Coraggio Consulting
Henrico County School Board Work Session, Thursday, February 26, 2026

Date: Thursday, February 26, 2026
Place: Henrico County School Board, Virginia
Length: 2h 10m (video)
Official meeting video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yM0DTfY6tU
Official meeting portal (Henrico County Public Schools, Diligent Community): https://henricoschools.community.diligentoneplatform.com/Portal/MeetingTypeList.aspx

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 2026-10-25. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:00:00] 26th work session of the Henrico County School Board. We'll now begin with the Pledge of Allegiance and the moment of silence. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation. Please remain standing as you're able

[00:00:32] for a moment of silence. Thank you. At this time, I want to note Mrs. Shea's physical absence from today's work session. Mrs. Shea previously notified board members of a request to participate electronically from a remote location due to a medical condition that prevents her physical

[00:01:05] appearance attendance. Our school board policy P2-04-006 electronic participation in meetings from remote locations requires a majority vote of board members present at the primary or central meeting location to allow a board member to participate in a meeting from a remote location. Per the school board policy, do I hear a motion? I move that the school board approve Mrs. Shea's participation from a remote location. Motion by Mrs. Kinsella. Do I have a second? Second. Second by Mrs. Atkins. Oh, we have to do a roll call vote. Mrs. Kinsella?

[00:01:43] Aye. Mr. Young? Aye. Mrs. Atkins? Aye. And I vote aye as well. Mrs. Shea's request has been approved. This meeting is being live streamed on the HCPS website. We'll begin our meeting with a roll call. When I call your name, please verbally indicate your presence. Mrs. Kinsella. Present.

[00:02:03] Mr. Young. Present. Mrs. Atkins. Present. And Mrs. Shea. Present. Thank you. Please let the record reflect that a quorum of the board is physically present and Mrs. Shea's is participating electronically. I ask Mrs. Shea to verbally note if she needs to leave the meeting and subsequently verbally note when she returns. We will now move on to the approval of the agenda. Is there a motion TO APPROVE THE AGENDA. MOVE THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD APPROVE THE AGENDA FOR TODAY'S MEETING.

[00:02:34] MOTION BY MR. YOUNG. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. SECONDED BY MRS. KINSELA. WE WILL PROCEED WITH THE ROLL CALL VOTE. MRS. KINSELA. AYE. MRS. YOUNG. AYE. MRS. ATKINS. AYE. MRS. SHEA. AYE.

[00:02:52] AND I VOTE AYE. THE AYES HAVE IT. THE AGENDA IS APPROVED. THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS A CLOSED MEETING. IS THERE A MOTION TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION? I MOVE THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD GO INTO closed session for the discussion of matters covered under items A1 and A7 of section 2.2-3711 of the code of Virginia 1950 as amended pertaining to the assignment appointment promotion

[00:03:25] performance demotion salaries disciplining or resignation of specific school board employees including a personnel hearing for employee case number 25-26-E-1 and consultation with staff and school board counsel regarding actual or probable litigation involving a public nuisance where such consultation in an open meeting would adversely affect the negotiating or litigating posture of OF THE PUBLIC BODY. MOTIONED BY MS. ATKINS. DO I HAVE A SECOND?

[00:04:04] SECOND. SECOND BY MR. YOUNG. MS. KINSELA. AYE. MR. YOUNG. AYE. MR. ATKINS. AYE. MR. SHEA. AYE. AND I VOTE AYE. THE AYES HAVE IT. WE WILL RECONVENE THE WORK SESSION AT THE CONCLUSION

[00:04:21] OF OUR CLOSED MEETING. OKAY. WE WILL NOW MOVE ON WITH THE CERTIFICATION

[01:23:26] OF CLOSED SESSION. IS THERE A MOTION TO CERTIFY CLOSED session. I move that the school board certified by recorded vote that to the best of each school board member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and identified in the motion authorizing the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered in the closed meeting.

[01:23:50] Motion by Mr. Young. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Mrs. Kinsella. Mrs. Kinsella? Aye.

[01:23:59] Mr. Young. Aye. Mrs. Atkins. Mrs. Shea. Aye. And I vote aye. The ayes have it. Closed session has been certified. Dr. Cashwell. Thank you. Good afternoon, members of the board. The first item is the recommendation that the school board approve the petition for license revocation in employee case number 25-26-E-1 and authorize me to forward the petition to the state board of education.

[01:24:36] Colleagues, is there a motion to approve the petition for licensure revocation? I move that the school board approve the petition for licensure revocation in employee case number 25-26-E-1 and authorize the superintendent to forward the petition to the State Board of Education.

[01:24:57] Moved by Mrs. Kinsella. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Mr. Young. Mrs. Kinsella? Aye. Mr. Young? Aye. Mrs. Atkins? Mrs. Shea?

[01:25:14] AND I VOTE AYE. THE AYES HAVE IT. THE PETITION FOR LICENSURE REPICATION HAS BEEN APPROVED. THANK YOU. NEXT I'M RECOMMENDING THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD APPROVE THE APPOINTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENT? I MOVE THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD APPROVE THE APPOINTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL. MOTION BY MR. YOUNG. DO I HAVE A SECOND?

[01:25:38] SECOND. SECOND BY MS. KINSELA. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, MS. KINSELA. aye mr young aye mrs atkins mrs shea aye and i vote aye the ayes have it the administrative appointment has been approved thank you the next series of items are policies for your review this is 6.01 through 6.07 these are all related to leave policies and these policies were identified

[01:26:15] in the summer of 2024 through employee feedback on strengthening benefits and since then employee INPUT HAS BEEN GATHERED TO DEVELOP THESE POLICY CHANGES WHICH IF ADOPTED WOULD TAKE EFFECT JULY 1 OF 2026 AND AGAIN THESE ARE HERE FOR REVIEW AND WE WOULD BE SEEKING THE BOARD'S APPROVAL OF THESE AT THE APRIL 16TH WORK SESSION. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POLICIES FOR REVIEW?

[01:26:44] COLLEAGUES DO WE HAVE ANY SPECIFIC ITEMS IN HERE THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO TAKE OUT AND LOOK AT? if i may just um comment that i am so glad that we are finding consistency um and clarity and being responsive to what our employees have said um and if i may just highlight the improvement all the improvements uh recommended are wonderful but the bereavement leave

[01:27:17] it's uh increasing from two to five days i believe no i'm sorry granted um we've granted more time there and to be consistent with the government side and just any increase in time, especially around bereavement, is so appreciated. I don't know how folks have grieved properly, given what the time was. So just thank you for the HR team's work on this. It's greatly appreciated.

[01:27:51] That's all I had. Chair Irving. Dr. Cashwell, sorry. I also thought after Ms. Kinsella and I have been serving on policy committee and seeing the many iterations of this, could you just share with our public just some of the venues that we've gone through to get input on these? Because I know it's been extensive and I want our community and our staff to understand that we have been actively seeking feedback on these before they even came to the board absolutely thank you and thank you

[01:28:26] again to mrs gonsella and mrs shay for their service on our policy committee and as they noted lots of stakeholder input and review by the time we're bringing things in front of the policy committee for discussion and then eventually to the board to review and in this case these policies you know didn't necessitate change because of expiration or anything legislative but because they were identified as topics by our employees through our employee feedback gathering as areas for potential improvement and making sure that we were taking a look at that feedback and then

[01:29:01] analyzing these policies to see where there might be some room for changes and so certainly our HR team did that work made some proposed changes and have been through a couple iterations as we've received feedback for example from our teacher advisory committee or TAC as it's known we've also worked with other advisory committees our administrators or our PAC team and and of course through the policy committee as well which has representatives from various employee groups depending on the policy at hand so it's traveled quite a long journey to get to this point and

[01:29:38] lots of good input along the way and again providing these recommendations for your review THAT WOULD, IF APPROVED, GO INTO EFFECT FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. ANYTHING ELSE, COLLEAGUES? I DID HAVE ONE QUESTION, AND PERHAPS I'M MISSING IT IN HERE. I KNOW THAT I AND OTHERS HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT A DESIRE TO SEE THE FEASIBILITY OF LEAVE AND HOUR INCREMENTS.

[01:30:07] IS THAT INCLUDED IN THIS RECOMMENDATION OR IS THAT DECIDED ELSEWHERE? I BELIEVE IT IS IN HERE. I'M LOOKING TO MRS. BOLDEN, JUST IF SHE KNEW THE NUMBER OFF THE TOP OF HER HEAD WHERE SHE COULD PULL THAT. THERE IS FLEXIBILITY FOR ADMINISTRATORS TO ALLOW THAT FOR PERSONAL LEAVE, YES.

[01:30:26] YES, AND IT IS NOTED IN HERE. OKAY, SO HEARING THAT, I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY, WOULD THIS BE UP TO INDIVIDUAL ADMINISTRATOR PREFERENCE OR WOULD THIS BE A DIVISION-WIDE EXPECTATION THAT IT'S ALLOWED SO LONG AS IT'S WITHIN CERTAIN PARAMETERS?

[01:30:43] SO IT'S WRITTEN IN THE POLICY, SO IT WOULD BE AN EXPECTATION BASED ON OPERATIONAL NEEDS, However, I do want to reiterate or just make that clear based on operational needs and coverage. Okay. Yeah. For me, I guess when I hear that, it gives me slight pause because I do know that unfortunately, sometimes things can be stated that way, even if they're not even necessarily that way, because some people, you know, maybe don't want to think about the logistics of

[01:31:20] figuring out coverage in certain ways so i i worry that it would not be even application and that's kind of how i approach all these things i just want to make sure that it's not unfair to teachers in certain buildings because their administrator feels slightly differently about this policy than i want everybody to have the same type of yeah we'll certainly uh if this policy were approved by the board would work with our administrators to help them understand expectations related here and and you know even in prior leave policies and with certain types of leave there is a level of ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL AT THE BUILDING GIVEN UNIQUE NEEDS AND TIMING AND THAT SORT OF THING AND ENSURING OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO COVERAGE FOR STUDENTS BUT CERTAINLY WOULD EXPECT THAT

[01:32:00] THOSE HOUR INCREMENTS BE, YOU KNOW, LOOKED INTO BY THE ADMINISTRATOR AND THAT ALL DUE CONSIDERATION WOULD BE GIVEN. OKAY. EXCELLENT. COLLEAGUES? ONE THING, CAN YOU CLARIFY? I'M READING HERE IT IT SAYS ACPS ACCEPTS TRANSFERRED ACCUMULATED SICK TIME FROM OTHER VA PUBLIC K-12 DIVISIONS.

[01:32:21] THAT IS NEW, CORRECT? I BELIEVE THAT REMAINS THE CASE, UNLESS THERE'S A CHANGE IN THE AMOUNT. OKAY, NO, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE, I JUST SEEN IT IN HERE, I THINK IT IS THE SAME. MS. BOLDEN, DO YOU WANT TO CLIMIFY? IT'S NOT NEW, IT'S JUST THE CLARIFICATION. GOTCHA, OKAY, THANK YOU.

[01:32:38] OKAY, DR. KASHWELL. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEW OF THOSE, AND FOR YOUR CONTINUED ADVOCACY FOR OUR EMPLOYEES AND ENSURING CHANGES THAT ARE OF BENEFIT. THE NEXT ITEM IS ANOTHER LOOK AT THE ANNUAL RECOMMENDED FINANCIAL PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027 FOR WHICH WE'LL BE SEEKING YOUR APPROVAL AT OUR MONTHLY MEETING TODAY.

[01:33:01] AND MR. WACK WILL PROVIDE YET ANOTHER HIGH-LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THAT BUDGET PRESENTATION. GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR IRVING AND SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS AND DR. CASHWELL. TODAY I'LL PROVIDE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2027 RECOMMENDED BUDGET HIGHLIGHTING THE PLANNED ADDITIONS TO OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET WITHIN THE OVERALL PROPOSAL COMPARED TO THE CURRENT YEAR'S ADOPTED BUDGET. THE SUPERINTENDENT HAS COLLABORATED WITH THE BUDGET TEAM TO PROPOSE FUNDING PRIORITIES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027 THAT CONTINUE WITH THE HIGH QUALITY PROGRAMMING AND STRONG SUPPORT SERVICES OUR STUDENTS, STAFF, AND COMMUNITY DESERVE,

[01:33:37] REFLECT THE SCHOOL BOARD PRIORITIES, AND, IMPORTANTLY, ARE DIRECTLY ALIGNED WITH THE DIVISION'S STAKEHOLDER DEVELOPED STRATEGIC PLAN JOURNEY TO 2030. THE BUDGET PROPOSAL includes funding for staffing programming supports and initiatives that directly align with the four strategic focus areas academic achievement learning environment physical social emotional and mental health and recruit engage retain and reward staff now i'll share some of the most significant items proposed in the recommended general fund budget organized by strategic focus

[01:34:14] area i'll start by highlighting some of the most notable items associated with academic achievement English language learner teachers will be added to continue to work towards meeting new state requirements. We will continue to strengthen our exceptional education supports by adding more teachers and more instructional assistants. There are new positions to support the first year of our new cyber security specialty center at Henrico High School, and positions are also included to account for additional student capacity being added across the system with renovations and building expansions. Moving to items supporting our learning environment strategic focus area,

[01:34:52] the budget includes new positions as we open the living building at Bolton farm skilled trade positions have been added to our facilities department to help address heating cooling and ventilation needs we are also dedicating funds to strengthen our talented facilities team structure to best meet increased maintenance demands and we are planning for operating increases for electricity and other utilities to cover recent year rate increases and account for newly added space across the system in support of our continued emphasis on physical social emotional and mental health. We've added school counselors in support of the third year of Henrico Cares

[01:35:32] initiative. We've also added operating funds to further expand Henrico Cares supports next year including the expansion of telehealth to our metal schools. And the specialist position working with our McKinney-Vento students is being shifted from grant funds to the general fund budget.

[01:35:48] Also looking at our recruit, engage, retain, and reward focus area, the career ladder initiative IS EXPANDING WITH PROPOSED BUDGET ALLOWING FOR 150 MORE PARTICIPANTS. OUR DIRECTOR OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES CONTRACTS ARE BEING EXTENDED FROM 11 TO 12 MONTHS. FUNDING IS INCLUDED FOR MORE INNOVATIVE TEACHER TRAINING SUCH AS TO SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS AT THE NEXT EDUCATION WORKFORCE, AND OUR COST FOR EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFITS IS INCREASING AS THE BUDGET ENSURES THAT AS THE EMPLOYER, HCPS IS PICKING UP MOST IF NOT ALL OF THE INCREASES FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2026, SHIELDING EMPLOYEES FROM SIGNIFICANT INCREASES. AS IN PRIOR YEARS THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET DOESN'T

[01:36:27] INCLUDE FUNDING FOR SALARY INCREASES WHICH ARE A PRIORITY AND WILL BE CONSIDERED IN THE COUNTY MANAGER'S PROPOSAL NEXT MONTH. THIS SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT NET FUNDING INCREASES IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2027 RECOMMENDED BUDGET. THE SUM OF THE ITEMS ON THIS LIST EXCEEDS THE INCREASE IN FISCAL YEAR 2027 AS THERE ARE ALSO NET REDUCTIONS TO CONSIDER WHEN ARRIVING at the total general fund budget the increases include about 18.65 million dollars more for health care benefits for our employees 5.45 million for 50 more english language learner teachers

[01:37:03] about 1.71 million dollars to add 20 exceptional education instructional assistants as well as seven teachers 1.44 million is included for new positions at davis long and adams elementary schools and approximately 1.24 million will support 17 positions associated with living building at Wilton farm and finally our electricity and other utilities budget is increasing by about three million dollars next year this slide highlights the most significant net funding decreases in the fiscal year 2027 recommended budget they include a net reduction of nearly

[01:37:39] eight million dollars related to rate reductions in the Virginia retirement system pension costs meanwhile VRS group life and retiree health credit expenses are decreasing by a net 1.76 million we have also reduced the diesel fuel budget for pupil transportation by about a million and our budgets for education and training in food are decreasing by about $545,000.

[01:38:01] These pie charts illustrate the major revenue categories of our general fund budget. We can see that the target increase of about $27.7 million makes up the difference in fiscal year 2027, and that will likely come from a combination of state and local funds. These pie charts illustrate the major spending categories of our general fund budget, and we can see that instruction remains by far the largest portion of our expenditures budget at about 76% in fiscal year 2027.

[01:38:30] These new pie charts illustrate total general fund spending by type of expenditure and we can see that nearly 88 percent of the budget is in personnel while operating in capital expenses make up the balance. The overall fiscal year 2027 recommended budget reflects the following notable changes from the current year. Our general fund budget is increasing by about 27.7 million or 3.6 percent compared to fiscal year 2026 based on the target amount we received. Our debt service budget ASSOCIATED WITH PREVIOUSLY APPROVED CAPITAL PROJECT DEBT IS INCREASING BY ABOUT 3.3%.

[01:39:07] THE SCHOOL NUTRITION FUND IS ESSENTIALLY REMAINING FLAT WITH THE CURRENT YEAR AND OUR STATE AND FEDERAL SPECIAL REVENUE BUDGETS ARE INCREASING BY 2.3%. SO OVERALL, THE OPERATING BUDGET FROM ALL FUNDS IS GROWING BY ABOUT 3.3%, NOTING THAT THESE FIGURES DON'T YET INCLUDE FUNDING FOR PAY RAISES, WHICH ARE A BUDGET PRIORITY AND WILL BE CONSIDERED LATER.

[01:39:30] THAT CONCLUDES MY BUDGET OVERVIEW AND I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. Thank you for that, Mr. Wack. Colleagues, I can start off with Ms. Kinsella. Yes, thank you for the revisiting the presentation. Again, we've discussed it at length in prior meetings. However, I did hear from some constituents who wanted to hear a little bit more about some of our major funding increases and decreases. Specifically, I am so glad that we are not

[01:40:05] passing on the health care benefit increases to our employees. This has been a priority, I know, for the board and Dr. Cashwell, so I just want to highlight that because in the private sector, employees are not as fortunate as they are as we are in Henrico schools, right? And then the second increase, the 50 English language learners, teachers, can you speak to where these teachers will be assigned based on need? Need as we know it right now, I guess, and then subject

[01:40:44] to changing around the complement, but where in general will we see these 50 ELL teachers? In the personnel complement at the back of the budget document, we are showing those teachers essentially in secondary education. However, we're going to revisit for next school year which schools are most in need programmatically based on the intensity of the ELL services and so forth. So they'll be placed by school. Thank you for that. For folks who don't want to go line by line through our budget. And then also if you could speak specifically to our electricity and utility increases of $3 million?

[01:41:23] Sure. So in fiscal year 2025, we had received an increase in that budget, but we did spend significantly more than that amount, and then fiscal year 2026, we received level funding. And so in our budget target, working with the county manager in fiscal year 2027, we're allowing for a $3 million increase in electricity and other utilities.

[01:41:46] that essentially is going to cover two things it's going to cover multiple years of rate increases as well as the additional space so we are opening some new and renovated buildings uh in this new year great thank you for that clarity now on to our decreases and the two i'm specifically interested in hearing about are the um i think it's the group life and retiree health costs decrease and the diesel fuel why is that decreasing okay um so actually in this evening school board we'll be um hopefully approving a resolution that will allow us to make some changes in in

[01:42:22] Virginia retirement system so we will see some significant savings in in that uh area by moving facilities and and uh people transportation employees to to to the schools instead of having Henrico county as an employer so that's going to save us significantly and we also um the the governor's budget and general that the general assembly is is considering includes a two percent rate decrease for teachers, what we pay into the Virginia retirement system. So that's going to generate those significant savings up there. In terms of diesel fuel, that we're budgeting

[01:42:57] more close to what our actual spending has been. But there's also, we needed to shift some funding within transportation to our vehicle repairs. So that's kind of been almost an offset for that. Great thank you for for that clarity um and then I guess for those who would say you know as I said when we first spoke to the budget doing more with for less is not an option in Henrico schools and for those constituents that we may hear from who are who may say but your enrollment is decreasing so why is your budget continuing to increase can you just speak a little bit to that for us this

[01:43:37] afternoon so you'll see the the trends in our spending categories and what I've highlighted today it's really not necessarily the student population but the intensity of services the needs of our students so we're seeing growth in our in exceptional education and that actually ties to changes in how assessments are made at the state level so that's that's driving additional needs for more staff and exceptional education and our english language learner population has been increasing significantly in recent years and so we're really trying to become more in compliance with the standards of quality. Great thank you thank you for um speaking specifically to that

[01:44:15] and for anyone who is wondering why we're not um speaking more this afternoon perhaps about the mechanical budget that was covered in our CIP discussion correct? Yes there's a significant uh requested increase in mechanical. It is still it is still a priority of this board and Dr. Cashwell but just for anyone listening um that is why you're not going to be hearing us discuss that much this afternoon, but it is very much still a priority for this Board. That's all I have, Chair Irving. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Young? Mr. Black, thank you for the presentation. I would

[01:44:51] like to say first that so proud of Henrico County Public Schools that we're adding positions. We know some school divisions aren't as fortunate as we are, and we're adding over 108 new positions going into next fiscal year. So extremely proud of that. I mean, proud of the investments we're we're making into mental health, into the career ladder, and I'm expanding into covering the cost of health care. But I do want to kind of talk about a couple different things here today. Just want to know if we can commit to providing the board with like a one-year performance report tied directly to the investments that we're making on whether those investments

[01:45:30] achieved as gold or some adjustments needed. And I'll give an example. With the addition HVAC specialists and skilled trade staff I want to know what operational improvements we expect to see so by us investing in more employees are we looking at response times being reduced are we looking at maybe a reduction in vendor costs what's going to be the significance of hiring more HVAC staff can you so certainly something we can work on and as I previously mentioned this entire budget PROPOSAL IS ALIGNED WITH THE STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS, AND SO WE'LL -- WE ALSO HAVE -- WE'RE DOING

[01:46:09] QUITE A BIT OF REPORTING ON THE PROGRESS WE'RE MAKING IN JOURNEY TO 2030, BUT WE COULD PROBABLY ROLL THAT IN TODAY. YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD POINT, MR. WACK. SO CERTAINLY OUR STRATEGIC PLAN HAS SOME MEASUREMENTS, AND THOSE ARE BUILT IN WHERE WE'RE REPORTING BACK ON PROGRESS WE'RE MAKING TOWARDS MEETING THE GOALS, AND ALL OF THESE BUDGET ADDITIONS ARE DRIVING AT improvements namely in this in the learning environment when it comes to HVAC technicians and that sort of thing so I mean I think it's all of the above and certainly there are some measures we could report back on them and I think much like we did with our opportunity schools

[01:46:45] presentation you know that's a six million dollar investment we take seriously our obligation to making sure we're monitoring the success you know we want our kids to succeed succeed but we also and our initiatives too as well, but we also want to make sure the money is best spent in that way, or if there are any tweaks to be made, so we certainly commit to that. Thank you for that.

[01:47:07] Sometimes we do these things and we don't hear back on, I know we do hear back on opportunity schools, but it's always good to hear what we're investing in, whether it's mental health or anything else, getting those reports back that the investments are working or we're achieving the goal that we assume. Dr. Caswell, this may be a question for you, but there may be a perception that um that something isn't listed in the new budget um that is not being prioritized can you explain how ongoing investments in staffing intervention and support services are already aligned to improving outcomes in our highest need schools absolutely so um much work is done even outside a budget cycle right so we may make adjustments during a school year if a critical

[01:47:46] position is needed or um at times we've done studies and regraded positions off of the budget cycle. So not everything's addressed in the general budget. And I think to Mrs. Kinsella's point, we also have a capital improvement plan that speaks to the mechanical and operational needs of the division. And so certainly this covers a good bit of territory in the general fund, but certainly is not exhaustive when it comes to our funding priorities.

[01:48:14] Thank you for that. Because sometimes we don't look at the ongoing investment. We just look at the new items when we get up here and we start discussing budget. And I think when you have some some schools or some community looking in they don't see the continued investment that we're making into our students um particularly in my district um that's and i think that's an excellent point particularly when it comes to you know several years ago as we were looking at achievement data we began adding reading specialists right so we're only a few years into that initiative our mental health investments with cares so certainly a lot of those are multi-year investments where we're layering support we're looking at data to see are we getting that return

[01:48:51] THAT WE EXPECTED. SO FOR EXAMPLE, EXPANDING THE MENTAL HEALTH ACCESS THROUGH CARES TO OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS IS LARGELY BASED ON SUCCESS OF THE INITIAL HIGH SCHOOL PIECE. SO YEAH, A LOT OF THESE INVESTMENTS ARE MULTI-YEAR. THEY'RE ONGOING. WHERE WE'RE FINDING SUCCESS AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE, WE'RE CONTINUING THOSE INVESTMENTS. YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU MENTIONED FUNDING FOR THE CAREER LADDER AND OPPORTUNITY SCHOOLS. SO ALL OF THOSE ARE NOT NEW, BUT THEY'RE BUILT INTO THIS BUDGET AS CONTINUED FUNDING, WHICH, YOU KNOW, SPEAKS TO the board's prioritization of those areas yeah i just think that's important um for constituents

[01:49:27] and community to remember that there are continued investments going on and this is just um items that we're adding um but no further questions just wanted to kind of piggyback on some things and just um explain them a little bit in more detail so thank you for that uh chair thank you mr young uh mrs shea thank you so much i really just have uh you know this is multiple times we've seen this budget so just one um thing that jumped out to me this time as we were reviewing it and i thank you uh dr mr whack and dr cashwell for adding some additional clarity so you know

[01:50:03] we're increasing our budget ballpark around 30 million and i'm seeing that the health care benefits are about 19 million of that and so i think it's you know we talk about not passing along the increases to our employees which is really important but i think it's important to highlight that the majority of our budget increase for this year is taking care of our employees by eating that cost itself. It's not adding tons of new stuff. It's looking at what makes a difference for our employees and taking care of that. And so I know we always highlight that we

[01:50:41] are taking on all or the lion's share of that, but I just wanted to numerically highlight that That is more than half our budget increase for next year. I think that's important for people to understand. And I certainly support our continued efforts to keep costs down for our employees.

[01:51:03] That's all from me. Thank you, Mrs. Shea. Yes, Mr. Weck, thank you again for the presentation and the many iterations we've seen so far. So I just want to be, you know, beat the dead horse and go over a couple of things. I think that the skilled position trades to address HVAC issues and facilities and maintenance teams is a critical piece of this.

[01:51:28] And I think it extends, you know, when we look back to how we tackled our bus driver shortage, we just paid them more and then people filled the roles. And this is no different. If we pay them more, we will fill the roles.

[01:51:44] And if we make it so that people feel taken care of because we have great benefits, we have great health care plans. if we pay what the market expects, we will fill the roles. And we want to do that. This board prioritizes that. It's a top priority. It's a thing that I hear from my constituents more than almost anything else. That is our goal. Increase funding to account for costs and increase in electricity and other utilities. So I, when I look at this, and I've talked about it before, we should not just accept that these things are going to increase year over year. Like I think it

[01:52:21] is very important on us to be proactive and what can we do to reduce these costs and just accepting them that oh electricity costs are going to rise by this percentage in this nominal amount year over year in perpetuity i think that would be foolish on our part it would eat up more and more of the budget that could go to things like you know absorbing costs for our employees and paying them more and taking care of our students and so i think we need to think outside the box i've had conversations with dr cashwell and others about things that i think we can be doing to be proactive been offsetting these energy costs long-term, you know, increasing the amount of solar that we have

[01:52:56] on our buildings, creating solar canopies in our parking lots. I've talked with my colleagues about this. I just think that we would be remiss if we just sat here and did nothing because it's not going to get better. Like, I think we know that electricity utilization, if you look at the chart of usage over time in the United States, and especially in Virginia, it's just going up.

[01:53:16] So we must do something. It is fiscally responsible to do something. It is not fiscally responsible to just tolerate the year over year costs increase. So I think for anybody who's just saying, Oh, you know, these things that we're trying to do offset that they cost money, well, they did cost money, but so does just letting your electricity costs and utility costs increase year over year. So I think we need to look at the other side of the ledger on this and say, yeah, well, something maybe does cost money up front, but it saves you over the long term rather than just, you know, status quo of doing nothing and having this eat up more and more, which it will. The

[01:53:52] NEXT PIECE WAS JUST THE HEALTH CARE COST. SO YEAH, WE TALKED ABOUT THE INCREASE IN WHAT WE'RE SAVING OUR EMPLOYEES, AND THAT'S SUBCHANTIAL CHUNK. MR. WACK, OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH OF OUR BUDGET WE SPEND NOMINALLY ON HEALTH CARE? SORRY, NOT FOR THE TOP OF MY HEAD. I WOULD JUST LOVE TO HAVE THAT NUMBER FOR FOLKS EASILY ACCESSIBLE, JUST TO SEE WHAT NOMINAL AMOUNT THAT IS OF OUR ENTIRE BUDGET, BECAUSE WE ARE SPENDING, LIKE WE SAID, YOU KNOW, 80, ALMOST 88 PERCENT ON PERSONNEL, and health care goes into that but I just want people to actually see the the dollar amount of how much that is because it is significant and I think if people saw how much as we as an employer

[01:54:32] are paying in health care every single year and all these other insurance measures I think it would maybe help just provide perspective because it's we did add an exhibit in this this year's budget document that shows the changes by natural account and that's yeah 18.65 million increase. Yes, yes. And I'm speaking more about the total. Is it 10%? Okay. Thank you, Monique.

[01:54:57] So that's, you know, $97 million, give or take. And then so I maybe missed it if Mrs. Kinsella said it, but the fuel diesel, the diesel fuel cost decreases. Is that due to bringing on different types of people transportation online and we're just shifting away from diesel costs? There will be some some savings to be realized in diesel fuel with the use of propane we don't have our we have 10 10 electric buses that are that are going to arrive in may and june so okay yeah as they're put in service that we can wonderful yeah i i figured it was it was due to probably that but i

[01:55:35] i just would be remiss if i if i didn't ask um again you know our priority is to take care of our folks we want to take care of our folks we expect that we will be able to if our budget as AS WE ENVISION IT COMES TO FURITION. THANK YOU. YES, DR. CASHWIN.

[01:55:56] ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR CONTINUED PRIORITIZATION OF EMPLOYEES AND PROGRAMS THAT BENEFIT THE DIVISION AND IT'S VERY APPARENT IN THIS PROPOSED BUDGET. AND AGAIN, WE'LL SEEK YOUR APPROVAL ON THIS PROPOSAL AT OUR MONTHLY MEETING WHICH WILL BE HELD NEXT. THE NEXT ITEM IS AN OVERVIEW RELATED TO OUR STUDENT IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM. AND WE'RE REALLY PLEASED TO GET AN UPDATE.

[01:56:20] YOU ALL WILL RECALL THE INITIAL PRESENTATIONS WHEN WE ROLLED OUT THAT INITIATIVE AND SO THEY'RE HERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON HOW IT STARTED, WHERE WE ARE NOW AND WHERE WE WILL BE HEADED NEXT. CHAIR IRVING: GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR IRVING, MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD AND DR. CASHWELL.

[01:56:42] I'M CHAIR HALL, THE MANAGER OF THE STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS TEAM, BETTER KNOWN AS POWER SCHOOL. I'M JOINED BY WENDY MARTIN, THE IT MANAGER FOR INTEGRATION DATA SERVICES AND WEARING TRIBBLE, a data integration specialist. We are excited to share how expanding student ID card scanning is creating greater access for our students by streamlining services, strengthening accountability, and making everyday school experiences more efficient, secure, and student-centered.

[01:57:13] My focus will be on the PowerSchool Pure Data Attendance Scanning Initiative. Thank you. Thank you. This initiative has streamlined the tracking of students that are tardy to school, arriving on a late bus, leaving for an early dismissal, or being dismissed by the clinic with real-time attendance updates directly into PowerSchool.

[01:57:51] The goal of this presentation is to highlight the shift from an outdated manual attendance process to the streamlined PowerSchool pure data model, to quickly outline our implementation timeline, to focus on early data trends that demonstrate improved accuracy and efficiency, and feature testimonials that reflect the positive impact on daily operations.

[01:58:15] This flowchart illustrates the outdated attendance process where attendance secretaries across the division navigate multiple manual steps to enter attendance into PowerSchool while encountering frequent interruptions that can result in delays and increased risk of errors.

[01:58:30] However, on the flip side, the new PowerSchool Pure Data attendance process uses the HCPS distributed student ID card to automatically capture the required attendance elements and print a tardy pass within eight seconds, reducing manual entry, minimizing interruptions, and significantly improving accuracy. The implementation began with five pilot schools to refine processes and gather feedback, followed by SIS team site visits to support setup, possible building

[01:59:06] limitations, and training. The rollout then expanded to high schools, progressed to full completion across all secondary schools, and concluded with the implementation at every school school division-wide by the end of February 2026.

[01:59:23] Early Data Transfer High School demonstrates strong adoption of the PowerSchool Pure Data scanning process, with most entries completed through student ID scans and a smaller portion manually entered by the designated staff. The breakdown reflects both the effectiveness of the scanning model and the reliability of the built-in manual backup process.

[01:59:47] finally, testimonials. These were submitted by end users that reflect the real world success of this initiative. Their feedback highlights improved productiveness, use of ease, reduced daily interruptions, and increased confidence in the accuracy of the attendance data. Thank you.

[02:00:05] Hello. During the second year of student ID card use, students continue to access services by scanning their ID card. We are seeing thousands of scans for services. This reflects how the CARD HAS BECOME A ROUTINE ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL DAY AND AT EXTRACURRICULAR EVENTS. GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THANK YOU.

[02:00:37] WE WELCOME NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO LEVERAGE STUDENT ID CARDS AND STREAMLINE ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL SCHOOL SERVICES. THIS YEAR WE COLLABORATED WITH THE PRINCIPAL AT GREENWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND WE IMPLEMATED ID SCANNING FOR BEFORE SCHOOL CLUBS. THIS INITIATIVE NOT ONLY ALLOWED STUDENTS TO ENTER THEIR ACTIVITIES MORE QUICKLY, BUT IT ALSO PROVIDED ADMINISTRATION WITH A WAY TO REPORT AND TRACK WHO WAS ATTENDING THOSE. FOLLOWING A SUCCESSFUL PILOT AT THREE CLINICS LAST YEAR, WE ARE NOW ROLLING OUT THE SERVICE TO ADDITIONAL SCHOOLS. THIS WILL ALLOW OUR CLINICS TO PULL

[02:01:16] UP STUDENT MEDICAL RECORDS QUICKLY, AND IT WILL HANDS THE QUALITY OF CARE FOR EVERY STUDENT WHO VISITS OUR CLINIC. THAT CONCLUDES THIS PORTION, AND WE'RE OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU'LL HAVE. thank you all um colleagues i will start with uh mr young oh thank you for the presentation um i know we ex are we are we all the way in every school now at this point so i've seen the um i guess the badgering at the games but are they are we saying they're now in like our clinics are they

[02:01:53] in different places throughout our schools currently they're currently they're in 10 clinics and we're expanding to 10 more soon with the plan to roll out to the additional clinics yeah i just think that this is a really good investment. I know we got a lot of feedback in the beginning with the kids badging onto the buses and different things like that. But I mean, just to see how far this has come is, I mean, I don't want to use the word remarkable, but I mean, it kind of is.

[02:02:21] But I just like the fact that it's seamless, it's quick, it's efficient. And I think that's what that's what we're trying to get to and everything we do. But thank you for the presentation. I look forward to seeing what's next as we continue to use these badges. I don't know if you all can answer it, but what about the replacement of the badges if the children lose them? Is that just as quick as assigning one? And is it a quick process? Let me stand up a little bit. Yes, it is.

[02:02:49] Each school is equipped with their own card printer. They also have cards to be able to print the replacement cards. They have accessories, so they're fully equipped. AND WE CAN DEACTIVATE THE OLD ONE? YEP, THE OLD ONE. WHEN YOU CREATE A NEW CARD, IT OVERWRITES THE OLD CARD.

[02:03:07] OH, NICE. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. MR. CHAIR. MR. GONZILLA. I JUST APPRECIATE THIS UPDATE. I KNOW WE'VE DONE SO MANY THINGS TO TRY TO IMPROVE ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR STUDENTS, AND THIS IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE.

[02:03:23] I AGREE WITH MR. YOUNG. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT WE DO NEXT, RIGHT? THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAD. MR. ARMY. MR. YOUNG. these cars won't unlock doors, right? Do we envision it unlocked? And I ask that because I have an outdoor campus. Is there a way? I see Lenny just, he's giving me one of these, but is it a way? There's no way that we will get to that point where a kid can badge into a building to go to class. That is something we've looked at for staff and expanding staff

[02:03:57] access differently, but not at this time for student IDs. Thank you. Mrs. Shea. Yeah, thanks so much team i think this is an example of working smarter not harder right we have some of the infrastructure in place and expanding um its utilization um the attendance secretaries are incredible it is a very tough job it has a lot of nuances a lot of paperwork and with a lot of reports to run that have to be correct and so anything that helps streamline processes for them

[02:04:37] and make things simpler for them i think is a is a big win for our staff and getting our students in the building learning faster so um thank you to everyone who's been working on these processes and continue to think about um other ways that we can uh leverage this technology yes thank you folks um i think all this is wonderful and i was always as soon as i heard about this idea i was like this just makes a lot of sense i i putting my my teacher hat on for a second my question would

[02:05:10] be do we ever envision having scanners in each classroom such that we could do attendance that way as well so instead of a teacher taking manual attendance every day and it's not that you couldn't do that initially but just the kid scans a badge as soon as they come in and yeah I think that that's something that that has kind of been explored I think it's something way in the future there are just some logistics as far as equipment and other things but it is something that that we HAVE KICKED AROUND A LITTLE BIT, BUT NOTHING IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE. NO, SIR.

[02:05:41] SO COULD YOU GO INTO THE LOGISTICS OF WHAT THE -- I THINK SOME OF THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE, YOU KNOW, EQUIPPING, LIKE, WITH SCANNERS AND INDIVIDUAL ROOMS. WE WOULD ALSO HAVE TO LOOK MAYBE AT THE LIMITATIONS OF WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR CURRENT STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, JUST AS FAR AS THE AMOUNT OF ATTENDANCE RECORDS THAT WE CURRENTLY GET ON A DAILY BASIS THAT THEN YOU WOULD THEN ADD AN ADDITIONAL LAYER TO THOSE ATTENDANCE RECORDS. SO JUST TRYING TO FIGURE out all those back in pieces okay okay yeah and and the reason that i think about it also is from

[02:06:13] like the the perspective of you know a kid comes into class at the beginning of class and then when class dismisses the child is no longer there perhaps through legitimate means or illegitimate means just as kind of like a way to secondarily audit attendance whereas if i'm a teacher and i have 32 kids in my class it's like when everybody's standing at the door you may not immediately think oh this student you recognize that they weren't there but you're not thinking in your mind oh i need to document this immediately because you have lots of other things maybe to go to the bathroom real quick before the class change or you know the the number of things that come up and just

[02:06:50] thinking you know what is another way that we could in the future leverage this all right well i i thank you for this this is wonderful information dr cashwood yeah yes certainly i think we can explore many other efficiencies and uses uh you know beyond what we already have and i think an important part of that is the willingness of this team who just presented to us to not only find a way to get the processes in place but then support schools and take a really thoughtful approach in that so that it's a welcome change and not something that's overwhelming I think the certainly for front office attendance you can see the difference maker there and so you bring up a

[02:07:29] good point about classroom attendance but all the way around it's been a really smooth project we WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE TEAM AND APPRECIATE THEIR WORK ON THIS BEHIND THE SCENES ALONGSIDE THE SCHOOLS AND FOR THE PRESENTATION AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN CONTINUE. THE MORE THE ID'S ARE USED AND NEEDED THROUGHOUT THE DAY, THE MORE STUDENTS WILL WEAR THEM AND USE THEM AND HOPEFULLY BECOMES EVEN MORE AND MORE SEAMLESS AS THE YEAR GOES ON.

[02:07:56] THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL YOU DO. THANK YOU. DR. AND I JUST HAVE ONE FINAL ITEM. AS YOU EARLIER APPROVED THE ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL REPORT, I DID WANT TO NOTE THAT DR. MICHELLE BOYD, OUR NEW CHIEF OF STAFF, HAS JOINED US FOR THIS MEETING, AND I WOULD ASK HER TO STAND SO WE CAN PROVIDE HER A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AND CONGRATULATE HER ON HER APPOINTMENT. WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU, DR. BOYD. AND THAT CONCLUDES ITEMS FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT. THANK YOU, DR. CASHWELL. WE WILL NOW MOVE TO UNFINISHED BUSINESS OF THE

[02:08:32] the board. Colleagues, do we have any unfinished business? Hearing none, we will now move on to new business. Colleagues, do we have any new business? Hearing none, we will move on to the announcement of meeting dates. The school board's next meeting will be this evening here in the Newbridge Auditorium at 6.30 p.m. The next work session will be on Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 3:00 PM meeting times may be adjusted as needed.

[02:09:08] This meeting is adjourned.

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