Coraggio Consulting
Manassas City School Board Work Session - April 16, 2026

Date: Thursday, April 16, 2026
Place: Manassas City Public Schools / School Board meeting, Virginia
Length: 3h 21m (video)
Official meeting video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_prmC4SNC78

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 2026-10-17. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:00:51] Good evening, I call the order of the special meeting of the school board in the city of Manassas, time is 5 o'clock. Please join me in a moment of silence, followed by the pledge of allegiance.

[00:01:08] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We received gifts the other night and we were thinking that we would take pictures to thank our gift giver.

[00:01:31] um so if we could take a quick recess yes where's the role oh it's time for the roll call um madam clerk please call it yes ma'am chair's paul uh president vice chair dr jones here mrs hebert here peter here mrs brayson present mrs brown here mrs maya thank you um madam chair we have a board now it's time absolutely okay could i please um dr newman are there any additions or deletions

[00:02:05] the city agenda? Is there a motion to approve the agenda? Chair, I move that the school board of the city of Manassas approve the public meeting agenda as presented. Second. I have a motion by Ms. Stevens, seconded by Ms. Brescia, that we approve the public meeting agenda. Is there any discussion? All those in favor say yes. Aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. Motion carries 7-0. Now. Giddy up. Do we want to take a quick recess? We'd like to take a quick recess. Yes.

[00:02:39] There is a motion and a second, a motion by Ms. Stevens and a second by Dr. Jones, that we can take a recess. All in favor? Aye.

[00:02:54] I have discussion. You okay? Just watching a mouth failure in the zoo. Need some water?

[00:03:04] I didn't care.

[00:08:14] I move that we return to open session. There's a motion by Ms. Stephens to return to open session, seconded by Ms. Brescia. Any discussion? All in favor?

[00:08:32] Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 7-0. Thank you. We will now move to the work session agenda. The first item is health insurance. Executive Director Katie Fisher and USI Representative Greg Snow will provide an overview of the process involved in transitioning to a self-funded insurance model.

[00:08:58] All right. Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for having us. This is a follow-up to our conversation at the last work session around the move to becoming partially self-funded in regards to our health insurance. We talked through it a little bit at the work session.

[00:09:18] The purpose of our meeting today is really to discuss our steps for moving forward, the decision to move to a partially self-funded model as well as our timeline as we plan for this for the next fiscal year.

[00:09:45] So Mr. Greg Snow is joining us, he is a representative from USI, they are a company that we have partnered with for the past several years and they really serve as supports to us in regards to everything health insurance related and so he is going to talk us through we have a couple slides for us to talk through today so I'll go ahead and turn it over to you all right thanks Katie well Dr. Thomas-Baw and members of the board thanks for the time tonight looks like you had fun taking some photos I look forward to seeing you all as we move through this process

[00:10:20] I look forward to being there in person with you so Katie asked me to virtually go through just a few slides tonight with you so we'll start with the agenda just I think a lot of you all are familiar with me and your size I won't spend really much time there and talk about the funding overview and then the timeline and then any questions that you may have during this evening next slide is this I think you all are familiar with me I've been in public for a majority of my career, and I've worked with numerous public chapters around the state.

[00:10:54] The programs that we work with through the National City Schools, the mental dental vision plans, your disability plans, your employee assistance plan, voluntary programs you may offer. We also provide underwriting actuarial communication services, et cetera.

[00:11:13] So we're really a full service resource for you all, and we really appreciate the partnership we've had here out here in the last several years and working with Katie and her team and if Mankin was there, I'd say hi. Your folks are great to work with. You've all probably seen this before but for those that haven't, USI is one of the top five independent and even from a stock purchase standpoint, we're one of the largest firms in the country. Public sector, we have over a thousand public

[00:11:50] check the client. So this vertical for us is very well sourced. Virginia, we've been in the business, Virginia with public check for over 30 years, so we really know your business. We know procurement, and there's just a list of, a good list of some of our clients you can see that we work with all around the state. Some of the things that we have heard Katie and her team express is, you know, what do we want to work with you all as we work through this process? Certainly assessing your costs of your current programs and trying to develop strategies around those to look at your

[00:12:29] financials monitor financials uh helping with budget setting uh the rp evaluation which is coming up and then helping you through that entire analysis and award to whatever carrier event that you decide you're awarded to other pieces are very heavy in health and productivity management so data is very important to us in helping to engage your employees and ultimately i wouldn't say we're going to lower your cost but what we want to do is bend the trend so that your trend is lower than uh other peer groups uh that you compete with and then services i think we

[00:13:06] have some of the services that work closely with your your hr finance team to provide them with these type of services that we provide to monasticity schools on to the funding just a little overview here of what I call the spectrum of funding. So at the bottom here in blue you can see self-funded, no capital liability. These are very large corporations that totally self-fund and don't have any reinsurance protection whatsoever for large claims or if they're aggregate claims

[00:13:42] of their group. Then we move into partially self-funded up to 125 expected claims and then The green here is really in the middle. It's a partially self-funded plan, and we'll have more details on this as we move through this RFP process and we start providing actual financials to you.

[00:14:04] This is going to be the sweet spot of really where we think you should be. And then moving on up into level funding, which I don't like at all. It's way too high in fixed fees, but into the top being fully insured where a carrier takes the risk and they underwrite your program every year.

[00:14:21] you're sort of a quasi with local choice sort of self-funded sort of fully insured but it is technically self-funded um you can see up in orange here on these fully insured type programs there's no additional risk to you all in a contract here however any adverse claims even on fully insured business or with local choice even though your your premiums are set during your local choice if you have a bad claim here the carriers you know aren't that benevolent they're You're going to build that into your premium the following year.

[00:14:56] So whether you're fully insured or self-funded, I call it you're going to pay me now or pay me later. There is additional risk as you move into this partially self-owned in a particular contract year. That can be reduced by purchasing what we call reinsurance so that you would have reinsurance to protect you against any large claims that the individual might have during a contract year.

[00:15:20] so for example you might decide that we're going to purchase reinsurance at $200,000 that if any individual during the year exceeds that in claims and we do see a lot of folks exceed that in claims uh the carrier would write off that amount above that you pay a premium for it but it's very typical for groups your size to purchase reinsurance to protect the plan it also helps protect your your budget so that when we're budget setting we draw we we want to make sure we come within budget in a given year um again you assume the risk on partially self-funded during the year for

[00:15:57] your claims experience but you also benefit in a good month or a good year of claims experience you retain that profit or that margin or reserves some folks might call it so it's just a little bit of spectrum for you didn't know there was any questions there uh do we have any question yes oh yeah so i'm trying to understand where we are in this where we are now so because you said something like we're still we're fully yeah we're fully insured between um this fully

[00:16:36] insured and self-funded spectrum local choice is a quasi self-funded program um you have fixed premiums during the year if you have a bad year you don't have a year-end settlement however if you have a bad year the claims experience you have during that year when local choice is setting their premiums the next year they're going to build that experience into their projections the next year uh so eventually you do pay your way uh with local choices just during the year you have

[00:17:11] a set premium under self-funded you're going to pay your claims each month um during the year and there's there is no settlement in the year since you're paying your way so you're sort of in between the two with local choice so the proposal is that we've moved to we pay our way now all year and then we get reinsurance if we have a if something comes up yes you would have reinsurance to help protect you for large claims and if we had as you said a good year the money stays with us this doesn't

[00:17:46] right correct it's a risk so sort of if you look at this next slide what you're trying to accomplish on the left um if you don't pay state premium tax with your local choice plan what you do is go i'm sure again it's a quasi plan but you are eliminating when you're going parts yourself and you're trying to eliminate margins uh that the carriers have in your case it's going to be more than that um you're really going to move in that direction because today you get very little

[00:18:21] utilization data from local choice you have no flexibility in your plan design your contributions uh you don't get any information on prescription drug and data is very important when you're trying to drive strategy and trying to mitigate cost over the long term so there's some other reasons why you would want to go partially cell phone outside local choice um so have we looked at the variables i think possible advantages possible disadvantages but if we were to take this you know how we talk about data and everything over the course of the few years have

[00:18:57] we thought about like what the risks are over the course of a few years and how much money it will cost us to do it and not to do it we've done that kind of like the pros and cons because like the possible advantages and possible disadvantages is similar to that but i don't feel like it's specific to yeah yeah so can you go ahead and go to slide nine then they're asking yes and then did you hear the question around just the overall um cost yeah advantages disadvantages

[00:19:31] yeah and the analysis piece you know when we do the analysis when you go out to bid we'll do a full financial analysis and we're going to provide back to you a full overview of advantages and disadvantages with local choice plan versus a partially self-funded plan so you'll get the full knowledge of you know what those advantages are for each and then what the financial picture looks like for each um and then you know one of the things we need to consider in making a decision

[00:20:06] to move to a partial sub fund and we you know we at the end of the day it'll be your decision but we're going to be able to provide you with the information to make a a very informed decision we went through this process this past year with williamsburg chain city schools it was local choice's largest group that they had and they made the decision to turn a local choice and go direct with them um they're glad that they did it um and we've been very involved throughout that time process and continue to be so i think if we get closer to that i'm sure that dr newman or

[00:20:44] anybody else that would like to would i'm sure dr keever at Williamsburg schools i'm sure dr Newman knows who he is i'm sure he'd be very glad to have a conversation with you about the process and the outcome. You said that you won't be able to lower a cost, but this approach will help us ban the trend. So is that what you meant? Yes, what we hope to do right now, there is very little

[00:21:20] data that you get out of local choice to really determine what are our cost drivers and where are gaps in care with our employees you know what gaps do we have in care we don't get that information from what we're choice if you look at going to a partial self-employment plan we're going to get granular detail information that we get from the kind of we actually bring into USI and what we call 3D and 3D is data driven decisions it is very granular we can look down to a number level we can see where the gaps in care are on the group so that we can build

[00:21:59] strategies, you know, on engagement, wellness and strategies, incentives to help get employees more engaged in overall health. We know that when employees are engaged and we can build incentives that you can improve the overall health of your organization. So from a cost and productivity standpoint, that's where we want to be. And we just can't be there with local choice from getting any data on top of the fact you have no decision really in your plan design your contributions not to mention administratively local choice is not very

[00:22:37] friendly for your hr team and we want to build a better experience for employees around their open enrollment experience and the selection of their plans and the flexibility that they can get in making decisions that best fit their family needs we just can't get that with local choice today so So there's a lot of reasons outside of funding.

[00:22:58] I'm sure we will have more discussion on that as we work through this process this year. So just a little bit on possible advantages of pharmacy self-funded, lower retention.

[00:23:16] You do retain pharmacy rebates. Right now, local choice retains those pharmacy rebates. Plus, we have no insight into your pharmacy claims because local choice won't provide any data on your pharmacy claims, which is very important for us to be able to help manage that.

[00:23:34] You do realize cash flow and yours are capable of experience. You have much more flexibility. You get the ability to retain your own reserves. Certainly management reporting is greatly enhanced in your utilization so that we can work with you all to help mitigate your costs.

[00:23:53] Some of the disadvantages, you assume the financial risk curve that is mitigated with purchasing reinsurance for folks. On the reinsurance, and we'll discuss this later, there sometimes is potential for exposed risk for what we call lasering with reinsurance carriers.

[00:24:13] We try to mitigate that through negotiations and through setting your reinsurance limits. So we'll have more follow-up with that with you. And just the blue note there under your local choice program, again, you're not responsible for a client's experience in excess of the expected claims in a given year with local choice.

[00:24:33] However, they're just going to build that into your projections for the next year and the premiums that you're paying. So I call it pay me now. You might not pay for it during the year, but you're going to pay for it the next year in your increased premiums.

[00:24:53] One of the possible disadvantages is the reinsurance carriers may laser large claimants. It means, so let's say, for example, we purchase a $200,000, what we call specific, stop-loss limit.

[00:25:11] Any individual claims about $200,000 will be written off by the insurance carrier and not go towards your experience or your finances. And they will do that for everybody enrolled in your group. You've got about probably 1,500, 1,600 people enrolled.

[00:25:28] Sometimes carriers might say for a following year for renewal, hey, we'll give you the $200,000, but this individual here, we're going to ask you to take on $250,000 or $300,000 of risk.

[00:25:47] We try to remove that in negotiations with the carriers as much as we can. We've had some good success in that. I would tell you that lasering a lot of times does not come into play in the following year.

[00:26:05] It's very interesting. If you look back historically, and I've been doing self-funding for many, many years, probably 75% of the time, it never even comes to fruition. But McCarran can do it. We build that into projections and into the budget setting so that it's included as a potential risk.

[00:26:25] If it doesn't come to fruition, it just we have a little more margin in our budget. doesn't fall back on the claimant it falls back on the employee correct it would yes the additional amount above that 200 000 would be an answer school's responsibility when we talk about data you know i think you said we have about 1500 um insured individuals within the division if you're able to really drill down in the data is there any kind of impact on on

[00:27:01] privacy? Because I would think with 1,500 individuals, if you have someone with something very specific or involved, would that impact employee privacy? Okay, we're talking about privacy? Yeah. Okay, yeah. So we have a HIPAA agreement in place with you all. The carriers have a HIPAA agreement in place with you all that are closely involved. Although we get granular data, we don't have an employee ID number, employee names. It's just, it's an

[00:27:34] employee, or it's a spouse, or it's a child, but we want to look at that so that we can help predict their future when we're setting budgets. So let's say, for example, someone had a large claim this year. We'll use that data, and back in availability of the grain of the data, we can help predict next year. Where do we think that person's claims are going to come in? Or we might have somebody that had $25,000 in claims, and our predictive model might show that that person we might expect to have $150,000 the next year.

[00:28:10] So it helps us gain a better insight. And then also, it helps us do predictive bonding to negotiate with the reinsurance carriers if we don't agree with their renewal. We have the data to help negotiate with them and say, hey, this is our predictive bonding of next year.

[00:28:26] We think that you've overstated your premium and it helps us negotiate. But we don't look at any individual data. Although, as a cell phone employer, you do, I mean, the data is yours. None of my clients ever get any individual data, even though a carrier could release it to you.

[00:28:48] I would never recommend you get it because there's no need for you to have it and just bad things happen. So I've never had a client get individual data. The only time you get any individual health information is an employee might come to you with a claim problem. and if they come to the claim problem they need help then they will agree to sign off and allow someone to have access to information they can help through a claim problem the employee would have full knowledge of that and they could either say yeah i want your help um okay with you knowing what my claims are or uh they might come to hr and say i don't want anybody else involved i want

[00:29:28] HR to handle it is totally up to the employer. Their privacy is totally protected. So I understand that this will allow us to build a claim. If we have a favorable year, we get to basically keep the savings and put it in reserve for years that we have a less favorable situation.

[00:29:48] But if we make this switch, we don't know what kind of year we're walking into, you know what I mean? You start off, you build a reserve to start off, so there would be a reserve you start off with. So we would fund our own reserve. Yeah, we would actually recommend that you fund the first year.

[00:30:04] You won't have a full 12 months of claims because you'll get a little bit of a lag on claims when you start into this plan. But we're going to recommend you budget to a full mature year so that you can help build reserves. Or if you had a year that ended up coming in a little bit higher than expected, you already budgeted to a mature year.

[00:30:24] And that helps mitigate that that first year. In a given year, I think self-funding could cost you more money than a full mature plan. um or a local choice plan but again local choice is going to build that experience into the next renewal anyway um again pay me an hour pay me later um over time a group of your size it's feasible about 300 to 500 employees enrolled and you have about what 780 i think they enrolled in your plan uh so it is definitely feasible and long term um partially cell phone is just a better

[00:31:03] option um for clients i don't i've never had one that has gone partially self-funded has ever gone back to a full insurer um local choice type plan go ahead and move forward yeah to just um because this slide really speaks to like organizations of our size yeah so if you look at really i would say that this the graph on the left is more important um probably 75 to 80 percent of group resizing or probably partially self-funded. If you look at a lot of the peer groups around the state,

[00:31:43] a lot of those folks are partially self-funded, even in the public sector. And again, 300 to 500 employees is really sort of a threshold that I think is appropriate to look at being self-funded.

[00:31:58] And again, if you look at your industry peer groups, a lot of them have taken that direction already a little bit on timeline i think first of all you've already heard from katie and and your team the importance of what you really want to do with moving forward with the parks that's self-funded uh the things that we're going to focus on in this evaluation will certainly be plan design uh network access for your employees so we will be looking at you know providers that your employees have utilized and if we're looking at different carriers we want to see if there's

[00:32:35] any disruption in that relationship with your employees we'll have that information obviously the financials we will have a review of the administrative capabilities and services offered the vendors experience the impact of networks on claims that different carriers have negotiated discounts with hospitals and providers in your area so we will be looking at that because one carrying might not have as good a discount as you might get with anthem so we'll take current claims and we might add a little bit onto that so that if we're looking at another camera we want to make

[00:33:12] sure that if their lands put a discount we want to make sure that we build that into the financials wellness and disease management capabilities we looked at and then certainly reported and then any guarantees that we get on costs premiums reporting administrative implementation etc um katie and her team will be forming a selection committee so we'll be working closely with procurement in that committee throughout that process looking at July 1 of 2027 effector

[00:33:49] so we're going to on this next slide we're going to submit a proposal request for proposal in September and we'll have our analysis and the selection committee will work in procurement on scoring all the vendors and have an award decision where they will make a recommendation to the board for board approval uh if you approve or whatever you all approve whether you you know date where you were or went on to impart yourself on the plan we're going to be working with you and start communications in february through april time period open enrollment takes place in may

[00:34:25] and then we're going to bring a partner that we work with called gis it's an enrollment and communications firm they all have the ability to be able to have counselors that typically have 15 years of experience to either meet face-to-face or over a phone with an employee. They are payday or DM. These are not commissioned people to sell something. And one of the big reasons we like work with GIS is it's about educating employees about all their benefit options. Your core benefits are the most important. Your medical plan, your dental plan, your retirement plans, your 403B plan,

[00:35:05] et cetera but they're there to help folks understand all their benefit options answer questions review plans with them so they can help those employees make a well informed decision that best suits their family needs and we will be involved very closely with katie and her team throughout that

[00:35:24] whole process. Is there a cost yearly for us to use USI and does the cost go up for me to decide that?

[00:35:46] No, the cost with USI remains consistent regardless, correct Mr. Schnell? Correct. We don't say well that's a project and we're going to charge you for it. We're all encompassing. whenever you need assistance, whether it's just a normal hearing and working through renewals, or whether we do an R&P health and implement plans, pre-encated plans, we're there to help you out.

[00:36:11] So this is just his recommendation? Yeah, so this is the recommendation that is coming through our partnership. Yes, thank you. I mean, we're going to get an immense level of data, I think, if we move in this direction.

[00:36:27] There's compelling evidence to say that the majority of school systems our size do this. um and i think that we've got you know partner who's knowledgeable so we appreciate that um input thank you thank you thank you you can't hear them is there a question i can't hear no no she was saying thank you oh okay a long-winded thank you we're good to go yes i think so well thank you

[00:36:55] all very much thank you thank you thank you thank you okay um we are now going to jump into school board priorities where miss erica loesch will lead our discussion on the current and future school board priorities i'm hoping very much that we would get our priorities in order by the time we're done with our school board retreat and so this is just

[00:37:28] kind of step one to see that we all agree that the ship is headed in the same direction so i'm I'm excited to be here with you guys tonight. Thank you. As Sheriff's boss shared, so first just kind of a reminder of how we got where you are with your school board priorities.

[00:37:51] So if you remember last year, we at the school board retreat went through the team Fierce module. And from there, utilize the protocol of the beach ball protocol to share out what priorities were and what you were hoping to get out of those discussions.

[00:38:11] And then you wrote down all of your ideas on, I think they were sticky notes or index cards, and that was all collected and then sorted by, we came up with themes and categories. I then had the opportunity to present a draft to you, I think, August, September time frame.

[00:38:35] And from there, there was some recommendations as well as a request to then see the larger data piece. And brought that back to the board. And at that meeting, you finalized them, and then they went ahead for approval in October.

[00:38:53] So the idea is starting the conversation now, really about thinking about the process that we went through and that it did span over a couple of months, trying to work towards having those priorities. I think the goal is to have the priorities identified before the start of the 26th, 27th.

[00:39:13] So I know that you're all familiar with your priorities, but just wanted to have those as I also am going to share a half sheet with you. And we'll ask Alba to share the Google form with you. These questions are really for you all to be able to think individually around the progress that you believe the board has made with these priorities, as well as to identify what you see as the largest accomplishments from this year-- sorry-- what you've achieved those largest accomplishments, but then also what you think should remain unchanged,

[00:39:52] what you might think needs to be revisited, refined, or updated, and then also what you, from your perspective, feels missing currently from the priority. The idea would be, and I think we'll talk about the timeline tonight, but gathering that input from you all individually using the Google Form, and then similarly being able to bring that input back to all of you to reflect on, and then think about what shifts and how to refine if it's needed for next year for those priorities.

[00:40:27] Here's the questions. So you can take a look as we're talking about timeline.

[00:40:55] Look at those questions. I think that from my understanding, there is a date hold for May 14th for the board for a work session, I believe.

[00:41:11] And so if that date had worked for the board, then thinking about having the Google Form input submitted by April 30th, that would give two weeks to reflect and to complete the Google Form.

[00:41:28] And then would allow some time to sort through all of that data and then bring that information to you all on the 14th for further discussion. know how everyone feels about that time can everybody commit to getting these questions done and then if we were to complete things by the 30th and it would be back in your court just to get things kind of assembled and ready for the 14th and then we could have a deeper dive yeah into

[00:42:07] what everybody had to say and we can share like all the data right with um i know that that was important last year was being able to see everybody thoughts and input and so that can definitely be something and also trying to take that all and see like if there are common themes and then just so that it's able to be more of a discussion and we can get that'll also allow time to have that happen and also

[00:42:41] get that information to you for you all to review before the 14th as well any question so I know board development is working on chair for schools and responsibilities and I think that you know what we've done in the past about priorities is really great you know it's my strong desire I think that if we got you know a microphone shoved in our faces right now and you know somebody said well you know what what's the job of school board or you know what do you see as the vision of the school board or you know a question like that we'd all

[00:43:18] have really good answers but we all have different answers and so I'd like to get in this exercise as close as we can to where you know we're all staying true to ourselves but we're answering that question about our vision for our school system as the architects of you know the vision that we're answering is as closely to one another as possible again within our own true values but so that's for me why you know I really wanted to start early so that we can

[00:43:51] discuss it and we're not just putting it um for the first and last time at our retreat so i appreciate ms bush just kind of helping us think backwards and um and make this something that we can all be proud of everybody good okay um moving on to three on three meetings um this is a a good

[00:44:25] time for everyone to talk uh i do want to talk about just really quickly start three on three meetings you know i'd like to briefly express my disappointment with how this budget season has unfolded um after we presented our unmet needs with this to the city there was very little opportunity for meaningful follow-up or dialogue and i do not believe our division's concerns were fully considered as chair i felt it was important to say that plainly so while we continue as we always do to work within resources provided and remain focused on our students and staff i am disappointed by the lack of communication and collaboration in this process with the city

[00:45:05] so that leads into the fact that we have met a couple times three on three and um some people are asking you know is it something we want to continue and so i'm not the person that brought this up but i'm certainly willing to weigh in on it i am the person that brought this up and um so the three i'm free or three to three is the topic that i brought forward it's significant because meetings held with only a portion of the governing body can create several practical and

[00:45:37] governance challenges. My ideal outcome for today is to discuss the benefits and the challenges with having three-on-three meetings to determine if we should continue with these in the future.

[00:46:02] I have several things that we should consider. I think the primary challenge is communication and transparency and incomplete representation where the members are not all members are included can lead to less balanced discussion and weaker out these meetings directly affect communication on the school board and our relationship diminishes the communication and understanding of the

[00:46:35] school board and there is a perception out there of pre deciding outcome you know whether it's right or wrong that there's a perception out there that we can avoid so those are some of those challenges and the only benefit I had coming out when I fought through this was they invited us and we accepted and we want to we want to be helpful we want to be able to work through these things but I personally think it would be better in either a joint meeting or through direct correspondence but I'd like to hear from everybody else what

[00:47:15] you're feeling um I must say that I'm very puzzled about your comment share about the City Council not being supportive of us so I'm gonna need a little bit more context and specificity about what is it that they didn't do and there is no context about the three on three meetings I don't know how they came to be I don't know if it's something that the current delegation that went to

[00:47:53] have the three on three meetings couldn't communicate it couldn't continue the dialogue but I'm not sure why we as a board have to decide the future of 303 meetings because as far as I know I didn't have a vote and whether or not we were going to have them but now I have to have a vote on whether or not we're not going to have them. So I'm puzzled about this topic and I just want to put it for the record we do have partnership with city council and I have found that in my one year and a half, they have been very receptive to what we have said.

[00:48:33] But financial perspectives and outcome are short everywhere, including in my Prince William County. So I'm a little confused. As far as budget conversations, I would say I agree that we need to have more conversations with them, not just that one that we did, because I feel like a lot of people know information and some people don't know information it's just very scattered and i think if we made we needed

[00:49:08] them more around budget maybe we can kind of sit through that but the other thing as far as the three-on-threes i i also didn't know that that was the procedure i just know that it's happened and i think just like we rotate our committee um every year that i would as what she said that not everybody is at the table the three-on-three we may rotate obviously the chair needs to be there but and the vice chair but maybe i i know we can't do that right so so maybe the vice chair

[00:49:42] wouldn't attend but i don't know like it's not a the other thing that i was going to say is that just like we record our committees and then committee meetings they're recorded audio i know a lot of people don't want to do that because then you can't say everything you want to say but that would bring more transparency as miss steberg said um and so we can kind of go back and having a record if this is what they said because here's the thing when we are meeting behind closed doors but we're not courting someone can say this someone can say that

[00:50:16] he said she said happens and when we're dealing with money we really don't want that because it's not our money obviously that we're dealing with it's the city's money it's the our constituents money and we have to be very mindful of that um but i think those are the things that would recommend if we are trying to fine-tune the three-on-three because I

[00:50:40] don't think it's not good to do but I just think that so - I mean I haven't been here all that that long either but for some context to answer the question regarding history of the three-on-threes I was talking with a long ago councilman and he mentioned some three-on-three initiative that they had you know back in 2008 or whatever it was so it does seem to have been it does seem to be a format

[00:51:15] that has recurred through manassas city uh public and civic life at least from 20 years ago when i'm talking former councilman but i think that i agree with a lot of what you said but i also think that the alternatives available to us are also not great and carry heavier downsides you know when we talk about joint meetings we're talking about we have 20 people when you factor in the clerks and the support that goes into you know we're talking about a logistic thing pull off uh and

[00:51:55] direct correspondence that feels uh it's overly formal and that you know now we're severing a relationship right because now we've had this thing that's existed for off and on for 20 years you know i would worry that that would be interpreted as a if we don't want to talk to you anymore like if you're if anyone's ever been a part of a divorce or anything like that you know it's never a good sign when the conference when the phone calls stop and the talk to my lawyer

[00:52:28] part starts right you know so i just don't think that that's a good um yeah i see a lot of downside to going in direct correspondence direction i think that what we should focus on is enhancing the three-on-three process the chair is empowered and this is in looking at different sources what are the what's the powers and duties of the school board chair that's pretty unanimously agreed on as one of the duties of the chair is to be able to speak on or reflect upon the will of the school board which means that going into these three-on-three meetings i just think it means that

[00:53:04] it's a lot more work for the chair to make sure that you talk to six other people that you know know where everybody is and have a sense of what everybody or what the majority of us would want you know coming out of that meeting so maybe make that process a little bit more formal because there was at least one three out three I don't think I was aware ahead of time that this special use permit discussion that you recently had was the old bean I don't think I was aware ahead of time that was happening I obviously appreciated the download uh when it did happen and Sharon I spoken a lot on that particular topic that you knew where I was anyway but it

[00:53:44] was still like okay well maybe you could have done a little bit better being notified that it was coming so that all members had an opportunity to share with the chair and vice chair separately what the preferences of the needs are of the various members so I would focus on it. I really just have a question all school division school boards within the state have to have some sort of relationship

[00:54:18] with the governing body I'm curious how other divisions handle it because there are budget discussions that have to take place in every school division and I kind of wonder is there a board and maybe a board of kind of supervisors the council that's got a system that works really well because I really hear you know I'm hearing transparency you know everyone's not aware of everything and that is a concern with with the issue of transparency so that's that's my one

[00:54:54] question I just want to go around everybody I kind of see that as a lack of a committee because when all of us in a room together I I don't do much talking um so at least i'm only the one feel good and so i think um it gave me a better perspective of some people's point of view um i think if you have to be angry you have to come back and report what was there what happened um you can also see what the other members want us to talk about um

[00:55:31] but i don't think the communication in my opinion is not that great i know some people have different I think it could be a lot better. So to me, it's an avenue that can be used. This is necessarily a good avenue now. I think it could definitely be better to my one meeting. Also, Ms. Miles talked about change. I don't think you want to change the people because when you change the people each meeting, you're changing. Just that relationship is not being established if you start changing people that go to each meeting. But to me, for right now, I would keep it and maybe

[00:56:09] kind of say you know do it you know all of 2026 and then say this is working but i wouldn't just drop it um okay so in an attempt to answer some questions and we'll go back around um i don't know that i agree that they invited us i think it was more of a mutual vision to meet my my my frame of reference is that there was something that was similar to a three-on-three when the dean discussions first started and that consisted by my recollection of a council person a staff member and a school board member and a staff member and then there was alternates

[00:56:47] and then when I became vice chair and there was a vice mayor that was new then we kind of did the three-on-three which may have been reinvented from before because that particular vice mayor has been around for a while so that was one time with a a different city manager and then I became chair and then there was a new vice chair so then that was and there was a new city manager so every time there has been you know a different dynamic so I don't know if we did it um you know any differently that it would less shake things

[00:57:27] up or more shake things up because there hasn't been a lot of stability um except and and I would say that you know what came out of every time that we've had the meeting i think from my perspective something enlightening has come out of it but i wouldn't always say that it's been positive information but it's stuff that you know i personally wouldn't have wanted to learn any later than that moment so i see value in it but also the people um you know are asking to be able to speak freely and so it's very difficult to put minutes together um and i don't

[00:58:04] know if they would agree you know to meeting if it was all on the record i mean we can try it but it kind of worked because up until this this most recent meeting that didn't seem to be the tone to me that it was that you know it was important that it was not on the record things felt much more congenial to me until the last time but my attempt to address that was to put things in writing and as a group we decided that we were not going to force that issue on on that body so

[00:58:42] here's where we are that's why we're saying should we have further three on threes or not because the way that it's working right now seems like it was enlightening but it's not on the record so go back around all right i just want to say if there were minutes from the meeting that would satisfy well there are that are shareable uh i mean so then they're not minutes if they're not shareable okay i'm just i mean i mean i'm looking for direction from the board you know i'm more

[00:59:20] than happy to share the minutes and see what they say um you know but i think that could be pushing buttons. Ms. Brown? I just don't think that if it is a mutual understanding that this three-on-three happened, then I don't think it's right for us to put the parameters to include the reporting or the minutes unless we have a discussion with them. And then I'm just thinking, and I'm going to just

[00:59:53] be blunt this this school board is mostly democrats and and i'm sure we can't talk well i know i know but we're saying that we cannot talk to our city council i didn't say that and so i did not say that we asked for something what in specific did we ask them and they said no absolutely not so one my my question is okay my question is the three of threes i just don't think it's right for us to make all the parameters we need to include them in the discussion if that's something

[01:00:29] and if you're there next year you can also be an influence for the 303s i don't think that it's a good idea to stop the dialogue um that would be detrimental to us um and then the other thing is i want to know when did we ask them for anything specific that they said no and and they had the means or they just refuse because I would like to know because my notes and my recollection is that we did have some unfunded things however we were still waiting to see if we were going to be able

[01:01:04] to cover them it wasn't something that we actually say hey we want you to cover this $750,000 for the alternative program or whatever and they say absolutely not this time around I don't have the recollection but maybe the board didn't find me. I may be wrong I just don't have any specifics on my notes that I can justify and say yes they said no.

[01:01:28] Dr. Neiman do you want to comment on that or just right or the fact that there wasn't really but you made the comment that you said that we asked for things and they declined them so that was in your comment that you made so what what do you know that we asked for that they decline? I said I do not believe our division's concerns were fully considered. So Jess? Our unmet needs. So Jess? You know I mean I'm

[01:02:04] still stuck on if I'm being honest with you all dead you know I was told that if we funded the pilot that they would help us fund the program that they would bring us funds to help us. Now not everybody remembers it that way but That's 100% the way that I remember.

[01:02:20] When did we ask them? What date did we ask them? It happened on a previous three-on-three. Okay. So this is a suggestion. First off, the three-on-three, is that a mandate from Virginia? No, absolutely not. This is our attempt.

[01:02:36] So one more thing. Okay. And that's why I want to address this. So I know that we, in the past, have created our own committees. We've created our own committees that we thought, okay, would be beneficial. And I know we also mentioned the fact that we don't meet with them enough. It takes a lot of people to come together and meet.

[01:02:54] So would we think that it would be beneficial to create a new committee that would be the Joint School Board City Council? There are three or four. And the question I had, too, is are you considered a third? I'm the third. Right. And so in that being said, when we do committees, it's three school board members.

[01:03:14] So you would be coming, of course, but you wouldn't be that third person if you were to commit, to create a committee. Can you give me that? No, I'm not going to give me that. Well, because when you come to our committees, you're not considered that third person. Yes, he is the third person.

[01:03:29] No, we're not going to agree on our committees. That's what I mean. And I know that we have Steve, Mr. Burke, that also could be similar to what Dr. Newman is, that fourth person. That fourth person, because since it's not mandated that we have to call it a three on three, I think we need to come outside of the box because we need to understand our goal.

[01:03:53] What is our goal? To communicate efficiently with the school board and the city council and to get our needs met. And so that being said, coming up with a committee that would meet those needs, and maybe it doesn't happen until next year, but I think we need to move towards something new.

[01:04:12] Because clearly the three-on-three, like what you said, Jill, it's not working. One, there's no transparency. We don't know really what's going on except the calls that you're making. And that's a lot of due diligence for you to have to call everyone and inform all of us. To me, telling us all in this kind of fashion would be better.

[01:04:30] But I don't know. That's your judgment call. They do agree. Well, what I'm saying is whatever she wants to share with us, having to call every school board member and tell us what happened, that's a lot. But if you had a committee that was designated, where it was the vice chair of the chair and another school board member, you would be able to accomplish the goals that you have.

[01:04:51] So that's what I would recommend. That's all I have to say about that discussion. So the committee is an intriguing possibility. Obviously, city council would have to agree to make their own committee to do that. Because that has the benefit of being a publicly noticed meeting. That's totally more flexible than getting 20 people in the room to get half enough people.

[01:05:11] It's also the transparency issues, and maybe that can be formally scheduled strategically before and throughout the budget process to, you know, make that, you know, to enhance more structure. But the question I had that actually going off, we're going around the table, so Ms.

[01:05:30] Stevens asked it. I couldn't come back around to me until now, but we are sitting at the table with the former superintendent of Colonial Beach Public Schools, and so there's an associate superintendent of Prince William County Public Schools sitting behind him. So, like, how did it work? But we, it wasn't three of us. It was myself, town manager, Mayor, Running Beach.

[01:05:54] It was two-on-two instead of three-on-three. Much like what we have experienced here with three-on-three, some of those meetings were very productive. Then you get to a contentious topic for us, where I left with building a new school.

[01:06:12] So those were more intense. A lot like it. Can I ask how it works in Pennsylvania? The stick of college. The stick of college. So we're not going to this three-on-three situation is not totally outside the box, which is not to say that I'm intrigued by the committee possibility, but we'd already have to agree.

[01:06:49] Yeah, they would have to agree. It's extra work for them, and it puts them on the record, and they still don't speak for everyone. We actually did have a special budget committee one year because we were being allocated some additional funds. And it started out well, but it kind of ended up falling apart because city council had a very specific vision for these additional funds.

[01:07:20] And it ended up, the communication ended up really breaking down because one of the things we have to think about specifically when it comes to budget, and this was a committee just about additional funding that the city had allocated and in that situation one of the problems was there were individuals on city council who really have specific visions for where those additional funds would go but the issue is they're not allowed to

[01:07:52] make that decision for us they allocate the pocket or the pot of funds and then we determine where that goes so that was an experience that it really kind of fell apart because it started to get down into the nitty-gritty of you shouldn't spend it there you should spend it there you shouldn't spend it there you shouldn't spend it there and then unfortunately everyone on school board and everyone on city council weren't all on the same page weren't in agreement in two separate bodies of how the money should so it it could work but having been on that special subcommittee that was

[01:08:31] it was not a permanent committee. It was a short-term committee. And I think one of the problems was, is we try to build a relationship with city council. Sometimes I, and this is just my perception. This isn't anybody else's perception, but my perception sometimes was there was a concern or a reluctance to speak freely. Because in communications with city council sometimes those are high stakes conversation and i i got the sense from my experience with it

[01:09:09] that sometimes and it was on both sides it was on both sides and there wasn't anybody who was at fault but there was kind of a reluctance to speak openly and freely so i'm not saying that it wouldn't work in the future i'm not saying it has been tried it was tried for a very specific situation and that's what ended up happening with it I don't know that it wouldn't work I personally would like some sort of you know because like when we have committee meetings there are notes from the committee meetings people can attend they can't be but they can

[01:09:48] just attend to observe and sometimes when we are not at meetings and we hear and this is not an on you this is happens everywhere all the time if you're not there and you're getting the information secondhand sometimes things are lost in translation and sometimes the receipt that person who's receiving the secondhand information misinterprets what's being said and we sometimes try to be careful about using individual City Council member names and there's not any instance of talking to I'm not talking to any instance at all sometimes we're

[01:10:27] very careful about using city council names who said what what did they exactly say and i i've been on the board second longest other than um miss seabird and when i started on the board there was still very much so in some ways the old school network where you have conversations behind closed doors and you make deals behind closed doors and the movement away from that has at times from my perception been a little bit difficult for some folks because they still want to go back to

[01:11:04] let's have these side conversations and let's you know have and i don't want to use this term but it's the only way i think of it a gentleman degree so i we're trying i think we we as governing bodies are trying to move away from that but sometimes there's still that desire to be in

[01:11:22] that world so yeah that's just my two cents I was just I think I didn't answer a question about you know are the municipalities that are functioning Fredericksburg up until the most recent news blast that just came out it said that they had a really good relationship with their

[01:12:01] City Council it looks like Fredericksburg has a really Winchester looks like Winchester has a really good one and there was one that we went to a VSBA event and they talked about it was Hampton okay it was Dr. Smith they made it seem like an idyllic utopia it seemed like an amazing place so I just wanted to give that answer back around the table dr. Newman I don't

[01:12:38] feel like that answer goes back to what I think you were saying mm-hmm and I didn't do a good job yes when you get a call to say this is your amount don't ask me for anything else then there were two separate meetings where it was

[01:13:12] shared that the school division did not ask ask for unfunded needs and those conversations never happened and frustration is when they start using my name to say dr newman said we don't need any dr women never said that and how it ties into the three-on-three meeting is it was shared again

[01:13:50] that yeah i called and said we're getting three percent don't ask anything else we're in a tight budget i thought it's going to have to call back two percent again two days later in a budget work session for them that is stated they didn't ask for it and it misrepresents the school the business stand on what we need and we don't have a process that leaves itself to asking what

[01:14:26] you need because you are told this is what you need so go make your budget so i think that's the frustration there were two full day retreats for council where we got no more than three minutes each day um as part of their discussion less than three minutes each day chair but during that time Did they not give you time to speak?

[01:14:52] No, they did not. They didn't even invite you, right? No, I showed up one day, and they said, nice to see you. And they didn't call you to speak. They did not. I just feel like we have learned the lesson that we need the biggest advocates for our kids.

[01:15:12] So for me, you know, my grandma used to say the squeaky, you know, the wheel gets the oil. So we haven't squeaked. Because if we had our narrative together, hey, we need the alternative education funded for the next three years, then that's what everybody says.

[01:15:32] I actually, I'm going to put it for the record, I have a great relationship with all city council members, including the mayor. There isn't one person that I cannot call and say, hey, I need this funded, and that they will not listen to me. So if all of us could have those types of relationships, maybe they will hear us.

[01:15:52] And so I'm just saying we need to get our ducks in a row and then speak the same language about what we want. And then when they say no, then we will have, hey, Diana asked, we went on the three-on-three, the whole board members have been advocating for this, and you still said no.

[01:16:10] But at this point, we learned a lesson. We're not going to let anybody tell us not to advocate. we can advocate i mean i'm i'm all for that and i do think we need to set you know that this is the reason for the priorities this is the reason we're starting early um and this is true you know we need to make our own story which is you know what we put on our vision last time but um we didn't really go farther than that to make sure that we're all answering you know the same types of questions but um i'm not i don't think there's any need to cry over spilt milk we can continue

[01:16:45] you're on the table. I just want to make sure that, you know, we know that there's a world of opportunity for our kids out there. But if we're not making the ask and we're not having a singular vision or two visions or three visions, then, you know, there is nobody that's going to fight this fight for us. And I don't want to use the word fight, you know, on camera, but it is our job to say what our kids need. And it's our job to make it happen. And I would like that to come out of our school-wide priorities, you know, in June that were all saying the same top couple things.

[01:17:19] I was just going to say that I agree that we need to have these discussions, like they're asking us to meet, we need to be asking them to meet and say, you know, what we need beforehand and be proactive because what happens is they end up building the narrative, which is unfortunate because obviously the narrative wasn't correct, I mean, as Dr. Neiman stated, and I feel like And we're going to have to be like two steps before that, before we even get that call.

[01:17:50] And that might be hard because we haven't had to do that in the past, perhaps. But now we do. And the board that the city council changes. You just never know. Your mayor changes. So we have to kind of have everything in place. This is what we do no matter who's in office.

[01:18:06] This is what we're going to do. I'm trying to get you there. I'm trying really hard. So I just want to, part of what happened this budget cycle was the tightness of the timing of our budget meetings that we approved a budget one night and then the very next day we're at a joint meeting and they did not have the presentation.

[01:18:31] So it was a very stilted and incomplete conversation that was frustrating because we didn't, that That is our time to make a case, but the budget is a lot to take in, and you want that information provided ahead of time.

[01:18:52] Council is used to getting their materials six days in advance, just like we are, so I think that part of this can be solved when we do our budget calendar next year to not make that turnaround so tight, and I think that that jump even can be a more productive discussion.

[01:19:09] And to stick up a little bit for the City Council, we got our 3% this year. I guess was there was a threat that that wasn't even going to happen and you can see the headlines all over the place there's plenty of uh localities where it's gone the other way including our much discussed neighbors in Prince William but it is so but it so we didn't get anything out of this cycle but the past two cycles we did they did have surpluses and we did get them and I agree with Miss Stevens I did not like the way that that first one went in particular uh yeah the story

[01:19:46] that she told about that. Were you on the board then? I was on the board. I was not on that subcommittee, but I was on the board then. And I remember being like, I don't know what this is. It does not seem correct. So it's not like we have been completely without success. It's not that we've been completely out of consideration. And part of that is laying the gap groundwork and making the facts known and giving them time to process it. And that, in particular, didn't happen to fear.

[01:20:16] And that was part of us setting such a tight budget schedule that we didn't solve. I think we're getting better, and, you know, we are making some progress, but, yes, we're going to be better. Stephens, Dr. Jones?

[01:20:36] I said when I needed it. I just wanted to say, when we were at the joint meeting, and, yes, they had not seen the presentation, but on slide 23 is where we have identified, we, all of us school board members, presented the additional priorities beyond what is included in this ballot.

[01:20:58] budget so are you saying that they're not going to fund those or they haven't voted they haven't finalized it right they haven't finalized it yet and you know all i have is word on the street but we learned a lot i you know i think you and i both heard from mr wolf last night it's set they're ready to go so i i think they have until june 8th is when they're going to pass their budget but i don't think that there are any any further discussions there was effectively no discussion that happened after the joint session in spite of mr smith asking

[01:21:38] for that they were told once again that i don't know if dr newman knows or not but that the city manager and dr newman were having their own offline discussion and anything needed addressed and then that was it so there was a third meeting where we were misrepresented and there's a third time that they said you had that they were supposed to be having lunch that was the answer about some council people asked are we going to discuss the unmet needs that were addressed at the joint

[01:22:14] session and the answer to that was by the city manager that you and he would be having lunch to discuss anything further you know it we've been swept up under the rug at

[01:22:48] least three times because we don't know what they're gonna say and you don't know Can we mention those?

[01:23:08] Because I thought we were going to cover the six additional full-time positions, the increased staffing to support students. Is that what you're talking about, that priority and the information technology and the staffing for central registration? Okay. So those three, Ms. Brown, is if we got additional money in the state.

[01:23:28] Yeah, for many of us. For many. Okay, so. If we got additional money. And so which priorities are you talking about? So are those the same priorities that you want to ask the council for, or the board want to ask the council for?

[01:23:53] We've asked. We all agreed to those. Oh, I thought they were going to push it back because of spring break or something, right? Oh, it was April 8th.

[01:24:09] yes because you had a discussion about we eating 10 yeah so it's like it's a public yeah so anyone can accept right but it was not you were invited correct that's okay even though you're talking and the second thing that i wanted to mention i want to make clear that i have no way saying that we shouldn't have a relationship with count i'm just saying this particular three to three and i'm calling it three to three not three on three because that sounds defensive but three to three

[01:24:45] or 3x3. I just think that there's room for problems. And I'll just leave it back. It's in my understanding that we have agreed, that we are agreeing that we're going to ask for $1,373 to cover the six full-time positions, the information technology, and the staffing for central registration. That's what we're asking for. If I make phone calls to City Council, because at the last budget meeting that they have none of us went over there to talk and the citizens we could do that and if I had known I would have gone up there as a

[01:25:24] citizen and say please fund these because I'm a resident of Vanessa City and I have four kids that may be coming in the very new future. We could all do that where I'd be kind to everyone's shirt. Well we have asked for this but I think we need to find out if we're gonna get it before and if not then we can push because I don't want to push if they are going to fund it. Sure. Yeah. When's their next meeting? Well, Dr. Moon's going to ask.

[01:25:54] Oh, okay. You're talking tomorrow? Okay. So don't ask. Until we hear from you. Until 1230 tomorrow. Okay. Until 1230. When is the next city council meeting? Like, Monday? I mean, they're every other Monday, so they just have one. Monday for us. Okay. Just so, just in case. And there is, I believe, a date that something's happening, and then June 8th is their actual vote.

[01:26:24] Can I address one more thing? Sure. We didn't set the joke. No, they didn't. They did. And they knew that it would turn around. It didn't have to be that. That's the date that they gave.

[01:26:41] Could we give them one of our own instead of them doing that? We can. It would just be a change. They always give them that. That's what we need to do. Because apparently they like to run the show. So, you know, I debated whether I was going to make my first statement tonight or wait until we actually pass the budget so i mean i do believe that there is some time the dates that i have today's the 16th april 27th is their public hearing april 29th they have a work session still um may 11th is their first reading and june 8th is their second meeting so you know

[01:27:17] if there is a concerted effort um you know to date i will i will amend my comment to date i felt that it was you know there's been a lack of communication and collaboration in this process and part of it is us and it is our job to make a more compelling argument and we still have time to do it because I also thought that we had said that the full-time teachers that we may get more money so we didn't know

[01:27:54] and so we might be able to fund it ourselves. Are those my wrong notes or am I correct? If we receive more state funding. It was just state funding at that time. All right. And we will know until? April 22nd, I think it's the next.

[01:28:12] Can I come back together? Okay, April 22nd. So maybe we'll wait to see if we get the money because if we get the money, we're asking them to cover something that we may have the money for. And that's the bulk of the $1 million that we're asking, because it's $800,000 to cover those six full-time positions.

[01:28:33] I have a question about that, and I know I asked it at the City Council meeting, and this is just for me to understand how our contracts and everything work. Our budget has been approved by us, so are we able to present the contracts to our staff moving forward, or do we have to wait for them to do what we're hoping they do?

[01:28:52] How does that work? We give a contract. Thanks for making contracts. Yeah. Well, that's what I wonder, because that June 8th is pretty, like, cutting it. Because I know June 15th is typically the cutoff for Virginia. Well, that's what we have to say if we're coming back or not.

[01:29:08] Right. And that's, I mean, and then our school ends June 5th, so. Yeah, we've had to amend those contracts. Yeah. Because it's safe. And I wonder if the council understands that. Have you explained to them that? Do they even get those logistics, or do they just not understand?

[01:29:25] I'm not going to say the other word. Well, it is possible for us to amend the contract. So don't ask, wait until the 22nd, and then wait for further action. Because...

[01:29:40] 22nd is when they come back together, I'm sure. If we're going to get the... Oh, yeah, yeah. For state funding. Yeah, sure. I don't know how long they're scheduled to be there. All right. All right. Well, we will naturally meet again for hearing on the 30th of April.

[01:30:01] Yes. would you guys like an emergency session after the 22nd of April or can we it seems like there we would if we waited till the 30th of April to talk about this again we would miss a public hearing but there's still a work session but they have been cancelling work session oh they have a work session they have asking to come together before the 30th actually their work session is April 29th so that would also our next meeting our next work session date is

[01:30:38] is set aside for hearing but the next time that we would be coming back to talk in this manner would be the 30th naturally we can discuss next step well but we would if we wait till the 30th we would have missed a public hearing and a work session to discuss if they have that work session i may have this one instead and i'll be can we send you some dates for that week before yes doctor first of all dr jones oh i think you should go ahead and ask for the money you don't don't know what you get from the state and you don't know when the state is going to decide.

[01:31:10] It could be made. So ask for it. If you don't need it, you can say, okay, we've got money from the state. We can give it back. I think that they, in general, feel that they have been led to believe and we may be complicit on some level of not making a compelling story. And so if you're ready to make your calls, I don't think it hurts for you to do that.

[01:31:39] And it's not just my calls, it's the board, if that's what we want, because the United Front is very strong. So is that what we want to do, to start asking for the $1 million, $300,000, in case the state does not fund that? And prioritize, for me, I will prioritize the teachers.

[01:31:57] I mean, I would say each of us take a city council member, who we may have a relationship with already, or we feel comfortable with talking to on the phone, and then, you know, we tag team it because even though dr newman is going to talk to mr burke they do need to see pressure just like i said we need to be setting esteem for this because clearly they've been paving and we're not getting what we want or need so i disagree with that comment because i i think we haven't asked well we've asked but maybe not in the way that has been putting pressure

[01:32:34] or understanding that we really need what we say i don't know like i'm not sure because we're not those three on three so i'm not sure i mean i welcome anyone that wants to try to try you know i don't know um it can't hurt it's not it would be my it would be my recommendation that you know this is not a haphazard thing i you know if you if we do have unmet needs already laid out if you're sticking to that script and that script only you know i don't think there's anything wrong with anybody talking to anybody they want to talk to um for you know for the three on three i don't think

[01:33:10] that I've been doing anything but talk about it but how it's perceived you know I can't tell you and have we been a well-oiled machine on it you know was there timing issue you know I'm not going to say but I think that if we start right now with priorities and we get everything we need so that we're leaving you know the summer retreat with exactly what our priorities and exactly what our marching orders are you know we can really make something happen next year do I think this

[01:33:45] year has to be a wash no I mean I think you guys can ask for unmet and give this completely within your job description to ask for unmet needs if that's what you want to do and there is still time um you know what I thought we were going to do tonight and talking about three on threes was set the stage for next year but there is still time I don't know you know that you're going to get them to change their minds at the 11th hour but I definitely welcome anyone who wants to try

[01:34:14] to try but make sure you stick to what it is that's on that paper yes and you know I mean if you can say it's like a math problem if you can say it in a way that makes them understand it differently then you know I mean there's nothing wrong with trying and I'm so unhappy to talk one on one you know with anyone if you guys feel like you're making progress or if there's other questions or what have you you know we can handle this and maybe we don't have to meet again you know this is what it's all about this is what we've been

[01:34:50] working towards I mean the budget is one of our major major areas of responsibility so you know there's absolutely no time like the present and in order to to make this happen but you know I don't want it to say you know we We want to do nothing but improve relationships, and if building these relationships can make a difference, then I welcome anyone who wants to do it through.

[01:35:23] - Could we perhaps get talking points, like just that slide or something? - That's where we're going with talking points. - Just for those three priorities, because that way we know you're saying the right thing. Yeah, can you send it to me? Thank you.

[01:35:38] - Turn here, I'll snap it. - Yeah, that's what we're saying. We're all in a bit over a second. I was also going to say I have I have a relationship with one of the chairs in in Virginia and we talked about his relationship with their counselor not good so we're not there are boards that don't have good relationships and they won't even talk to that so it's you know it could be worse I think there's a lot

[01:36:17] of positive and I do think that you know Manassas cares about its kids but we just you know we need to get everybody on the same page and if I knew the magic way to do that it would happen you know ten years but but every day if we all work a little bit harder on it you know maybe we can get there we have nothing but good stories to tell like let's just get through it um is everybody ready to move on to the next item so the seabird will leave a discussion to plan to coordinate an initiative for teacher appreciation week right so it was proposed that um or it was asked should we get

[01:36:56] a banner for each school to say teacher you know happy teacher appreciation i i didn't like that idea because we're already going to have the stuff on the lawn right to say happy we love our staff teachers but I didn't want to be totally negative on this because teacher appreciation like is important again so an alternative could be a small but genuine effort to show appreciation for our teachers and build the cultural

[01:37:26] culture of caring by giving each employee of an appreciation so my desired outcome is twofold one agree to send the card during the first whole week of May to express our appreciation and then two would be on style and format so I guess just first of all I just want to know do we want to do that that's the hand

[01:38:01] saying yes okay all right so my second question on style and format I have a suggestion and I wanted to get everyone's input on so my suggestion would be to have a card that has a word cloud on the outside and what you all will do is provide the words for and it could be something that we appreciate about them or it could be something that we promote for them and if that's something you want to participate in then I will send you a link and you're

[01:38:36] going to put in three different words and then the inside of the card would I I have a suggestion, a quote from the Dalai Lama. And it is, "To be aware and present with each other at work is to create an environment where everyone can thrive."

[01:38:57] And I think that's what-- I think it says it perfectly. That's what we're trying to create here, right? But that's what they do, too. Yes. So on the outside would be the work side. On the inside would be the quote from our governance team. At least in the back, I felt familiar with that.

[01:39:14] Oh, that's just, with appreciation and gratitude, Kevin Newman, superintendent, Manassas City School Board, our governance team. So I will email that link to you if you would get back to me with the free word. So will we sign them again? I would love to say that, but I was not going to commit everybody to sign.

[01:39:33] How many cards would that be? You can do a graphic, though. If you were to have us sign it, you could take a picture now that is a graphic. So have us sign a piece of paper.

[01:39:49] You could do it that way. I just know how to do it, and it's easy, and then that way it's easy to put in as a graphic. But I don't know how you're putting your, are you doing it in Canva or something? We can do whatever we want. Yeah, because we just would sign a piece of paper, you take a picture of it, and it's an image, put it right under.

[01:40:06] It shows all of our signatures. Or just from the school board. It's fine. I mean, it's fine. Whatever, if you wanted a signature, that's all right. We have done signatures in the past. I liked it when we did it, but I'm not going to. We did that for volunteer appreciation, and it was a lot fewer. Yeah. and even then we had a lot of people yeah yeah that was so um but i mean i can i love that idea i would do it but i could not i don't i can show you how to do the image it's so super easy i mean i can give you a i can do it real quick and show you just find on a blank piece yeah that's what you do and you take a picture and i'll send you it and send it that's it super easy all right you

[01:40:45] You can go to the next item. I'll send this an email. I sent you a word because I thought you had asked for a word. No, I tried to retract that when I sent it because I was preparing for the meeting so I could send it right away and then I accidentally sent it. So then I tried to retract it. I was wondering, I'm going to send you the word.

[01:41:02] I can't wait to see what your word is. I just need to give you two more. Now I've got to think more. Well, just put it in the link. I will. So we have nine agenda items. We're on number five. We're halfway there. Hey, we're halfway there. The next topic is, Vice Chair Jones will lead the discussion reviewing expectations for professional etiquette and meeting procedures.

[01:41:23] This is entitled, Meeting Deforum. All right, so this is something I wanted to bring up, and I thought about different levels. This is a level one, and if I need to come back to it again, we'll do a level two. Does level one mean really important? No, I'm saying this is the lower version, but if this doesn't work, I'll do more.

[01:41:45] this is her principal so um the priority i want to discuss today is meeting the quorum in etiquette and meeting the quorum refers to the effective floor meetings including presentations questions and comments so first of all i want to kind of talk about the purpose of a school board meeting is to govern and set policies for the school division approve and oversee the budget hire evaluate and collaborate with the superintendent engage the public by providing a forum for community input and to ensure compliance with legal requirements so why this matters the topic is significant because i believe some of our meetings can improve some of our meetings are

[01:42:24] great and some of them kind of go by the wayside but we can improve on how questions are asked and how we demonstrate respect to presenters the meeting flow matters because everyone's time is valuable and we must also remember that we want to treat others as we would want to be treated by them. So just to give me a little bit of background about meetings, I've been, I was in education for 40 years, teacher, teacher on special assignment, assistant principal, principal. So I can remember when I first started teaching, we had a meeting where there was a 45-minute question and answer about chewing gum, because that was a policy, and it lasted for 45 minutes, and I'm like, oh, this is

[01:43:04] like way too long. But at the same time, I can also remember as a principal, I had a staff member that that would raise her hand after every presentation, after every agenda item, she raised her hand. And we even counted, she asked some time up to, sometimes it'd be three questions, sometimes it'd be 15.

[01:43:22] So I had a meeting with her and other staff members were complaining, like why is she asking so many questions? So I talked to her, we finally decided that she would, she could ask three questions a meeting, and then I would meet with her right after the faculty meeting to see if she needed further clarification but also that you need to make sure her questions were effective question questions that needed to be asked because sometimes people ask questions and they know the answer to them already so I also think we need to have respect for our presenters so also sometimes concerning when I'm in meetings

[01:43:59] about comments directed toward our presenters our staff members and administrators invest significant time preparing presentation and as board members we always want to ensure that our comments remain professional and respectful criticism of staff should not occur during board meetings and our role as board members is to engage in constructive dialogue that supports the understanding and decision-making for our schools and also if we are not positive about our school system who will be positive about our school

[01:44:33] system because i think when we are negative or when negative comments or things happen then people use that against us when they go in the community so i want us to think about some guidelines for effective questioning um so to maintain to maintain a productive meaning uh questions should be focused on agenda topic they should enhance understanding they should be clear and concise questions should be grounded in facts data or clarification and questions should be used to help inform our decision making um so just kind of like just kind of me keeping track

[01:45:10] of my fingers or nothing i please don't go back and try to look at a meeting and see these are the exact numbers but i think on march 10th there were about 24 questions on april 24th there were like 44 questions and on april 7 38 questions so we definitely and i i by no means i think we need a limit on questions that's not what you do some questions are super important some questions are very informative some of some questions make us think in a different light but i do think what i would like the ideal outcome for this discussion is that all of us will self-monitor in order to

[01:45:45] keep our meetings focused to use time effectively to promote respect and to foster protective dialogue so our constituents i've had people look at school board meetings and say you know i started looking at six and i wanted to see a specific topic item and i came back at seven and you're asking questions and there are questions so i just think we need to be mindful that when we start a meeting at six some parents have kids they have to do dinner they have to do bedtime so some people don't have three hours or so to look at a meeting um and sometimes it takes it may take a lot of

[01:46:22] questions but our constituents whether attending a person or watching recordings deserve meetings that are organized respectful and tough so what i would like for us to consider is um you don't always have to ask all your questions in the school board meeting you can submit questions to the superintendent or staff prior to the meeting when possible avoid asking questions if you acknowledge that the answer is not readily available if you start a question with i know you don't have this information then you know you need to email that to the staff member um to get those answers. Also listen carefully so we're not repeating the same questions. There

[01:47:01] are some times where the same question is asked several different times in several different ways. And also ensure questions directly support our decision-making about policy, budget, curriculum, or compliance. And then I think the main thing we have to consider is we want to prioritize student outcomes. So our meetings should be used for academic discussions, data-driven decision-makers and student achievement goals so that's what we want to be our main thing what are we doing for student outcomes so I just thought I just want to bring up today just about just be mindful when we're used when we're

[01:47:37] asking questions that they are effective questions and they're questions that we need to know the answer to at that given time and just remember how we govern our truth we're honoring our students we're governing our children it's not about any one of us it's about us can you send out the guidelines so we can go the normal

[01:48:05] way around or we can reverse direction I'm open to anybody on this side of the table I think it's

[01:48:19] great I think it's very valuable and I think we can be more efficient I would just say that I would love to be able to ask questions beforehand but because of

[01:48:54] my life I just can't and also I process things differently like I need to hear a presentation because i've even tried like i'll go over everything i'll try to drop questions down but those questions don't really come up until i'm hearing what the presentation is and i try my best to ask things because i really don't know or i really want more information so i've been trying to do that better but and be prepared you know kind of look at this life but thank you dr jones for keeping us mindful of that because um like you said we want people to watch and we don't want

[01:49:32] not to tune in just because they hear a bunch of questions um that they may think that are not relevant so uh point of order i have to go start the governor's school meeting which starts at seven but uh so i'll see everybody later good guidelines i think that of course all of us use our time well and use respect and all that good stuff and i support respect and all that good i can argue with anything that's my request is just a copy of the question guidelines sure i think that's a good thing to have because sometimes my ADHD brain starts going down a

[01:50:10] rabbit hole and spinning in circles i'm glad you know i mean so you know i have two things that i just like looked up in terms of like robert's rules of order or whatever i don't know if this would be helpful or not i mean i think everybody's you know heard the same presentation so we can all self-monitor but you know um there are if it starts going long i mean i could say if there's a recommendation for action that can be addressed during the agenda item or new business you know this is the stage to do it i could say to ensure all members have an opportunity i'm asking each

[01:50:45] member limit questions two at a time seems like limiting you know isn't the request right here right now so um you know i think that i guess you said there's level two you've got your own okay so um so you know i appreciate um speaking up and you know i mean i think I think we all can try to be a little bit more concise and recognize, you know, that the dais isn't a place for, like, you know, performative operations, but everybody's moving along, and, well, I think it was well received.

[01:51:22] You did really good data about the number of questions that were asked for me. Did you dive deep into the people who asked the questions? Because I like to know from my own, am I asking too many questions? I can guess. We're not going there. We have to talk straight people. Oh, I know I ask too many questions. I know I ask a lot too many. I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm, okay.

[01:51:48] I mean, I think, I think people know, I mean, you know how many questions you have. But you can also, I think too, I mean, having, I mean, having been a principal, school board members have reputations. So, I mean, when you, say when you do presentations, it's like, you know, say three schools do it.

[01:52:04] principals come back oh what school member asked you a question you know and this one and then you know there have been there have been school boys that ask no questions and now we have a school boy to ask questions and there's nothing wrong with questions i'm just saying be mindful but if it's affecting the meeting the quorums i think the chair needs to address that with the particular persons if we are digging deep into the 45 and did you say 45 questions were asked for one meeting geez it does depend upon the media because that's true we've had so many presentations right because

[01:52:38] when we had we had the meetings where we had schools coming with their strategic plans their strategic intervention plans we were getting a lot of new information and sometimes we get presentations they're not they're both they're good they're good presentations but so much more information is provided by the presenters um because i do try to look at presentations beforehand but sometimes you're just hearing what the presenter is saying and they really and so i appreciate your your guidelines because you know sometimes i might ask too many questions

[01:53:18] so maybe i can tell the siebert that's me to pinch me if i talk too much you know though or write me next time yeah the only thing that i will add about this is that when staff because i have to present through sometimes when staff presents to the school board we present them to that specific audience and i have noticed that some of us at times more than others we want them to unpack it so that it reaches a wider audience but we don't realize that the staff has already communicated that information to the wider audience meaning the parents the

[01:53:56] teachers and other people ahead of time because this like the literacy for example they have been speaking to parents about this in many formats so is not necessary for the staff to unpack it there so I would say that's that would be one of the adjustments that we can make because when they're presented they presented to us and most of the times they have already unpacked this for everybody else I know I do agree with you except though there are some families that maybe they didn't see the letter that was sent because I know everyone gets the vows letter so maybe in

[01:54:32] the presentation having the presentations have more background so we don't have to ask that because I think the reason why it's asked is because they feel as though maybe people don't know and then if it's already embedded in the presentation kind of that background knowledge then we don't have to ask that question or that's i think that we had talked about that before but i know that's another that's a lot because they're already doing so much it's a large volume of yeah it is large yeah but just maybe something that you think might be new maybe someone doesn't know like if you you know how they talk about acronyms you want to give the long acronym and what it

[01:55:08] stands for before you start using the acronym in the whole paper so i think maybe that's what we need to be mindful of you know don't start just saying vowels well what is vowels you know so that way just a kind of reminder and then i think dr jones is so right that we do repeat questions but in a different way so i think we have to make sure when people are talking we're listening so i know i'm you know i'm the culprit of that too but um it's sometimes you're writing down your questions while people are talking but being an active listener so that you're hearing exactly what people are saying so you can cross that off and say oh that question was asked answered okay

[01:55:48] I don't need to ask that. Or if you do have active listening, you know, and there's a question that comes up, you know, it could probably be emailed at another time, just for your own clarification, because not everybody was writing down, you know, I mean, so.

[01:56:03] That's true. Yeah. If we all work on it, you know, and we really start to fine-tune, you know, the important questions that we need for clarification. before we move on to the next topic can we take a quick bathroom right sure I move that we take a five minute recess second it was moved and seconded that we

[01:56:29] recess for five minutes on any discussion all in favor aye aye opposed is Tara coming back or is she she's in a to open session or to the meeting any discussion on the meeting?

[02:02:16] favor very quick topic food provision at meetings so in order to try to get us on some stable footing I would like to propose that we make a decision about food provided at meetings that is not based on Alba or I having to decide whether a meeting is going to take two hours or not. And I put it after the meeting decorum because, you know, if we had put minimums of questions in there, maybe it would answer

[02:02:54] questions. But, you know, I mean, do you guys want to have food at meetings? Do you not want to have food at meetings? How can we standardize this? So it's not so much of a guessing game. You want to go around? Yes, I agree with that. Work sessions. Work sessions Yeah. I mean, I know that when we do our closed sessions, if they go long, I mean, it is helpful.

[02:03:20] We don't know if it's good. I mean, that's the part of the problem. We don't know what's going to go long. With special meetings, sometimes we do just because, like, if we have three hearings, we kind of know that it could potentially be 45 minutes per student. Or if it's a readmission, then it takes about 30 minutes, you know, but we're still giving them 45 minutes.

[02:03:41] So then, you know, with that, we can kind of have an idea, I think, of how long a meeting is going to take. And like when we have superintendent evaluation, that's a long night. Right. You know, so that tends to be a longer night.

[02:03:57] And I know, I think this year, it was longer because we had missed the meeting because of snow days. But, yeah, I mean, it just, it is stressful. You know, city council does it for every meeting. You know, I mean, we haven't voted ourselves raises. there's a compelling reason to say yes to do it for every meeting there's compelling reason to say you know to keep our our tradition of being judicious with how we spend money and you know but but there have been people that have said come to a meeting and said i thought we would get dinner you know and we don't want that to happen anymore we want to know exactly when we're going to get dinner when do you want dinner i think if the meeting is going to last more

[02:04:36] two hours that's not going to be the parameter so what are the parameters you wanted us to i want to know i mean do you you know do you want to work sessions do you want them um only just you know work sessions are good you can say if there's more than four pieces points of business you know i mean but it's got to be something more static than us guessing how long the meeting's going to take if the meeting starts at five i think that's when it's hard to go get dinner before if it starts at six you know we're able to like well maybe that's the start time we work for food

[02:05:10] i'm sorry we get no i mean it's a it's pennies two dollars and for people like me that work full time and sometimes i don't even get lunch i will work for food so i'm voting for everything if if it's possible we i mean i also don't spend a lot of money going to a lot of other things so i'm but i'm okay every meeting will be great for me it doesn't matter to me i I just wanted to answer.

[02:05:43] So we've got one thing on every meeting. We've got one thing for who starts at 5 o'clock. Anybody, do I have two for any of these? I'm for work sessions. OK. Well, and special meetings. Well, like it is now.

[02:05:59] Yeah, pretty much. Like it is now, pretty much. Yeah. Well, special meetings. We've had a lot of meetings, and I don't know if that's-- We don't have a quorum, would you like to stand with me? so we can have a quorum.

[02:06:16] - Have a quorum? - Have a quorum. - What do you think? - Does that mess up our quorum? - No. - We still have enough quorum. - Okay, if I want my points made. Okay, meals at every meeting, meals only for meetings that start at five o'clock, meals basically for work sessions and especially meetings.

[02:06:40] - I'm gonna be anywhere for more than two hours. - We're not doing it by hours. - Yeah, I already asked that. - Yeah. - Okay, every meeting. This starts at five is what I said. Okay, we'll put out a doodle poll with those three options. I need answers. We're going to make a decision. That's what we're going to do.

[02:06:57] I need four people to say that. Good for you, Jill. I like that. We are going to get set because it's very stressful for Elba and I to decide if a meeting is going to last two hours or not. Gotcha. So it's got to be a static parameter. Right. Does anybody have any other parameter that they want to be on the list?

[02:07:15] I mean, because I'll do. So you said all work sessions and anything starting at five. I think that three choices. Dr. Jones, you're good with that. Some meetings have school meetings along. Oh, you know something. They are. So then what I have is work sessions.

[02:07:33] And special meetings. Work sessions and special meetings. At least you have it. Meetings that start at five p.m. Every meeting. All right, you guys may need to vote multiple times if we start narrowing it down. need four people to say yes yeah maybe we'll do first second third choice you know obviously what i'm like so we'll figure it out just get an initial answer but i want four people to say yes on one thing so we may narrow it down and send it out again okay um that's fine i do appreciate the food though that is very helpful just time is money and like i don't have

[02:08:12] to go get food because i can get here we see all sides of it and i'm fine with any answer are we still talking about dinner yeah we're going to send out three choices and you may have to answer it twice because we might have to narrow it down i'm not going to move forward until we have four people agreeing on one thing i will say what um diana said about how sometimes our school board meetings over at the city hall they're long like we don't get home until 10.

[02:08:43] one of the options is going to be every meeting yeah and i know prince william they give their dinner they give them we don't need any education no just it doesn't whatever you're just going to check a box yeah okay i'm sorry it's okay no explanations whatever you decide is fine we need four people to say yes i just want to understand okay okay miss brescia chair of the board development committee is supposed to provide an update on committee work with chair job description and chair election plan i just want to make sure that everybody knows that remains on our work session because it hasn't gone to board development committee yet but it is going to go to board development committee and that was supposed to be the report and board development committee

[02:09:22] is meeting uh 5 30 on the 29th because we had to change the meeting date so we changed it to 5 29 at 5 30. 5 29 i mean i mean i mean 4 29 and 5 30. i was like what oh i didn't know that april 29. so are you are you available for 4 29. yes i just didn't know because i have to announce oh yeah because i have it online so i'm sorry give me that they 4 29 5 30. i just wanted to know how

[02:10:01] that got to the to that development committee though because i put that item back in before the holidays on the from for us to discuss it and it just went straight to the board development committee without any discussion around it um that's a great question i mean when it comes out of it still has yeah yeah it still has to go to the whole school board there's no voting in board development but we do have a process where if i put an item we get to discuss it and then we get to decide where it goes or where it is i thought that's why it went to the committee because that's

[02:10:36] what happened i thought oh okay okay i was trying to be responsible to you miss brown by keeping it on like so that we were reporting what was going on the the journey honestly i can't i can't remember how it got sent there i don't even know if i was chair when that happened the board development committee was very slow moving in the past um but but definitely share you know because we have this thought reserved right now for this um or do you have specific thoughts you would like to share

[02:11:18] i mean she can send them to the board chair or to the committee chair yeah we can talk about It's about the process. We create a system and a process and I am successful when I follow a process and when I live within a system so when I put an item on the agenda because I cannot send it to the board for the business meetings, we agree that we can put it on the agenda and we will have a discussion and then we decide whether, you know, it goes here, it goes there or what have you but it went directly.

[02:11:52] so i just want to make sure that when i haven't put any more items because i'm not sure um about the process anymore so is the process still the same do we put it on the agenda here for the work session and then we discuss it or is there i just need clarification um i i'm happy to discuss it right now i guess if you want i mean it's on it's on the work session so let's talk about it you know

[02:12:26] process is the process still the same that's my question i can send you items and then for work sessions and then they get put on the agenda to discuss is that process still the same that is that is my understanding that's accurate right now yes so if that failed to happen at the turn of the chair you know i mean it was a very confusing time in january and i really don't know how this got sent directly to board development i didn't understand until just now that you weren't happy about it i was trying to keep it on the agenda so that we could make sure

[02:13:03] that you knew that it was staying on the agenda um but if this is not what what you thought it was supposed to be then i'm more than happy to discuss chair of the board the the chair election and job description right now yeah i'm not happy or unhappy so i don't want any emotion being placed or labeled only about this i just want to know the system and the process so that i'm able to exist within it so and i'm okay with the board development i just for the record the chair description that we had when i first proposed had only two things that you were responsible for

[02:13:42] one is to sign documents and one is to be the collective voice and of course that was not inclusive of all the duties and since I arrived to the board I have asked for that and we didn't have a description but there was another piece to this that I put on the same docket which was how we elect the chair and that has not come around but it was at the same time that I put this which was in December and January I think for the first meeting in January we did talk about how the chair

[02:14:17] selected because we wrote it into a policy no she's talking she's talking about how we um like nominated oh okay all right yes all right thank you thank you there is a process for that right okay all right thank you thank you for that because okay now i remember okay my heart just okay i know what you're talking about now but we have not talked about that in board development Yes, but I put that item back in for the January work session and it hasn't made it yet.

[02:14:53] But that is something that I would like to have addressed before we have to elect another chair. Because that process right now is not transparent and it's not even clear to me how we get to elect a chair. It is very gray, like what you were saying, because some people in the past, I've seen people call.

[02:15:12] Hey, this is what some people don't call at all and say, we're just going to talk about it. I don't think you can put limits on that, though. I mean, you could put in a policy that says this is the policy you can take. No, because it's Virginia code that says how it's elected and it's done at the organizational meeting where the floor is open.

[02:15:30] It doesn't say anything. There's no other requirement for that. But, no, we have not talked about that as a board development committee. Okay, and I had a suggestion, and I will send it again. Yeah, exactly. And maybe it can make it to the next meeting, to the next work session so that we can talk.

[02:15:46] Because I did have some suggestions on that. And also, you can, you know, you can probably send it to Ms. Bresha as well because she's, you know, she's not here right now, so I can't speak for her. But, you know, to send your thoughts to her as well because the next board development meeting is 429 at 530.

[02:16:03] Yeah, but not 529 at 530. Can I talk about it tonight? I mean, we can. I mean, I think that, like, you know how you mentioned the gentleman's agreement? I feel like that's what happens and then people get upset if that gentleman's agreement is not agreed to and that it did I mean it is what it is that's what happens I would very much like to fix this before next year as well yeah I want to reiterate that I've been trying to be faithful to what I thought my responsibility was to the owner of the question I'm happy to discuss it now if

[02:16:38] you're happy with but what but i will acknowledge and agree that it does seem to have morphed into something that other agenda items aren't where where the people the system that we have now is that you ask to put something on the agenda i'm not on the agenda and then you own it and you talk about it somehow this went to board development if it was my fault i apologize if you want to talk about it now I will try to make it right I don't know you know I mean it's but it's fair of you to ask what the procedure is and that is the procedure we're trying to use

[02:17:17] you know we've been trying to get to and been trying to be faithful to is who owns the item and have them bring it forward and I think that if we messed up in January we got better in February and you know we know maybe just me I know more what I'm doing now Alba has been steady and strong you know and I'm not the note taker you know I wish I was I think it's okay to continue I think for the next time I'm gonna resend my suggestions for the nomination and something for us to consider and if it's

[02:17:55] something that at that time we want to send to the board development as well we can do that um so i will put that as my action item i will send you my ideas again about chair and vice chair nomination yeah and we don't i i don't know about you but i don't know what miss fresher was going to present tonight she may have been presenting hey i want to hear your ideas i honestly don't know so i can't speak for you know what what the body of i'm pretty sure she was just going to say we're going to deal with it you know because the conversation when we added it back was

[02:18:33] you know will you have anything to report no we haven't set a date yet we really want this to happen before you know retreat and we definitely want you know answers answered before this next round so it is a strong desire to have a procedure that everybody understands and can follow before elections next year no definitely before elections next year because I've been asking about this is January 2025 but I'm okay as is I'll just send you my ideas okay you're welcome to send them to me and I can distribute them you're

[02:19:11] welcome to send them directly to the board the board development chair whatever you can I will send it as an item for the next working session and with the suggestion okay for the next work session or for the next board development committee so I'll wait but I'll send it for the next work session as an item for the next session so does that mean they still need to have a

[02:19:48] committee meeting we're not in a place where we're ready to be done with what we're working on so it's not like this has to be you know done by our next board development meeting we're not in that place yet well I mean I don't want to take from this pressure because I asked we've tasked her so we may see the results of the board development committee meeting on the next work session and whatever this Brown's gonna say if she doesn't want to share it with that committee and you might see two different items I don't know I'm just

[02:20:24] trying to do it as fair as i can if you my request would be that you share it with them we can reconvene after the next board session so you may have something that already outlines and it's quite possible but we're not going to be done before then yeah yeah that's okay right that's okay so be done before november oh no we won't look we we will get there definitely it was it was a very slow moving machine for the crime um okay so we're missing some people here but is

[02:21:02] everybody prepared to move on to item number eight yes okay spring break alignment um i should have caught this i don't know if chair spall needs to lead the discussion regarding alignment of spring break but i would like to um i've been asked to put it back on um i would like to orient people and remind them that this is on the committee a decision has been made not to move forward with any changes but there have been emails and some you know schools have announced their calendars since we've made this decision so I want

[02:21:40] you know people to have a chance to have their say again some of the advocate I don't know if anybody on leadership has anything they want to say but we're you we can go around the table if you want i mean that seems to be the thing that works the best are you in or out you're speaking i can give you some statistics okay i mean i didn't mean to put you on the spot but um i did if you would like i can just give you some specifics um just so you know when we talk about northern virginia schools princeton county fairfax county

[02:22:19] manassas park and louden 45 of our staff lives in those four jurisdictions which means 55% of our staff live in either MCPS or other places. Only 31.8% of our staff live in Princeton County, which means 68.2% live in either Manassas City or places other than Princeton County Schools.

[02:22:46] Some of those schools, districts that our residents live in, have an aligned spring break with us the 26th, 27th school year. So I don't know if that's helpful or not, but those are some numbers. - We appreciate all data.

[02:23:01] Can you repeat the data for me? Sure. I apologize. Nope. Of the four school divisions that we often talk about in Northern Virginia, Prince William County, Fairfax, Manassas Park, and Loudoun, 45% of our staff live in one of those four jurisdictions.

[02:23:18] 55% of our staff live in Manassas City or a place other than those four jurisdictions. Only 31.8% of our staff live in Prince William County.

[02:23:36] 68.2% of our staff live in Manasseh City or places other than Prince William County Schools. And 37% of our staff live in Manasseh City. - That's good numbers.

[02:23:52] - 30%? - 37%. - And what was the 68%? - Staff who live in either Manasseh City or a place other than Prince William County Schools. - I thought that was 55. I thought that was 55. - 55. - M-City or not.

[02:24:09] 55% means they live in Manassas City or places other than Prince William County so from a staff perspective if you were to change something based on staffing those are our statistics

[02:24:30] I can see it both ways but my thing is we follow the process and this is the calendar that was voted on and with the numbers that Mr. Goodfellow gave us it's not like it's an overwhelming majority of parents who live in those areas

[02:25:06] areas but I think we already made a decision and we did say no back in I think it was November and December and I think it's lesson learned to pay close attention the upcoming calendar development and what people don't see but I think too I know times have changed but when my kids were in school and my husband does not work for school did not work for school system but I had a husband i have parents i have friends who made arrangements because this council would always

[02:25:41] same and i know i think it's enough time to make arrangements but um i do think it's the calendar we voted i wasn't here to go for it but the calendar is important so you know almost half our staff live in divisions where spring break is before easter almost half of our staff live in divisions where spring break will be after easter or completely differently a complete different um at a complete different time so you know this is a situation of we're damned if you do

[02:26:19] we're damned if you don't you know somebody is going to be left in the lurch you know and as a parent who for almost 18 years had spring break that didn't align with my children's spring break i know how difficult that is it can be very difficult to find child care especially if you have both children um but you know if we go one way and say spring break before easter 45 of our staff will be in the lurch if they have children if we stay with spring break after easter you know

[02:26:57] so either or almost half of our staff have issues if they have children and they have child care because that's the top thing that i think about um is is child care because sometimes that can be a very expensive piece for people especially in families because i do know a lot and when i say a lot a large number and not necessarily just in necessity but in general of educators who part of the reason they work in education is to minimize the amount of time their children

[02:27:36] are in child um and so having them find some sort of option for a week can be can be a huge challenge. So I really, I'm really torn on this because the 55% and 45% because regardless of what decision is made, whether we stay with the current calendar or we go with what some folks are asking for, it still disenfranchises the population. I mean, that's the bottom line. And I do know that

[02:28:12] when the calendar was first talked about, it wasn't super clear about, I think a lot of us didn't realize that both calendars have the same spring break date and I think a lot of us made assumptions and we all know the problem with assumptions made assumptions that oh spring break won't change spring break will be the same because it's always been the same and so this is very difficult for folks who've always had spring break before Easter it represents a big change for them so I

[02:28:45] don't know that there's a right answer okay so we're thinking about the staff and I I'm there with you right um I don't know if I heard you correctly that you said that this this has been done so this discussion is muted or something I didn't say it's okay okay so we're talking about it it has been

[02:29:19] so there's a possibility we can change it uh I mean we're talking about it okay um so what one thing that we didn't think through perhaps very clearly is who do we serve and this is why representation matters because at this table I can tell you that not having access to the holy week with my children that is significant for me and holy week is the week before yes okay yes so

[02:29:52] but who do we serve right so yes all the all the data is important but because we serve more than 70 percent of hispanic students who we may assume or we can look into but what do they value you would i'm just putting that out there we have a large population of people of a particular faith Catholic who hold this week, the Holy Week, we didn't consider them.

[02:30:21] So I'm putting that back on the table. We need to consider the population that we serve. You know, I didn't think about that. My thought, I know we talked about staff, and of course, we do want to be mindful because they have voiced their concerns, and I appreciate your data because I like thinking logically, too.

[02:30:44] But have we talked about our student? And I know that we talked about how not everybody lives in Prince William, not everybody lives, you know, in Loudoun County or Griffith County, but we have educational agreements with Prince William, with our governor's school, with our ROTC, with our independence, alternative school, and that might be a small number of kids, but we're always talking about by name and by need, so how can we not change our schedule to make sure all of our students are taken care of? And that's the thing, like, I know that in the emails that we got,

[02:31:21] they mentioned doing the asynchronous. I have a student, I have a child that does lots of AP. And if you miss one week of anything, when you're doing AP classes, it's detrimental. And you can say, oh, no, they'll be fine. There's no assessment. But there's so much they have to read, they have to study, they have to prepare for. So I think, obviously, we're not going to make a decision tonight. But I think we need to make sure we're mindful of thinking about students, not just staff.

[02:31:53] Because I'm a staff member in Prince William, and I have a son in Manassas City. You make it work, you figure it out, because that's your job. So if we're going to make a decision, I don't think we should base it on the staff. And people can get mad at me about that, but we should definitely put students at the forefront.

[02:32:11] And if we are all about doing what's best for students, I think we definitely should change it because of that. I know if you can, because the subject of GovSchool and Independence, JROTC, has come up related to the calendar, when the calendar was first proposed.

[02:32:34] Can you share how that's going to be addressed? Because it was addressed in relation to the beginning and the end of the school year. So, in terms of, I can't speak specifically to, if I'm recalling correctly, what was in the email from Dr. Newman, who received an email, I think he shared with you all, from Dr. Calhoun, regarding the providing asynchronous materials for students to work on.

[02:33:08] Typically, they end the school year before we end anyways, and they don't start until after. They follow, obviously, they follow Princeton County's and Mason schedule. Typically, I believe in the spring towards the end of the year, students are working on their research projects.

[02:33:25] Their seniors are done. May 1st this year is their last thing is their capstone. They're working on their research presentations and projects. So that was the feedback that we received from Dr. Kelley.

[02:33:41] But spring break's in March, so that wouldn't coincide with that. The beginning and end, we figured those out, but we're talking about those two weeks. i think it but i think it was that was couched in the fact that i think we were hearing that the governor's school kids are going to miss a month of school and i think that's where and that that's where the clarification for the beginning and end of the year came is not missing a month of school if i'm remembering correctly yeah but because i know i mean it's anything so the two weeks though that are different so how that impacts them though because they're not everyone can do

[02:34:16] asynchronous anyway even though you may say hey i have this ready that impacts their learning and And then when they're over out and they're not out, they're missing a week of instruction. And I think that that's so important. And students that are getting into governor's school, I have friends that their kids graduated from there.

[02:34:34] It is no joke, and I'm sure you know this. I think we have to keep that in mind. And doing things based on staff complaints, I don't agree with that. Because you do whatever your boss tells you, and you have to figure it out.

[02:34:52] But when it comes to our children, that's important. Did you have anything else? I've spoken to the chair before and I said if it's going to cost us money, then let's look at that.

[02:35:09] And what I heard is that it's not going to cost us any money to correct or make this right for students. So that was my other piece. If it will cost us money, then we will have to be fiscally responsible and look at the whole picture.

[02:35:25] but if there's no money and it would sit well with the students that we serve that they will have practice to the holy week with their families i think that's all i have to say yeah i just have a question oh i just wanted to ask uh from tell me about holy week i mean i my i also methodist and i celebrate holy week but everything's at night tell me about your holy week as a Catholic okay So for me, in my culture, that's a whole week that we spend doing different things.

[02:36:01] When I would grow up, my grandmother and I would go to pilgrimage, and whatever we did that week, it was to do something, and we would go to Guatemala to be specific, and we would go and do offerings and do different things. So different families do it differently.

[02:36:17] So they make you travel. Yeah, and it is, but, you know, within your meetings or whatever you can do, there are some things that you have, and it could be church-related activities that they have ongoing. It could be rituals that the family wants to continue.

[02:36:35] It's just, it varies from family to family, but that's how my family and I used to celebrate by going to a particular chapel in Guatemala to do specific, you know, express our thanks for any miracles that we have received or blessings or favors that we have received for the year.

[02:36:58] Can I turn now? Is it? Yes. Okay. Mr. Grafeller, thank you for that data. That was interesting. do know I don't have the numbers or anything but we send this out to all stakeholders so families didn't have a chance to say something what I worry about is all the families that knows about this great spring break and have already planned things and are looking forward to it and if we change just

[02:37:35] because of pressure from a minority meaning the 45% then what's it going to have then are if they have a problem with it then are we gonna go back and change it again because a majority don't work well that's why I wanted to make sure we are focused on students right and that way you can't go back well I think that was the main reason in the first place is why we scheduled it for that week so we can have a static week right okay I believe and I was not part of the committee right but if I remember correctly there was a

[02:38:14] conversation at the committee uh purposely placing it there as a a breaking point um was my understanding now again i was not there for the committee but i know it was not um it was not just placed there without fault from the committee right do they think so about the masses i mean the prince williams well at that time the prince williams calendar was not set yeah but we have made our decisions in December of 2024 that's 16 months to plan for having

[02:38:53] different schedules if if that's where you land but some families aren't going to land there yeah and I just think that in the future I do think that in our surveys we should have an option of one week versus a different week and you know we can take that into account but we acted based on the information we had at the time but just because prince william changes there are we going to change all the other stuff to match prince william i don't think we want to do that um and when i had two kids through gov school there are always going to be different schedule changes they have a lot more snow days

[02:39:33] than manassas city for a whole week oh that's different one day i doubt that we had a whole week but this is part of life you learn how to manage your time and you make the most of it but if it's controlled by us for free it'd be one thing if you can't control it and I get what you're saying what are you going to say to those if if we changed it what are we going to say to those families that have already appreciate the week that we have it and don't want it to change and then we're going to change them because we got peer pressure from another side and the point no peer pressure I'm asking all of you as board members to consider the population of students

[02:40:13] that you do serve and consider their needs and their cultural backgrounds well we did do that that's why we send a survey and i'm saying to think about even that small number that are affected by it which are students not teachers and staff yeah i i'm gonna let you go i have something to say i'll let you go so mr capella this is a question for you so and and and this in some ways it speaks to something broader um you know we do have students and families from a variety of cultural

[02:40:46] background um and for for some folks you know that holy week that week before easter is very important um what kind of and we have other times in the school year where we have students who take time off for religious celebrations do we have something in place where if we have like students who go away for a religious pilgrimage that week before easter so that they're really not i don't to say ding and i don't know if i'm asking my question correctly but you know when we think

[02:41:25] about cultural differences we have to recognize that cultural differences run a gamut and how different families celebrate runs the gamut so should we have spring break after easter yet we have a population of students who this is a traditional holy week thursday and friday um passover um good friday that's a very important day because in the catholic church good friday

[02:41:56] is extreme um do we have systems in place so that students are not academically penalized for missing instruction because of that is really what my question is you know and students are not um penalized for missing school or religious service we work with families all the time that we do have variety of things, thirsty, you know, if it's not.

[02:42:35] I just had a question about that because we currently are off for two Jewish holidays. We're off for two or three Muslim holidays. So if we're not taking that week off, are we also going to be off for two Christian holidays?

[02:42:56] Because if we're talking about equity, that would be equitable if we're changing our week to stay the same. Are we going to have that Good Friday? Maundy, Thursday is a huge Catholic holiday, too. They go to church, and there's a ritual on everything.

[02:43:11] So are we going to balance that if we decide to keep that week after Easter? Because otherwise, it would not be equitable. I would say that's a school board decision. Dr. Newman and I, committee, don't set the calendar.

[02:43:28] And the current holidays, religious observances that are currently recognized in the calendar came as a directive from the school board. - Gotcha, so it could be something if you decide to keep that week after Easter, maybe perhaps those days.

[02:43:43] - It's a matter of, I think Dr. Newman shared in his email, if I remember correctly, he shared with me, it's a matter of math. So one of the priorities that Monassas has had is starting early, getting out early. The more observances, the more student holidays you put in the calendar, you have to go deeper into the school year and deeper into June.

[02:44:05] And so if that's the school board's decision, then those days would have to be added somewhere because you've got to have either 180 days. You have to have 180 days. If for some reason snow or whatever, you can't meet the 180 days, then the 990 kicks in. But the expectation from the Department of Education is that we have 180 days of school.

[02:44:25] And so there's only so many ways you can make without having students and staff go to school on the day before Thanksgiving. There's choices that are made. Right. But I just wonder if we're not going to have that week because we're deciding to keep it another week.

[02:44:45] Perhaps we take all the holidays off or all of them need to be on. Because the thing is, you're putting focus on two religions and not on another. And we just have to remember that. I think these are two issues. We're talking about the calendar for 26-27.

[02:45:08] Do we keep it? Do we change it? then moving forward do we want to consider our population and move away from whichever board prior to us decided that a fixed week was a good idea so there's two issues so that's what i want to say this could be the wild and crazy tale of 2027 where you know the school board did something crazy and parents didn't get to be with their kids you know i mean maybe one day 20 years down the road this is a one-year isolated incident everyone is going to get a

[02:45:42] chance to vote again for another year what my understanding and this is going to probably be wildly unpopular but the purpose of this spring break what we're moving toward is not about vacation it's about pacing the school year so students have time to learn absorb and reset in a structured way and when we design the calendar with that in mind we're supporting better outcomes for kids all kids and a more sustainable learning rhythm for everyone involved I believe history will reflect that kind of intentional planning favorably I do think that we're on the right side of history and trying to move to this but this is a

[02:46:22] one-time deal right now and people will have a chance to speak out if they didn't like what happened this year you know if we go forward we could have weeks that are spring break that have nothing to do with Easter or Easter week but we may very well have an opportunity almost every school that I know colleges you know they do have Good Friday off sometimes they have Easter Monday off you know we we get to write the book on this but what I don't think we should do is reverse our decision if we're making a change and it's a real change for a

[02:46:57] real reason that has everything to do with student outcome how much more time can we give family than 18 months you know we did everything we could to let them know that this was a systematic intentional change and that's what I you know feel could we get to move this to the general business meeting or do we vote on continue dialogue here what is the outcome how are we moving forward how would you like to move forward I would like it to be brought to the general

[02:47:33] meeting and a vote so that way it's on record I would not I would not I think that it's sad that you can present that students are going to be affected by it and nobody cares about that at day life and i'm not everybody in this room cares about kids well you're not your actions speak otherwise because if a person tells you the students are going to be affected and you don't say anything towards that your actions show that you don't care so you can say all these things you can do this but your actions are showing that you don't so that's why i want to

[02:48:09] have it as a vote so that way everybody can see that you voted to keep a calendar that would affect maybe 10 kids it may not be that many but it's still kidding and it's still futures and it's still and it's still futures because when a student as you know is in governor's school some of them could be seniors we don't know what our students are juniors seniors that could affect that and so you know i do agree we shouldn't change it based on a certain thing but if it will affect a small number a large number of kids we should think about that i think and that's but we're not because

[02:48:46] we're not going to vote on it. So basically what's going to happen is you're making a decision and it's not a decision that each of us are getting to make as a joint board. That's all I'm saying. Dr. Jones. Yeah, I got, um, how many governors, they're like, what, 16, 17 governors? 18. Only 18 governors. And I attended the meeting, you know, governor school was completely nonplussed by this decision. They, the administration rolled over it like it was you know eating a donut like they I don't know if that's a real analogy I mean they were

[02:49:25] like we've got this the kids are going to be fine I mean there was absolutely no they didn't even skip a beat if I felt like this was really hurting kids you know I mean there was this is a life lesson and kids are going to learn you know especially gov school kids you know I mean things happen like this all the time but we can change it for no money so what is the real agenda that you have, Jill, because I'm confused.

[02:49:50] It's your agenda. Is it your agenda to say, I'm going to do it because the survey's done? It's tech help kids. How is this helping kids when you're actually changing a schedule that doesn't match the school they go to? So how is that helping kids? Tell me how that helps kids. You explain it to me, and I will not talk anymore.

[02:50:07] I'm just saying. You can't say it, can you? 18 months' notice. You cannot tell me how it helps kids. You cannot. Tell me. Write it down and tell me how it helps kids, And I will stop talking. I'm not sure exactly where you're moving towards now.

[02:50:24] But we talked about it earlier last year. And if I'm not mistaken, I think you were on the committee with me to say not to change it. No, I said that it was not my vote. Okay. That's what I said, not to change it. Because how can I change something that I didn't vote for?

[02:50:40] That's what I said. All right. Okay. But also, I do know my niece was a graduate of Newport News. and their their spring break has never been when those area schools were and i think i i don't know i'm thinking it's the second week in april maybe but i know my sister she got used to i mean i mean she knew that was what was coming up it wasn't gonna be the same week but i think like you said like um this is um lisa said this she said that stephen said that you know we we have half and it's like half and half it's like half and half i mean some people probably already have plans

[02:51:16] some people were probably happy that it's going to be a different week um and we we have different cultures um and like i said if it's a religious uh observance kids aren't penalized for being out of school but we're asking kids to be absent and what are we well we don't know we don't know how many people we don't know how many people actually travel we're talking about traveling instead of what i'm speaking about is actual academics well she's talking about that the reason they did that was to so they're not so we need breaks for pacing that was the reason for doing it you know what i'm saying is it affects that not only the governor's school we also have the

[02:51:55] independent students that will be on a different calendar if we didn't have that agreement with them we can do whatever we want but we have these agreements i do so yeah that's what i mean i do say we have to be not to change what are we doing this this is not i think chair said she didn't want to vote I mean we're we were going around the table saying yeah whether we wanted to bring it but mr. get our side you've got no I just wanted to share two things we talked about the survey 741 parents completed the survey 564 staff

[02:52:30] completed the poll back in 2024 that was some of those do this and those could also be parents and then just to just my point about the doctor side of the calendar to make my point where the reason they put it was because the it is the spring break for the 26 27 is between the end of the third quarter and before the beginning of the fourth quarter so students get a whole fourth work as opposed to having a week of fourth quarter then spring break and the

[02:53:05] rest of the thing and that was the intentionality of the community. Could you send that to us like the the end of the third quarter, did you decide to do that? Yeah, second year. Thanks for the survey information.

[02:53:25] Did you say we're going around the room to vote or no vote? To change it to the, when's the vote? We don't vote in the fourth session. But what we can do is determine whether or not there's enough interest to bring it to a regular school. Is that how you understand it? I'm trying to do the role on the board.

[02:53:44] Quick question. This is just the 26-27 school year. back into calendar development for 27 28 28 29 one of the first things dr goldson will do when she comes on board in july 1 is to head up the calendar committee um and you will get the new calendars you will vote on the new calendars um i don't know what the timeline is but it will be well in advance at the start of the and there'll be surveyed of families and yeah right and also if you remember through the meet and confer process there'll be additional um feedback sessions for families um there'll be in person um family and staff of the in person in person slash virtual

[02:54:24] feedback sessions they'll also be uh we will also be communicating out um via a one-pager summarizing and providing more because that was an issue that came through the meet and confer and so those are the way we'll be responding to that specifically for the calendar to do more opportunities will we know the pristine county calendar when you send out our survey don't believe so maybe there's year by year yeah and is there a reason we do two years at a time isn't just a long-term planning it's in our regulation oh I'm sure there's a policy the crisis regulation but I have a

[02:55:02] feeling that policy is very broad and just speaks to the number of days hours students have to be in school and doesn't dictate when days off occur is very broad and so the regulation spells out the detail and I don't know what the background is I've been here and just to one of the things that in the past we had tried to do was like align winter break with the end of a quarter or with the end of the first semester we had tried to do that and we were successful for a couple of years with that but then one year it was completely thrown up and

[02:55:41] we were not able to do that um but that is we wouldn't take christmas away from kids you taking good friday i just want to say and i'm going to be quiet after this whatever you decide to do my vote is to give it a consideration and a vote at the general meeting because in a community where a significant portion of families observe the catholic faith and that is our reality

[02:56:16] scheduling spring break that aligns with that calendar may be beneficial and just in general easter is not just a single day it is the culmination of holy week one of the most sacred periods in the catholic faith which is the faith of the students that we serve most of them i would not say i'm not talking about prince william and aligning with this city and that city i'm asking you all to consider the population that you serve and take that into account okay so how would you

[02:56:55] guys like to proceed shall we go around the board and say whether we want to take it to i would not idea my my um not a vote but my say is it should not work for you should not even because as i am fine with either way because whatever it is it is the will of the board um and in some ways because

[02:57:35] have a student who would be impacted I don't want my decision to be reflected as a personal decision as a parent who works in a division and has a child in a different division where the spring breaks would not line up um if it's the will of the board to have a discussion in a general meeting where folks have the opportunity to make public comment I'm truthfully I'm fine either way well we're just asking the will of the board right whatever I mean do you want

[02:58:13] to abstain or do you want to say I truly I want to abstain because I don't want my opinion my personal opinion as a parent because I've lived having a child to having children whose spring break does not light up with mine and my concern is that my personal beliefs would have followed my judgment as an I think it's the least that we can do to consider our students.

[02:58:48] I prefer not. I think it's been dated, but I would like also to say that I do not have a hidden agenda. I also am Catholic, I think. This is what I think, you know, we owe the families that completed a survey.

[02:59:05] That's all that this is about to me. I did not design this calendar, you know, and I'm not even going to comment on whether I like it, but I believe in the survey process. I believe in more surveys, not less, and I think that the only way we're going to get people to fill out surveys is to stick with what they say.

[02:59:29] So I apologize for the people that feel, you know, that they've been wronged, but I do not think that this needs to go further. And, you know, even if Sarah was here and voting in favor to bring it forward, it wouldn't have an act.

[02:59:50] Not with an extension. Right. 741 parents responded. Right. That's about 10% of our student population. And that survey is good enough. Okay. I will say, I've been in districts where we gave surveys and our superintendent and the school board made the decision.

[03:00:11] But the calendars were aligned to what they want. So one of the reasons why I said that I don't think that it's my place to do it previously was because of that. But I think we need to be mindful that people that do fill out our surveys may not know the ins and outs.

[03:00:32] So we need to present to them things that do align because the week, and the only reason why I'm pointing this out is because I know how crucial it is not to miss school when we were doing those higher levels. And just making sure if we're going to have these agreements with Prince William, we need to talk to that and have those conversations so that we are aligned at least so it doesn't affect our kids.

[03:00:56] There's always room for us to improve. I'm sure that we're going to do our very best to shepherd the 18 kids that are in golf school. I think there's 12 kids in special ed and 9 kids and there were some that overlap. So like less than another 12 kids that go on to independence.

[03:01:15] And we're going to do our best, you know, to make sure that this is a positive experience for them. Nobody wants to take anything away. And, you know, I mean, I really do appreciate everybody speaking their mind. And I really do appreciate, you know, us remembering maybe that some of the kids need some extra help.

[03:01:38] But I think that, you know, and I truly hope that this is a calendar year that, you know, somehow remedies itself so that everyone can feel better about it the next cycle but I think that's what we need to look towards is the next cycle at this point in time I just really believe that and to be clear so that I understand when I'm asked the question if a family wants to observe Holy Week they will be allowed to be absent without penalty and without those

[03:02:14] absences counted the absences will count but they will not be because the the the state does not distinguish between excuse excuse absences but in terms of penalty for grading assessments there they are not so then students can take the Holy Week and be counted absent and we're okay with that I think that's a state I don't think that's an us I think that's a state regulation no but

[03:02:51] we're making that decision that families could have been observed yeah and we're saying that they can request that they will not be penalized for work and as a board you will feel that that's a better outcome for our kids then to consider sending another survey consider other perspectives we're opening up for community comment I mean clearly community members have weighed in with

[03:03:21] email and Facebook post and all that that's another idea too is everybody ready to move on to our final topic yes I think we're going to continue the prior discussion where Miss Brown will continue leading the seat of trust where

[03:03:57] board members were asked to read pages 130 to 177. I'm going to read it right here. I know I've given you this before, but you probably didn't bring it this time, so I took the liberty of making copies, so if you take one, it may help guide some of the conversations that we're going to have.

[03:04:19] We're going to discuss the first six behaviors. Am I correct? The first five. The first five. The first five behaviors. So that would be on the handout that I sent that's coming around.

[03:04:38] This one. The behaviors are on the one page. And then if you turn it, my favorite part is the counterfeit behaviors. And I really like this too because sometimes we don't realize what the counterfeit behavior is.

[03:04:57] So I like to have it in front of us as we unpack the 13 behaviors to build trust. And so I had a lot of phrases here. But unfortunately, the one that I like the best here is that you cannot talk yourself out of a problem you behave yourself into.

[03:05:21] That's exactly what I have. i know so um so anyway that's right up front so it's like i it's like i don't know i felt like i was cheating because i was like but that is my phrase today and um the five behaviors that we're going to discuss is talk truthfully demonstrate respect create transparency right the wrongs and

[03:05:48] show loyalty and so talk straight is one of the ones that I'm practicing because I think in board meetings in academic or I don't know academia circles we tend to go around in circles sometimes and we get a lot of spinning a lot of posturing sometimes sugarcoating or withholding information

[03:06:21] so i'm trying to be very mindful and i'm trying to talk truthfully um and not do the counterfeit um opposite of talking truthfully um or straight talk which is the first behavior so that's what i'm focusing on personally um so because i do believe that being clear is clean And so I'm trying to ensure that I walk and walk and not just talk.

[03:06:55] Those are my takeaways from the behavior, so I'll pass it around to anybody who wants to tell us a quote or tell us about one of the behaviors that resonated with them.

[03:07:11] Anybody want to go next? I personally am someone I believe really strongly in the get better. Grow continuously, improve, be a constant learner, learn from failures, regularly seek feedback, receive it openly and act on it as appropriate because for me I feel like and and this is just that the personal mantras when you stop oh I'm sorry get

[03:07:38] better number seven oh we're doing the first five you know I do like show loyalty give credit give credit to others speak about people as if they were present represent others who aren't there to speak for themselves um you know I think it's

[03:08:11] important to give credit to others um could you read the counterfeit for that um the counterfeit being two-faced appearing to give credit to people when they're present but downplaying their contribution when they're not sweet talking people to their faces and then bad I'm mouthing them behind their back, gossiping.

[03:08:38] I also like, I have to go backwards. Sorry, I really like seven, but you're not very sorry. See, I'm learning. But I think showing loyalty, you know, and demonstrating respect, genuinely care for others and showing them that you care, honor people no matter their role.

[03:09:02] While I respect people, sometimes I forget that there needs to be that visible show of care you know for me I'm the person who forgets to call someone back and say thank you or I forget I'm the notorious forget to send the thank you card person and it's not intentional and it's not that I don't respect it's I tend to go on a motor and that's that's an area where I feel as though I can do better but i also think treat everyone with respect especially those who can't do anything for you

[03:09:42] i think one of the most hurtful things is when a person decides you don't have anything to offer them and so they dismiss you and and that's to be like like a kind of a slap in the face and so the counterfeit behavior is taking respect or concern showing respect or concern for those who can do something for you but not for those who can't and being that person on the receiving end as being the one who can't do something for you and not getting yourself is a very perfect thing.

[03:10:11] So those are me. - Great, okay, I can go.

[03:10:29] So for me, I like behavior number three, create transparency, tell the truth in a way people can verify, declare your intent, get real and be genuine, be open and authentic, err on the side of disclosure, be transparent about not being able to be transparent, operate on the premise of what you see is what you get.

[03:10:50] Don't have hidden agendas, don't hide information. So that kind of goes over the counterfeit, but I just got accused of having a hidden agenda and I really just honestly don't. Making things appear different than they are seeming rather than being or pretending or faking openness, I just try really hard not to be that person.

[03:11:12] So I'm sorry that that's what's coming across to people, but that is the behavior that I chose. - All right, and when we, just for the purposes of the study here, when we say that we intentionally focus on something doesn't mean that we're not, for example, talking straight or talking trickly, it doesn't mean that you're not honest as a person or that people don't know where you're staying,

[03:11:50] but sometimes I think in different circles or because we're not aware what a counterfeit may look like, we may not be aware. So as we create the focus here, I don't want anybody to think that because you're focusing on creating transparency that you're not transparent or that you may have hidden agendas.

[03:12:13] It might be just an intentional focus to improve personally, but also to be better as a person and better as a leader. But it doesn't, I don't want anybody to take blame for this because that's not the purpose of the book.

[03:12:31] It's just for inspection and for us to learn from each other because I think, truthfully, if we go down through all the 13 behaviors, we all have some growth to do in some way because there's no way that we can recognize all the counterfeits and all the relationships because relationships are hard.

[03:12:50] And this board, functioning within the board is really difficult. we don't want you to take blame that you're not transparent you have interest there well I also I like to talk straight and I liked it those of you that know me one thing it says learn to get to your point quickly that's you that's you I'm going to try

[03:13:28] and so that is definitely what I believe but I do think it's important in our roles and just in your daily life that you talk straight even if you don't think the person wants to hear them, tell it to them and they can deal with that, help them deal with it. I think it's definitely important to talk straight give facts, be compassionate in what you do but I just think it's so important not to go around the long red bush and just to talk straight and not be fearful. So I like what it said, to be honest, tell the truth, that people know you stand use simple language all things what they are demonstrate integrity don't manipulate

[03:14:07] people or distort facts don't spin the truth and don't read false impressions i think that's super important if you don't understand what someone is saying you could say um did i hear you say this and explain it to me but i think it's definitely important that we don't waste each other's time by not talking straight and that the judge on page 146 so your appointment says if you're explaining something for too long you're losing. That's on the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5th paragraph, yeah.

[03:14:41] I'll go, but I'm going to repeat some things. On page 131, where we started out, again, you can't talk yourself out of a problem you behave yourself into, but you can behave yourself out of a problem you behave yourself into. Behavior matters, and you can change your behavior. They're willing to. And then on the talking straight, that also resonated with me.

[03:15:18] Talking straight can be taken too far. Some, in the name of talking straight, can be cruel and brutal in their communication, and it should be tempered with tact and consideration. Yeah. I'm on page 159. I had a lot of things that I highlighted in pre-transparency, But I thought it was interesting because I like how they talk about the counterfeits of each one.

[03:15:55] And it said the counterfeit of transparency is illusion. It's pretending, seeming rather than being, and making things appear differently than they really are. And, you know, a lot of people can pretend like they're transparent and they're truly not because they're behind things we don't know.

[03:16:13] But I think it's important for us to be clear and truthful in everything that we say. But you have to build relationships and trust in order for that person to even think that you're transparent to it. That's another reason. Because it says when trust is low, people don't trust what they can't do.

[03:16:31] That's huge. And that's also on Patreon. Can everybody go? Everybody sell. Okay. Okay. So no one's on showing loyalty.

[03:16:49] And I think this is one for us to consider because some of us are just, we only have this relationship as a board here. So if we're going to apply it to us as a board, then we'll have to do some investments because we don't have that.

[03:17:08] I think they did say show in loyalty first, and then I said demonstrate respect. But this might be an area for us to maybe consider, you know, adopting as one of our focus areas personally or together.

[03:17:24] So I know this is very hard because we serve on this board, and like I said, we don't have that familiar and regular conversations and talk that we can invest, but there might be ways that we can improve our relationships, and one of them is I do this with my staff.

[03:17:48] I don't let anyone speak about my staff if they're not present there to defend themselves, So that would be one of the things, but the counterfeit for showing loyalty, well, showing loyalty means giving credit to others, speak about people as if they were present, and represent others who are not there to speak for themselves.

[03:18:12] And then the counterfeit that sometimes we don't know that is a counterfeit is appearing to give credit, or downplaying contributions, or sweet talking, and, oh, I think we did say that, possibly, yes.

[03:18:32] I did. Yes, you did. I'm sorry. That's okay. I'm sorry. Don't worry. so alright so that would be my recommendation for us to focus on one that you really like and then one as a board so we have behavior six seven eight nine seven nine twelve fifteen do we want to just read for the rest the next time read all of them all right it's up to you guys I don't want to

[03:19:05] pressure with all that so we have a look yeah we will have about a month do it on audio put it on audio it is so much easier and franklin cubby it's it's franklin cubby they're very easy and in your package you have the application challenge where i just said if you just wanted to focus a lot for yourself um and make a plan um you can do so um but yeah that's it We're going to do, let me go back to my pages, 178.

[03:19:44] I took mine out Tuesday night. I was like, let me just put it in here. I know exactly where mine is too.

[03:20:02] Okay, good. So I have what, page 178 to 336 for the next question. Yeah, 236, 237, I think it's 237. Yeah, I thought she said the rest of the behaviors. Yeah, the rest of the behaviors go on.

[03:20:19] Oh, not the end of the book? No, not the end of the book. I'm sorry, so there's two, sorry. Okay, that's why I was like, there's no way to do all that. No, no, no, no. Oh, that, oh, okay. What you heard was the rest of the book? Yes, the rest of the behaviors. Okay, okay. Okay, now you have a month to read the rest of the page, it cracks me up.

[03:20:35] So 138 to 136. Okay, got it. But like I said, it is, if you, yeah, and listening to it on audio is very painless. I read it on my Kindle, too, sometimes.

[03:20:51] I kind of think I might have it on my Kindle as well. I have a tendency to have books in multiple places. Okay, do I have a motion to adjourn? Chair, I'm with the school board meeting adjourned. Second. Okay, I have a motion by Ms. Stephens, seconded by Ms. Sieber.

[03:21:11] Does that be adjourned? Thank you for any discussion. If you are in a discussion, all in favor of all of those. Aye. All in your post. Aye. Motion passes.

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