Coraggio Consulting
Loudoun County School Board, Superintendent's Recommended FY2026-FY2031 Capital Improvement Program, Monday, December 2, 2024

Date: Monday, December 2, 2024
Place: Loudoun County Public Schools / School Board meeting (see BoardDocs / LCPS-TV)
Length: 4h 29m (video)
Official meeting video (Vimeo / LCPS-TV): https://player.vimeo.com/video/1035476079?rel=0
BoardDocs (School Board): https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/loudoun/Board.nsf/Public

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 2026-10-18. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:01:36] Good evening. I called to order this December 2nd, 2024 Loudoun County School Board meeting. At this time, we will start with disclosures, and I will start.

[00:01:54] As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically as a school board member, I'm eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee.

[00:02:14] These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees while in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years.

[00:02:32] Ms. Chandler. Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits in any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees.

[00:02:51] Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected of which I am included I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest this disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years thank you thank you Ms. Chandler Ms. Donohue thank you Madam Chair as a member of the Loudoun County School Board I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on

[00:03:29] tonight's agenda regarding employee salaries the budget and or health insurance and any other discussion that may include or affect salary and benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically, my spouse, my minor children, and I are enrolled in LCPS health insurance that may be affected by any potential changes to employees' salaries, the budget, and or health insurance. Additionally, my sister-in-law is an LCPS employee who does not reside with me and is not dependent on me. These subjects include thousands of employees while in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may be affected, of which myself, my spouse, my minor children,

[00:04:04] my sister-in-law are included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you, Ms. Donohue. Vice Chair Streffi?

[00:04:21] Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits, and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees.

[00:04:37] Specifically, as a school board member, I'm eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest.

[00:04:54] This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you, Vice Chair Struffy. Ms. LeBeau? Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or the health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees.

[00:05:23] Specifically, as a school board member, I'm eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statuatory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included.

[00:05:42] I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you, Ms. LaBelle. So, we have quorum today.

[00:06:00] I have to correct myself in that this is not a school board meeting, but the superintendent's FY2026, FY2031 capital improvement program and capital asset preservation program work session. I said it was a school board meeting earlier, and it is not.

[00:06:19] At this point, we will move to item three for closed session. Vice Chair Struffy, do you have a motion? Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board recess this public meeting and enter into a closed meeting pursuant to 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia for the following discussion and consideration of the performance of a specific public employee as authorized by section 2.2-3711A1 of the Code of Virginia.

[00:06:43] I have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Chandler. It's been properly moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board go into closed session. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we'll go ahead and vote.

[00:07:00] Clerk, would you please open the vote? Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes with Mrs. Griffiths and Ms. Chernoff absent for the vote. The board is now in closed session.

[00:31:31] Okay, the board is now coming out of the closed meeting. Vice Chair Streffi, do you have a motion? Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the closed meeting be adjourned, that the Loudoun County School Board reconvene its public meeting, and that the minutes of the public meeting reflect that no formal action was taken in the closed meeting.

[00:31:48] I have a motion by Vice Chair Struffy. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. LaBelle. Do we have any discussion? Seeing none, we will go ahead and vote. Clerk, please open the vote.

[00:32:08] Clerk, board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes with Mrs. Griffiths and Ms. Chernoff absent for the vote.

[00:32:25] Vice Chair Struffy, do you have another motion? Yes, Madam Chair, I move that the following resolution certifying the closed meeting be adopted and reflected in the minutes of this public meeting whereas Loudoun County School Board has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and whereas 2.2-3712D of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by the School Board that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law.

[00:32:54] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board hereby certifies that, to the best of each member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which the certification applies, and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered by the Loudoun County School Board.

[00:33:16] I have a motion on the floor. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Donahue. Is there any discussion? seeing none we'll go ahead and take a electronic vote clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote motion passes with mrs griffiths and ms shirnoff absent for the vote um at this time we are going to go ahead and go into recess since um we have noticed that the work session wouldn't start until 6 30. so we'll go into recess

[00:33:54] until 6 30.

[00:33:56] the board is now in recess all right the board is now back from recess um before we start

[01:00:41] with uh item 4.0 4.01 we're going to go ahead and do disclosures um and we will start with mrs griffiths thank you madam chair as a member of the loudon county school board i make the following disclosure to the school board and the general public in connection with the item on on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS

[01:01:21] employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public's interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths.

[01:01:44] Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically as a school board member I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits however affect thousands of employees while in the excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years.

[01:02:21] Thank You Ms. Chernoff and with that I think everybody has done their disclosures at this time and we will move on to the work session on the superintendent's FY 2026 2031 capital improvement program and capital asset preservation program and it's presented by mr. Kevin Lewis and everybody else that is set it up at the front seated up at the front all right it's all yours thank you chair Mansfield vice chair Estreffi dr. Spence and members of the

[01:03:00] board tonight we are here to begin and go through our final work session for the CIP for a planned adoption on December 10 following not tomorrow night but the next Tuesday so I will just start with a little bit of housekeeping in board docs you see that we do have the presentation some updated information on the playground program the revised page 3 I'm just gonna call that out that We left one of those at each one of your stations.

[01:03:30] It is now the CIP project list in green paper. And so you'll see there that we have three columns just to the right of the project name, where we have the beginning date of the original October 22nd presentation, the November 12th update, and now the December 2nd update.

[01:03:51] And I'll go through each of those lines for you as you go through, but that will be your guide to go through this evening's information and where we can have any questions you may have that will be all in the same, literally on the same page. So we'll start tonight with just a little bit of overview.

[01:04:12] Oh, and I did fail to mention that we have the Q&A packet updated for the questions that we received on November 19th as well. So we'll give updates on those. We'll have an update on the different projects we have to present to you this evening, remind you of the school board priorities and how we have fit those into the CIP, and then look forward to action on December 10th.

[01:04:35] This slide you'll see, as you recognize, is very similar to one you've seen before. The difference here is you see the green-colored column in the recommended December 2nd update, and you'll see there that we have the different totals, and we've found a way to balance tonight's budget as well with some changes we've made to pay for a couple of things that we've talked about with the board in the last work sessions, in particular with the Playground Program, and I think you'll be pleased with the plan we have for that.

[01:05:05] The first thing, though, we want to talk about a little bit more detail is the Special Programs Program. Special Programs Program? Yeah, you know what I mean. And so Dr. Ellis is here tonight to walk us through a discussion about, in particular, the Transition Program, which has had a lot of conversation with the board.

[01:05:30] Thank you, Mr. Lewis. Good evening, members of the board. So before Mr. Lewis gets into the details of the transition school and the CIP, I did want to provide a little bit of background for you and the public on how special programs are developed. This process starts with Policy 5115, Special Programs and Academies.

[01:05:49] It's truly a collaboration of every department in LCPS to plan for and implement a special program. If you have been to or watched any of the SPC committee meetings, you are likely very familiar with this chart on the screen that we show to track conversations and planning around special programs.

[01:06:09] I wanted to walk you through the phases of the chart and describe what happens in each phase. So in the first column, programs under consideration, these are truly still in the idea phase. They are perhaps an idea that a staff member or a school would like to consider.

[01:06:30] Some conversation has happened, but there is no concrete plan for how this program would be implemented, and certainly no timeline for implementation. Moving on to the second column, the proposal phase.

[01:06:47] In this column, staff have developed a proposal for these programs, and we have a plan to present or have already presented the proposal to the SPC committee to get their feedback and to have conversations, including staffing, facilities, and programming needs.

[01:07:05] These are still ideas, but they are more fleshed out, and there is a proposal that goes with them. So, for example, just most recently, the SPC committee heard about the Global and Linguistic Studies proposal.

[01:07:20] In February, we plan to bring the transition center proposal to the SPC committee with a specific plan for how the program would be developed. Moving on to the third column, the planning phase, these programs have truly shifted to planning and artists, and there is funding already attached to them.

[01:07:42] So, for example, the recovery school, we do have a temporary location identified for that school. we have received funds from the state that we must spend on that program. We had a roundtable that included members of the public and key stakeholders to discuss the planning of that program and that planning is truly underway. Potentially some of these programs in the planning phase have already also had the first year of implementation. Perhaps it's a phased implementation. For example, dual language immersion. We started with kindergarten and

[01:08:19] it will take several years for full implementation. So when we have DLI in grades 1, K-5, that program will shift over to that fourth column or the implemented column. And those programs are built out. For example, you'll see the three programs in the Academies of Loudoun and NJROTC that have been established for a while. So with regard to the Transition Center specifically, I'll mention again that we do plan to bring the official proposal to the SPC committee in February and start fleshing out ideas through conversations with

[01:08:55] the committee, with key stakeholders, and a roundtable in the spring, similar to the HamSci roundtable and recovery school roundtable that we have had in recent past. And so with that, I'll turn it over back to Mr. Lewis. Thank you, Dr. Ellis.

[01:09:13] So based on the outline that Dr. Ellis just provided, each program obviously needs a home. And so our efforts here in the capital budget is to find a place to house these programs. And every time you think about providing a program or a school, it's a multi-year planning process.

[01:09:34] Land acquisition, if necessary, in addition to finding a facility or finding a way to add on to a facility takes quite a bit of time. and the next couple of slides i'm going to use just to try to illustrate the complexity of that process just to to help board members and the public understand what is involved in providing a home for a program like the transition school so what you see here it'll be a series of slides look like this but i'll call attention to the four main components of a project you'll see the land acquisition legislative process the design process and then the construction process and those

[01:10:11] different colors in some cases we do not need to have the legislative process others we do and that is in and of itself an extremely complex process and I'll the short version is in many cases we need to have what's called a commission permit essentially just making sure that the county but under agrees that the the plan we have is in is in compliance with the comprehensive plan and the legislative process for our special exception is a little more detailed and takes a little bit longer and in some cases we actually need to do both and so you'll see how we have

[01:10:46] overlaps some of these activities in land acquisition and a lot of times we'll purchase a piece of property and we will put the contingency of the the contract is a contingency on that we get approval to use it for what we want to use it for so that's why you see in this slide that you're running concurrently and this this one is particular for if we were to find a building an existing building that we were to purchase and then fit it out. And so you'll see there that we would have to start with getting that land acquisition process that would culminate at the same time and ending in year two. So it takes two years to begin that process and get a legislative

[01:11:26] process through, in this case, which would include a special exception. Then we go into the design phase and then construction phase. So you see here a timeline if we were to purchase a building and then renovate it, would take approximately 2.75 to 3.75 years, depending on all the details and how quickly we can get the application process through.

[01:11:49] Now, I've been here a long time, and sometimes it goes faster than that, and sometimes it goes significantly longer than that, but these are our best estimates, and you may hear that it's a whole lot easier to do that type of thing, but it is a complicated process that requires the action of the supervisors on a couple different levels, and so we can't automatically assume it can be shortened so that is the example for a new building purchase the next slide talks specific to if we were taking existing building of our own an lcps facility and then essentially add on to it or renovate it we don't need to get the legislative process

[01:12:25] i mean we do the legislative process first and then we get permission to do that and the the succession of that goes a little bit quicker we don't have the land acquisition process so we can shorten that to two and a half to three and a quarter years as part of our estimate to do that and again that is if we take an existing building and add on or renovate it so and a part of that is is we we already use it for a school and so that helps us with the timeline as well the next one is if we were to find a lease space and fit it out this represents not only the shortest

[01:13:04] possible process but also the longest possible process in many cases we would have to have a land acquisition process that would take two to six months to find that, find a particular space that might be well-suited and well-located for the program we're talking about.

[01:13:20] And then we are going to have to have, almost inevitably, we're going to have the legislative process, either a special exception and commission permit or just one or the other. And that process, you can see now, we've overlapped with the design process. So there is a possibility that if we were to find a potential lease space that we could have an agreement with the owners to do some design work or even construction work while that legislative process is going on, which would shorten our time frame to as little as two years. But it also represents a significant amount of risk that we would be spending money for something to renovate or design something from which we may not get ultimate approval. So that's

[01:14:00] where we would come to the board and say, we think this is worth picking up that timeline to be able to take that risk. So those are different things. And as I mentioned, it's fairly complicated. It's hard to absorb all that but it's just an outline to show that we we know we are all committed to to finding a space for the transition center but it is quite an effort to to go through and it's not something that happens overnight sometimes when we open up a new school we've been working on that project in our department for six or eight years before it actually opens up and that's true for for many of our schools and so to get it down to this this level I will have to say we're a

[01:14:35] bit nervous about that to start with because there's a lot of moving parts in trying to get one of these approvals. So then this next slide is just essentially a summary of that because I understand that's a lot of information. We've got the three different types, the new building purchase fit out, the renovation or addition to an existing LCPS facility, and the lease space fit out. As I mentioned, the best case scenario was that if we had a lease, we could execute it in july of 25 which is no small feat either then we could possibly open this in the fall of 27

[01:15:10] but again that is the very shortest time frame that we did and all those pieces have to fall into place very well and we have to locate a facility that's suitable between now and then and so what we're just trying to to share is is the length of the process i will also say that if you look um in your when your green slide on line 47 you'll see there that we do have planned $5 million in FY27 for the planning and physical outfitting in preparation and in anticipation of finding a spot to be able to do that. So we have identified some funding that's in the current CIP of the 26

[01:15:48] CIP for your consideration this evening. I just want to be able to point out that that money is there in anticipation of that process. Again, I have to reiterate that it does require or offer a significant amount of risk for the board to shorten that time frame but we want to do everything we can to get this project in this program excuse me up and run as quickly as possible so that is the transition plan now we wanted to talk a little bit more about playgrounds because it's our favorite topic this year and we appreciate really do appreciate all the the conversation we've had because it's really

[01:16:27] helped staff understand it was a priority for the board you provided some good comments for that we went back to the table and went sharpened our pencils and look for ways that we could find a way to respond to the request that was put to us at the November 19th.

[01:16:44] So we have developed a program. First, I'll just start with we currently have 18 schools with the inclusive playgrounds, and these are the ones that are identified for the 5-year-old to 12-year-old age group. We have six of those that are planned in FY25, which means they'll be starting here very soon and be put in over the summer and into the fall.

[01:17:07] And then back from our conversations the other day, we've revamped our program to do 12 per year for FY26, 27, and 28. And that will provide us all schools will have a 5 to 12 playground within the next three years. So we feel pretty good about how we've gotten that together.

[01:17:28] I'm hopeful that's well received from board members because I know that's really where we were trying to get to. And then I will also say that based on comments we heard from this group, is we went back and looked at the two- to five-year-old playground. I'll say we're in the middle of a discussion in the F&O Committee on the playground policy.

[01:17:47] And so the two- to five-age playgrounds are not included in policy, but that's something we could do. Although the school board doesn't need to have a policy to tell us to build playgrounds, so we can do that. And we have 15 per year with the completion of all those and by FY32.

[01:18:06] And that would be then each school would have a 5 to 12 and a 2 to 5 in that time period for totally inclusive playgrounds at each school. So the next slide is a simplified listing of, or not simplified, a detailed listing of how we're going to do that.

[01:18:22] You'll see in the left-hand column FY25, those are the schools that are either being done by cap or by proffer this summer. And then we start with the 12 per year in FY26, 27, and 28. And then you see down at the bottom of the page where we talk 29 through 32, where we're going to do the two- to five-year-old playgrounds.

[01:18:43] And so some of that funding will be in the CAPS section of the CIP. Some will be in the CIP itself. And then the next slide will take you through what we did to do that. And so I'll go back to the green page that we handed out for you. And we've got a code there that may or may not be obvious to you.

[01:19:02] But if you look at line six, where you see the playground replacement program, and in the column there that is green column, we've added $3.2 million, which is the funding we need in FY26 to add to the program to be able to do 12 per year.

[01:19:20] Below that, you'll see lines eight and nine, the school bus replacement program, and the school nutrition equipment replacement are also highlighted in the dark green. And so the dark green is telling you where we've made adjustments from the column to the left from the last meeting. And so what we've done is we've reduced the school bus replacement program from $10.2 to $7.8 million.

[01:19:41] And we believe that still in keeping with our replacement program will allow us to continue to manage our plan in conjunction with our propane bus grants and our electric bus grants. We've looked at that program and believe we can adequately serve the replacement program with that reduction.

[01:19:59] And we also believe there's enough space with the needs we've identified in the school nutrition equipment to lower that fund amount from $1.5 to $860,000. And what that does is free up the 3.2 to allow us to do the school board or the playground program.

[01:20:20] So that's just a quick summary of how we've paid for it, we'll say. As we've talked about many times, if you add something, you have to move something. And so that's an example of how we've done that. And we don't believe that has been, that represents an impact or a risk to our CIP at this program, at this point.

[01:20:36] So we're happy to recommend that we move forward with this plan with the program playground replacement. Okay, that's the playgrounds. And then I want to start talking tonight, in each successive work session we talked about, the first one we talked about is sustainment projects and then new capacity.

[01:20:56] And tonight we're talking about improvements. And you see there on the right some examples of those types of programs. The next slide is just a quick reminder of the exercise we did with the board on identifying what your priorities are. And you can see those listed there.

[01:21:13] And this is the area where many of these programs are contained, is in the improvement section of the CIP, which on your green chart starts on line 27 and goes through line 52. So those are the programs, and you'll see where all those programs are and how they relate to our priorities as well.

[01:21:35] The next slide is a listing of those. And you'll see that we have each one of those highlighted as to where we are. Again, reminder from the meeting we had on December or November 19th, where the two that are in blue are ones that we have the walking tracks.

[01:21:52] We moved out a year into FY27 and the baseball softball press boxes. We've also asked for a request from the board of supervisors to fund that and end of year funding. So that's why we've moved that out. So those will both still be done, the baseball and softball press boxes on the original timeline, and then walking tracks will be delayed a year to be able to manage the cash flow through the program.

[01:22:20] And so we see that a lot of those were your priorities when we met, the independent living labs, the renovation and replacement programs, those types of things are still in there, and you can see on the green sheet where each of those is funded if you have any specific questions about that.

[01:22:37] You also note that some of those have an asterisk, and those are multiple-year projects, so they will be over a period of time for a number of different schools. And again, the ones with the two asterisks are the ones we moved out. In the next slide, you'll see, as a reminder, the center column under year one is the update we had on November 12th, and that appears to be brown.

[01:23:06] I think sometimes it looks a little more orange. I think I probably described it as orange before. And there's where you see where we've moved those things in line 40 that we moved the press boxes out, as I just mentioned. And on the next slide, you'll see where we've reflected the change for the walking tracks from FY26 to FY27.

[01:23:27] So if you're looking for how we've made those adjustments, we hope this chart will help you see where the adjustments we've made over the different work sessions. Lastly, I'll just remind you that this is our last work session.

[01:23:43] So we have the whole crew here to answer any questions you may have in preparation for December 10. If we don't hear any changes to the plan, what will be presented to you is what's in the green column for tonight's update. And then that's what we would base our main motion on for the school board's consideration on December 10th for the FY26-31 CIP.

[01:24:08] And with that, we are happy to take any questions you may have. Thank you, Mr. Lewis. I appreciate all of the hard work you guys have put together for this to show what our priorities are.

[01:24:26] Board members, do you have any questions? Yes, Ms. Chernoff. More just a couple of comments. I also want to thank you all for your work. I want to thank you for holding our hand and taking our many, many phone calls and meetings throughout this process, which has been a learning process for myself and I think for the rest of us too.

[01:24:46] And I honestly, I could honestly cry about the playgrounds. like it makes me so happy. It reminds me why we're here and why we do the work that we do and thinking about all those kids playing and this accelerated plan. It means a lot to me. Personally, I know it means a lot. I see a lot of smiling faces in the audience. So this matters for kids and it's going to move the needle for kids. And that is, sometimes that can be a fleeting moment in this job. And so I thank you for that. It means a lot to me. So thank you. Additionally, I know we're talking about this year, but I also, in the process of learning about this,

[01:25:24] there is something I just wanted to kind of socialize with my colleagues. It's not something that can be done this year because we're, you know, late in the game, but I've been doing a lot of visits out to Loudoun County High School. And they, if you know the building, they have a lot of historical ties to their building and some different restrictions in terms of renovations that are possible and things that can be done.

[01:25:45] And I've had the opportunity to see a lot of their spaces. And some concerns have been raised about different spaces, their gourmet food space, their tech ed space, things that need updates that just require a few more hoops to jump through. They can't really have a full building replacement like Parkview.

[01:26:01] Not that they're advocating for that, but, you know, those little changes can make a big difference. And, in fact, a lot of the things are affecting enrollment and their ability for students to have access to different courses and pathways. So I know that that can't happen this year, but I just wanted to say that it's something I'll be pretty heavily advocating for as the Leesburg rep next year.

[01:26:22] And looking at your charts for the transition school, I also see the importance of getting that design piece done earlier so that the construction can start. So you will probably hear from me about end-of-year funds, about potentially looking at some of those projects. So I just wanted to put that on the radar. It's never too soon. Thank you so much.

[01:26:41] Anyone else? Yes, Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. On slide 16, you have 90 points, 80 points.

[01:26:56] You might have mentioned why you have them as points. I think on slide 16, it needs to be reorganized in order of priority. Can you tell me why, for example, independent living labs are first on the list, but also why the transition facility is lower on the list when you have the recovery school second.

[01:27:29] If you can explain that to me. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Mr. Griffith. So when we had the work session on September 24th with the board members, we had all these items, and they're very small, but on the left-hand side you can see the actual big boards we had here, and those are the ones that we actually took photos of.

[01:27:48] And the board was asked to identify their three highest priorities. Each one of you provided a listing of what your three highest priorities were. And then we circled that as we went around the room and each one of you started saying that. And if somebody else had already said that one of those items was their priority, then we would put a check mark.

[01:28:06] So after that, we had you get up and walk up and spend your priority dots on each of the other projects. When we went through and tried to evaluate that information, we assigned 10 points to any project that was listed by a board member as the bending dots.

[01:28:26] And so the numbers you see on the page there are just the mathematical addition of all those points, and that's how they ended up. And so they are in what is, by your account, your priorities and your highest priorities. So essentially, 90 points were assigned to independent living labs by individual board members, and that was the total.

[01:28:46] And so that's why that is listed as the number one priority, and the Montgomery School was number two, based on that point system. Is it possible to reorganize this? Well, staff wouldn't do that. These are priorities identified by the board, by the method we used.

[01:29:05] And so, oh my, sorry about that. So it wouldn't be for us to do that. That's the accounting of the board's priorities. um also as far as cte programs go um i had sent a specific idea uh for a new cte program i know miss ellis is here mr mr grubbs is not um where we would have maybe cast or um high school kids do programs as far as doing inspections at all the schools um it could it could be twice a year

[01:29:43] would that be included here as far as would that help at all if they were to do inspections and be able to point out issues as far as HVAC units not working properly or playgrounds missing pieces or anything like that would that help in this in any of these programs as I understood your email related to that that would be more of an instructional exercise than it would be for the CIP. So I don't really see it affecting this at all. I will say that we have a number of ways that

[01:30:20] we inspect all of our facilities every year. We have folks that come in as a part of our renovation process. We have the facility condition assessment that we do each year. We have architects and engineers come in and assess the buildings. And then we also have our facilities maintenance folks that are out in the buildings every single day doing work orders and reporting back when they issues that are related to that so I don't I don't think that would have a huge impact or I don't think would have any impact on this but it may be something that you know from an instructional perspective may be good

[01:30:51] for the students mrs. Taylor thank you madam chair and and thank you to the to your team for bringing forth this update I would like to echo what mission off said it's very meaningful to me the creative thinking around addressing this problem that has been brought to us by the community. I did just want to reflect a little bit and ask if you could give me a little bit more context on your statement that we are able to adequately replace the buses through leveraging of

[01:31:30] grants to stay on track. I do believe that prioritizing the inclusive playgrounds is the right choice for us. I just would love a little bit more assurance about how we will be able to stay on track with the bus replacement so that we're not necessarily causing any harm in any other area thank you for that mr. Chandler and and I did not mean to confuse the two my reference to the grant program was just that with all those things in in play our CIP and

[01:32:06] their grants we believe that we have an adequate number of buses that can be replaced this year essentially our bus replacement program is based on replacing 60 buses a year and that was developed over a long period of time to be able to be have consistency in the CIP to be able to manage that so what in each year we go through and look at the condition and the mileage of all the buses and make sure we have a good plan to have buses that need to be replaced are replaced and then we rotate them depending on different routes and the mileage and those types of things and so what we've done is look at it this year and believe that we can buy fewer buses and still be on the track and have buses in the proper

[01:32:45] safe condition for transportation and that we're okay with doing that and we won't be replacing 60 buses this year we play and I don't remember exactly what the number is but so that's what I meant by we're okay to be able to do that I really appreciate that clarification I think that came through in your comments I just thought it would be helpful for the community to have a little bit more context. Thank you so much. Any other questions? Dr. Rashid. Thank you, Chair. And thank you for the team. Extremely, extremely organized how you put this all together. Just wanted to ask about item

[01:33:23] or rather line number eight on the green paper about school bus replacement. Would this include buses that go or the seven to eight buses that go to TJ? Does that include, I believe it's all the sum of amounts per year. Yes ma'am so what we do is we manage our entire bus fleet and some of those buses are assigned to routes to you know regular all the different schools and some of them are assigned to TJ so they are in our fleet replace our fleet management plan and so from time to time those

[01:33:59] buses will be replaced just like any other. Okay I just wanted to point that out to the board members here on the dais again I know I sound like a broken record every time I bring that up but it's just again it's just something to think about. Another thing I wanted to ask Mr. Lewis I believe I don't remember which slide but when it comes to the transition facility if you could just quickly walk me through how how fast the soonest it could be made that would be great it just I forgot it was at the bottom and had an asterisk something about

[01:34:34] 2025 and then 2027. So what we were trying to do is just outline a number of different ways that we could get to the end to have a home for the transition center and these were several different examples to do that and the shortest way but also could possibly be the longest way is if we were able to find a lease building so a building that's not being used right now that maybe is a former retail space or something along those lines that we could lease from the owner

[01:35:09] and then build out a school inside that building if we were able to accept the risk the school board accept the risk of spending money to design and/or construct the improvements inside that building while we were getting permission from the county to use the building then that would represent the shortest way we may not find that opportunity and then it would take a special exception and a commission permit, then the design process, and then the construction process.

[01:35:37] So that would then maybe possibly equate to the longest scenario. And so our goal will be to continue to work with that, and we'll be talking with the board about those options as we move forward and then try to find, locate actual specific ones, and then come back and say, here's a plan, and here's what we think we can do this particular building in.

[01:35:56] Okay. And I know you said it could be the shortest way, but is it safe to say that it could also be the most, Is it a possibility it could be the most expensive way because of all the repairs, or is it just better to start from scratch? I'm just trying to weigh in the comparisons.

[01:36:13] Excellent question, and we don't have a good answer for that right now because sometimes you can get a deal on an existing building and sometimes, you know, renovating anything. Any building we use, whether it's an existing building or new, is going to have to have some construction costs. Those costs are outrageous these days.

[01:36:31] The inflation on construction still continues to go. but that's pretty irrelevant because it's the same for any project we do looking forward to it thank you mrs. Griffiths thank you madam chair on slide 13 you have energy conservation and efficiency projects explain the 12 million there that could maybe you can move money out of there um if if needed for transition or playgrounds or anything renovations just in general please

[01:37:09] explain the energy conservation and efficiency projects that that money is going towards thank you yes ma'am so that those are first i'll say that those are in the top section of the cip which are also our sustainment projects which are a priority for us as a staff and um and i believe by the board as well and they include a number of projects that include lighting retrofits so we're going through each building and changing from the old technology of in non-incandescent fluorescent lighting to LED lighting that has a number of impacts on the classroom you can see

[01:37:46] in this building where we've changed out that lighting what a difference it makes we're hearing from the schools it makes a huge impact in the classroom where the lighting is much better lit And those are projects that are important not only to the interactions of the students and the staff every day, but also save us a tremendous amount of money.

[01:38:03] It also includes our energy projects for changing out transformers that are, that was the example I gave the last time where you saw the photograph of the one that was running warm. It also includes our solar projects. I will say we went back and went through our solar projects and found that we generated almost nine megawatts of power from those last year.

[01:38:26] And if we take the electric bill from 10 of our elementary schools, we are paying for the electric bill the usage fees for the electric in 10 of our buildings from the solar panels. So those are things that are in there that are making a huge impact. The last thing I'll share is you'll see this when we go into the operating budget.

[01:38:44] We've reduced our energy costs in our budget for our projections for a budget for the FY26 operating budget by a million dollars based on the use of that self-generating power. So it is something that we are seeing an immediate impact of those projects, and that's why you see that there.

[01:39:02] And it's an important program for us and for the board and for the taxpayers and for their energy savings. So sometimes when we see these energy conservation efficiency projects, it's really hard to wrap your head around exactly how much we're really saving and what that really impacts without seeing the numbers of some sort.

[01:39:31] I know you've just said a lot of that, but I'm wondering how feasible it would be for us to actually see those kinds of numbers because you know what you hear a lot when you are as a community member and you're doing it to your house you know solar to your house you're not going to see the energy savings for blah blah blah for how many years and i think it would be important for us to know is that different here you just said 10 elementary schools was and how significant that really is so i'm just wondering if you could send some of those numbers or something absolutely we we periodically do

[01:40:09] reports for the boards and we can certainly put one together to show the the the scope of those projects and the successes we've seen and what the impacts and the benefits to the school system have been and will continue to be over time happy to do that mrs griffiths thank you madam chair um also um in reference to the recovery school and the transition center um as far as costs go um with the recovery school um it does it cost a lot more than a transition center to go in and

[01:40:42] renovate a building i mean um if you could give me an idea how of how a recovery school is much more difficult to or actually a transition center would be much more difficult much more costly to to have i mean when you go into an existing building and you renovate it for the changes are you making as many changes in a recovery school is probably what I'm asking. Thank you Ms. Griffiths I'll start and then Mr. Lewis can fill in anything that I missed. So first just programmatically

[01:41:16] the recovery school is less expensive because we're talking about fewer students attending the recovery school so fewer staff members and in terms of facilities they require less space and less complicated space.

[01:41:33] That's, I'm sure, not a technical term that Mr. Lewis would use, but basically a plain classroom instead of extensive equipment, larger spaces, fancy bays, things like that, depending also on what ends up in the transition program, which is what we'll spend the next year or so planning out.

[01:41:54] But just basically the recovery school is smaller, less complicated space than a transition center would be. Any other questions? Yes, Vice Chair Struffy.

[01:42:11] Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you so much for all of the effort that was put into this, into our CIP and CAP this year. I wanted to ask, and this is just a bit of a sanity check for me, for Line 3 critical systems renewals, as well as Line 44 in Improvement's school renovation and replacement program, Just want to confirm if any of our previous assumptions from the prior work sessions have changed at all, or any adjustments were made, and maybe just get a little bit more depth

[01:42:48] of understanding as to what is our approach to some of the critical systems, renewals. I know we had the facility condition assessment, so have any of those assumptions changed, any of those projects moved around and when you think about the previous year's budgets right have we you know in terms of what we're spending on critical systems renewals versus the renovation and replacement programs again have have any of these assumptions kind of shifted or are there any big unlocks or changes from previous years to this year just a little bit more depth

[01:43:26] to try to understand those big line items. Thank you Mr. Streffi so I'll start with line three the critical systems renewal, you'll see there in our original superintendent's recommended CIP, we had $17 million identified for that. And that included, I believe, three schools where we were going to do complete retrofits of the entire HVAC system because of the end of life. So these are buildings that are getting the systems that are toward the end of their life to be able to be replaced so we don't have a catastrophic failure and have the whole school go down.

[01:43:57] In the November 12th update, you see we reduced that number from $17 million to $15.5 million. And the reason for that is one of those systems, we believe from a timing perspective, we moved the solar system out, moved it one year because we believe from a timing perspective, cash flow-wise, we would still have the total project done at the same time, but just were able to shift some of that funding.

[01:44:21] So philosophically, we're still doing the project. We've just spread out the length of that project and the expenditures to be able to help us with the immediate needs in FY26 and still be able to manage that project. So on the line 44 on the school renovation and replacement program, I think if I'm understanding your question, last year we had talked about identifying Sterling Middle School and Loudoun County High School as the first schools to be considered for replacement.

[01:44:54] and that the reason they were the first two, because each of those schools had a significant parking issue. And so what we've done is looked to this CIP to find a way to solve those two parking issues and then be able to put those schools back on even ground when it comes to their consideration with the facility condition assessment, where we brought the architects and engineers in to look at the systems and the condition of the building.

[01:45:17] and our staff, Mr. Pasquarelli's staff and Ms. Tello, our staff architect, looked at the program. How does each of those buildings measure up to our program and our educational specs and then allow those to score properly in the facility conditions assessment?

[01:45:34] So we really didn't change a whole lot of that. We just solved the two parking issues first to allow us to better address those and not have to have either of the schools waiting to have any improvements or any solutions to those problems so then we can properly plan for their addressing in the future.

[01:45:57] I'll also share that in our original assessment, we're going to take each school, as it gets to our ages, any school that's 75 years or older, according to policy, we look at whether or not it should be replaced, and we're going to look at each of those schools and see how they fare with our facility condition assessment and then decide whether or not we're going to make a recommendation to the board whether we renovate the building or tear the building down and replace like we are in Parkview.

[01:46:25] I will say that a first initial assessment we did at Loudoun County High School said that that building is too important to tear down, so we need to make sure we manage that building along the way and do the best things we can. To Ms. Chernoff's point about the challenges we have in certain areas like the gourmet foods area, How can we find a way to better utilize that in that existing building?

[01:46:46] And so each building that gets assessed in this renovation project may not have the same answer. We're not going to recommend that each building be torn down and be replaced. We're going to find what we believe is the best plan for each one of those as we move forward. And I hope I answered your question.

[01:47:05] That was helpful. Yes, thank you. Any other questions? I do see there was, where was it, the modular classrooms. At one point, not next year, but I guess the year after is huge.

[01:47:29] Actually, let me see. Yeah, $2.2 million. Am I seeing that right? FY 2027 recommended? Is that because we have a huge need and maybe I'm overshooting and I shouldn't look that far?

[01:47:52] No, we appreciate that. We're going to look on page 44 of the CIP. I'm not sure if we've, the program is essentially to make sure that we have enough project funding planned when we need to put additions on for growth areas that we're dealing with.

[01:48:11] Right now, in this year, we're putting, in fact, the Finance Committee is going to see tomorrow night a contract to do the modular classrooms at Light Ridge and at Potomac Falls to address those two areas that we know we have issues. And I am drawing a blank, but I may have to get back to you on why it's 2.2 in FY27.

[01:48:34] We'll take that as a question and get back as why that program is there. We'll take that as a question and get back to you because I can't come up with it right now. Thank you. Board members, any other questions? No. Okay. Well, thank you so much for this.

[01:48:53] I am looking forward to that transition center because it does will help also with CTEs and things like that. Because I think that's one of the pathways that we're looking for students all the way around, is more CTE classes and opportunities.

[01:49:13] So with that, I appreciate y'all. Thank you. And we will move on, I guess, to item five, another closed session. Vice Chair Streffi, do you have a motion?

[01:49:33] Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board recess this public meeting and enter into a closed meeting pursuant to 2. 2-3712 of the Code of Virginia for the following discussion and consideration of the acquisition of real property for a public purpose or of the disposition of publicly held real property where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body as authorized by Virginia Code section 2. 2-3711A3.

[01:50:03] Discussion and consideration of the performance and discipline of a specific public officer as authorized by 2.2-3711A1 of the Code of Virginia. Vice Chair Struffy has made a motion. Do I have a second? I have a second by Ms. Chandler. Is there any discussion?

[01:50:23] Yes, Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. As far as going to closed session, part of that closed session, I am a little confused as to why we're going back into the closed session for an item that was thoroughly discussed behind closed doors.

[01:50:40] And that closed session was closed with no further comment. All board members had the full meeting behind closed doors to say anything they wanted to say. So to bring this matter back into discussion behind closed doors, because a board member didn't like the outcome, sets a precedent.

[01:51:00] It has never been documented that an item in closed sessions that was finished was returned to re-discuss. because the outcome wasn't what somebody wanted. So I ask why we're going into closed session.

[01:51:18] I am requesting a friendly amendment to drop this discussion on a public figure, as that discussion already occurred, and there have been no additional details to rediscuss. Thank you. Is that your motion, Mrs. Griffiths? Yes.

[01:51:33] Could you repeat your actual amendment? Okay. I am requesting a friendly amendment to drop the discussion on a public figure as the discussion already occurred and there have been no additional details to rediscuss. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. Do I have a second?

[01:51:51] Second. I have a second by Mrs. Chernoff. A motion has been made and seconded. Is there any discussion? Seeing no discussion, we will go ahead and put together a vote.

[01:52:14] Yeah, we're voting on Mrs. Griffith's amendment, and the yes would be to not go into closed, and the no would be to go into closed for just that piece.

[01:52:35] Okay. Board members, clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion does not pass with Dr. Deans, Ms. Chandler, Ms. Mansfield, Mr. Estreffy, Ms. Donahue, and Dr. Rashid, all in opposition.

[01:52:59] We will go back to the base motion. Is there any discussion? Seeing no discussion. Clerk, would you please open the vote for the base motion? The base motion is the original motion without any amendments, which is to go into close for the two items.

[01:53:26] Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes with Mrs. Griffiths and Ms. LaBelle in opposition and Ms. Chernoff abstaining for the vote. The board is now in closed session.

[04:26:01] The board is now coming out of the closed meeting. Vice Chair Streffi, do you have a motion? Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the closed meeting be adjourned, that the Loudoun County School Board reconvene its public meeting, and that the minutes of the public meeting reflect that no formal action was taken in the closed meeting. Vice Chair Streffi made a motion to adjourn the closed meeting do i have a second i have a second by miss labelle it's been properly moved and seconded is there any discussion seeing no discussion we'll go ahead and vote clerk please

[04:26:32] open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote that motion passes unanimously vice chair streffi do you have another motion yes madam chair i move that the following resolution certifying the closed meeting be adopted and reflected in the minutes of this public meeting whereas levin county school board has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and whereas 2.2-3712D of the Code of Virginia requires a

[04:27:11] certification by the school board that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law now therefore be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification applies and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard discussed or considered by the London County School Board. I have a motion by Vice Chair Streffi. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Chernoff. Is there any

[04:27:44] discussion? Seeing none we will take an electronic vote. Clerk please open the vote. Board members please record your vote. Clerk please close and display the vote. That motion passes. Vice Chair Mr. Jaffe, do you have any other statements?

[04:28:08] Point of privilege, the Loudoun County School Board convened multiple closed sessions to discuss and consider the performance of a public officer as well as discipline pursuant to Virginia Code section 2.2-3711A1. We acknowledge that public officers are held to the highest ethical standards of governance as a way to build and sustain the public trust.

[04:28:28] We reaffirm our collective commitment to welcome and encourage active cooperation by Loudoun County residents and organizations and continue to strive step-by-step toward ideal conditions for most effective school board service to our community in a spirit of teamwork and devotion to public education.

[04:28:45] Thank you, Vice Chair Struffy. It looks like we don't have the next is item six, adjournment. So I will do that.

[04:29:00] Let's see, LCPS. Thank you. December 2nd, Superintendent recommended FY 2026, FY 2031, Capital Improvement Program and Capital Asset Preservation Program work session is now adjourned.

[04:29:18] Please drive safely home.

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