Coraggio Consulting
Manassas City School Board Work Session - September 10, 2026

Date: Thursday, September 10, 2026
Place: Manassas City Public Schools / School Board meeting, Virginia
Length: 1h 55m (video)
Official meeting video (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P35Zj_Mtuo

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 2026-10-16. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:00:00] Dr. Newman, are there any additions or deletions to our agenda tonight? Chair, I move that the school board and the city of Manassas approve the public meeting agenda as presented. Second.

[00:00:18] Ms. Stevens, make it a motion seconded by Ms. Seberg that the school board and the city of Manassas approve the public meeting agenda as presented. Is there any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? I think so. Motion. We'll now move to the work session agenda.

[00:00:39] The first item is the 2026-2027 school calendar, Good Friday, an alternative date.

[00:00:54] At the request of Ms. Miles, the school board will continue its discussion regarding the observance of Good Friday on the 2026-2027 school calendar and consider January 8th or February 1st as alternative dates. Ms. Miles. So, I recognize that the proposed date is a teacher work day, and I absolutely value the time of our teachers and staff needed for planning and preparation, and central office, I'm sure has done a lot of research on what would be best as far as PDs and everything.

[00:01:24] However, the reason why I chose that day is because I believe that it falls so close to a two-week break already, and I believe we can make a reasonable adjustment that better serves our students. I know that I had asked for September 11th, which in fact was definitely an inconvenience for many people, including our staff, and being able to provide services for our students, and so I did not want that to happen. But I hope that we can support changing January 8th to a full instructional day so that we will be able to honor Good Friday, which is an important day for many of

[00:02:00] our families. 70% of our families are Hispanic families, which many of them celebrate Good Friday by going to pay homage to in churches and also at family time. And so I think that January 8th would be a great day, but I believe it also would be a thoughtful balance because we're respecting not only the calendar, but also respecting the fact that we do not have currently a Christian holiday that is recognized on our calendar besides, of course, Christmas,

[00:02:33] which is celebrated by the mass. But I wanted to point out that I also looked at where January 8th falls as opposed to um the quarter and the quarter and when the quarter ends because i know that is uh super huge the quarter ends january 15th so having that extra day for instruction would actually in fact be great for teachers and at least my opinion and then that way it won't break up the continuity of students already being gone for two weeks um and then we also get that compromise where parents are able to have that good friday off um and i've said this before

[00:03:13] many times that um the area schools have good friday off so that is it would be also in line with the area so you're you just want to talk about january 8th right now i i wanted to propose january 8th first and then if we had because i felt like that was probably the least impactful and then the other one was february 1st um was the the other choice i mean i'm comfortable having discussion about this one and then so does anyone so my only concern with

[00:03:48] both states is that there's I'm looking at the email that had been sent earlier my only concern is that both days look to be fully scheduled with professional development and my concern is either one of the days if we change one of those days to a holiday when will we get in that professional development and will that have to be done on a teacher planning day because we do have protected teacher days where no professional development is scheduled and my concern is just that that would cause those days to no longer be teacher planning days

[00:04:27] but they would have to do professional development those days so I don't know statement is correct can we go away or have to go somewhere else and then my next question is are there because I I don't know just from looking at these I pulled it up in front of me are these all is this all in-house professional development or there are outside organizations coming in to provide

[00:04:57] professional development and then my next question is and I don't I don't have the exact number off the top of my head but i do know there are a certain number of professional development hours specifically teaching staff have to have annually if one of these days was taken away and those professional development opportunities were abandoned would that impact

[00:05:27] i'm not sure the impact of that the impact would be that these plans were um i don't think it's respectful to the process of the calendar and to the staff that's already made plan i would prefer waiting till after March and seeing if we use snow days and if we have extra hours that we can use to use that. The feedback that I read indicated that the only happy medium for the staff would be if we just make Good Friday an

[00:06:06] additional day off and nothing else be touched and that will put us at 179 for our school days but apparently nobody's done the math and say that we will have enough hours so we wouldn't be short but I that would be up to you Dr. Neiman to confirm that so with Board Member Seberg if we don't have the no days and we can afford to do that day I will be in support of that but right now I think each one of these dates are we're gonna still find contention and this is

[00:06:44] unfortunate because Board Member Miles has been pushing this since before and I I think both both of us have been pushing this is since the spring I believe so here we are in almost fall and still not having reach a resolution so that's my thinking so I'm supportive like conceptually I've been trying to make good friends kind of work as well I'm trying to do but as as information comes

[00:07:21] up you know you have to adapt to the information that you've got and you know okay if we did September 11th we're gonna have bus drivers okay so that's not going to work all right well now let's take a look at these two things but I'm looking at these two things I'm very hesitant with the what is scheduled and I just don't think we have the frankly the student achievement data to say okay you know no we don't need an ESOL workshop workshop for example like I think we do need to have those things so if there is some kind of way to maybe readdress it if we get you know if we don't have a snow creed event like the last time you

[00:07:57] Yeah, I'm kind of open to that, but there has been, and I'm not the calendar expert, so I'm looking at Dr. Kim for this, but there has been some kind of reason that we try to keep both the hours and the days. We traditionally try to keep both of those, right? Well, the code is for 180 days, or 990 is if you can't get to it.

[00:08:19] Excellent. And so going down to 179 days, like we get through March and we haven't had snow creed or a wee box school, in theory. When we create the calendar, we try to meet the goal of 180, but that is the code.

[00:08:39] Or 990 is in the code if you can't get to 180, if you don't plan to not help. I see. So the code is telling us that the intention in our calendar should be 180 days.

[00:09:03] Is there a consensus to which January 8th or Good Friday? my concern is that I'm looking at the professional development and as Ms.

[00:09:23] President said some of our scores aren't where we want them to be and we have you know an EL workshop on the 8th and then both on 8th and then again on February 1st we have special education professional development we have math resource implementation and leveraging student thinking math resource we have two sessions on both days for math and my concern is you know we would have to bump those professional development days to a teacher planning day and that's something I feel like I've worked really hard to make sure we protect or we just

[00:10:03] scrap them all together and what happens if you scrap them all together what is lost that's my concern just being the one that's actually works with kids consistently in a large classroom. But anyway, I need to point this out that, and I wasn't on the calendar committee, obviously, so I don't know. And I'm not understanding the reasoning behind the calendar at all. It doesn't make sense to me at all. But when you're trying to instruct kids and you're trying to get them ready for the end of a quarter, trying to get grades out, trying to

[00:10:37] get your report cards out, having days before that happens is really, really hard. And so I'm not sure why, you know, the January 8th was even a date that was proposed because it's smack dab at the end. So if you're at a week and you're trying to, you've already had two weeks where the kids have been with their parents for two weeks and they're not in the classroom and then you come back and the next week you have a day off. Yes, PD is wonderful, but as a teacher, it's really hard because then you got to catch the kids back up. You got to get them where they need to be right

[00:11:13] before assessments and report cards. So that's why specifically I chose that date because I felt like as a teacher, it would be less impactful because having that extra day added to the quarter is really helpful when you're trying to get your kids ready for assessments. And I know you're mentioning our data, but data is driven by children and teachers, right? And so if a student is not in school, they're missing instruction. And yes, PD is wonderful, but we have to teach our kids and they have to be in school. And the other reason why I had emphasized Good Friday, it wasn't

[00:11:51] just, oh, I want Good Friday. It was specifically because we thought that the majority of our families may end up taking that day off. Teachers may end up taking that day off because we're not giving it to them. And so the impact of absentee rates might be higher, especially because it is right before our spring break. So that was the other reasoning. So just kind of giving you guys a reason, a little more clarity on the reason why I chose that date and Good Friday. And I too have to admit I haven't worked on the calendar, haven't been part of that process. I do respect it. But

[00:12:28] just FYI for whomever is working on the calendar next year for cultural reference, January 6th is a holiday for Hispanic culture and so and I often take that day off to be with my family that's actually our Christmas on January 6th so think about those pieces when we are developing the calendar because we serve a very distinct population and so we need to be mindful of that so at this point I share in the frustration like I said with board member Miles because she has

[00:13:06] been advocating for this before we went out for holiday break for the summer break and at the retreat when she was tasked to go in what I believe a goose chase to find a date. I think that's unfair especially for junior members to be tasked with that. It should have been a process that we all collaborated on not just her. I don't think that should happen again. If we really were open to the idea of selecting a date it should have been a collaborative process and not just sent

[00:13:41] her to look for dates and spend all this time just so that she can come back on 9 10 and hear a no i think that's disheartening and discouraging anyone else okay well i i'm more than open i mean to the concept of a date i'm not saying that the calendar is perfect by any stretch it's two years old data by now i i don't think that it was a wild goose chase but i understood it was going going to be a difficult assignment. I mean, it's very intentional to make this calendar. So I don't think it's fair to characterize it as telling a junior member to do something that wasn't possible,

[00:14:20] but it is a very difficult thing to do. And it could not be conceptual because there wasn't a will of the board all along to actually make the change. But as chair, I said that I was happy for you to do some investigating and present a specific idea. And this is the first day that it's really been besides September 11th, which was, you know, just too late, that there is a specific idea that we could actually agree on. And I appreciate your work. I appreciate your intention. I appreciate, you know, the fact that this is something that you really want to happen

[00:14:56] and you've got constituents that are making it difficult for you. But it really is a very difficult change to make right now. And so part of the exercise was to have new members who weren't here when we did do the calendar appreciate you know how intentional every single date is so I'm I apologize if people feel that you know it was done in malice but it really wasn't and you know I think you came up with the best date that you could but it's still not a great day you know for a lot of reasons and I agree that you know I mean if we want to go down the path of switching it to

[00:15:32] January 6th you know I mean maybe that's something no but if the 6th is a real holiday you know I I mean, there are many, many, many machinations of this, but I think that, you know, the board has spoken a number of times about their actual consensus to make this, but I will ask one more time, is there any consensus to move or switch January 8th to Good Friday?

[00:16:01] I would like to make a point of order. Yes, ma'am. I did not say malice, so I do not want those words to be included in this process. i still i said what i said so you can review the tape so please do not mischaracterize my words as saying that you intended malice again poor member miles made an effort since the spring and so that i and it is 9 10 and we are here it's discouraging and disheartening to hear and know

[00:16:37] after all that work that's what i said thank you for your work miss mile is this matter satisfied I mean, because no one wants to push it there, so it is satisfied with the board.

[00:16:58] Next, we'll discuss purpose and agenda structure. Ms. Brown will lead a discussion regarding the purpose and structure of school board work sessions. The board will discuss the types of agenda items that are most appropriate for work sessions, including presentations, budget-related discussions, and other matters requiring board discussion or review.

[00:17:18] The discussion will also provide an opportunity to clarify expectations regarding how items are brought forward and handled during work session yes so thank you fair this was going to be more of an open discussion and more of a question for the team here for the board and perhaps to propose an addendum to the book where we have a separate description of the work sessions were very specific items such as what type of

[00:17:52] items are included and what happens for example in the case of the proposal is that going to be on the business agenda to be voted out or do they disappear here without a vote there so those particular things need to be included and I do understand that we are able to do a poll and consensus here but we're not allowed to vote here so we need to clarify that and make sure that it's legally binding and then you know there have been times when I submitted items

[00:18:30] and they were not placed on what I consider a timely manner because there were other items included so in the past I've asked is there a number of items that should be limited to members so that everybody has equal access to quick items on the agenda and I know that we're all busy and I'm guilty of this I may send you items at the last minute or what have you and so is it 72 hours is it a week in advance is it a Friday before the meet so all those things I

[00:19:02] think need to be spelled out in a very distinct section of the handbook and what is your suggestion for making that happen I can create it or I can send it to uh what is it development is that the title of the committee that's working i can send you a draft of a proposal to give you a start or add to what you already have there but i think we need to tease it out i think i think this board needs to tease it out because i am still confused like

[00:19:38] for example per item today does it disappear here or does it go on the business agenda it always disappears here no one and that's how they do business here miss miles is it your desire to have us vote on it i mean yeah it is but because but that's not what we do i mean we haven't done that since i've been on the board i've had a lot of things die here and ideas die here and other people have too and when people don't agree we just don't agree and we don't move on so that's fine under fire is allowed i'm sorry sorry well i did just want to

[00:20:14] point out that when in our adopted protocols we do have a paragraph on the work session work sessions are over public meetings are recorded and are subject to all laws and procedures that govern those meetings although a quorum of members must present for workshops to proceed board as a general practice does not take action on agenda items during work session votes on action items are expected to take place at regular meetings following the second protocol public time common time is not available so that's what we have adopted and that's very spare we do have on page 28 of the draft handbook that was kicked

[00:20:51] from the regular meeting well it's not here we're actually not really talking about it here but within this topic it does mention some of what said that any board member may add an item to the board's work session agenda providing that it is submitted to the chair and superintendent at seven days in advance and their board members are encouraged to familiarize themselves with that section the operating protocol I just read it is the expectation that agenda items fit within the defined responsibility of the school board and are neither

[00:21:27] managerial nor operational nature and then when presenting agenda item we haven't actually done this two items but we have it in the handbook excuse me as the graphic organizer the state of town you must discuss and how it pertains to the outcomes and it's a good outcome there is a paragraph at the end saying what the possible disposition is like someone might bring a work session item just to talk about it like i just want to get us understanding do we want to have dinner at every single meeting right like that might be just you want to chew on a topic uh referral to committee so maybe that's an outcome

[00:22:04] that you're asking for here board development uh draft this out a little bit more uh referral to like what we did with the AI guidance, like, hey, superintendent, we'd love to see the presentation at our next meeting. Or you can table indefinitely or a defined period of time. So for example, one of the outcomes for the calendar might have been, or maybe could still be if people are willing to go back and revisit it, reopen at our March work session table until the March work session and evaluate the hours available at the March work session. So that's an example of table for a

[00:22:40] a defined period of time or placing i think we all understand sarah i think we get it we do this is can you just i don't think it's important for us to we all know this is what we do if someone brings an idea if no one is in agreement with it we don't move it forward and it dies here right i was i was just trying to kind of flesh out like so what was you know we have a description we have the days in advance we have the list of disposition and we have you know kind of a general idea of what the type of topics are and i'm happy to do more work on this but i'm

[00:23:18] just kind of wondering this is not adopted this one is not adopted i mean it sounds good it's exactly what we do it's not like it's any different no this right i'm done yeah i just wanted to add that um in regard to purpose and agenda structure what would be helpful is if you did have an idea and you wanted to formalize something if you submit that when you're submitting your agenda item and then that way we can look at it we can prepare for the meeting and consider your ideas because now if we are considering something new

[00:23:52] it's going to take enough feet okay um so I would like to thank you for that review but as junior members we it's very difficult for us to figure out how the structure is here and so there are items like her items should go to a vote and there are items like mine that should go to that to the committee and I can send you a draft or whatever I just want a separate addendum where if all

[00:24:29] the information is about working sessions I don't want like new members to go to one section and read one part and then go to another page and read another part like it should be on one location if it has to be repeated in different places we can add that but then the other thing is priority of items to discuss a work sessions and I don't think we have explored that because it was thrust upon us that we will have work sessions and so for me I see this

[00:25:04] sessions that this is additional time that we made as a commitment to come here and i think it could be better used if we have some of those bulky presentations on a regular basis here like they don't have to be at the business meeting um and then things that we have to like dig deep into and spend more time just editing reviewing and collaborating with each other rather than just bringing new ideas that seem to new members that are dismissed and not

[00:25:39] consider um the one thing i do kind of understand what um brown is saying is the problem with doing any items here and then dying here whether it's mine or anyone else's is that the public doesn't get a chance to weigh in on it and so what happens is if it was you know a great idea to maybe the public they're never going to be able to speak about it so but i do get the reason why we did this, so I get both points, is because it's kind of to save time. If no one is going to end up voting

[00:26:15] yes, why even bring it to a vote? But we have to remember that it's not just for us, it's also for the public. So I think that we really should think about, you know, if there are things that do require a vote, or do require public feedback, that we take caution with that. Because I think they were silencing the public by not bringing those items to a vote in on the dais so my wishes for this to be moved to is your permitted development or development and I am happy to take all the pieces that you guys already have

[00:26:53] and submit draft of things that I think might be appropriate I don't think that all of us are sticking to the seven days in advance and I know it hasn't been approved. But, you know, I would do my very best to stick to seven days in an event. All right. So I'm good with that if they are willing to take it on. I mean, I just want to point out that, you know, there is a strong request to use Graphic Organizer, which I did put in my reminder about tonight. You know, and I said nobody would be recognized if they didn't have

[00:27:33] the Graphic Organizer, but I'm not sticking to that because, you know, it doesn't look like it was followed and i want work to get done i don't want to stand on pompous circumstance but you know i agree that we need to get more organized i agree that we need to be more um you know meaningful and purposeful in what we say and what we do and i think we do need to communicate with each other ahead of time so that we can let people have thoughtful debate about what outcomes are going to be um you know there are several work session items that are floating around that are being requested a deep dive. And I would just, you know, encourage you guys to look at the fact that

[00:28:11] it is September 10th. We already have our October work session completely outlined. And so we're looking at November and December to deliver something for what could be three new board members, you know? And so I do think that it's important that we keep the work going, but also that we put some kind of stake in the ground. And so talking about the things we're talking tonight make a lot of sense, but we need to deliver something that is better than what we've been doing. And I hope that we can all find a day in November and or December that we can make that

[00:28:48] happen because there aren't many more work sessions to do these deep dive. And so my hope coming down this list today is that we can actually make a couple good changes to the operating protocols and the board development doc today so it can go back to action and then we can pick up the rest of the work you know and at another time because to be honest November and December you know they just don't look very reasonable given you know the struggles that

[00:29:23] we've had in the past to be able to get together to get some of this work done but that's my two cents um yes I share that concern I mean it is September and we do need we need a document by January. I mean, actually, we need a document by December because that is when the orientation occurs. And we only have one regular meeting in each of those months, which in November into December. And I don't think we are ever going to be perfect. Like, I'm not saying that any suggested revisions are not, you know, I'm not saying these are perfect documents

[00:29:59] at all. They, I, even myself, looking back through this, between the retreat and, you know, when it was on our regular meeting agenda was like, ooh, okay, maybe that should be different that should be different but we do need we can't orient anybody on a draft you know we do need to adopt something if the board development committee is reconstituted every January it gets a chance to crack it all the way open gets a quick the chance to crack everything all the way open yeah revisit and recommend so if it is a matter of consolidate you know what what if what

[00:30:37] the most concrete feedback I heard about that was consolidating it all in one place like that's easy that's copy-paste okay we can do that and we can copy-paste what we wrote here is our protocols that protocol here we can put that document pretty easily back on our next regular meeting action agenda if that's what we call if we're okay with that sure but that means in real terms if I'm not mistaken that we would need the work done added you know and ready to be put in an agenda by the 14th or 15th of September so you know it's not an

[00:31:15] endless amount of time that we have to make it happen so in order for seven days before the meeting honor the seven days submitted for an agenda we're done so the conundrum that we have here is that this meetings are really vague and and we're not given guidance. Again, I think we need to, for the legal practicality of it,

[00:31:52] we really need to be very explicit as to what happens to items such as the one that she presented today, such as the one that I present, like mine does not require a vote. So I think that explanation that items such as will require a vote.

[00:32:18] More detail on the discussion. Correct. Yeah, because that can keep us from feeling that board members are being dismissed or that their items did not make it to an agenda to a vote. But that happens, so we need to make sure.

[00:32:35] I mean, that's factual information. It happens a lot. And it's not just me. And if we're saying that work sessions, you cannot agree on something, then why are we? Why are we not pushing items that are supposed to get a vote to the dais?

[00:32:53] Why is it stopping here? And maybe that's a question that we need to discuss. I don't know if now is the time, but I mean, it is something that is a concern because sometimes you feel like it doesn't matter, you know, what you do, you're not going to ever put anything on the agenda.

[00:33:11] Dr. Newman? I just wanted to go back to the 15:15, the expression may have been opened. There is language in there, seven days is the goal, but there is a chance that it could be submitted later.

[00:33:27] I think it's written that way. Oh, it says at least seven days. At least. So it's like, if you do J-6, you can just submit a 12-J-6, but it's not necessarily written for less than 10. Yeah, it used to be three.

[00:33:44] Yeah, I mean, the way it's written, it doesn't have to be so. And I don't mind submitting. I mean, I can continue to work on it. To address Dana's thoughts about how something's not getting on the agenda, I see it very differently.

[00:34:01] I see we bring it up and there's not enough interest. It's a no. And so it doesn't go forward. And so you're bringing it up again and we get a no and it doesn't go forward. And you can't be disappointed with that. But then we're actually making a call here. And that's what I'm saying.

[00:34:18] We are actually voting without voting. Do you understand what I'm saying? Because if there's action being taken, you're saying that we can't go on the agenda because certain people don't agree. And that should be for the dais, not here. That's all I'm saying. Like, if we're really going by the way we're supposed to go, it should go to a vote if there is an action that needs to be taken.

[00:34:40] That's all I'm saying. I hear what you're saying. And I've done a little bit of research, and it could be possible to do both under FOIA regulations, but I think it's worthy for us to review those and maybe cite those regulations.

[00:34:59] And I can send those to you because I've done a lot of research regarding the work sessions. and most other school boards have work sessions but from what I saw is that they have the sessions before the actual meeting so any items that they didn't get consensus or agreed they go on the dais that night or whatever they get at it as addendum so modification so that happen every time that there's not a 7-0 I haven't checked that, but that's some of the practices.

[00:35:34] We, I think, are one of the few boards that have reoccurring working sessions outside of our business meetings, which I love. I love because we are a very chatty group and we get a lot of stuff done here. So I'm not against the work sessions.

[00:35:51] I want them to continue. I just want a little bit more explicit guidance, legal, and housekeeping. So in your research regarding Dana's issue tonight, should that go to a full vote again?

[00:36:07] It should go to a vote tonight. I wasn't happy about that. Your hand was up first, but I was confused at what you said. It seems like the people that are researching Robert's Rules of Order think that this vote that Dana brought to a work session and got only one vote for should actually go before the whole public.

[00:36:34] So if we can add that to the agenda and take a vote. I love it. Stephen. Thank you. Just to provide a little bit of background on how work sessions came into being, most of the board is relatively new. I think Ms. Sieberg and I are dealing, and with me with seven years as a long-term board member, in the past with prior boards, when I first got on the board, this kind of conversation that we're having right now was not had in any kind of meeting.

[00:37:12] It was frequently over the phone, email, via text, or face-to-face conversations. And one of the big problems was that there were board members who felt like they were not getting all of the information and they were not having an opportunity to weigh in prior to something going to regular meeting because there were times where there would be phone calls back and forth where members would decide via phone calls that something didn't need to go on the agenda. So creating work sessions was a way to bring those conversations

[00:37:49] to the table where all seven members of the board could participate. So there weren't any issues with what was happening in the past because work sessions are how many years old? Two years old, if that. They're less than two years old. And it was a time work sessions were designed so that any member could have a voice to something that they had an interest in, had a concern with, had an opinion on, had an idea with, because in the past it would be a phone call and quite often

[00:38:23] things would die via a phone call. And the board felt that that was problematic because people were not getting an equal voice and didn't have a platform for in-depth conversation. And that's how I look at work sessions. I look at them as an opportunity to have in-depth conversations and to determine what needs, what has enough interest or enough value. And I'm not saying anybody's interest, anybody's anything, anybody who's brought doesn't have value. And maybe that's

[00:38:58] the wrong word to use, but if there's enough interest to move it forward for a vote. And as As we saw with the original September 11th off, although we didn't have a vote on that per se in a meeting, we had quite a bit of public input.

[00:39:16] And also with our work sessions now having them reported so that people who are not present can still watch them and can still be abreast of what's happening in them. The one thing the public can't do in work sessions is have a public comment time.

[00:39:32] I have no idea the legalities around that, around regular meetings and public comment time. So I can't speak to that per se, but just this is how work sessions came into being. I, although I know it takes time and I know not everybody likes work sessions, I appreciate them because everyone has a chance to use their voice and to provide input.

[00:39:58] Because I can tell you in the past, when I first joined the board, I would ask questions and they would never see the light of day. And this is still a work in progress, and it's still developing, it's still evolving, but it's a very different place from where it was when I first joined the board.

[00:40:16] Yeah, come on. Okay, Chair. Yeah, I'm done. I just want to clarify for you. In the research, and everybody, Virginia FOIA does not say that votes can only occur at business meetings.

[00:40:32] In fact, the work session itself, thanks to all of us in our advocacy, it's been streamed, been recorded, so it is a public meeting, and we can actually take a poll here, and we can actually decide things here.

[00:40:50] So it is allowable. However, the point of contention that I have is that if nothing gets onto the business agenda or new members agenda items tend to most often not get on the agenda unless it's approved by a poll here, then the session polls here literally act in escape keeping.

[00:41:16] And so that is the thing that we don't want to adopt or sponsor. So what I'm asking is for a very specific site of FOIA regulations on the working sessions and how we're going to govern ourselves through those pieces.

[00:41:33] And I think the request of being specific about what the member wants as an outcome will be indicative of how we're going to proceed. were going to pull and rule it out. But I can tell you that I have felt many a times very discouraged because I brought very important items and they were struck down and that was the end of it. I was going to, to Lisa's point about the reason why the public weighed in. They weighed in because they knew we were taking a vote. Typically we don't get that response from them

[00:42:13] unless they know there is going to be action. So that's the other thing. And of course, like I said, I'm on both sides of this I do get the value of the work session being able to really talk things out and see whether or not like Lisa said instead of doing phone calls see who is in agreement or who would or what the likely vote will be and and so it's kind of so if we want to say it that way it's more of like a precursor of what the vote may be on the dais so that you're not necessarily surprised or disappointed however we are still stifling our public by not giving them a chance to weigh in on the topics that we have brought to a boat.

[00:42:53] So that's where I caution us to continue to do that. I would just say, though, it is our job to try to figure out what's best for kids. I mean, there is a place for the public to weigh in for sure. But we know we need 990 hours. We know we need 180 days.

[00:43:09] I mean, we cannot just throw everything up to chance because people want it both ways all the time. You know, I mean, somebody has to make a decision. Somebody has to make a decision, and that is our job, expression.

[00:43:28] So back when we were kind of designing the system, I mean, we were, the work session, this whole kind of system was a compromised system because it was like, and I was in the team that was like a regular meeting, public, whatever, and the will of the, you know, the majority wasn't there, so we came into this system, and I think, you know, now it's, we to make this system the best system that it can be in terms of uh how to like concretely proceed so if the goal is to try to get versions on the action agenda at our next meeting which is just

[00:44:06] a matter of days that's not time for the committee to reconstitute like we're not we're not we're not even in the notice requirements for the committee to reconstitute and then get on the next action agenda. I'm confused as to why it has to go on the 15th. I mean, it might not, but like it's, you know, I think the general point is just that we are running out of time. There's, you know, like we're, and once we break from this and we're like, okay, what are the dates look like? And it's, you know, maybe we do all look at our calendars and it's, you know, we just have to

[00:44:43] schedule a policy. How long did they schedule a policy committee meeting? Like two and a half weeks of trying to schedule that policy committee meeting, right? It took a long time to find that date and that date is in October. So it is a, so I say we're running into like a, just like a logistical problem here where we do have to set the concrete goal. And if that goal is action agenda next meeting, then something very simple as cut pace here, cut pace there, and we keep everything the way it is and a little bookmark for the January for development committee to come back to it or is it because the more we add the longer potentially takes because

[00:45:21] it goes also to board development committee whatever comes out of that process the board might want to do you know the board might want to work with more so it's so we do have to be very disciplined in the time that we're seeking so if we're but if we're going into things like a more detail on the disposition I'm not a disagreement that even like I agree with yeah willing to do that work. I'm just running into a logistical hurdle there. So going back to Ms. Miles and

[00:45:56] Ms. Brown's concern about things not making it to a regular board meeting. When I look at the graphic organizer, the final column says ideal outcomes for today. My ideal outcome for today. And this is for what you would put on the work session funnel, the spreadsheet. And that final column you know you've got your first column where you've got what you want to talk about what kind of priority is why it's significant and the final one is the ideal outcome per day for today for that item i'm wondering if as a compromise or as a possible solution

[00:46:33] whoever has that board that excuse me that work session item in that ideal outcome puts what the the ideal outcome is. The ideal outcome, a vote at a regular board meeting. Ideal outcome, more information. Ideal outcome, refer to committee F. Because if we use that funnel and we really stick to that, I think that's going to help. Because if we go in knowing that the ideal outcome is that something go before the full board for a vote, then we know what going in, that that's

[00:47:08] what the goal is and that potentially that would go to the full board i appreciate that i mean there have been many attempts to try to get us you know to to be acting in unison and this is one major way that people could have done it and we're just we're not doing that so i don't know that there's any appetite really to do anything that the person who's suggesting it you know wants to do it their way i don't understand about all these arguments back and forth but i already stated my ideal outcome is to send it to the committee I can and I even volunteer to get get a draft get all the pieces that are already in there and then possibly

[00:47:47] draft all of my site citations so that is the ideal outcome so yeah so the policy it occurred to me that the policy committee is the same three people as for development committee and we do have a meeting scheduled on it's going to be a long meeting I know but like if I mean we can get a little dinner and have a little break and then come back around and be in the board development right after that and just I know that our poor clerk has to say the

[00:48:22] whole time that we do it but that is a way like we do have that date yeah and we might be here we just three of us steal ourselves to be here until 9:00 p.m. or so but if what is being and i can remember brown saying that she's going to give a draft already for us because that's going to make it a lot faster and more you know economical if that's what we're considering instead of drafting on our own so hopefully we can keep that tighter so maybe the solution that we're i can offer the group is that it gets added to october 6 that's still to

[00:48:59] there's there's still meetings before the end of the year and just for miss brown when i was talking about the funnel i wasn't talking about this discussion on on the board member handbook i was just talking moving forward when we put things on the work session agenda not for what we're talking about right now but in the future when we put things on the work session agenda when we have the funnel we just write what our desired outcome is that way we know where we want it to go because sometimes we do want things to go to a regular board meeting for a vote Sometimes we just want to have a conversation.

[00:49:34] And sometimes we want to have them go to committee. So that wasn't about what we're talking about right now. That was going forward in the future. I'm pretty sure it was clear that I wanted it to go before a vote. Because we tried to do that for September 11th.

[00:49:51] So I hope that was clear. Or was that confusing? I don't know. I mean, I wasn't clear. But I think I am clear now. We're going to take it to the next meeting. On action.

[00:50:09] Since we've already discussed it here. Sure. I mean, the sooner we get it, you know, decided, the better. Yes. It was an action item that was moved back here for further discussion, but it wasn't to die here.

[00:50:28] It was supposed to be to change the date. That was why. Action is fine. So it was an action item. I appreciate that. Yeah. Yeah. So, all right, can I move to my second one? Is everyone satisfied with this topic?

[00:50:44] So we're going to have it on October 6th, but we're going to have boxed back. So that's where I'll send it to everybody. I just want to make sure. So we're going to, the board development committee will meet on October 6th.

[00:51:01] That'll be a double header with policy. And then we will expect that. Okay. So Apple scholarship for aspiring teachers. Ms. Brown will lead a discussion regarding the Apple scholarship for aspiring teachers.

[00:51:17] All right. I don't need a vote for this. want you to consider it Apple federal credit union used to give out three scholarships of two thousand dollars each for aspiring teachers they will discontinue that this year and we do not want this scholarship to aspiring teachers to fully go away so I'm trying to figure out ways how do we keep it alive and I thought I would start here asking you guys to consider the adoption of at least one other scholarship so it just doesn't disappear and it doesn't

[00:51:54] have to be $2,000 it could be a thousand dollars that we all pitch in and we can do this on a regular basis in the fall to consider it again so if we do it this year it may not it is not mandatory to do it next year or perhaps one of you would like to do the scholarship I think as a school board I wouldn't want this very important scholarship to just disappear because it goes right to students who aspire

[00:52:25] in teachers and if we do it together it will be less than 275 each. I know it's a commitment monetary wise but I'm just asking for consideration or perhaps we can come up with other ideas.

[00:52:44] Isn't that something you would do through the education foundation? yes i'm asking the board to consider adopting or taking one of these um scholarships that doesn't go away and making that donation to the education foundation on behalf of the board is this from is this a personal fund like all seven of us personal funds or is this out of the budget no you don't have such a personal it would be personal it would be um the school board of

[00:53:19] manassas scholarship for aspiring teachers so for one again the scholarship will go away unless we find donors and i thought i'd give you an opportunity to say a or n about that i wouldn't mind um working with you know you to maybe get donors from fellow teachers i know um i know a lot of fellow teachers but um and maybe they if we could do maybe some fun reading um that would

[00:53:51] not you know if others are not willing to do it so be willing to help with that okay is there a board consensus to to talk this through you're just asking us to consider it yeah i i actually ideally i would like the necessary school board to agree to do one scholarship at least of a thousand dollars if not a thousand dollars at least this year so it doesn't disappear this year

[00:54:25] but i know two thousand dollars is a big ask so i will save a thousand dollars and split into seven ways um that would be my ask but i do like your idea of finding ways to fundraise um and if not everybody's on board then maybe those board members who are willing we can find ways to figure out so that it doesn't die.

[00:54:51] My only question is if there are any legal barriers because we're elected. I honestly don't know. I created just scholarships this year that I gave out of my personal funds. I think it would be a really great positive message if Monassa City Public Schools sponsors one yearly scholarship to be decided on every fall.

[00:55:19] So that new members have an opportunity to join in because I know chair Is leaving so she won't be here in January, but so the next time Just thought I brought it to you guys, but definitely acts of solidarity or always positive So I think it's definitely a good thing to consider. It looks like it'd be about $143 each if we went for a thousand if we just to put it out I mean I'm just kind of concerned like a like it is an official school board

[00:55:59] saying but while using our personal fun right like that that would be leaving in a way like the school board of the city of Manassas is a government entity you know so I think I just I'm happy to donate like Sarah brush is happy to donate but I don't know that it is an appropriate role for us to be branding with the public schools into, you know, into, into philanthropic endeavors, because I think that that can, and maybe it's not messy, and maybe if we have the kind of judicial council

[00:56:36] that's sat in the room all the time, we can turn around and ask them, but I just have that kind of concern that we don't, that if we use our personal funds, but the government branding, that that, I have that hesitation. We can avoid that by just making a donation to the foundation and directing funds to a teacher's foundation.

[00:56:54] All right, there you go. future teachers to the apple scholarship yeah it would have to be the apple scholarship well it's not going to be an apple scholarship anymore though well i think that is that what we call it that's part of your future teacher scholarship yeah aspiring teachers yes aspiring so yes so future teacher scholarship so um all right so i i think that's a happy medium and i can

[00:57:27] see but if we would like to make that donation you can designate the money to feature teacher scholarship and I guess we can aim for a thousand dollars I will cover whatever yeah I just don't want it to go away so the next item is SOL data work session miss Brown will discuss her request for a future school board work session dedicated to an in-depth review and discussion of SOL

[00:58:04] data. Okay I do understand that we do get a typical presentation on SOLs I still strongly advocate for us to have either a retreat like or a special like or closed session like meeting to look into the results of the SOLs with cabinet and talk through implications and next steps that will guide our work it is about student outcomes and this is one of the most important pieces and in

[00:58:41] the past I think I've only received the ones I don't think might be twice it's just been downloaded the information is just downloaded but we don't get to talk We did try last year to do a day, but we ended up with maybe two hours of a data dive.

[00:59:05] But it was a new concept, and I just want to continue to advocate for that. I think sometimes when we are presented information, it's okay not to be calibrated and ask questions and everything and leave with our own understanding.

[00:59:26] But I think with the SOLs, I think we all need to be on the same page with our understanding and the implications and how we're going to proceed for next steps. So that's I'm proposing that we consider that as a retreat or however we can legally do a special meeting or a closed session so that we can have discussions.

[00:59:49] I don't know that it can be a closed session, but I would like to have something where we can discuss the data, but also discuss it from the perspective of the SOL, and I don't know any other way to say it, scoring system changing.

[01:00:09] Because it is drastically changing, and as a school board member, I have concerns about what that looks like, how that impacts our students. So, let's see. I get that information from the staff presentation. I mean, they're already doing it. They've done the deep dive. They bring it forward and they say, this is what we're doing and why we're doing it. And I think there's plenty of time and opportunity for a school board member to ask additional information at that time.

[01:00:48] I actually see an opportunity to kind of solve two problems at once almost, because in terms of we've had previous feedbacks discussion here, people feeling that there's too many questions or questions are disjointed or sometimes they repeat.

[01:01:05] you know and there are long meetings are lots of questions meeting do tend to be yeah I mean the one was 44 questions was the continuous but they do tend to be like this kind of topic and it is not an unusual thing in other division to have like okay in the conference room for an hour before the regular meeting we'll do that we'll do a work session essentially we're like okay you can laundry out all of the like detailed detailed questions you all have and then the presentation in the regular meeting where it is more public facing and it's more high level and it might

[01:01:45] kind of help it might you know i'm trying to say might solve two problems at once if we get this or maybe not maybe we'll create a little problem we're just we're you know trying trying to be productive here but in terms of getting the meetings that do get very long they do tend to this kind of thing and other divisions do do a thing where they put the work session ahead of the regular meeting presentation so there are a few questions i have mentioned that and i'm pretty sure mr gaffeller said that would be very tedious for the central staff to do that oh twice correct

[01:02:20] remember i mentioned doing the presentation in a work session and then also before the dais and i was told it would be yeah too much that's i know the last time we had the work session i had mentioned that i mean i think for every work session it's a lot there's could be you know caveats where it would work but i don't maybe it's depending on what it is i was just going to say i i'd love to have these work sessions before the regular meeting if we could but getting it done in an hour before a meeting i don't think that's going to happen we have to be there and we also have three public school educators on our board that we have to be sensitive for schedules but i

[01:03:00] would love to start at three o'clock in the afternoon and just knock it all out that would be great okay to reiterate my ask for that my ask is and maybe I just your ideal out to two more questions like whose responsibility is it to understand the implications of the SOL for this district where does the buck stop the buck stops with us exactly so after our staff to do what they

[01:03:35] need to do. And so when you receive a presentation from the staff, is that enough for you to have enough understanding to create next steps and together for us to have collaborative work in front of us, meaningful action items that will continue to move the work forward? I think we're receiving information, we're asking questions. Some of us have retreated to no asking questions

[01:04:07] so that we can balance the timing so but the thing is that is not enough if we are responsible for student outcomes and so that's what i'm asking i i know that when we do our superintendent evaluation perhaps that could be a time to do it and add it to it just so dr numing can maybe do it you know kind of go over it with us that because it is part of that process um i don't know if that is something and then we can get because we're already in closed session and we can kind of get more information and ask the questions we may have about some of the data i mean the data is

[01:04:47] public i'm pretty sure now and so the public does know about it but it would be nice to understand the why and not make assumption um and i i think it's just i do understand what she's saying but maybe just where we place that is kind of what we need to figure out for me this goes back to the initial talk about the calendars i mean we're discussing this and we haven't even heard staff presentation yet we don't know if our questions are going to be answered you know there's a big request for another work session a deep dive but i have no idea when we can fit it in and the word

[01:05:27] retreat is you know that's really difficult for me because we've tried to have three-day retreats for two years and it always comes up short the people are able to do the third day so you know I mean every effort my part has been made to do what is being asked but it keeps not happening and I you know I'm willing to do anything if you want to bring the date forward that it could happen you know I'm more than happy to do it yeah I really need you to go and watch this

[01:05:59] session after you finish because all i hear is yeah yeah yeah but and so i really you know i think the job here is to consider this and let people decide if they want to do this i just this is really again discouraging when i am proposing something that it is directly connected to student outcomes and of our very, very main responsibility as elected board members.

[01:06:36] And all I'm hearing is complications about a third day for a retreat. Is there anything else that you want to add? Go ahead, Ms. Prashan.

[01:06:54] So I want to be clear on support. I'm trying to support this because I do recall we did do this last year. And I couldn't remember how exactly the format was. But I do remember that, like, I can't remember if the staff was presenting or if it was just us looking through it, right?

[01:07:15] I think they were present to answer questions. But it was not a presentation. It was a presentation. They had the information. They collaborated with us. Like, we set up into pods, I think, and then they had our staff member. And as the pods went through the data, they were there to immediately, you know, ask questions and get clarification.

[01:07:36] And as I recall it, there was a lot of clarification and questions asked. So the point, you know, I do remember, I do recall that last year hotting up and that Dr. Jones had an insight about the COVID cohorts, like the kids who were both for kindergarten and first grade, that, you know, that I hadn't seen when I went through it.

[01:07:59] And I do remember walking away from that experience being like, I'm glad that we did that, especially in the regular format. You don't always get to hear like what board members are seeing or thinking. So I am, I thought it was valuable and I'm supportive of doing it again.

[01:08:15] You're going to spend time on anything. To your point, you're going to spend time on anything. That's how it gets up to me. So I think, I don't recall how long it took. I think we were, we, like I said, we had a whole day, but then schedule got, oh, come by the lady and I think it was two hours that we allotted to it, which was okay.

[01:08:37] But ideally, I just wish that everybody that's sitting at this table understood the importance of how pivotal it is, not only for us to understand it, but to be calibrated in that understanding, because that will drive whatever actions we put forward for Dr. Newman.

[01:08:59] And that's why I mentioned doing it on that day. We already have that date set and I can't remember what it is, but October 15th, would that be something that we could at least maybe before we go into closed session, maybe during open session, do that and then go into closed session. And like Diana's saying, and we've mentioned this before, you know, when we're doing having goals, we need to have matrix and, you know, measures and need to understand what measures and we don't know that unless we're given that information.

[01:09:28] And so that way we can make those judgment calls pretty factual judgment calls. Is there consensus to talk about SOLs prior to Dr. Newman's evaluation?

[01:09:46] I can make time for that. I can make time for that. 3-4? Yes. Wait. 15. Oh, what day is that? October. Not September. I know it's October. Yeah. I could be available at 3:00. 4:00.

[01:10:02] 4:00. It's meeting to 5:00. Oh, it is? Okay. Okay. That's fine. I just said, so three, three 30, three 30 would be great. Dr. Newman, will October 15th be before or after a vacation?

[01:10:29] Our goal is to have a first October meeting. That's depending on the DOE. So the two days before the two meeting options for Thursday, I mean, sorry, for October are the 13th and the 27th.

[01:10:46] All right, so hopefully the 13th will be given the staff presentation, but it's not a given, just we can add. Is that a resolution? Oh, yeah, that's more than it. Thank you.

[01:11:28] We're going to move to procedures and remedies for school board conduct. Yes. The school board will lead a discussion regarding potential procedures and remedies available to the school board when a board member violates established school board policy, school board operating protocols, or the code of ethics.

[01:11:45] Yes, the priority is remedies, also known as corrective actions and solutions. This is not focused on student outcomes, but without it, we cannot be a functioning governance team. It's significant because we have at least one new school board member joining us in January, and we'd like to be prepared with our handbook, our operating protocols, and code of ethics all clearly defined.

[01:12:14] A lot of work's been done on that by the board development committee, but there are some remedies that I would like to bring back because they were removed completely from the previous operating protocols. And there are some in the proposed handbook, but I don't believe that they're significant enough.

[01:12:33] So I have developed, well, I just took the old remedies and updated them a little bit. And I'd like, my ideal outcome for today is for the school board to agree to expand the remedies and a variety of options and insert them in place of the corrective actions and solutions on page 14.

[01:12:59] um this document also has um miss brown miss brown did you want to speak to your admission um yes i just have to um find it online i think there you go yeah okay so uh for some reason i don't have access anymore it's the computer's all wonky okay so uh yes so i read um the the edits that um board member CBER send me and one of the things that i think is pivotal

[01:13:33] for all of us is that to continue to and everything that we do act as a board so in some of these suggestions it was um in there currently in the handbook is chair and in board member and i don't think that is conducive to the board I don't think that the chair writing a letter to a person should be ever the case because you should not be passing that judgment on another person it

[01:14:07] should be the board so in protection of this board I made some suggestions and it's still progressive is the word so um and it still be i don't know we had um and we talked about this way before but um the private board warning um should be one of the first things that we should do together um and we can discuss i always think that due process is really important to all parties

[01:14:44] involved in confidentiality so and I did look into the Virginia code and we can convene a closed session to discuss the performance conduct and discipline of any board member but if you need to pass that to legal with it so they can give us a green check we can do that but end up in that session the concern should be brought to the whole board and the first step should be warning to the member and I know that it was suggested that one of the outcomes would be

[01:15:21] assignment of professional development but I don't think that's effective because we're all adults so we can suggest some of the possible recourses that we have to probably learn a little bit more about FOIA or FOIA or whatever it is student confidentiality for but whatever it is and they just make that available to the members I think that and then let them make that decision if they want to do that because it may have just been a lapse in judgment not necessarily professional

[01:15:50] development needed. Then in that consistency with the remedies I think that we should consider removal from committees or liaison assignments. That should be a remedy that we have if the infraction is severe enough that it will get in the way of the board functioning effectively because we want the work to continue despite any conflict and then we do have available to us the

[01:16:25] board censorship and so but in my investigation of that if we are going to ever do that and that's for severe cases then in that closed session a form of resolution has to be drafted if that is what we decide to do because that particular conflict calls for that and so i also drafted a copy of the censorship resolution because it has to be a resolution and then when we will vote we um will vote on the resolution and the chair will read the resolution

[01:17:04] It wouldn't be specific behavior launder and I know that We didn't I didn't put it in here, but I think it was amended. I'm not sure But we did get guidance that in extreme cases or severe enough cases or in the cases that this board the size That an investigation is necessary. We do have that availability to us It is costly because it will have to be done by our third party.

[01:17:40] And so we will have to consider that as a last resort or based on the need of finding due process. And whenever we talk about that, and I made my thoughts very clear on that, I support investigations because it allows all parties due process.

[01:18:04] because i never want to be accused of something and not have the facts investigated by an outside counsel and that was one of the reasons why when i first got on this board that i get mentioned to you guys that we cannot investigate each other that we cannot be uh guarding each other and we had discussions i know if you recall lisa that it would not be in our best interest to have the chair make that decision or have a group make that decision so we do have and we can again get the check before it goes in a handbook from the attorney that it

[01:18:40] is an option that we have available to us but that third counsel is costly and we will have to incur that expense so it's not something that we want to do on a regular basis I think those are all my notes they're in board docs for everyone to see. Did I miss anything? I definitely would want the attorney to look at this because I do not see in 2.2-3711A1, I don't see anything in there about performance conduct or disciplining a board member. I see nothing in there. So if I may, just really quick, because I've spent a lot

[01:19:17] of time with lawyers recently, you know, I would like to just kind of caveat some of this. Like there's been a lot of things in the news that, you know, if we had protocols, we could do X. But, you know, we've also been told repeatedly by our legal team that the more remedies you put in place, I mean, the more it's going to, it could potentially come back to bite you. Like this is not a zero sum game. There's positive and negative things to both decisions. So procedurally, you know, I'd like to talk about number one, if you, if we want to proceed with this at all, which I'm

[01:19:56] fine either way number two is it going to be something that we like we discussed earlier tonight put our stake in the ground now if it means some of this does have to be run by legal and like one thing that was just said you know my understanding is that only we can investigate each other no one else can investigate i mean as a board we can decide to investigate someone but we have to own that investigation it's not something we put on staff it's us we're doing it

[01:20:28] And so if we want to codify any of that, you know, it's fine, but there are pitfalls to every decision and having all of these protections in place are not always going to protect us. You know, I mean, it's just a catch-22.

[01:20:45] I just want to say, like, that's my understanding of the whole situation right now for what it's worth. Ms. Brescia. So we've been working on this. It's been three years. It has been the will of the board.

[01:21:02] which is not any one person or not it's been the will of the board to at first not have it anywhere and then it was the will of the board to put in a basically a troubleshooting just rough guidelines for troubleshooting yeah what if you're having conflicts or what if things are going wrong and that was the what we had all discussed in June via the approach that we wanted to take just what expectations were in terms of dealing. There's no right or wrong way to do it but

[01:21:42] and Chair Spall just put it pretty well it's not like there is it's not zero-sum it's not a light switch like we are dark and now it is light like there are pitfalls to everything just for an example the investigation thing that is a budgetary authorization that is a independent process and so an independent investigation means that you're not just talking to the one board member you're talking to everybody connected to that incident it could take

[01:22:19] once it could take a year that independent investigator they set their own timeline and the results that come out of that are when somebody talks to everybody and they don't work for the board they work for themselves and it is in my own research on it and I have had some interaction with attorneys myself lately in their research of it that's only been done in school boards two to three times maximum and it was things for like you were an undisclosed recipient of the beneficiary real estate deal like that kind of very serious

[01:22:55] financial or criminal type behavior one so I caution us on going too hard in one way or another although now that we have all been made aware of the investigation opposed to including a paragraph somewhere outlining what they are under what circumstances they may be appropriate and you know what's the cost process etc like I'm not opposed to adding that just as like a guideline so

[01:23:31] board members are aware ahead of time ah yeah basically it's an informational item but in terms of the draft presented at first of all I'm a little I do get upset when this happens because the version I printed out does not include all of the new stuff and I did go in there and you know within the six days that it was posted so I mean I see it now on the computer yeah now I'm like you know we have this six-day regulation for a reason when people access the materials like it should be there it should be they're ready to go and you didn't see mine that's right here yours is right here but there's all this other

[01:24:10] stuff that you know if you were on it and started looking at it I had no we came later I asked Alba was it today to put it to add it on okay well state law requires 72 hours but whatever if we're gonna stick to that I'm fine with that but I just it was either that or give you a copy of it today anyway my other issues with this is that first of all it lacks a jurisdictional statement

[01:24:43] because board members acting in their official capacity is a distinct thing and we don't define that at all and in fact we've had no opportunity to get the lead guidance, for example, if you attend a kindergarten graduation, you have a kindergartner, but you're also there congratulating the other parents as a board member. If something happens at that event, who are you, right? We've never gotten that question answered. And I think that question needs to be answered. The other issue that I have with this document as it is written

[01:25:17] is that it does not contain any... Factually, factually by an independent counsel. So,

[01:38:16] because I don't go this way or that way based on opinions. I want to know facts. and i want to make good decisions when i'm here and i want to be responsible for myself and everybody on this board i am more painfully aware now than i was before that if it happens to one of us it happens to all of us and however you felt and however we felt it doesn't remedy anything because at the end of the day there's a price tag that we all pay you paid it and we paid it we could have resorted to your point we could have resorted to better options and i hope that we can

[01:38:55] I hope that we can. That is my hope. But again, chair, if we can put this item and draft it or go to the work session and maybe have legal there present to strike us down if we're wrong or say that legal is the only entity that can guide our work when it comes to this piece.

[01:39:18] We shouldn't be given legal opinions or anything like that. We should be backed by our legal counsel. So back to Ms. Seabrook, I'm asking what is her desired outcome? I think it should go to work session.

[01:39:36] I think we should get attorney input and I think a combination of the existing handbook, the remedies I provided, adding in due process, should all be considered.

[01:39:59] So is it a board consensus to set a work session date? Yes. When would you like to start looking at dates? anything is this something you want to do in the month of October in addition to the other meetings this is something you want to do in the month of November I think as soon as possible as long as we adopt this right by the last meeting in December that's fine because it has to be ready for January what session then to

[01:40:34] the Lord excellent but we're what document is it what is it I put it in here to put it in the handbook just because that's what we're trying to get done but I would actually prefer it to be an operating protocol I didn't want to make it difficult because I know we're trying to get this done before the end of the year so we are no longer meeting

[01:41:15] not for a double so it's just a policy meeting October 6th we have a policy committee meeting after that but yeah but you're not so you don't need to worry about anything on October one just tell me where to show up October one works for me oh we had I do I have the policy meeting on that day

[01:41:54] No, because I had asked you about both the first and the sixth, and you were both available on both dates. That's why you had the first blocked out as well. Gotcha. Which means you have time on the first. Okay. Work session, you said?

[01:42:10] What time do we want to start? For handbook. Lisa, Suzanne, October 1. F430. Diana, October 1. Is that Thursday? Yes. That's Thursday. Yes, because I'm going to New York or something.

[01:42:27] October 1 October 1 Is it yes for you? Yes, I'm going to make it work Dana? Yes, that works 4.30 Is that what you said or 4? I didn't say a time yet I'm just checking days October 1 What time?

[01:42:46] 4.30 Is 4 okay for you? 4.30 is better for me 4.30, okay 4.30, okay 4.30 October 1, 4.30 We'll need to let Dr. Jen If she's not traveling I think she's back for the duration and it's 4:30, but I don't satisfy that.

[01:43:15] That satisfies me at this point, we have a point going forward. So the next item is closed session protocols for school board members. Ms. Dana Miles will lead a discussion regarding closed session protocols for current, future school board members.

[01:43:33] This discussion will include consideration of proposed language to be added to the school work handles to provide greater clarity regarding expectations and procedures related to closed session is this something that you guys want to just automatically move to the work session or you want to go over that now well I mean I can go over it and then we can decide if it can be added or something so I came up with a statement that we could add and then we went Joe gave it illegal so that they can kind of comb through it. And on board docs, you can see the Code of

[01:44:09] Virginia that they specify in it. And it just says, Manassas City School Board closed session protocol. The Manassas City School Board shall conduct all closed sessions in accordance with Virginia Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, and all applicable laws, other applicable laws, sorry.

[01:44:29] Before entering a closed session, the school board shall take an affirmative recorded vote in an open meeting approving a motion that clearly identifies a subject matter to be discussed, states the authorized purpose of the closed session, incites the applicable legal exemption discussion during closed session shall be limited to the specific matters identified in an approved motion and authorized by 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia.

[01:44:54] And they had added that because I had just said law, but this specific law. And then confidentiality of closed session, which was part of the specifics that I wanted to add. Information discussions and deliberations occurring during a closed session shall remain confidential.

[01:45:13] And I had as required by law, but apparently there's no law that generally requires the discussions to remain confidential. However, there's certain laws that require confidentiality, such as BIRPA. And I'm just reading the comments that legal made.

[01:45:28] No school board member should disclose, discuss, characterize, or otherwise share closed session information outside of the properly convened closed session, including in any public forum, social media platform, public meeting, interview, or communication with members of the public, except as authorized by the school board or as authorized or required by law.

[01:45:47] And they included that legal included by the school board or as authorized. I didn't have that in there, but we're including that. Matters discussed during a closed session shall not be discussed or deliberated outside of the properly convened session.

[01:46:04] And that actually is repeating itself. But upon returning to open session, the school board should complete the certification required by Virginia law. Any board member who believes discussion exceeded the authorized scope of the closed session may state the concern for the record pursuant to 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia.

[01:46:25] Board members are expected to maintain professionalism, protect confidential information, and conduct closed session discussions in a manner that preserves the integrity of the Manassas City School Board and Public Trust. I had mentioned or I wanted to add matters discussed during a closed session shall not be discussed or deliberated outside of the properly convened closed session with a school board member who was not present during that closed session, except as authorized or required by law.

[01:46:53] And legal said that that an absent school board member cannot later receive an update from the school board chair about closed session discussion. now but she had a question mark so she's not sure if that makes sense but so I don't know if I just it's a very rare occurrence right school board member is not right and that's why I wanted to include that in there also there are times for example for when I was gone but also in the beginning of our Jenny Dean process you had to attend all of the closed sessions related to it

[01:47:29] where you could not attend any and you could not be informed of those steps in the process so there are times where yes definitely that is but yes yeah and and it says as authorizer required by law so i guess we can that she just wanted i guess to understand what we were what i was saying there so i think we all understand it um and then final board action on closed session items should be taken in open session except we're otherwise specifically authorized by law so the major thing is just the fact that if a school board member is not present that it should not be

[01:48:05] discussed outside and so I can I can send I think that we Alba I know you gave me this but how how do we get like the clean version is it possible for us to get like a with their edits or do I I just want to say thank you member miles for bringing that forward I think

[01:48:41] some people really need a reminder of it pressure so it's really interesting feedback from somebody to right now certification there's nothing in here on under what circumstances we should fail to read we should vote against certification for meeting that is something that

[01:49:15] is uh i think we require some guidance on well then is it appropriate to she didn't add that those so i don't know i mean i we they didn't mention adding it but and i think that we need more um you state the concern for the record i think that needs to be a little more detail a board member is obligated to state for the record to please append this note to the minutes and then state what it wants that is what the video so it's not very clear what a board member is supposed to do in that moment when they come out of that session and if the board member

[01:49:51] if you make that record do you still certify the meeting or do you are you supposed to if you make that record you're not you know what i mean like you don't have a discussion of certification i was told that you would abstain i mean that's what i was looking for but well then then that should be written if we're writing it down and putting it in there then that would break it down okay i mean if you wanted to like once we have the clean version if people like you did with yours um once say what you like added and you can talk about it at the work session for

[01:50:28] the handbook i'm open to that i just wanted to have it in there just in case like again we have new board members don't know um how closed sessions operate i know i was new to this um so that's why i thought it was a good idea thank you okay so do you want this to go on the work session do you want it to go straight to protocols like after a work session if you just have an actual closed session protocol area after after we do edits and people you know give their feedback

[01:51:04] and then we go to the work session then we can make that decision what's the final so wait hold on we're having a work session on the handbook right and this would be that would be going in the handbook yes this would be going yes so it should be we should draft it together okay so during that time that work okay yes so well i've drafted so i thought we were going to take this and just provide any additions that we think would work as opposed to because I drafted it already I don't know in any additions you think or you think things that need to be changed feel free to like

[01:51:39] share that I think anybody who has individual contributions they'd like to make ahead of that work session should do so and should have them sent to legal and national together maybe that they will need to have legal prison at the work session because I want to come out of there with a product and outcome so thank you again for doing that I know this is matter of fact for most of us but it would be great for new members to

[01:52:14] understand as well so if you there's a paragraph in here saying that if the discussion exceeded the authorized okay there is how are you expected to vote on the certification if you are you expected to vote no are you expected to abstain you know are you if making the note sufficient and then you vote yes like what is how are you what is the process I think you're supposed to vote no Sarah because you I

[01:52:52] mean she calls for the votes for the eyes and the nose and the abstentions and And then there's a discussion. Well, there are statutory obligations related to that certification. And we should be clear in terms of what they are. I have my right understood as I can say, yes, it was all certified and that was all we did.

[01:53:14] Or no, you guys, there was a hot mess in there. You guys were talking about everything. And I can state that before it gets certified. So I can say no. And I can say why I'm voting no. Because there is a moment for discussion, isn't there, when we take a vote?

[01:53:31] Okay. And then you can abstain. Well, no, you just said two things. You just said abstain and before you're voting, no. Yes, no, and abstain. Those are your choices. But how they interact with one another and what is appropriate for this, when is an abstention more appropriate than a no vote?

[01:53:47] Like, there are guidelines for this, and you should benefit from that. That's all I'm saying. That's fine. I mean, definitely add what you think should be added. We follow Robert Rules for abstention. Go back and review that. it's all in there it is a foia violation which is a separate thing you can be brought to court for just for the record if you inappropriately certify a possession and so you are obligated to vote the correct way and we should get it's a yes no abstain but you can pay the lawyer some more money to

[01:54:23] verify that it's yes no abstention but in order for it to be amended it has to be a majority vote is what i mean so you can say okay i didn't agree yes and that gets recorded right you know yeah yeah which i just we're we're all talking around in circles we need a lawyer to write it let's let a lawyer write of course is there a motion to adjourn chair i'm in school board meeting adjourned second all in favor aye many opposed

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