Coraggio Consulting
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Budget Public Hearing (Session III), Saturday, February 28, 2026

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026
Place: Board Room, First Floor, Government Center, 1 Harrison Street SE, Leesburg, Virginia
Length: 1h 18m (video)
Official meeting video (county, Granicus): https://loudoun.granicus.com/player/clip/8128
Meeting page (Granicus): https://loudoun.granicus.com/player/clip/8128

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

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[00:07:50] Well, good morning, supervisors, good morning, staff, and good morning, Loudon. I'd like to call to order the February 28, 2026, Loudon County Board of Supervisors Budget Public Hearing. This room has a hearing loop. If you need hearing assistance, please switch your hearing aid to the telecom mode.

[00:08:07] If you need a headset, we have those available as well. Please see the clerk to request one. Would everyone please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? All right, before we start, a couple things.

[00:08:40] One, our colleague, Caleb Kirshner, the Catoctin District Supervisor, has a slight family emergency going on, so he will not be here this morning. He did ask me to let everybody know that he will absolutely watch the video and everyone speaking and take all of your comments into account around any item that we're talking about.

[00:09:02] Thank you. Any item that we're talking about on the budget. If we are still on the dais, if we're still here, if we're not finished by 10:30, I will have to leave. I have to be in Lorton, Virginia at 11:45. I don't know how long the drive to Lorton, Virginia takes, but until it takes an hour.

[00:09:17] And so I have to leave at 10:30, and if there are still speakers at that time, Mr. Vice Chair Turner will take over at that time. The public hearing is to allow members of the public to address the Board on the proposed budget for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027, the FY 2027 proposed budget and the proposed tax rate on real and personal property taxes for the year 2026 beginning January 1, 2026 and ending December 31, 2026.

[00:09:51] This is the final public hearing session for comment on the proposed budget. Any member of the public may address the board but only at one session. sign up to speak at this public hearing. If you have not signed up, please do so now. I will ask that by the board's rules of order, when you speak, you address your comments to the dais, so you address your comments to the board, to me. If you'd like, and please stay facing the board, don't turn around, address your comments to the audience. That is something that the board has asked for in our rules of order. If you are, if you signed up to speak, you'll be allowed at two minutes to speak. If you're in the boardroom

[00:10:29] When your name is called, please come to the podium, state your name for the record. If you'd like to state the district that you are from, you may do that as well. The timer on the podium will indicate your remaining time. When your time has expired, please yield forward to the next speaker.

[00:10:45] When a member of the public is providing comment in the language other than English, we do provide time for the speaker and the interpreter. And so each person will have two minutes, the speaker and the interpreter, if you're addressing us in a language other than English. If you're providing your comments by phone and you cannot see the timer because you're at home, please set your own timer because if I stop you when you're at one minute and 30 seconds, it throws off your flow and I don't want to do that.

[00:11:14] But when you get to two minutes, I will stop you. So just have your own timer and time yourself if you do not mind. When taking public input, okay, when taking public input, I will ask if there's anyone in the boardroom wishing to speak then I will go to the moderator and ask if there are any speakers online. I think right now, I do not think we have speakers, we don't have any remote speakers as of right now, if I'm looking at this correctly, but if we do I will go to Emma and ask. Emma, are you there? Can you hear me? Wonderful.

[00:11:50] I think that might be everything. You should know that during public hearing the board does not normally respond to speakers, so you may ask questions and things like that. We'll write them down. We'll get back to you, but normally there's not a back and forth unless there's something said that is so egregiously wrong that I feel like I need to fix that in the moment.

[00:12:13] But otherwise, we'll just call your names. And so I will call your name, three names in advance, so that you know that you're next up to come. The first, and if I mispronounce your name, I do apologize in advance. Please come up, pronounce your name correctly, and accept my apologies in advance.

[00:12:31] The first speaker is Michael Kalondarites, and then Michelle O'Dell, and Jeremy Dalpezas. Good morning.

[00:12:51] Holy smokes. Good morning. We're ready when you are. Okay. Good morning, board members. I'm Michael Klonarides, Vice Chair of Loudoun Country Day School of Board of Trustees. A pleasure speaking with you today as a representative of the Board of Trustees, Loudoun County Consistuent of Catoctin District, and a proud parent of an LCDS student.

[00:13:17] I'm speaking on the topic of road and safety improvements along the Evergreen Mill Road corridor. The safety improvements at Watson Road and Evergreen Mills Road from the systematic failures of that design to include the death of an individual, as we may remember, waiting for a tragedy like this to happen again is malfeasance.

[00:13:34] We all know that with additional housing units, additional traffic comes with it. Our school students are just as important as those in the public schools. Those schools have traffic speed restrictions, funded officer presence, among other safety measures. At our school, the speed limit is 55 at all times.

[00:13:52] Imagine how difficult traffic will be when the roadway bottlenecks from Hoglin Road to Ryan Road. This seems like a policy oversight. Was this the intention of the board to create traffic backups into the Red Cedar and neighboring communities? Private and public schools are complementary pieces of our community's educational puzzle.

[00:14:12] In fact, every student enrolled in our school represents a direct cost savings for the public system. $8 million estimated based per pupil cost, allowing those tax-funded resources to go further for the students they serve. And additionally, we, as a school, budget and fund about around $105,000 to $115,000 per year for an off-duty Loudoun County Sheriff's Officer Deputy to sit at the Red Cedar-Evergreen Mills intersection.

[00:14:42] This benefits not only our community, but the neighboring communities such as Red Cedar and all their drivers through that area. Our school is growing, just like developments around it. The road system needs to adapt not just to the development, but to the increased traffic demands.

[00:14:58] Expanding the road isn't enough. It simply just adds more variables to the current situation. We need secondary solution as well, a roundabout or traffic light. Thank you. Your time is up. One quick, so this is Watson and Red Cedar and Evergreen Mills Road, that intersection, that whole intersection?

[00:15:17] No, yeah, it's literally a five-mile stretch from Hoglin Road to Ryan Road, which includes Watson Road. All right, thank you. Thank you very much. Michelle Odell followed by Jeremy Delpiaz. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning members of the board. My name is Michelle Odell and I am the head of school at Loudoun Country Day School and I'm also here to follow with Mike's comments about the traffic on Evergreen Mills particularly at our intersection Evergreen Mills and Red Cedar. This is an opportunity for us to work together. We are

[00:15:57] here to talk about the fact that LCDS is a non-profit pillar in Loudoun's educational landscape, and we are currently shouldering a significant public safety cost that is directly impacting our ability to invest in our people and programs. Every year, LCDS budgets between $105,000 and $115,000 specifically to station an off-duty sheriff's deputy at the Red Cedar and Evergreen Mills intersection. While this is vital for the safety of our families, the Red Cedar neighborhood and every commuter on Evergreen Mills, it does come at a steep cost.

[00:16:32] That $115,000 represents a direct diversion of resources that could be going towards things such as competitive teachers' salaries to recruit and retain the best educators, additional teachers and counselors to support our students' well-being, new classroom technology and initiative, and professional development for our 94 faculty and staff members. Since we moved in 2009 to the Cedar campus our school has grown from 268 students to 364 students and to meet our mission we must and we plan to expand. We're asking the county to keep pace with us. Private and public

[00:17:09] schools are complementary pieces of the same educational puzzle. We aren't just asking for traffic relief, we're asking for an infrastructure partnership that ensures non-profit school isn't responsible or primarily the financier for the for the safety of a major public intersection.

[00:17:27] We invite you to come to our school and see this intersection when there's no deputy present and then we also invite you to come into our school and see the amazing things that we do. We look forward to your partnership and support. Thank you, thank you. I'm Jeremy Del Piaz followed by Lynn Davis, followed by Jasmine Tyler. Good morning. Good morning members of the board. My name is Jeremy Delpiaz. I'm a constituent in the Catoctin District and I'm a proud parent of an LCDS student who's with us today. I wanted her to see the policy process in action. Supervisors, I hold a Master of Public Policy degree and I've been involved in public policy for over 22 years in

[00:18:05] one way or another. A core tenant of a well-crafted policy revolves around the concept of exhausting unintended consequences. This has not been done for the Evergreen Mills Corridor. While the the village at Clear Springs will bring innovative housing solutions to meet the county's unmet housing needs, the county is failing to entirely address the danger of Evergreen Mills Road.

[00:18:28] In Supervisor Kirshner's own words at the public hearing approval of this development in January 2024, he stated, I used to live off Evergreen Mills. That is a very dangerous road. This is a very important improvement. At that time, Supervisor Kirshner was referencing the developer's proffers to widen the road. With anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 new housing developments up and down housing units up and down Evergreen Mills from Ryan to Battlefield. Along with additional businesses coming, the road will simply be overwhelmed. In Supervisor Kirshner's words, the road will remain dangerous. Simply allowing proffers to fund a portion of the road winding

[00:19:04] doesn't address what will be a major choke point when the road narrows down to two lanes. It's also my understanding that more schools are planned for that corridor, which adds more school traffic and buses. The speed limit in front of our school is 55 miles per hour. As you travel southbound to turn under red cedar in the turning lane on the northbound side there's a blind curve i don't have a radar but i can tell you that traffic is faster than 55 miles per hour at that turn which makes it dangerous when we're bringing our children to school the 2019 evergreen mills safety audit recommends in the tier three recommendations a signal justification report

[00:19:39] for the intersection the school has been asking for some sort of relief since 2009 if you do conduct a traffic study please take into account and adjust for when an officer is present and to to anticipate the additional traffic flow. I urge you to consider this request. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Lynn Davis, followed by Jasmine Tyler, followed by Nicole Acosta. Good morning. Good morning. Can you hear me? We can hear you. Great. My name is Lynn Davis, and I am with the Algonquian District. Every time there's a mass shooting, we hear the same lines. This isn't about guns. It's

[00:20:13] about mental health. Okay, if that's true, where's the funding? Where are the counselors in our schools, the crisis beds in hospitals, community mental health professionals who could actually help people before they reach a breaking point. You can't claim mental health as a problem and then vote against it. Hiring psychologists and social workers and crisis responders is what is needed. You can't say the answer is treatment while not providing the very systems that deliver

[00:20:49] it. If we believe mental health is the center of the issue, then let's act like it. Let's invest in the care, early intervention, and support for schools. But we have to be honest. Mental health can't just be a talking point after tragedy. It has to be a commitment before it. Because if we're not willing to fund the solution we're naming, we're not serious about solving the problem.

[00:21:18] The sheriff wants to add SROs to elementary schools and thinks that's a solution to a problem that he can't defend with data. A study has shown that educators list 11 other supports they need before they asked for armed police.

[00:21:36] When this is fully funded, if it were fully funded, he would need $18 million. Do you know what $18 million buys? That buys 100 counselors, extra counselors, one for every school in Loudoun County.

[00:21:53] But wait, there's more. $7 million left over. That $7 million gets us 82 extra LCSWs. Don't fund SROs. Thank you, Ms. So before you speak, Ms. Tyler, go on.

[00:22:14] It's fine. The board rules of orders, and I say this all the time, they're not my rules, So the rules agreed upon the board is there's no clapping, because if I allow clapping, I allow jeering. And if we have clapping and jeering, then this thing just kind of can get a little crazy.

[00:22:29] So you can do jazz hands or other things to show your support, but there is no clapping and there is no jeering. And I'm just going to ask everyone to please respect the board's rules of order. So thank you very much. Ms. Tyler, you will be followed by Nicola Costa. Good morning.

[00:22:45] Good morning. My name is Jasmine Tyler. I'm a youth and criminal justice subject matter expert, and I teach public policy in the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. I'm a Sterling resident, and I have a child enrolled in LCPS. I'm here to oppose SROs in elementary schools.

[00:23:02] Let's be clear about whose fears are being centered in this conversation. We hear a great deal of hand-wringing from affluent parents about possible harms, hypothetical scenarios, worst-case fears, things that might happen, but far less attention is being paid to the very real documented harms that policing in schools already causes, especially for black and Latino and disabled and low income children, including being handcuffed, ticketed, arrested or referred to the legal system disproportionately while also facing structural inequities.

[00:23:33] Our elementary schools are not war zones. They are places for learning, development and care. If the county truly has 18 million per year to invest in safety, there are far better evidence based uses that would protect children. The greatest preventable harms facing young people are not school shootings.

[00:23:48] They are anxiety, depression, trauma, and substance use. Fund counselors, school-based clinicians, and early intervention services so problems are addressed before they become crises. Also, children cannot learn or feel safe when their families are under constant economic strain or at risk of displacement.

[00:24:04] Stable housing is one of the strongest predictors of child wellbeing and safety. Fund affordable housing. Third, investing in the transition to adulthood gap emerging adults ages 16 to 24 are critical because that's when risks spike for mental health crises disconnection from school or work and involvement with the justice system you should expand job pathways mentoring apprenticeships and supportive services that give young people real futures safety is not created by the presence of guns gun control creates safety safety is created by the relationships resources and trust in addition to gun control let's not forget the

[00:24:40] the Papa Bear Scandal, and we should invest in what works, what heals for every child, not just the privileged. Thank you very much. Nicola Acosta, you'll be followed by Valerie Piziera and Erica Daly. Good morning. Good morning, Madam Chair and Supervisors, Nicole Acosta with the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Falker Counties. I emailed comments this morning and have a packet of data for you, and I'd like to use my time here to talk about our need to expand capacity for homelessness services.

[00:25:13] The risk of dating myself, my first job out of college was working overnight shifts at one of Loudon's shelters in 2005, just 21 years ago. It was a powerful experience meeting people who were trying so hard to rebuild their lives and it showed me how challenging it is to exit shelter into safe and stable housing in this community.

[00:25:32] And reflecting on what's changed and what hasn't in 20 years, I ran our county's point in time data and our housing inventory or our bed count reports for 2005 and 2024 to compare the difference from then and now. Looking at that data shared in your email and in the packets, the number of individuals experiencing homelessness and the point in time count grew from 93 in 2005 to 303 in 2024. Yet our system's bed counts have not grown to keep pace. If you look at the housing inventory count reports from 2005 and then 20 years later in 2024. Our providers are doing amazing work,

[00:26:10] but they're trying to solve a 2026-sized problem with the capacity of a system-wide capacity of 2005. It's a community issue for all of us to address together, government, nonprofits, philanthropy, all of us working together. I want to thank the board for everything you've done and your leadership on the Unmet Housing Needs Strategic Plan. You've accomplished so much in such a short period of time and it really shows what's possible when we put intention resources and strategic planning at work together as a community and I believe we have the same opportunity here for homelessness and the community foundation is here to serve as a partner in

[00:26:46] whatever way is possible in that effort so thank you for your leadership and for the feedback. Thank you Ms. Acosta and thank you for your service. Valerie Pissiera, good morning and you'll be followed by Erica Daly followed by Betsy Levino. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning chair and members of the board. I'm Valerie P. Sierra. Thank you for your continued leadership and partnership with our non-profit community. As the former executive director for Loudoun Cares and now program manager for Loudoun Human Services Network, I've had the privilege of working

[00:27:22] alongside county staff and community partners to address housing instability in Loudoun. Today, Loudoun has 252 people experiencing homelessness. Actually, that's the COC for 2025. That's 5.68 per 10,000 residents, lower than Fairfax, Arlington, or Alexandria.

[00:27:43] That reflects strong collaboration and commitment. However, the lower rate masks a structural challenge. Compared to neighboring jurisdictions, Loudoun has far fewer housing resources per capita. We have 87 emergency shelter beds, 26 transitional housing beds, 37 rapid rehousing slots, and only 14 permanent supportive housing beds countywide.

[00:28:07] That equals just 0.32 PSH, or permanent supportive housing, beds per 10,000 residents, significantly below Arlington, Fairfax, and Prince William. Permanent supportive housing is not simply a social service. It is a cost avoidance strategy.

[00:28:24] It reduces repeat emergency room visits, low enforcement interactions, and extended shelter stays, protecting both individuals and public resources. We must also consider Alice households, working families who earn too much to qualify for assistance, but not enough to comfortably afford Loudoun's cost of living.

[00:28:43] They are one setback away from eviction. Prevention efforts today keep them housed tomorrow. If we do not continue investing strategically, we risk increasing visible homelessness, greater strength on public systems, workforce instability, and higher long-term fiscal costs.

[00:29:01] Loudoun's current numbers reflect thoughtful leadership. The opportunity before us is to build on that success. Investing upstream in stability. I'm sorry, your time has expired. That's all. Thank you very much. We appreciate it. If you don't get all of your comments in, you can absolutely leave them with the clerk.

[00:29:22] Mr. Hemstreet, do we have our PIT counts in for January? I know the staff is working on that, Madam Chair. We will provide a response based off of the questions we're getting through the public hearing in the Wednesday budget packet.

[00:29:40] Okay, all right. And so that is coming to you. Thank you very much. Appreciate that. Erica Daly followed by Betsy Levino followed by Corey Brunette.

[00:30:00] Good morning. Good morning to you. I want to start by thanking the Board of Supervisors for all that you do to support our community and in your funding for LCPS and the Sheriff's Office so that they can support keeping our community safe. I come to you as a resident and parent from the Broad Run District, a substitute elementary school teacher at LCPS, and a 12-year mom's volunteer who often is known for my knitting.

[00:30:21] I do not support your funding of having a school resource officer in each elementary school in Loudoun County. While I understand the value of some desensitization and getting kids to know the sheriff's department, I do not think that that is the best use of your funding.

[00:30:41] It is a standard for a school system to request school resource officers and not for the sheriff's office to push into the schools. A better use of the funding would be prevention from the sheriff's office. maybe a handful of resource officers that float, much like parent liaisons.

[00:31:00] However, the most impactful thing that the sheriff's office could be doing would be to have a public safety campaign talking to the community about red flag laws as well as how to secure firearms safely, giving away gun locks.

[00:31:16] They have posted on social media accounts twice, once in 2017, and for the non-math majors that's nine years ago about a rash of firearms stolen from cars and then again in 2012 14 years ago about how to obtain gun locks that those are the most recent mentions so we would love to see the sheriff's office doing outreach telling people how to secure firearms so that they're not in the wrong hands in the first place thank you thank you thank

[00:31:52] Thank you. Betsy Levino, followed by Corey Brunette, followed by Tumay Harding. Good morning. Good morning, Chair and members of the board. Thank you for this time. My name is Dr. Betsy Scotta-Levino, and I am the vice president of the Loudoun Arts Council. There's an assumption I would like to challenge today, that the arts are a luxury. I'm here to tell you that that idea is not just outdated, it is wrong. Art is not decoration, it is infrastructure. During the pandemic, everyone was isolated, and we all know what isolation did. Suicide rates spiked, depression

[00:32:27] and anxiety, and young people reached crisis levels. The neurological after effects made it harder for everyone to return to school, to college, to work, and to engage in life. My son struggled too, but during the shutdown, he had the guitar, and he played it four hours a day, every day, electric guitar in my basement. And by the time he got done, he was so good, he was getting paid gigs at 16 and 17 years old. He went to college. He got paid gigs in college. He had fans. And he went from this shy kid to a lead guitarist who shredded on stage. I will always believe that art

[00:33:03] protected him, not metaphorically, literally. It gave him purpose when the world felt purposeless. It gave him community when he was isolated. It gave him identity when everything was uncertain. Across this county, there are kids and adults right now who need what he found.

[00:33:22] Consider the research. Arts education strengthens brain development, improves math, language, critical thinking. Art therapy reduces pain, anxiety, and recovery time. People who engage with the arts live longer. They live healthier lives.

[00:33:39] Communities with vibrant art scenes attract businesses, talent, tourism. They generate a return on the money invested. Survival is not just about the body the will to keep going through the hardest circumstances life delivers has always been fed by creativity we saw it during the pandemic people everywhere filled the internet where they filled it with poetry readings playing instruments they sang from their windows to their neighbors. Please believe me I say I don't want to stop you right now but I do have to because you're two minutes is up but thank you so much. Absolutely, thank

[00:34:13] you. Cory Brunette followed by Tumay Harding followed by Jason Harding. Good morning my name is Cory Brunette and I'm an English learner teacher in LCPS. I'm also a resident of Loudoun and a constituent of Supervisor Glass. Now is not the time to put SROs in elementary schools. Now is the time to support working-class families in Loudoun. 18 million dollars can make a real and positive difference when spent in a targeted fashion. One idea is funding the proposed local housing vouchers for working-class families until we pass real laws that create

[00:34:49] affordable housing. Another idea is putting the money in free after-school programs and paying a living wage to those working in the after-school programs. After-school programs expose students to new and different learning opportunities, allowing them to explore through activities without grades or homework. We invest in our own and in our future when we offer free after-school programs. We invest in our own and in our future when we offer housing vouchers for our working-class families. SROs in elementary schools is a bad idea right now

[00:35:25] because many of our black and brown elementary students are already afraid of law enforcement. Why would we knowingly cause more trauma for those going through this dark time right now? It's cruel. In addition, I have heard some elected leaders use the excuse that there are a few elementary schools especially in the west which are up to 24 minutes from the closest middle or high school with an sro implying that it would take an sro up to 24 minutes to respond to an emergency in this case wouldn't 9-1-1 be the first call data indicates that the sheriff's office

[00:35:59] strives to meet a 10-minute response threshold let's be serious intentional and forward thinking invest in our working class families and our children thank you thank you um to may harding followed by Jason Harding, followed by Alicia Brand. Hi. Good morning. Unfortunately, my wife is in bed sick. Oh, we wish her well. Thank you. My name is Jason Harding. I'm from Ashburn District. I'm a Loudoun County parent, taxpayer, and concerned community member. Today, I urge you to fully fund the expansion of SROs to all elementary schools. This isn't about politics.

[00:36:36] It's practical safety for our youngest children. Seconds count in a crisis. Data from the U.S. Secret Service shows that most school attackers display warning signs ahead of time and swift on-site law enforcement intervention saves lives. In Virginia, about 29% of public elementary schools already have dedicated SROs. Loudon should lead, not lag. In elementary SROs more than a uniform, they're a trusted, familiar adult who knows kids by name, builds positive relationships early, spots concerning behaviors before they escalate, responds instantly to medical issues or threats and serves as a visible deterrent and mentor, all without shortchanging older students.

[00:37:14] If concerns exist about training, child-friendly approaches, or oversight, let's address them through collaboration with the Sheriff's Office, LCPS, and parents. But delaying isn't caution, it's leaving a gap open. History rarely faults leaders for choosing caution when children's lives are at stake. It remembers when prevention opportunities were ignored. Please stand for preparedness, prevention, and protection, starting with our elementary students. Thank you for your time and commitment to our kids safety thank you sir alicia brand followed by mike clancy followed by abby platt good morning good morning if something happens in our elementary schools

[00:37:51] the first question will not be what went wrong it will be who failed to protect our kids and the answer will be this board failed let me be clear this is not about politics it's not about ice it's not about dividing families or targeting anyone this is about protecting kids all kids regardless of legal status, race, or background.

[00:38:13] And that is what SROs do, from drugs in schools to fights to, God forbid, an active shooter. An SRO is there to keep our kids safe. Elementary schools represent the highest duty of care this county has. Claiming that trained officers are a danger to kids, especially minority kids, ignores reality.

[00:38:32] SROs are trained and embedded precisely to build trust, prevent escalation, and respond. SROs do not create trauma. Abandonment does. SROs are not political symbols. They are deterrents. They are an early warning system, and when something goes wrong, they are the only protection that can respond in seconds, not the too many minutes it takes for outside officers to arrive.

[00:39:00] In an active threat, those minutes are the difference between relief and funerals. You will hear that officers create fear and there should be no guns in schools. that's backwards. Fear is an unsecured hallway, a classroom waiting for help that is too far away. It's adults choosing ideology over preparedness. Middle and high schools already have SROs because you accepted this reality. The danger does not disappear in elementary schools. It becomes more catastrophic if protection is absent. Our school budget is

[00:39:34] $2.1 billion. The full cost of this program is $18 million, but that's less than 1% paid by the county, not classrooms. This is not a political or budget issue. It's a responsibility issue. Fund the Sheriff's Plan. Fund us, Rose, in all our schools. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Mike Clancy, followed by Abby Plant, followed by Darius Hess. Good morning, Mr. Clancy.

[00:40:04] Good morning. I'm Mike Clancy from the Leesburg District. 1,649. That's the number of times an elementary school called for an SRO support from a middle school in the last school year. That's 1,649 times over 180 school days. Nine times a day.

[00:40:29] There's clearly an overwhelming need for full-time SROs in the elementary school to complement the full-time SROs in the middle schools and high schools. they're imperative for the safety of our children and the teachers and this directly impacts the middle schools because every time the sro is pulled from the middle school to the elementary school the middle school is now at risk and who on this board wants to be responsible for a school tragedy that could have been averted by an sro sros for the elementary schools it's common sense it's good sense it's the right thing to do and so what can you do maintain the elementary school

[00:41:08] SRO funding that's already in your proposed budget, then the sheriff and the school board can have meaningful discussions about how to implement that program and execute that program for the safety of our children and teachers. I urge you to ignore all the absurd nonsense of the opposition talking about mass deportations. Their wild, unhinged rhetoric makes no sense.

[00:41:31] They're using our children as political pawns to promote a radical political agenda. They truly don't care about the safety of the children and the teachers. This SRO program in the middle and high schools has been highly successful and if you don't fund the elementary school SROs, this major gap in a common sense safety measure will continue for at least another year which is just not acceptable. So I urge you all today to include this elementary school SRO funding in the current budget for the sheriff's office. It's the right thing to do for our community, for our families, for our students, for our teachers. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Clancy.

[00:42:10] Our next speaker is Abby Platt, followed by Darius, I'm sorry, Doris Hess. Good morning. Good morning, Chair Randall and members of the Board of Supervisors. My name is Abby Platt. I'm the mother of three LCPS students, including one that attends Hamilton Elementary in the Catoctin District. Every one of us walked through security this morning. There are trained armed guards at the doors of this building the lcps admin building has the same armed security controlled access

[00:42:46] these security measures exist because we recognize that protecting people matters and i'm asking you to extend the same standard to buildings where we send our six seven and eight year olds every single day this issue is deeply personal to my family as a few years ago a confirmed ms13 gang member attended two different schools with two of my children. He made direct threats to kill students. My kids were scared to go to school. Other parents in our community knew that this threat was there and they were also very concerned. The school administrators knew,

[00:43:22] the counselors knew, they were engaged and well aware of the danger that this student posed. They privately confided in us that they shared our concern but felt helpless. They didn't have the tools or the authority to address this very real threat. That individual was eventually arrested after coming to school with a loaded gun. This is not a hypothetical. This is not a talking point.

[00:43:47] This happened to my kids in our communities, in our Loudoun County schools, and it could have ended very different. It happened to our counselors, our administrators, our families. Sheriff Chapman has put forward a solid proposal to expand SRO coverage to our elementary schools. Response time is not good enough when it comes to the safety of our children. What really matters is already their time and SRO gives our administrators and counselors the support they need and deserve to never again feel helpless. The adults in this county work behind layers of protection. Ms. Platt

[00:44:26] your time is up I'm sorry. Thank you. If you have any if you if you have your comments in right you give them to the thank you thank you ma'am um mr darris has followed followed by meredith ray followed by george taplin good morning sir good morning phyllis nice to see you thank you board my name is darris i'm a taxpayer in the little river district and it's been quite a few years since i had children in the lcps so i don't follow it as closely as i used to i know that there's a 2.1 billion dollar budget 80 000 kids but the operational stuff i'm really not as familiar

[00:45:00] with anymore, but the SRO idea, as a taxpayer, I would support it. I went to the town hall meeting with Sheriff Chapman the other night because I do know that there's an SRO program in the middle schools and the high schools, and I was just curious to hear how it worked. I thought I'd hear questions or maybe even anecdotal stories about some of the positives or the negatives, but that's not what I heard at all. Instead, there were a lot of statements directed at Sheriff Chapman pertaining mostly to race and ICE, and I think that's largely irrelevant when we're talking about

[00:45:33] this. I would just ask that the emotion be taken out of it and that you look at the data points that you have. You have SROs in the middle school and the high schools now. Is it working? Because if it is, it seems to me that it would be working at the elementary school level as well.

[00:45:51] The second data point is the expense. $2. 1 billion school budget. 1% of that is $21 million. This thing is $18 million three to four years down the road when it's fully operational. You guys look at that kind of analysis all the time. I'm sure you're good at it. So that's the other data point that I think is more analytical and less emotional.

[00:46:13] And then the other thing with the elementary schools, I would think, is that if you do, God forbid, have an awful situation, kids at that age, 6, 7, 8 years old, they don't know how to run, they don't know how to hide, they freeze.

[00:46:30] They freeze. And having another adult there, a trained adult, I think would be a good idea. So anyway, that's my position on it. God bless all of you. God bless the men and women of our military. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Meredith Ray followed by George Taplin. Good morning. Good morning. I am a proud mom of two LCPS students and I'm here because I can't believe that we're doing this again. Two years ago hundreds of Loudoun parents, educators, and residents told the school board we do not want

[00:47:07] police officers in elementary schools. Not quietly, clearly. And yet here we are being asked to accept 61 police officers in elementary schools as if the public never spoke. There's simply no evidence supporting this proposal that SROs will stop school shooting. I genuinely wish that they did and that no innocent child was ever lost again. Decades of research show that school resource officers disproportionately discipline students with disabilities, black students, and other students of color, and that Virginia is the worst offender in the entire country. There's no evidence

[00:47:43] the SROs prevent school shootings or even reduce deaths or injuries from school shootings. None. I think about the 19 children and two teachers who were murdered at Robb Elementary while 376 law enforcement officers from at least five different agencies stood around and only three of those officers were ever fired for their lack of action. We know this now. More police does not mean more safety. I honestly wish that it did. If this board is willing to sacrifice vulnerable students for a just-in-case experiment that will cost millions of taxpayer dollars, then at least be honest about it and don't just pass the buck to the school board.

[00:48:19] I expect my tax dollars to be spent on evidence-based best practices and data, not vibes. I also want to talk about the audacity of the sheriff asking for this expansion. The 2022 special grand jury report documented serious failures in the sheriff's office handling of the 2021 sexual assaults failure of coordination communication evidence collection failures to act when the deputies knew the same student was involved and even threats to arrest lcps staff they made no changes based on this report students and teachers are asking for help and not guns

[00:48:56] thank you ma'am george taplin followed by susan cox followed by mark witt good morning good morning. My name is George Taplin. Thank you for having this meeting. Let us air our opinions.

[00:49:14] Shortly before Christmas in 2012 in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, 26 and 7-year-old children were killed within a five-minute span. The school did not have a resource officer. For those of you who have children, what would you do to keep them safe? Can you think of any reason why you would not do whatever it takes to keep your children safe? For those without children, wouldn't you want to help keep children in your community safe? The Sandy Hook massacre took a great toll on the people of the town and parents throughout the country. And in its aftermath, it was determined that having

[00:49:51] a law enforcement officer in the school could have mitigated or totally prevented that tragedy. Typically, law enforcement usually arrives after a disaster and seldom are they able to prevent a major catastrophe like Sandy Hook. The people in Loudoun County have an opportunity to help the sheriff prevent a massacre here in Northern Virginia?

[00:50:13] Is it right to let politics get in the way? Should Loudoun County wait until a preventable death or injury happens to a small child before we implement a simple, common-sense, preventative measure? To the members of the board, before you vote on this, keep in mind that innocent lives may depend upon your decision.

[00:50:35] Remember, Sandy Hook. Susan Cox, followed by Mark Witt, followed by Chad Thompson. - Good morning. - Good morning, I'm Susan Cox of the Sterling District, mother of two proud Parkview High School graduates.

[00:50:53] Thank you for your willingness to serve the community. Chair Randall, thank you for your prompt reply to my email, very much appreciated. Board members, I'm asking you to support the SROs in the elementary schools along with your continued support of the SROs in the middle and high schools.

[00:51:09] My neighbors, families and friends all support this initiative. Bus drivers, crossing guards who work for continue to work for Loudoun County have shared first-hand positive feedback about SROs with me. They see the admirable, top-notch, friendly, caring interaction with the students and feel that SROs are great and necessary. We have an opportunity for our children and community to benefit from the services of highly trained SROs. These officers are trained in mental health education, de-escalation techniques, classroom instruction, bullying prevention, drug and

[00:51:47] alcohol awareness, gang awareness, personal safety, and more. You can be part of the process for success and safety. Preventative measures are important, so vote yes for SROs, because we want to know we have done our very best to keep our children safe, all of our children, including the most vulnerable the youngest students they are worth it thank you thank you mark witt followed by chad thompson good morning good morning chair randall and board my name is mark witt i'm a 23 year resident of loudon county and i'm here to speak about the

[00:52:27] critical oversight on evergreen mills road there are current plans to widen the road but the decision to leave a five mile gap between hoagland road and ryan road creates a dead zone that endangers our community. I have a son, I'm on the Board of Trustees at Loudoun Country Day School, I have a son at Loudoun Country Day School, and I have a son that wakes up at five o'clock in the morning to drive to Paul VI Catholic High School using Evergreen Mill every morning. This isn't about shaving minutes off of a commute, it's about eight existing schools that are in a yet-to-be-built high school with a planned 5,000-seat stadium and a 3,000-person gym, as well as an elementary school

[00:53:01] that rely on this corridor we have thousands of inexperienced student drivers navigating this road every morning we have dozens of school buses carrying children by forcing a multi-lane road to collapse into two lanes right where these schools are located we are engineering a high-risk environment bottlenecks where accidents happen rapid merging road rage from congestion and the lack of a center turn lane on a two-lane road means that one stalled bus or one minor fender bender completely paralyzed an emergency response situation. If a crisis happens at one of these schools, first responders will not be able to get through that congestion. We're building a capacity

[00:53:39] for thousands of new residents along that corridor and students, but we're failing to provide the infrastructure to move them safely. I'm asking the board to close the gap. Don't wait till an emergency situation. Please prioritize the widening of the five miles between Hoagland and Ryan Road. Thank you.

[00:53:55] Thank you, sir. Give me one second, please. I'm going to come back out to Evergreen Hill because I was part of this discussion when the last time we discussed this road.

[00:54:26] And I have to go re-familiarize myself with this stretch of the road that you're speaking about. I will come out to Latin Country Day School. I've been there before. I'll be happy to come out again. And then the discussion of 55 miles an hour, that's a VDOT determination.

[00:54:43] And so, if we need to make a call to have VDOT come in again to look at that, we will. I hear you all. I just, to be quite honest, do not remember when we had the discussion some years back, this particular stretch, this five-mile stretch, what was the determination, what are the numbers.

[00:55:01] And so, I haven't dug into that in quite a few years. I will come out and I will dig into that again, but I just want you all to know that right now. So, Mr. Thompson, you will be followed by, I think it's Gail Penn. Be ready when you are, sir.

[00:55:18] Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for having me. I also would like to echo Mark's comments in the relation to the traffic mitigation efforts on Evergreen Mills Road. The traffic mitigation for Evergreen Mills Road is vital to the safety and flow of all users.

[00:55:35] As a long-time resident of Green Mill Preserve and now of Hamlets at Red Cedar, I have different experiences that all lead to the same request and solution. Traffic mitigation must be addressed with foresight now, before it's too late and much more expensive in the future.

[00:55:52] Red Hill Road, at the beginning of this five-mile stretch, must be expanded to alleviate congestion felt on all the roads in the area, to include Watson Road and some of the other servicing roads into the communities, as well as within the community. When I lived in Green Mill Preserve, it served as a cut-through and would save no more than 32 seconds of someone's pass-through in our community, endangering other lives.

[00:56:17] Now, I live in the hamlet of red cedar, and I don't really experience that. However, when I have to go outside of my own community, I'm starting to experience the congestion and some of the things that Mark had spoke about. Is it fair, or is it expected that a private school pay for the alleviation of traffic congestion and safety for our future, which is our children?

[00:56:39] All of the schools feel the impact and now enjoy some of the relief, but at a cost that L.C., that London Country Day School is now incurring at $115,000 a year. So I ask you, and I invite you to please come out. I'll serve as your personal tour.

[00:56:56] I have experience as a prior deputy sheriff, and I'm now a retired federal agent. So I can also give you a perspective from a law enforcement perspective, as well as a resident frequenting that area. So please, do what's needed, take a long, hard look at it, and I'm ready to help and assist.

[00:57:12] Thank you, and God bless you all. Thank you. Gail Pan, followed by, I don't quite see what the first name is. I think the last name is McAllister. It might be Mesa McAllister. Good morning. Good morning.

[00:57:28] I'm Gail Pan. I wanted to thank you, Phyllis Randolph, for instituting the red flag laws in our county. I think it saved a lot of lives. And it brings back the issue of guns and fear in the community.

[00:57:45] We have, as everybody knows, more guns than we have people. And to bring, I think, resource officers into the elementary schools with guns promotes more fear. Children are very vulnerable. I think the important thing right now is if you're going to invest any more money in the elementary schools for more services, it would be for social workers.

[00:58:09] We have hidden poverty. We have children who come to school hungry, who don't know if their parents are going to be there when they get home. And I think social workers would be terrific to have in each school where they can work with the children on an ongoing basis and identify with the teachers what the real problems are.

[00:58:29] I don't think, and you've never had a shooting in an elementary school here. And in the ones that it has happened, like in Uvalde, what happened? They waited a whole hour to come in, and all these children were killed. It's just one person with a gun is not going to stop somebody with a machine gun.

[00:58:47] So my suggestion is, if you're going to spend another $18 million, do it with social workers. Masters in social work, these women and men are terrific in bringing together a community. thank you thank you um um miss you say your first name for me because i i can't quite make up what his last name mcallister and you'll be followed by carla miller yes madam chair thank you thank you vice chair thank you board my name is melissa it's melissa okay i'm the grandparent guardian

[00:59:23] of a disabled student in loudon county public schools here today to urge you to reject any budget requests that expands school resource officers into elementary schools. Loudoun County families want safety, stability, and opportunities for our children. Elementary schools don't need law enforcement. They need educators, counselors, and community support first. Research across the country shows that SRO presence in elementary schools increases referrals to criminal legal

[00:59:58] systems for behaviors that should be handled by teachers, counselors, and families. Young children, especially black, Latino, immigrant, and disabled students are disproportionately harmed. Loudoun Sheriff's Office continues to cooperate ICE, creating fear for immigrants and families. Loudoun has urgent unmet needs that deserve funding far more than SRO expansion. If we truly want safer,

[01:00:36] healthier communities we must invest in the conditions that keep families stable and children's supported that means local housing vouchers free after school programs and in closing the board has a choice invest in policies or invest in children expanding sros into elementary schools is not a safety strategy it's a policing strategy and it is the wrong one tonight i urge you to reject the budget request and extended and extend direct funding towards housing stability after school

[01:01:15] programs and actually keep children safe thank you thank you carla miller followed by gary higgins good morning miss miller good morning members of the board fellow residents my name is carla miller i'm from the dullest district and i'm the mother of two lcps students i'm coming today to speak about the issue of SROs in elementary schools. I had the pleasure of attending the town hall Wednesday night with Sheriff Chapman and Colonel Sawyer, who answered a lot of questions

[01:01:50] about our concerns about bringing SROs into elementary schools. My main concern is about the Sheriff's Department's 287G agreement with ICE to cooperate with ICE. And in response to those concerns. Colonel Sawyer assured us that the folks who collaborate with ICE, the personnel who collaborate with ICE, are different from the ones who would be in the schools. It's entirely separate, and they would have no immigration, you know, they would have no immigration enforcement duties in these schools. However, ICE is unfortunately implicated nationwide in overzealous,

[01:02:28] quota-driven immigration enforcement that is violating the rights of immigrants and citizens alike and i believe that anyone we have in our schools protecting our children cannot have the same obligations to that agreement as they have to the children and i believe that bringing anyone in who's under an agreement with ice introduces a compromise their their service is compromised and it makes me concerned for the safety of immigrant students and students of immigrant parents when asked if what if ice comes to the school what will the sheriff's department what

[01:03:05] would an SRO do? The response was, we don't have the authority to grant ICE entry. My question is, would you have the power to prevent entry, or would you be obligated to stand by under your agreement with ICE? Thank you for your time, and I urge you to vote against funding for Sheriff's Department SROs in elementary schools. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Miller. Yeah, Miller. Thank you, Ms. Miller. Gary Higgins will be followed by Richard Ryan. Good morning, Mr. Higgins.

[01:03:36] Morning, Madam Chair, members of the Board. My name is Gary Higgins. I have three daughters who graduated from Loudoun Public Schools and four grandchildren in the system as we speak. I am here this morning to speak in favor of Sheriff Chapman's proposed four-year plan to phase SROs in every elementary school in Loudoun County.

[01:03:55] This is not a new proposal. This has actually been discussed twice before, once during the March of 1999 budget deliberations in which I participated on. At that time, we spoke and discussed the urgency of protecting our children and following Sheriff's recommendation at that time.

[01:04:15] However, no action was taken. Came up in 2024, the LCPS actually suggested it through their own Blue Ribbon Panel Report in 2024. Again, no action was taken and here in 2026 and the issue we are here in 2026 and the issue of school safety is all that much more pressing than it was seven or even two years ago.

[01:04:40] In life we protect those things that are viable to us. We have security and protection in our airports, shopping malls, sports stadiums, music and arts venues, museums, banks, armored cars and churches. We even protect our public servants like yourself. We have armed guards in this building, in the General Assembly building, in the U.S. Congress building, and in the school board building in Ashburn.

[01:05:02] Closer to home, we have at LCPS, we have SROs in our middle schools, high schools, our football games, basketball games, other sporting events, and fine arts productions. Counseling and security are not mutually exclusive.

[01:05:18] School safety shouldn't begin in the sixth grade. I would ask you, what's more precious than our children? nothing. Please get on board with Sheriff Chapman's recommendation and support SROs in our elementary schools. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Higgins. Richard Ryan. You'll be followed followed by Heather Gottlieb. Good morning, Mr. Ryan. Good morning, Chair Randall and the Board of Supervisors. I am Richard Ryan, a 20-year resident of Ashburn and a retired naval officer with 29 years of service. I am full support of Sheriff Chapman's SRO proposal and request full

[01:05:53] funding of that effort. I was surprised when I came here 20 years ago to find out that there were not SROs in elementary schools, but they were in middle and senior schools. The vast majority, I repeat again, the vast majority of mass shootings take place in gun-free zones. Movie theaters, schools, shopping centers, etc. You leave the most vulnerable of our people, these elementary school children, the least offended. How is that possible? How is that conscionable? Look in the mirror.

[01:06:32] When you have your security guards here when you come to work every day, and you're not going to fund that for our children, please act upon this with full force, fully fund what Sheriff Chapman has proposed. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Ryan. Heather Gottlieb. You will be followed by Lisa Potter. Good morning, Ms. Gottlieb. Morning. You all love to say that you have no control over the sheriff. That's not true. You control his budget, and that means you control whether he is rewarded

[01:07:06] for bypassing process and ignoring the will of another elected body. Let's be honest. Sheriff Chapman is using you. When Dr. Spence suggested to bring his SRO proposal to the school board, the body that governs schools, Chapman responded, I propose a different approach. At his own town hall, he admitted he watched the school board meeting, and it was clear that the majority does not support SROs in elementary schools. So he knew the school board vote would be no. He deliberately bypassed the elected body responsible for our schools and came to you. Mommy said no, so now

[01:07:42] he's asking daddy, is that really the role that you want to play? I know you're worried about being blamed if something were to happen to a student, but you already know you're going to get blamed anyway. If you fund this, you are not neutral. You're taking sides in a power struggle and using your budget authority to pressure the school board into compliance. You know the school doesn't want this, so why would you even consider funding it? This is not collaboration, this is coercion, and the consequences won't fall on you. They'll fall on the students, particularly black, brown, and disabled, who are disproportionately impacted by school policing. Chapman claims there's no school-to-prison pipeline, but he refuses to provide demographic data on student interaction

[01:08:21] with SROs. You have a choice. Make him follow the process, reject this SRO proposal, and whatever insane surveillance drones that he's put into a backup plan. Don't let yourselves be used and don't undermine the very governance structure that you were elected to uphold. Thank you, Ms. Gottlieb. Lisa Potter, followed by, I think it says Max Matlin. Good morning. My name is Lisa Potter. I live in the Sterling District. I am against SROs and elementary schools. There is no

[01:08:57] data to support that it makes students safer. What does make students safer are investments and structural opportunities such as after school programs and housing vouchers. Thank you. Thank you. Max Madlin followed by Anne Marie Moriel. Good morning. Good morning supervisors. Hello I'm Max Madlin. I'm a senior from Briarwoods High School. I've come here today to call for the end of the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for

[01:09:37] this body to use all of its budget power to do so. This 287G agreement is wrong because a person is charged with a crime, then placed into custody, then picked up by ICE, where they face extra detention and possible deportation, effectively being punished with a crime before they even get their day in court. They could be ripped from their family before even pleading their case.

[01:10:00] How is that due process? How is that American? We know many people have been transported to ICE, but ICE and the sheriff's office still refuse to release the names and charges of those people. The public deserves full transparency. The public also deserves transparency on how much they're paying. I've read the 287G agreement front to back. ICE only pays a small portion of the overall cost. This policy isn't only unjust for the detainees, but for my friends.

[01:10:32] My friends that are legal immigrants in this country fear immigration and customs enforcement every single day. They fear that they're going to be targeted for their skin color and their accent. No person in a free society should ever have to feel that.

[01:10:49] We're talking about children fearing that they'll be ripped from their parents. Loudoun County shouldn't work with an organization that creates so much fear, that murders its own citizens, that uses a five-year-old as bait to deport their parents.

[01:11:05] This is why I'm asking this board to do two actions. First, call for transparency of the names and charges of the people transferred to ICE. Secondly, block funding to the adult detention center until the 287G agreement is terminated or significantly modified. If we do not act now, more people will be ripped from their families by ICE.

[01:11:24] Thank you for your time. Mr. Mantlin, hold on a second. Mr. Mantlin, Mr. Mantlin, come back. No matter what item you spoke on or what you said, you should know this. One of the biggest fears people have, if you ask people what a fear is, is public speaking.

[01:11:42] Public speaking is hard, and to do it before a body is really hard. You did an excellent job. Thank you so much. Good job. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Still not bad. It doesn't even matter what he spoke on, does he speak to?

[01:11:59] No, you will not. Anne-Marie Muriel, followed by Julia Kostorf, I think it is. Good morning. Good morning. My name is Anne Marie Moriali. I live here in Leesburg. I came here to Virginia quite a few years ago because my children settled here. I was an assistant superintendent in another school district. I was in charge of student support services. I hired the social workers, the psychologists, the school doctor, lots of special education teachers, occupational therapists,

[01:12:39] physical therapists i worked there for 20 years i have a sense of school districts um i like to listen to my staff and as i understand it the staff when surveyed said there were many things that need to be taken care of before sros are added we had sros in our schools as well i'm not going to go into that. That's not the point. The point is, I urge you to listen to your staff.

[01:13:15] Listen to them. They know what's needed in their school, like you know what's needed for our county. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Are there any more speakers that anyone has signed up for? Any more down there? Will you bring them up, please? Our next speaker will be Julia. I think it's Kostor.

[01:13:34] Hi, everybody. Kasdorf. Kasdorf. Thank you. Whoops. We all want the same thing. We all, none of us want a shooting in a school. All of us want all of our kids to grow up in a safe learning environment. There's no question about that. And we also say this is not a political issue. But we saw Chapman in Trump's office. We know what that means. And this, that means it's political because that is the nature of our president. So my concern is ICE coming into the

[01:14:10] schools via an SRO. And we cannot underestimate the sneakiness of ICE. We know, we know they are crawling everywhere like cockroaches coming out of the kitchen, coming out from under the, you know, they're everywhere okay so i would like to say that it's it doesn't seem right that a child would come into an elementary school especially a child who's vulnerable to uh harassment by ice

[01:14:46] and see a cop there who might have just dragged their parents off to detention what what parent in that situation is going to feel comfortable letting their kid walk into a place where there's a cop. And I know maybe these cops are trained and stuff, but I feel very strongly we should not give ICE or Chapman any more opportunity to spy, okay, spy is too hard a word, to make note of who might be vulnerable to a successful detention process. Thank you.

[01:15:24] Okay, a couple things. One, the next time I hear somebody drop an F-bomb in my boardroom, I will ban you from my boardroom for the next meeting. My bad. Okay, okay, because we are a family show, and that cannot happen.

[01:15:41] Secondly, my last speaker did not give her last name. We actually ask that you do that. I'm going to have you come on up because you signed up here, and our clerk might miss that. But, Carolyn, if you could, after you finish speaking, go give your last name.

[01:15:56] Is it okay, because I sent all of you an e-mail yesterday that has all my information in it. Is it okay that I don't do it here? - No, it's not. It is, but when you finish, I'm gonna have you take this piece of paper back over to him and give it to him, okay? All right, thank you, ready when you are. - Okay, he told me I only have 30 seconds, but if I have more than that, then-- - You have two minutes.

[01:16:16] - Okay, thank you. So, I am a Loudoun County Elementary School parent. I'm a Loudoun County resident. I'm a practice coordinator for a psychotherapy practice, and I'm an LCPS school bus driver. And I am asking you not to expand school resource officers loudon was described repeatedly as one of the safest counties in america and national research shows that sros do not clearly prevent rare events like elementary school shootings my daughter is eight years old and in the town hall she turned to me and said they keep saying we can't prom they can't promise to keep us safe if something really bad happens so does that mean

[01:16:55] they're coming to school to watch me all day and the statistical evidence regarding school resource officers says that that is exactly what is happening, that because I have a little black girl that she is going to be disciplined more harshly than other people, that she is more likely to face punishment from, and Loudoun, the data also says that Loudoun overperforms in the disproportionate punishment of black children. So to, in this situation, to keep saying it's not political, that we should focus on the facts. None of the facts support that SROs will keep our

[01:17:33] children safe, but they do support that children of color will be disproportionately impacted, that disabled children will be disproportionately impacted. I spoke to an officer in depth on the night, and I said to him that there are people in this community that think policing should look like controlling my behavior and the behavior of people who look like me, and that is what people keep saying. They keep standing up and saying, I don't have current elementary school kids now, but if I did, I would believe this. I'm an LCPS employee, a mental health advocate, a parent and a community member, and this is unjust. To consider doing this to our children is unconscionable.

[01:18:12] Thank you. Thank you. There are no more speakers at this time, and so I will call this public hearing. First of all, I would thank everybody that came out. I got everybody's information. For people on Evergreen Mills Road, I'm going to come out and see you all very soon over to the Loudoun Country Day School.

[01:18:31] I'll come over there very soon. Otherwise, I'm going to call this meeting to adjourn. Thank you.

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