Coraggio Consulting
Henrico County School Board Work Session, Thursday, September 10, 2026

Date: Thursday, September 10, 2026
Place: Henrico County School Board, Virginia
Length: 2h 24m (video)
Official meeting video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e072bxzdGiI
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 September 10th, 2026 work session of the Henrico County School Board. Miss Tiffany Lewis will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silence. Please stand as you're able for the Pledge of Allegiance.

[00:00:20] 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.

[00:00:36] Please remain standing as you are able for a moment of silence. Thank you.

[00:00:57] All right, colleagues, do I have a motion to approve the agenda for today? I move that the school board approve the agenda for today's meeting. Thank you, Mr. Young. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Ms. Kinsella. All in favor, say aye. Aye. The ayes have it.

[00:01:12] 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 a closed session for the discussion of matters covered under items A1, A2, and A7 of section 2.2-3711 of the Code of Virginia 1950 as amended pertaining to the assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific school board employees,

[00:01:48] the request for religious exemption from compulsory attendance that would involve the disclosure of information contained in scholastic records concerning individual students, and consultation with legal counsel pertaining to the litigation of a civil nature involving Hemrico County Public Schools staff and students because consultation in an open meeting would adversely affect the negotiating and litigating position of the school board.

[00:02:11] Thank you, Mrs. Shea. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Young. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. The ayes have it. We will now go into closed session. We will reconvene the work session at the conclusion of our closed meeting.

[00:02:26] All right. We are back. Is there a motion to certify closed session?

[00:02:41] I move that the school board certified by a 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 Freedom of Information Act and identified in the motion authorizing the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered in the closed meeting.

[00:03:03] Thank you, Mr. Shade. 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. Dr. Cashwell. Thank you. Good afternoon. I am recommending that the School Board approve the requests for release from compulsory attendance for student case numbers 26-27-RE-5, 26-27-RE-6, also 26-27-RE-7, and 26-27-RE-8. These requests are in accordance with

[00:03:40] Virginia code section 22.1 254 b which authorizes exemption by reason of bona fide religious beliefs and of course the names of the students are protected under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Thank you Dr. Cashwell. Colleagues do I have a motion to approve the request for religious exemption? I move that the school board approve the request for release from compulsory

[00:04:05] attendance, school attendance for student case numbers 26-27-RE-5, 26-27-RE-6, 26-27-RE-7, and 26-27-RE-8, based on bona fide religious beliefs. Thank you, Mrs. Conseldo. I have a second.

[00:04:34] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Young. All in favor say aye. Aye. The ayes have the request for religious exemption have been approved. Thank you. Next on the agenda, the board will receive an overview of our standards of learning or SOL pass rates and performance trends, including how the division and schools are using that data to inform strategies that advance student achievement. Dr.

[00:05:02] Hinton, Dr. Snow, and Mr. Dusalt will come forward to provide that presentation. Dr. Hinton. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board, and Dr. Cashwell. The Virginia Department of Education has released the standards of assessment results for the 2025-26 school year. Today we will examine our trends and discuss how we are using this data to refine our instructional strategies and drive meaningful improvement across the division. Today's presentation focuses on our strategic goal of academic achievement. By balancing

[00:05:42] core content standards with durable skills from our Henrico learner profile, we aim to ensure every student meets proficiency benchmarks and thrives in whatever path they choose after graduation. Progress toward our strategic goal of academic achievement is monitored through four measures of success. These include SOL pass rates for grade 3 and 8 rating, grade 3 math and algebra 1, the 3E indicator of the school performance and support framework, and the federal on-time graduation rate. We focus on these specific milestones,

[00:06:20] particularly in grades 3, 8, and Algebra 1, because they act as indicators of long-term student success. That said, these four benchmarks are not the only data points we track. We continuously monitor a variety of academic performance data to remain responsive and provide targeted support when and where it's needed. So while today we're focusing on our latest SOL pass rate data, we look forward to returning in October for a full year one update on our journey to 2030 goals alongside the state's anticipated release of school performance

[00:06:59] ratings. Our goal for reading is to meet or exceed state pass rates and we are seeing positive momentum. In grade three, while our performance remains below the state average we are achieving gains comparable to the state's progress over the past year additionally in grade 8 we achieved a one-point improvement while the state remains steady at 74% a positive indicator that we are effectively closing this gap when we examine our reading results by student

[00:07:35] group the data highlights some notable trends beyond our primary strategic metrics we are also seeing growth in reading across levels elementary performance remains steady supported by grade 3 gains middle schools shows sustained improvement across all grades highlighted by a 5 percentage point

[00:08:11] rise in grade 8 and of course reading scores also increased by 4 percentage points over two years while these trends are encouraging closing the gap against state rates remains a priority when we examine our reading results by student group the data highlights some notable trends over the past two years our black English learners and economically disadvantaged students groups led growth with three to four percentage point gains students with disabilities and

[00:08:46] students of multiple races gained two points our white student group gained one point and our Hispanic student group performance remains stable the Asian student group continue to perform at high levels with an 85% pass rate.

[00:09:04] This data provides a picture of our performance across various populations and helps us identify where our support strategies are proving effective and where we need to increase our focus. Moving on to math performance, our goal remains meeting or exceeding state pass rates by 2030.

[00:09:25] We are making progress toward closing that gap at the elementary level where our grade Grade 3 pass rate rose 3 percentage points to 67%. Outpacing the state's one-point increase, Grade 3 narrowed the performance gap by two points in one year.

[00:09:43] We are also making strong gains in Algebra 1, where the pass rate climbed 3 percentage points to 84%, growing at triple the rate of the state's one-point increase and steadily narrowing the performance gap.

[00:10:00] Now let's look at math performance highlights across all levels. In elementary schools, our math scores are trending upward. As mentioned on the previous slide, grade three pass rates saw an annual increase, while grade five showed even stronger growth, rising four points to reach 70% over the last two years.

[00:10:23] In our middle schools, we are seeing steady progress. Sixth grade continues on a strong two-year upward trajectory, while seventh grade made notable jump in just a single year. Finally, Algebra 1 pass rates remain consistently strong. Although these positive trends reflect progress, state pass rates continue to exceed our math performance, driving our commitment to accelerate these gains. When examining math performance by student group, gaps between group remain evident, even as we see consistent progress. Most notably, our

[00:10:59] English learners have shown growth with a three-point increase this year alone, contributing to a four-point gain over the last two years. Over the past year, we saw encouraging gains among black, Hispanic, economically disadvantaged, and students with disability groups, alongside a continued upward trend for multiracial students. Meanwhile, results for our white and Asian student groups remained high year-over-year, exceeding 80%. While there is not a specific strategic plan metric tied to science student performance continues

[00:11:38] contributes to a school's overall accountability rating therefore we continue to monitor this data closely at the elementary level we are seeing sustained performance with grade 5 science remaining stable at 68% in middle school we are seeing positive improvement with grade 8 science rising to 60% reflecting slight growth since 2024. At the high school level we have achieved significant gains in science. Our biology pass rate increased four percentage points over the last two years climbing to 77% bringing our

[00:12:17] performance into alignment with the state pass rate. When we break down these results by student group we see encouraging steps towards closing gaps. over two years our black economically disadvantaged and Hispanic student groups each gained four percentage points while our English learners led the way with a notable six point increase students of multiple races rose by three points and students with disabilities held steady performance among Asian and white students remains high with pass rates holding above 85

[00:12:53] percent these outcomes give us a clear view of where we are but our primary focus is on what comes next. To share how we are responding to these trends, I'll turn things over to Michael DeSalt, Director of Elementary Teaching and Learning, and Taylor Snow, Director of Secondary Teaching and Learning. As we look at these results, the data is important, but the data itself is not the destination. It helps us understand where we are, where we're seeing progress, and

[00:13:32] where we need to focus our attention. Across our schools, staff are reviewing the data at the school, classroom, and individual student levels to develop a deeper understanding of performance and identity specific areas of strengths and opportunities for growth. This analysis helps us ensure that instructional planning and supports are responsive to the needs of the students in each school and classroom. Our responsibility at the division level is to work alongside our schools to help turn those insights into action. That means providing differentiated support based on identified needs, strengthening instructional practice, and continuing to build the capacity of our teachers and

[00:14:11] school leaders. Importantly, we continue to monitor progress and adjust our approach based on what the data tells us. The next few slides highlight some of the specific supports we are providing to schools as we remain focused on accelerating achievement for every student. As shared with the board in our August presentation, we know that targeted professional learning is one of the most effective levers to ensure the success of each and every student. These These opportunities will continue throughout the calendar year in the form of teacher coaching

[00:14:49] cycles, training for our teacher leader ambassadors, coaching cycles, and of course, a deep catalog of professional learning options for the staff. Collaborative partnerships between the Department of School Leadership and the Division of Learning through bi-weekly or monthly meetings will provide our schools in need of the most support an opportunity to unpack their data and lift up their instructional needs.

[00:15:17] Principal, associate principal, coaching meetings and learning walks will continue to stay lockstep with the most current data, timely instructional guidance and provide actionable next steps.

[00:15:33] Reflecting on our most current district's early literacy and numeracy trend data, the Start Strong Henrico support plan was created. In the spring of 2026, teachers, administrators, Central staff came together to review data, barriers to student success, and instructional practices.

[00:15:53] This think tank provided the foundational components that shaped the ongoing job-embedded professional learning that each and every kindergarten teacher in Henrico County Public Schools will begin over the next few weeks. Professional learning will take place on four full-day sessions placed throughout the year.

[00:16:12] Kindergarten teachers will unpack how best to understand and leverage individual student data and take back actionable instructional practices to meet the needs of their unique individual classrooms. Administrators, reading specialists and coaches will also receive aligned professional learning at their monthly meetings to support our dedicated kindergarten teachers.

[00:16:35] The Department of Teaching and Learning even held a Start Strong Henrico logo design contest in the spring, which was won by a Hungry Creek 8th grader who walked away with the ultimate graphic design package as the grand prize.

[00:16:52] In our elementary schools, multiple data points and progress checks establish a baseline for ongoing learning opportunities and identifying areas in need of instructional or staffing support. Knowing that SOL data is only one data point that comes at the very end of the year, multiple assessment checks are leveraged to provide our schools opportunities to address school-wide trends and target individual students in need of support.

[00:17:21] This ongoing data guides our monthly meetings with building administrators and coaches. It provides a collaborative space to interpret the results and brainstorm leadership instructional moves. This data helps us foster a collaborative partnership of support between the Division of Learning and the Division of School Leadership.

[00:17:42] At this time, I'll now turn the presentation over to Dr. Taylor Snow. - All right, thank you. Summer Professional Learning for Secondary Educators in English, ESL, Math, Science, Social Studies, World Languages emphasized the creation of choice sessions anchored in developing teacher capacity to deliver instruction that develops content literacy that asks students to read and write every day in every class period.

[00:18:13] Additionally, in work that was a model for cross-department collaboration, specialists from the departments of secondary teaching and learning, professional learning and leadership, innovation and school quality have formed an ongoing workgroup intended to redefine and align centrally developed professional learning.

[00:18:30] This work group has focused on the development of turnkey resources that support schools in implementing high-quality professional learning to develop teacher capacity to capitalize on evidence-based strategies that support student learning and will continue this work to support our schools.

[00:18:47] With the shared understanding that schools cannot pursue the development of critical literacy and numeracy skills during English and math classes alone, central office teams have worked with schools over the last year around the following: First, the Department of Teaching and Learning has developed scaffolded text sets that engage students in the reading of challenging, standards-aligned text through annotation, summarization, and critical analysis.

[00:19:12] Not only will these text sets improve deeper understanding of their content areas, they will also aid in developing skilled readers and writers. Second, across the division and across all content areas, secondary students will apply numeracy skills to justify and make thinking visible.

[00:19:28] Finally, the Department of Teaching and Learning, in collaboration with the Division of School Leadership, have onboarded three additional cohort models for freshman students at Verena, Permitage, and Douglas Freeman High Schools. The teachers and administrators leading these cohorts engaged in day-long workshops led by central office staff to ensure the seamless embedding of the development of the durable skills of the Henrico Learner Profile into interdisciplinary learning.

[00:19:57] As we close, our focus remains clear: accelerating achievement and expanding opportunities for for every student. We are encouraged by the areas of progress reflected in our data while remaining focused on the areas where continued growth is needed. The supports we've shared today reflect our commitment to responding intentionally to what the data tells us, working alongside our schools, strengthening instructional practice, and ensuring resources and supports are aligned to the needs of students and staff. The work continues with urgency, intentionality, and a shared commitment to every student's success. We will

[00:20:33] continue to monitor our progress, adjust our strategies where needed, and remain focused on ensuring that every student in every school has the opportunity to achieve at the highest level. Looking ahead, the board will hear more about the school performance and support framework at the October school board meeting when the finalized data from the Virginia Department of Education becomes available. We appreciate the continued partnership of our school board, staff, families, and community as we work together to support our students and help each of them learn, grow, and thrive. And at this time, we welcome any questions from the board.

[00:21:10] Thank you all for the presentation. I started off with my colleagues. Ms. Kinsella, would you like to go first? Sure. Yes, thank you for the presentation. I'm looking forward to October's rating meeting to see where we fall out. I know I was looking at some preliminary data for the schools in my district, and I would just like to shout out some of the gains I'm seeing. I'm very excited about it. I don't know how it's going to fall out, but really looking forward to that meeting and just thank everybody in the Brooklyn district. Everyone, if you're in a school, if

[00:21:48] you're a parent at home, for all the growth we've seen, or at least I'm seeing. So looking forward to October. A question about pre-K. Since I'm seeing your focus on kindergarten, are we finding that we have enough seats at the pre-K level to serve the needs of our students and families before kindergarten? Yes, at this time, this is Kinsella, sorry. Yes, we do have enough seats we're able to serve the families. Of course, as always, each year we analyze to see if we are able to

[00:22:24] increase our number of seats, but the seats we have right now are adequate and we continue to work to make sure that those are filled and that we get the students in the seats that we need. Great, thank you. And then next, I'm pleased to see the gains among several of our student groups, what specific instructional practices or intervention appear to be driving the gains?

[00:22:48] I know the plans look different across the schools, but is there one thing that's really pushing the improvement in our learners, specifically among our black students, in reading, as well as improvements for our English learners and math?

[00:23:08] I'll jump in here at the elementary level. Thanks for that question. So we have really been intentional about our work with tier two intervention, identifying students early in the year and getting that support. So utilizing research-based practices in both the reading and the math has really closed students that are multiple grade levels behind.

[00:23:26] And then of course always looking at the data and shifting our instructional practices and specifically to our English learners. We've done a lot of training with our administrators this year about collaborative instruction and what it looks like to maximize another adult in the classroom and be able to lift up those students in the regular ed classroom where they can enjoy the rich language going on and further develop their skills.

[00:23:49] - Thank you for that. And then that answers, were we successful in, I know during the spring we had a lot of budget conversation around resources to support our English learners. Have we been successful, maybe this is a Ms. Bolden question or you guys, or maybe Dr. Cashwell, Have we been successful in hiring those folks who would support our English learners?

[00:24:18] - I believe at this time we're fully staffed with the positions we're allotted and we are making it work with our current staff. - Fantastic, thank you so much. And then next, when I see, again, pleased to see the middle school results, right?

[00:24:34] And the reading and math. Do we have any idea based on prior experience or what the data shows us? and I absolutely love the whole, what was it, your insight to action, right?

[00:24:49] That the more we learn, then we just can act on it. Do we know how we can perhaps support those gains so they continue going into high school now that we have some momentum with the middle school group? - One big piece of that is just, particularly for literacy, but also for math, is around the implementation of successful intervention practices.

[00:25:11] You know, middle school is a time where we believe that if we implement evidence-based intervention strategies appropriately, just like Mike talked about at the elementary level, we can close the gaps that we need to close so that as students matriculate up into the high school level, some of those foundational skills that they may have not fully mastered when they come to middle school, those gaps are no longer there.

[00:25:38] - Perhaps if the gaps are still there heading into high school, what are the interventions? And it's a little bit more difficult, haven't had three go through high school and just in my work on the board over the years it's a little bit more difficult at the high school level to have those interventions and supports so cross-curricular interventions and supports in certain classes that they're taking what does that look like to ensure we don't lose the growth but build on it so the goal is I mean the Virginia Literacy Act gives us really powerful data around around foundational literacy skills through the vowels test which students who have failed a

[00:26:18] previous year's SOL test all take as eighth graders three times so when those students are coming to us in ninth grade we have beginning middle and end of year data that that tells us the gaps that still persist for reading and math in particular I mentioned in the slides intervention at that level looks a lot like making sure that students are having the opportunity to practice the skills that you need to master difficult math concepts across the curriculum.

[00:26:49] That doesn't mean we're doing math sample problems in our social studies classes, but it means that the idea that we're looking at data, using that data to support an informed reasoned claim, that's something that we do in social studies all the time. If we make sure we're doing it every day, if we're doing it intentionally, we find that our students are getting those interventions, to your point Ms. Kinsella, just embedded throughout the course of the school day.

[00:27:13] - Okay, well thank you very much for that high school. Just continuing the support through high school until they cross that stage has always been a big point for me, for all of our students that may have struggled or been a little bit behind heading into high school.

[00:27:29] So thank you so much. As always, there's more work to be done, but I'm really excited about the gains I'm seeing in some of the early data. So thank you very much. Chair, Chair Overy. - Thank you, Mr. Kinsella.

[00:27:45] Sorry, Mrs. No, sorry, Mr. Young. I was trying to remember something else. Yes. - All right, thank you for the presentation. First, I want to acknowledge some of the encouraging movement in the data.

[00:28:01] We've seen improvement in several areas across the division. So I want to recognize our teachers, principals, our specialists, support staff, students, and our families for the hard work they put in our last school year. I also want to especially acknowledge my principals in my district.

[00:28:16] Not every school has reached the benchmark we want yet, but that does not mean there hasn't been meaningful progress. And that's what I've been hearing as I go around my schools, doing my tours. My principals are excited about the progress that they're seeing. I've seen in here that one of the notes said the data is not the destination.

[00:28:34] It informs the work that comes next. So I have a few questions surrounding that. For the schools that may not have reached the desired pass rate but are showing significant growth, including double-digit improvement in some areas, what are we learning from that progress, and how do we make sure the growth is sustained instead of seeing the up and down or the rollercoaster effects where we see one school do really well this year, and then next year something has dropped off, whether it's teacher vacancy or something has happened.

[00:29:03] How do we sustain this upward movement? And I want to talk Fairfield district-specific, not the entire school division, but my district. That's what I want to learn more about today. I know, speaking at the elementary level, you mentioned it. It's stay the course.

[00:29:19] We have effective practices in Tier 1 and Tier 2 in place. We have great training that takes place and there's a great collaboration between the Department of School Leadership and the Division of Learning. And I think when that type of partnership is in place, there's fluid communication and the support is there for our schools.

[00:29:36] So the thing that has been the most optimistic that we have seen, at least I can speak to, is there's been a great collaboration amongst departments to get the work done, whether that means shift in staffing, providing additional resources, and having that communication be ongoing. - And I would add, I mean, our office of school quality processes are designed as such that when we study ongoing work at schools, we're looking at really specific strategies in very specific classrooms and the improvement cycle that our school quality team leads our school through, help us really be laser focused and target exactly what it is that's moving the needle and what might not be.

[00:30:14] And with that knowledge that helps us sustain good work that's happening that's having an impact is there anything based on the results from last school year is there anything or any few things that you guys can point to that we're doing differently this year than than last year even though we've seen the growth we want to continue to grow but is there anything that we can point to that say you know what this didn't work and this is now the direction we're going can you elaborate or if it's state of course it's state of course but i want to make sure i ask that question and i think we tried to highlight that and and we'll be giving the board updates as we move throughout the year but the idea of that start strong initiative we know that all of our students come into kindergarten with varying levels of skills and we know if we catch them early enough and we

[00:30:53] prepare them well enough for first grade that eliminates the chain reaction down the line so in doing that and focusing on our kindergarten teachers and then trying again the next year with the first grade group and moving it through that way we should be able to crack that nut of the early literacy and numeracy I think that's key and I had that I had that checked off the reading specialists, kindergarten interventionist support new position, I think that's excellent to start somewhere new and fresh and start to see that trajectory go up. Now how confident are we that our most challenging schools have our strongest and most effective supports, including the instructional specialists, interventionists, coaches, academic resources. How confident are we that our

[00:31:32] lowest-performance schools have the highest interventionists in there? I mean, I would say in a world where we have unlimited staffing, we, you know, we could staff everybody at the absolute most ideal, like thinking about everything that we would need level.

[00:31:51] But, you know, that's not a reality that any industry lives in. Right. So with the staff that we have, every decision about where they go, where they spend their time, what they spend their time focused on is data driven.

[00:32:07] We want to make sure that all of our students succeed, but we also know that there are variables that we can use the staff that we manage to help us control and to help us address. So I feel confident speaking both for my team and for Mike's team that when we think about coaching assignments, number of days that coaches are spending in a building, the specific grade levels that coaches are working with, all those decisions are laser focused on the data and where the most support is needed.

[00:32:38] Yeah, I think that's important for my constituents to hear. And as we sort of navigate Fairfield District's challenges, I know district-wide, we're doing excellent. We're seeing that upper mobility, but really want to be in tune with my district and what we're doing for some of my elementary schools.

[00:32:54] I'm excited about some of my high schools and middle schools. And October meeting is probably going to be really good for a lot of our schools. But thank you guys for the presentation. I know we're getting better. I know we can do better. And I'm just appreciative. Thank you so much.

[00:33:08] Mr. Chair back to you. Thank you Mr. Young. I'll go to Mrs. Shea. Thanks so much. Thanks team. So my colleagues have already hit on some of my specific questions especially Miss Kinsella about supports once they get to high school you know as they move closer and closer to 12th grade there are less I think built in mechanisms for you know natural kind of remediation and so making sure I appreciate y'all's feedback about what that looks like at high school for students that might be in that 31 percent for example for reading that that didn't pass reading last year like how do how do we get

[00:33:47] that 31 percent right in the next four years you know over over that hump and and make sure they're reading on level and so I appreciate the the specifics some of the specifics you gave us including using the vowels data I think that's important and then you also mentioned the cohorts that had been expanded in high school are those similar to the ones that were at Tucker and Godwin that Ms. Donovan and Mr. Raymond presented to us yes each school has slightly unique versions of how it is that they're implementing that model but yes it's built with the same professional learning the same sort of theoretical framework I'm really excited about that I mean I think from

[00:34:24] what they shared back with us back in the spring and we they saw really good academic and social outcomes for that and so I'm just wrapping around arms around students who need extra support for whatever reason academically or socially and and helping make it happen during that transition is huge let's see what else so for this year scores I know that there was some adjustment or there is an adjustment coming for example for EL learners on how many semesters you

[00:35:00] are present before scores start to count was that included this year or is that a change for next year so these pass rates have been um consistently calculated over the last multitude of years that change with the scores being included or not included that's more of the calculation around the framework scores okay so that that took effect last year with the framework score calculations coming out with the new accountability system okay thank you I just I was looking you know especially we saw some really great gains especially

[00:35:38] in our EL population 6% in science 4% of math and 3% in reading and knowing that that testing group may have expanded even more it really speaks to incredible incredible work of our educators and then kind of more broadly with that question I think it's important that our community understand that it's really hard to compare apples to apples here with with SOL scores we see the standards change which means what is being tested we see the tests change

[00:36:16] which means how they're being tested and we're seeing student groups change on who is tested and so from year to year it's not necessarily apples to apples but But what we do know is that every day in Henrico, our educators are showing up and doing what's best for their students, right?

[00:36:33] And so we see a touch of that outcome here in terms of some of our gains. But it's not as clear-cut as we got this score last year, we got this score this year, this is what it means. It's just not.

[00:36:52] So I think that is a complex for anybody digging into this issue and looking at it from a 15,000 foot feet. It's even complex for those who are in the weeds looking at it to figure out. But I think what roots all of this work is all of the things you're saying about looking at the data and what it means for each student and what supports they need and how we move the needle for that student.

[00:37:17] And that's what we do here in Henrico for our students. and I'm really proud of the work that our educators do beyond all of the confusing mess of numbers just showing up for our educators or our students every day and our our central office staff showing up for our educators every day and making sure they have the curriculum and the supports and the coaching that they need last last question part I know I say this often we say this often you said that this is just one one thing we look at during the year in terms of

[00:37:55] um student outcomes um what are just very high level a couple of other things i know we can't list them all because there's a lot at different levels but what are some other things other metrics we also monitor um to stay in tune with student outcomes and student needs one thing that that I would note that isn't included because it's not reported to the state as data, but is in that it impacts the accrual of verified credits for graduation is our, at the high school level, our approach to the permissive local alternative assessments

[00:38:33] that BDOE has implemented and that the General Assembly enshrined in SB 200 last year. For the bulk of our high school social studies classes, along with high school writing, Our students complete local assessments that are aligned to state guidelines around those assessments to earn verified credit.

[00:38:55] And the best part of those is that we don't have to wait till the end of the year to see that data. If a student completes an inquiry in World History I, that scored within a week or two of it having been completed, and we know exactly where gaps lie in terms of students' ability to apply historical thinking skills, in terms of historical content knowledge, just broader lessons that we we can learn about their writing and the same thing is in place with English and those have been transformational both for our students earning verified credits but also for the way that they reconceptualize instruction for teachers and for our students so that's something at the

[00:39:33] secondary level that I think is a metric that we analyze in the same way that we analyze SOL testing data but isn't necessarily reported out in the state framework or when we look at data share by bdoe and i would definitely throw in access proficiency and progress we have some outstanding progress this year where we have hit the the state 58 mark in the progress category so we are very very proud of our teachers and our students for the work that they put in on that excellent thank you so much for these things and all the things y'all

[00:40:10] can continue to look at i um i'm glad i'm glad you i know i said it stop talking sorry uh i know i'm glad you brought up the local uh the local assessments uh dr snow i know for my own world history one student um watching them go through that process of learning to write those uh really transformational on writing skills research skills all of those things far beyond what a multiple choice test on knowledge would be but really developing those durable skills and so um kudos to him right go for pushing the envelope on where can we show proficiency but do it do it in a better

[00:40:48] way so thank you it's on now thank you mrs shea uh mrs atkins so indeed there are positive trends in the early data here and i too look forward to seeing that october data and getting a bit more into the weeds and understanding each district's results because the impact in one area can sometime make a difference in another area as our students may live for example in Varina but attend school in Hermitage so it is important to me not only to understand Varina Sanston and

[00:41:24] Highland Springs but to really intricately understand each district's data and assess whether it's impacting another area or not i do have a few questions i wanted to know are Are we fully staffed for classrooms with students with varying abilities?

[00:41:52] - Not fully staffed. We have a few vacancies here and there. - At this time or in the future, if I could get with that percentage or number could be, I know it's a moving target too. So it's really date stamped depending on the day in which you do the research, but please get that information to me as I look at the results here.

[00:42:13] I'm very curious as to what that is and the potential impacts that could be for the data in October. The other question is, can you share with me how we measure the impact of 504s in IEP? The reason I'm asking that is because I wanna understand how effective we are in fulfilling them.

[00:42:38] - So when a student has a 504 plan that has accommodations listed, we look at what accommodations that student has, and then we have to determine the student's individual growth based on the accommodation.

[00:42:53] Same with the individualized education plans. We have to look to see what goals are on those IEPs for each student and then we have to carefully look to see how we are going to measure those goals and then we have a target of how are we going to define success to see that the students have mastered those goals.

[00:43:15] So it really is very individual for the students. It's not such that we can bunch them in a group, if that makes sense, but we do continually monitor to make sure that those students are successful around what they are required and what they are, what they deserve based on the goals and the accommodations that they are to receive.

[00:43:34] - I would ask the division to consider spending some time in measuring how effective we are collectively. So Dr. Hughes, individually, I know we monitor, but I'm curious, collectively, how well are we doing as a division in executing what's in an individualized education plan and how well are we, not clinically, but almost clinically when it comes to a 504 plan while that's more physical.

[00:44:03] And so if we have a better understanding of how effective we are in those spaces, I think that may also help understand the outcomes we see and potential for improvement. And so how you do that, I do not know.

[00:44:20] But I do think if we push ourselves just a little bit to get a better understanding, I also know the culture of a building makes a difference in that space. I also know resources make a difference in that space. And individuals who are assigned to do that work may or may not have the level of expertise to do measurement.

[00:44:41] And so that's a much, much broader initiative. but I do think it's worth one thinking about because in that particular space, whether you have a nonverbal student in an integrated classroom or a self-contained classroom, of course, usually they come with some level of a plan.

[00:45:00] I wonder if we could just think a little bit broader in figuring out how we collectively know how effective we are in measuring those. - Sure, and as Mrs. Hinton shared earlier, We look at system-wide data for all of our subgroups, and as you can see, our students with disabilities made some growth this year, and we were very proud of that.

[00:45:21] But as we break down individual assessments, we make sure that we're looking at every student group, right? Every student who participates in this or an alternative assessment or any assessment, really. And that's where we start to break down the individual student groups.

[00:45:36] So as we go through the year, we certainly can keep the board updated on the progress. - Indeed, I think that's great. The other part, and I may be inaccurate, so please correct me, but there is a state report that each school division provides in that space. Is that accurate or no?

[00:45:55] - A state report specific to our special education students? - Yes, it may not be. I'm just curious. I know some other states do in Virginia. Do we provide a report? - Yeah, I think the report that you're thinking of is one maybe we've talked about before. And no, Virginia does not do the one that you are talking about.

[00:46:12] but we do have some state reporting that we do, but it's mostly around, you know, our standards of learning assessment and some of our other assessments. But I know the report you're indicating and Virginia does not participate in that one. - I have found in other states that do engage in that report, they've been able to get some significant insight in that space of varying abilities, including even reaching beyond the student into the family.

[00:46:38] So I wonder if it's worth taking a look at what other states are doing with the outcomes of that report that's filed, and if that could help Henrico County Public Schools. - Absolutely, we'll look into that in a second. - Thank you so much. Now, I do have a very special shout out for Howland Springs Elementary School.

[00:46:58] So in July of 2025, approximately 60% of teachers were certified. That is not what we want, but I'm delighted to share today that that is not what we have. Right now, that number is 95%.

[00:47:14] And that is a huge accomplishment. So I want to thank Principal Washington, who was the previous principal. I said that incorrectly. The previous principal, Ms. Washington, and the current principal, Ms. Ray.

[00:47:31] I want to thank our human resources team, the amazing staff, students, families, Everybody that was a part of shifting from 60% of teacher certified to 95% certified is one amazing feat.

[00:47:47] So congratulations to Highland Springs Elementary School for continuing to make improvements. And while we're celebrating, I also wanna recognize Adams Elementary School for continuing to focus on the whole child while going through a renovation.

[00:48:03] That is certainly not easy. And those of us who knows what that's like, certainly understand, and it reminds us of how much our learning environments matter and can impact learning. And so I'm also looking forward to this facilities presentation coming up.

[00:48:21] And then the last shout out that I will give is to Mr. Hockaday over at Fair Oaks Elementary School for his strong advocacy around the connection between fathers and youth. I happen to be invited to a call to talk about it and to see the passion from him and our family advocates promote the Watch Dogs program and address our student needs.

[00:48:45] All of these things and looking at the whole child impact these academic outcomes. So what we're seeing is a slice of a pie. It's an important piece, but it's not all of it. And so the celebrations and recognition that I'm giving in this moment all impact what we see in these slides, especially in my district.

[00:49:07] But I would say in all districts, when we are addressing needs, whether it's nutrition, whether it's physical, whether it's IEPs, 504s, all of these things impact these academic outcomes.

[00:49:22] And so SOLs give us important information, but they're only one part, and that's the truth. So I am encouraged. I'm also delighted to hear about the continued investment and professional learning, it is key. I did receive some feedback around professional learning and thinking about students that are nonverbal and wondering if there are opportunities to get teachers certified in American Sign Language.

[00:49:50] It is a great alternative for our nonverbal learners and to see if that's something that could also assist with improving academic scores as well. - Thank you so much, Chair Irving. - Thank you, Mrs. Atkins.

[00:50:06] And yes, thank y'all again for the presentation. I don't so much wanna talk about the scores because we're gonna do that more in October, and I think the focus should be on that then. But I do wanna echo my colleague's sentiment of thanking our staff for showing up every single day and working for our students and thanking the central office team for supporting the buildings and ensuring that they do have the supports that they need.

[00:50:31] We have a lot of incredible teachers in this division, And I think when you paint it as a score being the defining feature of them, it reduces them to something that they're much, they're just much more than a score. So I think we should never lose sight of that.

[00:50:47] To Ms. Shea's point, this changes all the time. It's not the same thing every single year. And I do actually wanna talk about two big changes and have you all kind of educate us and I think our community of some changes that have happened at the state level that will impact SOLs as we move forward starting this school year. One of our state senators, Senator Van Valkenburg, had a bill passed, I believe, last year with SOL changes that are going into effect for this school year. Would you all be able to explain to us some of those changes? I know they don't necessarily apply to elementary school, but to, I believe, eighth grade and up. Yeah, if it starts with you

[00:51:26] teaching, you know, earth science or algebra in middle school. Could you explain those changes? A couple pieces that I could speak to directly. I mentioned earlier SB 200 enshrining the access to alternative assessments around in social studies and English writing. Also in science. We're still waiting to see what VDOE's plan is for some of those content areas.

[00:51:50] but certainly that has allowed us to as I said just to do a lot more with project-based learning with with student writing with sort of real-time performance type performance assessment data so that one certainly has a large impact it changes the number of students we have reporting around SOL tests in social studies so when you when you see the pass rate for a social studies test, particularly World History One, World Geography, or Virginia and U.S. History, you're likely looking at a very small sample of students because the vast majority of our students

[00:52:27] either don't take those exams or participate in that permissive local alternative assessment, so that's a piece. And then something that I think we're still, we're planning for currently is the SOL tests for 7th through 12th graders being within that two-week window at the end of the school year. That's a little different than how we've done things previously in balancing final exams, graduations, things of that sort. But Dr. Hinton, Dr. Farrell, Dr. Champ, and my team have talked a lot about that and have what we think is a plan that will be workable. And in

[00:53:03] the spirit of that change, creating more time for instruction and less time dedicated purely to standardized assessment. And my understanding is that there's also some other changes within the law as well in terms of the requirement that those scores be 10% of the student's exam grade. Is that correct as well?

[00:53:23] I believe that is subject to a reenactment clause. Okay. I just wanted us to have all the information out there. Okay. And what do you think, you spoke to potentially a positive, what are some of the positives and the negatives of that change in pushing it to the two-year window at the end of, I mean the two-week window at the end of the school year we can tiffany and i both probably have similar thoughts around what we face i'll let you start so um i would say as as dr snow mentioned um one of the positives is certainly having more time for instruction i think that was the whole spirit of

[00:54:01] it um i think there are some just logistical challenges that we need to work through with our buildings um making sure that students have enough time for remediation if they need retakes but we're working through that with our principals okay and do we think that retakes which can be a big play a part of this the score process would we do we have plans to do that over the summer or during the next school year how does that affect our thinking in terms those will need to happen during the two-week window as well okay okay okay that's great to know I just want everybody to be very clear about the changes and because I think it's not it's a bit of inside baseball right like if you're not a teacher it's not always super

[00:54:40] relevant to your life to know exactly when a given test is happening so it gets missed and then another change is I believe with the the cut score changes would you be able to talk to us through that and the eventual phasing in of the the score changes sure so starting this year there is a four-year phase in process for the new cut score changes for reading and math during that time period there will be a new proficiency level called approaching and so as those cut scores kind of move incrementally each year to get us ultimately to the established cut scores that approaching category will be counting as a passing

[00:55:19] so as we see our data they'll include that but recognizing that eventually after those initial years that category will be phased out no and I think that's again important to be very clear-eyed about when referencing back to what Ms. Shea said about the the changes that happen this is just a change that is happening in terms of increasing the level of what is considered passing on these exams and I think it's very important to not lose sight of the work that's being done with these changes that are happening and also kind of giving a realistic picture of how we best support our teachers and our

[00:55:56] students with these changes as they're happening but also again looking at a holistic picture of what it is we do in education and not just thinking that a score is an end-all be-all to everything but I thank y'all for your time I thank for the presentation and I'm looking forward as are my colleagues to when you come back in October. Thank you. All right. Thank you again to our presenters and again appreciate the board's comments and certainly the support. It is absolutely becoming more challenging to do year to year comparisons to I think

[00:56:33] you said apples to apples or oranges to oranges Marcy because you know not only would we for example be looking at a different group of third graders every year in a different group of fifth graders the way these tests are measured and often what they're measuring is changing rapidly along the way so appreciate your insightful questions and certainly value each year's SOL data and that ability to drill down to the individual students progress and performance and meet them right where they are which is our goal our next presentation is an update on facility operations as I mentioned at our last board meeting would be coming your way and particularly with an emphasis on

[00:57:11] our mechanical systems and our short and long-term plans to strengthen system reliability and of course the division's ability to proactively address school operational needs. Mr. Greg Dunaway will provide that presentation. Good afternoon everyone. Good afternoon Chairman Irving, members of the board, Dr. Cashwell, and everyone joining us this afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to present today. I'm Greg Dunaway, Chief of Operations for Henrico County Public

[00:57:47] schools. Today I want to walk you through where we stand with facilities operations across the division, especially our mechanical systems, and more importantly where we're headed. This isn't just an update on problems. It's a look at the plan we put in place, the progress already underway, and the long-term approach that's going to change how we manage these systems for good.

[00:58:10] Let me start with why this matters. Our goal is simple to state, even though the work behind it is not. Ensuring Enrico County Public Schools provide safe, welcoming, and high-quality learning and working environments by strengthening the reliability, efficiency, and effectiveness of our facilities operations. That means moving from a reactive posture to a proactive one. It means improving equipment performance and reliability, reducing the recurring issues our schools have felt, strengthening our preventative maintenance, and making sure our long-range planning and

[00:58:50] investment decisions are grounded in real data, not guesswork. Every action I'll walk you through today ladders up to that goal and it's directly aligned with the division strategic plan journey to 2030. Mr. Dunaway, if I might have you lift your mic just a bit. How's that? Better. Thank you.

[00:59:10] Thank you. Before I get into what Henrico County Public Schools is doing, I want to give you some context because it matters. The challenges we're facing with mechanical systems are not unique to Henrico. Large institutions across the country, school districts, hospitals, universities are facing the same pressures and I think it's important that we understand the scale of what we're managing and why this is a national issue not just a local one here's the scale we're responsible for over 72 schools and

[00:59:49] facilities approximately 500 large HVAC systems roughly 7 million square feet of building space and equipment spanning multiple decades of construction now the pressures on top of that scale first equipment and technology complexity Modern buildings run digital network control systems layered on top of older mechanical equipment.

[01:00:13] And that integration requires expertise that simply didn't exist a generation ago. Second, a growing workforce shortage. The HVAC industry is short roughly 110,000 technicians nationwide right now. More than half the current workforce is nearing retirement age.

[01:00:30] Virginia is among the hardest hit states. And here in the Richmond region, demand for HVAC technicians is outpacing the supply of qualified workers. Every district, every employer in this region is competing for the same shrinking pool of skilled talent. Third, rising local heat risk. This isn't a faraway concern. A climate risk study for the Richmond metro area identifies more frequent days of extreme heat as growing risk to our region. And regional climate modeling projects several times the current number of

[01:01:08] 95 degree plus days within the coming decades. Our systems are being asked to do more, more often than they were ever designed for, and that demand on our equipment is only going to grow. Fourth, supply chain and parts availability. Refrigerant regulation changes and material shortages have pushed commercial compressor lead times to 8 to 12 weeks or more, industry-wide.

[01:01:37] A repair that used to take days can now take months, and that's true whether you're in Henrico or anywhere else in the country. And finally, this is a genuinely important point and one people don't always think about. Summer is the busiest season for the entire HVAC industry. Everywhere, not just for us. National data shows service calls rise more than 300% compared to spring, and nearly three-quarters of the industry's annual revenue is earned in just six months.

[01:02:08] That means every school district, every hospital, every business in this region is competing for the same exact limited pool of technicians and parts at the exact same time we need them most. Our technicians are also maintaining old and new systems side by side, often within the same building, which only adds to that seasonal strain.

[01:02:30] I share all of this not to make excuses, but because we have to understand the larger challenges to develop sustainable plants. And I want to add something personal here. In my short time in this role, what I have observed is nothing but full focus, real support, genuine effort from this team towards resolving building-related issues.

[01:02:51] Every person I've worked with is committed to making sure students, staff, and families have a safe operational environment that supports student success. That commitment is real, and I've seen it firsthand. I've been genuinely impressed with the ingenuity, the effort, and the dedication of our facility staff as a whole.

[01:03:15] These are individuals working nights, working weekends, doing whatever is needed to meet a demand this large. Beyond the day-to-day effort, I've seen the foundation being built for greater long-term reliability in our systems through the capital improvement plan assessment or organizational assessment efforts and the new joint preventative maintenance contract.

[01:03:37] Those three pieces together are what's going to change our course, not just get us through this season. What I can tell you is Henrico County Public Schools is meeting these national challenges with real, deliberate strategy, and that's what I want to walk through next. Our approach is built around a continuous cycle, not a one-time fix.

[01:04:00] This matters because facilities work is never actually finished. It's an ongoing discipline. We start with assess, independent assessments and operational data to understand our conditions, our systems, and our needs. From there, we prioritize, applying condition, life cycle, risk, and operational data to identify what matters most first.

[01:04:26] Then we act, implementing operational improvements, maintenance strategies, and targeted investments. Then we measure, monitoring performance, service trends, and outcomes so we're accountable to real results, not just activity.

[01:04:44] And finally, adjust and invest, using what we've learned to refine our operations and inform our long-term investment decisions. And here's the important point. That last stage doesn't end the cycle. It feeds directly back into Assess. This is a continuous loop of improvement, not a checklist we complete once and move on from.

[01:05:04] That's the discipline we're building and how this division operates. Let's get into six focus areas driving this work, starting with mechanical systems assessment and life cycle planning.

[01:05:22] Our goal here is to develop a real data-driven understanding of facilities conditions so we can prioritize investments and ensure long-term system reliability. We're using the completed third-party mechanical assessment to prioritize critical replacements and inform a genuine multi-year capital investment approach, not a year-to-year patchwork.

[01:05:44] Here's where we stand. We have completed a facilities condition assessment through a third-party firm, and the initial set of 10-year projects has already been identified. And our new facility structure now includes a dedicated capital outlay and planning branch, giving this work the focused leadership it needs.

[01:06:02] Second is facilities operational assessment. The goal is to strengthen operational effectiveness by evaluating our workflows, service delivery, accountability, and long-term planning, not just our equipment. We're conducting a third-party assessment of workflows, organizational effectiveness, staffing, and alignment with industry best practices.

[01:06:35] We've had real progress already. We are restructuring facilities into two dedicated branches a capital outlay and planning branch and a facilities operation and maintenance branch we have an independent diagnostic underway right now on recurring building automated automation systems communication issues some of our schools have experienced and procurement has already begun for the third-party operational assessment itself i want to take a moment and show you exactly what

[01:07:12] the restructuring will look like because it's more than a change on paper it's how we're building accountability into the system itself. We've made efforts to invest and grow our in-house HVAC staffing. We've proactively added five additional full-time technician positions this fiscal year.

[01:07:31] We're actively recruiting for nine full-time technician vacancies right now, and we currently have six full-time technicians on staff. Along with the HVAC staffing, we're also focused on reorganizing the facility's leadership structure. The existing single director of facilities role carried an enormous scope. Capital planning, day-to-day maintenance, trades, custodial, grounds, warehouse, and HVAC oversight, all under one person. Given the scale of what we manage,

[01:08:07] we have too broad a mandate for any one individual to carry a loan, regardless of who is in the seat and the amount of effort expended. Splitting it into two focus roles is what sets each leadership position up to succeed. The four roles you see fall under this operations division.

[01:08:29] Two come from dividing what used to be a single position, Director of Facilities, into two focused roles. The Director of Capital Outlay and Planning leads our 10-year capital plan and long-range facility investment. That's a new position, and it's currently in final review, and Susan Moore is our existing staff member who will hold that role.

[01:08:51] The Director of Facilities, Operation, and Maintenance is the senior operational leader for maintenance, trades, custodial, grounds, and HVAC operations day-to-day. That's also a new position, and it's also currently in final review.

[01:09:08] That seat is vacant and we'll post it once the final review is complete. The HVAC and mechanical systems director is a shared position reporting to both Henrico government and Henrico County Public Schools. This role assists in evaluating our 10-year capital improvement plan projects, coordinates with our HVAC vendors, and helps drive reliability across HVAC systems as a whole.

[01:09:36] That partnership is already established staffed with Eric Sears in that seat. And finally, we're adding a facilities operations and communications liaison, also new, who coordinates communication between facilities, our schools, and division leadership, tracks work order requests for accuracy, and generates reporting so problems don't sit unseen. That position is vacant and is also in final review right now.

[01:10:03] We'll post for it for recruitment once the review is complete. Together, they ensure the right oversight and leadership are in place, aligned with our long-term vision for this division.

[01:10:23] Third is maintenance capacity and service delivery. This is where a lot of our near-term progress is happening now. Our goal is to expand operational capacity and improve service delivery through timely, high-quality, preventative, and responsive maintenance.

[01:10:39] To get there, we're securing and managing additional qualified HVAC maintenance contractors and strengthening our response protocols and capacity for school-based needs. what's already in motion. A new joint HVAC preventative maintenance contract with eight vendors became effective September 1st. I want to explain what that actually covers because it's more structured than it may sound. Each vendor works from four quarterly task lists throughout the year at every school, covering the required inspection and maintenance for all of our HVAC

[01:11:12] equipment. That's the preventative backbone of the program. On top of that, if a technician finds an issue outside of that plan preventative maintenance scope while they are on site our contractors address it directly as long as parts are available at this in the same contract is helping us work through backlogged work orders resolving open tickets that have been sitting which is helping us reduce the reactive backlog and build towards a stronger more consistent maintenance cycle going forward i'll also add that our boiler contractor is already scheduled

[01:11:49] to begin heating season equipment inspection and startup so we're proactively getting ahead of the fall and winter months rather than waiting for the first cold snap to find problems i also want to be clear that this contracted support sits alongside of not in place of the real work our own in-house maintenance staff puts in every day and is put in over the summer our internal teams were out in these buildings performing direct maintenance work throughout the summer months and that in-house effort is a core part of this progress, not just the contract itself.

[01:12:23] Fourth is work order systems and workflow. Our goal is to increase consistency, transparency, and efficiency in maintenance operations while improving how we prioritize issues and how fast we respond to them. That means reviewing and optimizing our work order platform and establishing clear division-wide protocols for sorting issues by type, priority, and status visibility. We've already begun a review of our work order systems and and are working to improve communication

[01:13:00] with school leaders on building specific statuses, so principals aren't left wondering. This is an area where we know we need to go further. Additional focus and support here will be part of the broader operational assessment I mentioned a moment ago.

[01:13:17] This is an area, too, where a new facilities communication liaison role will help push improvement, quality assurance, and accountability. Fifth is performance measures and dashboards.

[01:13:35] Our goal is to establish a consistent performance management framework so we can monitor delivery, identify trends, and hold ourselves accountable, not just anecdotally, but with real numbers. That means improving upon our internal dashboards and reporting cycles, which cover response time, backlog, and our ratio of preventative to reactive work, as well as reactive issues.

[01:14:01] Right now, we're building a data-backed staffing and capacity baseline against industry benchmarks. We're also partnering directly with our building automation systems vendor to develop trend analysis and early warning notifications, technology that flags unusual equipment behavior through the system itself, so our team can inspect and resolve a developing issue before it turns into an actual failure.

[01:14:28] And we're targeting a predictive maintenance pilot using vibration and oil analysis. Together this is a real shift from finding out equipment failed to knowing in advance that it's likely to.

[01:14:44] Sixth, and given everything I've shared earlier about the workforce shortage, both nationally and right here in our region, this one matters enormously. Staffing, workforce capacity, and retention. Our goal is to build and sustain the workforce capacity we need for reliable operations by strengthening how we recruit, retain, and deploy our people.

[01:15:09] And I want to name something explicitly here. K-12 environments carry unique demands. Keeping spaces genuinely safe for our students and staff every single day places a greater burden on facilities than what many other institutions and commercial operations face.

[01:15:27] That reality is part of why the staffing conversation matters as much as it does. We're using employee feedback, workload data, and market data to inform our skilled trades workforce strategy and to realign capacity where it's needed the most.

[01:15:46] We've already increased the resources dedicated to promoting and recruiting skilled trades talent because in a market this competitive, we have to be intentional about winning that talent, not hoping that it finds us. That effort is also directly helping us fill vacant roles on our team.

[01:16:05] As part of that push, we held a job fair on September 9th focused on trades and facilities roles to build a stronger applicant pipeline directly into the positions we need filled the most. I do want to be clear about something here. Our new contracted support, the preventative maintenance vendors I mentioned earlier, are essential to meeting the scale of the demand we're facing, but contracted help does not replace our current strong internal team.

[01:16:33] If anything, it reinforces it. Our own staff carry the know-how built up over years working in these buildings, the positive relationships within our schools, and the day-to-day judgment that no outside vendor can replicate.

[01:16:50] Investing in both together is how we build facilities operations that are built to last. So where does that leave us? Henrico County Public Schools is committed to a proactive data-informed approach to facilities operations, one that ensures safe, welcoming, and high-quality environments that support student success across this division.

[01:17:15] We're not just responding to problems as they come up, we're building a durable system, real assessment, real prioritization, real investment, and real accountability, so that in the weeks, months, and years ahead, This board and this community can point to the buildings that actively support every student's success and a team that's proud of the systems behind them.

[01:17:41] Thank you. - Thank you, Mr. Dunaway, for the presentation. I know that we've been waiting to hear about this, our community's been waiting to hear about this, and I will turn to my colleagues first and we'll start with Mrs. Atkins.

[01:17:58] - Thank you for the considerable amount of work you've done in such a short period of time. - Thank you. - So sincerely, thank you. having to get up to speed is certainly something I applaud you for.

[01:18:14] I also want to take a very different approach to this discussion and talk about something that some may not feel comfortable talking about out loud, but I want to advocate that we do, and that is climate change in schools.

[01:18:31] I know those words can be uncomfortable in many different settings, but leadership sometimes require uncomfortable conversations. And so I'm just going to say this isn't about politics. It's not about ideology or blame.

[01:18:48] It is about a simple question, and that question is, is the environment changing? And for me, the answer is yes. And so whether we're talking about extreme heat as a challenge, acknowledge that winter is coming.

[01:19:08] It really is. And so whether we're talking about the growth of data centers and the push towards AI super intelligence, it will continue to strain our environment, our infrastructure, our energy, and our water.

[01:19:24] And we are already seeing the impacts of these extreme heat and everything else related to nature and some man-made. And so I want to think about climate change a very practical way and i am going to address something because i have heard and also have been told on how we manage some of our hvac systems and turning hvac down at night or turning it off

[01:20:00] my question is what does that actually do for the building whether it's an aging building a new building or a building with new additions, understanding responsible management uses setbacks. I'm very clear on what that means. But there is a difference between responsible energy management and aging systems trying to recover.

[01:20:23] So when an aging system is trying to recover in extreme temperatures in a short period of time, I personally don't think that's the smartest or wisest thing to do. I'm hoping that you'll provide some insight on that and I'm not saying we should leave air conditioning on all night long or we should leave heat on all night long but it's a considerable strain on a system to try to catch up to speed in a very short period of time so I'd love to hear your insight on that sure and commend you for pointing out it's very nuanced depending on the

[01:21:02] building the age the type of equipment there's there's a myriad of factors into that and so each building because of its age it's the type of system and equipment reacts differently to setbacks and so with with each building there is a certain tipping point where you know the issues outweigh the benefits of setting back at night and so we actively look at that you know that's something that I'm looking at here early on as well in this role is looking at back looking at our setback settings and times because if you do become very aggressive with it

[01:21:40] then you're you're increasing a heat load on a building that's having a hard time and spending extra energy to catch up in the morning not to mention creating uncomfortable environments for students and staff when they come in first thing in the morning i do know because of the extreme temperatures that we have been facing the first couple of weeks of school we did back off pretty aggressively on our setbacks just because of that of just seeing the heat load that we're seeing particularly in our older buildings but it is something that we're looking at and again each building and each system reacts differently to it but we do want to have a systematic approach that can help us

[01:22:19] manage the rising energy cost but at the same time not put excessive strain on our equipment or create uncomfortable situations for our students and staff I I appreciate that. I've had several conversations. I know Mrs. Constella and I talked about that quite a bit, because for those of us who have been paying attention for a very long time, it's just a question that's been around for a very long time.

[01:22:44] So thank you for keeping your eye on that. I think it could make a huge difference as we learn. The other question that that I started thinking about was actually are we operating our buildings based on the buildings we actually have and the climate we actually have?

[01:23:04] I'm wondering, traditionally, I think there's a protocol in place for our buildings and we are managing them the same. but thinking about where we are today are we still using the same approach of seeing our buildings the same even though with the varying temperatures our buildings respond differently yeah so we try to remain consistent in how we operate buildings but at the same time knowing that each building is slightly different and so what i would say is you know which was highlighted in the presentation a lot the a lot of the buildings that are

[01:23:43] occupied now by our students and staff were designed for weather trends that we've grown beyond if you will and so those systems have a harder time in keeping up and so we have on-site maintenance teams at each school that work directly with our centralized maintenance team and so while you do want to have a consistent approach there is a little bit of nuanced at each school and so we encourage our on-site staff to work with our central maintenance staff providing that feedback to make any necessary adjustments depending on the age of the building the equipment

[01:24:19] and the weather and that's a great opportunity to shout out our maintenance team it's one thing to have the expertise but it's another to have the relationship yes and so our maintenance teams having the relationship of understanding the building and the people in the building make a heck of a difference and so I'm so grateful that this is a partnership and not a takeover and I wanted to be intentional in saying that I also want to just acknowledge for me climate change is real and I'm going to just acknowledge

[01:24:54] that as an I statement and I also will say that local decisions also influence it so where we place large industrial operations and data centers how much electricity and water they will require, how much land will be converted, what happens to stormwater, what happens to the electrical grid during extreme heat, what happens to our local temperatures, and ultimately what does that mean for our schools? Responsible leadership means looking at the full cost and the full

[01:25:29] impact and not just the economic benefit. So when we replace an HVAC system, are we replacing it for yesterday's climate or tomorrow's that's a very big question and it's also built around infrastructure so it's about whether we look beyond the immediate repair and go deeper and it's about whether we are willing to acknowledge that our environment is changing and so colleagues this is especially important to me I'm extremely passionate about environmental justice so I'm going to specifically talk about the Rhina

[01:26:05] Sanston and Highland Springs. We do have some of the largest data centers in Henrico at our Technology Park along with a continuum of manufacturing plants amid the development of more housing and at some point we must also be willing to acknowledge the systemic impacts that's going to affect everybody. So to have all these things concentrated in one area I can be nothing but a champion for Varina Sanston and Highland Springs. This area is foundational to Henrico

[01:26:44] County's history from Henricopolis to Henricas to the Varina farm and the economic development that followed that started this area and so if you want to know how Henrico is shaped it was shaped from Varina Sanston and Highland Springs and so to understand the environment I am asking that our community deserves to be treated with elegance, with courage, with respect.

[01:27:15] Knowing that the environmental impacts that was created and the infrastructure from the plantation era still linger and affect the community, my home, in the most unique ways and still remains one of the beautiful, one of the courageous places for me on this planet. And it's important to this conversation on school facilities and the decisions we make and how we prioritize what we fix and I'm

[01:27:49] sitting here as the first black woman in the seat so I represent change and so I know change can happen if we seriously discuss climate change and every ethnicity in every community in Henrico is a part of the solution moving forward so mr. Dunway I appreciate slide three for showing the layers of challenges kudos to you for showing that I also appreciated I think it was slide 4 for

[01:28:25] showing the data strategic data approach and then slide 7 for showing the work order systems and workflow that particular one is the game-changer for me the communication whether you're talking about the workflow system itself or if you're talking about the one-on-one between the principal and central office the communication is a really really big deal sometimes if individuals and families know what we're experiencing in a way that's

[01:28:59] empathetic instead of being told can make a really really big difference the other thing that I want to share is I'm wondering and actually I'm not going to wonder I'm going to ask for us as a board Dr. Cashwell and your team to develop a plan that explicitly considers the capacity of communities ecosystems and the economies to anticipate prepare for respond to and recover from hazardous climate events when I say winter is coming I do believe it is in a

[01:29:36] way that we may not have seen and so along with that ask I would like to see outline the policies and protocols aligned with it so that if there is extreme weather across Henrico County that one area isn't receiving more resources than the other I like for that word equity to really be intentional in this space of facilities and climate change and so again if you haven't figured it out I really am advocating for a discussion on climate change

[01:30:09] publicly. And it's a very hard thing to do, whether you see yourself as a politician or simply a human being that cares a whole lot. Having the discussion in public takes a tremendous amount of courage. I am up to doing it. I don't know colleagues if you are too. If you are not, I do understand. I also would like for us to acknowledge the reality of systemic factors across the division. I think it's time for that conversation. I really, really do. I don't think our children

[01:30:46] have the luxury of waiting for us to become comfortable with the conversation either. Thank you so much. Chair Irving. Thank you, Mrs. Atkins. I'll go to Mrs. Kinsella next. Yes, thank you. Greatly appreciate today's presentation and I tell you some key words for me that are that are not unusual hearing when we're talking about facilities or capital improvement plan or employees or Henrico

[01:31:22] schools is a workplace or you know accountability planning progress I think now I don't think we're any more proactive I think that plans are coming to fruition words like efficiency and I really like the way you highlighted our strong internal maintenance teams as did miss Atkins because they are certainly worth highlighting, how strong our team is. I appreciated how the presentation for me

[01:31:56] built on years of work that it actually took us to get here, and it highlights the partnership that we have with our County Manager, our Board of Supervisors, where we've, you know, we're trying to, we've addressed and we've tried to fund the myriad of challenges that you mentioned, whether it's the aging, on slide three, the aging infrastructure, the workforce challenges, large temperature changes, to Ms. Atkins' point about climate change, supply chain challenges, new and old systems, and peak seasons. I just think it's really timely to be having it right

[01:32:35] now, especially with the back-to-school that we've had. But since you don't really have a point of reference, since you're newer with us, I'm going to turn to Dr. Cashwell and basically say that in my experience as a longer serving board member, the challenges we face this year are actually less than those we've faced in prior years.

[01:33:00] What is your opinion on that, Dr. Cashwell? - I would certainly say without even quantifying more or less, I'd say we've made dramatic progress compared to where we were with some of these challenges a few years ago. And I'm thinking about the budget planning process and CIP planning process.

[01:33:18] This board went through just this past fiscal year planning for this fiscal year with, as Mr. Dunaway highlighted, the addition of the HVAC technicians and that liaison role. So understanding even at that time over a year ago, what our challenges were, keeping up with the demands of the workforce and making sure we were equipped with the right number of positions to serve a growing scale that we have in facilities, as well as addressing some of those communications and work order challenges, specifically with the addition of that liaison position, all things this board planned for, again, over a year ago.

[01:33:55] And so I think so many of those pieces are coming together now in a way that we're beginning to see progress, though it's certainly not an easy road and for all the reasons pointed out here, as well as some that are more specific to Henrico schools.

[01:34:12] I would just applaud this board for being proactive and having ongoing conversations throughout multiple CIP planning processes. I could even roll back a year or two ago when we were looking at between the bond referendum and what could be accomplished there with aging schools and facilities to how to best manage meals tax projects and other CIP mechanical projects to make sure we were meeting those critical needs and realizing that perhaps what had been budgeted wouldn't cover all of those needs and working together with our partners to really come up with a plan that expanded the funding to be able to meet real needs.

[01:34:51] So tremendous progress. - Thank you so much for that. And I greatly appreciate you mentioning our annual capital plan review. And as you know, Mr. Dunnaway, it's a 10 year plan, but I was wondering, slide five mentions our new facility structure.

[01:35:09] Has the team, I just want to understand what I heard you present, has the team already identified current issues, our current annual funding level, will it prevent deferred maintenance going forward?

[01:35:26] It will lessen the amount of deferred maintenance over a period of time. One year of investment won't fully resolve deferred maintenance, but that investment over that 10-year period is going to substantially reduce the amount of deferred maintenance system-wide.

[01:35:43] And is the plan, I guess now you're currently working on the plan, do you anticipate, I guess, changes to the plan? Because each year, right, we do have the 10-year plan, and each year we evaluate the current, you know, the next year where the funding is going to go, what the needs and priorities are.

[01:36:03] So do you anticipate some of the priorities shifting in the recommendations that are going to come before the board maybe in the next few weeks? Yes, so if we're managing this 10-year plan correctly, we don't set it in stone and step forward with that report statically and go about it that way.

[01:36:28] We did receive the 10-year facilities condition assessment by the third-party firm that did identify projects, and that was mainly based on facilities condition assessment, so the age of the equipment, the condition of it. But that's only one piece that helps us make good strategic decisions.

[01:36:47] And so the other piece of that is utilizing our strong institutional knowledge, working with our school leaders, understanding challenges that are popping up or repeat issues that are popping up that may not just show up right on that FCA report.

[01:37:03] So that first year plan that we received, there was a list of projects, but our team has been working through that list. Our director of facilities, our shared mechanical director position and our team, and they have refined that list, using it as a basis, but then understanding with their institutional knowledge what needs to move up from a priority standpoint that's going to have the most impact for the greatest number of students and staff.

[01:37:33] That's year one, but that doesn't stop there. It really ties in with our continual improvement. continually assessing and reevaluating so as we roll out year one as we get in theory as we get near the end of year one then we're going to reevaluate take stock reprioritize but that third-party assessment gives us a really strong foundation to work from I appreciate that and then how will we know or measure

[01:38:06] if the new maintenance strategy on slide seven is working. Yeah, so a very simple... I think that's slide eight. It's slide eight, maybe. A very simple high-level metric that we're going to start to utilize and manage and assess over time is basically reactive work tickets that we receive on a daily basis comparative to preventative maintenance tickets that we're completing.

[01:38:32] There are industry benchmarks that kind of speak towards industry best practices as far as if you look at all of your work orders completed over a year a certain percentage of those in industry best practices should be very heavily weighted towards work completed towards preventative maintenance not reactive so as we work with our our assessment of the work order system and improving our work order system that's one that i'm going to stay attuned to very closely because is we should see trends over the months and years of less reactive tickets,

[01:39:10] more preventative maintenance tickets. It will take time, but we can measure the trends, and that's one that comes to my mind immediately. - Well, I appreciate that, and I know Ms. Atkins highlighted it, and probably every board member will highlight, as we've been in our schools, just the efficiency in terms of the communication, so appreciative of the position on slide seven, and the work order system revamping that.

[01:39:36] But just the communication, as Ms. Atkins said, with our building leaders, when the techs are in a building, can they please speak to our building leaders or as we have this new position, can someone please help us with the communication so that our principals who are on the front lines, trying to inform our employees and our families, what is going on in the building.

[01:40:01] extremely appreciative about that work being noted there. Let's see also on see what protocols if you could just address some of the protocols I think this is a question my colleagues and I have gotten we get it often whether it's whether it's cold outside, hot outside, whenever there are some temperature fluctuations within a classroom, within a wing of a school, within a whole building what kind of protocols are in place for example spot coolers move to a different room in

[01:40:39] the building if that doesn't work right just can you go through some of the layers in the protocols and then of course as we close two schools in recent weeks right that is the most extreme protocol right to ensure safety for our students and staff if you could just kind of go through that so it's kind of like a one-on-one 101 on protocols sure sure and we we try to stay consistent in that approach and so when our facilities team becomes aware of an HVAC related issue of course what we try to do first is deploy immediately and physically verify what's going on

[01:41:16] in the space if it's something that can be resolved quickly then of course we want them to just jump into action and try to get it back online as quickly as possible if that looks like it's going to be an extended repair time either the work that they need to do or as I mentioned in one of the slides it's a part has failed that's going to be several weeks lead time if it's going to be an extended time for repair then we work with the school leaders and look to install temporary cooling measures or if it was in the wintertime temporary heating measures but temporary measures to mitigate and condition the space while those repairs are being made and

[01:41:55] If it's in a singular room or several rooms, then we try to deploy spot coolers because those are the quickest and best suited for smaller outages. If we have larger, wider outages, short pump middle school with chiller issues supplying an entire building, then we'll come in with larger building-wide temporary measures to get the building conditioned appropriately.

[01:42:22] If for some reason, you mentioned some recent examples, if we are facing a situation even with temporary measures and it doesn't look like it's going to condition the building or the space appropriately and it may create an unsafe condition, then our school system has shown we'll make that difficult decision out of the safety of our students and staff to dismiss early or close.

[01:42:50] And so that's kind of our typical approach, if you will. All of it is, you know, with all of it to resolve it as quickly as possible and truly make sure that temporary piece of equipment is temporary. And I'm so glad you just mentioned that word, temporary.

[01:43:08] Sometimes because of the funding needed for the chillers, for replacement chillers, I think we've used the word temporary chiller where it's really not temporary, right? it's it's temporary until we can fully fund a replacement chiller could you speak to that a little bit maybe back to the lead time and the cost but it would depend sure versus the size given how many buildings we have and how many pieces of equipment we have for sure if it's a scenario where it's a longer

[01:43:43] range outage and it's a large piece of equipment let's say a chiller that's supplying an entire building then we do bring in a temporary it really is a temporary chiller is the right term but the reality is it is a chiller it just happens to be mobile and it can supply the entire building so in a situation like Shorepump Middle School that is a 500 ton chiller that just happens to be on a trailer that can supply our entire building on a temporary basis if it's a singular room or several classrooms then we are putting in mobile AC spot units

[01:44:22] that are sized appropriately and can be hooked up within the room to clean to cool individual spaces but again those are temporary measures and we work as quickly as we can to resolve it and make sure they truly are temporary. A temporary chiller scenario typical that is a larger chiller like short pump or short pump middle or short pump elementary if it does require a long-term project short pump elementary is receiving a new chiller that's going to replace an older chiller that's was past useful life that is a long-range

[01:44:59] project so that chiller will be in place for many months while we go through the design construction and installation project so it's it's a rental temporary chiller i guess i'm just trying to help the community if you're watching to understand the difference but temporary chiller right it's a rental yes thank you i mean that's that's enough for me and then um and then lastly um how do what are we going to do differently in the recruit uh

[01:45:33] retain on slot 11. how what are we going to do differently um because like you pointed out you industry, trades are aging out, how are we going to find the qualified technicians we need? What are we going to do differently? What insight do you bring to that? So we are applying additional resources. As I mentioned, we were at the job fair specific to facilities trades. We're looking at increasing advertisement in the Richmond area. There's also, I think, untapped avenues of

[01:46:08] professional organizations, trade organizations that we have yet to tap, that I feel like we can tap and expand the network. And it really is not just doing one, it's doing all of them in hopes that we are putting the word out and actively looking for those candidates. There's other opportunities too, I think, with apprenticeship programs and trade programs to where there may be an opportunity to bring in technicians early in their career and we can help train them.

[01:46:40] that I think we're gonna look to explore as well too. - Different levels of technicians, right? For different varying things. And they would also have to be certified on our systems as well, right? Now, I just appreciate you expanding a little bit on what you see we could do differently.

[01:46:58] And again, thank you for the presentation. Welcome to Henrico. That's all I had, Chair Irving. - Thank you. - Thank you, Mrs. Kintilla. Mr. Young. - Thank you, Mrs. Dunaway, for all you're doing. I know it's been a short period of time, but I also want to sincerely thank our maintenance teams, facility employees, custodians, school administrators and contractors who have been working around the clock to respond to these challenges.

[01:47:23] Many of them working in difficult conditions under tremendous pressure and doing everything they can to keep our schools safe and operational. So my questions today are not intended to diminish any of that work. I want to put that out there, and I also want to ensure they have the staff and resource systems and support necessary to do their job successfully.

[01:47:43] We touched on recognizing the size and complexity of this responsibility. I think we say HCPS maintains 72 schools and facilities, 50 major HVAC systems, 7 million square feet of building space. That's probably triple of what government side handles.

[01:47:59] We're dealing with aging equipment, changing technology, extreme temperatures, delayed parts, and a nationwide shortage of skilled technicians. The challenges are real, but also the conditions our students and employees are working in and have experienced are also real. So I do want to acknowledge that some classrooms are warm. We have some recurring equipment failures, early dismissals, school cancellations, family scrambling, they find child care. But today, I want this approach to be solution focused, right? Everything I ask will be to move us forward. And I like the presentation because it outlined a more proactive data informed approach. So many of my questions

[01:48:36] will be focused around that. Ms. Kinsella, Ms. Atkins have already probably checked off about eight or nine of them. So maybe this should have been like an open discussion as opposed to one by one because we've been discussing this for over a year now. This is not new to any board member up here. And of course, Dr. Cashwell alluded to the fact that we've been advocating for that funding since I've been on the board. I can't speak for previous years, but since I've been here.

[01:49:02] So a few questions. They may skip around. Try to follow me as best you can. The new contract that requires quarterly HVAC inspections at every school. I heard you say that once if they find a problem, they can fix the problem. But I wanted to kind of understand the process of that. Is there a call that needs to be made? Is it on site? Is it immediate?

[01:49:22] can you kind of walk us through that a little bit on on the preventive side right sure it's it's a little nuanced um and we have already held kickoff meetings with all of these eight vendors they have their pos we've already started to provide them um some backlog work orders that they can come in and assist us with to look at before they step in the school so they can get the parts and pieces needed so but um when they do go into a building to conduct their preventative maintenance because that's the main basis of the contract.

[01:49:52] While they're conducting that work, like I mentioned, if they come across something that may need repairs, it is a nuanced approach, but we have indicated to them, if you're there and you can make the fix, we want you to make the fix while you're there.

[01:50:07] And so we have structured our POs with them and thresholds that are lower dollar amount. If they see it and it's something simple and they can run to the supply house or it's in their truck, just go ahead and fix it and include it into the work order.

[01:50:23] If it's something above a higher dollar amount, don't leave. Give us a call. Let's talk it through. And more than likely, we're going to say, can you get the part? Get it done. So we've established some guardrails, if you will, of lower dollar amounts.

[01:50:41] Make it happen. If it's something higher dollar amount, call us. Let's have a conversation and let's work out a plan to get it resolved, if we can, while you're there. Yeah, and I think years past, we've seen them leave if it's not in budget or incomplete works left out there until they come back and sort of get an increased budget for spending, whether it's HVAC or other systems that we have.

[01:51:02] When it comes to HVAC contractors, are they hired or contracted out just for HCPS? So are they like on, not essentially on our staff, but are they like with us daily? Or is this like they'll be with us maybe a Monday here, Wednesday there?

[01:51:20] how does that how does that kind of work yeah they so they're not they're not dedicated only just for henrico county public schools or on the government side just for the government they are local contractors serving the whole richmond metro area but um but they also um they are all experienced and they realize that they want their staff members to know our buildings and our staff as well as we do and so they are all of the vendors we're working with are trying to identify their teams that are not specifically dedicated but their main role will be to work within our

[01:51:59] schools so they can develop relationships and understand our building systems better but they are not solely dedicated to the school yeah have we have we even thought about maybe having them solely dedicated to our schools i'm not sure if the contract is structured that way um i don't um because it is spread across eight different vendors and i don't mean to cut you off but i know we're still trying to fill positions is why i'm asking is the contracted position for a year or six months on staff would that supplement not having i think we had nine vacancies right now hvac so that's that's why i asked that question yeah i think so

[01:52:37] they are helping us in in a way through that contract so yes we are running a number of vacancies and so that's why we're also utilizing them to assist us with any open work orders that may be open when they show up to the school that they're assigned to to do that preventative maintenance so it's not it's they're not specifically dedicated for the school system but we are trying to approach it in a way of do the preventative maintenance work and while you're there help us fill in the gaps while we're working to fill out our vacancies yeah and i think we're in a better position because of that so um kudos to you guys um can you talk about um where the

[01:53:15] greatest delays in our procurement process lie. So we hear ordering parts or I know in that and I know it's a nuance. I know way more HVAC words, chillers, boilers, capacitors, air handling units, compressors. I know way more words now dealing with these issues. But is there any is there any way to speed up the procurement process? So are you seeing some delays that the board can support or go to our counterparts on maybe the other side to speed some things up? Can you can you speak to it a little bit or how nuanced is it? Sure. From my perspective, when things rise to a certain

[01:53:50] level, I've seen our Henrico County Public Schools team and the government work swiftly to assist us with POs and emergency POs when we need it. Really where I'm seeing a lot of the delays is tied to the supply chain of materials is really our, you know, some of our outstanding projects that we have yet to finish or we've had an issue at the beginning of the school year and has yet to be resolved. They're mainly because a PO has been issued and we're waiting on long lead times for pieces of equipment. It's not, from my perspective, not necessarily the procurement of it. It's more

[01:54:28] of the lead time and the supply chain for the parts. Yeah, and I think you touched on that in the slab. So there's nothing necessarily on our end. It's basically supply chain issues that we're - From my perspective, any delay in resolution is waiting on the part in the supply chain.

[01:54:46] - Now, I asked this question, it wasn't to you, maybe it might've been a year ago, but can we keep commonly filling HVAC parts or systems in inventory so the schools are not waiting those eight to 12 weeks? Are we identifying like maybe it's a certain brand, certain part that we constantly are replacing? Is that in our budget?

[01:55:02] It may not even be in our budget, but. - No, we have the budget to do it. And so our team, and we've talked with our contractors as well, too, our team keeps stock of certain items that can be used regularly. We've talked to our vendors as well, you know, for your respective school, please do the same.

[01:55:21] But compressors and coils, those are typically where we have the most delays. It's hard to stock compressors. Coils, a lot of times, are manufactured on demand. And so that's where we see a lot of delays. of course we work as hard as we can to have a stock so we can respond quickly and we've talked to all of our aid vendors as well but certain items are difficult to keep stock because pieces of equipment are unique and different refrigeration um kind of makes it it makes it difficult to have a full stock um it's and it's not financially viable for contractors a lot of times either

[01:56:01] correct because i think sometimes when we when we think about hvac we think about residential units and how they can be fixed in two days or one day or get a whole new unit. And when it comes to commercial, it's a completely different ballgame. And that leeway time is extreme sometimes. And we know that temporary measures are put in place.

[01:56:18] Now, I'm going to put you on a bit of a spot, and I hate to do this to you, but I do need to touch on it. Do we have a contingency plan when the spot coolers don't necessarily cool the building? Do we have other options? Is there anything else out there that you guys have been thinking about? I heard we got some windowless units now.

[01:56:36] which are really good, but are we finding any other solutions when it comes to maybe cooling a different way? And if it's not, and this is the best we can do, then we'll keep it up and keep those spot coolers coming and keep our kids cool. But I do want to know if there's anything else you've been thinking about or something we can support you on when it comes to this.

[01:56:54] Appreciate that. We are constantly engaged with our vendors who supply these as, you know, this is their profession. They do this professionally. And so we've worked with a couple of our contracted partners where we are receiving temporary units, and they've been providing different types of equipment that we can test.

[01:57:16] The temporary AC unit is usually the quickest that we can get in and deploy, and it usually does the job. But if we run into a situation through a school leader or one of our facility staff identifies that that spot cooler for that room is not keeping up in that space, then we are actively engaged with contractors to try different types of units, evaporative units, water-cooled units.

[01:57:43] We're trying every tool in the toolbox, if you will. And that's what I like to hear. And that's what I've been seeing. I've been to many schools. That's what I've been seeing, different spot coolers in there. So, with that being said, I guess a year from now, what can this board expect to see?

[01:57:59] Is this going to be fully in place? Now, I know we're still going to have mechanical breakdowns. If it's man-made, it's meant to be broken, right? It's going to break. But a year from now, what can we expect? Can we expect full implementation of this plan? Because we know this is our guiding tool at this point. And I don't want specifics, but a year from now, can we expect everything to be in place?

[01:58:18] Or is it still going to be a year, two years, three years out? - Well, I think that our preventative maintenance contract started September 1, and that is a $3.9 million contract across all of the eight vendors serving all of the schools. And per that contract, they are required to conduct quarterly maintenance at all of the schools.

[01:58:38] So a year from now, I should be able to say that our eight contractors have completed their required preventative maintenance in all of our schools per the contract, and we should be able to speak towards these roles this structure that we've talked about here tonight we should be able to come back to you all to show progress on our first year of capital improvement plan and our plan for year two of the capital improvement plan yeah and i and our measure of success um can't be simply how we respond to issues um i think success means identifying the problems earlier which you spoke to completing the preventative maintenance consistently you spoke to reducing repeat failures communicating

[01:59:16] clearly with principals like ms cancella just said and then replacing the equipment before it becomes a crisis. All things that I see move us forward, move us in the right direction. I know this board is committed and capable of seeing this process through and providing the support necessary for this plan to succeed. And I also have confidence in you and the superintendent, our leadership team, and dedicated employers to care this out. Um, Mr. Chair, back to you. Thank y'all. Thank you, Greg. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Young. Uh, Mrs. Uh, Shay. Yay. That's me, Ms. Shay. Thanks. Mr. Dunway, thank you, uh, for the presentation. It's a, it's a, it's a tough first presentation to bring to the board so thank you for

[01:59:55] your expertise and your uh detailed um recount of where we are and like you said more important where we're going um i am very grateful for our partnership with our counterparts on the board of supervisors and how we've been able to expand our mechanical funding over the past couple years. I have the privilege of being part of the Hunts Institute this year which brings together about two dozen local leaders from across the state government side and school board side and

[02:00:29] when we met in August one thing that every single locality I think brought up was the waning state funds for school infrastructure whether that be new buildings or mechanical and how it's really putting a pressure on them to be able to provide spaces from their students I know Henrico sits at a much better place than many other localities some of those localities share that they're you know over half a billion dollars in deferred maintenance in the deficit and and we don't have that kind of gap here in Henrico and that is because of our partnership with the government side

[02:01:08] and our tremendous work of our facilities team. So I wanted to make sure I highlight that. When I filter all of this information, and my colleagues have made extraordinary points, so I try not to belabor them, what I'm hearing is that things have changed. Systems have changed, how we dovetail old and new, whether in the physical systems or also with the monitoring of them, systems have changed.

[02:01:33] Equipment supply and staffing supply have changed. and so we also as a division need to change how we respond to that we can't be static in our structure but we need to look at it through new lenses and and perhaps change how we approach things and that's that's what you brought us so I uh I appreciate that the highlights really for me some of the earworms that stood out that are most important to me is that we move from reactive

[02:02:02] to proactive, that we employ strategic approaches and not guesswork, that we look at preventable aspects and resolve things that before they are an equipment failure, we set our teams up to succeed, and that we communicate well within our system and outside of our system with all of the stakeholders that matter, which include our facility team and our principals and our leadership and our families and our students, all of that.

[02:02:37] That's what rises to the top for me. I think that's what you brought us. I'm not going to belabor the details of it because there are a lot here. There's a lot to dig in and to consider, but also that's your expertise.

[02:02:53] This is your expertise. This is your wheelhouse. And I am trusting you as our chief of operations and our very capable superintendent to tell us as a board,

[02:03:03] what you need to make this happen and that if things change and we need and an approach needs to change or you need something else that you will both let us know as a board so that we can support you and so that we can make this happen for all of our stakeholders in Henrico. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Shea. I believe Ms. Atkins had a redirect. She had a question that she wanted to ask. I did, Chair Irving. One of the things that I am curious about are warranties. So I am hearing a lot about purchase.

[02:03:35] orders I am hearing a lot about purchasing a whole lot of things I strongly urge for someone to give me an answer the question of warranties so I'll start very foundationally do we purchase a warranty with these items in these purchase orders just a very general response typically we have a one-year warranty period on new construction that's kind of a general there may be be associated warranties but we do have warranties in and some of the things that

[02:04:12] we're working on today that are HVAC issues are items that were in the warranty phase and we are holding our contractors and manufacturers responsible for the repair so we do hold warranties and we try to make sure we do everything to hold our contractors and our manufacturers accountable to that but a general time of one year is a general time frame for just construction in Do we understand the financial impacts of these warranties? So here's what I mean. I can buy a refrigerator, but when I get that refrigerator in my home and

[02:04:50] plug it up, if it does not work and I pull my warranty and I call the number for repair, if I do not get a mechanic to repair it in a certain period of time, that impacts me financially because my food is full. So I want to understand how are we measuring how we hold individuals accountable for fulfilling the warranty because there is a financial aspect to this where we paid for it and so if you could show I know that's probably an extensive list so I'm

[02:05:27] not looking for it tomorrow for sure but I think as a board and our decision making we can better understand if it makes sense on a million dollar chiller maybe we need more than a one-year warranty I just I'm wondering how can we make decisions around that particular piece without the necessary data because I'm sure with the price tag these chillers can cost from 300,000 to millions we just approved a $500,000 chiller so when it comes to decision

[02:06:02] making or providing dr. cash flow guidance on warranty and budget I think having the data to be able to help um would really really um could potentially be a game changer and i'm glad to hear it's at least a year sometimes i've heard that it's three months so if you're buying it in the winter you may not know the impacts until summer for a chiller so i really hope to get more information in that space and then i also wondered if we have a list of the

[02:06:37] purchase orders with the ETAs or estimated time of arrivals that we can share with principals so that when they get the phone call and the responses we're waiting on a part it will be helpful for them to be able to share as of now we expect the part to come in November you know helping to set some expectation I think will be very helpful is that something that can be shared yes our building leaders yes and and we have a goal of doing that we want to sure that we're transparent and sharing timelines and estimated time of repair with all of our school leaders we want to arm them with the information and like in my visits here early

[02:07:17] on i've told them um you may not like what you hear when i provide you the update but at least you know the steps ahead and the timeline because they are leaders on the front line they're in the schools they can engage with their staff they they can engage with our families and our students so that is one area of focus here early on in my tenure is trying to make sure we're improving the lines of communication providing those timelines and uh timely updates to our school leaders is something that we're aiming for bravo um i think you know as a building leader and kudos

[02:07:52] to all of our building leaders across henrico to have to tell a parent that we're waiting on a park the immediate next question is when and to not have an answer to that is difficult so bravo to you for taking that on and and moving forward with that the other question I have will the assessment that shared I think is slide six include a ranking on how equipped our buildings are to handle and I kind of did some research on sort of the top extreme weather sort of circumstances we've had in Virginia

[02:08:26] and Henrico and so the four are tornadoes hurricanes snow ice storms combined and intense summer heat waves so will that assessment do a study per building on how equipped these buildings are particularly the aged buildings and the buildings that have new additions so you have this aged building and you have this new addition that you're using the same chiller to cool which causes some humidity issues sometimes so will that assessment include those things I don't believe the the assessment went into weather events it was really more of a

[02:09:05] what they call a facilities condition assessment so they're really looking at the type of equipment the age of the equipment it was it's really focused on the systems and equipment I'm not sure that that assessment included a full assessment of potential number of extreme weather events hmm yeah move on also I'm wondering as you're working if there is an opportunity for our Center for environmental studies to help I think our students may have some

[02:09:42] wonderful innovative ideas that don't cost there are solutions that aren't tied to money when it comes to trying to cool down or become warm way before we had AI and all the modern things that we have now that used to be used there are also states with extreme temperatures that are handling this very very well because they are using some techniques that were used back in the 60s if you can imagine that so that's a two-parter I wonder if our Center for Environmental

[02:10:19] Studies could be a part of the solution and then I'm also wondering if we can explore opportunities to cool buildings or warm buildings that's not based off financials because there are ways to do that one of them is educating parents that's where the communication comes in again we can already have drafts scripts prepared kudos to Aileen Cox because we do this great on social media around how to dress appropriately for weather but I'm wondering if we could go a step further and I'm gonna go just go back to climate change and educating our

[02:10:56] parents on there are things we can't control nature is not one of them and then going and sharing how how do you battle that that's not only helpful for our large schools but it's helpful at home and so I wonder if that's another space how can we provide solutions that aren't tied to money money is not the answer for all of this all of us agree communication is a big part but there are other pieces too like how we dress and how to inform our parents of what to

[02:11:32] expect in the building in a timely manner and how we communicate with those with varying abilities that was a big one for me partly just because of some of the work that I do but if you're thinking about the entire family that is hard of hearing or deaf if you're thinking about an entire family that are experiencing whether it's autism ADD ADHD there's so many things that when you have varying abilities and you're trying to keep pace so I wonder that's

[02:12:07] where that question of really doing an assessment on crisis comes in for me and anyone who has a child with varying abilities and they may have it too will tell you that some worlds move really really fast and those communications come in really really swift and it's hard to keep up it would be hard to sometimes keep up with this plan and presentation and so going back to some of our youth and our buildings can really help us understand more perspectives because

[02:12:44] money isn't always the answer sometimes being empathetic is so I just give that to you and thank you so much for the redirect charity thank you of course thank you mr. Dunaway as the colleagues have said we express our deep gratis gratification for you and all that you've done in this short period of time. You've really come in and hit the ground running, and we are truly appreciative of your efforts. I'd also like to reiterate and thank all of our employees that have worked tirelessly over the summer and over

[02:13:21] the start of the school year. It is oftentimes very thankless work. I think that these folks are largely forgotten because they're not a teacher or a principal or somebody that families see, but they are absolutely vital to what we do because they provide a learning environment, they provide a working environment, and so I want them to know that we value them and we appreciate them and we are here to support them in any way possible.

[02:13:47] We want to be a place where these folks want to work and want to stay and spend their careers. And to that edge, you know, I think to our Grow Your Own program for teachers, and would it be possible to start such a program with the CTE program and hiring folks directly out of high school in an apprentice role and then eventually full-time staff and what potentially that could look like.

[02:14:12] - Yeah, I think that's something that we should explore. It's a great opportunity and I think it's something that we should look into. - Okay, I appreciate that. And so in terms of, you know, compensation for folks, I think, you know, when we had the situation of a shortage of bus drivers, we paid them more and then we filled all those vacancies and so i'm wondering you know at the end of the day sometimes these things are somewhat simple and it's do our starting salaries and overall compensation for hvac technicians electricians plumbers and other skilled trade employees compete with private

[02:14:48] employers uh or other districts i see francine's hand on the button so so we are not always necessarily comparable with the private sector of course but we are attempting to be creative within the ranges to offer salaries that attracted key people yeah and so i think you know just recognizing that we are competing against the private sector i think it's incumbent upon us to you know make the advocacy efforts and recognize that this employee group uh you know is not always

[02:15:27] comparable to other ones in terms of what they can make in the private sector because you could have students who graduate from ace herm and then go to an apprenticeship and then become a you know a union electrician and they make a hundred thousand dollars a year and they're 24 years old so I think it's how do we figure out ways to match that because we do have a shortage we do have a lot of people that are going to retire and we have to face that head-on and I want to be that employer that people look at and say they are different from other ones within the state in the public sector and be a desirable place to stay and work and spend their career

[02:16:02] here you know I appreciate the the challenges that we face I think it's important to recognize challenges and not make excuses. Like, you know, we are, we are not victims here. We are looking to be proactive and make changes. You know, I want to echo Ms. Shea. I do thank the supervisors. The funding that has been given to us over this past three fiscal years is historic and unprecedented, especially compared to previous years. And so I do thank them. And I also, you know, this has not been mentioned. I want to thank the voters of Henrico because they made the decision over a decade ago to impose a tax on themselves and that's the

[02:16:40] meals tax and so now when so many localities around the state are using this option to think you know can we add a 1% tax to help with these very issues our folks did that a long time ago and they made the commitment to our schools known over and over and over again so I do want to thank the people of this county for their commitment to our schools it's why they choose to be here and they always do whatever they can to support us so I think that they deserve recognition in this capacity as well because we would be, to Ms. Shade's point, much further behind the eight ball if they had not made that decision over a decade ago. You know, in terms of the extreme weather events, you know, I agree

[02:17:18] with Mrs. Atkins that the climate is changing and it's absolutely playing a role. It's unequivocal. Just this morning I read that this summer was the hottest in recorded history. 1936, oddly enough, used to be the hottest summer in history, but we surpassed it. And I think we're probably just going to continue to surpass it.

[02:17:40] It's been the hottest year on history again and again and again and again, and it's not going to stop. So, you know, it is incumbent upon us to deal with that head on, to recognize that it is a challenge, and to make changes to become smarter with how we deal with these issues over time.

[02:17:58] And I think it's, you know, it's never, it's no one thing that causes a division or a large organization to face these challenges it's a hundred to a thousand different things but I think looking at you know the most critical components and how do we face them and so I look at this and are we are we making efforts to green our infrastructure not only because you know of the climate efforts but also because of the money-saving effort I've talked about solar but I think it's applicable to this as well like what types of greening efforts within our buildings not only make them more habitable for people who are inside of

[02:18:35] them but also save money long term what type of efforts are we looking at yeah I think it's in a way inherently built into the CIP plan itself because with with these projects we're not going to go in and strictly just replacing kind it's an opportunity for us to look at more efficient piece even if we're replacing a piece of equipment is it more efficient our country some of the projects in the CIP are tied to control systems which are going to allow us to better control the system and manage energy better. So in a way it's almost

[02:19:11] built within the CIP as long as we make sure that that's a goal with each and every project that we're having a discussion about. Yes, we want to replace this aging piece of equipment or this system, but let's make sure that we're accounting for the long-term energy cost as well as what will it cost to maintain it with manpower. These are all things that we look at, but at each project as long as we're making sure that that's one of the priorities it's in a way it's built within the 10-year plan yeah no I appreciate that and I think that kind of dovetails into the equipment and technology piece and I

[02:19:47] think for me I hadn't ever really thought about it this explicitly it but reading it you know the modern buildings run digital networked control systems layered on top of older mechanical equipment and its expertise that never existed you know even in the past decade so like for me it's it's recognizing these challenges and I also think that it may be worthwhile to look at one of our current projects that's underway with a living building and what can we learn from this like perhaps putting vegetation on top of our roofs I mean that's been shown and that's something that's adapted throughout the world it can be shown to reduce temperatures what are things that can be

[02:20:25] done that are not mechanical in nature to help you know combat the environment that we face I think that's that's really worth looking into and we should take inspiration from the the project that we're that we have underway right now I think the colleagues covered a lot of things I did want to touch on you know the leadership split within facilities I think that that is long overdue again that is not our area we don't we don't get into the specifics of roles but I do think that just knowing what that role was previously in the

[02:21:03] breadth of it it seems to have been an impossible task for any one person and I think the splitting and being able to define focus will be vital and will be successful and I think it will will help us moving forward I also love adding the facilities and operational communication liaison role I think that that is about and I know that you've spoke to me about this really empowering our building leaders to be informed decision makers and having a true seat at the table to help know what's happening and guide the process of what's happening with their buildings and I think that's it's it's something that's not financial right like a morale boost in that way of someone feeling supported and empowered

[02:21:41] can't necessarily be quantified with money and I and I think that's that's tremendous and I think the last thing that I want to touch on is sorry just trying to get through everything that no I think that's I think that's all of it I just want to reiterate to folks that again we are focused to getting this right I hope that mr. Dunaway's presentation has shown that this board is committed to doing whatever is necessary to push us into a positive direction. Again,

[02:22:15] we are not victims. We are looking forward. We are being results-oriented people and ensuring that this Henrico County school system is the best place for people to send their students and the best place to work. So we thank you for your time and all of the work, and we look forward to seeing you again in the future on this. All right. Thank you all. All right. I echo my thanks, Mr. Dunaway, for your leadership only a few weeks on the job both at the strategic level for your presentation as well as on the front lines over the past days alongside

[02:22:51] the facilities team members where you are much appreciated thank you that concludes items from me thank you dr. Cashwell and team colleagues will move on to the approval of the consent items are there any requests from any of my colleagues to separate an item for individual discussion or individual action okay hearing none uh we will move is there a motion to approve the consent agenda i move that the school board accept adopt approve and or award items 8.01 through 8.4 on the consent agenda as

[02:23:28] presented thank you mrs atkins do i have a second thank you mrs shea all in favor say aye aye the eyes have it items 8.1 through 8.4 on the consent agenda are approved um citizens have had the opportunity to submit written comments through an online form in advance of the meeting. Those comments were shared with the school board and are posted in community for public record. 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? All right, hearing none, we

[02:24:07] will move on to the announcement of future meeting dates. The school board's next meeting will be a work session on Thursday, September 24th, 2026 at 3:00 p.m., followed by a monthly meeting at 6:30. Meeting times may be adjusted as AS NEEDED, THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.

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