved June 22nd an approved biennial budget bill. As you all know we had to have a budget in place before the start of the fiscal year and on June 29th the governor

[01:02:37] signed the budget bill into law. Our fiscal year started July 1st so that's why we adopted a budget in May as opposed to waiting and so now we have the results of any changes in the governor's bill or in the budget bill, and we're here to reflect those changes as a budget amendment.

[01:02:56] Just as a reminder, these are the totals for all three of our funds, the operating, school nutrition, and capital improvement plan. As a result of the final budget bill and also a change in Title I funding, we're before you tonight to request amendment to the current fiscal year budget in the amount of $3.2 million.

[01:03:18] We break down the amount there. Included is state ongoing SOQ revenue of one point, just under $1.8 million. Ongoing SPED funding of $889,000, just over that. That is categorical funding. So that means that it basically has strings attached in terms of how those funds can be spent.

[01:03:42] There's ongoing at-risk add-on of $42,000. Again, that is another categorical funding and must be spent in the area of preschool. And then there's an increase in the allotment for the current year of Title I funding of $500,000. As we discussed earlier, when we were preparing this budget, the prior year, the Title I funding had decreased by $300,000. We made that adjustment to the budget, and then when we received the funding for the current year, it had increased by $500,000.

[01:04:20] So we've had some fluctuation there, and we are amending the budget as needed to reflect that Title I funding, and then on the expense side to set up the expense so that we can draw those funds down. This is all in regards to the operating fund. When we look at the operating fund and how it's proposed to allocate that 3.2 million dollars you see first and foremost is to continue with our efforts to lift the teacher pay scale in fiscal year 2026 we made great effort there we started out in developing that budget our pay scale was in the bottom third of our peers with

[01:04:57] the adjustment that was made for fiscal year 2026 we moved up to the middle third and this reflects a continued investment in that teacher pay scale so do so that we do not fall behind again the cost of that is about 1.4 million dollars when we look at the cost of a merit for all staff that is for one percent is about two million dollars the funding that we're receiving for compensation from the state a compensation supplement is about 700,000 towards that two million

[01:05:34] and so the state does not begin to fund all of that cost in addition to that proposed change we demonstrate the use of those title one funds they increase funds in the areas of tutoring and transportation at 500,000 we're proposing funding for technology monitoring software we have a great deal of cyber software and spyware but those challenges are ever-changing and the demands, and this monitoring software is 24-7 watching and alerting us if there is any type

[01:06:09] of efforts to get within our network. Two SPED senior teachers, that would be at the elementary level. Again, we talked about a lot of that SPED funding was categorical, and so it must be spent in the area of SPED to ensure that we meet our required maintenance of effort. We're also proposing 150,000 for athletic field maintenance currently the county parks and rec takes care of all of our grounds maintenance except for athletic fields our dsa's have maintained our athletic

[01:06:45] fields and during the growing season that gets very hectic for them it becomes somewhat burdensome it's a great deal of work to do in a short period of time so this would allocate to all four high schools, some funding that could be used for part-time or some contract to supplement their efforts to meet the needs in terms of that grounds maintenance. Also, the at-risk add-on in preschool, we're allocating $32,000. That leaves a remaining balance of $521,000. As we know,

[01:07:21] last year, enrollment did not meet our forecast. We have no reason to think that it will not. It's too soon to know but as opposed to allocating all of the funds in order to be fiscally prudent we're making the recommendation that we reserve those funds and so if we have another year where enrollment does not meet projections we're in a better position to respond to that if that is not needed it also puts us in a better position when we're developing the FY 2028 budget so these are all the associated amendments for the operating fund revenue and

[01:07:58] expenditures and i would be happy to take any questions before i move on to school nutrition do we have any questions for miss stone the thought just came to me the technology monitoring 350 000 any guarantees with that we spend that much money and any problems they well it's an immediate alert. They're monitoring our system 24-7 and then can, I'm not going to use the correct terminology, but immediately pull the plug. As opposed to alerting one of our staff

[01:08:31] members, they're gaining access to our network and they're taking that immediate action. This allows this software and the monitoring, think of it as ADT on the other side, someone's always monitoring gives us the opportunity for immediate action I will mention that we have applied to a state grant and we have reason to believe that there could be some help there but that is moving much slower than anticipated and so we really have to ensure that we have this protection in place if that state grant

[01:09:08] comes through all of that works out then that would be another example where This would not be an ongoing cost and we may have an opportunity as we develop next year's budget So I think it's more of a preventative measure than an insurance That's right. I would just hope for that much that the company that provides the software would would guarantee it Yeah, I think in today's world it's so difficult But but we're always working to ensure that protection is there any other questions. I Just have a for clarity about the the money for the teachers raised

[01:09:44] That's the S.O.Q. funded positions right from the state it is so that compensation supplement amount that I mentioned that about 700,000 per 1% is for S.O.Q. funded positions only when we look at our our number of positions that we have in our budget the state funds about 67% of those of that 67% they expect the locality to pick up 51 percent of the cost. The cost is based on an average salary across the state, not necessarily the salary that we pay, and

[01:10:23] it's typically two to three years old. So when I look at the actual funding, the actual salary that they're funding us on, it does not meet the salary that we're paying. And then when we look at the fact that it's less than seven of ten positions so if we were just following the state budget we would be allocating pay increases to seven of our ten employees so of ten of us sitting in here we would have to decide which three would receive no merit increase so when you read it in the newspaper it sounds very promising but when you dig into the

[01:11:01] details funding seven hundred thousand for what equals a cost of two million for us makes it very difficult to get to that that promise that you almost read in the paper thank you for the clarity sure thank you do we have any other questions or comments okay and this is just I apologize I went too far and I'm gonna try to go back here we go I made fun of this earlier this is just me being an accountant to show that all the revenues total 3.2 million and then all

[01:11:36] the expenses or adjustments to the expense side that we discussed totals the same so it is a balanced amendment well i keep hitting the wrong button i apologize so next is the school nutrition funding included in the state budget was an additional 74 000 for that fund we are proposing to recognize the revenue and then increase the cost for supplies for food as you know that cost for food can be volatile so that gives us a cushion there to work with finally this is very exciting

[01:12:13] delegate scott wyatt introduced a proposal for hanover county public schools to receive funding for a capital improvement project as i shared earlier when the budget announcement came out it's so unusual for hanover county to receive this funding that i didn't even look at the list i just you know, said, I know we're not there. And as it turns out, there is included $750,000 for the Hanover Center for Trades and Technology, one-time funding for the addition. With that proposed project was first discussed and introduced in October of 2024. We hope to put that out to bid

[01:12:53] next month. And as you know, the cost of a lot of equipment and things like that have increased since then so this is just very exciting for us and we appreciate the support of Delegate Wyatt so it's wonderful well if there are no other questions next we have the motions there's three different ones to recognize the amendment to the three different funds okay and I think miss Lynn has this for us excuse me to stop after each one yes please okay all right I move to amend

[01:13:27] the school board's FY 2027 operating budget by $3,226,742 with adjustments as presented. Thank you, Ms. Lynn. I have a motion on the table for the operating budget, the 2027 operating budget. Do I have a second? A second. Thank you, Dr. Shelp. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed? That motion passes. All right.

[01:13:59] move to amend the school board's fy 2027 school nutrition services budget by 74 163 dollars with adjustments as presented a second thank you miss lynn and thank you dr shelpe for the second um is there any discussion okay hearing none all those in favor say aye aye all those opposed okay the motion passes and lastly i move to amend the school board's fy 2027 capital Improvement Plan by seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars with adjustments as presented a second Thank You miss Lynn and Thank You dr. Shelp for the second all

[01:14:37] Any discussion all those in favor say aye all those opposed Okay, our three motions for our amended budget passed. Thank you miss stone. Appreciate it. Okay Next we on our agenda are your facility usage report Your facility usage report. So you have those in your packets I'm sure you've all reviewed them and then next we also have the Advisory committees, I will be reaching out to all of y'all to see if you'd like to remain on your committees Or if you would like a change

[01:15:17] And we can have that conversation. I'd like to get that in by end of next week. So You should have a list of those and of each committee and which committees people are committed to we have the count I'll let dr. Penny cuff just go over the calendar but you do have a purple sheet in your packet that has all your calendar dates on it and you'll see that we have added back to school convocation which is going to be a virtual event at each one of our schools from 9:00 till 10:00 if there is a

[01:15:55] a school that you would like to attend the convocation at, we will have Kate create a list so we can let the schools know which school you will be attending. We have our ribbon cuttings for our new elementary schools. Battlefield Park is on Tuesday, August 18th at two o'clock. Our ribbon cutting for Beaver Dan is on Wednesday, August 19th at two o'clock. And then our next school board meeting is on August 11th. Thank you, Dr. Penicuff. Next, we will have scheduled topics for our next

[01:16:31] school board meeting. Thank you. We will have a follow-up to our technology presentation on active versus passive use of technology at our work session. Then, we will also have a request for action for the approval of the policies that were discussed this evening. Okay, thank you.

[01:16:52] And I think that brings us to the close of our first meeting for the year. And do we have a motion for adjournment? Madam Chair, I move to adjourn our, what's today? July 14th, 2026 meeting. Every meeting, y'all give me the wrong date.

[01:17:08] I think one of these days, we're going to get it right. Second. Thank you, Mr. Martin. And thank you, Dr. Shrove, for the second. Is there any discussion? There never is. Okay, all those in favor say aye. All those opposed, thank you.

[01:17:25] We are now adjourned. It's just a prank at this point. I'm trying to make sure you're on your toes. I almost read it.

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