Coraggio Consulting Loudoun County School Board, 4th Tuesday School Board Meeting, Tuesday, October 28, 2025 Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2025 Place: Loudoun County Public Schools / School Board meeting (see BoardDocs / LCPS-TV) Length: 5h 52m (video) Official meeting video (Vimeo / LCPS-TV): https://player.vimeo.com/video/1127365931?rel=0 BoardDocs (School Board): https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/loudoun/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DM2Q5M6761E2 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [00:00:38] Good afternoon. I call to order this October 28, 2025 Loudoun County School Board meeting. At this time, we will read our disclosures, and I will start. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public 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. [00:01:06] 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 excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. [00:01:23] 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. 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 and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. [00:01:51] 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. [00:02:06] 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. Chandler. Mrs. Griffiths. 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. [00:02:36] 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 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's interest. [00:02:55] This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the school board for five years. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. Mr. Streffi. 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. [00:03:20] 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. [00:03:36] This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you, Mr. Streffi. Ms. LaBelle. 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 the LCPS employees. [00:04:04] Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. In addition, as a former LCPS employee, I, as well as my spouse, receive Medicare Advantage insurance benefits through LCPS. [00:04:21] These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which my spouse and I are included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. [00:04:37] This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the Clerk of the School Board for five years. Thank you, Ms. LaBelle. 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. [00:05:00] 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 the excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate barely, objectively, and in the public interest. [00:05:18] This disclosure will be reflected in the public record of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you, Ms. Sharanoff. We will move on to item three, approval of the consent agenda. Board members, are there any changes to be made to the consent agenda? Seeing none. [00:05:37] Before we vote on the consent agenda, we have four proclamations to read. Our first proclamation recognizes November as Family Engagement and Education Month and will be read by Mrs. Chandler. Ms. Chandler. Thank you, Madam Chair. Family Engagement and Education Month, November 2025. [00:05:53] Whereas the Commonwealth of Virginia is committed to excellence in education and recognizes the importance of family engagement and education in the pursuit of these standards. And whereas the Virginia Department of Education recognizes November as Family Engagement and Education Month in emphasizing the importance of familial and parental engagement in schools and its evidence-based impact on student achievement. [00:06:18] And whereas families are and shall remain the primary educators in their children's lives. And whereas Loudoun County Public Schools believes that every family has hopes and dreams for their children and desires to see them thrive and whereas Loudoun County Public Schools believes that every family has the knowledge, strengths, and capacity to contribute to their children's learning and development and whereas Loudoun County Public Schools believes that families and school staff are partners in education and whereas Loudoun County Public Schools believes that cultivating and sustaining strong partnerships among families, [00:06:54] schools, and the broader community requires intentional commitment from school staff and leaders guided by respect, inclusion, and collaboration, and whereas family engagement should be a priority at every level of our community's education system, from the classroom to the superintendent's office, whereas all Loudoun County public schools are enriched by acknowledging, affirming, and celebrating students' and families' diverse cultures, languages, and backgrounds, [00:07:23] And whereas Loudoun County Public Schools is committed to fostering a culture of belonging and continuous improvement, driving the fulfillment of our mission to empower all students to make meaningful contributions to the world. and whereas Loudoun County Public Schools recognizes that effective family and community engagement is essential to fostering a supportive and inclusive educational environment that empowers students to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally, and now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board recognizes November as Family Engagement [00:07:59] and Education Month, during which school leaders and staff are encouraged to engage families, Strengthening homeschool partnerships in which families are empowered to recognize the value of their role in the educational process. Thank you, Ms. Chandler. Our next proclamation recognizes November 2025 as National Adoption Month and will be read by Dr. Rasheed. Dr. Rasheed. [00:08:20] Thank you, Chair. National Adoption Month, whereas over 100,000 children in our nation's foster care system are waiting to be adopted, longing for the love, connection, and stability that only a permanent family can offer, And whereas still young people will age out of foster care without being adopted, it is crucial that we collaborate with others to support these youth in staying in school, gaining job skills, managing their finances, and starting successful adult lives. [00:08:48] For the 2024-2025 school year, Loudoun County Public Schools served 33 non-disabled students, totaling 3,940 days in foster care placements, and served 23 students with disabilities, totaling 2,495 days in foster care. [00:09:08] And whereas during National Adoption Month, we honor the love and connection shared by adoptive families across the country. We celebrate the millions of adoptive and kinship families who have opened their hearts to provide safe, nurturing homes. We also express our gratitude to foster families and the dedicated professionals who play a vital role in this journey. [00:09:28] To foster youth and adoptees of all ages, we stand with you, reminding you that you are never alone. Most importantly, we encourage those considering adoption to take that courageous and loving step, enriching their families and bringing deeper meaning to their lives. [00:09:45] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board formally recognizes November 2025 as National Adoption Month. We encourage all Americans to observe this month by supporting children and youth in their communities in finding permanent homes where they can experience the love and connection they need to flourish. [00:10:04] Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Rasheed. Our third proclamation recognizes November 2025 as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month and will be read by Mr. Struffy. Mr. Struffy. Thank you, Madam Chair. Whereas November was first declared as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month in 2007, and every year, hundreds of thousands of American families become homeless, including more than 1.3 million children, according to Schoolhouse Connection. [00:10:29] And whereas there were about 1.2 million students enrolled in public school in Virginia during the 2024-2025 school year, according to the Virginia Department of Education, with about 11,206 of those students identified as experiencing homelessness. [00:10:47] And whereas the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act provides educational rights and services to children and youth experiencing homelessness in grades pre-K through 12, including those 21 years and younger who are found eligible for services under IDEA special education. [00:11:05] And whereas, as defined by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, youth and children experiencing homelessness are individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including those sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason, are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations and are living in emergency or transitional centers or are abandoned in hospitals. [00:11:35] And whereas the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act further defines youth and children experiencing homelessness as those who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designated for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including those who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings. [00:12:02] And whereas the population of youth experiencing homelessness also includes migratory youth, as well as unaccompanied youth who have left home for one or more nights without permission. Youth who have been kicked out of their homes are abandoned, deserted, or prevented from returning home. [00:12:17] And whereas Loudoun County Public Schools continues to support students experiencing homelessness and identified approximately 1,494 students experiencing homeless in the 2024-2025 school year, allowing them to receive a stable education despite the uncertainty of their living situation. [00:12:36] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board formally recognizes November 2025 as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month in Loudoun County Public Schools and encourages school community support to help all youth engage in education and experience both academic and personal success. [00:12:55] Thank you, Mr. Streffi. Our fourth proclamation designates November 2025 as Native American Heritage Month in Loudoun County Public Schools and will be read by Dr. Deans. Dr. Deans? Native American Heritage Month. Whereas Native Americans are a diverse group of indigenous people native to the continent of North America with a rich cultural heritage. Archaeological evidence suggests people have lived in the Americas for at least 23,000 years, with many indigenous groups [00:13:35] believing their ancestors have lived on the land from time immemorial, and whereas there are over 570 federally recognized tribes in the United States, each with distinct languages, cultures, and housing traditions, and whereas Native American Heritage Month was established in 1990 when President George H.W. Bush approved a joint resolution designating November as National [00:14:09] American Indian Heritage Month. During November, we show appreciation and acknowledgement for the unique contributions made by the first Americans for the growth and establishment of the United States. And whereas, November is the time to rejoice in the Native American cultures, histories, and traditions, and to appreciate the great contributions of the Native Americans that are indelible in our lives. Through awareness, we not only celebrate Native Americans, but also educate [00:14:49] people about the various challenges faced by Native Americans in the past and even today. And whereas the terms Native American, American Indian, and Indigenous have different meanings and levels of acceptance, and it is important to respect how individuals and groups choose to identify. And whereas, our school division is stronger when we reflect and respect the full [00:15:23] diversity of our school community, which enabled 96.7% of all students in Loudoun County Public Schools to graduate in 2025. And now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board formally recognizes November 2025 as Native American Heritage Month. Be it further resolved that the Loughton County School Board encourages our students, staff, and community to observe, [00:16:00] recognize, celebrate, and learn about the history of Native Americans and contributions to our country, the Commonwealth of Virginia, our beautifully diverse county, and our schools during Native American Heritage Month and throughout the full school year. Thank you. [00:16:22] Thank you, Dr. Deans. I will now entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. If y'all raise your hand. Yes, Dr. Deans. So approved, so moved. I have a motion by Dr. Deans to approve the consent agenda do i have a second um i have mr struffy second i have a second by mr struffy it's been properly moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda at this time we'll take a vote to approve the consent agenda clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote [00:17:00] clerk please close and display the vote that motion passes um 720 with mrs griffiths abstaining for the vote and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. And we will move on to item four, our work session, Department of Support Services 2025 and 2026 Enrollment Report and 2027-2032 Enrollment Projections, presented by Kevin Lewis, Chief Operations Officer, and Ms. Beverly Tate, Director, [00:17:33] Planning and GIS Services. Thank you, Chair Mansfield, Dr. Spence, members of the board. [00:17:49] We are here tonight to share with you the actual September 30th actual enrollment for the 25-26 school year and then also Mrs. Tate will give you a history of enrollment over the past years to give some context to those numbers and where we may end up in the near future. So I will turn to Mrs. Tate and let her take you from here. Thank you. Thank you. Good afternoon. [00:18:13] First, reporting on the September 30, 2025 enrollment, we reported 80,517 students. This is about 99% of our projected enrollment for the fiscal year 26 and is 1,177 students less than we had September a year ago. [00:18:42] Well, let's see. I'm going backwards just to test myself. Okay, thank you. So if you will allow me, I would like to give you a little background information on our FY27 through FY32 enrollment projection process and begin with this graphic that shows our historic enrollment over the past several decades. [00:19:10] We have benchmarked here 1976 where we had 14,053 students. And then in 1986, where we had 31 schools, our enrollment was about 13,000, and you can see the dramatic increase over the past two decades, where in 1997, or 1996, we had 37 schools and 21,000 students, and we jump up to 2016, where we have 89 schools and 79,000 students. [00:19:42] We have peaked this year again at 80,517, and that is demoted here in the green line. And you will see in the orange bars that we are noting a decline over the coming six-year planning period. [00:20:00] Weird focus there. So we're providing here again the historical enrollment, the September 30, and then the percent change over the previous years. And to give you a little bit of a framework of reference for the annual growth, If we have a growth rate of 2% or more, that's considered a high growth rate. [00:20:18] An annual growth rate between 1% and 2% is considered medium growth, and then a 0% to 1% is indicated a low growth rate. We are now at a negative 1.4% going into this year. But if one looks back into the late 1990s for LCPS, we were experiencing an unbelievable amount of growth of greater than 10% annually, Triggering the construction of many new schools, continually changing attendance zones, and a hiring frenzy by HRTD. [00:20:52] Back in 1999, we had a 10.3% growth rate, and in 2000, we had a 10.5% growth rate. LCPS enrollment will reflect a slowing or declining over the next six fiscal years. [00:21:11] For a majority of our schools, we would say that they're graduating class, so they're fifth grade at the elementary. the 8th grade at the middle, or the 12th grade at the high school, are their largest classes. Enrollment is expected to decline, again, in Loudoun, but it's kind of expected across most of the school divisions in the Northern Virginia area and Virginia, regardless of their size. [00:21:36] This graphic visually kind of depicts what I'm speaking to. The orange line, which reflects the kindergarten through grade 5, back in 2023, we were about 41.7% of the overall enrollment. [00:21:54] Today, we're sitting about 33,000 students for K-5, and so we're at that 40.9%, and by the fall of 31, it's expected to decline to 39.1%. The purple line, which is the middle school, which is only three grades, so that's why it looks relatively constant. [00:22:14] Back in 23, we were at 23%. We're sitting about 23.6% now, and then again 23.3% by the end of this. So we're pretty stable, sitting around 18,000 to 19,000 students in our six through eight age group. [00:22:30] The green line, which is our high schools, grades 9 through 12, right now we're sitting about 27,000 students. So we are at about 34%, and that's expected to go up to about 28,000 by the end of this planning period. [00:22:46] The preschool, which is the bar on the very third line on the very bottom, the blue line, it is relatively constant. This reflects our preschool special education students, but it also reflects Head Start and Step programs, which are enrollment-blocked, where we have 100 Head Start students and we have 320 Step students. [00:23:07] That's a constant year-over-year, and so we're not going to see those same shifts that we are in the K-12. So I just want to give you a little insight as to considerations that we look at as we We prepare projections each year. [00:23:23] We certainly look at our historic enrollment, our cohorts. So a cohort is a group of children, so a given grade as they age through school. We look at resident births. That gives us an indication five years from now what our kindergarten. We look at education options. [00:23:40] Certainly two decades ago, public school was the option. Now we have families who have means by which to enroll in private school. We have homeschool options, and so we look at that. We look at housing, so we look at what is available for purchase, what's being built, what that will generate with respect to students, but we also look at the affordability and how that's influencing Loudoun County. [00:24:06] And then we also look at mobility migration, where right now Loudoun and probably the Northern Virginia area, We are seeing where out-migration is exceeding in-migration, which is not always the case with us. I want to start just with a view of the Commonwealth, kind of an overview. [00:24:29] Virginia's 10 largest public school divisions, including LCPS, accounted for all of the Commonwealth's enrollment growth during the 2010s. This, we anticipate the trend going up slightly, but this was a perspective prior to COVID. [00:24:46] This slide depicts the change in public school enrollment, circling obviously the square around 2020 was when we did have the pandemic and we saw Virginia lost over 46,000 students, 3.7% of their public school enrollment. [00:25:05] In Loudoun, we lost a little over 2,400, but 3%. Neither of us have returned to the rates that we were, the number of students that were enrolled prior to COVID in the 2019. But this just gives a little perspective of how things shifted and remain that way for us. [00:25:24] This is my favorite chart. I say this every time I show it. Just to give you a little orientation, the far left column is the year, the September 30 of the given year. [00:25:40] Going across the top are K-12. And then you will see the black boxes that end in the 12th grade of this year with 7,145 students. But way back in 2013, when our seniors were starting kindergarten, there was just over 5,000 of them. [00:26:01] So you can see how that class or cohort has changed over the year. The bright yellow depicts the largest class of that given school year. So in the early 2000s, when Loudon was booming and we were attracting lots of young families who had and were having additional children, our largest grades were in our primary grade. [00:26:24] We did not have full-day kindergarten until 2018. And so up until that point, we would witness that we would get a bump in enrollment in first grade because a lot of families, if they had daycare and it was only a half-day kindergarten program, they were electing to go private or some other option for their kindergarten. [00:26:44] So we would always see a boom in our enrollment for first grade. So in those first few years, you see the brightest color cell is under first grade, and so that was where we are. We are aging, all of us, every day, but our population is as well. [00:27:01] And you can see that as we get down here. Our largest classes now are 12th grade. Our second largest class on this chart, which is not as visible, are a little bit pale or yellow. And with the exception of my error, which I just noticed, 10th grade is our second largest class this school year, not 11th grade. [00:27:20] But we are seeing how Loudoun County, the public school population, is getting older. We're not bringing in as many young children, and all of our children are aging through the system. That is why we've been building lots of secondary schools of recent years. [00:27:37] Resident births. So we look at where the mother lives. That's the resident birth. It's not where the children are born. If you were born in a Washington Hospital Center in D.C., if you live in Loudoun County, it's considered a resident birth for Loudoun County. [00:27:55] The births have a great, they're a great resource for us as we try to project what our kindergarten. That's the hardest grade to project because we can anticipate our third graders by looking at our second graders, but we have no idea unless we're looking at births. [00:28:10] So this lovely little depiction. This is our resident births over the past couple decades where we were less than 1,000 in 1970. We hit a peak in 2015 of 52-56 where LCPS or Loudoun County was still showing a greater number of births than a lot of Virginia. [00:28:33] So while it was anticipated that births would start to decline throughout the commonwealth, even Loudoun, we are starting to now see that with grade number. So we've had folks that have asked about, well, we're losing students to homeschool, we're losing students to private school. [00:28:56] Just kind of wanted to give you this snapshot. Summer withdrawals. This looks at students who withdraw from LCPS from the last day of school of a given school year up until the day before the start of the next school year. So the green column highlights those who withdrew for homeschooling. [00:29:16] The yellow indicates those who withdrew to a private school in Loudoun County. That could be religious or non-religious. The blue indicates those who withdrew to go to a private school within Virginia. So it could be someone who still lives in Loudoun County, but they're choosing to enroll their child in Bishop Ironton. [00:29:39] And then we have those who go to Virginia to a public school. That typically is their moving. They're moving from Loudoun County to Fairfax. They're moving from Loudoun County to Harrisonburg, Virginia. Then we have the orange columns, which indicate those who have withdrawn to go to a school outside of Virginia, whether private or public. [00:29:57] So they could be moving to Alabama. They could be moving to California. and then choosing whether they go private or public once they get there. And then the pink column indicates those who have moved outside the U.S. to a non-DOD. So those could be families who have lived here from India, and they have since returned back to India after visas or after their work. [00:30:20] And so this tracks the withdrawals. And while we did have a notable number of withdrawals going to homeschool and even private school as we were coming out of COVID, you can see here that those numbers have diminished each year. And so we are showing the summer withdrawals just this past year of 2,526. [00:30:42] Yes, this is notable, but this seems to be a trend of what we had in the past. So there is no red flags for us of concern with this. We're just tracking this information. I will note you will see that square around 410 in the summer of 2023. [00:31:01] We were tracking this. We did have a number of private K-8 options that opened for enrollment that year, and so we did see a little uptick there. But again, you can see that has not maintained over the past few years. Sorry, it wasn't clicking, now it is. [00:31:27] Residential building permits, they were relatively stable from 2014 up to about 2018, where we were seeing about 3,500 building permits issued per year. Obviously, there was a slump during the pandemic. in part because houses weren't being built as many weren't being built, but it was also a building supply issue, too. [00:31:50] They just weren't able to get the supplies. We have returned to almost that 3,500 rate this past year, but I would note that where we have 25% single-family detached, 21% single-family attached for townhomes, 55% of the building permits issued last year were multifamily, Just as a perspective, when you look at the 2015 year, we had 40% of the homes being built that year were single-family detached, 21% or 24% were single-family attached, and then we had over 30% being multifamily. [00:32:29] So this depicts for us that the available land for new homes is less, so we're seeing a lot more multifamily. It also is perhaps indicative of the affordability, where we're trying to build housing that is more affordable to more of our residents. [00:32:49] But we do look at residential building permits. This chart is just a little snapshot of everything, thanks to the U.S. Census Bureau and the American Community Survey data. So at the top, the far left, is the one-year estimates going back to 21, the following 22, 23, 24. [00:33:10] You'll see that median age highlight. So back in 21, the median age was 37.6. Now in Loudon, the median age is 30, well, in 2024, it was 39.3. A little perspective, back in 2000 and 2010, the median age was 33. [00:33:31] So, again, getting to, we're all getting older. But this also leads to, I know, I tell that my husband every day, getting older every day. But that also does indicate to where our student population is older because we have families that have been here. [00:33:48] They're established. They have been blessed with perhaps better mortgage rates than some others. So you have those who are empty nesters like myself, or you have those who, as their children are hitting high school, they're choosing to stay in Loudoun. They like Loudoun, but they're not selling their house for those new families coming in. [00:34:08] We also have here the foreign-born, just to give you a little snapshot of that percentage rate, how that has changed slightly. And then the bottom column, the mobility. So this is residential mobility within the last year. [00:34:25] So in 21, we had 4% of those that had moved within Loudoun. So they may have moved from Sterling to Percival. In 2024, that has dropped to 3.6%. Then you have those who moved from a different Virginia county, so they could have moved from Prince William to here or from Stafford to here, and it was 4.4% in 2021. [00:34:48] Now it's 2.6% in 2024. That, too, may be a trigger on the affordability. Then move from a different state and then move from abroad, just to give a little more perspective on the mobility of our families. [00:35:06] I think that we would talk about affordability. We have a lot of young people who maybe can't afford to live here. We have young people who are starting their families later in life or not having children at all. We have older people, like myself, who are here to stay but no more children coming out of our house. [00:35:29] And then we also are noting the in-migration and the change of our population. So, to wrap up, we are seeing a slowing and declining in our enrollment. It's certainly going to have an effect on staffing. It's going to have an effect on new school construction. [00:35:46] When the board adopted your attendance zone change policy last year, you asked for us to comprehensively look at all attendance zones. So, this is well-timed as our enrollment starts to slow as to how we can better serve all our students offer more opportunities for our students whether it's with special programs or other offerings so we will be not anticipating not to overshadow Kevin here but we're not anticipating opening any new schools for new capacity beyond HS 14 for the coming years because our enrollments are [00:36:25] dropping and we believe we have the capacity within our facilities to serve those students this is just a recap of what we had shared with you at your June retreat again tied to policy 6530 and your adopted changes we would anticipate a phased review of all of our attendance zones across the county later tonight I will be returning to this table to talk to you about the Ashburn Dulles North elementary process but we would anticipate looking perhaps at Eastern Loudoun next fall a county-wide secondary school review in [00:37:02] the spring of 27 tied to not only the opening of HS 14 but also the opening of the new Parkview high school and then we would potentially look at Central Loudoun Dulles South Western Loudoun over the fall of 27 or 28 and I will wrap at that point I'm happy to answer any questions Thank you, Ms. Tate, thorough as usual. [00:37:29] Board members, do you have any questions? Yes, Ms. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. I personally think we may have overbuilt. The only overcrowded schools that I can see are Little River and Dulles. [00:37:45] And you said HS14 would be the last school. Can you clarify what schools are going to feed into there, into HS14 for me? i i still wanted to continue but go ahead until we have a high school boundary or until we have a boundary i could not tell you what schools would feed into that once the board adopts a boundary then we could say what schools would feed into that oh okay i thought we already knew what schools [00:38:17] would feed okay um the building permits i see that they almost doubled from 2023 to 2024 is that right yes ma'am um why would that have happened why did that happen actually i happily will provide you the detail i don't have each year by year but the fact that 55 percent of the ones for 2024 were multi-family that may be what's triggering that you um unlike single-family [00:38:57] homes if we're building a multi-family unit that's 360 homes if it's 360 units so but i will confirm that um and i also wanted to bring something up um as far as uh selden's is concerned in lansdown I don't know what the situation was when Stuart Weller was built, but I don't think that we had all the buildup over by Stuart Weller, all the housing there when Loudon was not there. [00:39:28] So basically, students were transported from the Seldon's area to Stuart Weller, which is clearly right down Route 7, five miles away. I guess, and we can continue this conversation, my understanding is a lot of the students live right in Lansdowne, and the school is right there, maybe across the street, but they're rezoned to Stuart Weller, and that was several years ago, I guess that decision was made. [00:40:00] I would like to approach bringing all those students back because basically what's happening is they're doing permission special permissions every year and they live in Lansdowne special permissions to go to Seldon's so they don't have to be transported to Stuart Weller and the ones that go to Stuart Weller I I want to say they didn't want to keep continuing to do the permission so they just said okay you know my child will go to Stuart Weller and I bring this up because I [00:40:33] looked at the enrollment where Selden Selden is at half capacity Stuart Weller has Stuart Weller has openings but they don't I Selden's is is really at half capacity and I was really hoping to have the conversation and maybe with Mr. Lewis on Friday to see if we can shift those kids back because they they don't want to do the permissions every year and we do have students that are going to stewart weller that would like to go to selden's where they live so [00:41:07] i know that's going to come up probably later in this presentation but i just wanted to bring that out because um since i i came on the board i've had some parents coming to me about that and we're hoping for uh the transition back to selden's area thank you yes ma'am and that will be a topic or later this evening any other yes dr. Rashid thank you chair and thank you miss T for this awesome presentation very comprehensive and a lot to absorb I [00:41:43] didn't read the slide correctly I think I read it wrong in the last slide with what mrs. Griffiths was referring to with the very last column with 3,300 some would that mean that wouldn't we have more enrollment because of that last column or am I not reading the the chart correctly so we calculate student generation factors so it's how many what type of units generate what type of students so we will look at all single-family detached homes in the Dulles South area as example and we will determine how many public school students we have enrolled based on the number of single-family detached homes [00:42:22] and we have noted that our what we call a student generation factor is declining so if there are a number of 55% of those 33,000 were multi-family units one generally would think that they are one or two bedroom units and so perhaps those are young couples without children or with one child and so generation factors typically for multi-family units are much lower than you would for a single-family detached home or a townhome and so that does play into it and that is part of our projection process as we anticipate [00:42:59] future students but we can talk about that it's part of the capital budget it's an appendices there but it is it does indicate that we do have homes being built and homes being moved into but if they are multifamily typically we get much less with respect to students overall from multifamily thank you for that and then I know that we have we're offering a lot more programs here at LCPS is there any data information on the breakdown in terms of where we're losing students from particularly for example we have VDL right and we also [00:43:35] have many programs in ACL so I was just really curious to know if any of those families that are leaving or the decrease enrollment rather if any of them are particularly coming from any particular program like families that are attending TJ where their kids are attending TJ or families that their kids are attending VDL or AOL and I just wanted to correlate that with the decrease in enrollment if we see a pattern just out of my curiosity if we have that we don't have that in great detail that I can give it to you right now we are looking at that we were looking if we were losing more students [00:44:13] in Dulles South versus Central Loudoun and we weren't really seeing anything that just was like glaringly out there but we do continue to look at that as we've started this process so we can provide you additional information as we get to that thanks and then just a comment for the board members I'm guessing based on the decrease enrollment if we are to predict that it does go down ever even further I'm assuming that special permissions is going to be a little bit more challenging because we want to offset that balance a little bit I don't know these are just my thoughts just me thinking out loud but um again i just wanted to point that out to to board members here thank you [00:44:53] chair thank you dr sheet any other questions seeing none we will move on to 4.02 department of support services uh thank you miss tate we'll check back in with you later um superintendents recommended fiscal year 2027 fiscal year 2032 capital budget presented by kevin lewis chief operations officer and I just want to remind the board that this is a high level and you might want to hold your specific questions for mr. Lewis later [00:45:29] when you have your discussions with him mr. Lewis digest this humongous book yeah thank you chair Mansfield so we are thrilled to be here tonight this is a culmination of a tremendous amount of work by a lot of folks in our department in other departments and you know I won't try to name all the people that that were a part of this because I would certainly miss someone, but we have planning and GIS services, construction facilities, sustainability, transportation, and management coordination, in addition to budget and business and finance and all those folks that work together. [00:46:09] Actually, we meet weekly to put this together over a year's time. So there's a lot of information here. As Chair Mansfield said, this is a brief overview for tonight, and we will get into more detail on November 10th as the first work session. And then as you, as Chair Mansfield also mentioned, we are offering to sit down with each of you and try to go through those individually because we know it's a tremendous amount. [00:46:32] As a little bit of housekeeping, you'll see at the dais you have a copy of the book that Ms. Strunoff held up and showed how big it is. It is significantly larger than the books in the past, and I will share later about the surprise that's in there for you. [00:46:48] We have a whole new section with more information. You also have a copy of this presentation we can talk back through if we need to ask specific questions. And there's also what we call the Project Funding Changes Document, which has some green arrows on it, and I will go over that in more detail later. [00:47:06] And you have a hard copy of that just hopefully to make that look a little bit easier to find the information. This is an evolution of the CIP. As you just heard from Mrs. Tate, our changes and our needs have changed over the past several decades, And our CIP has transitioned from building new school after new school after new school to maintaining and managing our current inventory and being able to find new ways to take those buildings and adapt them into the new ways that we need to facilitate instruction in those buildings. [00:47:43] Ms. Tate also said in the 27 to 32 first six years of the CIP, there are no new schools planned. And so part of that is somewhat contingent on the decisions being made by the board for the boundary, the extended zone changes that are going to be happening in Ashburn and Dulles South. [00:48:04] We'll be having that conversation later this evening. So we do have a quick look at the schedule over the next few months. I'll call attention to the bottom right there, the QR code. So if you happen upon the next board meeting and forget that big heavy book you got, You could just click right on that QR code and come right up to the electronic version of that document. [00:48:27] You'll see that tonight we're talking about the overview, the projections and the attendance zone change, but also a new term for you. We've tried to find ways to make this document and all this information a little bit more easily understood. [00:48:44] And so we're going to talk through tonight the school modernization strategy, which we've grouped a lot of different types of projects together to help you understand that. also help us manage when we have particular types of projects in a school. And we'll just talk about the budget, the financial plan, and how we're trying to meet what is provided to us in early conversations with county staff or what the board of supervisors will possibly be able to fund. [00:49:09] And so each year we do the same thing as we do in the operating budget and try to target those guidance provided for that to make the board have all the information they have to make good decisions. So you'll see there, and I'll just call it one thing in the November 10th slot there, the school modernization projects. [00:49:29] So we're going to go in more detail in the specific projects as we go through this. So it won't be a lot of details about individual projects tonight, and we'll get to that on November 10th. So we move through. We wanted to just put this slide up there. [00:49:44] You've seen this slide a number of times. This is the school board's priorities they've provided to us in the development of the 26 to 31 CIP. And so this helps you understand or remember the priorities you gave us, the points process. [00:50:00] And so each of those things, we wanted to make sure to provide that information. Again, as a reminder, I will point out there, you see the line there, it says fine arts, theater, music, programming. Throughout this capital budget process, you'll see we've changed the name of that to visual and performing arts. [00:50:18] So those things will be interchangeable, and I may forget and call it the wrong thing from time to time either. you'll see that that's there the next slide is we've we've taken the opportunity to take each of those priorities and show the board we are making progress on all of those so you can see each one of those as you come down where we are independent living labs we're designing that in the summer of 25 and we're starting those this fall and so each of the the things you have we wanted to make sure we we gave you a point in time of where we are with each of those priorities and we're happy to say we're we're well along our way with achieving those and making strides towards getting those completed as you [00:50:58] as we move forward in each year if you have any specific questions about those particular things you know I won't go through each of them right now but so we are making good progress and I'll only call out to you'll see school modernization strategy is highlighted in red just again to show that there's two examples of things that we've grouped together in that strategy to help better manage the process and all the information associated so this slide is provided the board I'm sure remembers in June of this year you adopted the sustainability framework that helps us and guides us in the development of [00:51:35] knowing this this capital budget but in many other things that we do and so you know each of those we had four goals in economic and environmental a social and a leadership goal and those are the four goals you see on the right and on the left you see some you know budget line projects capital asset preservation plan school renovation and replacement critical systems and you see how those are connected and attached to each of those goals to show that we're keeping that framework in mind and just thank the board again for providing that guidance so it's very very helpful for us when we develop these these budgets [00:52:12] we also have the different tools that we use to you know to develop these with the design to Energy Star lead certification, our facility condition assessment that we'll talk about in a lot more detail later this evening. In different ways, we're trying to figure out exactly what all the stresses are on our programs and how we can keep your goals in that framework in mind as we develop the capital budget and individual projects and then how we group those. [00:52:40] So it's pretty helpful to us. It's also underscores our commitment and your commitment to, you know, leading by example and making sure that we're showing our students that we're doing the right things for our environment while doing, you know, managing our inventory in an appropriate manner. [00:52:59] We're embracing those sustainable practices and then modeling that culture of sustainability through our building program, but also in our management. And, you know, obviously Mrs. Clark and her team, Mrs. Seip and her team are in the middle of lots of things with teaching and learning and helping develop instructional programs to help with students and their awareness as well. [00:53:21] So important things, and we're, again, we're grateful for that guidance provided by the board. So I've mentioned a couple times the facility condition assessment, and this is a tool that's really helping us making sure as we move into this new era of times We're trying to maintain and manage our facility inventory and take advantage of the newer buildings and bring our older buildings up to those things. [00:53:47] We have all the tools here. This is one of many tools that helps fill into that. Currently, we're doing this in three phases. The first 25 schools we did in last year's CIP, we did them in FY24. We have those, and each year we'll update that. [00:54:03] So all the schools that we did, we have now reviewed those again this year with our consultants and our in-house teams to make sure we have exactly where those buildings stands. And as an example, it's important we do it every year because we work on these buildings every single day of the school year and the summer, so we're constantly doing projects that will or may affect the scores we get out of the facility conditions assessment and ultimately end up in a score. [00:54:29] So this year we're doing 24 more schools, And again, we did the 25 from last year. We reviewed those. Next year, we'll do those schools built from 2003 to 2011 and from 2012 to 25. And so we'll have a good assessment of all those buildings. [00:54:49] And policy requires us to look very in-depth study of the facility condition when the building gets to be 75 years old. So we have that information for the board as well. I will say that, you know, to help better understand how we get to that, we have assessment standard categories where we look at the school site, the building interior and exterior, the MEP systems, and then those are all done with outside consultants and our facilities team, and then our design and construction folks look at that program and plan and program adequacy. [00:55:25] So a school built 20 years ago doesn't have all the same office spaces and special ed spaces and breakout spaces that we meet our modern standards. So we look at those to see where our buildings need the best or the most input on helping them meet today's requirements. [00:55:46] As mentioned, those are updated every single year. This does, as I mentioned before, play into our continual evolution of our building program where we move from building every year, building new schools, to managing and maintaining and feeds our development process for the capital budget and also feeds it the information for you as board members. [00:56:11] I will say that and apologize ahead of time that we had a little printing error, so we have a listing of schools in the order of that that didn't make it into the book. We'll send that to you this week. and then we'll give you a hard copy at the next meeting, too. So I apologize for that missing printing. [00:56:30] Okay, so as I mentioned, we've moved toward this school modernization program. You remember this slide from last year where we grouped schools or group projects in different ways. We still are tracking the projects here, but as I mentioned earlier, number two, new capacity. [00:56:45] We are not proposing any new schools in this year's CIP. So we wanted to find a better way to help the board and the community to, follow our process and our procedures and our decision-making processes so everybody better understands. So this is just here as a reminder. We won't go into that in great detail. And then I'll start maybe better explaining our school modernization program. You see here it's a combination of a number of things. Starting with the bubble on the left, you have that renovation and replacement. As I mentioned, our 75-year review and buildings that we need to be [00:57:22] thinking about whether or not they will continue to serve our students or whether we need to have a major renovation or maybe even a replacement. We also have the critical system renewals. We know that the chassis of these buildings will last 75, 100 years, but the systems, they need to turn over every 30 years, in some cases 25. [00:57:41] And so we're stretching when we have a building that's got, you know, certain systems that are over 30 years old. We take that risk of having failure for those, and we try our very best not to have that happen in an unplanned manner. So those play into that. [00:57:56] Energy conservation and efficiency projects, we try to pair those with other projects as we're doing them. And then the building and site renewals, which have a lot of impact on things inside the building and outside the building. And then, of course, we're always looking for making sure that we're addressing the school board priorities as we get those over time. [00:58:20] So to try to better explain this school modernization strategy, you'll see a number of projects there that have been listed in years past as individual standalone projects. And what we've done now is we've combined those in this school modernization for a very particular reason. [00:58:36] You can see there where we have a school renovation and replacement program. A building has reached a point where it's really not serving our students, and we need to do a major renovation or possibly even replacement. we certainly don't want to replace the critical system the year before that and then make major changes to the building after that. [00:58:53] So we're combining those to be able to keep those in front of not only us, but you as well as we manage these buildings to coordinate that. And so we may see a delay of one type of projects to create another. So if we have a renovation that's due in 10 years, but a critical system is due in five years, we're going to look at that and do our very best to make sure that critical system makes it that extra five years so we can do it all at once and not have two major projects. [00:59:22] That has a huge impact or a lessening of an impact on the student body in those buildings while we're working on those. And so we keep that in mind as well, how much impact do we have on students. So you see there CTAE renovations. We're going to hear more about that from Dr. Grubb and his team in a little bit. [00:59:40] And, you know, so that's one of the things that we want to try to coordinate those as well as the visual and performing arts, the independent living labs, cafeteria additions and special programs, those are things that we have grouped now in this category to try to keep those in front of us. In years past, you had to search down through that list to try to figure out where those met and then try to assemble them all in your mind as to what's going to happen at a particular school. And we'll share again the little surprise we have for you on how we keep track of that as we go through the book. Hope you're not disappointed and a surprise later. [01:00:14] Okay, so we have a lot of benefits to this, and I've mentioned a couple of those, but we have clarity, and we're able to better define and record and enlist for you so you can find the scope of these projects and maximizing funding efficiency. [01:00:32] If you can imagine a big project at a school and then another big project at a school, and then we pay design fees and construction fees, you end up duplicating those where you can group those together and you can make a better efficiency out of those. It also, as I mentioned, has a minimization on the disruption of schools for students and staff in those buildings because that takes a toll on folks when we're having to work around construction projects. [01:00:58] So trying to find a way to illustrate what we're talking about. You see here school modernization. This is an example of a typical high school. So we have our facility condition assessment, and let's say that project scores number 10 on the list. [01:01:14] And so now we know that that project from a school modernization from a facility condition renovation replacement may need to be the 10th one on the list. Maybe that's two years. Maybe that's 10 years from now. But we also have visual and performing arts, tennis court lighting, secondary practice fields, and CTAE renovations that are all also scheduled for the same building. [01:01:35] So we're going to consolidate those into one project and slide those one way or the other so that we have those all done at the same time. You know, as an example, we do the second practice field and the tennis court lighting project at a high school, and then two years later we decide we need to add on to the building where those footprints are, then we have to tear that out and redo that. [01:01:55] So that's one of the reasons it really makes sense from a strategy perspective to group those together. In contrast, the independent living labs are affecting maybe one or two classrooms inside a particular building where we can just go ahead and do that work, get that out of the way, and satisfy that, get those programs moving forward and not have to have that one delayed for the rest of that. [01:02:15] So that's an example of how we're looking at these to making sure we're tracking all the things that have to be done and not misstepping and doing something that we have to maybe impact that work later. So that is how we're approaching that. It'll become a little bit more clear as we get through the project listing as we move forward. [01:02:36] I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this slide. You'll see this again when Dr. Grubbs and his team comes up. This is just an example of how we're working with his team to go through the projects and understanding their priorities and the timing of their projects so that we can time ours to match that as we move forward. [01:02:54] So much more to come on that as we go forward. So I mentioned earlier, we're going to talk about the financial plan. So starting with this, you'll see on the far left, the total FY25 to 30 county adopted capital budget. [01:03:17] So, in last year's CIP, the county adopted $124 million for FY27, the first year in this CIP. However, our CIP, the school board adopted CIP, reflected $164 million. [01:03:34] So, what we had done, and we knew that that was the case, and we informed the board, and you all were aware of that when we did it, just knowing that in hopes of, here we've identified the need, in hopes of having additional funding, we would be able to do that and adjust that this year. Well, in our preliminary conversations with the county staff, that's not going to be available. [01:03:52] So we set out on a mission this year to adjust our CIP to meet that level of funding in an effort to have a much smoother process and hopefully have a fully funded CIP. So that scenario plays out in the first four years of the CIP. [01:04:11] So that's also FY27, but 28, 29, and 30, where those values were set at the board of supervisor level. And so our goal from staff is to provide a CIP that matches those levels, knowing that you're voting on a capital budget that they can actually afford and we don't even have to make adjustments later and make difficult decisions. [01:04:33] So here in a few minutes we'll show you how we've gone through and helped make some of those decisions and we'll show you what we've done and where we've done it to get us from that 164 that we looked at last year for this fiscal 27 to the 124 that's going to be available to us. [01:04:50] I will say that that does result in some unmet needs. We have some projects that, you know, the longer you have these buildings go, the more risk there is in some failure. But we have a fantastic facilities department, as you know, that will keep those buildings running. But it is something that we just need to, you know, let the board know. [01:05:07] There is risk involved whenever you put things off past that 30-year range. And so, you know, we have those risks of emergency replacements. If the whole system goes down, that's a much bigger problem than if an individual unit. [01:05:23] But we also know that we have high standards here, and we want all of our rooms to be warm and or cool when it's appropriate, and all the lights on, those types of things. So that's what we strive to do as we work on that. So this is the sheet that I mentioned earlier, and it's too small to read on the screen, but it is in your packet, and we'll send out this as well. [01:05:50] And I'll start by just sharing with you, this is the document that we worked on to get us from the situation where we had the $164 million plan for FY27, and we moved it down to meet the county's expectation of $124. [01:06:08] But just to get you allocated on the sheet on the far left, you'll see the names of the projects. in the first 11 lines you see that those are the school modernization totals and we've had us we've grouped that together for you as i mentioned earlier to try to help you better understand how we group those modernization projects you'll see in the the next column to the right just which ones are school modernization and other projects but then to the right of that you'll see the school board priorities from last year so we're constantly keeping track of those to make sure we know which projects were priorities for the school board. In that orange color, the first three columns with [01:06:48] all the numbers in it, that's where we talk about what happened in last year. So the gray column on the left is the school board adopted that showed that $164 million total. And then in the center of that area, you'll see projects that we have adjusted and provided you dollar values that meet that $124 million guidance given by the county. So essentially, in that third column over where you see variants, we have adjusted last year's CIP numbers by $6,530,000 to be able to meet that [01:07:21] goal. And so on each of these and many of those lines, you see the green areas. So if I direct your attention to critical systems, which is on that line number, on the far left, you'll see line number, line number four. You'll see the critical systems. If you come over, we started with $50,830,000 last year CIP has now moved to 27 million 23 million 780 which is a variance of 27 million everybody following that you can see that and so we've taken that green arrow to show you that we've moved those dollars from FY [01:07:59] 27 over to FY 28 and so there's several examples down through this page where we've done the same thing just trying to orient you to how we've done the project so you can see the projects where we've made decisions to move money out of 27 to help free up space for the funding and we can when we meet individually we can go through those line by line I won't do that now but that's just how we've gotten to do that and just be able to share with you that we've worked really hard to make some decisions and some of those were difficult decisions you know I called your attention to line four with the [01:08:35] critical systems there's a perfect example where we had a critical systems renovation plan for one of our middle schools but in addition plan to the middle school to meet that and so we've moved those both one way to try to meet them in the middle so we're going to be doing both of those at the same time that allowed us to free up money out of the critical systems to have money for the other projects so that's one of those examples where we've moved things to consolidate those in the school modernization strategy and it is confusing and I'm happy to go through that in detail as I mentioned but not [01:09:10] at this point with the you know in the in the overview uh phase so i will share that um we're pretty excited about how this is playing out i think it's once you get used to the format it'll work well and we'll be able to be able to help you find things also say in in the handout you have you also have a page number and that correlates to the page number in the cip book this page if it looks familiar is the exact replica of page 13 in the book which has all the same information with the exception of we didn't put all the green arrows to show you how we got from one to the other and that was just for tonight to [01:09:48] help you walk through that so okay so here's your surprise we've been working very hard to try to find a way probably the most significant lists of questions that I get from board members and community members is what have have you done to our school in the last X number of years or haven't and what do you have plan so we've added a hundred pages to this document and so every single school has a project page that shows you and this is just an example of the projects that have been funded in the projects that are planned it also has the [01:10:27] enrollment conditions for those years so the projections that you'll see and mrs. Tate and I will be talking about over time are also listed here and you can see that and they're in the groups of each one so if you go to the Ashburn area you'd be able to find Eagle Ridge be able to find that and right there is listed all the projects that have been done and are being planned to be to be done and so I know you always board members get those questions all the time and we just realized it was it was time to take all that information and put it all in one place and keep it track so each year this will change and we'll just do the six years because it would be an exhaustive list over time but you [01:11:04] can see if you have a particular question about a particular school you You can go right to that page and find that and know exactly what has been done and what's planned. And so it will help you go back, reverting back to this summary page. You go here, find the light item for whatever you're looking for, and go right to those pages, and you can do the same thing from that. [01:11:25] So I think it's hopefully going to be, we're pretty happy with it, and so we're hopeful it'll be as much help to you all as it has been to us. Okay, so as I mentioned earlier, this is just a repeat of the first slide and the timing. [01:11:40] we'll go into detail and more in depth with project specifics at the November 10th and anytime you all want to reach out and some of you have already scheduled those times I encourage anyone that hasn't scheduled a time with us to do that and I'll be mrs. Tate and I will be going over not only the capital budget but also the attendance zone which we're going to be talking about later this evening which also has the potential to be confusing and have a lot of input and information for board members to absorb so we do recognize it's a lot of information to absorb and hopefully I didn't go too fast but I believe that is the end [01:12:18] of my presentation I'm happy to have take any questions you may have Mr. Lewis how long have you been doing this since 2005 so like those hundred pages are kind of your legacy of what you've done here I'm sorry I couldn't hear your legacy of what you've done facilities like all the stuff that you have put together over the years the people back there right now are waving to you that have worked on this that's that's their legacy back there so yes yeah board members yes miss Chernoff thank you I'll save my questions for our one-on-one in our work sessions but I just [01:12:52] wanted to say thank you I just in the last year and a half since we've been here I feel very heard I think that you've responded beautifully it's like if you could people sometimes say if you could wave a magic wand and I feel like this is the kind of thing I would want to see and it's just it's so clear and the way you've explained this new strategy I think is so responsive to the needs of our budget and to be fiscally responsible, and I just, I'm blown away by the care that your team has taken to get us to this point, and just so appreciate everything that you do to keep us [01:13:26] running on schedule, and I'm looking forward to this process and digging in a little bit, so thank you, thank you, thank you. Yes, Ms. Chandler. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Lewis. I really did just want to sort of add my accolades to the conversation I think the changes that we see made in this document really do make the inform it takes information that in the past has been in many many different places and puts it together in an organized and concise way that will make it actually [01:14:02] accessible for families because of course I mean if you have time to go through and pull it all together which I have done in the past on research projects, but it's difficult to do, and families really are interested in the schools that their kids attend, but not every 100 schools, and so I think this change will have a huge impact in making this information really accessible for families, and I do greatly appreciate the work that your entire team put into making this possible. [01:14:32] Thank you. Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. I did have a question. I did see ES34 and ES36 are planned for 7 to 10 years, but you said no more schools. So we don't have any new schools in the first six years. [01:14:52] And so what we've done for several years now is added those years 7 through 40 or wherever it goes out to make sure that we keep them on the horizon. There's a good chance that we won't need those. But, you know, if the county's projections for the overall build out of the entire county come true, we'll need those schools at some point. [01:15:10] But at this point in time, as Mrs. Tate provided, you know, our enrollment's going down, so we're going to watch that trend. And it may be that those schools are never needed. But we will keep those tracking for now until we exhaust that process over the next few years. Thank you. [01:15:26] And one more question for you, and I look forward to meeting with you on Friday. For the school modernization, does that include, like, older schools like Broad Run to get immediate work done to modernize the school? I'm just curious about that because, as you know, they've come and they've mentioned that there's a lot of issues there. [01:15:50] Right, and so one thing to remember is we are always working on every building we have every day, and so the immediate need will need to define that. but the school modernization program will include all 100 of our schools all the way down to Watson Mountain and Parkview and HS14 when they open up that will continue to have those on the on the horizon to know when those systems need replacement and when those buildings come of age when they need to be looking at so we we look at all of those and those are the things that we'll go through in detail so you so all board members can see where all their schools sit on that list [01:16:24] over time. Thank you, Mr. Lewis. I appreciate you and your team. That was a lot of work. Very thorough. Yes. Oh, Mr. Streffi, and then we will. Yeah, just be very brief. Thank you, Mr. Lewis, and thank you for the entire team for all the work that goes in throughout the year to get to the point that we are now. The only, lots of questions, but we'll meet later. The only thought that I had around process and inputs for this is to be able to see not just the work that [01:16:59] was done and what's planned, but there were a bunch of projects that potentially get pushed off or reprioritized throughout the years, but the school community at some point hears that, well, in two years, we're going to get this, and then something happens, and that's not possible, and they're really understanding, but it's not just the school leadership that knows that, then the community knows, and everybody gets hyped up, and then we get a lot of advocacy around schools and the varying needs that they have. And so it'd be nice to know those variances or those changes as we consider all of the things that, you know, the different [01:17:38] school communities are advocating for and how to prioritize them. It'd be really good to understand the historical context of things that were moved around. That's my only comment. And if I'm understanding you correctly, and I didn't really point out much on the bottom of the sheet are the other projects listed and that's where we can add in individual projects at particular schools but also knowing that it is important that communities and board members and parents can plan and understand that's the document we missed in the printing that we'll send out to you we have shown there that after a certain point we're not we're going to if you're above that line we're [01:18:16] going to have those projects they're going to be done if you're below that line it takes the it's possible that they could be moved around if we had a failure of a system in particular school and we go in and do that system that may then make that school in a better condition and it would move in that list but it wouldn't move below your six for as an example and so we know that you all need everyone needs to be able to know when that's coming and I think that's part of what Mrs. Griffiths was referring to is you know when are these schools going to have it and I know that that's an important part and we're trying our best to be able to provide you as much information as we can that won't change but knowing that as things happen we we just have to have this conversation every year and talk through those projects [01:18:55] okay any other discussion thank you so much mr. lewis we appreciate you um board members we have like 10 minutes and i don't think that's enough time for the next uh the department of teaching learning cta pathway expansion plan so with your okay i would like to move that to an information item which would be our first we'll move it to the first information item which would be let's see 11.01 and then we would move the department of support services the boundary [01:19:32] I mean the attendance zones to 11.02 all right so with that we will go ahead and recess this [01:22:29] meeting for dinner and we will reconvene at 6 30. the board is now in recess good evening the board [02:01:12] is coming out of recess at this time and we will continue with item seven which is our pledge of allegiance and national anthem our pledge of allegiance the heritage high school guitar ensemble perform is performing this evening led by dr kevin vigil is a combined group of advanced and artist guitar classes performance highlights from the 2024 academic year include performing at Yale School of Music Guitar Extravaganza and receiving superior ratings from the VMEA VGDA Ensemble Assessment. This year, the artist class performed for the Virginia Board of Education [02:01:49] in Richmond, the Heritage High School faculty, and recently had a master class with Dr. Robert Trent from Radford University. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. [02:02:49] That was beautiful. Thank you so much. Typically, if they want to leave, they can leave unless they [02:04:26] want to stay for the rest of the school board meeting which I'm sure will be amazing and they would love every part of it but we can give you all some space to move on. Well done everyone thank [02:04:54] you. We'll continue on with item eight our student school board representative comment. Tonight our first student school board representative is Liam Fullerton. Liam Fullerton is a senior at Stone [02:05:32] Bridge High School. He has represented Stone Bridge as a member of the soccer and track and field teams. He is also a member of the National Honor Society, English Honor Society, and German Honor Society. He is a co-president of the Investment Club and a member of the Ski Club. Liam is currently a member of the Grees. It's one of the best high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I'm not just going to sit up here and talk about how great Stonebridge is. I still am going to show off our amazing school, but that's not all. But before I do that, I want to first thank the Loudoun County Board for inviting me up here to talk about our great school. I also want to thank our [02:06:09] principal, Dr. Flynn, for providing me with the honor to speak to you on behalf of our school, as well as Mr. Campbell, my history teacher and student council advisor, for all the support he has given me throughout my years of high school. And finally, my parents are here with me tonight. Obviously, the state knows Stonebridge for its stellar football program. Currently, we are ranked number nine in the state of Virginia, with the most recent win over Riverside, 76 to zero. Not too bad. However, Stonebridge is so much more. For example, you may not know this, but our theater [02:06:45] department won best musical for the production of Fiddler on the Roof. Our school's music program attracts a huge portion of our student body. In fact, at the state assessment this past weekend, they got a rating of excellent. School spirit is very strong at Stonebridge, so much that our student section, The Dog Pound, was ranked number one in the entire state of Virginia. School spirit is important. High schools are like a city where you get a little bit of everything, and as we all know in our country right now, we can seem a bit divided. A bit divided. The idea that we have [02:07:21] generated so much school spirit shows that we have tapped into a way to bring us all together. Like I just mentioned, we are great at football and we are great at theater. So I've talked about Stone Ridge as it is now, but what I'd like to pitch to you next is something that I wish was available for me. Something that I would like to make available for future students. I'm currently applying to colleges and I'm interested in joining the United States Navy like my grandfather. [02:07:50] Currently, Loudoun County only offers one junior RTC program, aka the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, at Loudoun County High School. As we all know, with changing hobbies of younger people, we see an increasing amount of young people spending time online and less time in the real world interacting with real people. [02:08:11] Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on this issue, but from my personal viewpoint, increased detachment from in-person interactions is a negative. People are happier and more driven to succeed when they have a mission to believe in and a sense of purpose. [02:08:27] It's my belief that Stonebridge High School would benefit from a junior ROTC program. Personally, I favor the Navy because of my grandfather who served over 25 years. But this program could encompass all military branches. Now, is the purpose of this to drive more Lowndon County students into the military? [02:08:47] Not necessarily. Maybe, and that would be great. But it seems that there are a lot of things to be gained from this program, even if someone does not ultimately decide to join the military. These programs are well known in their ability to build discipline, self-confidence, and self-reliance, responsibility through structured activities, foster leadership skills, promote a healthy lifestyle, and develop a sense of patriotism and citizenship. [02:09:14] The best part about it is that the military provides all the resources, including the instructor's salary, so there would be no cost to Loudoun County. A program like this would go a long way in facilitating in-person student engagement and further unifying the student body. [02:09:30] Thank you again for this opportunity, and I look forward to continuing this conversation. - Thank you, Liam, for being here and for your comments. [02:09:45] - Thank you. - Our second school board representative is Jayden Keltz. Jayden Keltz is a student leader and athlete at Briar Woods High School. He serves as a two-time executive president of the Student Council Association, and as a varsity letterman in both basketball and lacrosse. [02:10:01] Jayden is also a two-time captain of the Briar Woods varsity lacrosse team, showing strong leadership and teamwork on and off the field outside of athletics he is the leadership committee chair for the young men's service league and an active member of the briar woods asian alliance where he helps promote service inclusion and community involvement welcome jayden and the floor is yours um good evening everyone first of all i want to say um great job liam on your speech um also um i'm a senior at briar woods high school like she said before we begin um i want to take a moment to to recognize Ms. Alzate. Thank you so much for the opportunity, all that you do at our high school. [02:10:40] It's very appreciated from everyone. I also wanted to thank Ms. Edinger, my SCA sponsor, for giving me the opportunity to speak with you all tonight. For the past four years, I've made it my goal to get involved with meaningful organizations within the school and the community, not only for my own experience, but to give back to my community. I'm a member of the National Honor Society, the Young Men's Service League, the Briarwoods Asian Student Alliance. I've also been playing varsity lacrosse and basketball all four years of high school. This is my second year serving as the executive president of the Student Council Association, my fourth year overall on a team that has meant a tremendous amount to me. I'm grateful for the amazing opportunities being a [02:11:17] student at Briarwoods High School, and I hope to share with all of you what Briarwoods means to me. So to start the year, we had our pep rally. So Briarwoods High School opened in August of 2005, So this year we kicked off our 2025-2026 year with a 20th anniversary celebration culminating in a school-wide spirit week and anniversary pep rally. [02:11:40] Beginning the year by celebrating everything Briar Woods has accomplished over the last 20 years was an incredible way to continue to promote school spirit, provide in our history, and excitement for more awesome memories to come. One of the highlights of the pep rally was looking back at some of the accomplishments of our SEAM alumni and recognizing the faculty and staff who have worked tirelessly to make Briarwoods the best school in the county. As a student, it was really great to see the faculty process through the SCA tunnel and see that we still have several of the original opening year faculty and staff, and that we have several staff members who returned to the woods after graduating from [02:12:16] Briarwoods High School within the last 19 years. I can't think of a better accomplishment to a school and its community than when an alumni chooses to return and make the woods their home again, but this time through the eyes of the staff with the memories of their youth. In addition to this, our DECA continuously seeks to engage our student body and promote unity in our community is our nationally ranked DECA program. [02:12:37] We have an outstanding DECA program with the very dedicated sponsors, Ms. Van Dyke and Mr. Colash, and they not only lead a very successful program with the national recognition, but they actively make sure our members engage in community service and bring awareness to the student body. We celebrated our annual Think Pink Week as a Falcon fam last week from October 21st through October 24th. [02:13:00] We have four days of activities for all staff and all students per participate, and as we continue our partnership with Loudon Breast Health Network to spread awareness, education, support, and life. Our band and fine arts program has already had an amazing 2025 season so far. [02:13:16] The Briarwoods Falcon Regiment Band has had their best performances of the season with their Escape the Lost Pyramid show at JMU Parade of Champions contest. They placed 8th out of 54 bands in competition from across the state of Virginia. The Briarwoods Falconeers color guard was also named the best overall at this event. [02:13:34] This is the second week in a row that our color guard has won best overall. Congratulations to the marching band for their fantastic performance at the Oakton Classic Contest. The Falcon resume placed 5th out of 28 bands in competition and were awarded the Gold Cup Trophy as the overall fan favorite voted on by the crowd at the competition. [02:13:54] The 2025 fall sports programs are off to a great start. We were named one of only four schools in Class 5 to receive the Stay in the Game Award for the 2024-2025 season. Golf is having a fantastic season with several state qualifiers and all-state honors. [02:14:12] Our cross-country team has just won the Potomac-Drishik title for the second year in a row. Our defending state championship tier team just took first place at the mini-district competition last Wednesday, October 22nd, earning the number one seed for the region and coming off of a first-place finish at the Stonebridge Spirit Bowl. [02:14:29] Football returns from a state appearance last year to a strong start and has notched several wins this season. Volleyball advances to the second night of the district tournament against rival team Riverside after a clean sweep against Freedom last night. And field hockey advances to district and region tourney with strong showing as well. [02:14:47] We are very lucky to have an incredible, involved, supportive PTSO. The PTSO at Briarwoods supports our students and parents in a variety of ways, including hosting many seasonal and holiday events, enrichment programs, funding teacher requests, scholarships, special expenses, and much more. [02:15:04] 100% of the funds they raise through are returned to the students and staff. One of our favorite traditions, or at least I hear it's a fan favorite from all of my teachers is a holiday cookie exchange where the PTSO goes all out to celebrate our staff and let them know how appreciated they are. From what I've seen, teachers are super excited the day before winter break to fill a box with as many sweet treats as they can. Our PTSO makes sure our faculty and staff feel the Falcon fam love. The last program I want to speak out that is particularly meaningful to me is the student council program. I've spent tremendous amount of time and efforts over my high school career to contribute to this and it's very important to me. I've had the [02:15:43] privilege of working with some of the Briarwood's most talented and fun students in the Student Council Association. Our SCA program is unique to the county because we work almost year-round to plan over 22 school-wide events each year. While we definitely put a lot of effort into hosting some of the largest homecoming and prom dances in the county each year, our goal is to include as many students as possible in other activities that suit a variety of interests and ideas. Many of our events are fundraisers so that we can give back to the student body by donating to other clubs and programs. We strive to create a unique opportunity to showcase our students in talent shows and [02:16:20] academic and trivia competitions. We create memorable moments with our teachers by hosting student versus faculty games. We go above and beyond to bring a sense of belonging to all of our students and staff. One of our favorite traditions is the student versus staff trivia competition each spring and our Falcon's Got Talent Show featuring a wide range of acts and abilities. We learn to be leaders in SCA, but more than anything, we learn what it means to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Before I go tonight, the last thing I want to mention is what it feels like to be a student walking through the halls of Friar Woods High School every day. [02:16:53] Our students aren't just smart, although they are. We boast some of the highest AP and DE enrollment in the county. They aren't just talented, although they are. You've heard me list some of their accomplishments. They aren't just spirited. We go big. We never go home. They're genuine. They're involved, and they're ready to make every day better than the day before. They're ready to take on new challenges and make every moment count. Being a student at Briarwoods isn't just about being in a classroom, a club, a team, or a group. It's about being part of the entire Falcon family where every day is a great day to be a Falcon. Thank you everybody for your time. I really [02:17:27] appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, Jaden, for being here and for your comments. And we will now move on to the superintendent's report presented by Dr. Aaron Spence, our superintendent. Dr. Spence. [02:17:46] Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the board. It's, as always, my pleasure to share some good news from around our school division. Let me just begin with a very heartfelt thank you to our incredible schools, staff, students, and community for making this year's 1LCPS Celebration Day a resounding success. Now in its second year, this growing tradition honors the staff and students who make Loudoun County Public Schools such an exceptional place to learn, work, and grow. [02:18:12] My team and I have had the privilege of visiting schools across the county, and I have to say during this day we were inspired by the creativity energy and school spirit on full display and we just want to say again that the enthusiasm of our teams made the day truly unforgettable so thank you for celebrating what makes lcps so special next i'm pleased to note that cardinal ridge elementary school has been named a green ribbon school in recognition of its commitment to environmental sustainability and environmental education as the only school in loudon county and one of just two in Virginia to receive this distinction in 2025, Cardinal Ridge joins a select group of nearly 800 schools nationwide [02:18:51] recognized by the program since its launch in 2010. Over the past several years, Cardinal Ridge students have actively participated in outdoor learning and resource management activities with nature-based experiences integrated across subjects from exploring histories through the school's landscape to monitoring birdsong, journaling, and drawing. [02:19:12] In addition to these nature-based lessons, the school also enhanced student engagement with the environment by creating a nature trail, launching a school-wide recycling program, and developing a recycling manual. So congratulations to Cardinal Ridge for being a model of environmental stewardship and student engagement. [02:19:30] Next, students at Sterling Middle School now have a fun and rewarding way to dive into reading, thanks to a new book vending machine made possible by the Northwest Federal Credit Union Foundation and the Sterling Elks Club. The machine was unveiled during a special ceremony on Wednesday, October 22nd, and students who demonstrate exceptional performance or conduct can earn tokens to select books from a diverse collection of outstanding literature. [02:19:54] I'm pleased to note that Woodgrove High School has earned the Project Adam Heart Safe School designation, recognizing its commitment to life-saving preparedness and student safety. To achieve this certification, the school improved automated external defibrillator, or AED, visibility by installing clear signage throughout the building. [02:20:15] They also strengthened their training program to ensure staff and students are equipped to respond confidently in the event of a cardiac emergency. These proactive measures help ensure that everyone on campus knows where AEDs are located and how to use them effectively. Project Adam, a national non-profit, supports schools and communities in preparing to respond swiftly to cardiac emergencies and protect the lives of our students, staff, and visitors. [02:20:39] Congratulations to Woodgrove on attaining this designation. Last week, LCPS celebrated a meaningful milestone with the open house and ribbon-joining ceremony for the RISE Academy, a program dedicated to supporting high school students recovering from substance use disorders. [02:20:56] The event brought together nearly 15 community partners, LCPS staff, school leaders, school board members, and representatives from recovery schools in Chesterfield and Waynesboro. This event highlighted a shared commitment to student well-being, and the ceremony reflected the power of collaboration and our school division's dedication to meeting students where they are and providing the support needed for healing and academic success. [02:21:22] It was a pleasure to attend and participate in the 2025 Workforce Summit on Friday, October 24th at the National Conference Center. This event brought together more than 315 business leaders, educators, and students to connect, collaborate, and explore how LCPS is preparing students for the future of work. [02:21:43] Hosted by the Division of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, the summit provided an inspiring look at the power of authentic partnerships between schools and industry. Highlights included the student perspectives panel and breakout sessions where students and business partners engaged in open and meaningful dialogue. [02:22:00] These conversations were genuine and energizing, reflecting our county's shared commitment to helping every student build confidence, curiosity, and purpose. And the event truly demonstrated how we and our community partners are working together to lead the way, connecting learning with workforce-based opportunities. [02:22:17] Well, the weather was sunny and clear for the 140 golfers who participated in the Loudoun Education Foundation's 24th Annual Golf Classic at the Club at Creighton Farms this Monday. Through the Golf Classic, LEF continues its vital work of connecting generous donors in the local business community with LCPS causes. [02:22:39] The tournament raises unrestrictive funds that allow LEF to support students and educators all year long. And the funds raised through this year's event will go towards programs such as classroom grants, scholarships, weekend meal bags, and in-school pantries. Many thanks to the Loudoun Education Foundation for being such an amazing partner with LCPS. [02:22:59] And then finally this evening, I'm thrilled to invite our students, staff, families, and community members to a flavorful and fun event that puts student voice at the Center of Nutrition. The second annual LCPS Student Nutrition Services Food Show on Monday, November the 3rd, will be more than just a tasting event. [02:23:18] It will be our community's opportunity to help shape what is served in our schools. Guests will have the opportunity to sample over 30 delicious recipe ideas, from breakfast favorites to new lunch entrees, including creations by LCPS students. [02:23:34] Attendees will also meet our LCPS chef, Eric, and try a special dish made just for our students. We're counting on student voices and our community's opinion to help build menus that nourish, inspire, and reflect our incredible LCPS community. [02:23:52] And we do hope you'll be able to attend. Madam Chair, that concludes my report. Thank you so much, Dr. Spence. And now that brings us to item 10, public comment, procedures for public comment. Thank you for engaging with the school board through the public comment process. [02:24:09] The school board welcomes comments from Loudoun County residents and believes that strong community engagement and outreach are important components of a successful school system. Speakers must limit comments to the time allotted. And based on the number of speakers in the agenda this evening, all speakers have been allotted two minutes each for public comment. [02:24:27] Please be advised that speakers who miss their time slot will not be called at a later time. Decorum and civility. All audience members shall maintain civility, decorum, and respect for the function and dignity of the school board at all times. Please remain seated unless arriving, departing, speaking at the podium, or during a break. [02:24:48] Violations of civility, decorum, and respect include shouting, heckling, jeering, applause, or other noise which disrupts or delays the meeting. Obstructing speakers from being able to see the school board and vice versa. interrupting speakers, attempting to speak when not called to do so by the chair, and approaching a speaker or otherwise attempting to intimidate, disparage, or distract a speaker, staff member, or other meeting attendees. Speakers should refrain from vulgarity, obscenities, defamation, [02:25:22] profanity, or other like breaches of respect, nor may speakers target, criticize, or attack individual students and or individual division employees during public comment. As a reminder, school board policy 2520 states speakers may not target, criticize, or attack individual students during public comment. Speakers should communicate those concerns to their school principal or an appropriate school official. The school board requests that the comments on an individual student or employee related matter not be shared at public meetings where the disclosure could [02:25:59] violate applicable confidentiality requirements i do want to take a moment to clarify a few things as i have explained previously speakers can personally identify a student or employee without stating a student's or employee's names that is personally it's that to the extent you have prepared remarks that target criticize or attack any individual students or employees you generalize such remarks to ensure compliance with board policy. LCPS community would accordingly when reasonable fail to comply with school with board to taking other actions to [02:26:36] preserve the orderly conduct of the meeting. Speakers should face the dais and direct their comments to the school board. Per school board policy 2520 members of the school board will not answer questions or respond directly to the public during public comment period. Violations of decorum or civility by any meeting attendee may result in the chair directing staff to remove the attendee from the remainder of the meeting. Repeated or persistent violations of decorum or civility by the audience may result in, on the decision of the chair, public comment being tabled until a later point in the meeting's agenda, limiting the number of attendees in the meeting room during public [02:27:16] comment for safety reasons, or the public comment period ending for the evening. Copies of materials for board members should be given to the public information officer in the media box at the back of the boardroom before the start of the meeting. Please provide 12 copies of the materials. Under no circumstances may a speaker approach the dais. The public is reminded that access to school board meetings is available through LCPS-TV on Comcast Channel 18 and 1070, HD, and Verizon Fios Channel 43. The live stream of the meeting may be viewed on the website. We look forward to hearing your [02:27:53] comments. And we will start with public comment, our virtual public comment. And that is Chris Stevenson, and they will move to in-person. Thank you each for your long and tireless service. I know it's a big job and in a lot of ways a thankless job. I am Chris Stevenson, a member of the new group Civic Ground. We request that the Loudoun County School Board publicly state that teachers will be protected when they tell their students that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and that he continues to lie about it. When they tell their students that Donald Trump worked to overturn the [02:28:32] 2020 election results by subverting the Constitution's electoral college clauses, violating his presidential oath, and that he has not apologized for it. When they tell their students that Donald Trump is attempting to rewrite American history by turning the January 6th insurrection into a patriotic event. These are not subjective statements. They are facts. And facts are not altered by any constituent beliefs. The president has thrown out our facts-based education [02:29:05] and thrown it into chaos, harming my children's education and future, and thus the future of our country. Please push back and stabilize what you can, this school district. Be wise and be brave. [02:29:22] Thank you. Thank you. We'll continue with our in-person, starting with Sharon Dennington and followed by Megan Fay. Good evening. My name is Sharon Dennington, and I would like to again call attention to an equity issue in the compensation of teachers at the Academies of [02:29:53] Loudoun, specifically in the Advanced Technical Academy Pathways. In every one of LCPS's 17 high schools, when a teacher is asked to teach six blocks, they are offered pay increase to compensate them for the additional time, energy, and responsibility, commonly referred to as the 1.2 Jefferson contract. However, MATA teachers are being asked to teach six instructional blocks, [02:30:27] yet we are excluded from the 1.2 contract and earn 20% less. MATA instructors teach 40 minutes more per day than teachers on the 1.2 contract and 85 minutes more than teachers on the same contract scale. We are providing the knowledge and skills that students will use every day in a career. We are not handing out worksheets to an extra class of students. We are building houses, [02:31:00] repairing, refinishing automobiles, running production studios, and teaching life-saving medical protocols and beyond the instructional time required to do those things we must also purchase consumables and manage and organize tools and equipment outside of class time we urge the school board to correct this inequity by extending the 1.2 contract eligibility to mata teachers so our composition matches both the quantity and quality of our work we love our students our [02:31:39] school and our jobs and thank you thank you we'll move on to Megan Faye followed by Paul McKenzie hello my name is Megan Faye I'm an LEA member and MATA teacher at the academies of Loudoun we love our students we love our school we love being teachers I would like to call again attention to an equity issue in the [02:32:19] compensation of teachers at the academies of Loudoun specifically in the MATA program which stands for Monroe Advanced Technical Academy Pathways. In every one of the 17 high schools when a teacher is asked to teach six blocks they're offered a pay increase known as a 1.2 Jefferson contract. We have a list of names from teachers of other schools who are receiving this. However the Academies of Loudon MATA teachers are being asked to teach six instructional blocks to the same high school students yet we are excluded from the 1.2 [02:32:55] contract and earn 20% less despite a greater workload. MATA instructors teach an additional 40 minutes a day compared other teachers with the 1.2 and 85 more minutes a day than the teachers on the same contract scale. Our courses require specialized curricula, hands-on lab oversights, industry certifications, far more than it's expected of other LCPS high school teachers. We have not met any English or math teachers that have to maintain industry certifications like we do. So please help us correct this [02:33:32] inequity by extending the 1.2 contract eligibility to MATA teachers so our compensation matches the quantity and quality of our work. We worked hard teaching in person during the pandemic all year long, and we will continue to work hard to help and educate our students. Please support us. Thank you. Thank you. Paul McKenzie, followed by Louis Burks. It's nice to be at a meeting where no one's [02:34:11] angry yet, which is nice. So I'm not angry. I am a little bit disappointed, and I guess the exhortation I would have here is to please respect the fact that we are here, that we are experts in our field, that everyone here has either an advanced degree or the equivalent of an advanced degree, and we're asking simply for equity and recognition. I would also ask that you consider respecting our presence in the context of important decisions that are made that affect us. [02:34:39] There have been some changes. Change is part of life. We acknowledge that, but we would like to exhort you to include us and consider including us in some of those decision-making, right? Particularly changes that have occurred. One of the things that always occurs when you legislate is you decide to solve a problem, you make a change, and then you look at the data to see if the problem's been solved. And so while we don't feel as though we were included in the decision making at the beginning, which I understand sometimes is not always possible, I would exhort and ask that you make us part of the decision making going forward to study and see whether or not the problem has been solved. So we ask that and we thank you for your attention. Thank [02:35:17] you very much. Thank you. Louis Burks, followed by Jessica Cruz. Good evening. My name is Louis Burks. I'm a father of two children in the Dulles District K-12 special education program. I'm here tonight because my nonverbal daughter and other nonverbal children have experienced abuse, harm, neglect in the classroom that was supposed to protect them and support them. Over the past two years, my daughter has come home with unexplained bruises, missing underwear, and fear of school. [02:35:54] There are dozens of documented incident reports, staff witness statements, and consistent turnover of unqualified personnel, yet no accountability. These are not isolated incidents. They represent violations of civil rights, IDA protections, and mandated reporting laws. Parents and teachers have raised concerns through every channel the school school and the district and still no nothing's changed i'm demanding an independent investigation into my child's case and her school special education program including staffing iep compliance and safety practices to superintendent spence [02:36:29] board member mansfield and assistant superintendent richardson you have failed our children and betrayed my trust in every parent in this community our children deserve safety not silence thank you thank you jessica cruz followed by serena vermani good evening members of the school board i'm a parent of a student lcps my child is autistic i'm here today to bring attention to the ongoing neglect lack of communication and lack of accountability that my child has experienced since the very first day of school just this year alone from day one my son has in has had multiple [02:37:08] injuries during school hours not once has the school proactively reached out to inform me of these incidents. Every time I've only learned about his injuries when I've seen them myself after giving him a bath and asking questions, I have to be the one to ask the questions. [02:37:26] Just two weeks ago, my son came home with a bruised lip after being punched in the face by another student. When I arrived for pickup, his teacher handed him over to me as if nothing happened and told me the teaching assistant said to my son that he came from home like that. That was a complete lie I asked my son right in front of his teacher what happened he said that so-and-so student punched me in the face and then he even demonstrated it by showing me his closed fist days later the Dean called me without scheduling the call with the teacher on the line to discuss what he claimed were the school's procedures for handling injuries I explained that despite what the procedures might say on paper I have never experienced them in action I [02:38:05] requested that he follow up in writing to confirm what we discussed so I could documentation from my records he never sent that follow-up i then sent that formal email summarizing our conversation and included photos of my son's injuries that he sustained in school on school grounds just this year alone the very next time i heard from the school it wasn't about my son's safety progress or support it was a message from the assistant principal to tell me that he was going to be issued a title nine against my son and this came just days after i filed a formal complaint of their negligence. Where were the adults in the classroom? At this point, I'm [02:38:40] requesting that my son is immediately sent to another school with the guidance from this board. I want to remove my son, and if you could please help me with that, I would appreciate it greatly. Thank you. Thank you. Serena Vermani, followed by Art Chang. Good evening. We are high school students in Loudoun County, and we're speaking on behalf of the Loudoun County Climate Citizens lobby team. Schools are producing the equivalent of 18 coal-fired power plants or 15 million cars and LCPS has already made strong progress and it's continuously exploring advancements of [02:39:20] sustainable design. And as we design and construct the new high school 14 and elementary school 36 in the Dulles north area we have the opportunity to set a new standard for sustainability. To reach that vision we urge you to take four concrete steps. First is to approve and prioritize geothermal energy systems when constructing new LCPS schools and buildings. Second is to accelerate the adoption of new electric buses and associated infrastructure in Loudoun County by prioritizing the replacement of degrading diesel buses and continuing to expand our electric fleet. [02:39:54] Third is keeping LED upgrades on track while still maintaining a protected annual solar target. That means we want to install solar alongside roof replacements and renovations, as current solar projects at 25 schools have helped cut the fiscal 2020 year 2026 budget by two million and solar expansion can further that. And fourth, we should adopt an all-electric by design standard for every school and major renovations so no new fossil fuel infrastructure is installed. By implementing these steps, LCPS can reduce long-term costs, strengthen student health, and make Loudoun County a state leader in sustainable school design. Let's modernize and and decarbonize our schools to create cleaner, [02:40:34] healthier learning environments for every student. Thank you. - Thank you. Art Chang, followed by Kate Havermao, Havermao. - Good evening, board members. [02:40:50] My name is Arturo Chang. I'm a resident of the Lansdowne community here in Lisburg. I'm here to speak on behalf of myself and many other residents in the Lansdowne community that are located in a particular area of Lansdowne. And these comments are specifically regarding the incoming school attendance zone changes process that we believe is kick-starting soon. [02:41:10] We are located in the southeast portion of the Lansdowne area. This portion, unlike the rest of the Lansdowne community, is not zoned to attend Zeldin's Landing Elementary School despite being less than half a mile away. Instead, our children have to go to Stuart Whaler, which is over six miles away. [02:41:28] Our community is a very close-knit community. It is quintessential, and it's a great community to be in. But we find ourselves excluded from the various semi-elementary school that our children's play with. It is understanding that the board would look at policy 6530 to make these decisions. [02:41:47] We have taken a look at this policy. We have written comments which I've left for your consideration later. None of the policy factors in policy 6530 support the status quo. The policy states things like prioritize assignment of adjacent neighborhoods and community to school, keep students close to their schools. [02:42:04] And so I should read these factors and as I read our comments, we strongly believe that we should be zoned with Zeldin's Landing as an entire community. The entirety of Lansdowne is also zoned entirely for middle school and school unifiers, so we really want to unify the districts. [02:42:20] And so we look forward to working with you on this. It is understanding that the county will present two drafts later this evening. The good news for you and for us is that both drafts adopt our proposal, and so we're really happy to see it. this was not a coordinated effort we just found out about this yesterday but we're glad that the county and its own volition is already considering this so we're supportive of it and we look forward to working with you on this matter thank you thank you kate havermao followed by corey brunet [02:42:50] good evening my name is kate havermao my son is in kindergarten within the dullest district k2 program and he has an iep i am here to voice urgent concerns regarding systemic neglect and severe non-compliance within both special education and general education classrooms. [02:43:17] Specifically, my son's IEP was ignored, and the school repeatedly failed to provide his least restrictive environment minutes, which has resulted in discrimination, segregation, regression, new negative behaviors, and mental health days for him. [02:43:35] Furthermore, staff did not provide required accommodations and were seen removing and and withholding his AAC communication device, actively blocking his access to communication. The required data collection is also deeply flawed and potentially fraudulent. [02:43:55] Therefore, I request the board initiate an immediate comprehensive investigation into the K-2 program in Dulles District covering both special education and general education classrooms to ensure full compliance with the law. my son deserves the free appropriate public education he is guaranteed thank you for your time thank you corey brunet followed by chris countryman good evening my name is corey brunet [02:44:31] and i'm an english learner teacher at broad run high school as we approach budget season priorities will become apparent you may be familiar with or have even read the book seven habits of highly successful people by stephen covey the author recommends that to be successful the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing what is your main thing as the lcps school board i sincerely hope that your main thing is our students the over 80 000 children that loudon parents send to us every morning and the over 12 000 staff who touch the lives of those children every day each child [02:45:10] interacts with a minimum of seven different adults while at school that equals at least 560 000 adult to child interactions every day. Each interaction can and often is impactful. Is the bus driver whose greeting in the morning helps the child focus on the day ahead your main thing? [02:45:29] I hope that your main thing is the nutrition service worker who serves a nutritious breakfast and lunch so a student has fewer distractions during the day. How about the teacher and teacher assistant who instruct and guide students through challenging and meaningful lessons, group activities, assessments and projects, and who know each of their students as individual young people. [02:45:50] Are they your main thing? And the counselors who are present for emergencies and celebrations, tears and smiles. The office staff who greet students and parents professionally and respectfully every day. I hope these people are your main thing. [02:46:06] Show your respect to student-facing staff by giving us a larger COLA than last year. Keep the education of LCPS students by LCPS staff your main thing. LCPS will never outperform its educators. [02:46:22] Thank you. Chris Countryman followed by Amy Tribier. Good evening. I'm very excited to share that great progress has been made in collective bargaining over the last two weeks with the assistance of a mediator. [02:46:48] As December 1st rapidly approaches, I'm optimistic that we can meet that deadline, but that will only happen if the district is truly committed to its staff every day our teachers counselors support staff show up early stay late and go above and beyond yet despite that dedication too many are struggling to make ends meet most cannot afford to live in the communities they support some work second and even third jobs others are leaving the profession they love because they simply can't afford to stay i am asking the board to send lcps to the bargaining [02:47:26] table tomorrow ready to invest in the people who ensure that every child has a chance to succeed. Fair wages aren't just about a paycheck they're an investment in our future. Fair wages keep talented educators here and attract new ones to a profession that desperately needs them. Fair wages bring quality support staff to LCPS when compensation reflects their commitment to our students and to the division. Outstanding school divisions don't settle for warm bodies willing to do the minimum for minimal pay. Loudon [02:48:01] should be setting the example not following others. Safe, stable, and well supported classrooms are the foundation of quality education. Invest in your staff and they will continue to invest themselves fully in our students. So tonight I urge you let's build a contract that values the people who make learning possible because when educators thrive, students thrive and our entire [02:48:27] community rises with us. Thank you. Thank you. Amy Tribbier followed by Kavya Kumar. Good evening. [02:48:46] My name is Amy Tribbier and I'm a resident of the Catoctin District. I'm the mother of a fifth grade student at Luckett's Elementary School. I'm proud to have been part of the Luckett's community for over 20 years. I am here to speak about information item 11.02 in tonight's agenda update on inclusive of playgrounds. [02:49:05] I am asking members of the school board to please consider advising LCPS staff to preclude initiation of the playground renovation project at Luckett's Elementary School to allow more time to identify an ADA-compliant playground solution that does not involve demolishing swings and climbing structures that were just recently installed in 2019. [02:49:29] The proposed playground renovation would reduce the amount of play structures available at at the already busy playground, making a less inclusive playground environment, as more students will need to wait in queue for a chance to swing, spin, and play. There is abundant peer-reviewed scientific literature about the benefits of swinging in helping neurodivergent children to self-regulate. [02:49:51] Removal of the swings creates a non-inclusive environment for these children. The swings and climbing structures were only installed six years ago and are in shape to last many more years. Additionally, the timing of this project conflicts with two current major construction projects in immediate proximity to the school. [02:50:09] The construction of a sidewalk on Route 15 across the street from the school and the installation of data cables, which involve burying cables on school property. School board members, I'm asking that you please consider guiding LCPS staff to prioritize another school and move Luckett's back down the list for construction. [02:50:29] LCPS is a school district proud of offering differentiated instruction for our differentiated learners we can surely differentiate a playground design that would be both ada compliant and use existing structures without wasteful spending thank you for your time thank you kavya kumar followed by ryan shelsky good evening members of the board my name is kavya and i'm a junior independence high school in the academies of laden and along with serena a member [02:51:05] of the youth climate team of laden county lcps lcps has already made meaningful progress through energy efficiency and conservation program, incorporating high performance building design, efficient lighting, and improved HVAC systems. As we continue to grow, especially with high school 14 and elementary school 36, we have the opportunity to expand on that strong foundation. [02:51:26] It's paramount to recognize that the way we heat, cool, and power our school buildings directly shapes the impact we make on our county. To recap our tiered approach, we're recommending four practical steps. First, prioritize geothermal systems in new schools to dramatically cut energy and long-term costs. Second, accelerate the transition to electric buses to reduce diesel emissions and support a cleaner fleet. Three, maintain LED upgrade momentum to lower utility bills and energy demand. And four, install solar and adapt all-electric design so new buildings operate without fossil fuel infrastructure. Together, these strategies reinforce LCPS's [02:52:03] existing commitments while helping us design cleaner, healthier, and more cost-effective schools. By continuing to lead in sustainable construction and transportation, Latin can set a powerful example for districts across the state. Thank you for your time, and have a great rest of your evening. Thank you. [02:52:19] Ryan Shelsky, followed by Andrea Weiskopf. No, Ryan. [02:52:39] Andrea Weiskopf. I'd like to discuss your shameful support of charter schools, but there is a greater concern. [02:52:57] LCPS enrollment dropped 1.5% this school year. That's 1,177 fewer students. Tonight's presentation explained away the declining enrollment with government census bureau charts and housing affordability statistics, but that does not explain why 25% of those fewer students are from the Parkview Cluster. [02:53:23] 300 of the 1,177 students who no longer attend LCPS are from the Parkview Cluster. 300 children. Given the large Hispanic population in that cluster and the current xenophobic political climate, we owe it to those 300 children to look past the census charts and housing affordability data. [02:53:52] Were those 300 children formally withdrawn from LCPS by their grown-ups? Were their transcripts and records sent to other school districts? Or did these children simply not show up in August? [02:54:08] If LCPS did not receive requests for their records, where did these children go? I am, of course, concerned about their education, but there are concerns greater than scaling the steps of Bloom's taxonomy. Are these children physically safe? Are they in Loudoun? [02:54:26] More than half of students in the Parkview cluster are on free, reduced lunch. Do these children have food? I am asking all members of the board, especially you, Mr. Streffy, as the Sterling District School Board member, to direct staff to better and more fully examine the data to ensure that these 300 children are not actually missing. [02:54:50] As always, Black Lives Matter. Thank you. Board member, thank you all for coming out today and providing your public comment. Board members, at this time, we will take a short recess and reconvene at 7.40 p.m. [02:55:08] Actually, yeah, 7.40, thanks. [03:02:27] I apologize, the board is now from recess, and we'll start with 11. 01, Department of Teaching and Learning, CTE Pathway Expansion Plan, [03:13:31] presented by Neil Slevin, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, Michael Grubbs, Director, Career, Technical, and Adult Education, and Jen Alpers, Supervisor CTE, and Nick Grisada, Supervisor CTE STEM. Welcome. [03:13:47] Thank you, Chair Mansfield, board members, and Dr. Spence. We are excited to be with you tonight to talk about our CTE pathway expansion plan. If you go to the next slide, please. I'm excited to be joined tonight by representatives of the leadership of our Division of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. [03:14:04] We are so thankful for the support of CTE programming in our schools. We feel this from our board, our superintendent, school leadership, and our local community, as was displayed at our second annual workforce summit last Friday, which I know many of you were able to attend. We appreciate your participation. That being said, there are a number of influences on this work beyond our personal or professional interest. [03:14:27] Our current strategic plan includes a focus on the expansion of student pathways, including career and technical education. Virginia's new accountability model expands the focus on employment opportunities and high-quality work-based learning experiences. We know there is an opportunity for growth in this area for our students. [03:14:44] Currently, 3,900 of our over 7,000 seniors have not had the opportunity to engage in employment outcomes, and we want to do better. This will also be informed by what we know about Virginia's high-demand occupation list and the impact of CTE research. [03:15:01] When we evaluate or look at new or expansion of programming, we focus on four key considerations, budget, space, time, and scope. These guide our feasibility assessment and ensure we stay aligned with long-term district goals and resources. [03:15:21] This graphic should be familiar to the board as it also was applicable during our discussion related to the expansion of special programs at your retreat in June. The plan being reviewed this evening is a staff plan that is intended to set a vision for where we're headed in CTE over the next number of school years. [03:15:39] It is important that we remain flexible when there are opportunities to accelerate programs as opportunities present themselves or pivot when factors shift. The board will have opportunities to provide formal input and approval through regular budget adoption processes in the CIP and CAP process, such as you started this evening with Mr. Lewis. [03:16:01] This process has been highly collaborative, and I just wanna start by thanking the Department of Support Services for their responsive and collaborative approach to this opportunity that's in front of us for students and families. At this time, I will turn it over to Dr. Grubbs, our Director of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. [03:16:17] - Thank you, Mr. Slevin. As we've been sharing, last school year, we prioritized a review of pathways and programs within Loudoun County Public Schools. We spent the year engaging with our department chairs, our teachers, and our community members and looking for opportunities to increase equity and access for our students across Loudoun County Public Schools. [03:16:35] We used the second half of last school year to propose and draft ideas for expanding programming across the school system to ensure that all of our students have access to career-connected learning. Where we are at this point is we are at the planning phase. We have drafted a proposal, and we are engaging in community discussions, we are looking at course changes, we are having conversations with facilities, we are looking at staffing needs, and we are looking at budget requests. [03:16:58] And we are excited to share with you a draft proposal for a CTE Pathway Expansion Plan. Our Pathway Expansion Plan prioritized three areas of focus that we attempted to balance in pathway considerations. We reviewed and chose pathways that had high economic need, improved equity and access for our students and pathways that are new and innovative. Our plan is linked and shared with you detailing the pathways that we are prioritizing. While we cannot unpack every example, my colleagues will be highlighting a few on some upcoming slides. To provide a quick summary of the pathway [03:17:37] expansion plan, we are looking at three different areas of focus. We are expanding skilled trades to Western Loudoun. We are evolving programming at the Academies of Loudoun. We are increasing access and zoned schools beyond special programs, but perhaps most importantly, our plan articulates a deliberate framework for how we expand regardless of who is leading this work in the future. [03:18:02] We are looking at a deliberate plan for pathways that should be in zoned high schools, should be regional programs and pathways, and should be specialized to the academies allow them. So this slide highlights an opportunity to expand access to and build upon one of our most in-demand existing programs, which is health care. Right now, the Introduction to Health and Medical Sciences course is offered at MATA, the Monroe Advanced Technical Academy, for 10th grade students. This year, we had 520 10th graders apply, and because of space and program limitations, [03:18:41] 48 students were selected through lottery for enrollment. That tells us two things. First, there's strong student interest, and second, there's a real opportunity to bring this program to our comprehensive high schools. The example you see here focuses on support services, a pathway centered on behind the scenes roles that keep healthcare facilities running safely and efficiently. [03:19:02] These are the professionals who make sure the environment supports patient care every single day. By establishing this pathway within our comprehensive high schools, we're creating opportunities to expand programs and strengthen connections between our comprehensive high schools and MATA. [03:19:18] But as we think about expanding access, we're also looking at how to enhance and modernize the spaces students already have access to, so that existing programs can better reflect today's industry environments. What we're showcasing here is what it can look like when we revisit existing instructional spaces to make them more relevant and engaging for students. [03:19:40] I'd like to emphasize that these pictures were taken in-house over the last month. So if you walked into our schools, this is what you would see today. On the left, you see examples from Family and Consumer Sciences. This is comparing our current and very traditional classroom and kitchen spaces with a more modern commercial-style kitchen. [03:20:00] Updates like these create a more authentic learning experience that mirrors real workplace settings. On the right, we have two school store examples, one with a display window and one without. Simple design improvements, like adding a professional storefront or merchandising area, can make a really big difference in how our students experience marketing and retail operations these examples remind us that not every enhancement requires a new program sometimes it's about reimagining the spaces we already have to make them more functional [03:20:34] attractive and aligned with today's cte standards thank you jen a pathway that we are pursuing is an army jrotc program expanding on the success of our navy jrotc program in addition to the facility enhancements that Jen just spoke about, we have walked some of our high schools with school-based administrators and Joe Pasquarelli, Director of Construction, to evaluate where rooms may be repurposed to support these new pathways. For the Army JROTC program, we have some schools in line [03:21:11] and we are going to implement the special programs process where schools can express interest and be selected. Now, we don't want space to dictate opportunities for students. So, for instance, aircraft technology is a program that we feel is important to offer to our students. We are exploring how this could be offered currently at the Academies of Loudoun. If space is not there, we will explore an off-site location. If this site can't be identified, we'll reach out to one [03:21:46] of our regional airports, perhaps Leesburg Airport, Dulles. And if that doesn't work, we'll explore pre-apprenticeship opportunities. The intent of this slide is that we are looking for all options available. And now I'll turn it back over to Dr. Grubbs to discuss next steps. [03:22:07] Thank you, Nick and Jen. So next steps, we feel very confident in the pathways that we've identified. However, we are going to continue with the design, prepare, and start phases of our process. Next steps include forming specialized pathway advisory committees. [03:22:22] These will be with our industry representatives and our subject matter exports to help us plan these new pathways and to leverage their expertise and resources in the field. We're also going to look at visiting comparable programs within the state and surrounding states. Many of these pathways are not new to school systems, but might be new to Loudoun County Public Schools, and we want to begin where they are. [03:22:45] We also will be spending time developing curriculum framework for changes and new pathways with some of our existing teachers. We have amazing teachers in the school system, and we want to leverage their voice for some of these new pathways. At this time, we know we provided you with a lot of information. [03:23:00] You have the full report in front of you, but we would like some feedback on what would be helpful for next steps, and maybe what are some pathways or programs that you do not see in our expansion plans. Thank you, Dr. Grubbs. Board members, do you have any questions? [03:23:16] Yes, Dr. Rasheed. Thank you, Chair. This one's for real, and I really am excited about this expansion. I think that this has a lot to offer. I was just telling Ms. Chernoff that I wish I grew up in, you know, attending a school of rights in this matter. [03:23:33] Just to, you know, and then I go off on a tangent, but what programs do you not see? I don't know if I saw it. Maybe it's there. I think it would be great to have some sort of AI incorporation into health care. I don't know if it was there. AI in health care, that was the only thing that came to my mind. [03:23:49] Thank you. Are we going to, is there any answer? No. Okay, Dr. Deans. This is definitely exciting. For an example, the aircraft technology, there's an aircraft school down in Manassas. [03:24:11] I don't know what partnership you could make with them. And the city of Hampton, every high school is an academy of sorts without having the academies of Loudoun. So looking into their structure and their obstacles as well as successes may be something that would be helpful. [03:24:38] Ms. Chandler. Thank you, everyone, for this presentation. I am very excited for the direction in which we're going as a division and for the fact that we're going to make some new opportunities available for our students. There's so much uncertainty in the current environment, and I think giving students more choices and having them be able to graduate with an accreditation or a credential will give them more flexibility as they continue to pursue their educational and career objectives and goals. [03:25:09] So I think that is really great. The issue that I have, if you notice on your slide where the red and green one, Eastern Loudoun is the area that has seven programs that aren't available, whereas the other areas have five or six. [03:25:31] But I noticed that there aren't any expansions into Eastern Loudoun until the year two and year three and maybe even year four. So I just wanted to note that and ask if there might be some consideration or reason why that's the case. [03:25:53] So one of the things Dr. Grubbs is doing is, while it's important to speak about this plan as an expansion plan, in many ways we're also focusing on alignment and where there are opportunities to stand up programming and align them to current offerings. [03:26:17] So I'll ask Dr. Grubbs to share a little bit about those conversations he's having with principals while at the same time taking that feedback on the plan. Sure. Great question. That is something that we've really tried to balance out as opportunities across our six geographic planning zones. Both Nick and Jen and I have recently been out to Potomac Falls, for example, and we had a really great meeting with the principal. [03:26:39] And I think we have some seeds planted with that new principal about potential options and pathways. Also, Parkview High School, with the new construction of that building, we have some new programming that we're bringing into that school, like Surge Tech. Definitely room for growth, and I appreciate your feedback. We still need to engage with Dominion a little bit further around some pathways, and we're going to work with them on some new pathways as well. [03:27:01] So we'll continue engaging with the principals of those schools. Thank you. So I have to bring up the arts and music and all of it. i don't see a lot of that in this expanded offerings and what is the potential plan for that expansion of fine arts or cte programming related to the arts it's it could be yes [03:27:35] um so while this plan focuses specifically on cte we know that there is board interest in strong and robust fine arts programs at each of our on each of our campuses and that does exist we're in the middle of an amazing marching band season we'll start sharing good news about the results of that across our county but this CTE conversation is part of a larger conversation we're having about the program of studies and just as we're having conversations with principals about our CTE offerings we also need to be having them with our principals around [03:28:12] fine arts and world languages and this is conversations that we've been having in C&I. Ms. Chernoff has asked for some information about supporting fine arts as an agenda item and we've talked about having conversations looking at staffing needs to make sure that those offerings are available to our students. That being said, I'm a big believer in the idea that someone doesn't have to lose for someone to win, meaning we can have really strong clear pathways for students that want to pursue our cte offerings while at the same time have really [03:28:47] strong fine arts programs that that compete um and so we are also talking with our friends and support services around fine arts enhancement that's a part of the cip as well um tonight's conversation is really about cte um but we were happy i'm thinking sound design prop making all of that kind of thing goes down that CTE pathway you know lighting design all of that also on that path game design I mean having a son who's game video game programmer what kind of game design [03:29:24] are you looking at are you looking at video game programming for game design or just straight game design thank you for the question we're looking at a little bit of all of that so we're looking at what we can do with teaching our students unity, C-sharp, looking at virtual reality games. [03:29:44] We're also looking at e-sports. How can we expand that particular field? There is a great interest with our students to look into, to be able to participate with those. And so you're looking at game engines? Yes. Okay, did you just say that? I don't. You said C-sharp, but I didn't hear game engines. That's one of our programming languages, yeah. Okay, I just, okay. All right, Any other? [03:30:08] Yes, Ms. Liddell. I noticed from your red and green chart that there are, at least on this page, three areas that are all red all the way across. And I really think it would be important to at least start one of those programs somewhere so that we can get it rolling. [03:30:31] And I think you all know what my favorite one would be. Yes, agriculture. You're right. Coming from Western Loudon. But thank you. - I appreciate that comment. Law and public policy, one of those areas that's completely red, is a pathway in our plan that we're looking to expand to our home high schools. [03:30:51] And that is something that we're looking to either start next school year at three schools or start the conversations for recruiting students for the following school year. And we've received significant feedback from our principals for that pathway to bring to their home high school. Law and public policy and health sciences are probably one of our top two pathways for students when you look at your school links data And so I do think we're really moving progressively and quickly on closing that career cluster. [03:31:19] Ag, if we had the funding in the space, I would love to move that one up. That is a pathway that we are heavily exploring as well. A little bit later in the plan because of some of the building and facilities, but we're very supported by facilities and looking at options and moving that forward. [03:31:37] Yes, Mr. Straffi. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you very much for the presentation. And thank you for explaining in committee what mechatronics was. That was my question in committee. And it's definitely needed, for sure. I wanted to ask, and I don't know if I asked this question previously, but around the skilled trades, I saw that in looking at the page around expansion by access, I saw it was very much focused on Western Loudoun. [03:32:08] Can you just maybe remind me what the approach is for the skilled trades? Sure. Great question. I think that our approach out of the gate is looking at, in working with facilities, where do we have the space, where do we have the land, where do we have some of the facilities best use for adding new facilities related to skilled trades? And so Western Loudon has been recommended as an opportunity for not just land use, but also facility additions to bring some of those skilled trades into the school system. While we're focusing on Western Loudon, we're going to continue monitoring skilled trades opportunities in Eastern Loudon and other areas. [03:32:42] we're just looking for where's our initial quick win. For the skilled trades, we're focusing more on the construction fields because there's over 500,000 job openings in the construction skilled trades. Skilled trades is a huge umbrella. We also have 800 students that are pursuing MATA carpentry construction related skilled trades for 100 seats. And so we're trying to be most responsive to that area of skilled trades out of the gates. I think there's plenty of opportunities to continue looking at some of that interest, but we're really prioritizing more of the construction skilled trades out of the gates for a focus area. [03:33:22] Yep, great question. Yes, Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you so much for this presentation. It's very clear after attending the Workforce Summit on Friday that our kids are waiting on us to get this going. It's taken me a little bit longer to come along in this work in terms of just prioritizing all the different things that our students need. [03:33:43] is probably a symptom of my elementary background versus having experience with high schoolers. And I just was so energized and excited by their intelligence, their professionalism, and their readiness to tackle the workforce. And the future is bright. And of course, we want to do all of these things. [03:34:01] And I really am interested more in-- as we go along, I will be interested more in hearing about how we are responding, not only to the upcoming needs, but the things that are waning and how we plan on kind of cycling through those things. [03:34:16] Because those can be really tough conversations, especially for kids that, even if it's a small group of kids that are really invested in that pathway. So that's something I would love to hear more about is just how we're going to make those decisions and how we can prioritize not only what we add, but what maybe needs to find a different way or be eliminated. [03:34:35] And additionally, and I've talked to Mr. Slevin about this, Something that's come across my radar recently is the Career IB expansion program. And so I'm wondering if something like that can take an existing program that already exists, partner with something like that to make it into a more of a CTE pathway that partners with things that are already existing that we have. [03:34:54] So I've been kind of exploring what that could look like in our high schools. And certainly with it being at Heritage and Leesburg, that is something that has recently come across my radar. And especially in terms of, you know, the education piece, like teacher-cadet, things like that, now you're turning that into an actual career pathway. [03:35:12] So just food for thought as we enter into our fun budget season, but so appreciative of your work. And obviously this is, you know, the future of education, and it's exciting to be a part of it. So thank you. Yes, Mrs. Griffiths. [03:35:28] Thank you, Madam Chair. You're welcome. Happy to see that you're going to have, you're looking into Army, Junior, or ROTC. And we already have Navy. I wasn't aware, or maybe I missed it. Where are the current schools that have the Navy, ROTC? [03:35:45] And I think you said you're not sure yet where you're putting the Army. But also, I think it's just one school for Navy, right? I'm just not sure which school it is. We have the Navy at Loudoun County High School. It's at Loudoun County High School, okay. And so Army, you're not sure where you're going to put it yet? [03:36:03] It's about interest, correct? The interest? So we do have a process where we evaluate schools and so we would ask for interest but also consider things like capacity infrastructure the special needs of the program so if this is approved as an initiative right now it's an idea but this would be an example of what i referenced earlier where it would be a decision through the budget process we would start the process in terms of identifying a site and i also i thank you so much for that and I also wanted to mention that I know I come back with a [03:36:39] lot of ideas but I want you to understand I want you to know that I realize you have to have the interest as well in all the school and by the students for a specific program so if you're seeing the interest for this I think that's fantastic and I I want to thank you for the presentation yes dr. [03:37:03] The student speaker tonight indicated that ROTC instructor is not a budget item, is that true? There are different models for our JROTC programs, and we've talked about this within our special programs committee, and one of the reasons we haven't been able to expand JROTC as quickly as we'd like over the years in Loudoun is we have waited for funded programs and so while the student is correct the program that we're considering at least out the gate would be what's the non-cost sharing meaning [03:37:43] we would fund it locally stand the program up and hopefully in the future we would be able to seek support for the programming but if we were to propose if this was were to be proposed and the board ultimately adopted it it would be it would be funded locally until otherwise any other questions okay thank you so much for your presentation and we will move on to 11.02 Department of Support Services Ashburn Dulles North Elementary School attendance zones [03:38:20] thanks guys thank you and overview presented by Kevin Lewis chief operations officer and Beverly Tate director planning and GIS services thank [03:38:57] you chair Mansfield so we are here tonight to kick off the the countywide attendance zone process will do over the next few years we're excited to get started and we will start obviously with the Ashburn and Dulles North area and I have mr. Tate here who I will turn the microphone to who will walk you through the presentation and we'll be happy to take any questions afterwards thank you and I'm older even just being here if I if you would indulge me as is typically [03:39:34] the fashion with the tenant zone processes I would like to ever so briefly talk about the binder that is before you we are also getting spiral bound copies of the same for some of my friends here in cabinet and dr. Spence as well as you so the notebook is yours to take home to make notes to write in to utilize as you meet with constituents you do not have to lug it back and forth to every meeting unless you just want to we will be providing you a dais copy, individual copies for each of you so that when you come to work sessions [03:40:13] and public hearings, we will not be inundating you with those thick folders from boundaries from gone by. This document includes all current attendance zone information. So it will be your resource. [03:40:31] But we recognize the notebook's huge and the information is a lot. And so we wanted to give you the home and office copies, so to speak. I will go through it ever so quickly, even though Mr. Lewis is probably looking at me and saying, "I told you to be brief." [03:40:47] But clipped to the front is a copy of tonight's presentation, as well as the two staff plans that I will be reviewing ever so shortly from now. And then we also have the planned tracking chart that references the resident students, current school year who live in each of the planning zones being recommended to move this is somewhat useful because these are recommendations not existing situations they're not in the notebook that doesn't mean you can't create a tab [03:41:23] in your notebook to do it but in the notebook if you will indulge me ever so quickly I would like to go through what we have here and to tickle the interest of those who have yet to receive yes ma'am this is the Ashburn Dulles North elementary attendance zone process map book for this fall inside there are 12 tabs the first one is a reference map it ties to the second set of information behind tab number two we have grid maps so we have 12 different grids that cover [03:42:00] the 69 plus acres that the Ashburn Dulles North boundary process is covering it's not necessarily by elementary school attendance zone but it It gives you, I'm going to do a plug for a former ADC map if you ever used those where you could kind of track as things go. [03:42:19] The map grids, there are three maps for each grid. The first one will depict all school sites, elementary and secondary. It will depict election district lines, planning zones, elementary school attendance zones and walk zones. [03:42:36] The second map, Map B, of whichever grid map you are looking at, will again identify all LCPS school sites, planning zones. It will also identify residential development, completed, approved but unbuilt, and proposed pending by different colors. [03:42:59] Map C, again the same grid, will provide the school sites, it will provide the secondary school attendance zones election districts and planning zones and we're providing that third map because often parents may say well I go to this school what is my middle or high school we are not in this process changing any middle or high school attendance zones whatever middle school serves one's residents now will continue to do so next fall then going through tabs three four five and six we're providing you policy that are often referenced the [03:43:36] first one 6530 changing school attendance zones the second one behind tab 4 is policy 8160 the exceptions to school assignment due to attendance zone so in an elementary school process this policy would have staff survey all rising fifth graders so current fourth graders this year that may be that are rezoned to see if there's interest to remain we would then report back to you similar to what we'll be doing in just a few weeks on the Della South Secondary. [03:44:09] They were providing policy and regulation 5320, procedure for location of special education, self-contained special education programs. We've already received a couple questions asking that, so we're providing that as a resource for you. And then policy and regulation 6210, student transportation, those are tabs three, four, five, six. [03:44:29] Tab seven is conditions without change, so it's the current attendance zone with resident kindergarten through five students only. Tab eight is the resident student count. So we're providing you the geocoded address match students by planning zones for kindergarten through fifth grade so you know who lives there right now. [03:44:49] That does not mean that they all go to the school that serves their planning zone. We have special permission, we have program placement, but this is resident counts. Tab nine is the planning zone data with six year enrollment projections. So we provided you enrollment projections by planning zone. [03:45:06] This, if you recall last year, is how we anticipate what boundary changes will do. This is part of the redistrict, which I will speak to later. Tab 10, and I don't recall who asked for this last year, but we provided you the visual map of how many times the planning zone had moved. [03:45:25] We provided that for the past decade, going back to 2016-17. We've provided the visual map and we've also provided a table. And then tab 11 are just our current attendance zones, elementary attendance zone maps by school with the walk zones. [03:45:46] I realize this is a lot of information for those who may be watching. This is posted on BoardDocs as a PDF. We have it on our webpage as a PDF. And we've also endeavored to start splitting it out so that one doesn't have to scroll through all 100 pages. [03:46:03] get to where you want to go I appreciate your indulgence happy to talk about this way more at your November 5 meeting now on with the show we are here tonight to begin an elementary attendance zone change process for the Dulles North and Ashburn area schools as guided by policy 6530 in considering attendance zone changes you as board are well aware that you consider many criteria factors [03:46:41] including facilities, proximity, community, accessibility, stability and cluster alignment. Some of these often conflict. Some may resonate more strongly for individuals than others but these are all criteria part of the policy. [03:47:00] There are three attendance zone change processes outlined by policy and regulation. The standard, abbreviated and administrative. This is a standard process, so it includes public hearings and work sessions for the public to engage in the process. [03:47:19] We have a dedicated webpage again for this process. Information is being added daily, so we encourage folks to check it often. We post questions that we've received. We've received eight, I think as of this morning, that we've posted responses to. [03:47:39] that we receive in writing from one parent we are fairly confident another parent somewhere else has the same question we also wish to discourage misinformation perhaps unintentional at the bus stop we want people to have the correct information so if we always are referring them to these websites then they will get that information we also with the help of the communications office have a direct link from each of the 18 elementary schools in this attendance zone process so from the home page where most parents go to their [03:48:12] students school they can access our page directly we have provided planning zone data and maps that include the geographic planning district whether that is DN for Dulles North or DS for Dulles South I don't know why we don't have an AB for Ashburn but we don't we're providing you the elementary middle and high school attendance zones for this current school year as well as the resident student counts and the kindergarten through grade 5 enrollment [03:48:48] projections we have identified walk zones on the maps we've provided residential development information and all of this is compiled in this trusty little map book as well as on our web page this is the overall enrollment for the Ashburn Dulles North area going back 2014 to 2025 just as some points in time in the fall of 2017 Madison's Trust Elementary School opened in the fall of 2019 Waxpool Elementary School open [03:49:22] and my dear friend Mr. Spurbani in the back Elaine Thompson opened in the fall of 22 the 2025 year We have just under 12,000 students, elementary school students, attending school in the 18 area schools. [03:49:43] This is an extract, kind of a combined of two pages within the capital budget document that Mr. Lewis presented earlier today. We have highlighted here schools that are at or above 100% capacity over the six-year period. [03:50:03] When one looks at this and you consider the projected student enrollment over this sixth period compared to the overall available capacity of 15,009 amongst these 18 elementary schools, It is conceivable that repurposing or utilizing all the capacity from one of our smaller elementary schools would still allow most of these schools to remain at an 80 to 90 percent utilization with good attendance zones. [03:50:36] That was one of our thresholds as we present the two plans for you tonight. The first plan that we are presenting is Staff Plan R11. You may say why R11. it stands for reassigning 11 planning zones we didn't want to play favorites so in this one and we have identified them on the maps it's posted online for parents we have identified that as Mrs. Griffiths was alluding to and one of the [03:51:11] speakers tonight we are recommending that all of the Lansdowne community which is identified in the cross-hatched purple going to the Seldon's Landing purple that planning zone DN01, DN01.2, DN01.6 all in the lands down join the Seldon's Landing attendance zone so that the entire community is served by Seldon's Landing. We are also recommending that DN02 which includes Janelia Farms and Smith Circle also go to Seldon's Landing coming from Stuart Weller. [03:51:52] And actually, if you will go here, this will give you a little bit better focus. We are also recommending that to Ashburn Village Planning Zones DN053 and DN17.2. So those include homes off of Glenburn Terrace, Silkworth Terrace, Potter Terrace, as well as Tillman Terrace and Lowry Park Terrace. [03:52:18] And those two planning zones that they be reassigned from Dominion Trail to Stuart Weller to provide some relief for Dominion Trail. We are also recommending in the cutout of 3, Area 3, we are recommending two planning zones from Hillside Elementary School, DN44.4 and 44.5, both portions of Broadlands. [03:52:42] So that includes homes accessed generally off of Crescent Park Square, Dry Ridge Terrace, as well as Rickenback Square and Novy Terrace. That those change from Hillside to Mill Run to provide some enrollment relief for Hillside. [03:53:00] sorry we're recommending that the Loudoun Valley Estates area southwest of Loudoun County Parkway kind of off of Gleadsville Manor Drive in planning zones no I'm sorry I'm misspeaking 48.1 in 49 so that is Loudoun Parkway Center my mistake off of Westwind Drive we're recommending both of those move from Moorfield Station to Discovery to provide some relief for Moorfield Station then Then the final area that's depicted here in Area 5 is a recommendation to move Planning [03:53:38] Zone DM 36.8 from Madison's Trust to Legacy to provide some enrollment relief for Madison's Trust. For orientation, this is the northeast corner of North Star Boulevard and Creighton Road, the townhomes that are south of the movie theater before you get to Creighton. [03:53:58] We acknowledge that this is a walk zone and that is an issue with the Staff Plan R11. With Staff Plan R17 reassigning 17 planning zones, we have again reassigned the Lansdowne planning zones that are currently at Stuart Weller to Selden's Landing. [03:54:27] We have also assigned the Janelia Farms, Howard Hughes, Smith Circle, DN 02, as well as DN 07.1, which is the Ashbrook Village portion north of Russell Branch Parkway. [03:54:43] We are recommending those all go to Selden's Landing to provide some capacity at Stewart Weller. That we would then assign students from both Ashburn Elementary and Dominion Trail to Stewart Weller, to provide some capacity relief there. [03:55:00] This would reassign DN 053, 17.2, as well as now 05.1, all Ashburn Village communities to Stewart Weller. [03:55:16] Areas 4 and 5, again, this is like overwhelming, I'm certain, we're recommending that just the DN44.4 from Hillside transition to Mill Run in this plan. We then are also, this is what I was speaking to earlier, we're recommending the Loudoun Valley Estates portion that is currently attending Moorfield Station, so DN48 and DN48.2, that they, along with 48.1, a portion of the Loudoun Parkway move from Moorfield Station to Legacy to provide some relief for Moorfield Station. [03:55:54] And then in recognition that our previous plan was moving a walk zone, we are taking the only portion of the Madison's Trust attendant zone that does not have any portion of a walk zone in it. [03:56:10] And we're recommending that the grant at Willisford, comprised of DS 081, 082, and 083, be reassigned from Madison's Trust to Elaine Thompson to provide some enrollment relief for Madison's Trust. as well as to utilize available capacity at Elaine Thompson. [03:56:29] I can flip back to the enrollment numbers if you would prefer. One of our goals in doing this, I just kind of want to speak to what we were doing, is that we wanted to provide relief for our overcrowded schools. [03:56:51] We had an objective of having schools sitting in about 80% to 90% utilization with our plans. We knew that that would provide ample capacity for special education programs so that potentially we could even move programs back to the school so that all of the students could go to their home residence school. [03:57:13] We could also provide some opportunity for special programs. Right now we have DLI at Sanders Corner, but to provide additional opportunities for all of our students, more equitably using facilities and space. But this also, I think I'm going here, this would also defer, because of the available capacity, defer the opening of ES36, which is adjacent to Watson Mountain and would be adjacent to HS14. [03:57:45] In last year's capital budget, it was scheduled to open in the fall of 31. As we've talked earlier this afternoon, we're not showing any new schools in the next six years, and we think that the capacity that's available in these 18 schools would provide relief that we wouldn't need the new school. [03:58:05] Again, we are not recommending secondary attendance zone changes that will be coming down the road, but with both plan r11 and r17 we were very aware of the secondary feeds for these schools so we with intention endeavored to create changes that would still have students feeding to the same middle school even though they might be changing elementary school we were not 100% foolproof in that but we endeavored to that and I will happily speak to that at the meeting on the 5th [03:58:39] recognizing time and then again policy 8160 is an opportunity potentially for students who are rezoned as rising fifth graders to finish out their elementary school at their current school and I will wrap up by providing this calendar we have our email address on the website any questions we receive we will answer in writing will provide that information to you as board members But there is a public hearing and work session scheduled for next week, November 5, here in the same room. [03:59:18] We then have another public hearing and work session on November 24. Ultimately, asking the board to take any action on any attendance zone changes at your December 16 meeting. And I'm happy to answer questions if possible. [03:59:37] I would, though, if you would indulge me, Mrs. Griffiths, you mentioned Seldon's Landing in your comments earlier. So Seldon's Landing opened in the fall of 2001. We put an addition on the school in 2007. In the fall of 2007, the year before Stuart Weller opened and some of the Lansdowne community was assigned to Stuart Weller, Seldon's Landing had an enrollment of 1,052 students. [04:00:03] Their capacity right now for both Stuart Weller and Seldon is 868. So they were both over capacity. Stuart Weller opened in the fall of 2008 with an enrollment of 646 students, and it grew over the next few years to 700 and 800 students. [04:00:20] In the fall of 2008, even though half of the Lansdowne community was assigned to Stuart Weller, Seldon's Landing still had 938 students. Seldon's Landing stayed 989 in the fall of 2009, and it was in the 1040 and 1046 in the fall of 2010-11. [04:00:40] so even though that community was divided and served by two schools Selden's Landing remains full but Selden's Landing like Ashburn Farm the community has established there's no there's not the movement in of new families as there was then but I just wanted to address that since you mentioned it earlier and I will I would like to thank you for that thank you so much Miss Tate um so I was wondering if we could get a better like or I could when we meet a better understanding about if we're displacing any programs during redistricting. [04:01:17] I know that we're trying to give them, you know, their schools in their districts, right, as opposed to busing kids who are in programs. But I just, I really don't like it when we displace our special education kids because they need consistency. [04:01:42] So I want to know a little bit more understanding about how that's all going to happen and what your plans are for those students. Yes, ma'am, we will. And part of the intention of striving for that 80% to 90% utilization was to provide additional space above and beyond what our base capacity already provides. [04:02:08] We identify a certain number of special education classrooms in all schools. And those are held sacred in a boundary process because our capacity already reflects that we have programs there. But we will, yes, we'll provide more information. [04:02:26] Because I think there's some growth that's happening, if I'm not mistaken, Mrs. Richardson. Yeah. And traditionally, we didn't really leave space historically, which I am so thankful that you guys are all working together about that right now. [04:02:44] Board members, any other discussion? Yes, Mrs. Gresson. Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you so much for that history, Ms. Tate. We're talking next year, right, a start of next year where all the kids that were going to Stewart can go back to Seldon's? [04:03:00] We're talking about beginning of next year, right? If that is a plan that the board adopts, yes, ma'am, it would take effect in the fall. Okay. Thank you so much. Ms. Chernoff. Thank you. I just wanted to thank you for all this information, and it is a lot, but it's really helpful to have it all. [04:03:20] - My, one of the things I would be interested in is, and this might be a student services question, and I think it is timely that we're talking about policy 8155 on school assignment because I personally, as we endeavor over these next five years to redistrict and rezone all these schools, I think we've gotta have a real conversation around special permission and the process here and what that's doing to our enrollment and our capacity and what that is creating. [04:03:49] and I think it's about time for that conversation. So I'm following in committee, and we'll be anxious to see some of those revisions and have that conversation. I'm wondering if we have, if you have those numbers. Okay, that will be part of my thinking as well. [04:04:05] So thank you. - We will be providing a lot more information at your November 5 work session. - Appreciate it, thank you so much. - I think that also, Dr. Carter, when she talked to student services, had some good had some things that I didn't really quite think about the problems with special education at times and and programs and special permissions so maybe people might want to revisit [04:04:35] that conversation that she had an information any other discussion no okay thank you so much all right last information item for the night 11.03 department of support services update on inclusive playgrounds again with uh kevin lewis and i'm thinking brian stocks is coming up here thank you chair mansfield we appreciate the opportunity to talk through tonight [04:05:12] our playground program as you just mentioned mr stocks is here is also our subject matter expert and program manager for the playground projects i've asked him to just walk you through where we are currently with the program and you'll see a lot of that information in in board docs so you just have a better feel for where we are and what projects are slated to start sooner and then some that are following up and just remind the board that we have a pretty aggressive program in place to get all the schools by your direction back this past year to get all schools within the next two years to have inclusive playgrounds on there. So that is where we're starting the conversation with [04:05:51] scheduling and I'll ask Mr. Stocks to walk you through the rest of the details. Thank you. This summer support services began the expedited inclusive playground program introduced in the FY 26-31 school board adopted capital budget, including the capital improvement program and capital asset preservation program. Building on the 22 existing age 5-12 inclusive playgrounds that have been completed by the end of summer 2025, 14 additional schools are scheduled to receive inclusive playgrounds in the current fiscal year. That includes three with cap funding, [04:06:27] nine with CIP funding, and two with proffer funding. The remaining 24 schools will be split, 12 in FY27 and 12 in FY28, to meet the goal of one 5-12 inclusive playground at each elementary school by the 28-29 school year. [04:06:44] The order was determined by the age of the existing primary playground equipment that is being replaced. We have, through this project, developed an LCPS inclusive playground standard design. The design standard outlined in LCPS policy and regulation 6320 playgrounds is applied to each inclusive playground installed by LCPS. [04:07:05] In addition to the adherence with the ADA implementation guidelines published by the US Access Board for accessible play areas, the standard was developed with the information provided by SEAC's May 2024 report entitled Special Education Advisory Committee, inclusive playgrounds review and recommendations summary. [04:07:26] Staff worked with professional inclusive playground design experts at each of our two contracted vendors to select equipment that meets this standard, is within our funding budget, and meets our projected timelines. Each LCPS standard five to 12 inclusive playground incorporates a wide variety of elevated and ground level play experience, accessible routes, and challenges for all students. [04:07:50] The school board information you have before you today provides additional details related to our process, the list of schools, and specific equipment standards. We have also provided attachments, including vendor views of the LCPS inclusive playground standard design from each of our two vendors, as well as policy and regulation 6320 playgrounds. [04:08:12] That concludes my update. Mr. Lewis and I are happy to take any questions you may have. - Thank you, Mr. Stocks. So I do have a little bit. So we're talking about, we were talking about program classes a minute ago, and like children who have multiple disabilities, they need higher needs at times, and I know that we don't have multiple disability programs at every elementary school. [04:08:41] Am I right, Mrs. Richardson? That is correct. Like maybe nine, seven or nine? I'll have a count for you in just a minute. At least one in each planning district, I think, and some change. Um, so I'm wondering if there is any desire, so they need, they have unique needs, they need harnesses, they need those kinds of things, and our whole, um, dream was to have everybody out on that playground, and so I'm wondering, and I know this is the lowest incident disability [04:09:16] population, I get that, um, but I'm wondering if there is any way to, for the schools that house an md program if there's a way to give a little bit of a bump to them for one extra something or something that you know um you know some swings some something else that they can really utilize as well with harnesses and unique strapping and that kind of thing is that anything that can be thought about i mean i think your base is good and y'all have worked really hard [04:09:56] I totally appreciate that. I really, really do. I just am wondering for those really special kids, we want them out there too. So certainly we can do anything that the board wants us to look at. And so we just need a little bit of guidance on that. [04:10:15] And, you know, tonight I think we heard that for the first time ever we've heard someone ask for a project to be delayed. And so, you know, we are working very hard to meet the board's guidance to get all of those programs in place by the by the 2028 school year and so altering from the plan we have put in place right now will delay projects maybe some of them will be delayed more than others we would also right now the the funding that we asked for was based on the request we got from the board so we had the design as mr. stocks [04:10:50] described the different things that we had the inclusive playground experts show us that we should be using for our schools so those budgets were all based on that so I think we're going to experience I'm sure we will experience a budget issue with expanding that and a timeline issue we can better answer that question if we had you know you know some some concrete guidance from the board on if you want to pick those eight or nine schools whatever that was and say we want to do a little bit here an allowance for that or that and then we can look at our schedule and see you know it's it's going to be we would look [04:11:28] to our design experts to see which pieces of equipment are available from different manufacturers so all the manufacturers don't have all the same equipment. So that's what we would have to look at and see where we can make those adjustments. [04:11:44] And it may then adjust the schedule and, as I said, we could go back and put together a budget assessment and see where that stood. Did you get wish lists from the kids at any of these schools or any of that? [04:12:00] How did that process go? Or it was just, you can pick this color, you can pick, that's kind of what it, is that it? Yeah, I'll let Mr. Stocks describe that. But we do reach out to the school and go through the design. And maybe you can describe that process. In the last few years, when we've really, really embarked on the focus of inclusive playgrounds, a lot of the research and trial and error and study went into looking at what we have installed and what we hear feedback, positive and negative, [04:12:35] and then adjust and move in the direction of this standard. This standardization was relatively necessary because, for one, it gives us a basis that we know that our inclusive playground has the elements that we need and the areas, the space for the children with disabilities to utilize. [04:12:58] And just like our communications panel or our sensory boards, things like that. So, no, we did not poll the community for specific pieces of equipment, but we used SEAC's information and their thorough report as well as community feedback to educate us on the things that work well in LCPS and are also within those requirements and guidelines by the U.S. Access Board. [04:13:22] And equipment and pieces of play equipment are evolving all the time, so our standards are based around the type of play and the challenges we want to provide our students, but there may be products that become available within this three-year scope that meet our minimum equipment standards but look different than what's at a current school, and that could adjust the actual look of the playground, even though the type of equipment still meets that criteria that we're trying to meet. [04:13:57] So that was going to be another kind of question. The currently planned playgrounds, how do they compare to the inclusive playgrounds that were built at Rosalie, Carter, and Catocton? Is that kind of what you're talking about? Yeah, it depends. It depends how long ago we have. We have 13 playgrounds already constructed with this new standard and everything moving forward. [04:14:17] And then obviously when this project is complete, we could potentially look back at some of the first inclusive playgrounds we did and see if things would need to be adjusted or added or as its life cycle managed, maybe replaced. So is there any way to go back to your consultants and ask if there was something for a child with multiple disabilities, what would that look like? [04:14:42] Like one or two different options of some sort. And what would that look like and how much that would cost? just so that we know. Absolutely, and we can work with student services too to see if there's something that is of interest that's available through our contractors that would be of interest at those sites and put some pricing together to see what the impact timing-wise, timeline, and financially. [04:15:10] Well, also, even after they're built, is there something that you can add on at another time When you have, maybe not this year, end of year funds, but there might be another couple years, you know, down the lane. You never know. Absolutely. And that's how a lot of these playgrounds were built over the years. [04:15:29] And they're not all on the same playground pad, even. There's equipment that's been installed by PTOs, PTAs, and other outside vendors that are all over our campuses. We're focusing on our primary playground pad and making sure that every school has the inclusive standard, or every elementary school has the inclusive standard 5-12 playground. [04:15:51] But add-on projects could be done at any time. I'll add one other thing for consideration is, by the direction of the board with our program we did this past year in the CIP, When we complete all of the 5 to 12 playgrounds, we're going to then go and look for spots to put in age 2 to 5 playgrounds in each one of those. [04:16:14] Some of our campuses are limited in space, and so we have to be careful not to take up space where the 2 to 5 playground would sit if we have an expansion of that. So it does take some planning on the campus. A lot of things look simple when you just look out in the grass and see all that pretty grass, but there's utilities underneath there and other conflicts and easements that we have to be aware of. [04:16:35] So our engineering team will go out and look for each of those things. So those are things we need to be thinking about before we expand the footprint beyond where we are to make sure we haven't precluded us from doing something else in the future. Good point about the things that are underneath that we just don't even think about. Any other? Yes, Mrs. Griffiths and then Ms. Chandler. [04:16:54] Thank you, Madam Chair. I didn't see Sanders on the list, and I haven't had a chance to ride by, but I believe you did Sanders Corner, correct? Correct. Thank you so much for that. I will take a ride over there and take a look at it. And just for clarification, you mentioned the delay. [04:17:11] Was that Luckett's Elementary that you were talking about per the delay? Because I have, somebody had asked for a delay, but I think it was because they felt the playground was more for preschool, not for elementary. I just wanted to clarify that. So you heard from speakers tonight that talked about the potential delay in a project, and one of the reasons is we are slated to start the Luckett's project in the next few weeks. [04:17:38] So if we're going to redesign that, we would have to put that project on hold. Other projects are far enough away that we could be working on those as time goes on, but if we're going to make a change to that particular playground and if the capacity is there from the site and the ability to do that without infringing on something else or utilities or other things we mentioned, then we would have to delay that project. [04:18:00] We'll have to talk with the vendor. We may have to store the equipment if it's on its way here because like I said We're gonna break ground here in a few weeks. So you you haven't started at all Luck it's is what you're saying. We have not started the actual physical work But by ordering the equipment we've made a commitment to the vendor to buy the equipment. I'm not sure why they think it's for preschool Is it preschool equipment? It's five to twelve age age group for that. Oh, okay Not to speak for at Cary School, but an email came earlier, and they thought it might be for preschool and not elementary school. [04:18:34] I think the other thing that they were concerned about was the slide and the gaga ball court and the swings. But my understanding is that the gaga ball and the big slide would not be a part of this, but possibly the swings that they had put in. [04:18:52] Is that correct? Correct. the gaga ball pit and the large slide is across the sidewalk from the primary playground pad the primary playground pad that we have designed for the install that's beginning in a couple weeks does take up the entire playground pad as it's currently laid out so the swings would also would go but the others would not but not the others miss chandler i said i know i i got but Can I, since it's Ms. LaBelle's school, Ms. LaBelle. [04:19:23] - Yes, I've been contacted by many of our parents from Luckettsville. The theme is save our swings, obviously. Is there any way if those swings could be gently removed that it could be taken down, put aside, and they can put it up where they want it after this is all built? [04:19:48] - So that's an assessment we would have to do on the piece of equipment itself. Oftentimes those pieces of equipment are put in in a way that when you take them out, you end up cutting them out and they're not reusable. I can't answer that definitively at this point in time. We do wanna point out that as a standard, what we wanna do is make sure that all of our playgrounds have the proper base and poured flooring in it that we are using for the mitigation of impacts for students falling. [04:20:18] So we wouldn't want someone to just go in and put a set of swings up somewhere where there's not that base. So it really needs to be incorporated into a playground which would expand that footprint and likely the cost of doing that for this particular project. So that's something, you know, if that's what the board wants us to do, we can look at that and we can come back and let everyone know what changes that would cost and what delays would cause and other impacts it would be for other playgrounds moving forward. [04:20:44] Okay, and another question. Will all the non-school projects that are going on in front of Luckett's be an impediment to our building it at this time I guess the question is would it make sense to delay it that would give us time to decide what to do about the swings and would get us past the laying of cable and the laying of the sidewalk that they're putting there at this time would that be an option so certainly we could delay it we're tracking those projects as well and it's not necessary to do that because of those we don't see any conflicts they're not geographically [04:21:24] co-located we you know we would have more concerns about the pickup and arrival at school for the sidewalk projects than we would for the playground so we wouldn't see that as an issue but it wouldn't keep us from delaying it okay I think then what what at least my job is going to be is go back to my constituents and find out what they'd like to do with all the options that we've discussed tonight and hopefully I'll hear from them either tomorrow or Friday that's what my goal is anyway okay thank you just the constituents but the principal and the everyone miss Chandler I said that thank [04:22:02] you madam chair and thank you for this presentation I want to start off by saying I wanted to ask about how experts had been consulted and I appreciate that you mentioned that you're willing to work with student services and that you reviewed the CI comments that means a lot to me and I just wanted to say thank you. This conversation is coming back up because of a visit that Dr. Bergen and I had at a school in my district, and it's one of the schools that houses a lot of MD programs. And I know there is [04:22:40] a need for consistency and a need for a standard. And also, I think I can only speak for myself, But I really feel that it's important that we get this project right, that we heard directly from so many families about how it impacted their children. [04:23:01] And I'm thinking about the student who I believe who was from Little River who sent the video about how difficult it is to get to the playground in the first place. And I would be curious to know if that has been part of the planning process. [04:23:17] So I know we did some ramp work down there to make it better for that particular student, and that would obviously be taken into consideration for any replacement that happens with that school. [04:23:33] Thank you. And then I also believe that we could offer students more meaningful play if we could find a way to customize at these schools where we have a higher need. And I know that's a lot to ask, but I do think we heard directly from these families and how it impacts their kids. [04:23:56] And really, it's better for all kids when we are together in the same spaces. And so I'm curious if something like a wheelchair swing would be possible. And at the school that I'm thinking about in particular, I believe that the big field that's adjacent to the playground is owned by Parks and Rec. [04:24:17] And are we looking at some of those challenges in the planning process? Yes, we certainly are planning for any project to be on our property, and we have a number of campuses that share features with Parks of Rec, and that's a great program we have with them. [04:24:40] Trying to figure the best way, and I think we're going to need to do some more look at it, but the phrase you used, I think, was to have additional equipment at schools with higher needs, and that could be any school that we have next year or the year after that. [04:24:59] So we're going to look at some more data to see if we can identify the best route. And so we're hearing you loud and clear, so let us take a look at that and meet with Mrs. Richardson and her team, and we'll get back to the board. [04:25:16] Thank you. I appreciate that very much. I just don't want it to go without being said that we really do appreciate all of the hard work, and we recognize that this is super hard work and that we're asking a lot. We really do. Ms. Chernoff. [04:25:32] Thank you, Madam Chair, and I think this kind of piggybacks off of this. I have lots of friends in the room who have skin in this game, and so I'm just going to push back a little bit. I think that this is a big division. [04:25:49] One of the biggest things that I've learned here is it's like turning the Titanic when you want massive change. We also have incredibly diverse needs across our schools. So managing that blueprint, if you will, I think is extremely challenging. I'm wondering, and I'm going to kind of rely on your expertise and I'm not trying to put you guys on the spot right now, so maybe an answer later. [04:26:10] We worked really hard last year to fight for kids to be able to play on inclusive playgrounds. This, to me, was a monumental step in the right direction. It was a proud moment for me. It was a proud moment, I think, for the board and for the community. [04:26:28] I hear you that there are very diverse needs that may need to be met, and I'm talking to the people in the audience and that we want to differentiate I think that that could be a goal down the line but I'm wondering how we logistically start to navigate that without having other communities saying well they got that now I want that and well a new student came into our division that has a wheelchair and now they need this and I think that logistically I'm a little bit nervous about how we open this can of worms and manage all of that when we have a really [04:27:03] good plan to right size in this direction do you think that it would be wise for us to do that and then have those conversations about add-ons once we get through this three-year process and I know that that doesn't meet immediate needs and that might not be what people want but logistically how do we begin to tackle every single need that could possibly come through the door and I'll add we just talked about rezoning we don't things could shift and move around. So I'm struggling with how we do that well without someone losing in that situation [04:27:41] when we've really, I don't want to lose sight of the good that we have done in right-sizing this problem. Dr. Spence, I think. Yes, Dr. Spence. I think in fairness, I don't want to, I don't think we should ask Mr. Lewis to represent the administration's perspective. We've talked about this only sort of recently because this agenda topic just popped up. What I think we would say is a design build process for playgrounds is far more complex and far more costly than the process that we have put in place in order to achieve [04:28:20] the board's goals. I think Ms. Chernoff you've hit on something which is very challenging which is to say to try to design a playground for the students who are right now in that building. I mean we just talked about a boundary change process that's going to free up classroom space and may change where programs go and so trying to design a playground to meet current programs when they may not be in that building and you know at the start of next school year really doesn't make sense from a just a pure kind of how you how we can get this work done kind of at scale and on time [04:28:52] and then I I do think and then when you hear some schools may want to keep a piece of equipment or keep two pieces of equipment and then we have to figure out how to design around those pieces of equipment and so if we do that at one school you can be sure you're going to hear that for other schools. And so from just a pure planning and logistics perspective, what Mr. Lewis didn't say, but what I will say is we can't wait and have individual conversations with each school community about this unless you want to change the whole structure of what's been put in the CIP. [04:29:28] If that's what we want to do, what we'll need to do with the CIP is cost out and time out a design build process for every school. We can do that. I don't think we would recommend as an administration that approach, because I think it will be far more costly and will take far more time to kind of get to the heart of your question. Dr. Spence, I don't think there's MD programs in every school, and I don't think that's going to be happening. No, ma'am, I agree. If there were one in every school, we could design it for one in every school. I think what I'm saying is that they may move. That's why I was asking her about who was moving. I don't know that they're all [04:30:07] going to move, but we can, but that's what I was asking earlier. They may not, and also there are other students who may come into the division and may not have that level of program need but we still have accessibility issues that we don't currently know about so trying to design for you know the accessibility that mr. stocks was talking about based on conversations with CIAC looking at the national standards is we think the best approach otherwise we would need to go to a design build approach and cost that out for you and we're just at some point in the very near future to accomplish the board's original goals and [04:30:45] what we shared last year the CIP we're going to need that direction okay board members any other discussion yes mr. thank you madam chair I I think what's the struggle is is the timeline for me because we were so committed to moving that timeline up I mean we fought so hard to get that moved up and we moved other pieces around so I guess my question is sort of like can we stay committed to the three-year plan and then tackle the add-ons or do we need to stay committed to the three-year plan and then differentiate certain ones and have those conversations and I guess logistically we're just going to need [04:31:23] to figure out what the board wants is committed to well and I think but what if we have a population hold two classes and in a school that can't go and and be a part of the inclusive playground I mean that's a great question to ask if that really is the case then is it is it really is it really inclusive and then I guess that that's a bigger conversation but we what we had playgrounds that there were whole groups of kids that they couldn't even use and now I think there's going to be more access with these playgrounds so I don't want to delay the access of many across those three years I think we can problem solve how to get those [04:31:59] other pieces in it's kind of what I'm saying I just don't want to limit the whole project because of differentiated needs I want to include those differentiated needs in addition to giving access at the three years well I think the first thing we need to do also is to figure out how much that would be and what would that be yeah fair okay any other questions yes Ms. Chandler thank you madam chair I just want to say I'm really grateful that we're having this conversation in public and that we're considering it and talking through it before we start because it does feel very I mean as I said before it feels very important to me to get it right because this was something that really [04:32:39] the community brought to us to illustrate a need so I agree with I I appreciate the challenges that Ms. Chernoff has mentioned. I agree that, you know, we certainly need to do some research to have a better understanding. [04:32:57] And I would like to ask if we could get some information about whether or not if we have and use and stick to the plan, the base structure, what ability or opportunities might exist to apply for grants to add to that might improve accessibility for certain populations without necessarily changing the plan all right any other questions discussion okay thank you so [04:33:35] much okay um so our next item is a closed meeting um mr mr streffi do we have hold on one second [04:33:55] all right um mr streffi do you have a motion yes madam chair i move that the loudon county school board recess this public meeting and enter into a closed meeting pursuant to 2.2 - three seven one two of the code of Virginia for the following discussion consideration of the appointment performance or disciplining of a specific public employee as Authorized by section 2.2 - three seven one one a one of the code of Virginia [04:34:35] Mr. Strophy has made a motion. Do I have a second second? I have a second by Miss Chandler It's been probably moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board going to closed session. Is there any discussion? Yes, Miss Chernoff [04:35:02] Thank you Madam Chair. [04:35:31] I would like to note that I will be abstaining from the vote to go into close tonight as I will be recusing myself from going into the session for personal reasons. Thank you. Any other discussion? Okay, seeing none. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes 7-0 with Ms. Chernoff abstaining for the vote and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. The board is now enclosed. [04:38:13] The board is now coming out of closed. [05:48:15] Mr. Streffy, 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. Mr. Streffy made a motion to adjourn the closed meeting. [05:48:35] 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 adjourn the closed meeting. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we will go ahead with the vote. clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. And that motion passes 7-0 with Ms. Chernoff abstaining for the vote and Vice Chair [05:49:09] Donohue absent for the vote. Mr. Streffi, do you have another motion? Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the following resolutions 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 now therefore be it resolved that Loudoun County School Board hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from open [05:49:47] 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 loudon county school board i have a motion by mr straffi do you have a second second i have a second by miss labelle um motion has been properly is there any discussion seeing none uh we'll go ahead and take an electronic vote clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote [05:50:22] Kirk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes 7-0 with Ms. Chernoff abstaining for the vote and Ms. Donoghue absent for the vote. [05:50:39] Mr. Streffi, do you have another motion? Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the school board address the superintendent's September 30, 2025 decision pertaining to this employee matter in the manner discussed in closed session. I have a motion by Mr. Streffi. Do I have a second? [05:50:57] Second. I have a second by Ms. Chandler. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we'll go ahead and take a vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. [05:51:16] That motion passes. Seven to zero with Ms. Chernoff abstaining from the vote and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. All right. We will move on to board member comment and committee reports. Board members, give me a thumbs up if you want to continue with this or just move on. [05:51:31] okay it looks like well okay the consensus is no we will move on to new business board members do any new business okay seeing none seeing as there's no more business the October 28th 2025 Lowndon County School Board meeting is now adjourned please drive safely home ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coraggio Consulting ยท aguyonx.com