Coraggio Consulting
Loudoun County School Board, 2nd Tuesday School Board Meeting, Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Place: Loudoun County Public Schools / School Board meeting (see BoardDocs / LCPS-TV)
Length: 6h 33m (video)
Official meeting video (Vimeo / LCPS-TV): https://player.vimeo.com/video/1191636709?rel=0
BoardDocs (School Board): https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/loudoun/Board.nsf/Public

Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting.
Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-10-09. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:02:05] Good afternoon, everyone. I call to order this May 12, 2026 Loudoun County School Board meeting. This evening, we'll start with disclosures, and I will begin. 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.

[00:02:31] 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.

[00:02:50] This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. 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 our health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees.

[00:03:14] Specifically, as a board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees, while in the excess of statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected. of which I included. I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public's interest this disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you. Thank you. 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

[00:03:51] connection with an item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits, and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically, as a school board member, I'm eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. In addition, as a former LCPS employee, I, as well as my spouse, receive Medicare Advantage insurance benefits through LCPS. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statuatory three employees whose interests may

[00:04:28] also be affected of which my spouse and I are included. I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you. Ms. Riccardi. Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically as a school board member, I am

[00:05:05] eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you. Ms. Chernoff.

[00:05:30] Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and/or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees while in the excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest this disclosure will be reflected in the public record of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you and with

[00:06:06] that we'll move on to the consent agenda. Board members are there any changes to be made to the consent agenda? All right before we move forward with the vote I'd like to make some necessary motions to ensure that we properly ratify the April 28 2026 board motion to certify the second closed meeting following the adjournment of the second closed session the school board held during its April 28 2026 meeting agenda item 18 the school board voted on a motion that the following resolution certifying the closed meeting be adopted and reflected

[00:06:43] in the minutes of this public meeting the motion was properly made and seconded there was no discussion and such motion was unanimously approved by the school board members who were present. Upon review, the reference resolution that has been that was to be adopted in the meeting minutes was not read aloud as the school board is accustomed to doing. Accordingly, staff has recommended that the school board ratify its prior vote and read the reference resolution into the record for clarity. The language in the motion to certify has been adjusted to ensure clarity given that there were two closed meetings on April 28, 2026 and given that the motion is being ratified on a subsequent date

[00:07:21] accordingly at this time I will read the motion to certify the closed meeting along with the resolution for the board's ratification to be clear what is being voted on as a consent agenda item today is that the Loudoun County School Board ratify the school board's vote on item 18.03 motion to certify closed meeting taken during its April 28 2026 meeting by reading it in full into the record. Motion to certify a closed meeting. I move that the following resolution certifying the second closed meeting of the school board's April 28, 2026 meeting be adopted and reflected in the

[00:07:59] minutes of the April 28, 2026 public meeting. Resolution number 37-2526. Whereas the Loudoun County School Board has convened a second closed meeting on April 28, 2026 pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and whereas section 2.2 - 37 12 D 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 the Loudoun County School Board hereby certifies that to the best

[00:08:36] of each member's knowledge one only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which the certification applies and to only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard discussed or considered by the Loudoun County School Board and with that I'll now entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda second the motion I'm sorry Dr. Rasheed could you make it I so moved thank you and then Mrs.

[00:09:14] Griffiths second all right it has been moved by dr. Rashid and seconded by mrs. Griffiths we it has been properly moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda at this time we'll take a vote clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote that motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present voting yes all

[00:09:51] right thank you so much everyone and we'll move on to item number four our work session for this evening. First up we have our school board and administrative advisory committee update and tonight that will be provided by our career and technical education advisory

[00:10:55] committee. Hello and welcome. I'll go ahead and let you guys introduce yourself. Good evening. I'm Michael Grubbs. I'm the director for career technical and adult education for Lawton County Public Schools. I'm going to allow my colleague to introduce herself. Good afternoon. My name is Lisa Marie Horvatinovich. I'm the chair of the Career and Technical Education Advisory Committee. Good evening, Dr. Spence, Chair Chandler, and members of the board. We are pleased to share a few updates on the collaboration between our Career and Technical Education Advisory Committee and the Division of Career and Technical and Adult Education. As we have shared over the course

[00:11:30] of the past year, we are continuously seeking opportunities to grow and enhance career and workforce development for our students. Whether that is through program expansion or mock interviews, we have prioritized ensuring the business community is with us throughout the process.

[00:11:48] Those members are vital for ensuring that we have real-time insight into the latest technologies, tools, practices that are being used in our fields, helping programs develop an industry-recognized credentials. We also facilitate hands-on experiences like internships, apprenticeships, job shadowing, and site visits to allow students to apply theoretical knowledge in authentic real world work environments. We also provide mentorship and career guidance through experts that are guest speakers, advisors, and networkers. And lastly, we partner with SeaTac to ensure that our students

[00:12:25] are trained on the same tools they will use on the job, making them workforce ready upon graduation. As we review this year, I also want to highlight some of the work and the press that wouldn't be possible without our advisory council members and community partners. Throughout our partnership, we've partnered with data centers like Equinox on International Data Center Day to illustrate to our teachers, counselors, and special education office what a data center really looks like and what the workforce needs. Our CTAC members attended our workforce summit and subsequent roundtable conversations. And lastly, our work on crafting a five-year plan

[00:13:03] was recently highlighted and has been a topic of discussion all year with our advisory committee. These community partnerships, we hope, continue to build opportunities for our students and will be discussed throughout the presentation. Okay, so the committee's purpose, I'm going to give you a key takeaway if you're not familiar, but the key takeaway for our committee is to ensure that we have industry leaders and SMEs and experts that help inform the CTE department, Dr. Grubbs and his team's department, that

[00:13:43] we are representative of what the industry needs, depending on the pathway. So if we go to the next slide, well, it's, can we skip ahead one, sorry. So you'll see that we have additional members to our CTEC committee.

[00:14:01] This year, the school year, I should say, we've grown quite a bit, and we have representation And almost all of the clusters noted in the expansion plan. I'm sorry, the expansion plan.

[00:14:16] So we now have members that represent hospitality. We have members that represent agriculture, software, and coding, et cetera. Now we can go back a slide. I'm sorry about that. So CTE perspectives.

[00:14:33] The meetings are really structured to be engaging and participatory. So if you have been able to attend one of our meetings, you'll see that they're really working group meetings. We're broken up into groups, and we're able to discuss topics and come up with ideas and create a forum in which our industry leaders can express what is working, what is not working, as well as what certifications and standards are expected of the incoming workforce.

[00:15:06] So this is one of the first breakout session groups that Dr. Grubbs and his team had for us in our monthly meeting. One of the most, I think, impactful events that he has hosted with his team is the roundtable, where we were actually in this room and a multitude of industry leaders came and informed us of what they expect or what they do in their profession and what the gap is between what we're seeing in industry versus what our students are receiving in education.

[00:15:43] It was very, very informative. I went between software and coding and it was a very energetic, very lively conversation of what we can do to improve the curriculum we have for our students.

[00:16:00] Next slide, Perkins input. This was probably one of our favorite meetings. This one was held at Inova, and we were able to, again, have another working group meeting where Dr. Grubbs said if we had these Perkins funds, what should we allocate the funds to?

[00:16:22] Where would we put a third of, you know, or broken up into thirds, excuse me, where would we want to allocate these funds to help support across the county facilities, education, certifications, et cetera.

[00:16:39] And so that was one of our first as a CTEC member for a couple years now. That was one of our first opportunities to really dive into the Perkins plan and understand what was going on and where the funds are allocated. So it was really great insight for I think the CTEC members, but also I think we as a committee provided a lot of good input to the team. So opportunities for growth. Again, new pathway input. Again, I really encourage you to come to one of our meetings if you haven't been able to.

[00:17:12] It's really, really engaging and very, very active. And Dr. Grebs has done a really great job of encouraging everybody to have a voice and provide input. Curriculum development is part of that. Industry credentials, I've touched on that as well. You know, what are the credentials we offer now? How relevant are they for the future workforce? And looking ahead, what is going to be relevant, right? How long is that shelf life of those certifications that we have? Upgrading equipment in existing labs in high schools and middle schools. Last meeting, I learned that there

[00:17:49] is a fancy pot tilter thing. My husband knows what it is. But in one of our high schools, which is great for the culinary arts, right? And really representative of what they would see in a bigger restaurant environment. Support of the accreditation 3E model, I think that goes without saying everything, all the work that Dr. Grubbs and his team has done has really supported either empowering, encouraging, or educating our future. Career investigations, middle school, this has been a topic of conversation for many, many years, even on a personal note, but in high school we do a lot

[00:18:28] of career investigation, but really the belief is that it needs to be a middle school. The kids are introduced and exposed to a lot more than, you know, I was, you know, in middle school. So I think that's one of the important takeaways is that our middle school students are bombarded with a lot of opportunities or see a lot of opportunities, whether it be on social media and understanding what really their interests are needs to start earlier.

[00:18:59] And then supporting our work-based learning teachers. Our work-based learning teachers have been excellent. They have really empowered us as industry representatives to be a part of the school system, which didn't necessarily exist prior.

[00:19:16] So job for a day, I'm an engineer, so e-week is really important to us. shadowing, even outside of job for a day, the symposium at ACL, just really engaging in the community and reaching out to industry partners and creating new partnerships has blossomed over the last year. Before we open up for Q&A, I just want to echo the support and the work our community partners have given. Lisa has been an amazing partner in this work, from hosting leaders in

[00:19:51] the school system, to doing tours, to showing up when we just need an all call for judges for our CTSO events. I just want to highlight that CTAC, as Lisa mentioned, we had 150 people apply for 22 positions. And when we hear things like the school system's expansion plan or Mike's expansion plan, it's really the school system, the community's expansion plan. And the business community and Lisa shaped that as much as my team and I have as well. And I cannot thank her enough.

[00:20:20] We have put up some questions for the board. We'd love to hear from you. What are topics that you would like to be more involved in as it relates to CTE and workforce development and what can CTAC do to support the school system and CTE better so we would love to get feedback and hear from you all on next steps thank you all right thank you so much for the presentation thank you for being here it's lovely to see you and and I really would like to express how grateful we are for the work that you're continuously doing for the school division thank you and with that I will say I found it very I do find it very exciting to hear the opportunities are

[00:20:59] going to be conveyed to middle school students I think it's it's just there's so many things that are available in Loudoun County and I'm glad that we're able to harness all of that and and make it available for our students just to consider and try and see what suits them so with that actually could we have the questions back up on the board board members since we have specific questions Let's start with what are the topics you'd like to be more involved in. I'll open the floor. I'm sure enough Thank you, madam chair, and thank you so much for being here

[00:21:36] I know we've kind of already jump-started this conversation behind the scenes that we had the pleasure of having sort of a CTE presentation at special programs and centers committee and so in my newness to that committee I have I didn't really have a clear understanding of how Special programs and centers sort of work in tandem or alongside or separate from CTE And I really appreciated that that presentation Sort of highlighted the different lanes if you will that kids can take and the different exploration options that we have I had kind of thought they were one in the same and I've learned that they aren't

[00:22:11] And so I think kind of having those clarifications as we're evolving through this five-year plan as we're also still having those exciting conversations around special programs and centers and what that development can also look like. So just maybe a clearer understanding in the future of how those two things are related for the public as well as they begin to have access to more and more options for their students and for students, too, so that they know what they're experiencing or what they can experience. Thank you.

[00:22:38] Thank you. Mr. Stinson. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you both for the presentation and for all the work that you're doing on CTE here in LCPS. it's really amazing to see how far LCPS has come on this and it's an amazing model for our students and in terms of topics I was I love the presentation we received in curriculum instruction the other day on rethinking our middle school scheduling and this is a great opportunity for us to think about as you all discuss how do we incorporate CTE into the middle school schedule and make these opportunities available for our younger students as they're just beginning to think about their careers and what they might

[00:23:18] want to do after school. So I'm looking forward to being, you know, having you all as the advisory committee involved, you know, in those conversations with our teaching and learning staff and involving us as the board. I think it'll be an exciting time for us as we put the middle school schedule together. Thank you.

[00:23:35] Thank you. Any further questions? Yes, Ms. McCarty. Thank you, Madam Chair. So I might hit the second one, the second question if we can, if we're good for that one. Are you ready to move on? Let's go with I don't know, I might do both.

[00:23:50] Oh, go for it. Maybe a little bit of both. Thank you both for doing that, for all that you guys are doing. I've really enjoyed being the liaison between the board and SeaTac so far. We've had a really great time. We had a great opportunity to go up to New York and see the Aviation High School a couple weeks ago, which was amazing.

[00:24:06] I think one of the things, and we've talked about this a little bit, I think families, we've got to do a lot of marketing. Like, we're just doing so many great things here in LCPS with all these different programs, all these different opportunities.

[00:24:22] It's an amazing thing that our students have so many great choices of programs. And I don't think families know enough and hear enough about that. So I'm really hoping that as we continue to expand both the plan and in practice what we're actually doing, that we do a lot of work around the communication and marketing side of this because it's just astounding the choices that we have available and it's exciting and we have a lot of industry partners that are very very engaged in this process so I want to thank you both for

[00:24:56] that I think from the topics piece of this too and as we're looking at the plan itself something that would be really helpful is to understand I think we kind of talked about this a little bit about kind of the sort of I'm not gonna say decentralizing but the pushing out of programs to the school, more of the schools, and then what the plan is long-term with the academies and having that be a hub.

[00:25:20] So I think some communication around that would be super helpful, too, because I think that's just really exciting. I mean, I think the more that we can get more students engaged, you know, as you said, even at the middle school level, I think is phenomenal. So you guys are doing a fantastic job. This is not a small undertaking by any stretch of the imagination.

[00:25:39] And the innovation that you all are and the whole team are showing around this is just, it's inspiring. So thank you both. Thanks. Thank you. Mr. Pepper. Thank you, Madam Chair.

[00:25:54] And thank you for just the amazing work you're doing. I kind of waited because I felt like this was more in line with the second question than the first. One of the things I'd love for you to do, and we talk a little bit about this in specialized programs and centers, is the connection between CTAC and the new IB career program that we're putting in.

[00:26:12] As you know, part of that program is students have to partner with businesses in the community and take on roles in addition to all the other really cool things to do in that program, like write a resume. So looking at CTAC as a really nice bridge to partner with those teachers, teaching within the CP pathway and doing the reflective project would be a really, really important goal for us.

[00:26:38] And so I hope that you consider that moving forward. That's great feedback. Thank you. Thank you. Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to piggyback a little bit on resume writing and DECA and all that stuff, I have put myself out there a little bit.

[00:26:54] If you wanted me to do any career courses or anything on writing resumes and presentation, I would be happy to do that. I haven't had a full discussion with you yet, Dr. Grubbs, But I will say thank you because when I do have ideas or thoughts, I'm able to go right to you and discuss it.

[00:27:15] So I don't really have a lot to add except that I think you're very open-minded as far as what we can do with our students. So thank you so much. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you. Anyone else want to weigh in on the first or second question?

[00:27:35] Seeing no further questions, thank you so much for the presentation. Thank you so much. Thanks for having us. With that, we'll move on to item number five, our work session, item 5.01, Department of Business and Financial Services, Fiscal Year 28, Budget Work Session.

[00:27:50] This will be presented tonight by Ms. Willoughby and Mr. Jones.

[00:28:15] Good evening, school board. This is the school board's official kickoff to the FY28 budget process, and today I will provide some high-level fund projections and introduce our strategic budget plan. I'm also joined by Mr. Jones, our Budget Financial Analytics Director, who will provide an update on measurable outcomes for the new FY27 budget investments.

[00:28:38] I wanted to begin by grounding us in where we have been for the past three consecutive years with LCPS having a fully funded budget. Having one fully funded budget is a rare accomplishment and having three in a row is truly unprecedented and is the result of effective budget planning, cohesive presentations, and a strong partnership with the Board of Supervisors who share our commitment to our students.

[00:29:03] That level of consistent support has allowed us to stabilize operations, invest in our staff, and continue delivering high-quality educational opportunities for our students. It's also important to acknowledge that as a board, none of you have had to go through a budget reconciliation process.

[00:29:21] Budget reconciliation requires difficult decisions, trade-offs, and prioritization when available resources do not fully align with the request. It is a very different kind of governance work than what you have experienced so far. As we look ahead, this context matters.

[00:29:38] Full funding in recent years does not insulate us from the financial pressures before us. Enrollment changes, rising costs, and broader economic conditions are shifting the landscape. We are entering a phase where sustainability, prioritization, and return on investment must guide our decisions more than ever.

[00:29:57] Tonight's discussion is about building on that strong foundation while also preparing for what comes next, ensuring that the decisions we make are aligned, transparent, and sustainable for the long term. I look forward to walking you through where we are, what we're seeing ahead, and how we can continue to make responsible student-centered decisions together.

[00:30:20] I want to highlight an important aspect of how we manage our finances at LCPS. Our budget work is not a single, once-a-year process. It is continuous and it operates across two parallel year-round cycles. First, we have our operating budget cycle.

[00:30:35] This is what most people think of when they hear the budget. It supports the day-to-day functioning of the school division from staffing, instructional programs, transportation, utilities, and the services that directly impact students and classrooms. Within the operating budget, there are multiple funds that serve a specific purpose, and together they make up the full picture of our annual operations.

[00:30:58] At the same time, we are managing a capital budget cycle. This is focused on our long-term investments in facilities, maintaining, repairing, and renovating our existing schools as well as addressing infrastructure needs to ensure safe efficient learning environments given that we are not currently experiencing significant enrollment growth our capital focus is less on building new schools and more on stewardship of the assets that we already have like the operating side the capital program also includes multiple funds each aligned to different types of projects these two cycles run concurrently and are connected decisions we make in the capital budget

[00:31:36] budget such as major renovations or system upgrades can have direct and lasting impacts on the operating budget through ongoing maintenance and operational costs. Understanding that we are always managing both of these processes at once is key. It reinforces the complexity of our financial planning and the importance of taking a comprehensive long-term view as we make decisions.

[00:31:57] I also want to emphasize that our work on the FY28 budget is already underway. While it may feel a little early, this reflects the continuous nature of our budget development process and the level of thought required to plan responsibly.

[00:32:14] We have already begun internal reviews of our base budget, taking a close look at ongoing operations, core programs, their return on investment, and historical spending trends. This is a critical step in ensuring that what we are currently funding continues to align with our priorities and is delivering value for our students.

[00:32:33] At the same time, we are planning for engaging stakeholders to gather input on both operating and capital budget priorities. This includes perspectives from staff, leadership, and the community to help inform our thinking as we move forward. You'll also see that we are actively reviewing and refining our budget book and presentation materials to strengthen how we communicate financial information.

[00:32:54] This work is intentionally aligned with the standards established by ASBO and GFOA for Distinguished Budget Awards with an emphasis on clarity, transparency, and clearly connecting resources to student outcomes and organizational priorities.

[00:33:09] If you look back at prior budget books and presentations, you will notice a steady evolution in both structure and content. Each year we refine how information is organized and presented to ensure it is as accessible and easy to understand as possible while still providing the appropriate level of detail in the budget book for those who want to go deeper.

[00:33:30] For example, two years ago, we added a new appendix report at Mrs. Chernoff's request to provide more specific information on those budget requests. That addition reflects our ongoing effort to respond to board feedback and improve the usefulness of the document for decision-making and transparency.

[00:33:48] The team is continuing this work by valuing what is most helpful to stakeholders, reducing unnecessary complexity, and improving visual presentation and narrative explanations so so that the budget tells a clear, more coherent story about priorities, investments, and impact.

[00:34:05] And finally, we are being intentional about planning for ongoing collaboration with the School Board throughout both the operating and capital budget development processes. As we've discussed, the work ahead will require thoughtful prioritization, and that makes early and consistent engagement even more important.

[00:34:24] Before we get into the specific numbers, I want to take a moment to introduce why we're shifting to a multi-year forecast and what it represents for our budgeting approach historically much of our focus has been on building and balancing a single year budget that approach worked in a period of enrollment growth and consistent funding increases but as we've discussed we are now entering a new era of budgeting one defined by slower or declining revenue growth increasing cost pressures and the need for long-term sustainability a multi-year forecast allows us to look beyond just the next fiscal year and begin to understand the trajectory

[00:35:00] of our financial position over time. It helps us identify not just whether we are balanced today, but whether the decisions we make today remain sustainable two, three, or four years down the road. This is an important shift. It moves us from a primarily annual decision-making model to a more strategic forward-looking approach, one that highlights financial imbalances earlier and gives us more time to plan what you're about to see is an initial simplified version of that forecast it is not meant to predict the future with precision but rather to illustrate the

[00:35:37] direction we are heading under a defined set of assumptions and with that context i will now walk you through the model for this slide we are looking at a simplified multi-year forecast for the operating fund designed to illustrate the financial pressures ahead as a reminder we typically focus on the change in revenues and expenses from one year to the next, not the entirety of the $2 billion operating fund budget. To keep this as clear as possible, this model

[00:36:09] isolates just two key variables, additional county funding and new compensation costs. Everything else is held constant. There are no assumed changes, positive or negative, in state or any other revenue streams. Additionally there is zero net FTE growth. Any reductions in some areas are assumed to offset increases in others such as special education. Also flat operation maintenance costs are assumed where we assume inflationary pressures are absorbed within existing resources

[00:36:45] and also that there is no additional subsidy transfer included for school nutrition. On the revenue side, looking at the revenue row on the table, you can see the projected new county local tax funding declining over time due to less data centers being built. The county has provided a high-level forecast that reflects the leveling off of data center revenues and the resulting allocation shown here. From $101.3 million of new additional county local tax funding for LCPS

[00:37:18] in FY28, reducing down to 77.6 million by FY31. It's also important to note that the county is experiencing similar financial pressures when they are looking at their models as well. On the expense row, we are modeling only compensation increases based on minimum requirements in the collective bargaining agreement for FY28 and FY29, and then continuing those assumptions into FY30 and FY31.

[00:37:48] That includes an annual step increase and a 2% COLA. In addition, we've built in rising health insurance costs with projected premium increases of 14% in FY28 that declines down to an 8% increase in FY31.

[00:38:05] When you bring those two lines together, the picture becomes clear. In FY28 and FY29, you could see that we still would maintain a positive balance to be able to fund other investments. But that by FY30, you can see that those numbers turn red and we start anticipating a shortfall.

[00:38:24] It's, again, important to emphasize that this is not a full forecast, but even with these limited variables, it highlights the imbalance that begins to emerge. The takeaway, though, is that even under very controlled assumptions, compensation growth alone begins to outpace projected revenue.

[00:38:41] That reinforces the need for early planning, thoughtful prioritization, and a clear strategy for long-term sustainability. And finally, adding one more important layer of context, our enrollment is projected to decline over this same period. We are anticipating a decrease from 79,896 students budgeted in FY28 down to 77,914 in FY31 per the most recent CIP.

[00:39:08] That represents a decline of about 2.5% over this time frame. Because our funding is closely tied to student enrollment, this reduction also results in corresponding decreases in revenue over time. While the change is gradual, it further reinforces the downward pressure on available resources and adds to the imbalance shown in this forecast.

[00:39:32] Next on this slide, we build on this scenario. And for this next phase, the budget team looked at a range of scenarios, both low and high, to understand the potential variability in revenues and expenditures. This scenario-based approach provides a more complete view of possible financial outcomes and helps us better frame the uncertainty in the multi-year outlook.

[00:39:55] This particular slide focuses on the high forecast scenario, which incorporates more favorable revenue assumptions and additional variability in costs and establishes the starting point for FY28 budget development. On the revenue side, we are adding a non-county funding stream, which includes potential increases in state aid and other revenue streams.

[00:40:18] FY28 is based on the FY26 through FY28 biennium calculation used in the governor's proposed budget, consistent with VDOE planning guidance and also incorporates the second year of that state biennium budget. This provides a more complete view of anticipated state funding in that cycle.

[00:40:38] This high scenario further reflects positive trend assumptions for sales tax and other revenue sources. Overall, non-county revenue increases from $9.5 million in FY28 to just under $27 million in FY31, reflecting a more favorable funding environment.

[00:40:57] On the expense side, though, we are incorporating two additional factors that are often experienced as we build out the official budget, but were not included in the baseline model shown on the previous slide. First, we are adding incremental base operating costs, including increases in substitutes and overtime.

[00:41:15] Subs historically increase year over year, and with the additional leave provisions included in the collective bargaining agreement, we anticipate the need for even more subs. Overtime increases also would be a factor based on the base pay of employees increasing.

[00:41:32] These are areas that tend to fluctuate with staffing coverage needs and operational demand. Second, we are removing the assumption from the first scenario of flat operations and maintenance and have applied annual inflationary increases on our operating and maintenance accounts. This adjustment reflects the reality that non-compensation costs such as utilities, supplies, and contracted services also continue to rise year over year.

[00:41:57] Combined, these additional base expenditures grow modestly over time from $29 million to $31.7 in FY31. When these additional variables are incorporated, they demonstrate how sensitive the overall position is to changes outside of the core assumptions.

[00:42:15] Even with stronger non-county revenue growth, the addition of more realistic operating cost pressures materially impacts a long-term outlook and further emphasizes the imbalance that we are projecting. Having said all that, it is still important to keep these projections in perspective.

[00:42:34] Multi-year forecasts are intended to identify trends early so adjustments can be made thoughtfully over time. They are not predictions that the organization is in any immediate financial distress. The purpose of this analysis is to provide visibility into future pressure so that we can proactively plan, prioritize resources, and make informed decisions.

[00:42:59] In other words, the sky is not falling. But the forecast does reinforce the importance of disciplined financial planning and continued focus on that long-term sustainability. For context, the low scenario that I mentioned also, while not depicted, does take a more conservative view where revenues are held flat for FY28, for sales tax and our other sources, as well as other assumptions associated with expenses.

[00:43:30] that would make that bottom row of red numbers go even further in the red, ranging from about $15 million to $48 million, depending on that low scenario. As you reflect on that, the key consideration is not just the attention-grabbing red font on the slide, but with a signal about the trajectory and the work ahead.

[00:43:52] Again, as departments build their budgets, decisions will require a steady focus on priorities, trade-offs, and that long-term sustainability that will feed into the development of the superintendent's estimate of needs. This approach would also be continued for school board members once the SION is presented to the school board for their review and adoption.

[00:44:14] I want to step back and also connect the current FY27 adopted budget to what is carrying forward into FY28 because a little over half of these items listed on this slide are not one-year initiatives. They are multi-year commitments or phased implementations that continue to shape our base budget.

[00:44:32] Importantly, the starting point numbers shown in the FY28 budget development on the previous slides may not yet include the full cost of these continuing initiatives, which means they will need to be layered in to continue to refine the forecast. At the center of this slide is compensation, which continues in alignment with the collective bargaining agreements.

[00:44:52] And again, that was the minimum of the 2% COLA and an annual step increase. And that is the only item on the slide that was factored into those forecasts. Several division-wide initiatives are also continuing into FY28.

[00:45:07] The stipend review and remodel remains in progress with FY27 funding providing partial implementation and the expectation was that full or phased implementation would continue into FY28 dependent on available funding. We also see continued investment in instructional and program priorities including dual language immersion, which would require additional language ambassador support if new grades were added.

[00:45:34] On the student support and program side, the RISE Academy continues into FY28, though it is important to note that the principal position is currently funded through a grant that is expected to potentially end in FY29. Similarly, EL program supports continue toward aspirational staffing standards. We made progress in FY27, as you may recall, reaching roughly halfway to the targeted goal, but achieving full inflammation would still require additional FTEs.

[00:46:04] In the area of safety and security, initiatives such as expanded camera AI deployment are planned to roll out in phases, but again, these investments may need to be adjusted or paused based on budget conditions. Other FY27 investments, including student behavior resources, IB expansion, and other items listed on this slide, do not currently have identified additional ongoing costs at this time.

[00:46:29] To get taken together, these priorities reflect a combination of ongoing commitments and phase initiatives and with the exception of compensation, again, they are not built into the FY28 baseline forecast. But again, just want to be fully transparent of all the decisions ahead of the division and the school board.

[00:46:50] Next, let's take a look at the multi-year forecast for the school nutrition fund, which incorporates updated assumptions around both revenues and operating costs. On the revenue side, we are assuming modest increases driven by federal reimbursements, inflationary adjustments for our a la carte pricing, and continued expansion of our supper program.

[00:47:09] At the same time, declining enrollment is reflected in the forecast through slightly lower overall participation volumes over time, which tempers revenue growth even with the assumed price and reimbursement increases. Importantly, this model still assumes no change in participation rates, so the revenue trend is driven by external adjustments rather than shifts in behavior.

[00:47:31] On the expense side, we are assuming no new positions are added, but compensation also shows up here with the annual step and COLA adjustments. We are also including annual inflation on food and supply costs as well. So here, when we bring these assumptions together, the forecast shows a persistent and growing gap over time with expenses outpacing revenues over the forecasted four years, which is similar to information that the school board has received with the school nutrition fund as a result this projection indicates that a future local subsidy will be required to sustain the school nutrition

[00:48:09] fund over the multi-year period we do not anticipate though needing a subsidy for fy28 as the current fund balance should be sufficient to provide any offsets and cover shortfalls efforts though do continue to improve revenues and reduce expenses in this area with the ultimate financial goal of minimizing the amount of that future subsidy. A positive trend is with our health self-insurance fund, and this is the last fund that I will give a brief overview. On the revenue side, we see increases driven by annual premium adjustments and a gradual increase in the

[00:48:47] number of retirees participating in the program. On the expense side, no news here, or no new news here, but it continues to be, you know, pharmacy and medical claims. But as you have heard during the FY26 quarterly financial reviews, claims growth is leveling off, and we are assuming gradual alignment more closely with national trends versus the outliers we had been seeing.

[00:49:12] So in this fund, when we combine these assumptions, the fund moves from a slight negative position in FY28 to a modest positive position in subsequent years, indicating that projected premium increases are generally keeping pace with the claims growth. Per policy and best practice, this fund should have a minimum fund balance reserve of 17 percent or two months of claims expenditure. As a self-insured plan we also continue to actively evaluate and refine the benefit structure to ensure the maximum financial affordability for both the division and plan participants while maintaining a

[00:49:48] sustainable long-term funding model. Overall this forecast highlights the positive trends we are seeing with claims but there can be inherent volatility in a self-insured model where financial stability depends on the close alignment between premium setting each year and actual claims experience so now that I have shared a lot of numbers and forecasted what we're seeing over the multi-year forecast the next question becomes how do we respond to what all this is showing us and wouldn't be LCPS if we

[00:50:24] didn't come up with an acronym and so we have developed for our strategic budget plan our aim strategy of align, invest, and maximize. This is what has led us, all that information, to our strategic budget plan, which is a structured approach to addressing those challenges in a disciplined and consistent way. AIM is designed to help guide decision-making in an environment where the resources are more constrained. The AIM framework will be implemented in collaboration with department schools and leadership to guide budget development with the CION serving as the

[00:50:57] final output of this process. This AIM framework, there's a lot of information on this slide. To summarize, the A would stand for aligned resources, and this is where we would intentionally match staffing programs and facilities to student needs. We would focus on using data to evaluate return on investment and ensuring resources are directed to areas that have the greatest impact on student outcomes. I would stand for invest in our students and staff. It's all about prioritizing classroom instruction and direct student support, while also funding programs that directly impact student success.

[00:51:35] It includes making thoughtful investment decisions as well as continuing to recruit, retain, and develop high-quality staff. An M stands for maximize efficiency, which would be focused on how we operate, streamlining processes, reducing waste, and using technology and process improvements to eliminate duplication and improve service delivery.

[00:51:54] The goal is to ensure we are operating as efficiently and effectively as possible. This represents the initial framework and further refines and expands on the process and supports a thoughtful rollout. The initial implementation timeline for the AEM framework and how it will be integrated into our budget development process over the next two budget cycles are presented here.

[00:52:18] For the FY28 budget development process, we will begin by introducing AEM and incorporating it to how we evaluate and build the budget. This also includes launching a new community feedback survey to help guide budget planning discussions and help better understand stakeholder perspectives.

[00:52:35] Importantly, this survey is designed to better understand community priorities, expectations, and perspectives regarding LCPS programs and services, not specific cuts, reductions, or budget tradeoffs. We are not planning on asking the community to work through financial details or respond to deficit projections in financial scenarios.

[00:52:57] Instead, this initial survey is intended to identify which programs, services, and supports the community values most within LCPS, providing insight to inform future planning discussions. As we develop the survey in collaboration with the research team, we welcome school board input throughout the process.

[00:53:16] And in addition to developing the survey, it says, well, questions, we may be looking more at just a question of more of a thought exchange of a more open-ended process. Staff will also work with communications, with our communications team, to develop a communication and marketing plan help ensure stakeholders understand the purpose of the survey and have meaningful opportunities to participate if you school board members have any proposed questions or thoughts or specific areas you would like to be included for consideration i would please ask you to submit them to me by

[00:53:50] friday june 5th so that we can consider them as we develop what this survey would look like then the draft survey the the question the framework would be brought back to the board as an information-only item at the final school board meeting in June on June 23rd.

[00:54:11] The survey rollout is planned for late August after school begins to help maximize participation and engagement across our stakeholder groups, with final results being shared as part of the school board's budget retreat in late September. At that school board budget retreat, we will also fully review the AIM framework with the board, conduct an initial review of base budget programs, and take a closer look at benefit plans and premium structures as part of the broader financial picture.

[00:54:39] Looking ahead to the FY29 budget development, we anticipate that AIM would be fully embedded across the entire budget process. This would include full implementation of all AIM components in budget development and expanded community feedback to include sessions to continue strengthening engagement with the community.

[00:54:59] Overall, this timeline reflects a phased approach beginning with introduction and integration in FY28 and moving toward full implementation in FY29, ensuring that the framework is thoughtfully rolled out, tested, and refined. So that has been a lot of information so far, and we still have some more information to share.

[00:55:22] But I wanted to just take a moment to pause because I've shared high-level numbers for three of our funds. I've introduced the AIM strategy and also the concept of a new feedback survey. And so there's a couple of questions on this slide to give you an opportunity to reflect on the questions or any other feedback that you may want to initially share before we continue on.

[00:55:47] Well, thank you for that opportunity, board members. The floor is yours. Anyone want to jump in on the questions? Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Madam Chair.

[00:56:03] And thank you for this honest and transparent pivot that I think we're going to all be embarking on together. it I know it I'm really grateful for several things that you are presenting one is a sort of a forecast out across a couple of years I think that that's something that is you know not only very much needed but I think appreciated given you know the outlook that we're facing I also appreciate that it's very nuanced and then there's a lot of context around this so looking at the questions the first question for me like given the financial outlook what are are the non-negotiables this is where I'm really really glad that we have

[00:56:41] implemented the PMC committee and that we are looking at data and we are starting to overlay that data with is this working is it not because for me something that's non-negotiable are things that have been proven to drive student outcomes and so that is and a big piece of that I think is also going to be supporting our staff and not giving on that either so those pieces for will be sort of the starting place and then beginning to analyze what are what is driving that and are there things that may not be doing that so well and are those some of the trade-offs that we need to make and so segueing into the

[00:57:17] second question it says you can pick one or two so following the rules you know when I it's no secret when I got on the board it was it's overwhelming there's a lot of information there's a lot of context this is a large division and there's lots of different ways the funding gets spent and in my first year on the board I kept asking like how do I know what the trade-offs are now we were in a surplus budget then so we we had we didn't really need to make a lot of trade-offs so we're kind of at that place now where we are going to have to and so for me I'm I'm going to be relying heavily on Dr. Spence working

[00:57:52] with cabinet and staff to prioritize their own departmental budgets and be honest about looking at those things with a critical eye and bringing trade offs to the table I think is going to be an important conversation for us to have as a board and I think that that's really tough to do but I think in the long run we have made a lot of investments over the years some that we're seeing great gains from and some maybe not as much and I think having honest analysis of that is really important moving forward so I'm appreciative of this conversation I know there's a second part of the

[00:58:29] conversation coming so I'll save my other comments for them thank you thank you mr. pepper thank you madam chair I know it's I think we all sit here and look at this in a way that you see the red numbers and it's not the great news but I appreciate having time to prepare for what's coming out of line that's incredibly important is that we have time to prepare and really start to ask these difficult questions so I like this I'll look at number one I think the non-negotiable is, I agree with Ms. Sheridan here, taking care of our staff, right? Continuing to support their efforts through our process of

[00:59:09] collective bargaining to ensure that, you know, we're an employer of choice and we're a destination of choice where educators want to be because of all the things that we have. So that's definitely something that I think we have to prioritize more than anything else. And I will go with the third question here I really would want to see kind of the second thing fewer programs at full strength right I know that a lot of our programs are important they do great things but as we look we really have to measure our programs based on their effectiveness if something is working or it's only reaching it or isn't working particularly well or it's in terms of student outcome or student

[00:59:48] growth or it's only reaching a really limited number of students who may be better served or could be served in a different manner it's asking those hard questions because I think if you do something with a half measure it's not going to be nearly as effective as if you go full bore into it and so I think that's where I'm leading with question three two and four are hard so I'm going to leave it to those two questions but I really appreciate your chance to weigh in on this thank you mr. Svinson thank you madam chair just picking up on what mr. pepper was speaking to ensuring we're supporting our staff I think about

[01:00:25] you know we're looking at this from the from the LCPS budget but our staff is going to be looking at their family budgets over the coming years and with the cost of living crisis in this county in this country we have to make sure that we are having these good pay and benefits at LCPS to make sure we're retaining the teachers because as Ms. Chernoff noted that's you know that's ingredient number one for making sure our students are succeeding in the classroom so in terms of non-negotiables it's making sure that we're supporting our employees as as we face you know rising costs or less revenue coming in families including our educators are facing that as well and I'll say that

[01:01:03] that's true for our students and families and I think one great investment we made in this past budget was to get rid of the the course fees for performing arts and career and technical education and I think that it's important for us to make sure that financial cost is not a barrier for LCPS students in participating in our the program that programming that we the amazing programming that we have here at LCPS and I'm kind of peeking ahead at your next slide here so it's you can see how these are outcome focused and if you're looking at the at the staff this the staff piece of the next slide making

[01:01:41] sure that we're paying our educators well and have benefits it's speaking to retention and then for that student section of the slide that's making sure that they're they're proficient by having good educators but also on that course fee piece it we're increasing their participation and engagement and that's measurable so I am I think this will be a really important conversation for us as a board to talk about those trade-offs but I just wanted to share my thoughts on that thank you Dr. Rashid thank you chair Chandler I just wanted to piggyback off of what mr. Svensson mentioned about staffing and I'm always

[01:02:18] curious to know about whether additional staffing in special programs and I'm all for special programs of course if additional staffing in the special programs would lead to a decrease in staffing in general education like for our traditional schools so like for example if you have more kids in AGLS does that mean fewer classes in our home based schools so so even though I know that one program would reduce general staffing I mean not one program would not reduce would reduce a general staffing I wonder if the special programs would do that so it's just a thought and thank you for the information

[01:02:55] thank you okay well I'll take a chance I will say starting at the beginning I am pleased that the board has prioritized over the last several years trying to right-size the salaries for staff through the collective bargaining and agreement but also by really taking the opportunity to apply funds where they were available to try to make a long-term difference.

[01:03:25] Because it is incredibly difficult to manage living here, with the cost of living being what it is. And I'm grateful that we've made that prioritization and hope that we will continue to do so. And I would also like to say there are certainly some issues that are problematic that we have no control over.

[01:03:46] The cost of gas, the cost of food, those are all-- It's hard to imagine making those trade-offs, but I think as long as we look forward and communicate clearly and continue to have these conversations, that we can face what's coming.

[01:04:06] And I will just say, I'll start by commending the team for being ahead and taking a long-term forecast and preparing us for what's coming. It'll be much more manageable because we're well-informed, and we can extend that to our families and the community as well.

[01:04:25] - Thank you so much for all that feedback. That is very helpful. And at this point, I will turn it over to Mr. Jones. - Thank you. Each of the school board's investments for FY27 are designed to achieve specific outcomes for our empowered students, our exemplary staff, and our enriched school division.

[01:04:43] As you may recall from FY27 budget development, one of the process improvements introduced this year was to identify measurable outcomes for each new investment in order to track results and inform future decisions. As shown on this chart, The school board's FY27 new investments are intended to make improvements in student proficiency, participation and engagement and behavior, staff retention, efficiency, training, proficiency and safety, and process efficiency for our school division.

[01:05:13] The investments for each category will have their own set of metrics and reporting cycles based on the implementation timeline and when outcome data will be available for reporting and analysis. Additionally, we are still evaluating the best delivery method. may include combining outcome metrics with our quarterly financial reports or aligning them with other regular reports submitted by departments to the school board, among other methods.

[01:05:37] This and the following two slides describe the specific outcome type, timeline, and frequency by which staff intends to have outcome data available to report to the school board. As you can see on this slide for new investments focused on our empowered students, data for each investment will be available at different touch points during FY27.

[01:05:56] include investments to establish boys volleyball girls wrestling and girls fight football where we anticipate having participation data available quarterly throughout the year whereas the investments to eliminate performing arts course fees at the middle school and high school level will have data available annually at the end of the school year outcome metrics related to school board's investments in our exemplary staff will similarly be available based on implementation timing as well as how the investment would affect staff and operations some data such as workers compensation claims as an indicator of employee safety improvements from our new MANT trainers

[01:06:31] will be available on a quarterly basis beginning at FY27. Other investments, however, such as the staff retention and proficiency improvements resulting from additional coaching support will not be available until FY28 after employees have had an opportunity to work with the coaches and apply new skills and techniques. And finally, we have the school board's new investments in our enriched school system. We anticipate being able to collect and report preliminary outcome metrics following the first quarter of FY27. And across all of our new investments, we look forward to being able to collect, assess, and report on these outcome metrics to continue transparency

[01:07:08] and inform future budget investment decisions. I will now turn it back to Ms. Willoughby to review next steps for the FY28 budget process. So let's connect back to the beginning of the presentation and the budget development work ahead for the school board across both the operating budget and the capital budget cycles.

[01:07:32] This timeline here outlines how the board will engage in both the operating and capital sides of the budget process over the next 12 months. The process will officially begin with the adoption of the FY28 capital budget calendar and the attendance zone change process calendar, formally launching the capital budget cycle here in, I can't remember the date, I think this is on an upcoming agenda, but in that May to June timeframe before the school board takes a recess.

[01:08:02] In August, the board will hold a capital budget work session and improve the operating budget calendar, setting the structure for the year ahead for the operating budget. A key milestone will be the September school board budget retreat that I shared information about earlier.

[01:08:19] Moving into the fall, the focus shifts more heavily to capital budget development, including continued work and the incorporation of enrollment information that directly informs the operating budget planning. And in December, the board ping-pongs back to the capital budget when it adopts the capital program.

[01:08:39] During the same time frame, though, we are also planning for two school board operating budget work sessions, an increase from the single session that we held in prior years. These sessions will include updated information, including the county fiscal outlook that we received during this time frame.

[01:08:56] And then in January, the superintendent will present his estimate of needs to the school board, followed by additional operating budget work sessions that culminate in the adoption of the budget in February. And as always, there is the hope that this will result in a fourth consecutive fully funded budget, allowing us to avoid a reconciliation process.

[01:09:18] There is a significant amount of work ahead across both budgets, and this timeline is intended to provide clarity structure and some predictability as we move through it together. I also want to emphasize that this is a two-way ongoing, you know, process around developing the budget.

[01:09:39] We will continue to keep you informed of progress, emerging challenges, and key assumptions, and we will actively seek your feedback on priorities as the process evolves. At the same time, this is meant to be interactive as well, so at any point you can reach out directly to me to ask questions, request additional information, or even schedule individual budget meetings.

[01:10:00] As we prepare for the school board budget retreat in September, feedback from the board will be especially helpful. As noted earlier, we plan to bring forward more detail on the base budget, the AIM budget development framework, compensation and benefits, the community survey results, and other key budget components.

[01:10:19] Finally, I want to acknowledge the continued work of our budget team who are reviewing the Sion budget book and presentation materials as we continue to refine and improve our process, particularly as we enter this new budget era. The budget book, again, has evolved over time and is intended to serve as an effective communication tool that meets the high standards of both ASBO and GFOA as referenced earlier in this presentation.

[01:10:46] Since January, we have also received feedback on potential improvements to the process, the budget book, and presentations, including discussions at the Finance and Operations Committee. We are incorporating suggestions where appropriate and where there are additional proposed changes, We are seeking thoughtful and consensus-based feedback, recognizing that budget adoption is a responsibility of the full board.

[01:11:09] Ultimately, our role is to support you through the entire budget process, from initial development through final adoption, by providing clear information, thoughtful analysis, and ongoing partnership at every step. And with that, that concludes my presentation.

[01:11:25] this time I would draw your attention to documents and board docs that mrs. Riccardi has uploaded and I will turn it over to mrs. Riccardi yes miss Riccardi thank you madam chair and thank you guys for this presentation I'm actually really excited about the data pieces that you all have proposed and I don't know where that you know I always think PMC but maybe finance but maybe some other departments to our other committees too so it'll be really interesting to see how we decide to where that decides to get funneled but I think it's going to be really helpful to have that information as we move

[01:12:01] forward so what I wanted to do right now is in board docs you have four attachments that I've that I put in there one is what I'm calling the board budget book and then there's three examples and I'll walk you through what those look like in just a second but as we get started I really kind of want to be clear about what I'm proposing tonight it's not one new document to stand by itself but really I think a second volume to the Sion as we're continuing to to move forward here it uses information that we already have

[01:12:37] it's not a replacement it's not a critique of the Sion and it's not a finance document for finance people I'm really hoping that this is becomes a board document in plain language with the kind of detail that every member of the board needs to make good decisions for the families of Loudoun County there are three reasons why this really matters and not just in next year but in the years coming forward. Number one, as we've seen, is money is getting tighter. So Mrs. Willoughby's forecast tonight tells the story. You know, money's okay for next year, but we're looking, you know, as we look at 2030, we're looking at a potential deficit and it gets a bit kind of bigger from

[01:13:14] there. The school, with the school nutrition fund and other funds as well. And then when money is tight, the board has to make hard choices about what to keep, what to grow, and what to cut back on. To make those choices well, every board member has to see clearly what each part of LCPS is doing, how much it costs, and what we'd be giving up.

[01:13:34] And this document is the way that we can do that. And the Sion currently isn't really kind of designed and built for that. We're changing our entire financial computer system as well with the new ERP system coming in. And while we're in the middle of doing that, it'll help change how every piece of budget information can be collected and reported.

[01:13:54] And it's the biggest change to our financial operations, I would assume, in quite some time. The right time to decide what the board sees in that new system is right now while we're in the middle of building that out. If we wait, we have to bolt together varying reports and processes.

[01:14:11] So if we get ahead of that now, it's also a cost savings. The other piece of this is that the board has about six weeks every year, between January and February, to take a look at an extensive amount of data and information.

[01:14:26] And I think the biggest piece of this board budget book right now is it's literally going to give us that insight into every department, every program, every school so we can really understand the pieces and the components and be able to see the effectiveness and the reach that every program has. I also want to address the question that I kind of expected tonight about you know where this idea came from. I spent a lot of time taking a look at the GFOA award and the ASBO awards that we've been receiving for many years and the qualifications and the criteria for both of those and I also took a look at several other large systems to see how bigger systems than ours are actually presenting budget

[01:15:06] information which I thought was really helpful and useful and I'm really impressed that LCPS holds both of these awards the ASBO award for 25 years in a row and the GFOA award going back nearly two decades and that's real it's an earned recognition for Miss Willoughby and the finance team and nothing in this conversation is to diminish that but here's the distinction that I want to make to the board the awards tell us our budget document contain certain required elements and they don't tell us or the board how excuse me they don't tell us how whether or not the board can actually use that document to really help govern and those are two really really different things

[01:15:44] the board budget book is built around a different question can the board actually do its job with the current document in a deficit year that's the question that really matters LCPS has three formal budget documents that we talked about today we've talked about the see on which is our operating budget We've talked about the SIP and the CAP budgets as well.

[01:16:07] The operating budget covers what LCPS spends, but it's not designed to tell the board on one page or for one department how they're doing, how their budget has changed over time, or how many staff it has, and what the priorities are for that year.

[01:16:24] So what I'm proposing tonight is not a replacement for the operating budget. It's a companion to it. It takes the financial information already in the operating budget and reorganizes it by department and by school so that every part of LCPS, every team, and every school has a section.

[01:16:42] We'll know how much things cost, what changed from the previous year, how many staff are in it, what's new this year, and how it ties to our strategic plan. We already have all the information. We're simply talking about putting it together in a way that every board member and every parent in the audience can actually use it.

[01:17:02] So there's three examples in board docs. One is a school example. And you'll be able to literally flip in this book and take a look at all the schools within your district or across the division. That in one page, basically understand the total operating dollars going to that school, the teachers, the instructional assistants, the school administration, custodians, food service, everything.

[01:17:26] How that compares to the previous year, the number of students enrolled in the school, the cost per student, and perhaps additional information as far as new reading specialists or other things that we want to add to the school. It's going to be one page per school.

[01:17:43] And then same thing for all the schools, middle, high school, and elementary. On the flip side of that, there's an example in here of an operating budget, operational department budget, again fictitious. So I want you to understand that the three examples that are in there are based on fictitious but similarly situated departments.

[01:18:02] We'll be able to understand the entire budget for the department, how it compares to the last year, the number of staff, what's being proposed for the upcoming year, what's continuing, and how it ties to our strategic plan. This kind of insight is going to provide all of us an awful lot of information, and it's going to really help us be able to understand at a much deeper level how we're actually operating and help us with trade-offs as we move forward into this.

[01:18:30] One of the things I think that's really important, and when you look at the outline, you'll be able to see it. In the outline itself, you'll note that there are several items in here that have a star, and it says Proposed New Section. Those are sections of data that don't have visibility in the Sion.

[01:18:47] there's 19 of them and I think that's important for us to understand too is that the CION budget is not intended for us to go deep down into all these different departments but understanding that those sections in the CION that these sections are not in the CION right now and so we don't have insight into them and I think that's kind of the biggest biggest piece of this so I have some examples in here there's an academic department again these are all fictitious but an academic department and operational department and an aggregate an aggregated view of sample division of high schools in year so you can kind of see what a school example would look like as well and with that I'm

[01:19:25] just going to kind of let it let it go here because I know we've got about ten minutes before break and I want to make sure we've got time to discuss and see if anybody has any questions thank you mr. Cardi board members are there any questions sure enough thank you madam chair and thank you mr. Cardi and team for working this through FNO and kind of figuring out where we can go I mean we're at a crossroads here you said a new era so I'm definitely open to the addition of more information I mean I think the Sion on its own I mean we talked this week I've come to understand it because I've had time with it and so

[01:20:05] it took a lot of time to learn it and to understand it and I really do think that the in the context within that book of what the departments are doing why that has value why the different changes are being proposed is really important also the historical look at the numbers across time and the staffing and the different changes in FTEs is something that I really value across at a high level I am also curious about this idea of having new information presented my wondering is as we approach our September board work session you

[01:20:41] mentioned earlier a question that I had asked was sort of a structural question meant you know a few years ago and I basically said like I'm gonna ask for this every year so just heads up and now it is part of the appendix which I greatly appreciate and hopefully it has been beneficial to others as well it certainly has been beneficial to me so I can already feel some of those structural questions starting to form just even in as we address some of these new decisions so what I would like us to think about as we frame this potential

[01:21:15] shift in a second book that's more board curated is a look back at questions that have been historically asked and also start to think now between now and September about what structural things we might need to know about in order to enact some of these high leverage trade-offs is what I'm gonna call them for now. So my question to the team is not really for Mr. Carty because it's more historical is how does your team look at those questions over time and analyze to drive some of the information into

[01:21:48] the Sion currently and does that occur? Thank you for that question. It does absolutely occur. After each budget adoption the team meets to do a debrief kind of like an after action while things are fresh, what worked well, what maybe could be improved upon.

[01:22:12] And one of the areas that has been specifically targeted is looking at a review of all the school board questions that were asked during the budget cycle. And what the team does is they review those questions to look for areas that, you know what, this is a question that we could have answered in the book, we could have addressed it in the book.

[01:22:35] Some questions may be very nuanced and one-off. But I also think, also, if you were to look historically at the volume of the school board Q&A, the number of questions, it has diminished over time.

[01:22:50] And I think that is indicative of the fact that the team has been responsive. Because when this really first started, it was like, okay, we're getting asked the same question year after year. We need to incorporate it in the book. Like, we need to be up front. Because so much of that has happened, I believe is why you see the number of questions have dramatically gone down.

[01:23:12] It was very, very common that we were well over 100 questions every year. And for the past couple years, I don't, maybe we were maybe right, maybe hit 100, but under. So we definitely use that as a starting point, because if the question was asked, there's a reason why.

[01:23:31] And is there an opportunity to incorporate that into our materials? Because we are in this new era of budgeting, we absolutely are going to have to have a different approach to how we present the information and the materials.

[01:23:47] And those are our conversations that are ongoing right now. That's why we've developed the AIM strategy also. All of this to highlight that the SION and the presentations are the end product of our budget process. and so we're already signaling that we are looking at having to change our process so naturally there would be some natural changes that you could see resulting in the presentations as well as the book itself I had suggested of of an appendix book of this desire of wanting more information as Mrs. Riccardi has mentioned I want to take the opportunity to also level set though

[01:24:26] we do not budget by school we do not budget by school so we would not be able to produce a per school report what is already in the cion enrollment numbers by school the allotments afforded by school there's other key information but I just want to put that out there in terms of programs we have over 160 programs that are currently built into our chart of accounts There are numerous other programs that aren't factored in, that aren't built into our chart of accounts that we could easily run a report for.

[01:25:07] So I also want to just, in terms of what is being asked, the amount of information for 160 programs and what that looks like. We did produce, as part of the FY27 budget, a second document, a board-only document that did provide an additional level of financial information by program, by our line items, by our accounts.

[01:25:34] So I would really, you know, seek feedback if that was helpful, if it wasn't helpful. I also would welcome the opportunity of highlighting of some of the areas identified as not being identified in the sea on the team absolutely and I stand 100% by their work they take their work very seriously and I know they have really reviewed all the materials that have been produced and the feedback ever since January to again where are those opportunities but I also want to highlight I think there could be an opportunity where I would welcome you know perhaps

[01:26:14] individual sessions to help highlight the information that is in the book and as you mentioned Mrs. Chernoff it is it's already a very big book in it we produce information on all the departments and so recognizing the volume of information and it's only and it's aggregated at a department level I'm trying to you know set expectations of how to then produce even more material if we're already you know having some some challenges with how to

[01:26:47] take in all this information. Thank you. Ms. Labelle. First of all I want to thank you for your presentation I know there's a lot of work that went into it and I'd also like to thank Mrs. Riccardi because she did this on her own with maybe about a week to get it together am I correct on that Ms. Riccardi more or One thing that I do like about her presentation is that it makes very clear several things that we all seem to have questions about.

[01:27:27] First of all, what is this department, what does it do, why is it important? Secondly, it tells us a summary of some of the activities that are performed and how much each of these areas actually cost. and it does provide us with a background showing how it grew or diminished over years the part that I like best about this is that at the end of summarizing the department it says what was requested but we didn't put in this year

[01:28:02] so that we know going forward well maybe we needed those extra two people and we should put them in this year or maybe we didn't need them at all and so we it's a good thing we didn't worry about it but it gives us a background of what we thought about what we did and I am well aware that we are not going to be on this board forever all of us together and this would be something that new people can come in to get a sense of you know what what have we been looking at what do I what where should I be looking at this budget and how should I be thinking about it so for those things I think that this is a good model and

[01:28:39] And that's about all I wanted to say on that. Thank you. Thank you. Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm really happy to see this. Thank you, Ms. Riccardi. Thank you, Ms. Willoughby. I'm concerned about a couple things. Cuts, of course, what we can cut, what we don't need. But per the schools, I know it's 100 schools. We're not keeping track. I assume that you had said we're not keeping track of the schools individually.

[01:29:13] per all their their salaries and I absolutely did not say okay okay it sounded like you said absolutely did not say that I want to be very clear okay we do not budget by school budget by school we account expenses by school okay once once FTE allocations are made once allotments are made once other decisions are made by different leaders in terms of once the budget is adopted because once the budget is adopted in February there's still several months of work of then putting that budget into play for the start of school in that manner we do have financial

[01:29:50] reporting by school we are also mandated by code to produce information on our website by school so there's a plethora of other information that is available that i'd be happy to share i apologize um i heard by school and i was like what um yeah because i'm very interested i know it's 100 schools i'm very interested um what they and what they spend their money on and you know i'm curious to know how you even monitor um a lot of things that they do and you know where the money goes sometimes and i'm always curious this is um i thought this was a good example um for for you

[01:30:26] to use or the schools to use as far as where um they're budgeted they're budgeted a certain amount of money and where exactly it's going and we can keep a count so i just wanted to add that um that I do like this document that Ms. Riccardi, well, all the documents Ms. Riccardi has put together, but I thought that was a good one.

[01:30:47] And I apologize for not saying it correctly. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Pepper. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I'll be very brief. I know that this discussion really started out of something that happened in F&O, but one of the things that I've been consistently saying is I think that all of us as a board need to come together and identify for all of us what's working and what's not working, right?

[01:31:10] because this is as a collective as a board we have to decide you know where our priorities are and where the money needs to go in the budget and so what I would like to see before and I know this is a tremendous amount of work and quite a bit to digest and I thank Mr. Carty for doing the tremendous amount of work I'd like to see us as a board talk either in a retreat or in some sort of format about what our budget needs and information truly is and so I'm going to leave at that because i think this is really kind of the collective idea of where the board wants to

[01:31:41] go with the budget thank you okay um i'm going to start with a question um mr carty thank you so much and thank you to the team for the presentation i appreciate everyone's work in trying to improve this process it is not unusual for new processes and policies to start with a virginia school board association template i believe some members of the school board this year may have joined an alternative organization to the VSBA the school board member Alliance of Virginia I'm just curious about whether either of these organizations templates

[01:32:18] were used to develop any of the budget or the new idea of this one no neither one mostly because we have such a large budget compared to most other places is obviously in Virginia which both organizations cover and I was looking out for looking at larger systems than ours because my thought was if I'm looking at Chicago I'm looking at large cities with hundreds upon hundreds of schools if they can do it we can find a way so that was kind of what I was looking at as a

[01:32:56] as a base and then secondly on top of that I took a good look at two the two organizations whose awards we've already won and they were working you know they're working on it to understand those frameworks and then figure out how we can build upon them so that we're getting so basically by adding these as a second part of those budgets we qualify I mean I'm gonna say even more I mean it just it helps to kind of continue reinforcing those awards criteria and providing more transparency in in the documents thank you for that

[01:33:29] clarification I will reflect on a couple of things I feel a little hesitant and for the most part I want to reflect on the fact that the development of the budget is the responsibility of the superintendent and it is an operational responsibility and I appreciate how in my time on the board we have worked together to improve understanding in my service on the board I always think about the fact that we're in service to force that 450,000 Loudoun County citizens and 80,000 Loudoun County Public School students and I would like

[01:34:09] for our work to remain focused on improving processes for those citizens and people and I'm hesitant to add another book I would like to see some continued improvement implied in the primary work and that's that's just where I stand with this and given that it's 602 I will ask are there any next steps Miss Riccardi that you're suggesting for the board's consideration thank you madam chair I mean I think one thing that would be interesting is for us an NFNO to kind of flesh this out a little bit more if

[01:34:47] that makes sense as an action item there or as a info item I mean I think we've just got to work through that a little bit more either I know that there's I believe we've caught most of the big stuff but I definitely want more eyes and to look at this to really see if this makes sense and I'm really looking for more meat on the bones I mean Sion has its own purpose which is the estimate of needs from the superintendent but we have ultimate responsibility for the totality of the budget and this is a way for us to actually see in the inner workings of what's going on to help us make priorities so I think maybe going back to F&O for a meeting or two just to

[01:35:25] really work through that might be a wise move. Thank you. Board members, any other suggestions? I would say I appreciate Mr. Pepper's suggestion that we work on this at a work session. I think there's a lot of value to continue. I'd also be curious if there's a temperature check. Mr. Pepper, do you have a question? I was just going to respond to your question, Madam Chair. I'm sorry.

[01:35:51] Sure. About FNO. I think this is bigger than FNO. I think this is something that the whole board needs to consider as an exercise. So I would appreciate it if we could do it in that manner as opposed to just within the individual committee. Okay at this time I'd like to for the sake of time and ensuring that we have an adequate recess I'd like to take a temperature check. So first I will ask does the board have an appetite to send the proposed board budget book back to F&O? Right.

[01:36:27] Yeah so then as a next step is it the appetite of the board to have this come back in the board work session. All right, that's great. So thank you so much for the presentation and thank you for all of the hard work. And with that, we will recess this meeting for dinner and reconvene at 635.

[01:36:54] The board is now in recess. The board is coming out of recess at this time and will continue

[02:06:51] with item number eight, the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem. Champ Singers is one of John Champ High School's advanced choral ensembles, comprised of students in 9th through 12th grade. Many of these students have participated in all-district choir, all-Virginia choir, the Virginia Music Educators Association Senior Honors Choir, and the American Choral Directors Association Regional Choir. Champ singers received a superior rating at the District 16 Choral Assessment this year, making John Champ High School a blue-ribbon school.

[02:07:23] These dedicated students take great pride in their work, and they are honored to be here this evening. The singers are being led this evening by Melanie Black. Now, everyone, please

[02:07:33] stand for the pledge.

[02:09:39] Absolutely marvelous. Thank you so much for being here tonight. Thank you, everyone. With that, we'll move on to item number nine, recognitions. This is human resources and

[02:10:16] talent development. We'll start us off with our 2026 LCPS service milestone recipients. This will be presented by Miss Carrie Sims and then we will ask Miss Sims to hand over the microphone to Mr. Ferry the director of our athletics and extracurricular activities for the Department of School Leadership LCPS middle school intramural sports recognition and VHSL state championship recognition chair Mansfield if I may I will take a moment to introduce Miss Sims I would love that

[02:10:56] Ms. Boland, thank you so much. You got it. Thank you. Celebrating significant milestones marks not just the passage of time, but the invaluable dedication, expertise, and commitment our employees have poured into this organization. We extend our deepest gratitude to each individual reaching these service anniversaries, recognizing their vital role in shaping our success and fostering a culture of loyalty and growth for years to come. With that, I would like to turn it over

[02:11:29] to Ms. Carrie Sims, our supervisor for employee recognition. Dr. Spence, school board, cabinet, and guests. Tonight, we celebrate four remarkable individuals who have each dedicated 40 years of service and one individual who has reached the 45-year mark in Loudoun County Public Schools.

[02:11:51] They are teachers who have shaped countless young minds with their knowledge and passion, leaving a legacy of excellence on generations of students. Their collective commitment has directly impacted the well-being and success of LCPS students for four decades. We were thrilled to have continued a new tradition in Loudoun last week when Dr. Spence, Dr. Bergen, and Ms. Boland invited these five distinguished employees to lunch, where they learned more about each of these accomplished professionals both inside and outside of the education setting.

[02:12:21] They learned what inspires them in their work, the changes they've seen in the past 40 plus years, and how their families have supported them in their careers. They may have even convinced one of them not to retire at the end of this year. Tonight we honor each of them with their 40 and 45 year service pin, along with an awards packet that contains a certificate, letter from Dr. Spence, and an invitation to select a gift of their choice from our partners at Awards Network.

[02:12:48] Our first honoree is Karen Cooper. Karen began her career in 1986 as a special education teacher at J Lupton Simpson Middle School in 1999 she became a charter staff member at Harper Park Middle School where she has remained for the past 27 years Principal Stacy Huffer has this to say about Karen Karen has a special knack of finding connections with all of her students Particularly those with special needs

[02:13:23] She's a good leader and always tries to look at things from a positive point of view through her thoughtful instruction, she has helped learners of all abilities build confidence, develop essential skills, and achieve milestones that once felt out of reach. Her collaboration with colleagues has strengthened instructional practices in and out of the classroom, and she generously shares her expertise and advocates for inclusive learning. Karen has also built deep trusting relationships with families, guiding and supporting parents through every step of their child's educational journey. During her time with LCPS she has facilitated close to 800 IEP meetings.

[02:14:03] Congratulations Karen.

[02:14:23] While they're taking pictures our next honoree is Kathleen Thompson who could not be here this evening. Kathleen was hired by LCPS in August 1986 at Parkview High School as an English teacher and then opened Stonebridge High School in 2000 where she remained until retiring at the end of 2022. Shortly into 2023, she returned to Stonebridge, where she continues to teach English.

[02:14:55] Principal Tim Flynn shares this about Kathleen. Ms. Kathy Thompson's impact on Stonebridge High School spans generations of students whose lives are better because of her unwavering commitment. A former LCPS Teacher of the Year, she exemplified excellence through her compassion, high expectations, and tireless advocacy for students who needed it most. Her legendary support of our most vulnerable learners ensured not only access, but true success academically and personally. Ms. Thompson didn't simply teach content, she built confidence, created hope and changed outcomes. For thousands of students, she was the difference and her legacy

[02:15:33] will continue to inspire long after her years in the classroom. Congratulations Ms. Thompson. Next we have Sue Waffle. Sue began in LCPS in 1984 as a special education teacher at Sully Elementary School. Five years later, she moved to Sterling Elementary, where she remained until she resigned in 1996. She returned to LCPS two years later, back in the special education

[02:16:09] department at Sterling Elementary. Sue called Countryside home from 2003 to 2017, at which time she became a specialized instructional facilitator of reading in what was then called the Department of Pupil Services, now called the Department of Student Services. In 2019, she took on the role school-based instructional facilitator at Forest Grove. She retired in June of 2025, but that retirement was short-lived as Sue returned to Forest Grove in October of 2025 as a resource teacher where she teaches today. Rhonda Lopez, Forest Grove principal, tells us this about Sue. Throughout her career as a

[02:16:47] special education teacher, she served as a fierce advocate for her students, creating inclusive environments where every child felt empowered to reach their full potential. Transitioning into her role as a school-based instructional facilitator, Sue has become a cornerstone of support for her colleagues, generously sharing her deep pedagogical expertise to mentor both new and veteran teachers. Ultimately, Sue's legacy is defined by the countless lives she's transformed, leaving LCPS a stronger, more compassionate place

[02:17:16] for students and staff alike. Congratulations, Sue. Our next honoree is David Wagner. Mr. Wagner, David was hired in October of 1986 at Loudoun County High School as a social studies teacher and stayed for 14 years until he moved to Parkview High School in 2000,

[02:17:53] where he has remained for the past 26 years in the Social Science and Global Studies Department. Principal Jason Jefferson says this of David. Mr. Wagner is a dedicated and respected member of the Parkview community. For decades, he has worked tirelessly to ensure our seniors are prepared for graduation, academically, personally, and confidently.

[02:18:15] He has a constant presence in our daily after-school academy, providing academic support and encouragement to those who need it most. Beyond the classroom, Mr. Wagner's commitment is felt in both moments big and small. Each year of graduation, he can be found backstage tying ties for our young men, offering last-minute reassurance, wisdom, and life lessons as they prepare to walk across that stage.

[02:18:37] Those quiet, meaningful moments reflect who Mr. Wagner truly is, a mentor who understands that graduating seniors need both guidance and belief. Mr. Wagner has invested in the success of our students. Many seniors have shared that they credit him as a key reason that they are graduating today.

[02:18:54] His impact extends far beyond academics. He has shaped lives. Through his teaching, he has helped seniors understand not only the foundations of government and civic responsibility, but also their own role as informed, engaged citizens. Whether it's hanging signs, supporting school events, showing up at athletic competitions, or doing whatever is needed to support Parkview, Mr. Wagner consistently gives his time, energy, and his heart to his community.

[02:19:20] His 40 years of service represent a legacy of dedication, compassion, and commitment to our students and LCPS. Congratulations, Mr. Wagner.

[02:19:39] We have one more. Sorry. Our final honoree of the night is Sarah Murphy.

[02:19:57] Spent her entire career in LCPS teaching health and physical education. probably explaining why she looks so amazing and has made it to 45 years in education. She began her career in 1981 at Loudoun County High School.

[02:20:15] In 1992, she transferred to Seneca Ridge Middle School and has been there ever since. Nick Cotone, Seneca Ridge principal, and the PE team say this about Sarah. Sarah Murphy is a health and PE teacher that we can all learn from. She has inspired thousands of students over the years to make healthy choices with her creativity and wisdom.

[02:20:35] She creates a positive learning atmosphere that has inspired some of those students to follow in her footsteps. She is well-known in Loudoun County for her dedication and skill. She's had so many students come back and visit her, she's kind of a celebrity. Some famous Sarah quotes.

[02:20:54] Your socks are on the wrong feet. Do you ride the bus or buy your lunch to school? And watch out for that hole. She probably ranks in the top 5% of quick-witted people.

[02:21:11] Sarah's knowledge, skill, wit, research, and heart make her one of the best. She has mentored many other teachers along the way, including everyone in the PE department today. It is an honor to work with her. Congratulations, Sarah.

[02:21:40] Congratulate these five amazing employees for their 40 and 45 years of service to LCPS.

[02:22:12] Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the school board, Dr. Spence, and members of the Loudoun County Public Schools community. It is my honor this evening to recognize an extraordinary group of student-athletes, academic competitors, coaches, sponsors, whose dedication, talent, and perseverance have brought statewide distinction to Loudoun County Public Schools.

[02:22:33] We start off the evening by recognizing our middle school intramural sports champions. First up, we recognize our volleyball champions who took home the title in January, the lightning bolts of Seneca Ridge Middle School.

[02:23:05] Middle school intramural championship recognition is our three-on-three basketball team.

[02:23:27] Please join me in congratulating the Hornets of Harmony Middle School.

[02:23:58] High schools compete at the highest level in athletics and academic activities across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Each season culminates in a state championship competition where only the very best programs and individuals rise to the top. These students have demonstrated what is possible when talent is matched with preparation, when goals are pursued with discipline, when young people are supported by outstanding coaches, teachers, families, and school communities.

[02:24:23] State championships are never accidental. They are earned through countless hours of training, study, sacrifice, and a commitment to excellence. These students have represented their schools, their teammates, and Loudoun County Public Schools with tremendous pride. Tonight, we are proud to celebrate our 2026 VHL winter season state champions, students and teams who do not, students and teams do not earn championships, but who also exemplify the values of discipline, commitment, leadership, teamwork, and excellence.

[02:24:59] Please join me in recognizing the following LCPS teams for capturing the Virginia High School League state championships in their respective sports and activities this winter. Wood Grove High School, Virginia High School League Class 4 State Championship.

[02:25:15] This is the third straight year for the team. Additionally, Coach Skinner was selected as the 2024-2025 Coach of the Year for wrestling by the National Federation of High School Coaches Association.

[02:25:40] Next, we have Rockridge High School, the Virginia High School League Class 4 State Champions in debate.

[02:26:47] Next, we have Freedom High School, the Virginia High School League Class 5 State Champions and Boys Indoor Track and Field.

[02:27:32] Next, we have Light Ridge High School, the Class 5 State Champion in Scholastic Bowl. This is the program's fourth state championship in five years, and the team will be now competing in the National Championship Tournament Atlanta over the Memorial Day weekend.

[02:27:49] The coach did notify me that they are outside practicing right now, and they're also preparing for AP tests. So, they apologize for not being able to make it. These championship teams demonstrate remarkable preparation, resilience, and commitment to one another that allowed them to stand above the rest of Virginia.

[02:28:13] And now to the individual state champions. We are also to proudly recognize the following individual student-athletes who captured a VHL state title during the winter sports. We'll begin with indoor track and Josh Johnson from Freedom High School, the Class 5 state champion in the 55-meter dash.

[02:28:40] Next, we have Aron Bamir, Freedom High School, Class 5, state champion in the shot put. Next, we have Michael Tafe from Loudoun County High School, the Class 4, state champion in the 3,200-meter run.

[02:29:04] Next, we have Kendrick Singleton from Rockridge High School, the Class 4, state champion in the high jump. Next, we have Thomas Ray from Riverside High School, the Class 5, state champion in two events, the 1,600-meter run and the 3,200-meter run.

[02:29:26] And next we have Sebastian Pla from Tuscaloosa High School, the Class 4 state champion in the triple jump and long jump. And now we'll switch to swimming.

[02:29:47] And we'll start with Kyle Gatsby from Independence High School, the Class 6 state champion in 100-yard breaststroke. Next we have Joey Coleman from Potomac Falls High School, the Class 5 state champion in the 200-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle.

[02:30:13] Next, we have Maya McCarney from Potomac Falls High School, the Class 5 state champion in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke.

[02:30:35] And our last sport for two this evening is wrestling. We'll start off with Bryson Galifaro from Heritage High School, the Class 4 state champion at 132 pounds. Next, we have Anthony Cititoli from Independence High School, the Class 6 state champion at 138 pounds.

[02:30:57] Next, we have Bryce Schelsner from Loudoun County High School, the Class 4 State Champion at 126 pounds. Followed by Lincoln Kelly from Loudoun County High School, the Class 4 State Champion at 150 pounds.

[02:31:24] Justin Lowry from Loudoun County High School, the Class 4 State Champion at 157 pounds. Camden Murray from Woodgrove High School, the Class 4 State Champion at 138 pounds.

[02:31:41] We have Sawyer Jones from Woodgrove High School, the Class 4 state champion at 157 pounds. And we have Lily O from Riverside High School, the Class 4 wrestling state champion at 138 pounds.

[02:32:12] On behalf of Loudoun County Public Schools, congratulations to all of our winners, VHL state champions, their coaches, sponsors, families, and school communities.

[02:32:34] We are incredibly proud of you.

[02:33:05] Thank you so much, everyone. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate all of those incredible athletes and incredible educators tonight. And with that, we will move on to item 9.04, 1LCPS Spotlight, the Mental Health Supports at Brambleton Middle School. Principal Marple, I'll ask you please to introduce your team.

[02:33:25] Absolutely. It is my honor to be with you here this evening. I will first begin by saying good evening, Chair Chandler, Vice Chair Donahue, Little River District School Board member Dr. Rasheed, Dedicated members of the Loudoun County Public School Board, Superintendent Dr. Spence, cabinet-level leadership, and the entire LCPS family.

[02:33:44] What a tremendous blessing and privilege it is for me to have the opportunity to stand before you this evening and speak about the meaningful and important work taking place at our wonderful community middle school, Brambleton. My name is Bob Marple. It is truly one of the greatest honors of my professional life to serve as the principal of such an extraordinary school community.

[02:34:03] This evening, we are honored to share a presentation entitled Mental Health Supports at Brampton Middle School, a topic that reflects not only an important strategic priority within Loudoun County Public Schools, but also the heart of the work we do each day to support our students.

[02:34:20] At Brampton Middle School, we firmly believe that students learn best when they feel connected, supported, valued, and emotionally safe. We also recognize that middle school students are navigating an incredibly important and formative chapter of their lives. one filled with growth, discovery, challenge, and opportunity, and sometimes a little awkwardness perhaps. Because of this, we have worked intentionally and collaboratively to cultivate systems, relationships, supports that help students build resilience, strengthen emotional awareness, develop healthy coping strategies, and remain meaningfully engaged in the classroom environment

[02:34:56] where the most powerful learning and relationship building occurs. This work is not accomplished by one individual but rather through the collective efforts of an extraordinary team of educators, counselors, mental health professionals, support staff, and leaders who care deeply about the work and who tirelessly each day ensure students are not only academically successful but also supported as whole human beings. It is now my great honor and privilege to introduce several of my incredibly talented and dedicated colleagues, individuals whom I have the good fortune to collaborate with daily as we share the intentional work taking place at Brambleton Middle to support students'

[02:35:34] wellness, belonging, resilience, and joyful learning through our partnership with the Unified Mental Health Team and the implementation of the Character Strong Program. I think we can go to the next slide. I have Ms. Heather Kowalik, who is our wonderful and talented school psychologist.

[02:35:51] I have Ms. Anya Lucida, who is an amazing science teacher with our eighth grade students. And we have Ms. Jen Karcher, who is an equally amazing math teacher for our 8th grade students at Bramilton.

[02:36:08] Thank you again for this incredible opportunity to share our story. I'll have you hit the next slide. At Bramilton Middle School, we remain deeply committed to supporting the whole child by cultivating the environment where students feel safe, connected, supported, and empowered to succeed both academically and emotionally.

[02:36:28] Our work aligns closely with the strategic priorities of the Loudoun County Public Schools, particularly in the areas of student wellness, belonging, engagement, and achievement. Next slide. Through intentional collaboration with our unified mental health team, counseling staff, teachers, administrators, and support personnel, we are working proactively to equip students with meaningful tools and strategies that strengthen their resilience, their emotional regulation, self-awareness, and problem-solving skills.

[02:36:58] Our goal is not simply to respond to challenges, but to help students develop the capacity and the confidence to successfully navigate adversity and remain engaged in the important learning process. We recognize that the classroom is where the most meaningful instruction, relationships, collaboration, and growth opportunities occur.

[02:37:17] As a result, we have focused significant effort on helping students develop the coping skills and the emotional supports necessary to maintain their seat in the classroom whenever possible, ensuring continued access to high-quality instruction, positive peer interactions, and teacher interactions.

[02:37:37] Through the implementation of the Character Strong program, our students are receiving intentional instruction and support surrounding coping skills, perseverance, emotional intelligence, responsible decision-making, so incredibly important at the middle school level, relationship building, and self-management.

[02:37:53] These experiences are helping students strengthen critical life skills that positively impact both academic achievement and personal growth. Equally important, we are continuing to place practical and sustainable strategies in the tool belts of both our students and staff members.

[02:38:09] Teachers are being supported with approaches and resources that help foster emotionally safe, inclusive, and relationship-centered classrooms. while students are learning concrete strategies that they can utilize during moments of stress, frustration, or academic challenge.

[02:38:28] Our staff has done a truly outstanding job balancing high expectations with compassion, consistency, and care. There is a strong understanding among our faculty that supporting student wellness and resilience does not lower expectations, but rather creates the conditions necessary for students to successfully meet them.

[02:38:47] We are also intentionally working to normalize conversations surrounding mental wellness, emotional regulation, and help-seeking behaviors in age-appropriate and supportive ways. The work contributes to a school culture where students understand that challenges are a very natural part of growth and that they have both the support systems and the internal tools necessary to persevere through difficulties.

[02:39:12] The collaborative partnership, our classroom teachers, administrators, counselors, psychologists, social workers, and unified mental health team has been instrumental in strengthening our tiered systems of support for our students. This collective effort ensures that interventions are proactive, student-centered, and align both academic and social-emotional needs of our Brambleton Bears.

[02:39:35] At Brambleton Middle, we firmly believe that resilience can truly be taught, that relationships matter deeply, and joyful, connected learning environments positively impact student outcomes. We remain committed to fostering a culture where students are challenged academically while also feeling affirmed, supported, and equipped with the skills necessary to thrive both inside and outside of the classroom.

[02:40:00] Ultimately, our work centers around helping students build the confidence, the perseverance, the emotional awareness, and the coping strategies needed, not only for success in middle school, but also for long-term success as learners, leaders, collaborators, and future-ready individuals.

[02:40:20] Now I am blessed to turn it over to the people who do the really meaningful work in our school, and I will start with Ms. Koala. So within the school, our mental health team often receives referrals for students who are having difficulty managing their emotions within the classroom without ending up in tears or leaving the classroom or having other difficulties.

[02:40:42] So in our school, we often address this through small groups in LCPS. Next slide. So when we run small groups, students with similar needs will meet weekly for about 30 to 40 minutes with a mental health provider to learn the skills to help them manage those emotions or to learn other relevant skills, but there's only so much that can be done to teach students coping and other skills in the small group. These students then need to have opportunities outside of the small group setting to practice these skills that they're learning, especially in our classrooms.

[02:41:19] Teachers need to recognize that these students are using or attempting to use these skills that they're learning in the small group setting. Additionally, teachers need to offer support encouragement and incentives for doing so especially since these skills are newly acquired and ones that are often associated with negative emotions making it additionally challenging for these students. This is why we are enhancing our mental health programming by adding performance-based supports. These are the next logical steps for students who

[02:41:54] are participating in mental health groups that teach these skills. Once they've learned these skills. They need teachers to support them using these skills in the classroom. In particular at Brambleton Middle School, we recognize some of our students were out of class for reasons related to mental health or emotional and social skills, even though we know these students in particular had the knowledge and skills already that they needed. So as a school, we needed our teachers to be able to support these students in the classroom to minimize instructional time that is lost especially

[02:42:31] when students leave the classroom to seek additional supports. This is where these performance-based supports from the Character Strong Solution came in. Next slide please. The Character Strong Solution offers several types of support that can be tailored to specific needs but all supports include three critical elements. Tools for teachers to help students apply their skills, incentives for students to use their skills and meet goals, and family communication and alignment. Next slide. Our goal is to give teachers new ways to support students' skills while also

[02:43:11] providing motivation for students to use those skills. These supports can take time to work. We often expect six to eight weeks, but they can also start to show results very quickly. Apologies, we got a little off on the slides. Can we move forward, I think, two? One more? One more, please.

[02:43:31] So we had one student who was really struggling to remain in class due to anxiety. They sought support out of class multiple times a week and we could see this time out of class really impacting their learning, even though they were a phenomenal student. So that student was really struggling to independently use the strategies that we taught them to manage their anxiety.

[02:43:52] So we decided to implement one of these supports. The student would get a specific number of times a day that they could take a 10 minute break to leave class and get help, but they would also get incentives for any breaks that they didn't take. And we taught their teachers about the students' support strategies and how to prompt the students to use them in the classroom as well.

[02:44:12] And one important thing to realize is that it's really hard work for students to utilize the skills they've been taught in group. Just because they know the skills they should be using, whatever negative emotions they were feeling don't automatically go away as a result, at least not at first.

[02:44:27] So students who are anxious about remaining in class don't lose that anxiety just because they learned their coping skills. So they first need to use the skills successfully so that they learn that what they are afraid of isn't as bad as they thought, and realize that they can handle those challenges.

[02:44:44] So once this happens, their anxiety gradually lessens over time. And this is the reason it's important for them to have incentives for practicing the skills that they've learned in the classroom. For this student, we talked to the family about this new plan and why it was being put into place.

[02:45:00] We introduced this plan to the student and asked them to think about what incentives they would like and let us know the next time they come back to us. And then we asked the parents to discuss those incentives with them, too. We then didn't see the student again. It turned out that the family had come up with something the student really wanted at home.

[02:45:18] And that motivator, along with the teachers knowing how to support the student in the classroom, was enough. The student was able to stay in class, and a student who had been out of class for several hours a week was now back in the classroom full-time. Next slide.

[02:45:36] So while not every story is that dramatic, our goal with the enhanced mental health programming is just that, to help students use their coping skills or new social skills on a regular basis until they become a habit, helping them to feel safe and supported at school and in allowing them to better engage with their instruction, with their peers, and with their teachers.

[02:45:55] So we are currently in the process of rolling out these supports for more students in our building. But I want to turn it over at this time and ask if you have any questions. Thank you so much for this wonderful presentation. I'm so excited to hear about the innovative ways you're helping our students build their skills, and I have to say, your enthusiasm for this process is infectious.

[02:46:16] So thank you so much, and with that, I'll ask the school board members if you have any questions or comments. All right, well, thank you so much for being here, and thank you for your presentation. All right, next up, we'll move on to item 10.01, our student school board representatives' comments.

[02:46:40] Mace Domri is a 17-year-old senior at William O. Roby High School. This is her second year at Roby, and she is excited to graduate in June. In her free time, Mace volunteers at the Embassy of Saudi Arabia, her local hospital, and nursing homes.

[02:46:55] She is originally from Saudi Arabia and is bilingual in English and Arabic. Mace is grateful to Roby because it has provided her with the opportunity to accelerate her learning in an individualized and supportive environment as she prepares for college. A fun fact about Mace is that her two oldest sisters also attended Robey and she is excited to share her experience this evening.

[02:47:18] Welcome Mace, the floor is yours. Good evening everyone. My name is Mace Domri and I am a senior at William Abadaya Robey High School. First, thank you to the school board for having me here tonight.

[02:47:36] It means so much to have this opportunity to speak and share about myself and my high school experience. I would also like to thank Dr. Sims, Dr. Carol, and Ms. Adebide for preparing this moment for me. That means so much to have this opportunity. I would like also to start by sharing my story of how I get to Ruby.

[02:47:54] I went to John Champ for my freshman year, half of my sophomore year, but it was hard for me. The classrooms were too big, and I felt like a stranger. Because I'm still learning English, the classes move too fast for me, and I needed more help. My sister told me about Ruby. At first, I didn't want to go because I thought it was only for older students.

[02:48:14] But when I was there, I get to see why my sister loved it here so much. I saw that the classes were small, the teachers were so helpful, and the students were still having fun. That's when I know I wanted to switch schools. For the last two years, I've been able to personally experience the love and support from my teachers at Ruby.

[02:48:32] They are all caring and patient and supportive to every student. When my sister got cancer a year ago, Ms. Wallace was there for me and for my family during one of the hardest times of our lives. She called us, she brought flowers, and she made sure my sister was okay as she recovered from her surgery.

[02:48:51] Her kindness showed me that teachers and Ruby truly care about us beyond the classrooms. Thank you, Ms. Wallace, for your composing, your support, and for always making me and my family feel loved. Ms. Lowe is another amazing teacher who never gave up on me. As my EL teacher, she is patient, encouraging, and always willing to spend extra time helping students' success.

[02:49:13] When I was struggling to pass my biology as well, Ms. Lowe helped me test-taking strategies and review materials until I passed. Even when I devoted myself, she always reminded me by saying, I'm proud of you. Hearing these words motivate me to keep trying.

[02:49:32] When I passed the test, she was one of the first people I wanted to tell. Thank you, Ms. Lo, for believing in me, even when I struggle to believe in myself. My history teacher, Mr. Kitchen, he makes learning fun and exciting, and he brings energy and humor into the classroom.

[02:49:48] And he always explains things in a way that makes them easier to understand. Before coming to Ruby, I thought I would never understand U.S. history, because I'm from another country and English is still challenging for me. But Mr. Kitchen, he made me feel comfortable asking questions and helped me connect to the lessons in a way I never thought possible.

[02:50:05] Thank you, Mr. Kitchen, for making me confident in my learning and for helping me feel like I belong in your classroom. Ruby is also a place that brings people from many different cultures together through school activities like Multicultural Day and Friendship We Build.

[02:50:22] I have learned about other people's experience while also feeling proud of my background. Ruby opened me up to new opportunities and experiences that helped me grow as both student and person. In one of our next learning days this year, we got to meet local business owners that taught me what you can achieve with hard work and never give up. It's helped me prepare for my future and showed me that I can success no matter where I come from and what the challenges I face. Ruby has changed my life. Before, I was very shy and did not talk. Now, I have the confidence to use my voice and I feel like I can be myself and I don't

[02:51:00] have to hide. I've learned that it's okay to make mistakes because no one is perfect. I've gained the family who will always give me the help I need. Our staff does so much to get the resources we need, whether with the groceries, clothing, or medical assistance. We all feel loved and seen.

[02:51:17] Thank you so much to everyone at Ruby for making my time here when I will never forget. I'm better because of all of you. I'm so glad that I chose Ruby. Thank you again to the school board for your support and the opportunity to speak tonight. Thank you, Mace, for sharing your experience with us it you were able to convey how much roby has impacted your life and um your voice is very

[02:51:53] powerful thank you and all right and with that we'll move on to item 11.01 our superintendent's report which will be presented by dr aaron spence thank you madam chair and members of the board it's as always my pleasure to share good news from around our school division i'd like to start this evening by asking kevin west to stand up mr west has been named and this evening you've accepted our recommendation for him to serve as the next director of elementary and charter schools in

[02:52:31] lcps mr west joined lcps in 2023 as the executive principal of elementary education previously having served as an educator and administrative positions in several school divisions including fairfax county public schools alexandria city public schools and the dysart unified school district in arizona mr west got his start in education as a fifth grade teacher in fairfax county public schools and he will start his new position with us on july 1st congratulations on your position, Mr. West. Next, LCPS recently celebrated 10 years of its Welcome Center program,

[02:53:08] marking the milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Welcome Center East. Located in Sterling, the new center joins the original Welcome Center as a dedicated hub for supporting students and families who are new to the school division. Together, the two centers serve as trusted entry points for families navigating enrollment, academic programs, and connections to their school communities. The opening of Welcome Center East underscores LCPS's commitment to family engagement, equitable access, and community partnerships, ensuring every family, regardless of language or background, has the support needed to thrive.

[02:53:42] LCPS middle schoolers experienced a day filled with hands-on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEAM learning, during the Amazon Girls Tech Day at the Academies of Loudoun on Saturday, May 2nd. The students had the opportunity to explore everything from forensic science to AI, and students also learned about STEAM career pathways from women with careers at NASA, Amazon, and other top companies. Sponsored through the Loudon Education Foundation, the event encouraged girls to build confidence, creativity, and curiosity in fields where women remain underrepresented. This partnership between LCPS, Amazon, and LEF showcases how community collaboration can open doors and

[02:54:20] shape students' futures. LCPS also recently celebrated 362 students who completed the Teacher Cadet Program, a dual enrollment opportunity for LCPS students interested in pursuing a career in education. During the ceremony, the soon-to-be graduates sign letters of intent affirming that after completion of their undergraduate or graduate studies, they plan to return to LCPS to begin their teaching careers. Starting next school year, the teacher-cadet program will be called Teachers for Tomorrow and will provide the same opportunity for LCPS juniors and seniors to

[02:54:54] get an early start on a career in education. I'm pleased to note that LCPS has once again been recognized as one of the best communities for music education by the NAMM Foundation, marking 18 consecutive years of national distinction for its music programs. This honor reflects our school division's ongoing commitment to providing high-quality, accessible music learning for all students as part of a well-rounded educational experience. It also highlights the dedication of our LCPS music educators, whose work continues to inspire creativity, and confidence across our schools. Last week, LCPS celebrated the Week of Play.

[02:55:32] Throughout the week, students participated in activities centered on movement, teamwork, and wellness. This initiative highlights National Physical Fitness and Sports Month and the many benefits of staying active, from supporting overall health to sharpening focus, reducing stress, and strengthening social connections. As the Week of Play came to a close, many schools hosted bike to school events. Creighton's Corner Elementary set a new school record with more than 400 students and families taking part in their bike to school day. Events such as this capture the enthusiasm, community spirit, and commitment to healthy habits that make the week of play such a great LCPS

[02:56:09] tradition. I'm pleased to note that about 35 Parkview Studio Art students have their artwork on display at Dulles Town Center. The display showcases projects created throughout the year and highlights our students' skills and creativity. Parkview High School is honored to have its students' art displayed in the community and looks forward to continuing opportunities that celebrate and share student talent.

[02:56:31] This artwork will be on display through May 31st. The Minority Student Achievement Advisory Committee, or MSAC, held its annual equity at the historic Douglas High School in Leesburg this past Saturday. The equity is a celebration recognizing MSAC delegates, student delegates, and LCPS staff for their outstanding achievements, contributions, and commitment to diversity and equity within our community.

[02:56:57] With over 100 participants, a deep sense of community and belonging was felt throughout the event, and this year's keynote speakers, Jackson Roberts of JL Simpson Middle School and Gavin Davis of John Champ High School delivered inspiring messages on the importance of student voice and leadership.

[02:57:15] This year's peer conference was a reminder of how student leaders are helping build stronger, more connected school communities across the division. Nearly 250 students from 15 high schools, as well as 40 peer sponsors, school social workers, and counselors attended the annual event.

[02:57:31] The day kicked off with a keynote discussion led by the Department of DEIA that highlighted the power of finding common ground and building a sense of belonging. In the second half of the conference, peer groups showcased their outreach efforts, including wellness weeks, field days, and the development of videos promoting messages of support and inclusion.

[02:57:52] Peer, or Positive Experiences in Educational Relationships, is a specialized LCPS high school class that trains students to mentor and support their peers. The peer program is coordinated by the Office of Student Mental Health Services.

[02:58:08] And then finally this evening, I would like to spotlight the more than 140 LCPS and Loudoun County students who participated in the annual Student Environmental Action Showcase on April 29th at the Academies of Loudoun. This event, hosted by Loudon Environmental Education Alliance, with support from the LCPS Office of Sustainability, highlighted student engagement in addressing complex environmental challenges.

[02:58:30] Student projects explored topics such as combating spotted lanternflies, reducing microplastics, and improving recycling efforts, amongst many others. The event was truly a community affair with 19 judges from various community environmental organizations engaging with our students and with support from 14 community partners.

[02:58:50] and madam chair that concludes my report thank you so much dr spence and that brings us to item 12 public comment procedures for public comment thank you for engaging with the school board through the public comment process the school board welcomes comments from loudon 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 based on the number of speakers and agenda this evening all speakers have been allotted two minutes each for public comment please be advised that speakers who miss their time slot will not be called at a later time

[02:59:28] decorum and civility all audience members shall maintain civility decorum and respect for the functioning and dignity of the school board at all times please remain seated until unless arriving departing speaking at the podium or during a break violations of civility decorum and respect include shouting heckling jeering applause and other noise that 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

[03:00:07] other meeting attendees speakers should refrain from vulgarity obscenities defamation 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 comments on an individual student

[03:00:41] or employee-related matter not be shared at public meetings where the disclosure could violate applicable confidentiality requirements. I do want to take a moment to clarify a few things. As has been explained previously, speakers can personally identify a student or employee without stating a student's or an employee's names. That is personally identifiable information is any information that a reasonable person could link together to pinpoint an individual student or employee and where the individual student or employee is known to others in their school

[03:01:17] and surrounding community based on the context that is shared. The school board welcomes you to share your concerns but asks 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. For example, comments that target, criticize, or attack a student or an employee or a student or an employee from a specific named school or a student or an employee with any characteristics where the information would personally identify that student or employee

[03:01:54] to others in the school or broader LCPS community would violate school board policy. However, comments that discuss general concerns with students or employees at schools and do not target, criticize, or attack an individual identifiable student or employee are permissible.

[03:02:13] Under school board policy, I, as the school board chair, am charged with the responsibility to maintain order during school board meetings. Accordingly, when reasonable, I will warn of breaches of decorum, civility, and respect, and ask speakers to redirect their comments prior to possibly discontinuing individual speaking privileges or taking other actions to preserve the civility, decorum, and orderly conduct of the meeting.

[03:02:38] Such action includes calling recess in order to maintain and or restore order. If speakers fail to comply with board policy regarding public participation, you will receive a warning and a request to redirect or generalize your comments. Should you fail to redirect or generalize your comments after that warning, you may be asked to yield the microphone, at which time you should yield the microphone as well as the floor, and take your seat.

[03:03:02] and I will then call the next speaker. To the extent necessary, I will also warn of breaches of decorum, civility, and respect from attendees prior to taking other actions to 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 the public comment period. Violations of decorum and 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

[03:03:40] 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 comment for safety reasons or public comment period ending for the meeting distribution of materials to school board members copies of materials for board members should be given to the public information officer in the media box at the back of the board room 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

[03:04:17] through lcps tv on 1070 hd and verizon fios channel 43 the live stream of the meeting may may be viewed on the website. We look forward to hearing your comments. We will now start with our virtual public comment. Our first speaker is Anthony McMullen, followed by Yoko Jolly.

[03:04:36] We do not have a virtual public speaker by that name. Thank you. Yoko Jolly. Yes, hi, I'm here.

[03:04:57] Hello? Yes, thank you. Go ahead. Okay, thank you. Members of the school board, I'm speaking today to respectfully urge this board to maintain its previous decision to deny Dominion Energy the easements necessary to construct Route 4 of the Golden to Mars high-voltage transmission line along Rockridge High School and Rosalie Carter Elementary. The State Corporation Commission approved this route on April 9th, but explicitly recognized this LCPS board has the authority to block it. Please exercise that authority to protect our children. The scale of this infrastructure is extraordinary. We're talking about 100 to 185-foot towers carrying 500,000 volt lines within 400 feet

[03:05:36] of the schools where children spend 7 to 14 hours of their day. These structures will loom over athletic fields, playgrounds, and walking paths. These aren't just an eyesore. There are scientifically grounded health and safety concerns. The World Health Organization advises that schools should not be located within 50 meters of high voltage lines based on decades of research dating back to 1979 that links persistent exposure to childhood leukemia. The International Agency for research on cancer classifies electromagnetic fields that they emit as possible human carcinogen.

[03:06:10] Peer-reviewed research links proximity to 5,500 kilovolt lines, specifically to measurable declines in children's neurobehavioral performance. There are no federal protections against EMF exposure for schools, which means you, LCPS board, are the protection. Children at Rosalie are outside for recess throughout the day, and Rockridge athletes and the marching band spend hours on those fields. This is chronic cumulative exposure, the kind researchers say matters most. Beyond the EMF health concerns, the proximity of schools to transmission towers raises immediate physical safety questions. Strong winds, severe weather, and equipment failure present structural risks near areas where hundreds of children gather daily. Dominion has the engineers and resources

[03:06:49] to find a better path. What our children don't have is the ability to move away from their school. This board has already voted once to protect. Thank you. We'll move on now to our in-person public comment our first speaker is Taylor Satzer followed by Christy Lloyd do I stand right here

[03:07:20] okay um do I just go okay sorry sorry oh god um my name is Taylor Satzer and for the past four years I've proudly served as a kindergarten autism teacher advocate um sorry um I'm sorry

[03:07:53] this is really hard is there any way I can start over could we please pause the clock yeah I can't do it I'm sorry this is really hard okay please restart my name is Taylor Satcher and for the past four years I have proudly served as a kindergarten autism teacher advocating oh sorry um throughout my career I have dedicated myself to advocating for students whose needs require specialized support to reach their dreams. Many of my students face emotional

[03:08:30] behavioral and academic challenges. Some come to school already feeling discouraged or even left behind. So every day my job is to advocate for my students to make sure they are supported and given the opportunity to succeed and that no child is left behind. I've been doing this professionally for the past 10 years and I love my job. This afternoon I am here because I am facing some serious health challenges of my own. Over the past year, multiple physicians have recommended bariatric surgery due to my worsening medical conditions. This recommendation was never cosmetic. It is medically necessary. Over the past eight months, I have completed every requirement

[03:09:08] asked of me. That includes six free nutrition classes, psyche valves provided by my hospital team, and full six-month bariatric surgery prep program to qualify for a prior authorization. My health care providers fully supported the treatment plan and believe surgery was required to improve my long-term health.

[03:09:29] Unfortunately, despite meeting all these medical requirements, my request was denied because bariatric surgery is excluded from the LCPS health plan. So today I am asking you to consider my unique medical situation with the same understanding that I have for my students.

[03:09:44] This afternoon, I am asking the board to consider approving my bariatric surgery procedure under medical necessity and for employees facing serious medical conditions to receive the health care they deserve. Thank you all for your time and consideration. Thank you. Christy Lloyd

[03:10:09] followed by David Reese. Hi, thank you. I'm Christy Lloyd and I'm here tonight just to express my opinions on the school calendar. We're frustrated to see such little variance in the options presented. Summer breaks are getting shorter, scattered holidays and more frequent breaks are becoming more, scattered holidays and breaks are becoming more frequent. There is an option to

[03:10:44] move towards year-round, but where is the option to move back to a traditional calendar with a longer summer break and primarily federal holidays? This allows families time to travel, especially internationally. It allows teachers time for part-time work as supplemental income. It gives kids a real summer. During the year, it provides consistency with more five-day weeks and builds routine. It helps working parents. It feels like LCPS is pushing their preference. Opinions like our family are not reflected in the survey. If the majority of families feel otherwise, the survey

[03:11:23] will show that, but at least put it, at least present both sides. My husband and I feel there is a systemic problem at LCPS, a lack of effort in finding creative solutions that reflect and represent all families. The early elementary bell schedule is a prime example and now the calendar options. Please work to offer diverse options and integrate community feedback to provide the best

[03:11:48] choices to LCPS families. Thanks. Thank you. David Reese followed by Talia Parvizzi. Talia Parvizzi followed by Chris Countryman.

[03:12:28] Good evening. While we celebrated some of our highest achievers tonight, I ask you not to forget the students who fight battles most people never see. I'm here tonight as a parent of a special needs student at Stonebridge High School and I'm speaking for many families who are deeply concerned about what is happening inside special education at our school.

[03:12:52] We are watching trusted special education teachers, case managers, and support staff leave in large numbers. The very people who knew our children understand their needs and provide the consistency they depend on. For students with disabilities, consistency is not a luxury. It is essential.

[03:13:10] When experienced staff disappear, our children lose more than teachers. They lose stability, trust, emotional safety, and proper IEP support. Families are left anxious, confused, and completely in the dark. What makes this much worse is the complete lack of communication from school administration. Parents have received not little to know, but no transparency about these departures, No reassurance about staffing for next year and no clear plan how our children will be supported moving forward.

[03:13:42] Too often, it feels like our children aren't star athletes, if they're not star athletes, top academic performers, or bringing recognition to the school. They are treated like they matter less. Our special education students deserve the same attention, protection, and investment as every other child in this building.

[03:13:59] it is not fair that us families are having now considering moving our children to other schools simply because we no longer trust the leadership at stonebridge we should not have to choose between our child's education and their emotional safety our children deserve stability parents deserve honesty and this community deserves leadership that protects both we are asking for accountability transparency and immediate action before more damage is done i have more time. Oh, out of time. Okay. Thanks. Thank you. Chris Countryman, followed by Corey Brunet.

[03:14:52] Good evening. Since 2011, when LCPS sought a waiver for a post-Labor Day start, the school year in Loudoun has gradually grown longer and longer. But I am not here tonight to focus on the past. I'm here to talk about the future. Under both existing policy and the new CBA, sick days and holidays are tied to the number of months an employee works.

[03:15:16] 10-month employees receive fewer benefits than 11-month, and 11-month employees receive fewer benefits than 12 months. Next year, the adopted calendar effectively requires 10-month employees to work an 11-month schedule and 11-month employees to work a 12-month schedule without a corresponding benefit or compensation change.

[03:15:37] Educational employees already sacrifice financially simply because of our profession. It's called the teacher salary penalty. Educators earn roughly 73 cents for every dollar earned by comparable college graduates in other professions. Many must rely on summer jobs to make up that difference. Extending the school year while keeping benefits and contract days the same prevents employees from even having the opportunity to recover that lost income with a shorter summer.

[03:16:07] Employees are not just being asked to work a longer school year without compensation. They're effectively being asked to take a pay cut. The challenges you are now facing with the 27-28 calendar only highlight the flaws in the 26-27 calendar, a calendar that, to my knowledge, and I apologize if I'm wrong, was never advocated for by school board members, never advocated for by LCPS administration, employees, or families.

[03:16:36] I know some of you, if not all of you, have the same concerns. So I return to where I began. You have an important decision to make. Provide employees the benefits that correspond to the months they are being required to work, including sick leave, holiday pay, and annual leave.

[03:16:53] Thank you. Corey Brunet, followed by Hankaj Sharma. My name is Corey Brunet, and I'm an English learner teacher at Broad Run High School.

[03:17:10] I'd like to revisit a topic for which I advocated about two years ago, turnover. As background information for you new school board members, had schools with high turnover and we had schools with low turnover. I felt and still feel that the strongest indicator of employee satisfaction is low work site location turnover and that this comes directly from supervisors, be they principals, head custodians, area supervisors, etc. Ms. Griffiths was instrumental in getting LCPS staff to dig deep and wide to find out the turnover rates at every

[03:17:45] school in lcps trends and outliers were found and we the public were never told what was done with that information this data pull should be done every year perhaps it already is and we don't know about it please ask lcps staff to pull the data from two years ago and last year this is not meant to target and punish supervisors with high turnover but to identify areas of improvement why Why is there low turnover at Broad Run?

[03:18:13] The best high school in Loudoun. Interview the principal, Dave Spage, and find out what he does to create a workplace environment where employees want to stay. Then share this information with principals who have high turnover. Perhaps do job shadowing.

[03:18:29] Principals with extremely high and extremely low turnover work together. But this time, don't limit the data request to schools. Request the data from all work sites and departments. Turnover is terrible for everyone. It lowers morale and destabilizes the learning environment for students.

[03:18:47] All employees deserve the opportunity to work in a place they never want to leave. LCPS will never outperform. It's educators. Thank you. Pankaj Sharma, followed by Vinkat Bominayni.

[03:19:02] Hello there. My name is Pankaj Sharma. Thank you for having us here. I'm here to request that there shouldn't be any power lines on the Rosalie Carter Elementary School.

[03:19:21] community right next to it so I have a six-year-old and I have a school I have a kid in middle school also who went through Rosalie Carter and you know my teacher says is like the most amazing thing I've ever heard when my kid comes back from school he says my teacher says if I eat well I will have muscles my teacher says if I plant the seed it's gonna be flowers what comes after my teacher says cannot be wrong. It's impossible. It just can't be wrong. So see, will my kid ever come back and say

[03:19:59] my teacher says that power lines are okay on the school property? Would my kid ever come and say my teacher says I will never get sick because of the power lines on the property, even when we have seen the research that it causes cancer? So I'm here to request you that, you know, you have the trust and faith of these little kids they believe you have a you have a trust of a child you know how precious that is the child doesn't know how to fake it my teacher says is the most

[03:20:37] powerful thing out there so i want to request you to maintain the authentic authenticity of that my teacher says, you know. So please, we support you in your decision of not having power lines on the school property so that the kid can come back and say, as my teacher says, we are going to have a lot of fun today. And my teacher says the time is up. So thank you.

[03:21:09] Thank you. Zinkat Bomineni, followed by Zaina Hutchison. Good evening, members of the school board. Thank you for your time. My name is Venkat Bominini, and I'm here to respectfully ask all of you to continue to stand again as Dominion's proposed route for around the Rock Ridge and Rosalie Carter.

[03:21:41] A school is supposed to be one of the safest places in a child's life. We should not place major infrastructure like this just because it is more convenient and cheaper for a power company. County officials have approved wave after wave of data center infrastructure with zero concern for the residents who actually live here.

[03:22:06] Now that burden is being pushed even closer to our children. That is just unacceptable. You're not here to serve dominion. You're not here to solve county's data center problems. You're here to protect students, teachers, families, and school property.

[03:22:28] One of the LCPS core values in your strategic plan states, verbatim, every student should have the support to feel safe, happy, and cared for in school. That promise must mean something.

[03:22:45] I understand that there may be external pressure on this board that is very intense, but that pressure should never outweigh the voices of parents and families and residents asking you to protect school. Please do not let our children become collateral damage in this race to power data centers.

[03:23:07] Stand with the students, stand with the parents, and stand with the community. Please reject Route 4. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Zaina Hutchinson, followed by Madge Hutchinson. Good evening, Madam Chair and board members.

[03:23:29] My name is Zaina Hutchison. My family and I have been residents of Loudoun County for almost two decades. Both my kids have gone or continue to go to Stonebridge High School. This is my son. He's speaking behind me. I'm here to support special needs students, their parents and their educators at Stonebridge High School.

[03:23:49] I want to emphasize that being here in front of you is a step that none of us wanted to have to take, and we do not take this lightly. This is a means to ask for protection for Stonebridge students with special needs. I am in support of and I advocate for a holistic, principled, inclusive, and transparent approach to an inseparable part of our community that is often marginalized and othered.

[03:24:16] For the past four to five years, the special needs teachers and program at Stonebridge have empowered and uplifted students while also creating meaningful and powerful connections with parents and both the school community and the community at large.

[03:24:32] This is not an easy feat considering the difficulties special needs programs and teachers always face, from funding to resources to properly trained, qualified and supported staff. Neither the special needs students and their parents nor their teachers who love and support them should find themselves advocating for basics like transparency, responsiveness, cooperation on essentials for learning and growth like IEPs and qualified teacher retention.

[03:24:57] There is clearly something that needs to be looked at at Stonebridge currently. It wasn't this way. We are not here to complain, as you know. We are here to raise the alarm. It may be at Stonebridge now, but it could happen at any school. We suggest exit interviews and a response from the Stonebridge administration to the many attempts of correspondence from teachers and parents that seem to have gone unanswered, although I'm hearing there might have been some change recently, as in the last day or two.

[03:25:26] We hope next time we are here in front of you, It is to celebrate special needs students. Thank you. Maj Hutchinson, followed by Shadju Sivabula. Good evening, Madam Chair and board members.

[03:25:45] My name is Maj Hutchinson, and I'm a former Stonebridge student, and I currently attend Virginia Tech as a double major on the pre-law track. I'm here to attest to the excellence of the Stonebridge Special Education Program for the past four to five years and to stand in solidarity with current and past students as well as parents of the program.

[03:26:05] As a former Unified Sports peer, volunteer in the classroom, and with Special Olympics for all four years of my time at Stonebridge, I have gained so much from the program and the staff from seeing their kindness with all students and their ability to connect with everybody.

[03:26:21] What is currently happening to the program is heartbreaking, as this does not just affect the students and families within it, but all students, as the program's excellence has transcended the mandated categorization of students in the education system. From my years from elementary school supporting role to my current role as a paraprofessional in the on-campus transition program with Montgomery County Public Schools, I have witnessed the importance of stability and continuity to build trust and progress for those who depend on it.

[03:26:53] It is my hope that Stonebridge High School, as well as the school board, take the drastic changes happening at Stonebridge seriously and address them with the utmost urgency. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Shaju Sivubun Lun, followed by Madhu Garundla.

[03:27:16] Good evening, Dr. Spencer and respected members of the school board. First, thank you for your continued commitment to prioritizing student safety and for your support of undergrounding transmission lines near the school property. That leadership is noticed and appreciated by many in the community and across our communities. I'm speaking tonight as a concerned parent, regarding the approval of Route 4, which would allow massive transmission lines in close proximity to Rosalie Carter and Rockridge High Schools. This issue is not abstract for my family. It's daily

[03:27:55] life. One of my daughters is in fifth grade in Rosalie Carter. The other one is a freshman at Rockridge High School. For over the last 10 years, I have walked along with them to and from these schools every single day. I have seen firsthand the volume of children walking, biking, being dropped off and navigating this narrow corridor called Loudoun Reserve Drive that now being considered for this huge massive transmission infrastructure. These schools serve nearly 2,400 students who rely on Loudoun Reserve Drive as the only access route. Introducing large-scale transmission like this along

[03:28:35] the same corridor raises serious concerns about student safety, emergency response access, and daily mobility. Beyond immediate safety there is a long-term concern too. Approving routes like Route 4 or 3A near-school properties sets a precedent, one where school zones become acceptable pathways for major utility infrastructure. With rapid data center expansion in the county, that precedent could have lasting consequences for every school community in Loudoun, not just Stirling School District. I respectfully urge the school board to affirm your opposition to transmission lines on or near-school properties, reject Route 4 and 3A in their current forms, and continue to

[03:29:14] advocate for undergrounding or truly school-awarden alternatives. Thank you for your time and your space. Thank you. Thank you. Madhu Guruntla, followed by Suzanne Satterfield. Good evening.

[03:29:37] My name is Madhu Guruntla. I am a resident of Loudoun Valley Estates. My son goes to Rosalie today and my daughter is going to Rockbridge and following here. So I have seen a lot of great things happening around Rosalie where the elementary school kids play around outside fun activities and all those things biking walking and all and they enjoy those things right today but with these high power lines coming around the school and all i don't know whether they will be liking to do all those activities or not that's one thing these children are the future of our country and the

[03:30:15] schools should be a place where future leaders are generated or nurtured or you know and not places where the health risks begin to no child should have to learn under the shadow of high voltage power lines that may pose potential long-term health concerns schools must be a provide a safe healthy environment where students can grow learn and thrive and confidence with peace of mind so therefore i strongly urge you guys the school board to stand by its decision to reject any high voltage power lines around on the school property protecting safety of the health of the

[03:30:51] students and so that they can develop and become a future leaders of this country thank you thank you Suzanne Satterfield will be our final speaker this evening spends wrote to families at LCPS we uphold the rights of all students and work each day to provide safe welcoming and academically strong

[03:31:28] schools for every member of their community every student should have the support to feel safe, happy, and cared for in school is found under LCPS's core values. Under policy 8040, it states all students should be treated with dignity and respect. As long as 8040 and DEI are in place, there are students that do not feel safe, welcomed, or treated with dignity and respect. School bathrooms and locker rooms have signs outside that read girls or boys, but with 8040 in place as as long as it's in place we know that anyone can go in those

[03:32:06] bathrooms there are girls and boys every single day that are afraid to enter and have had their privacy compromised students worry about fentanyl being in their schools some students don't feel safe with staff you couldn't offer enough mental health support for the victims whose complaints you've ignored or downplayed imagine the crushing feeling of a parent who found out their child's been a victim of sexual assault at school or OD'd on drugs they got at school. How about found finding out that over 70 sexual images of boys as young as four was found on a personal computer of their child's teacher. You

[03:32:46] will just claim no comment toss it over to the highly paid attorneys which are funded by the taxpayers until the next problem comes across your desk. Rinse and repeat is the LCPS way. I can't wait to see Spence's performance during the House and Education Workforce Committee as he tries to convince them how wonderful he is and that there's nothing to see at LCPS. Thank you. Thank you all for coming out today and providing your public comment.

[03:33:18] Board members at this time will take a short recess and reconvene at 8. 06.

[03:38:52] Thank you. We are coming out of recess. With that, we will move on to our action items starting with 13.01 Department of Business and Financial Services Fiscal Year 27 Budget Supplement for Available State Funding. Mr. Svensson, do you have a motion? Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, I do. I move that the Loudoun County School Board approve a budget increase of $6,200,000 for the FY27 School Operating Fund and that the School Board requests the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to appropriate available state funding in the same amount. Mr. Svensson has made a motion. Is there a second?

[03:39:29] Second. Thank you, Ms. Chernoff. Mr. Svensson, would you like to speak further to your motion? I'm happy to. So we covered this last meeting at our information item, but the General Assembly recently approved the 2026 amendments to the 2025 Appropriation Act, also known as the FY26 Caboose Bill. This bill provides additional state funding to school divisions opting to provide a $1,500 bonus payment or equivalent compensation action for standards of quality funded positions in either FY26 or FY27.

[03:40:03] Staff is recommending that the school board increase the FY27 school operating fund budget by $6.2 million to recognize available state funding in support of compensation actions that were already approved by the school board. Thank you, Mr. Svensson. School board members, is there any further discussion?

[03:40:23] All right, thank you. Seeing no further discussion, we will move forward with the vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes with seven school board members voting yes, including Ms. Riccardi, Mr. Svensson, Ms. Chernoff, myself, Mr. Pepper, Dr. Rasheed, and Ms. LaBelle, and one board member voting no, Mrs. Griffiths.

[03:40:53] And with that, we will move on to the next item on our agenda is 13.02, the Finance and Operations Committee, New Policy 4190, Other Post-Employment Benefits, OPEB Funding. Mrs. Griffiths, do you have a motion? Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the board approved policy 4190 post-employment benefits OPEB as presented.

[03:41:15] Thank you. Mrs. Griffiths has made a motion. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Rasheed. Mrs. Griffiths, would you like to speak further to your motion? Sure. Thank you, Madam Chair. This particular policy has come to us a couple of times now.

[03:41:31] We wanted to make sure we were on point with the OPEB. The purpose of this post-employment benefits OPEB funding policy is to establish the funding objectives and strategic framework for Loudoun County Public Schools in relation to the retiree health care plan. The policy is intended to ensure that sufficient financial resources are available to meet the future benefit obligations of plan participants while maintaining the fiscal integrity of the plan. It also aims to ensure that employer contributions are adequate to fully

[03:42:07] fund the plan's current year obligations. This policy will ensure that retiree health care contributions are clearly defined, consistently applied, and integrated into the annual budget process. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. School board members, is there any discussion?

[03:42:26] Yes, Mr. Cardi. Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to make a motion with two amendments. The first one, I move to amend policy 4190 by adding a new section C7 following line 73 of the red line to read as follows.

[03:42:44] And there's one adjustment to it, and I'll read it as we go. As part of each annual budget presentation to the school board, the chief financial officer shall report the proposed. So I took out Loudoun County Board of Supervisors on this one because it's not relevant.

[03:42:59] It'd be shall report the proposed OPEB pre-funding appropriation for the upcoming fiscal year alongside the actual appropriation Amounts for the prior three fiscal years in any year in which the proposed appropriation is below the prior year year's level The CFO shall include an analysis of the projected impact on the plans funded ratio trajectory Thank you. Mrs. Riccardi has made a motion a second. Sorry second. Thank you. Mrs. Griffiths would you like to speak further to your motion yes thank you madam chair so

[03:43:36] neither amendment changes how much we contribute to the OPEB neither amendment changes who manages the fund and neither amendment binds future boards to specific spending both amendments do one thing they protect the people who's depend who depend on this fund our retirees our teachers our bus drivers custodians and classified staff by making sure the board sees clearly what is happening with their benefits every year in a structured way it requires the CFO to report on the OPEB funding as a standing part of every annual budget presentation not as a one-time exemption not at the discretion of staff every

[03:44:13] year as part of the regular budget cycle and just provides a lot of clarity for that the reporting is really simple it's what the county is proposing to contribute for the coming year what the county actually contributed to the prior three years and if the proposed contribution drops below the prior year and analysis of what that means to the funds ratio it's really straightforward forward it's three simple data points the board the public and the people who depend on this fund see the same information every single year in the same place thank you thank you board members is there any further discussion

[03:44:51] okay seeing no further discussion let's move forward with oh I'm sorry that yes mr. pepper a quick question is this any change from the amendment we discussed at the last school board meeting thanks for asking the question no it's the same the only language I took out was in consultation with miss will be that we don't have to say, don't have to say Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in that third line.

[03:45:16] That's it. Thank you. Okay. Any further discussion? All right. Seeing no further discussion, let's move forward with the vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Would you like me to read it again? Yes, this is for Amy's amendment. Mrs. Riccardi's amendment, please. Right. Clerk, please close and display the vote. Okay. Based on policy 2440, which states that in any case where there is a tie vote when all members are not

[03:45:53] present the question shall be passed by until the next meeting when it shall be voted upon even though all members were not present in any case in which there is a tie vote on any question after complying with this procedure or in any case in which there is a tie vote when all the members are present the clerk shall record the vote and the motion resolution or issue voted upon shall be defeated. Given that we have a 4-4 vote, this motion failed. The yes votes are Ms. Riccardi, Ms. Chernoff, Mrs. Griffiths, and Ms. LaBelle, and the no votes are Mr. Svensson, myself, Mr. Pepper,

[03:46:29] and Dr. Rashid. With that, we'll go back to discussion of the base motion. Is there any further discussion? Yes, Ms. Riccardi. Thank you, Madam Chair. I have a second amendment that I'd like to make it would read as follows I moved to amend policy 4190 by adding a new section I guess this would be in theory C 7 since we didn't approve that one to read as follows and again same thing here I took out loud and County Board of Supervisors so it would read if the annual appropriation for OPEB pre-funding is reduced below the prior fiscal year's level the school board

[03:47:06] shall evaluate the impact on the plans funded ratio trajectory and shall take one of the following actions as part of the annual budget process a allocate funds from the school operating fund to offset the reduction or b adopt a distinct board action documenting the decision not to do so and the basis for that decision uh thank you miss riccardi uh miss riccardi has made a motion to amend is there a second second thank you mrs griffiths um miss riccardi would you like to speak further to your motion i would thank you this amendment is about what the board does when

[03:47:42] the county if and when the county reduces its contribution to retiree health benefits so right now the answer to that question is nothing is required the fund gap just happens and the next board figures it out later on so this amendment changes that if there's a reduction in that contribution the board can decide visibly in an open session on the record the board has a couple of paths and the amendment respects the board's discretion on both so path a is the board chooses to fill the gap from the operating fund, or B, that the board chooses not to fill the gap and takes a distinct documented action explaining why. I think this is really important to be clear with

[03:48:20] the public and for our retirees about what's going on with their accounts at any point in time. Neither one of these paths is locked in. The board keeps its discretion. What the amendment removes is the option of doing nothing and of letting the fund shortfall pass without a board decision. This is the same logic. The board applies to every other major financial decision. We're getting ready to have a few of those. We don't allow material changes to a two billion dollar budget happen silently. This amendment says that we don't allow material changes to retiree health benefits to happen silently either. OPEB is the fund that pays for the health benefits we

[03:48:59] promised to people who spent their careers serving the students of Loudoun County. Classified staff and bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, teachers, The people who show up every single day, sometimes for 30 years, as tonight we saw, sometimes 40 and 45 years, on the promise that their health benefits would be there when they retired.

[03:49:19] This fund nearly collapsed in 2024 and 2025. It took an emergency $26 million transfer to keep the whole thing going, and we learned painfully what happens when the board does not have the structural visibility into a fund. This amendment ensures that when the next moment of stress comes, and it will come at some point, The board sees it, decides on it, and answers for it.

[03:49:41] And I want the board just to be on the record for that. So thank you. Thank you. All right. Board members, is there, will we have a second by Mrs. Griffiths? So we're ready. Board members, is there any discussion?

[03:49:57] Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. I think Ms. Riccardi's amendments are absolutely clear and concise for our retirees and to protect our retirees. So I'm hoping this vote on this amendment will go through today.

[03:50:17] Thank you. Thank you. Ms. LaBelle. As one of the retirees, I hope that we do keep our eye on the ball here. We almost lost it, as Ms. McCarty pointed out. There are so many people living on a fixed income, having trouble finding medical help, paying for medical help.

[03:50:43] The least we could do, and I do mean the least we can do, is keep an eye on the funds. It's nothing more than a simple recording every year and then saying, hmm, it's good, or hmm, why did it go down? What should we do about it?

[03:50:59] That's really all she's asking, and I really hope that you will support this for all our retirees. Thank you. Ms. Willoughby, I sense some friction, and I certainly wonder at how Ms. Riccardi's amendment would change the process as it stands now, and I wonder if you would like to address any concerns.

[03:51:22] Yes, please. Thank you. I was reacting because I really want to be clear that I think there's some confusion. we have a health self-insurance fund and we have our OPEB trust fund. The fund that is being referenced that has run into financial challenges that we have transferred funds at the end of the year out of our school operating fund is our health self-insurance fund. The OPEB fund is stable and continues to grow year after year between the contributions annually that are

[03:52:01] appropriated from the county and I'll elaborate on that in addition to the investments that are made this is a fund that continues to grow reaching you know funding of a hundred percent so I want to really clarify that we are talking about two totally different funds also the amendment that's proposed I would like to provide some clarification in that during the budget process staff will include in the in the budget a recommendation for what the funding request from the county for the contribution to the OPEV fund it is

[03:52:41] treated as a transfer through or a pass through the school operating fund that information has been included in the superintendent assessment of needs budget book as I shared at the last meeting I had made a note that for presentation purposes we will make sure to highlight that regardless if there's changes up down or the recommendation is to maintain the same level of funding the school board owns and manages full authority over what that funding amount is when the school board adopts the budget it is in essence adopting the

[03:53:16] request amount that goes to the county that is embedded as part of this overall school operating fund request when the county then appropriates its annual budget and allocates funds to the school division what they have done though in their appropriations resolution they carve out a subtotal of for example for FY 27 12 million for the OPEB plus the remaining balance of the school operating fund the two amounts combined represent the

[03:53:50] allocation to the school operating fund the school board retains full authority over the appropriation allocated to it the county does not have line item or any additional level of authority to dictate how the funds are allocated I had reached out to the county trying to get some context because I don't have the context of why it is broken out separately in the appropriations resolution I can only perhaps surmise and county staff wasn't sure either that Perhaps it was just trying to provide an additional level of transparency of the support for the OPEB.

[03:54:31] Since the OPEB was created, I think in 2013, 2014, when there has been reductions and the county has not fully funded LCPS, they do not go in and make any adjustment to the OPEB line in the appropriation resolution.

[03:54:47] They would just reduce the school operating fund. reconciliation and as I mentioned earlier you all have been very fortunate to not have to go through reconciliation but during reconciliation historically staff has not ever presented an option to reduce the OPEV funding to balance the budget nor has a school board also entertained that regardless though if the county was to reduce the appropriation to the school for the school operating fund the school board would then retain the full authority to determine how those

[03:55:26] reductions are made during the reconciliation process so the amendment i think i hear it being driven more of of the county controlling the purse string specifically for the opev but really for the opev fund the school board controls the purse strings thank you school board members any further discussion mr pepper thank you madam chair and i think this is a follow-up really for miss willoughby so i know that we're raising the funds until it's 100 funded would then when we get to 100

[03:55:59] change the allocation to the fund once we receive 100 funding then there's no additional need to make contributions because what what that 100 funding means is that our actuary has done a lot of complex analysis and financial calculations to say, this is how much you need in the bank to pay for all these future retiree health benefits. And when we hit 100%, you do not need to continue contributing amounts. This policy, this brand new policy that we have brought forward

[03:56:35] is really codifying our commitment to, you know, properly managing the funds, having, you know, funds available to to meet that commitment what we introduced in there was a threshold of a 70 percent which was following a best practice that once you reach 70 percent then there could be discussions where the annual amount that was going into it could possibly be reduced but as i had shared during some of the other meetings i don't see the 70 being automatically let's start talking

[03:57:10] about making a reduction to that contribution amount i would rather see it be substantially higher before we would even entertain but it just sets a minimum to open the door for a conversation okay can i ask a couple follow-up questions one um do we have a ballpark of when we're approximately going to get to the 70 and or 100 figure do we have a timeline i know it's hard to project out because it's based on a lot of external factors that are out of our control so the most recent figure i have for reaching 70 percent was within a couple of years and that was

[03:57:48] from two years ago and i'm trying to find my actual note um but we did get an updated feedback from our consultant when we when we could expect to reach 100 percent and i believe it was in 20 20 i don't want to say the year until i can put my eyes on it sorry to put you on the spot I requested the information anticipating the question.

[03:58:24] I just can't find my note now. I think it was 2034. Okay. It's not super terribly far in the future. No. Okay. 2034 based on current existing conditions.

[03:58:43] So the odds of this funding gap even occurring are relatively infinitesimally small, and our funding would be reduced as we get to 100% anyway. Is that correct? Potentially. That could be something that could be discussed during future budgets if we get there.

[03:59:04] Okay. Thank you. I'm just assessing the need of this. Appreciate you. Thank you. Any further discussion? Mr. Cardi? Thank you, Madam Chair. This is actually just a really pretty straightforward, simple governance issue. It's not overly complicated, and because we're creating a new policy, I think it's really incumbent upon us to make sure that we're putting in the simple notifications Every year so that we're kept up to speed on what's actually happening with this count. It's it's not hard It's we've you know, and again, I appreciate the clarification

[03:59:42] But we've had this problem in other funds already and I don't want it to happen again I want us just to be able to keep our eye on the ball Which is why I proposed this so I think that you know This is the least we could do for our retirees and you know keeping a good close eye on this fund. Thanks thank you any further discussion right seeing no further discussion let's move forward with the vote clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote yes that's right the second amendment all right clerk please close

[04:00:16] and display the vote okay that motion fails with three school board members voting yes including Miss Riccardi Mrs. Griffiths and Miss LaBelle and five school board members voting no including Mr. Svensson Ms. Chernoff myself Mr. Pepper and Dr. Rashid and with that we'll return to discussion of the base motion is there any further discussion of the base motion all right seeing no further discussion let's move forward with the vote clerk please open

[04:00:53] the vote school board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote that motion passes with seven school board members voting yes including miss Riccardi mr. Svensson mission off myself mr. pepper dr. Rasheed and miss LaBelle and one school board member voting no mrs. Griffiths and with that, we will move on to our next item, 13.03, Finance and Operations Committee, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology LCPS Agreement with FCPS for the fiscal year 2027-2028.

[04:01:32] Mrs. Griffiths, do you have a motion? Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the board approve Thomas Jefferson High School's LCPS Agreement with FCPS for the 2028 year. Thank you. Thank you. Mrs. Griffiths has made a motion. Is there a second?

[04:01:51] Second. Thank you, Ms. Chernoff. Mrs. Griffiths, would you like to speak further to your motion? Sure. Thank you, Madam Chair. This is a top school in the nation. I am encouraging my colleagues to continue the opportunity for our students to attend Thomas Jefferson.

[04:02:08] Just a little background. LCPS is required to notify FCPS no later than June 1st, 2026, If it intends to continue participation in sending students to TJ for the 2027-2028 academic year, this application process for students entering Thomas Jefferson in SY28 begins in September 2026.

[04:02:35] Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. Board members, is there any discussion? All right, seeing no discussion, let's move forward with the vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote.

[04:02:52] Madam Chair. Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Just for clarity, I don't know if I heard Mrs. Griffiths read the full motion in its entirety, and for clarity of the record, I would recommend doing so. Thank you. Mrs. Griffiths, would you like me to read it? Well, I have here to approve Thomas Jefferson LCPS agreement with FCPS for the SY 2027-2028 year. That's not a full motion.

[04:03:23] The recommendation just has a little bit more language. Oh, okay. I don't have that if you wanted to read it. That the Loudoun County School Board approve the renewal of the LCPS contract with Fairfax County Public Schools to continue sending students to Thomas Jefferson High School and that LCPS continue providing transportation for LCPS students as it previously has for the 2027-2028 school year.

[04:03:50] all right with that just to confirm Mrs. Griffiths made the motion it was seconded by Ms. Chernoff I've read it let's clear the vote and we'll do it again just to be sure all right please record your vote all right thank you clerk please close and display the vote oh so thank you Ms. LaBelle I know thank you thank you that motion passes unanimously with all eight school board

[04:04:27] members present and we will move on to our next item 13.04 Student Services Committee revised policy 8115 individuals who may be admitted free mr. pepper do you have a motion yes madam chair I move that the school board approve and adopt revised policy 8115 individuals who may be admitted free thank you mr. pepper has made a motion is there a second second oh thank you I I heard Mr. Spenson.

[04:04:56] All right. Mr. Pepper, would you like to speak to your motion? Yes, Madam Chair. As I presented at the last meeting, a change in the state code requires additional language in this policy. So we have updated the policy with a section about students who are dependents of a full-time active-duty member of the Uniformed Services and their requirements for enrolling those students within the school division.

[04:05:24] Additionally, there was a cross-reference to policy 8155 school assignment that was also added to properly cross-reference this policy. Thank you, Mr. Pepper. Board members, is there any discussion? Oh, yes, Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Madam Chair.

[04:05:40] I just wanted to follow up on some of the questions that I had asked last time, so I was able to do some research and thinking about this. And in light of future budget conversations, I feel any change to this policy would need to be considered through that lens of feasibility before any policy change should occur. So I have no amendment.

[04:05:58] Thank you. any further discussion right seeing no further discussion let's move forward with the vote clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote that motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present let's move on to our next item which is 13.05 student services committee new policy 8425 student athlete extreme heat and protection mr pepper do you have a motion yes madam chair i move that the

[04:06:34] the school board accept and adopt new policy 8425 student athlete extreme heat safety and protection. Mr. Pepper has made a motion is there a second? Second. Oh Mrs. Griffiths thank you the motion was seconded by Mrs. Griffiths I was just making sure I heard that properly Mr. Pepper would you like to speak further to your motion? Yes Madam Chair so this is a new policy to ensure that the school board policy a school board has a policy on heat related illness to ensure that you know we implement consistent evidence-based practices to protect our student athletes align with state requirements we're also going to protect

[04:07:14] our students who are participating in outdoor activities such as our marching band students and we have clear standards for prevention recognition and emergency response to heat related illness really keeping our students safe in the hot weather of August thank you school board members is there any further discussion right seeing none let's move forward with the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote that motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present

[04:07:51] including Miss Riccardi, Mr. Svensson, Ms. Chernoff, myself, Mrs. Griffiths, Mr. Pepper, Dr. Rasheed and Ms. LaBelle and Vice Chair Donohue absent for the vote with that we will move on to our next item which is 13.06 Department of Teaching and Learning Career and Technical Education CTE Perkins 2026 2027 local plan and application. Dr. Rasheed, do you have a motion? Yes, I do, Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board approve the 2026-2027 local plan for career and technical education CTE Perkins fund and endorse the school board chair and LCPS superintendent to sign the local

[04:08:29] plan. Thank you. Dr. Rasheed has made a motion. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Svensson. Dr. Rasheed, would you like to speak further to your motion? Yes, Chair. The Cardley Perkins funding grant is submitted annually to the Virginia Department of Education's Office of Career and Technical Education so for the release of funds to local school divisions so these funds are used to support our career and technical education programs throughout the school division thank you chair thank you I'm school board members is there any discussion all right seeing no further

[04:09:08] discussion let's move forward with the vote clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote that motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present and vice chair Donahue absent for the vote with that we will move on to our information items up next we have 14.01 Department of Support Services fiscal year 2028 through 2033 capital budget and the fall 2026 elementary school attendance zone change process meeting calendar which will be presented tonight by Miss

[04:09:42] Beverly Tate good evening everyone so this evening we are bringing you a proposed calendar as chair Chandler mentioned for the FY 28 through FY 33 capital budget process as well as the much anticipated perhaps attendance zone process or not for the fall for the Eastern lab elementary school attendance and review the capital budget calendar has the superintendent's recommended

[04:10:21] budget being presented to you in late October and there are two work sessions as well as a public hearing during the month of November with the board anticipated to take action in December the elementary attendance zone process is being recommended in part due to the policy revisions that the board adopted last year with policy 6530 where there was specific reference that every five years the school board would assess all school and school attendance zone

[04:10:58] boundaries and so last fall we collectively embarked on the Ashburn Dulles North Elementary attendance zone process based on the schedule that had been reviewed at your retreat in June of 2025 we had indicated that the Eastern Latin elementaries would be this fall's process so the calendar that is for you tonight proposed does in fact reflect the Eastern Loudoun process again a school being identified for review does not mean the attendance zone will change it's just a notice process so as you the board consider potential changes that

[04:11:37] everybody is aware going into the process but that would begin again in October with our first meeting meetings following the policy series of work sessions public hearings with the board potentially taking any action to revise boundaries in December as well and then the last little nugget on this proposed calendar would be the January would we would anticipate bringing to you a calendar for the review of secondary attendance zones that would not take

[04:12:13] effect if changes are made which will be made because we're opening a new high school would not take effect potentially till the fall of 28 happy to answer any questions also happy to meet with any of you if you have questions about the boundary process or all of my support services friends on the capital budget process all right thank you miss Tate board members are there any questions yes miss McCarty thank you madam chair oh miss Tate we're gonna be friends coming soon so I just have a couple quick questions for you so I don't know

[04:12:50] when the last time was that sterling park or the eastern laden schools have been their borders have been our boundaries have been looked at do you happen to know roughly um with changes probably tied to the opening of countryside indoor forest grove elementary schools I know that a prior board did look at changing existing attendance zones not tied to a new school but I honestly can't recall if any changes were adopted but I will

[04:13:28] research that yeah that'd be great long time I'm gonna guess yeah really it's been a few years yes yeah because I and I don't know I haven't looked at the Algonquian schools madam chair but the you know seven Sterling Park schools are not at capacity so have you looked at yours too it's pretty typical for Algonquian schools but not all of them we probably have two that are in the 90s and I think the rest are 70 to 60 yeah I think I have one in the 90s but it's low so I guess that's one thing I my biggest concern just kind of initially on this whole thing and I know we have to look at it so I appreciate that you

[04:14:04] know our elementary schools have a different population than the rest of the county and so I and these are not necessarily families that do a lot of engagement with the schools it's a real concern of mine and and another reason why I really want to meet with the face and EL and title one team so we can you know I can get some more information on the communication plan but around this in particular do we have any or have we thought about any unique communication plans maybe working through family liaisons to get more community involvement in this and so that's one part of this question I guess the second

[04:14:43] part is do we figure out first and foremost if we're even going to make any changes and then if we're not then we take a different path maybe on this then can you walk me through a little bit about the process of this in general that'd be helpful yes ma'am we are always open open and receptive to any ways to expand our community outreach and how to engage with our families we have worked with the communications office on that we recognize the

[04:15:19] different communities sometimes require additional and or different approaches and we often reach out to our neighboring school divisions to ask how they are and we're meeting with them in early June so that is one of my top questions to ask how do you engage but the attendance zone process typically begins where staff will review a lot of the enrollment data capacity anticipated growth development in the area and we will make a recommendation or two we have done that we've come up with two plans sometimes and that is just to

[04:15:59] begin the conversation to begin the board's review to engage with the communities to get their feedback quite honestly I mean no one knows the communities better than the folks who live there and so we're all here to learn and listen and that is part of the process to have the public hearings to have the work sessions where you ask questions of us we work with teaching learning school leadership all of those to answer your questions and then it is just the feedback and dialogue we have utilized for the past few years we've

[04:16:34] utilized redistrict which is a attendance zone app that we've partnered with Virginia Tech and that has provided a venue for the public and you board members to explore options that perhaps we did not or to confirm or engage with your communities on what they think is best and that helps and those are out there and it's it's provided really great feedback for us as staff as well as you board members and so it is it's open process there is no there's no highway

[04:17:11] or the byway so to speak with this is the plan this is what we're doing it's It's all public engagement, and it relies heavily on parents and even students in some instances to engage with us. Are we trying to get to like an 85% capacity and level it out, or what is your goal ultimately in doing this?

[04:17:34] We do try to plan for a certain level of capacity so that we allow for growth in programs as well as enrollment and an instructional need at schools. Sometimes that is not possible.

[04:17:49] Sometimes the public feedback doesn't lead to that. But that is an intent. We don't want to have one school overcrowded when we have other schools that have space capacity. It's not ideal for either. We want to utilize our schools to the best.

[04:18:08] But I'm more than happy to sit down and talk with you on this. I realize it is a new process. Yeah, I'm super curious about how this is going to go. mean none of my schools none of the elementary schools are over capacity so they're not even really close so it and I know like Rosalie Carter for example wasn't included in the Ashburn schools stuff because it wasn't either so I guess my question is before you know we have to spend a lot of time communicating with the community are we going to have a list of schools that aren't going to be considered in that so that those communities already know that they're not going to be part of this so when on the bottom of this calendar we've

[04:18:44] identified all the elementary schools on the north of Route 7 and south of Route 7 and from a staff perspective it is important for us to notice all in my opinion to notice all because if there is a plan that's considered midway through where someone comes up with a great idea and said we really should be looking at relieving this school or assigning students to this school and we haven't noticed the process stops because then we have to notice and so we have endeavored over the years to explain that just because the school is listed in an attendance zone process does not mean that its attendance zone may

[04:19:20] change it may welcome new students into its school community not necessarily lose or it may remain untouched but that is an important component to consider thank you any further discussion all right let's see seeing no further discussion is there any appetite by the board to put this item on consent it is just this the calendar do you want to change the schedule that's

[04:19:58] fine this will come this item will absolutely come back next time for action okay thank you yeah all right with that we're gonna move on to board member comments and work committee reports and this is always tricky for me but I think we're starting with this recording today okay thank you very much madam chair I'm over the last two weeks it's been a real it's been really active across the Sterling district and beyond focus on both education and community input and advocating for students and families. I joined LCPS and the Sterling community in celebrating the grand opening and ribbon-cutting at

[04:20:36] the Eastern Welcome Center, a new resource that will connect students and families to services, provide guidance, and ensure every child feels welcomed and prepared for success. It is amazing to go to the Welcome Center and understand a lot more about what they do there. It's a really great service that we provide. We hosted a really packed town hall at Rockridge High School a week and a half ago where parents residents and community members gathered for an important discussion on school calendars student capacity safety and a major update regarding Dominion's proposed transmission lines and their impact on nearby schools and neighborhoods and some of our speakers

[04:21:14] tonight were actually there as well we had about 60 people participating in that plus a bunch of others that provided input afterwards which was really great. It's always really great to hear directly from families that are going to be impacted. I also had the opportunity to go visit Miss Vicki Yu's home. She is the homeowner and property owner of the land that is between the rabbit ears which is we have you know as we've been looking at these things and really kind of seeing where they're going where they were talking about mounting a pole and all the trees that are going to get cleared from her

[04:21:47] property and down into the Broad Run Stream Park. It's pretty impactful. So I did that on Sunday and it was quite enlightening and I think we might do a field trip if anybody else wants to go to go visit that again. It's kind of interesting. I also had the opportunity to visit Aviation High School in New York City with this continuing of the career technical education team which was really really interesting it's a 80 year old school and down in New York and they have some pretty incredible programs there as a four or five year program depending on what the students are getting started their cert certificates

[04:22:24] in and it's a it's a pretty pretty was a pretty cool experience I hope we're able to do something similar here in Latin County and perhaps either with the executive airport in Leesburg or at Dulles to close out I had a really great opportunity this week to also go to Sterling Middle School to their counseling spring advisory council meeting where counselors staff and families came together to discuss student support and well-being. Always fun to go to Sterling Middle and hear what they're up to so that was pretty much my last two weeks. Thank you so much. Thank you. Mr. Svensson. Thank you, Madam Chair.

[04:23:04] I first want to say it was great to join so many of the board members at the Welcome Center opening two weeks ago. I think that's an incredible gap that LCPS is filling in making sure that students who are coming from international schools or students who are English learners, that they and their families feel supported transitioning into LCPS and it was awesome to see that and speak with the staff there. Thank you to Principal Pellegrino for hosting me at Waxpool Elementary School and his team. It was really fun to see all the piranha swag

[04:23:38] along the walls and they do a really tremendous job at at welcoming visitors there and it was I think the highlight of the tour was seeing their sensory room that they have it's really incredible and it's something that I hope that we can build upon in developing at other schools and LCPS because it's really a model of what a sensory room should be I also wanted to shout out my one of my board aides, Griffin Cook, for being recognized at the Loudoun Cares Awards for his work with the Loudoun Advisory Commission on Youth. He was celebrated as

[04:24:16] a Volunteer of the Year for the Ashburn District. It was great to see all of the nonprofits working in Loudoun County be recognized for the amazing work they're doing every day to support our community members and it was especially fun to see the Loudoun Retired Educators Association recognized for the work that they do on the Fueled program, which is providing food donations to more than 2,000 students each week. So it was really great to see their work and the work of so many volunteers recognized in Loudoun. Thank you. Ms. Chernoff? Thank you, Madam Chair. Had all three committee meetings last week. So at the Special

[04:24:54] Programs and Centers Committee meeting, we first reviewed the Charter Schools Annual Technical and Support Services Agreements. There was discussion on the proposed changes that needed clarity about the responsibility of LCPS to replace or repair certain technology items during the meeting I also noted that it seems that similar conversations seem to be reoccurring every time we approach the charter schools contracts and I was hopeful in the future that we can figure out how to consolidate the contract timelines so that we can better align all the changes happening at the same time and that would hopefully allow us to have more cohesive understanding about the ever-changing relationship

[04:25:28] between LCPS and the charter schools I all we also got an update on a part one of special programs, which is was IB, HAMSci, and DLI. We looked at retention data, achievement data, as well as considerations for the future. As I mentioned, that was part one of two, which we will get next month. I very much appreciated the work session at the Performance Monitoring Committee on the data dashboard dialogue that's going to be forward-facing and public. I thought that that was a really meaningful conversation. Thank you to Dr. Spence for coming and sharing his wisdom and thoughts on that as well. And I know Dr.

[04:26:03] she will talk about CNI but very excited about what's on the horizon for our middle school schedules in the coming years. I also got to participate in a learning walk at Loving Elementary that involved the co-teaching strategies that we're implementing with EL teachers. It was amazing to see the work how far they've come using common strategies across subjects and grade levels and how it is really moving the needle for all kids. I also attended the ribbon-cutting and it was awesome and I last week I was able to Friday was a fun day was a third annual time I've been able to go to food truck wars which is put on by gourmet food students miss Madigan is the teacher and she was at Heritage but

[04:26:43] now she's at Riverside and she started the new tradition there three different teams different concepts different food trucks and I left very full but the burger truck took home the win Friday afternoon I popped over to Middleburg Charter School with Dr. Ellis and Mr. Slevin for their Art Fest. It was a community celebration focused on creativity, collaboration, and family fun.

[04:27:05] And my favorite part was that it featured a variety show of artistic expression called a Trashin' Show using recycled materials to create wearable art. So that was a very fun afternoon and then every year I just feel so honored to attend the Outstanding Educator Banquet sponsored by Loudoun Education Foundation, the evening dedicated and honoring our teachers and administrators of the year and the nominees and the winners.

[04:27:35] It's always a powerful reminder of all the work that our educators do. And shout out to Simpson for an extraordinary performance of Matilda Jr. and fill out your calendar survey. That's all. Thank you. Well, it has been a very busy week.

[04:27:51] Like Ms. Riccardi, I had the opportunity to visit with our neighbors over in Loudoun Valley estates and had the opportunity to see miss Hughes property it was it is very interesting conversation and very eye-opening I definitely appreciate that they made that possible for us I like my colleagues I am so happy to reflect on how wonderful the Welcome Center East Ruben Cutting was, it really felt like we were able to fulfill a promise that

[04:28:27] was made long before many of us were on the board, and I just think it's going to be such a great resource, especially for Eastern Loudoun, especially for Sterling, and also feeding into some of the areas in Ashburn and Dulles where we have a high immigrant population. I think we are going to make that transition so much more pleasant and effective for our families, and I appreciate all the work that went into making that possible. I had lots of fun on school visits last week,

[04:29:00] including making a visit to Mr. Muncie's class for the week of play at Horizon. I understand Mr. Muncie used to coach the commanders, which is apparently a skill that translates very well also teaching first grade. It was fascinating to see how he uses questions to get the students to engage. And we had the opportunity to practice some yoga, which is my favorite, and balancing.

[04:29:32] So that was lovely. And then on Friday, I had the chance to pop over to Sugar Land, which was really so nice. Just a great week to be in schools with the teacher appreciation week, to see all the different ways that the schools were honoring our educators who work so hard.

[04:29:48] And then it was really nice to see both of the teachers, like the teacher that I visited, and also Dr. Mihalik at the LEF Outstanding Educators Banquet, which once again was really just a wonderful event and such a nice way to remember all the ways that our educators are working hard to serve our students.

[04:30:10] And then last but certainly not least, the MSAC equity was delightful. We had lots of special guests, including Chair Randall, Senator Sreenivasan, Delegate Martinez, and Supervisor Glass.

[04:30:26] And I will say, if you have not seen how stylish Mr. Pepper is, you're missing out, because that was legendary. And with that, I'll pass it over to Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to go over the finance and operations, we're continuing to review contracts and discuss ways on how to improve the present budget moving forward.

[04:30:52] We plan to bring these suggestions to future meetings as Ms. Riccardi has already brought some information. I do serve on the Student Health Advisory Board. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the most recent meeting, but I hope to have an update to share soon.

[04:31:11] or the committee will provide these updates directly to the board. It's important to share health advisory updates to the people down in county for transparency. I do want to shift gears that I, too, was happy to be judging the food truck wars over at Riverside High School.

[04:31:26] That was amazing. The food was good. Oh, the food was really good. I want to thank Ms. Madigan for the gracious invitation. I also made a visit to Seldon's Landing Elementary. I always enjoy updates from the School Counselor Advisory Council.

[04:31:43] Thank you to Principal Brezina, Ms. Brinker, and staff. And thank you to Selden's PTA. I loved seeing the tribute to our teachers with the Bloom Bar. They set up flowers and just call it the Bloom Bar, and the teachers can, on their breaks or whenever they have time, can come over and pick up flowers for their classrooms.

[04:32:03] I do finish the week out with, or did rather, finish the week out with teacher. appreciation on my facebook page and um to my constituents or just everybody in latin county feel free to nominate teachers and other events to be featured on my facebook page thank you thank you mr pepper thank you madam chair it has been um a very fun two weeks last week was teacher appreciation week so in addition to appreciating all of the educators in latin county i got to feel appreciated which was always nice um but what a great fitting end to the week

[04:32:39] last week to go to the LEF awards gala they put on such a beautiful event and it's so great to celebrate our teachers and our administrators who do all the wonderful things and it's so many just really good conversations people who are doing just amazing work with our students um I also had the opportunity to attend the equity um on Saturday and yes I did wear a sparkly sequined jacket if you guys didn't see it um it was great but I was clearly upstage I was not the star. I was upstaged by Jackson and Gavin, who gave two of the most incredible speeches that I've

[04:33:18] really heard from both a middle and high school student. Just their experience in LCPS, the things they're doing. I looked at Gavin, and I was like, you are going to be able to write your ticket to whatever you want to do in the future. You must be a mechanical engineer, which is just absolutely amazing. Last week was also committee week. Audit, which I was filling in for vice chair Donohue, actually did not meet because we were unable to have quorum, but we were going to look at the audit universe, and I believe that is going to either be disseminated or postponed until our next meeting. I'm going to meet with Mr. Woods to talk about that. We also had specialized programs

[04:33:53] and centers where I got to learn all about the cool things going on in HAMSci, and our IB program was just really, really good, as well as talking to some of our charter schools. Coming up tomorrow, For those people in my district, I'm going to put a little plug-in. I've got a town hall at Lunsford to answer all things Dulles District, but also LCPS.

[04:34:15] So if you've got questions on the calendar or you've got questions on, I guess zoning's not going to affect us, but anything else that's on the top of your mind, I'm happy to talk about it with you guys. And with that, I'm going to end a little early tonight. Thank you, Dr. Rasheen.

[04:34:31] This time, Mr. Pepper, you're tough to follow, right? You're a tough act to follow, so... - Thank you, Chair. At this month's Curriculum and Instruction Committee meeting, we learned about creative options to improve middle school scheduling, to allow students to explore electives, including IT and world languages.

[04:34:47] The division is also looking for ways that students can access more frequent, timely, and/or appropriate interventions within their schedules. Second, we learned how LCPS is working to expand academic opportunities in social science and global studies. Events like Loudoun International Summit are of great interest, and the division hopes to support more programming like this to help foster authentic civic engagement.

[04:35:11] Over the weekend, I too was fortunate to be able to attend the Loudoun Education Foundation Outstanding Educators Banquet and the good MSAC Equity Award celebration. Both events showcase what is great about our division. Dedicated teachers, caring administrators, and engaged students help ensure our inclusivity and access for best educational outcomes and community building.

[04:35:35] And also, by the way, check my Facebook page for photo evidence of Mr. Pepper's style. Congratulations to Mr. Shahed Mohammed, who is in attendance with the cabinet this evening at the Equity. He was awarded the Equity Change Agent Award, commending his work as the director of the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, and as an important part of LCPS in general.

[04:36:00] Thank you, Mr. Mohan, for all you do. really appreciate that. I will echo the remarks of one of my students who were spotlighted as Mr. Pepper has mentioned at the equity. High schooler Gavin Davis reminded us that together we have built something great. I hope we all you know keep that in mind each day and togetherness is vital to the growth of every LCPS student. And the final MSAC meeting of the school year is coming up on May 20th and I hope to see everyone there to continue to work to support equity, diversity, and access within our schools. Thank you.

[04:36:32] Thank you, and last but certainly never least, Ms. LaBelle. Thank you, Madam Chair. I spent the last few days of April, I had a round table. I visited Emmerich School, which is doing well, and we had a wonderful visit there.

[04:36:50] I stopped by and saw the teachers and people at HCA, and on the last day of April, the 30th, I got to go to the Academies of Loudoun plant sale. And I've done every one of their plant cells since they've been back at Monroe Tech in Leesburg.

[04:37:09] So that was kind of fun to see the expansion that they had from the last plant cell they had. They have a whole new area in the back that they are now using. Last week, we had our May SEAC meeting and received an update on the new VIEW Transition Center.

[04:37:30] And we were able to learn a lot more about the 15 different career pathways and options that will be available to our students. I also visited Harmony on May 7th, and I had the honor and the pleasure of being in the classroom with Eric Kirsman, our Teacher of the Year, and watching him work with his students.

[04:37:59] And then I saw him again, of course, at the awards banquet. But it was really neat to be in the classroom with them. I also visited today Waterford Elementary and also Lovettsville School and got to look over at Waterford, the areas where they're going to start building out their expansion.

[04:38:22] So we did a tour of that. But so far, not a blade of grass has moved. So hopefully that will start soon. And I checked at Lovettsville Elementary, And I was distressed to hear that they haven't gotten their music teacher yet.

[04:38:40] But we understand that there are people in HRTD awaiting to be appointed. So hopefully that'll happen, as they haven't had a full-time music teacher since earlier this year. I did speak with Mr. Slevin, and he's going to be looking into it.

[04:38:57] So I like being able to go to the schools and saying, what can I do for you? What do you need from me? know that's an important part I think of our jobs but everybody was excited about the upgrades in both their schools obviously Waterford with the new clinic which is bigger than a closet and has a real bathroom in it I was shown today that they had seats set outside the room with buckets underneath of them in case students are sick and I thought oh this is wonderful I'm glad they're getting a

[04:39:32] new bathroom um also uh monday we're sorry can i just make one statement go right ahead monday at c uh s back we're going to be discussing dress codes please come let us know what you think thank you thank you so much and with that we'll move on to item number 16 new business board members is there any new business miss shirnoff thank you madam chair um i realize that this might not technically be a new business item but I'm gonna ask my colleagues if they

[04:40:07] would be willing to engage in a briefish conversation about calendars and with the goal of having some questions addressed as well as discuss the survey options that have been presented in light of the large amount of feedback that we've already received I would normally seek two colleagues to add this as a discussion item to a future agenda however Miss Boland will be away for the next meeting and by then the survey will have already closed so with that in I move to suspend the rules to add the calendar discussion to the agenda tonight. Thank you Ms. Chernoff has made a motion to suspend the rules to add the calendar discussion as a discussion item tonight. Thank you

[04:40:43] It has been seconded by Ms. LaBelle. With that we will have no discussion But we will move forward with the vote and it requires two-thirds to pass so Clerk, please open the vote board members. Please record your vote. Oh sure. Gotcha.

[04:41:12] All right board members. Let's record our vote All right. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes with seven school board members voting yes, including Ms. Riccardi, Mr. Svensson, Ms. Chernoff, myself, Mr. Pepper, Dr. Rashid, and Ms. LaBelle, Mrs. Griffiths voting no, and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote.

[04:41:36] With that, we will move on to our discussion item on the calendar. Ms. Chernoff, would you like to kick us off? Thank you, Madam Chair, and I appreciate my colleagues for their support tonight to just do a sort of interim tag-up, like I said, due to the feedback. My goal tonight is really to just continue a little bit of the discussion in response to a lot of the feedback and questions that we've gotten.

[04:41:56] I've been trying to keep up with my own personal feedback, and I've received many questions. And so I felt it best to address that with the public listening to ensure that LCPS staff is here and to ensure accurate responses and information shared. I will also be sort of queuing up a collaborative calendar that Mr. Pepper has graciously sort of actually led the charge on and allowed me to work side by side with him and LCPS staff.

[04:42:23] But before we dive into that, I did just want to say something personally. I feel like there is, when these things happen, it's obviously deeply personal to people's lives and it impacts their schedules and, you know, it's important.

[04:42:39] I feel like calendars are a really important topic. I think it relates to a lot of different areas, and we've discussed them a lot. However, when this goes out to the public and the feedback sort of starts going about and I start seeing trends, this is one trend that I've seen, and I just feel like I would like to personally address it.

[04:42:57] And it's that I'm hearing a lot, I'm seeing on social media, and I've heard it repeatedly, that LCPS is just putting out these terrible options because there's some kind of hidden motive to get us to year-round school or something else.

[04:43:15] And I really feel that LCPS and the staff here are sort of handcuffed by a lot of the guiding principles that we have used because we have engaged in feedback, we've engaged in surveys, and we are trying to please a lot of different groups and there are a lot of different priorities.

[04:43:34] So we've kind of tried to temper that into what could work, also trying to adhere to code to make sure that teachers get their contract days in and to make sure that we're maximizing the instructional days so all of those guiding principles are also driven by us as the school board and what school boards in the past have wanted to adopt and when we vote for a certain calendar that signals to the staff that that's what we value that's the calendar type that we value and then other calendars are built off of that so I actually think it's a conversation about what guiding principles we are willing

[04:44:13] to be flexible on and maybe just having a conversation about what those things are when we get to our work session after we see the feedback because really in my opinion based off the punch it in punch it out what we have told staff to adhere to by these guiding principles this is what we can achieve and so yes it is creating a shorter summer and yes it is becoming more and more complicated with other groups asking for holidays and different factors so I just felt like I needed to say that because I think those questions should be directed to us and what flexibility we're willing to give now if we want a quote

[04:44:51] unquote more simple calendar because it really isn't quite simple with all the things that we have playing at play right now before I pass it to my colleagues I just wanted to answer three questions if it's okay with miss Bolin to field that have come from my feedback that has been asked so the first one is what is the projected timeline with the board are we voting by the end of this month so because we are thank you for the question is sure enough

[04:45:25] because we are so far ahead in our calendars it really is up to the board how we would like to move forward. We do have time. So the goal would be to get the survey results, bring it back to the full school board for this work session, and then ultimately decide whether or not you feel prepared to take action before the recess in July, or if the preference is to take the recess in July and then revisit it as an action item

[04:45:59] When we come back in August, I appreciate that clarification and then I also I guess it's only one more question there It has been reoccurring from the teachers about why option five does not have a partner teacher calendar at this time So if you could just speak to that Why the year-round mock-up option doesn't have that partner teacher calendar on the survey?

[04:46:24] Yes, ma'am. So we were we intentionally did not include a teacher calendar for those mock-ups because if the decision is to go with a year-round calendar, which would be the phase-in approach and then the full implementation, that will require a lot of different conversations with multiple different departments, including Dr. Ellis, including Mr. Slevin, Ms. Mitchell. We will have to have conversations with Mr. Lewis about construction but what will occur during inter sessions will we have remediation

[04:47:04] during those sessions versus in the summer will we have opportunities for staff to do those so-called summer jobs or ESY type programs during inter sessions we don't have the answers to that and we will want to be intentional about that we will also want to have conversations with teachers in regards to what that could look like we'd also want to work with parks and rec about what types of camps could be offered so a lot of conversations would have to occur before we could put out a realistic

[04:47:40] calendar that we would feel good about I appreciate that I know there were a lot of questions since the other ones did have the partner teacher but we've had those types of calendars before so I've been suggesting that if people feel like a gut feeling that year-round might be a good option that they should rank accordingly and I know that that could be difficult without the teacher information. I am happy to walk through our collaborative option but I also want to give Mr. Pepper the opportunity if you wanted to walk through it first. Thank you Ms. Chernoff and Madam Chair I'm not under I'm not

[04:48:17] usurping any of your chairwomanship power. Yes please thank you Mr. Pepper the floor is yours. So I too like my colleagues on the board have received a lot of feedback about things that were included as options, things that weren't included as options. I've heard a lot from a lot of educators in particular, the phrase, none of these options are good. And I myself took the survey. Well, my wife took the survey because I could take my feedback any day. But as we take the survey, one of the things that I always

[04:48:53] encourage any of LCPS community, including our parents, to say is if there's something that you don't like, you know, please put it in the comments, right? The comments are infinitely more valuable than ranking your top three of five options. When I looked at the five options, outside of option five, which we know how I feel about it based on my comments at the last meeting, when we looked at the options, really those four options were relatively similar and kind of ride off of what we've been doing for the past couple years of time

[04:49:29] at the very least. And as I take into account feedback, particularly from educators, but also into some of the things that we're doing, I felt that there could be at least a presentation of some alternative items. And so some of the things that I would take into account are as we expand our programs like IB, like dual enrollment, I know that those exams are fixed in time, not just for Loudoun County, but they're fixed in time for the whole world. And so when we want to give our students time and we want to, let's face it, we're a top school system in this country. When we want

[04:50:09] to give our students time to show, to demonstrate that they're the best in the world, we need to give them time to adequately prepare for those things. And so if we're going to push one end of the calendar one way or another, and when I looked at options one through four, there's like a June 22nd end date, we need to be looking at if we're going to put those days in that are outside of the traditional Labor Day to Memorial Day window, those days need to be front-loaded. Because what happens is you get to Memorial Day, and yeah, it might be nice to have a week after Memorial Day to kind of wrap things up at the elementary, have those class parties, but testing is done, right? Teachers have

[04:50:45] achieved their curricular goals. The other thing that I really wanted to make sure of, and I know that, you know, there are some options out there that may have extended or shortened the calendar, but extended the school day. Truthfully, from a curriculum and instruction perspective, and that's the lens that I take things at. Days matter. Students digest information in chunks. Teachers prepare their lesson in chunks. And I know as an educator, I really do need almost all of the 180 or if you're a block schedule, those 90 days that I have, give or take, however many snow days that we have put in the year. So the number of instructional days for me, it really mattered.

[04:51:24] And it mattered from an educator's perspective. And then we also hear calls from things in the community. Some of the reasons people really liked in the feedback I'm getting that year-round schooling was time off with their families. So looking at a week in the fall, that is that fall break that maybe can encompass some of the days students weren't going to be at school anyway, like an election day or like Veterans Day. I also know that there's push and pull both ways, and this is the piece that I really need to hear from the community on, right? The push and pull for those

[04:51:56] holidays. As we are a diverse community, I love our diversity, right? I love the feeling that I get to celebrate, right? I get to celebrate my holidays and I don't have to worry about what are my kids missing instructionally or do I have to take a day off? Do I have to make sub plans?

[04:52:15] At the same time, what LCPS has been giving to respect that is really only a fraction of what they need. So is there some way to build a calendar that respects everybody's opportunity to celebrate their traditions, their customs, their religion freely in the way that they do?

[04:52:38] And what would it look like if we remove those but put in accommodations for our educators, put in accommodations for our students, put in something that respects this idea that we're more than just one day for four major religions, right? So in talking with Ms. Chernoff, and thank you for being a partner on this, I came at this with an educator's lens, right? And Ms. LaBelle, you've been in schools. Ms. Chernoff, you've been in schools. The rest of us, we've been

[04:53:11] parents, but we've never seen it from a teacher perspective. So came at this, what could a calendar look like. And so the option that we've kind of worked together along with HRTD to develop is an option that has a start date roughly right around when we're starting now, but gets us out super early in June. Now, it doesn't necessarily have the holidays. That's the one thing that I'm trying to balance and figure out. But it does have election day. It does celebrate the federal holidays. Spring break, I'd like at the end of the third quarter

[04:53:50] because it fits best there instructionally. So this is the option that we've got that was my thinking going into it, and it's not saying that, you know, different communities, please understand, it's not saying that they're not valued. If anything, I want to ensure every community in Loudoun County is valued, but it is definitely food for thought.

[04:54:09] So I'm going to leave it kind of at that. All right. Thank you. Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. I came up with an option, option seven. I did not expect the feedback I was going to get, but I do want to say I didn't really get anybody for year-round school, and I think there's a couple reasons for that.

[04:54:37] Well, first off, we're the government seat here in Virginia. So federal holidays are important because the government is off for their federal holidays. Also, a big thing that I got was custody issues.

[04:54:53] Parents that may live in another state and have their child for a month when they have summer vacation or whatever it is, that was an issue. Also, SOLs, and I met with Ms. Boland, so thank you so much for having the conversation.

[04:55:11] SOLs, we can all admit that kids, or students rather, they check out after SOLs. So when I posted option 7, I didn't know I would get all this feedback. And over the past two weeks, my phone, my inbox, everything's been full, sending messages that they really liked option 7, which happens to be a federal calendar.

[04:55:37] What I did see was a lot of people upset that a federal calendar period, not necessarily mine, was not in this survey. And then you and I had the conversation that that survey was planned weeks before.

[04:55:55] I think there absolutely has to be a federal calendar in the next survey. We will do another one, correct? We do not currently have a second survey planned.

[04:56:12] We will take the lead from the school board in regards to how the work session goes and what the wishes of the school board is. Well, I personally think that a federal calendar should be enclosed in the survey or attached in the survey because as we've gotten feedback with the ranked choices, people look at it and they don't know that maybe federal can be a choice.

[04:56:42] And I'll be honest with you, they're not happy with all of them. So the great feedback I've gotten is federal with the holidays as excused absences and the federal holidays on the calendar.

[04:57:00] So I just wanted to mention that I didn't expect to have the conversation tonight, but I just wanted to mention that that took a lot of care, putting that together. didn't expect the feedback but at the same time I I do want the people down in county to know that I'm listening to them and I think again they should have a choice of a federal calendar and I've I've always wanted a federal calendar calendar miss Bolin you know that I've mentioned

[04:57:35] it since I've been on the board so if there's any way in our work session we can include something like that um as a choice for uh potent for parents and teachers to choose i i think and you've been doing this for years miss bowman so i i think um the majority of our constituents are interested in something like that so that's just my uh two cents on the matter um and um i hope my colleagues will understand that a federal calendar seems to just work because we are here in virginia and we

[04:58:14] the government seat. So that's why it was put together and it was put together with care. Thank you. Thank you. Any further discussion? Ms. LaBelle. Thank you, Madam Chair. I too have had a lot of mail from people and overwhelmingly people wanting a federal calendar. What I am concerned about in any calendar that we choose. It should have a number of weeks of five-day instruction, as many

[04:58:48] as we can get. And that is critically important. All of these days that are broken up, we go two days a year, then we're off a day, then it's a weekend, then we go one day and it's two days more. This does not work. It has to have continuity of instruction. And so when we go look at calendars I hope that's something that people keep in mind thank you thank you miss Riccardi thank you madam chair shockingly this is a debate that I have no skin in the game honestly I have there are so many different

[04:59:27] directions and we're never going to make everybody's going to be upset with whatever we pick right so I think the thing that I would find most helpful isn't necessarily people rating and ranking full calendars but the elements so federal holidays all the holidays starting after labor day starting in august ending at the after memorial day i mean i think those are the elements i think i would find interest i think that i'd find that as

[05:00:00] interesting data points and then from that building out a model that um that would work I would rather us take our time with this again because we're not rushed and rather get it right and not try to rush into a whole set calendar element of this. I would also like to see that information sliced and diced. I definitely want to hear from teachers and what their preferences are.

[05:00:24] I want to hear from parents and I want to see that data separate. So I'm not suggesting that we do another survey. I'm just saying in the out years that might be a different way for us to do a survey like this before we all start spending an enormous amount of time and god bless each and every one of you that have the mental capacity to put together a calendar because that is not in my wheelhouse like that is you're never going to see me throwing something like that out there um but i i but i appreciate it and i appreciate that you guys are really in everybody's trying trying to work in really good faith to come up with something that works um and i and and staff

[05:01:00] as well i this is just a level of detail i just will never have in my entire entirety of my life But I do appreciate it, and I want us to make sure we just get it right. So I guess that's my closing piece of this is, like, I'd really like to take our time on this and figure out the right elements.

[05:01:18] Thanks. Thank you. Dr. Rasheed? Thank you, Chair. You know, just when I thought that we took 10 steps forward, I feel like we're taking 10 steps back. And I'm going to date myself here. I grew up on a calendar with federal holidays only.

[05:01:35] And, you know, with all these holidays that I had to celebrate, I had to celebrate Eid, and I had to take the day off and I remember all the exams that were on that day or any tests that were on that day I had to make up on another day. It was just only harder. I find it a little bit challenging for teachers if they would have to, you know, find these observances. And I understand there's other challenges. I'm not, you know, I'm not really putting down anybody's calendar. I'm just saying that it's really important to, especially coming from a diverse county as Loudoun County, it's really important that we recognize or observe those holidays. And I think, what is it,

[05:02:13] four or five holidays? I didn't count. But I think that that's really important to show all the students that, you know, we recognize you and, you know, like there's a, it creates a sense of awareness. I know that I believe the Adams Center and I believe, I think it was JCRC, If I'm getting the acronym correct, I spoke to a lot of religious leaders about this and I've heard many of them, almost all of them, saying that, you know, this is kind of a little bit of a, a little bit of a challenge.

[05:02:48] So, and I understand to the best of my knowledge, letters have come out as well from them. So, in my opinion, I really think that these holidays should not be removed. Now, I understand that we have to follow accreditation. I understand that we can't, I believe, start after Labor Day and we can't end before Memorial Day.

[05:03:10] But there should be and there has to be another way. I can't stress that enough, you know, but just saying that lectures and tests and all the quizzes and all that, you know, they would just have to make that up. That's a burden, too, on teachers. That would be a little bit difficult, too, I can imagine.

[05:03:30] But no matter what, remember that there's a lot of diversity in our teachers as well, in our professors as well, and among the staff and educators. So, you know, it's this inclusivity. We keep talking about diversity, you know, and we're all diverse here. We all come from different, you know, countries and religious backgrounds here on the dais as well.

[05:03:49] So I think that it's more welcoming if we observe these holidays at the least bit, at completely the least bit. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Svensson. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to pick up on this point of thinking through the survey that's been sent to LCPS families. The options one through four all have the current holidays that are observed by LCPS. As Ms. Griffiths pointed out, there is no option other

[05:04:24] than the year-round option that says just federal holidays. And I worry that folks in the community are not picking up that this is something that's a conversation among the board. You've heard from a number of my colleagues here tonight talking about this is something that they are considering. So I would encourage folks to reach out to us to let us know what you think. I hear my colleagues and from the educators who say we need to maximize the number of full five-day instructional weeks.

[05:04:55] I also understand that we are it was hard fought over time to recognize the diversity in this county and to have a calendar that reflects the folks that live here. So I think we want to understand how this will affect families and I understand that there is an option on our LCPS survey to fill in your comments in addition to ranking the options. You can provide your feedback but please also get in touch with your board member and get in touch with us to let us know, you know, as Ms. Riccardi was saying, what are the most important elements to you on the calendar? And I'm glad we're going to have

[05:05:35] some work sessions. I just think that I would like folks to understand that you have received the survey with the options that are presented to you, but as my colleagues have said, they've introduced some versions or considering some others, and it would be helpful to hear feedback from folks on that point.

[05:05:52] Thank you. I just want to jump in for a second. I have gotten lots of feedback recently, too. I definitely anticipate that the communities that we serve are going to have strong feelings about this, and I think we should be prepared to hear them.

[05:06:11] I always try to start with this work by remembering who we serve, and this is a very diverse community and when we ask for people to observe the holidays on their own there's always an inherent risk that someone won't understand or won't remember when they're making the plans that that day is important to someone or many someones in their class and that that was something I think I've definitely heard from the community was a problem before that it might be aid and

[05:06:47] their child might not be there but there could be a test or there could be a field trip and it takes I just I worry about how the conversation has been going in our country and how our community members and our neighbors are going to respond to the idea of taking this hard one opportunity away because there are so many people in our community who represent people who participate in these holidays and it is a respectfulness that we've offered to our neighbors that I value and I would

[05:07:25] like to see continued and I do hope that the communities will let us know what their feelings are and I just encourage everyone to comment participate reach out make sure that your representatives know how you feel about this it is 9 35 we still have two closed sessions I think everyone has had an opportunity to speak and we are coming back to a work session so based on some of the comments that I heard tonight I would ask Miss Bolin if we could start at a high level and and sort of remember what those guiding principles are that we've and maybe have that at the beginning of

[05:08:04] our conversation yes ma'am I can absolutely do that and I have found the previous presentation which broke out the survey results the way Miss Riccardi is asking for it the only difference is it does not break it out by staff and I'm not even sure we ask for that difference now I will have to go back and check but I will provide the previous presentation to the to the entire board to prepare for that work session also okay thank you for that and just one last question if you could confirm have we determined when we'll have that work

[05:08:40] session. As of right now, it's scheduled for the last meeting in June, I believe. That's what we've discussed, Dr. Bergen. So that's when the board can be prepared to have that conversation. Okay. With that, we will move forward to item 17, our closed meeting. Mr. Svensson, do you have a motion?

[05:09:04] Yes, Madam Chair, I have a motion. I move that the Loudoun County School Board recess this public meeting and enter into a closed meeting pursuant to 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia for the following: consultation with legal counsel pertaining to actual litigation where such consultation or briefing and open meeting would adversely affect the negotiating or litigating posture of the

[05:09:42] public body as authorized by section 2.2-3711 of the Code of Virginia and consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding a specific legal matter relating to a former public employee as authorized by section 2.2-3711 of the Code of Virginia, discussion or consideration of matters that would involve the disclosure of information contained in a scholastic record concerning any LCPS student and consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding specifically legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel as authorized by

[05:10:19] sections 2.2-3711a2 and 2.2-3711a8 of the Code of Virginia. Thank you. Mr. Svensson has made a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Rasheed. It has been properly moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board go into closed session. Is there any discussion? Clerk, please open the vote.

[05:10:44] Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present for the vote and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. The board is now in closed

[05:11:02] session. Mr. Svensson, do you have a motion?

[06:30:46] Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the closed meeting be adjourned, that the Loudoun County School Board reconvene its public meeting and the minutes of the public meeting reflect that no formal action was taken in the closed meeting. Thank you. Mr. Svensson has made a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Rasheed. It has been properly moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board adjourn the closed session is there any discussion okay clerk please open the vote board members please record your vote the clerk please clerk please close and

[06:31:23] display the vote the motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present and vice chair Donahue absent for the vote Mr. Spenson do you have another motion yes I move that the following resolution certifying the closed meeting be adopted and reflected in the minutes of this public meeting resolution number 41 - 25 / 26 whereas the 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 section 2.2-3712D of the Code of Virginia

[06:32:00] requires a certification by the school board that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law, now therefore be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification applies and to only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard discussed or considered by the Loudoun County School Board. Thank you. Mr. Svensson has made a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you Dr. Rasheed. It has been

[06:32:37] properly moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board certify the closed meeting. Is there any discussion? Clerk please open the vote. Board members please record your vote clerk please close and display the vote that motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present voting yes and vice chair Donahue absent for the vote then mr. Svensson is there a final motion yes I move that this Loudoun County School Board authorize the school board chair to take action as discussed in the closed session thank you mr.

[06:33:12] Svensson has made a motion do I have a second again thank you miss Chernoff it has been properly moved and seconded is there any discussion seeing none let's move forward with the vote clerk please close and display the vote that motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present voting yes and vice chair Donahue absent for the vote and with that we have completed our work for the May 12th 2026 school board meeting the meeting is now adjourned thank you and please drive home safely

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