Coraggio Consulting
Henrico County School Board Work Session, Thursday, June 11, 2026

Date: Thursday, June 11, 2026
Place: Henrico County School Board, Virginia
Length: 1h 26m (video)
Official meeting video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OPBQwEk_h8
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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[00:00:03] I would like to welcome everyone to the June 11, 2026 work session of the Henrico County School Board. We will now proceed with the Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silence. May we all stand.

[00:00:22] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And if we can all remain standing for a moment of silence.

[00:00:46] Thank you. on to the approval of the agenda. Colleagues, is there a motion to approve the agenda? I move that the school board approve the agenda for today's meeting. Thank you, Mr. Young. Do I have a second?

[00:01:06] Second. Thank you, Ms. Kinsella. All in favor, say aye. Aye. 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 the school board go into closed session for the discussion of matters covered under item A1 of section 2.2-3711 of the Code of Virginia 1950 is amended pertaining to the assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation

[00:01:42] of specific school board employees, including the evaluation of the superintendent. Thank you, Mrs. Kinsella. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Mrs. Atkins. All in favor, say aye. Aye. The ayes have it. We will now go into closed session.

[00:01:57] We will reconvene the work session at the conclusion of our closed meeting. All right, folks, we are back. Is there a motion to certify closed session?

[00:02:16] I move that the school board certify 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 in the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and identified in the motion authorizing the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered in the closed meeting.

[00:02:34] Thank you, Mr. Shea. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Young. All in favor, say aye. Aye. The ayes have it. Closed session has been certified. We will now move on to Dr. Cashwell. Yes.

[00:02:50] For the first item, I am seeking the board's approval of administrative appointments. All right. Thank you, Dr. Cashwell. Is there a motion to approve the appointment of administrative personnel? I move that the school board approve the appointment of administrative personnel. Thank you, Mrs. Atkins.

[00:03:06] Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Mrs. Kinsella. All in favor, say aye. Aye. The ayes have it. administrative appointments have been approved thank you the board has approved terry haley director of elementary instruction tanya holmes director of elementary instruction brad fernald principal henrico virtual virtual academy kara jean o'neil principal glen allen high school shalone morgan principal baker elementary jasmine williams principal harvey elementary glinda smith principal mayford elementary and some familiar faces in new places with dale king at the ace

[00:03:43] center at highland springs and laura bischoff at three chopped elementary school for the next item we do have several policies to take a look at the first two are returning policies for second review that's 6.01 and 6.02 you've seen those previously and they've been out for review and we would be seeking your approval of those at our monthly meeting. Colleagues, do we have any discussion of the policies that are up for a second pass? Hearing none, we will move on to the 6.03 through 6.07.

[00:04:23] Thank you, Chair Irving. As you noted, those items are policies for review. These are a first review and they are all coming forth as they are revisions that align our policies with new legislation that was enacted during the 2026 Virginia General Assembly session that will ensure our compliance with applicable state law as we begin the new school year. Thank you, Dr.

[00:04:49] Cashwell. Colleagues, do we have any comment on any of the individual policies that we'd like to get to? Ms. Concella? I just have a question as to how these policy changes are going to be communicated. I know we've discussed before, right, letting stakeholders and employees know where is the policy change coming from, right? Is it legislation? Is it DOE, right? Is it just best practice? Is it from employee feedback? Have we decided how we're going to share or are we

[00:05:26] sharing it out with employees saying where the change is coming from because so that folks know? Absolutely. Once these are approved or upon approval, we would certainly want to be sure communicate to our staff and I think to your point be very important that these are legislative code required changes and as you can see generally the topics are around things that are HR related and so forth so making sure that the correct audience is communicated to by our central teams and that we've equipped for example our building leaders or supervisors of employees with the same knowledge should questions come up and then I would just like to highlight

[00:06:02] policy p609020 safe storage notification for prescription drugs and firearms of course we always value safety and and I appreciate the weapon safety being highlighted here with the notification but I also because of the world we're living in also appreciate the the notification and education for parents as to the medications, how to safely store them and dispose of them, especially given how many

[00:06:37] of our students, I know in my community, I've heard from a lot of folks how students are unintentionally taking them or intentionally taking some of these substances. And we just prioritize safety in all of its forms. So I just wanted to highlight that.

[00:06:54] - Yeah, thank you for noting that. - Colleagues, any other comment? I would just like to say something about the safe storage notification for prescription drugs and firearms.

[00:07:11] I do think that it's worth noting that suicide and for children under the age of 18 is the third leading cause of death in the United States. So I believe that this legislation that requires notification of parental responsibility towards the storage of those items is of the paramount importance.

[00:07:29] And just, I think that it's a really important piece legislation. I'm glad that we will be doing it. Dr. Cashwell. Thank you. The next item is a review of our 2627 federal grant funding annually as we're applying for and or receiving federal grant monies. We do bring that information forward to the board and so we're sharing information with you and Tina Alsop is here to do that and then would be requesting your approval of the federal grant funding at our monthly meeting. Mrs. Alsop. Thank you. Good afternoon Chair Irving,

[00:08:07] members of the board, and Dr. Cashwell. As a part of our annual update, we're bringing forward an overview of the federal grant applications for the 2026-27 school year. These grants play a key role in supporting our strategic priorities and ensuring continued investment in student success and staff development. I will share how these applications align with our goals and priorities for the year ahead. Today I'm excited to walk through how our

[00:08:41] 2026-27 federal grant applications directly align with our HCPS's strategic plan Journey to 2030. These aren't just grants, they are powerful targeted investments that bring our vision to life in classrooms, schools, and communities across the division. Together they ensure every student is prepared for the future and every staff member is supported to do their best work. Altogether we're projecting just over 15 million in federal grant funding

[00:09:17] for the 2026-27 school year. While final allocations will be confirmed in September, these projections reflect stable funding overall with some anticipated adjustments based on student needs. Let's start with our largest investment, Title I. Title I is one of our largest federal grants with about 12 million projected for the 2026-27 school year, supporting 22 elementary schools with the greatest needs. At its core, this funding strengthens support

[00:09:56] around students through literacy and math instructional coaches, support for students experiencing homelessness and stronger family engagement. It also invests in classroom programming, staff learning, and summer literacy, like putting books directly into the students' homes. This is where we see real, day-to-day impact in teaching, learning, and student success.

[00:10:26] This slide shows the 22 Title I schools for the 2026-27 school year, with Seven Pines in Johnson Elementary noted with an asterisk. Based on identification criteria, we are excited to have these two schools join the Title I identified list.

[00:10:49] Title II Part A is projected at about 1.5 million and focuses on strengthening teaching and leadership across the division. It supports instructional coaches, professional learning, and new teacher development while also building strong partnerships with universities like UVA Wise and George Mason.

[00:11:13] In short, this grant helps us grow, support and retain high quality educators. Title III Part A is projected at about $664,000 with additional immigrant youth funding expected this fall.

[00:11:33] This funding supports our English learners by strengthening language instruction, expanding staff learning and increasing family engagement. It provides instructional support, classroom resources, and extended learning opportunities, while also connecting families to important resources.

[00:11:55] At its core, it ensures our English learners have the support they need to thrive alongside their peers. Title IV Part A is projected at just under 800,000 and focuses on expanding access to a well-rounded education, improving school conditions, and supporting effective use of technology.

[00:12:21] It funds key supports like McKinney-Vento staff and family advocates with a strong focus on reducing chronic absenteeism. It also supports science coaching, advanced coursework opportunities, and enrichment programs like One School, One Book.

[00:12:43] Unlike the previous federal grants, the McKinney-Vento subgrant is a three-year application that spans the 2026-2029 school years. The proposed 150,000 annual subgrant will sustain and expand critical supports for students experiencing homelessness.

[00:13:07] Funding will prioritize transportation stability, access to basic needs, and targeted interventions for identified students. Investments will strengthen key programs, including liaison support, school of origin transportation, clothing and shoes assistance, and engagement through summer and quarterly outreach events.

[00:13:34] These efforts are designed to drive measurable outcomes focused on increased attendance, full access to basic needs, and improved graduation rates for unaccompanied youth. These federal grants bring our commitment to HCPS strategic plan to life, fueling, inclusive, engaging, and innovative learning environments where every student and staff member can thrive.

[00:14:02] I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to our school board, grant coordinators, finance team, and our HCPS and Henrico County partners. I am so sorry. My voice is killing me tonight. This work reflects strong collaboration, shared accountability, and deep commitment to student success.

[00:14:24] Together, we are turning vision into action and action into input. Thank you so much, and we're here to take any questions. - Thank you so much for the presentations. Colleagues, I'll kind of just open up the floor. Does anybody have questions or comments that they'd like to offer up?

[00:14:40] Mrs. Shea? - Yeah, I just have a quick one about the McKinney-Vento sub-grant. So it looks like we have a decrease in funds from last year. Maybe I'm wrong. comparing last year's allocations to this year's allocations, but you highlighted that we'll be able to sustain and expand programs. So do we have less families needing this support or are we receiving less federal dollars per

[00:15:16] family? So we are not. We normally, last grant cycle, we started with exactly four hundred and fifty thousand dollars but because of how we spend our funding and we do it quickly and efficiently for our students the state often grants us additional funding throughout the year so the seven hundred thousand is a reflection of additional funding we received throughout the three years of the previous grant excellent so we're we're receiving the four hundred thousand dollars I think it was from the federal but we're hoping to be supplemented by the state to still meet our mark. Right, that the state will

[00:15:54] continue to see our efforts and continue to grant us with money that others do not spend. Thank you Commonwealth of Virginia. All right, Mrs. Atkins. Thank you for the presentation and thank you to all of the grant writers. I know that is meticulous work and it's a lot of hours in the work. I do have a question. I know in our school division, some families experiencing homelessness may rely on a hotel or motel for their accommodations. And I'm wondering, and I don't know if

[00:16:31] you'll have the answer to this, but when I think about Henrico County transient tax, does our students and their families, are they impacted by that tax? So if you're not familiar about that transient lodging tax, if you are experiencing homelessness and you stay in a motel or hotel for more than 30 days then you are no longer considered visiting and so there's a tax associated with that I know with some of the families that we have that live in hotel and motels tend may

[00:17:09] move every two weeks every three weeks so forth and so on and they get hit with that tax I'm wondering if with McKinney Vento are we absorbing some of those fees and costs for those that we help with so to answer so our McKinney Vento funds that we receive do not allow us to pay for hotel stays for our family but our team works collaboratively with others in the county to seek other funding and support that may assist our families but I can get back to you on

[00:17:48] on specifics related to the tax to see how we're supporting families and with that piece. - I appreciate that because some of the feedback from some of the families is wanting a better understanding because every dollar matters.

[00:18:03] And so to pay taxes and already experiencing homelessness when you're staying in a motel makes a big difference. So if you could get me the data on that, I'm not sure of the exact tax. I wanna say it's around 8% onto the bill. So if you could give me details on that, I would appreciate it.

[00:18:21] Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Young. Thank you, Ms. Alsap, for the presentation. I do miss our monthly meetings that we used to have and that we no longer have to have anymore. But thank you for the presentation. I know how hard grant writing is.

[00:18:38] But just thank you for the presentation and all that you do for us. Thank you. I just want to express appreciation for you as well and highlight that I'm glad to see Johnson Elementary School back on this list. I know that our students and staff still received the resources when they were not on this list, but I'm glad to see them back on this list to ensure the supports, you know, they need that they are getting.

[00:19:08] So thank you very much. I am too. I would echo everything that my colleagues have said. And thank you, Ms. Alsop, for all your work and all of your team's work. We appreciate it. Thank you. All right. For the next item, we will hear from members of our School Health Advisory Board.

[00:19:25] This is their annual update from the year. It will also include information related to their officers elect for which we'd be seeking your approval at our monthly meeting.

[00:19:48] All right. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Chair Irving, members of the board, and Dr. Cashwell. I'm Amy Johnson, Director of Student Support and Wellness, and with me is Mr. Terrell Pollard, Chair of the Student Health Advisory Board, also referred to as SHAB.

[00:20:07] we are here today to present the shab's annual report to the board in direct alignment with journey to 2030 the student health advisory board or shab assist the henrico county school board and superintendent develop school health policy including nutrition and physical activity standards the shab will continue to convene at least four public public meetings each year typically held in september november february and april and invites the hcps community and general public to actively participate in shaping and structuring sustaining

[00:20:45] health and wellness goals for HCPS students. Today we will introduce the SHABS new officers, the SHABS 25-26 priorities, our recommendations for 25-26 and share how HCPS will respond and align with those efforts as we move into the 26-27 school year. We will now turn our attention to the SHABS recommended officer, Slate. Overall, the SHAB is comprised of 20 members, the majority of whom are parents' guardians representing all five magisterial districts, along with two HCPS principals,

[00:21:24] one from the elementary level and one from the secondary level, community members, students, and other professionals. All members are appointed for three-year terms. Of the existing membership, three officers are elected to serve a term of one year for up to four consecutive terms or until their successors are elected. The officers and member elect you see on this slide represent only those who are new to the respective role or terms since the SHAB last stood in front of the board last June and are being presented and recommended for board's approval today. I will

[00:21:59] now turn our presentation over to Mr. Terrell Pollard, chair elect to recap SHAB's priorities during the 25-26 school year. Thank you. Good afternoon again. The SHAB's extensive work in previous years laid the foundation for the priorities for the 25-26 school year. These priorities areas include the continuation of building upon existing data collection systems to guide informed decisions and further strengthen school environments. Specifically, the SHAB prioritized potential areas for enhancement of the HCPS annual stakeholder survey to develop a deeper understanding of the challenges facing today's students, working to boost school

[00:22:39] participation rates that inform the triennial assessment of the local wellness policy, Collaborating with pertinent division leaders and departments to enhance nutrition-focused initiatives to expand students' understanding of the importance of nutrition and provide tools to apply that knowledge in and out of the school setting.

[00:22:59] Ongoing scheduling conflicts of SHAB members posed a challenge this year. The SHAB responded by adding two extra meetings and electing three new officers to strengthen this work. Also, HCPS staff arranged for the SHAB to converse with HCPS Division Subject Matter Experts in advance of these meetings, as well as have some of them attend SHAB meetings.

[00:23:23] Building of this work, the SHAB has developed recommendations for the 26-27 school year, which you will see on the next slide.

[00:23:39] SHAB chose to continue building upon the priorities identified in the previous years, allowing the committee to deepen existing efforts, leveraging prior progress and narrowest focus on key areas of impact for student health and wellness. Specifically, the SHAP recommended to consider enhancing the HCPS Annual Stakeholder Survey to gather more comprehensive data on the prevalence of and school response to factors that significantly influence student well-being in the school environment, including mental health crises, substance misuse, food insecurity, housing instability,

[00:24:16] and other barriers to student success. To increase stakeholder engagement and gather more comprehensive feedback, it is recommended that ACPS enhance the triennial assessment of the wellness policy by adjusting the assessment timeline and expanding participation to include a broader range of school-based personnel.

[00:24:36] The triennial assessment evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of the division's wellness policy, measures progress toward established goals, and identifies opportunities for continuous improvement to better support student health and wellness.

[00:24:52] The SHAP commends and supports the division's ongoing efforts to promote healthy and supportive learning environments. The SHAP would like to continue working with the facilities department and other pertinent HCPS staff to continue discussing healthy learning environment factors, such as evaluating air quality and recess time, purposeful and balanced use of technology, and the increase of physical and mental health support services to students.

[00:25:18] And the final recommendation is to gather pertinent staff create and implement a comprehensive nutrition education program that represents a collaboration throughout the division involving multiple teams and departments. The SHAB would particularly like to partner with pertinent staff to develop methods to communicate the great strides in the nutrition program to make students and parents aware of the ways in which their feedback was implemented. We'll now turn the presentation back over to Mr. Johnson.

[00:25:44] Following the board's approval of the slate of officers, HCPS administration will work alongside the School Health Advisory Board to meet their priorities and recommendations. Being intentional and connecting the SHAB with key HCPS staff and school board and superintendent advisory committees will be critical to provide clarity and insight as it relates to the work of the school division. Also supporting the strategic alignment of SHAB's work with HCPS's overall goals and initiative will also be integral to further furthering positive student health and wellness outcomes. Finally, the work of an

[00:26:22] educational organization can be complex if not lived every day. It's our responsibility to offer and provide learning opportunities on HCPS policies, plans, and processes to the SHAB in order to meet the goals of the committee. HCPS is poised and ready to continue working with the School Health Advisory Board and the 26-27 school year. Thank you and at this time we're happy to take any questions thank you both for the presentation um i will start to my my left with mrs atkins

[00:26:55] so thank you miss johnson mr pollard we also have miss cromer with us here in the audience if you would wave she's also on chab miss lemon and all of the members of the chab committee thank you so much for your dedication your time sharing your expertise colleagues one of the things around air quality has been in heavy discussion and when a child struggles to breathe learning becomes secondary and it's a serious situation and so before we can

[00:27:32] really effectively manage students and staff health risk we must first understand and measure them and this is why air quality has been such a topic within the school health advisory board it's not a new topic it was a topic that that was discussed previously as well.

[00:27:50] And in February of this year, SHAB sent an email to each school board member outlining, and it was a pretty detailed proposal, and I think it has some supplemental documents as well, recommending an air quality monitoring process and systems in our schools.

[00:28:09] And so I do continue to support what was outlined last year. It's still being presented, and I support it again this year. Sheb will continue to be a champion for it and share out more information. And I'll specifically say that the needs are especially important in Eastern Henrico where significant industrial growth, including we got expansion of data centers, we had recent events where we had the release of 600 pounds of ethylene oxide in our community from a sterilization plant.

[00:28:45] these are cancer-causing gases. And if that's not enough to act for the division, then we just recently had a landfill catch on fire. All of these are concentrated in one area. And to date, do we know what the air quality is in these areas? We would if we invest in air quality monitoring.

[00:29:10] And it's also bigger than that. It's an opportunity to learn. It's an opportunity for students to experiment around the environment and become more aware of environmental factors and where they live and for me is really just one simple reason I have students telling me they can't breathe that's enough for me but if that's not enough for many who are listening today think about the environmental issues that families in Verena Sanston and Howland Springs have experienced in just a short period of time I'm not asking for us to solve all the problems but it's

[00:29:50] hard to solve any problems when you don't measure and understand them. So, with that being said, I'm extremely proud of the School Health Advisory Board. From the moments of COVID, we still have some of the same members. We work 48 hours and 24-hour days during COVID. That, too, was about air quality. That, too, was about the dissemination of germs. And what I'm speaking to today, specifically for our children with young bodies and as these bodies grow the question becomes what

[00:30:26] can we do within our authority to help our families? Well we can measure, we can have data points, we can have trends, and we can educate. We can give information out to our staff to let them know when is a good time for our kids to go outside and have recess and when it's not. So whether this sounds like a plea, whether this sounds like being informative, it really is just to ask to take this request from Shab seriously because lives are dependent on it life and death slow or fast

[00:31:03] is depending on it so again thank you Shab for this work that did not begin this year we can go all the way back to COVID but I will not give up I will continue to be a champion for all of these families and especially for the families that are experiencing all of the issues that we that means 'cause I'm talking too long.

[00:31:29] - A mic went out, but I just, I'm very grateful for the work. I'm grateful for all of the individuals and all of the partners that are on board to help us figure out how to be a solution to a problem. - Chair Irving.

[00:31:45] - Thank you, Ms. Atkins. Mrs. Kinsella. - I'd like to thank you both for the presentation and for the volunteerism and service on the committees, whether you're an officer, or just a part of the committee.

[00:32:02] I'd also like to recognize and thank Ms. Atkins for representing the board in her service on this committee. At this time, the only question I have is, when you're speaking to the annual stakeholder survey, I know, do we plan on adding two, like expanding the survey, because I know you said to ask additional questions and so forth, and then not a separate survey, but just expanding the annual stakeholder survey already in place?

[00:32:34] - Correct, yes, not adding an additional. - And then will the SHAB work closely, I hope, with our Department of Research and Planning to come up with specific questions? Because I know you mentioned quite a few topics, right? Our McKinney-Vento families and learning conditions and so forth, so work closely with, will perhaps research and planning come to the meeting to help develop the questions instead of the questions being developed for the SHAB?

[00:33:07] - Agreed. Some of the discussion there. So, with two surveys we worked on, the triennial assessment, and so that one is very long, and the time of year that's given is intrusive. So we understand, we kind of kept that in mind when looking at the annual survey, the stakeholder survey.

[00:33:28] And so we wanted to be more questions about, So we'll work with the research department. So we wanted to be more questions about substance misuse, mental health, but we also want to leave room for it to be brief and have a discussion with them about what kind of adds value to that.

[00:33:49] 'Cause that might be for discussions outside of the survey. So we definitely want to, we thought the survey should dig into those more, the things that we've listed. We'll work with them on the questions. - Fantastic, I appreciate the presentation. Thank you both very much.

[00:34:04] Thank you. I echo my colleagues. I'm just appreciation for y'all's work, for Ms. Atkins' work continuing to work through some big questions, right? Some tough things to solve. So thank you for your time. I just wanted to highlight and affirm when you are looking at, particularly for elementary school, recess hours and technology use.

[00:34:31] I just, I really support things that let kids be kids, especially in elementary, early elementary. There's a lot from the state required in terms of instructionally and academically, and it can be a lot for those littlest learners.

[00:34:48] So anywhere we can flex things to just let them be play and be more like kids, I certainly support. I think it has long-standing positive mental health effects, but also on their ability to write, learn.

[00:35:05] So, thank you. Thank you, Ms. Che. Mr. Young? Thank you, Ms. Johnson, Mr. Pollitt. Thank you for the presentation. Love the recommendations for 2026, 2027. Would love to know more about the exploring and nutrition outreach and education.

[00:35:21] I know Ms. Atkins has been on this for a while. I am slowly getting on this train as well. So I would definitely love to know more about what you all are doing as it retains to the recommendation of exploring nutrition outreach. So nothing to answer today, but I am interested in where we're headed with that recommendation.

[00:35:40] So thank you for that. Thank you, Mr. Pollard and Mrs. Johnson. We appreciate the presentation and your time and all your work. Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you. Our next item is the annual report from our Career and Technical Education Business Advisory Committee.

[00:35:59] They'll share their annual work, as well as goals for the next year, and also their officer-elect and membership slate for which we'd be seeking the board's approval at our monthly meeting. Good afternoon, Chair Irvin, members of the board, Dr. Cashwell.

[00:36:15] My name is Mack Baton, Director of Workforce and Career Development. I am joined tonight or this afternoon by our Business Advisory Committee Chair, Charles Tilley, Chris Smith, Vice Chair, and Jeff Lewis, Secretary. Together, we are pleased to present to you the BAC annual report.

[00:36:39] The work of the BAC this year and into 26-27 remains rooted in Henrico's new strategic plan, Journey to 2030. The BAC's collective effort is to ensure every student has the opportunity to graduate with a plan after high school, enrolled, enlisted, and/or employed.

[00:37:01] Today's BAC update will include an introduction the officers and new members, the 25-26 goals update, recommendations for 26-27, and how the Workforce and Career Development Department will respond and align with their advisory committee. For those of you who may not be familiar with the back committee, it is comprised of a group of dedicated parents and RICO staff, community members, and business partners. Their main function is to advise and help support the needs of CTE programs

[00:37:37] that provide employees for the future workforce. The officers and members-elect you see on the screen represent only those who are new to their respective roles or terms. The magisterial districts are all represented equally amongst the larger group, but it's not shown on this slide.

[00:37:57] The advisory board is comprised of 20 key members across all five magisterial districts, but also many engaged business partners that attend this meeting also ensure our students have the best opportunities possible. These individuals bring experiences and connections to ensure we are preparing the students for the workplace of tomorrow. Officers and members elect are being recommended for the board's approval today. I will now turn the presentation over to Charles Tilly.

[00:38:32] This slide represents the goals identified in our presentation last year. The BAC members put these goals into action by attending several division school-level events and to help share information about Henrico's CTE programs.

[00:38:50] Specific highlights were shared at each meeting around the work done to meet the needs of our students and the work towards the goals of the committee. As indicated in our overall goals, the committee continues to focus on ensuring that CTE is an opportunity that everyone is aware of and that the focus is to provide the connections to relevant businesses and industry partners here in Henrico County and beyond. We continued to push for new programs to meet the needs of businesses and industry and to work to help to secure equipment and staffing to serve the needs

[00:39:23] of students across the district. The BAC's recommended goals for the upcoming 26-27 school year reflects the goals we believe are crucial to the change to the success of programs that serve our students in an ever-changing workplace. Each of these components help frame our recommended pathway into next year. The committee feels that with the connections to the industry they can help promote the and encourage people to consider teaching in the CTE area. Our mission has always been to help change the mindset about the

[00:39:58] value of CTE to all stakeholders. We continue to support the events like CTE Letter of Intent Signing Day and the Life Ready Expo to help ensure everyone knows the value and importance of career development programs. In the area of talent development, the BAC understands that finding teachers in many of the programs offered can be difficult and continues to work with business and industry to help recruit and support qualified staff. BAC also understands the value of high-quality work-based learning experiences and believes that we can be the conduit to help employers connect with these programs.

[00:40:37] I would like to take this opportunity to thank the board for the significant investments in staffing and facilities. Our programs are truly state-of-the-art and a model not only for the state, but for the country. Following the board's approval on the slate of officers and membership, HCPS administration will work alongside the back members towards the goals and recommendations. Looking ahead, CTE will work with the Business Advisory Committee and Human Resource Department identifying additional ways to help recruit potential candidates for

[00:41:17] teaching CTE courses and will continue to identify business partnerships that can help provide skilled instructors to supplement the instruction. The Workforce and Career Development Department is planning to increase their program offerings especially in health and medical areas. Ongoing successful implementation and resources will be required will require input and support from our business community as we develop our Perkins Plan for 26-27.

[00:41:50] As outlined in the Perkins Guidelines, the Business Advisory Council will continue to play a crucial role not only in the needs assessment part of the Perkins Plan, but also providing guidance with what equipment is necessary to prepare the next generation of workforce.

[00:42:08] At this time, we're happy to answer any questions about the work of the Business Advisory Council. Thank you, Mr. Baton and team for the presentation. We enjoyed it greatly, or I enjoyed it greatly. We'll start with Mrs. Kinsella.

[00:42:25] Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Mr. Baton and team, for the presentation. I'd like to just highlight Mr. Baton gave the presentation, our Director of Workforce and Career Development, but we also have in the building Mr. Charles Tilly, our BAC chair, Chris Smith, Vice Chair, and Jeff Lewis, Mr. Jeff Lewis, Secretary for the Business Advisory.

[00:42:53] Thank you so much for being with us here today because I'm going to be asking you perhaps to step forward in a minute so we can hear some great things. But first off, I want to start about, well, I appreciate hearing, I mean, I attend all the meetings since I'm the board member representative on the committee but can we just start off Mr. Baten if you would given an update on the expansion timeline for the second floor of Ace Hermitage and are we I know you reference staffing and creative staffing

[00:43:26] right do we still have any barriers left there there well first let me start the fun part the upstairs is moving phenomenally this summer I am extremely excited if you want to have a good time come in and watch the students up there working from 7:00 in the morning till 3 o'clock in the afternoon literally we have to tell them to stop working for lunch because they're so excited and I think for me the most exciting part is to see the smiles and hear what they're saying when you ask them what are you doing they don't just say work they

[00:44:03] start explaining why they're putting the the part in the way they're doing it and how they're airproofing the vent from leaking. I mean, it's just phenomenal what they're gaining in such a short period of time. Also, I will tell you, EMC has been a dedicated partner working with us and they have come out and filmed their kids a lot because they're looking at this as a model for other opportunities to grow.

[00:44:28] So I think we're on task to get the right side finished, hopefully by the start of school, that's their goal. And then the following, which actually works out great, the other side we will continue to work on it again in the next school year giving their students the continual opportunity for commercial experience.

[00:44:46] For some of the positions that we just we just had a nurse dental assistant person approved by the state so it's not so much finding the person it's going through the hurdles that we have to go through because it's not just the Board of Education it's the Board of Dentistry the Board of Nursing all these other boards to get them approved so we there I'm not gonna say the hurdles are gone but we're running really fast and jumping high and I think we're gonna clear them so we're fortunate enough to be have the positions the staff that and we're using our business partners to help make that happen thank you thank

[00:45:25] you for giving everyone that may be watching especially my colleagues an update on that I know that we have many more businesses besides the 20 members of our committee. And since Mr. Lewis and Mr. Smith are up here, I'm going to ask them if they would, would they, why are so many business partners wanting to engage and partner with Henrico schools and our CTE programming? Well, the answer is really simple, and that's that we need it. I mean, we desperately need it. So I run a Ford store, and I will tell

[00:46:03] you when I took over as GM eight years ago, you look around our shop and it's a bunch of old recycled technicians. You know, they're veterans. They're very smart. They have the capability to fix anything, but you look around and you say, in five years, we're hurting. So we have a customer, his name's Mack, and I knew Mack was associated with the schools. So, you know, I approached Mack, I was like, Mack, tell me what I can do. I need technicians. I need students. And he said, get involved. So I did eight years ago and I brought just some numbers like where we are now. I have,

[00:46:38] and these are all graduates from ACE programs, okay? I have two master technicians. They're on the floor right now. I have four technicians that just graduated. Ford has a postgraduate program, two-year associate degree program. I have four students that just graduated in May and now they're on the floor and I have five students, three of which we signed this year, that are going into the ASSET program.

[00:47:04] So that's eight years, that's 11 kids. I mean, that's almost half of my staff, my technician staff, and they're sharp and they're trained and they're ready to rock when they come out of high school and we will participate forever. Our future at our Ford store is not in question because of Henrico County Schools.

[00:47:22] So thanks to the board for your support. You know, we appreciate it greatly. Thank you, Mr. Lewis. Well, what do I say compared to that? Good afternoon. If you were to, You've heard me speak up here before, if you were to talk about trades, I think everyone would say, well, there's carpentry, there's sheetrock, there's HVAC, but no one would probably mention, well, there's a public fire protection side.

[00:47:44] So, MAC, you know, by partnering with Enrico County, we have something really special going here in this county. We have a model program that people from around the country are starting to look at and say, hey, how can we create that? so it's been exciting to be a part of just to let you know we have two job offers right now out to two of the graduates out of that fire protection program right now just waiting to hear back from my office as to whether they were accepted or not uh we have you know vsc through working with and learning about the opportunities we have created internship programs for minors where we can work with 16 year olds and up we have now created a pre-apprenticeship program we have you know our

[00:48:23] apprenticeship program is now registered in 14 states and you know we've taken a significant step we've learned that wait a minute it's more than just coming to a career fair and to share a little bit of information we we have this past year we hired two workforce development specialists at vsc that are former cte teachers that came in and they understood what they were coming into and to do and to share with comments from one of them said what we need to focus on are these high quality programs like we have at Henrico County. We need to focus when we're

[00:49:00] talking to schools around the country in our footprint. We need to focus on what we're doing in Henrico. So why do we come? First of all, you've been a great group of people to work with and we appreciate the creativity. We appreciate the fact that you think and you listen and you're looking at the businesses in your footprint and saying what do you need? We need access and we need workers and we also want to provide opportunities. So, you know, with a student that comes into a trade, that's just the first step. They could simply go to college later and maybe get their college paid for by the employer. They could move right up to where they start their own company and become a business that

[00:49:39] is standing right here to, you know, in the future, hiring students out of Henrico County. So it's an exciting prospect, and I just want to say thank you to all of you for allowing us to be a part of it thank you so much for both of you sharing now i know because i sit on the committee um but i know there was recently a trip um to washington uh dc i don't know who wants to speak to it but it's because of the program in henrico schools can you please mr bayton speak to just give us the the high level of what this round table was all about and how henrico schools was selected

[00:50:17] - We were selected, it was five school divisions from across the country selected to come and be a part of a round table with the Department of Labor in Washington. Each school division was selected for a different focus, and Henrico County was selected because of our work in the construction trades world.

[00:50:38] And really the conversation dealt with how other people can replicate what we're doing and what hurdles were in front of us that made it difficult that they could help remove. So it was really a twofold approach is to celebrate the work that we accomplished so that other people could see it is accomplishable, but then also try to remove some of the hurdles like we were talking about with staffing that has made it difficult as we were along this journey and to also catapult us into the next realm.

[00:51:13] - Thank you very much. I appreciate each of you being here and for your service all the years you've been supporting Henrico Schools and our CTE programming. Thank you. Chair Irving. Thank you. Mrs. Atkins. There's not much left to say, except for I hope that at some point that you celebrate to each of you and all of our partners because it's a collaborative effort and it works wonderfully well when it's easy to work with each other.

[00:51:50] we know that's not always the case but for this one it is and it's a magnificent thing to celebrate and to know that our kids are in your hands trusted hand is important and we trust you and to have a leader like Matt is icing on the cake with a cherry now I'm mixing milkshakes and cakes why not because that's what we have here we have a blend of success and I think the

[00:52:24] possibilities are unlimited what can this board do to help get to the next level is my question topic for our August meeting yeah please take that back and I say that in all seriousness it's interesting my mind has been so focused on the future and in anticipation of this particular meeting and thank you Mrs. Kinsella for all of your work for many many years I am wondering when we

[00:53:01] think about CTE it's come a long way there once was a time where the push was go to college and somehow trades fell off a little bit we're not there anymore so what how do we evolve in this space as technology you know plays a role a big one as humans play a big role in how we think about behavioral economics because that's kind of the space I'm thinking about with CTE is behavior economics and so I'd love for a conversation to happen in your committee on what does next look

[00:53:41] like in this next five years or ten years I appreciate you and thank you so much and I didn't I saw some other I saw the other two of you move I didn't know if you were coming to the mic or not just to say this school board has been really great to work with and you sit back and you say what can you do just continue to listen and and we understand that you also have constraints you have budget this thing called a budget and you also have to work within getting students interested and getting but we

[00:54:15] appreciate the effort we appreciate the opportunity to get in as a person who has been on the outside of all of this you know automotive is taught in a lot of schools plumbing is taught as a person who came in as an outsider that said you know we don't have our trade anywhere represented in any high school that i know of anywhere in the country to walk in as an outsider and to be greeted and to be saying hey okay what are you talking about to be able to bring that in and have a program that we can look at and be really proud of i i don't know what more you can do but we will give that some

[00:54:52] THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANKS SO MUCH. I MISSING EACH OF YOU EVERY MONTH NOW THAT I'VE BEEN MOVED TO DIFFERENT COMMITTEES BUT STILL REALLY DEEPLY APPRECIATE THE WORK YOU DO AND WILL CHAMPION CTE TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. JUST TWO ACCOLADES I WANT TO GIVE THE WHOLE ACE TEAM AND I THINK IT ALSO GOES WITH OUR BUSINESS ADVISORY

[00:55:23] committee for really the synergies that make our program so special but ace herm hosted a symposium i guess about a month or so ago it had education business and government leaders from across the state including the governor and people from vdoe and they were all wowed by the space but also hemricos innovation within cte i'm talking about well how do we get more people

[00:55:59] to know about this and i'm like mac will talk to anybody he will share the secret sauce with anybody it's not a secret and so i really appreciate that because you know while i'm cheering him right go on the most i'm cheering on all of our students right across the nation and being able to replicate, they can never replicate you, but being able to grow these programs with as few boundaries, like learn from our mistakes and our challenges.

[00:56:29] So thank you. That is gonna move CTE forward nationally and our workforce forward nationally. So thank you for all of y'all's work there. And then I also, our middle school moving up ceremony.

[00:56:45] um two weeks ago um approximately when i was looking at the numbers and then i start like calculating in my head i'm like wow approximately a third of the completed the eighth graders completing eighth grade have committed to an ace program in 11th grade already a third from our school um and that's just incredible right and that's to the really goes to for the years that I was on business advisory we kept saying like how do we get the word out to students how do we help them see that this is a path forward just like a specialty program or whatever else it's

[00:57:23] about the destination they want to get to and I think that like speaks so loudly about how much work has been done with by our businesses and um you know our CTE team and our middle schools in turn in our high schools in terms of changing this conversation like Miss Atkins was saying and I'm just I'm just so excited I'm so excited for our students right and what this means for their futures and their uh the opportunities that will open for them so thank you for the

[00:57:57] continued work I miss seeing you guys but so proud of you uh Mr. Young thank you all for the presentation. I'll try to keep it brief, but thank you for bringing real numbers so we could hear them. I think that puts a lot of things in perspective, makes me proud to be a board member in Henrico County with a CTE program like this. So I definitely want to just give you guys kudos for bringing those numbers to us. Thank you, Ms. Kinsella, for throwing the alley hoop so we could get those numbers. I appreciate that as well, but I mean having a son that just went through CTE,

[00:58:34] dual enrollment credits. He won't be necessarily doing it further, but he has dual enrollment credits that he's going to start school with. He'll start as a sophomore instead of a freshman due to some of the CTE programming. I was at Brooklyn Middle School, Ms. Shea, and they announced plenty of students that had signed for CTE for 11th and 12th grade. My dad owns a construction company. I'm a huge supporter of CTE, of our kids have an alternative program and alternative routes. I can't praise this enough. I do this Fairfield Forum every quarter, and the minute I

[00:59:10] get the CTE is when I get the round of applause, because our older generation wants to see our youth getting involved with their hands. They want to see these alternative programs, and I just tell them that we're number one in the nation. I don't know if that's true. I feel like it's true. If it's not true, they can debate with us. But just thank you. I have one selfish request that if the meetings can be moved to 6 p.m. I could attend more as an alternate as opposed to the 5 p.m.

[00:59:38] meetings, but don't change anything you all are doing. Keep up the great work. I have no questions. You guys make it look easy, and I know it's hard work, but the fact that you can make it look easy tells me that you all are the right people for the job, so thank you so much. Thank you, Mac and team. I have nothing further to add. I don't I think my colleagues have covered it, so I just thank you again for all that you do for for our students and for our school system. Thank you.

[01:00:04] thank you and for our final item we have a high level overview of operations some of our progress throughout the year as we're ending a school year and of course as you know the operations area is quite extensive and so this presentation certainly is not meant to cover each and every initiative the operations team and teams have been working on but just to highlight a few some of them we touched on previously in the year and wanted to give you a couple of updates as we close the school year and then certainly take a look at some areas we continue to work on as we

[01:00:44] move into the next school year and again while this is more a high level overview we'll look forward to into the summer and the next school year more in-depth information and while Mr. Pritchard won't be the one giving those presentations because this is of course his final presentation with Henrico County Public Schools and I cannot let him begin without acknowledging his service, his dedication, not only in the role as Chief of Operations but many years before that in Henrico County Public Schools both as a principal, a coach, and many other roles.

[01:01:20] So he's going to be missed. Thank you very much. It's all together here. That's right. Thank you very much, Dr. Cashwell. I'll give my thanks at the end of this as well.

[01:01:35] but good afternoon chair irving members of the board and dr cashwell today i will provide an update of operation priorities ongoing initiatives and future priorities we're excited to expand our alternative fuel fleet with the addition of 10 more propane powered buses bringing our total to 20 propane buses operating across our five transportation zones during the past year we have already seen measurable fuel cost savings from the first 10 propane buses in service reinforcing the value of this investment. In addition, we're preparing to deploy 20 electric

[01:02:10] buses this fall. These vehicles are in production currently, and we continue to work closely with Dominion Energy and Henrico County government to establish the necessary charging infrastructure. Charging stations are planned for Verona High School and for the county's CAM facility located off of Woodman Road. As we continue to diversify our fleet with diesel, propane, and electric vehicles we look forward to collecting and analyzing operational maintenance and fuel efficiency data from all three bus types this information will help guide future transportation

[01:02:45] decisions and support our commitment to provide safe efficient and environmentally responsible student transportation our newest technology initiative is the construction of our own fiber network currently hcps uses comcast network services for connections between all division locations and the data center for the school division's connection to the internet and our new network connections between buildings will provide significant annual savings in telecommunication costs, improve network reliability, improve network security, and scale up network bandwidth

[01:03:21] for increased divisional network needs. Through federal e-rate and matching state funds, 100% of this project has been funded at no cost to ACPS or the county. By owning our own fiber, we could see as much as $1 million in savings each year over the course of 20-plus years.

[01:03:40] All the fiber has been run throughout the buildings, and we expect to have total connectivity by early July. HCPS continues to make significant investments in classroom instructional technology to enhance teaching and learning opportunities across the division.

[01:04:00] Over the past five years, 2,835 new Promethean interactive panels have been installed in classrooms. During the 26-27 school year, an additional 289 panels will be deployed along with upgrades to large area display technology in every elementary school.

[01:04:17] Technology device efforts, refresh efforts also remain a priority. Middle school efforts are complete. The technology department has also successfully expanded to use the use of student identification cards division-wide by integrating them into attendance management processes.

[01:04:36] Student IDs are now being used to streamline and improve the tracking of late arrivals and early dismissals, enhancing both operational efficiency and student accountability. Enrico County Public Schools continues to successfully leverage our weapon scanning program, which is now in its third year in middle and high schools and its second year at elementary schools.

[01:05:00] This proactive safety initiative continues to play an important role in maintaining secure learning environments for students and staff. the scanners which are a part of our layered safety protocol serves as both a deterrent and a detection tools during the 25-26 school year 73 school safety audits were completed confirming consistency of safety practice while also identifying opportunities for continued focus and you will recall that a blue ribbon panel was established to evaluate perimeter fencing needs to provide recommendations for campus style schools hcps has also enhanced and expanded

[01:05:40] safety training initiatives for all of our SSOs and successfully advocated for additional staffing positions to support campus-style schools beginning in the 26-27 school year. For obvious reasons, we do not publicly share specific detailed information about ACPS safety places to help ensure their effectiveness. While the facility staff has achieved many significant accomplishments over the past year, I will review these. It is equally important to acknowledge the challenges we continue to face top among those or top among these is maintaining reliable heating and cooling

[01:06:17] across a complex and aging infrastructure that includes 73 and administrative facilities encompassing 243 buildings more than 8 million square feet of space and 500 hvac systems with approximately 8 000 mechanical components managing and maintaining systems of this scale requires substantial resources, careful planning, and ongoing investment. Despite these challenges, our facilities team remains committed to safe and operational efficiency. To that end, Henrico County Public Schools engaged Mosley Architects to conduct a comprehensive mechanical facility

[01:06:56] condition assessment, or FCA, and develop recommendations for a long-term capital improvement plan for schools facilities across the division. While Mosley has partnered with ACPS for more than a decade to provide targeted equipment assessments. This review represented a significantly broader and more detailed evaluation of the division's mechanical infrastructure.

[01:07:18] The assessment included comprehensive visual inspection of mechanical systems and equipment to evaluate current conditions, identify deficiencies, and estimate the remaining useful life of assets. Schools being rebuilt as part of the 22 bond referendum were not included in this review since they will get new mechanical systems during construction.

[01:07:40] This comprehensive study provides a substantial body of data, findings, and recommendations that offer a clear understanding of the current condition of HCPS mechanical systems. Establishing a structure-prioritized framework will be essential to achieve the Division's long-term mechanical goals.

[01:08:00] While this work will require time to fully implement, a disciplined and strategic approach will result in meaningful improvements to systems performance, reliability, and overall function. Meals tax revenues and annual capital improvement program, CIP, allocations will need to remain in place to sustain both deferred maintenance and ongoing operational needs.

[01:08:23] Meals tax funding will continue to be a critical resource for addressing non-mechanical deferred maintenance priorities across facilities. While CIP funding must remain dedicated to support routine mechanical repairs and responding to mechanical issues throughout this year.

[01:08:41] We will also continue to work with the county leadership to explore their potential dedicated funding sources. In the past seven years, HCPS has invested close to $50 million for mechanical improvements across the division. HCPS is committed to maintaining a comprehensive HVAC preventive maintenance program to ensure reliability system, performance, maximum equipment life expectancy, and provide comfortable learning environments for all students and staff. As part of this program, all HVAC filters are replaced quarterly to maintain proper airflow and indoor air

[01:09:19] quality. Belts are inspected regularly and replaced annually to reduce the risk of equipment failure. Chillers receive annual preventive maintenance and servicing to optimize efficiency and reliability during peak cooling seasons. Cooling towers are cleaned and serviced annually to maintain performance to protect system components. In addition, all boulders are professionally serviced each year throughout the contracted maintenance agreements to ensure safe and efficient operation. These proactive maintenance practices help reduce emergency repairs, improve energy efficiency, and protect the division's

[01:09:54] investment in its mechanical systems. During the 25-26 school year, the facilities department's mechanical team received more than 1,500 mechanical work orders across the division, recognizing the need to reduce the backlog of outstanding requests and improved service delivery. Our seven mechanical team members worked on Saturdays throughout the spring to address pending work orders and support school operations. Additionally, during the summer four-day workweek schedule, mechanical staff continue to work on Fridays to maximize productivity and focus on preventive maintenance, repairs,

[01:10:34] and system improvements while schools are less occupied. HCPS is actively recruiting skilled trades professions. It's so fitting that we had the last presentation. Professionals to strengthen the facilities department and support the division's growing maintenance needs.

[01:10:54] Currently, HVAC electrical and plumbing positions are posted online and available for qualified candidates. To expand our recruiting efforts to attract broader pool of applicants, we plan to launch an enhanced advertising campaign the summer utilizing television, radio, and billboard advertising. In addition, a new facilities liaison position is in the final stages of development and will be posted in the near future. This position will serve as a key communication link between schools and the facilities department helping to improve customer service, project coordination, and communication regarding maintenance activities throughout the division. And we continue to lean on our valued employees to gather their valued

[01:11:34] insights on other areas of strength and improvement. As with all the departments across the division, the facilities team is always looking, seeking ways to improve. Several months ago, we collaborated with the county government to take a new approach to securing vendors throughout through a joint RFP, expanding efforts to leverage additional expertise for mechanical contracts. Continuing our efforts to streamline workflows and ensure operational efficiency and staffing structures meet system needs, HCPS is finalizing a RFP, request for proposals, for a comprehensive

[01:12:13] facilities efficiency study. The RFP was submitted to purchasing this week for review and approval. Once approved and publicly advertised, HCPS will begin the vendor selection process, including interviews and evaluations to identify the firm best suited to conduct the study. The facilities efficiency study will provide a comprehensive assessment of how efficiently or effectively the facilities department operates, manages resources, and delivers services across the division. The purpose of the study is to identify opportunities to enhance service delivery, improve

[01:12:53] operational efficiency, optimizing staffing structures, maximizing resource utilization, and strengthen the overall management of facilities and physical assets. Key areas of focus will include an evaluation of organizational structure, staffing levels, and job responsibilities to determine whether they align with current and future operational needs. The study will identify potential gaps, overlaps, and inefficiencies in roles and responsibilities while providing recommendations to improve organizational effectiveness. The assessment will also review work order

[01:13:29] and maintenance operations, including preventive and reactive maintenance practices. Work order completion rates, response times, and maintenance backlog trends. Additionally, the study will evaluate procurement and contractual management processes, including purchasing procedures, vendor management practices, and opportunities to streamline workflows, strengthen oversight, and improve operational efficiency. The ultimate goal of the facilities efficiency study is to ensure that ACPS facilities are reliably maintained and allows the facilities

[01:14:05] department to effectively meet demands and future challenges. Across operations, our teams remain focused on a shared goal, providing safe, reliable, and supportive learning and working environments for every student and staff member. While we celebrate important accomplishments and milestones, we also recognize opportunities to strengthen our system, improve service delivery, and address evolving operational needs. Through strategic investments, continuous improvement, and strong partnerships we will remain committed to ensuring our facility services

[01:14:41] and operations of operations effectively support teaching learning and student success we appreciate dr cashwell and this board's continued support as we advance this many uh this important work on behalf of the hcps community and i would also like to take this time to say my gratification to all of you and this board and previous boards that i've had a pleasure to serve and the outstanding people that I work with on a day-to-day basis. It's meant a lot to me. Thank you all very much.

[01:15:07] And at this time, if you have any questions, I'll be glad to answer them. Thank you, Mr. Pritchard, for your commitment to Henrico County Public Schools over all these years and for providing this update that I think we care deeply about and our community cares deeply about. So we appreciate the hard work that you and your staff have put in and we'll continue to put in, even though you're you're going to go do more fun things than this uh i will start off with mrs kinsella oh mr pritchard um i'll talk to you after the meeting about how much i appreciate

[01:15:44] you and your service to henrico schools i there's so much to say about this update but i'm going to keep it brief since we have our next meeting at 6 30. i just want to highlight hearing words on slide three, private fiber installation, no cost to us. Um, I like hearing words like that as a board member, um, uh, and, and IDs for operational safety and security and using them, you know, in all kinds of different ways, whether it's for lunch, getting on and off buses. I'm going to save the, uh, laptop technology discussion, uh, for another meeting. And then I've

[01:16:24] Safety on slide four, always important. The blue ribbon panel has been really helpful to us over the years. And then just basically slides five to 11. I could not be happier that this study was done.

[01:16:42] Thank you to you, thank you to your team. Thank you to Dr. Cashwell for working with the board and really stakeholders everywhere so that we could have the safest learning and working conditions possible across Henrico County Public Schools.

[01:16:57] So just slides five to 11, I can't wait to see all the details behind this update. And I have to say, just looking at the actions to enhance staff capacity, you know, our new liaison and doing the RFP for mechanical services.

[01:17:20] How many buildings do we have, Mr. Pritchard? - I think it's 243. And we have one plumbing, one plumber of three positions filled. The need is definitely there. And I'm sure you're glad we're finally in a place.

[01:17:40] I just wish you were gonna be here to help us execute the plan, but I couldn't be happier for you, for your retirement. And I'm more thankful for your service to Henrico schools. Chair Irving. - Mrs. Shea. - Thank you, yeah, we're running tight on time, so I'm gonna keep it short.

[01:17:57] We love you, Lenny, but thank you to the hard work of your team. Like you said, with over 200 buildings that you said in the county, it's a tremendous lift for all the different types of systems. But then also thank you for acknowledging like the real needs we have and what steps we're taking to fill those gaps and ameliorate those concerns.

[01:18:19] I am really excited about this third party study, HVAC funding was a priority in our joint meeting this spring with our partners on the Board of Supervisors and so having this third party study and being able to bring them kind of real costs from a third party and a priority list on how to tackle it I'm hoping will be very fruitful and we can work in partnership with them to fund these without having to defer any ongoing school maintenance needs and so I think this is important step in that and being able to work together to fill this gap so thank you for your

[01:18:55] your leadership on that. Thank you. Mrs. Atkins. So I'm very excited about the alternative transportation. I did not catch the location for the charging stations. I think I heard Varina, but I'm not. Toronto High School right there on the driver's ed lot and then the camp lot that's right there off of Woodman Road. Outstanding. Yes. Also impressive. A million in savings. I think you said implementation for July for the fiber installation. And you don't have to cross your fingers. Getting to the point that you could just speak it is impressive within itself. It's going

[01:19:34] to happen, and I struggle to look at you and tell you goodbye. Oh, I'll be around. That's right. See you later. I'll be back in our school. It's a much better. Yeah, Lenny's tall, but it's your heart that's taller, and that's what makes it hard. You've served Henrico County Public Schools well, but you've served people even better and so I just want you to know I know I'm gonna see you again but I know I'm not gonna see you in this capacity to give

[01:20:13] me guidance to share your wisdom with me and then to give me that underarm hug because you're so tall and I'm very grateful very grateful for who you are and all that you will become and having fun and taking care of yourself so you are loved. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Young. Thank you, Mr. Pritchett, for the presentation. I'm definitely gonna miss our conversations. What high school did you graduate from? The best high school in the county, Henrico High School. There you go. I knew you would say it.

[01:20:51] But I share love for Henrico. You know, I just, I'm gonna definitely miss that. But getting to your presentation, I know I know we give you fits about HVAC and I don't know what the public perceives when it comes to a school breaking down, but you and your team work extremely hard.

[01:21:09] And I don't think you get enough recognition for trying to put out all these fires at one time. It didn't we didn't get here overnight. We won't dig ourselves out overnight either. But I mean, I know I give you fits. I can't speak for my other board members, but you always handle it extremely well.

[01:21:24] you tackle the problem, you get to it, you give me updates. I'm able to keep my constituents informed. I mean, we can't ask for a better person to be in this role than you, so we are definitely losing an asset. But just taking the steps to get the mechanical study by Mosey Architects done, understanding what we're dealing with first before diving into changing anything is important. This process you just laid out feels very transparent to the public, for our schools and constituents, letting them know that we are tackling this HVAC issue, that it is serious to all board members. So I can't thank you enough for this. I'm not going to belabor the point. We have 15 minutes before the next meeting, but the fact that we started here

[01:22:02] instead of just throwing money, we're actually getting studies done. You know, we're actually having conversations. We're doing these things. So it's just an important step to get it right this time going forward. And plus more money always helps everything. So thank you Lenny Pritchard. Thank you very much. Time of time. Thank you. So I'm not going to let you off the hook easy. I I have a couple questions.

[01:22:23] First, I do want to commend the 20 electric buses. That's tremendous. My only thing is, how do we get more in the future? Coming on the private fiber optic cable installation, the word game changer gets thrown around a lot, but I think that this actually is having been a former staff member who had the internet cut out on them, and then you're looking around like, oh, what do we do in this moment?

[01:22:48] Hopefully eliminating those types of issues will be able to be done with this new system and we didn't pay a dime for it, which is amazing as well. The weapons scanners. So having served on weapons scanner duty this year myself, I did have a question because I had some guidance counselors reach out and make recommendations.

[01:23:07] How are we going to be able to remove them from that duty so that they can meet their hours commitments that are required by the state? Maybe that's more of a Dr. Cashwell question. Yeah, I'm happy to address that. And so if individual staff members wish to take on the scanner duty, then, you know, we would want to make sure that's not interfering with any of their other responsibilities.

[01:23:28] And I know that Dr. Hughes and her team who oversee counselors are very tuned into that and can certainly advise school teams as they are creating those rosters for duty. Okay, wonderful. The mechanical study, like my colleagues commented on, I think that that is significant and extremely important, especially when we're engaging in conversations with our general government counterparts.

[01:23:51] I know that they expressed a commitment to doing whatever it takes to help us fix with the HVAC system as we move forward. So I'm so glad to have their commitment, and I look forward to being able to establish a dedicated funding stream, particularly for HVAC, that does not come at the expense of other deferred maintenance and mechanical spending as it pertains to what we have to do, our obligations to our students and our staffs our families. So I think that is excellent. And then just props to the mechanical team. I think that they are clearly understaffed. That's not because we want them to be understaffed. That's

[01:24:28] the current situation. We are looking to remedy that. We will remedy that. But just thank you all for your hard work. It's tons of hours. It's unappreciated. They are the folks that not everybody sees within buildings because teachers always get the headlines because it's the person that your kid sees every single day but um our mechanical and operations staff are the backbone of the division and we appreciate their hard work and and all all that they do um thank you for everything mr pritchard it was a pleasure to work with you thank you very much thank you thank you

[01:24:59] and uh chair irving that concludes items from me thank you uh colleagues we will now move on to unfinished business does anybody have any unfinished business hearing none we will move on to new business colleagues do we have any new business chair irving i did have one sure piece of new business and I'll be very brief. So Dr. Cash, one of my colleagues, I was on our website out looking at required notifications and I'm gonna flip to it while I'm kind of speaking to it and the title of that particular section is

[01:25:36] homeless students. I recommend changing it to students experiencing homelessness and the reason why I'm asking for us to do that is because we want to base it on person-first language. That is the circumstance, not the person. And so I think what we need to do is look at not just the website, but even in policy and in other areas. Being sure that we don't title students based on their current circumstance is very important. It speaks to inclusiveness as well as belonging.

[01:26:09] And so I'm hopeful, Dr. Castro and team and colleagues, that you would support that. Thank you. Of course. Anyone else? Okay. Announcement of meeting dates. The school board's next meeting will be in 12 minutes here in the Newbridge Learning Auditorium. The next school board meeting after that will be a work session on Thursday, August 13th, 2026 at 3 p.m. Meeting times may be adjusted as needed. This meeting is adjourned.

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